Will this be the year the Cubbies win the world series?

[Treeshepherd]

Rotation is Lester, Hendricks, Arieta and Lackey.

Maybe I am a nervous Cubs fan, but that rotation doesn't excite me.

You're tough to please. That's a pretty good rotation (understatement).

 

[Bruce_T_Laney]

I am a nervous Cubs fan.

(1) This is baseball. I have seen guys do awesome in the reg season and then slump in post. For a long time that was Bonds. They have the bats, but slumps can come at bad times and so could hit hitters on the opposing team.

(2) Lester and Hendricks have been great this year, but I don't think either are the great post season pitchers you want. Arieta has had his ups and downs. The rotation makes me nervous


Bottomline it is the MLB playoffs anything can and does happen. The best team on paper rarely is the one that wins it all.

The Pen will be the key for this postseason!

If the three main starters ( Lester, Hendricks and Arrieta ) get the team to the sixth inning then there is a good chance the Cubs will win it all...

Just do not let Hammels start!

Rotation is Lester, Hendricks, Arieta and Lackey.

Maybe I am a nervous Cubs fan, but that rotation doesn't excite me.

I believe that is the seven game series rotation but in the five game set against the Giants Lackey should not be needed... No matter what Hammels should not get on the mound unless the Cubs are up by 100 runs and it is the last pitch in the ninth inning of game four in a sweep of the World Series and even then I would not let Hammels pitch and let Grandpa Rossy toss the last pitch!

Also Lester is good, and I believe Hendricks will be good for six innings... Arrieta is the one I have questions about and if I were in Joe shoes I might go with Lackey before Arrieta...

I believe it is the year of the Cubs and if they win this nation will erupt louder than when the Red Sox or White Sox won their World Series... ( Then again only the drunk skid row prostitutes on the South Side of Chi-town only cared about the South Side bums... )

 

[LA RAM FAN]

I am a nervous Cubs fan.

(1) This is baseball. I have seen guys do awesome in the reg season and then slump in post. For a long time that was Bonds. They have the bats, but slumps can come at bad times and so could hit hitters on the opposing team.

(2) Lester and Hendricks have been great this year, but I don't think either are the great post season pitchers you want. Arieta has had his ups and downs. The rotation makes me nervous


Bottomline it is the MLB playoffs anything can and does happen. The best team on paper rarely is the one that wins it all.

The Pen will be the key for this postseason!

If the three main starters ( Lester, Hendricks and Arrieta ) get the team to the sixth inning then there is a good chance the Cubs will win it all...

Just do not let Hammels start!

Rotation is Lester, Hendricks, Arieta and Lackey.

Maybe I am a nervous Cubs fan, but that rotation doesn't excite me.

I believe that is the seven game series rotation but in the five game set against the Giants Lackey should not be needed... No matter what Hammels should not get on the mound unless the Cubs are up by 100 runs and it is the last pitch in the ninth inning of game four in a sweep of the World Series and even then I would not let Hammels pitch and let Grandpa Rossy toss the last pitch!

Also Lester is good, and I believe Hendricks will be good for six innings... Arrieta is the one I have questions about and if I were in Joe shoes I might go with Lackey before Arrieta...

I believe it is the year of the Cubs and if they win this nation will erupt louder than when the Red Sox or White Sox won their World Series... ( Then again only the drunk skid row prostitutes on the South Side of Chi-town only cared about the South Side bums... )

yeah if the Cubs win it all,the white sox winning the world series will seem like just small potatoes.It would be bigger than even when the red sox won which was huge enough back then.

a lot of people here that are uneasy about the Cubs obviously did not read this link here that alex posted.

http://www.usmessageboard.com/posts/15303248/

one of the very good points in that link that made me feel very confidant this is their year is that this time they are not going in as wild card like last year so they had had a lot of time to rest and recuperate and get their mind in the right mindframe and their manager is as good as any in the business at getting them focused and preparing them.

The problem with the giants starting Buamgardner last night is they wont have him for friday night which is why I am confidant about them getting to the series this year. The other Giant pitchers they have are all just ordinary humans like us.Baum though is a beast who is at his best on the big stage.He is NOT human.the fact they dont have to face him for game one is HUGE for them.

 

[Treeshepherd]

This would be the Cubbies year if not for one fact~ the Giants have the blood of champions. Gillaspie's HR was the 3rd coming of of the same spirit that inhabited Travis Ishikawa and Cody Ross. It's an even numbered year, so the universe is aligned against all challengers. It's as simple as that.

 

[LA RAM FAN]

This would be the Cubbies year if not for one fact~ the Giants have the blood of champions. Gillaspie's HR was the 3rd coming of of the same spirit that inhabited Travis Ishikawa and Cody Ross. It's an even numbered year, so the universe is aligned against all challengers. It's as simple as that.

The thing I am very confidant of is like I said,they dont have to face Madison in the first game.the man from krypton.like i said,the other Giant pitchers are human.

Just so i dont end up with the possibility of having shit on my face like so many USMB posters here did by insisting the Rams would never come back to LA and being so angry about it,they throw temper tantrems in defeat on it all the time when I ask them -what was it you were saying about the Rams never coming back to LA?.

Just to avoid the possibility of having shit on my face like they all do here,lol

,I take back what I said before about people being a bunch of idiots saying they would lose in the first round. I said that BEFORE the Giants clinched a playoff spot as the date of the OP indicates.I never thought the Giants would make it back to the playoffs the way they played in the second half.

The Giants are the ONE team that I feared them facing.washington,the mets? the dodgers? any other national league team I saw being a breeze for them. Now they WERE idiots to say they would lose in the first round to THOSE teams,come on.


But the Giants have the playoff mojo and the cubs will do either one of two things.
One-show they are a great team and beat the Giants in no more than four games.
or two-choke and lose all three straight.there is no in between because this team is desperate and one of those two things WILL happen guaranteed because they are desperate to end the curse.

That being said,I love their chances friday night the fact they are facing Johhny Cuodo. He has shown that he falls apart and goes into meltdown mode when he starts playoff games on the ROAD.that he easily gets rattled when things dont go his way.

the playoff start against the pirates when he was with the Reds,the loud crowd totally affected his pitching performance that night.

last year on the road against the Blue Jays? same result.He went into meltdown mode.

Thank God the Cubs have home field advantage because their crowd is on par with the Pirates as being loud and disruptive. He is hardly Madison Baumgardner who doesnt let anything rattle him and tunes out lous boiterous crowds that mock you.HE lets it affect his performance.

If the game was in SF,then i would be worried.Chicago? not one bit.

If the Giants can steal a game in the windy city,"would probably be saturday night if they did for the obvious reason Jonnhy gets rattled on the road." IF they can steal a game in chicago which i dont see happening,THEN I will be worried.

Kinda like how we keep hearing that the Raiders will move to vegas.i will believe it when i actually SEE it and the facts coming out is that is a million to one long shot.

 

[Treeshepherd]

Cincy and KC were all full of Ned Flanders types. Now, Cueto is chilling out like a true Rastaman in SF. He's all settled down and laid back and irie for game 1.

 

[LA RAM FAN]

Cincy and KC were all full of Ned Flanders types. Now, Cueto is chilling out like a true Rastaman in SF. He's all settled down and laid back and irie for game 1.

I'll believe it when i see it.lol

I like this article here.I totally agree with this guy.If they have to face Baumgarder at any point when the game is close,I dont think they can win because I disagree with this writer,the guy is just simply not human.
He could very well beat the Cubs all by himself and thats what it WILL take.

damn for some reason i cant post the link-just google in "can madison baumgardner beat the cubs singlehandedly?" and you will see the link I am talking about.

 

[toxicmedia]

No,they will lose in the first round

To the Giants

 

[Treeshepherd]

Toronto is destroying Texas. Is Cole Hamels really the ace of the Rangers?

 

[Treeshepherd]

I gotta say something about Big Papi. 48 doubles, 38 whammies, leads the AL in RBI, hits .315. Amazing upon amazing farewell year and he's not even done yet.

 

[LA RAM FAN]

bad news again for my Cubs and here is why now I am not as confidant as before. Baumbarger COULD go for saturdays game and then game five.I just cant bet against him because I really think he really CAN beat them singlehandledly.

more importantly though and something i was not aware of is that they are like 22 and 23 in getting clutch hits with two outs and behind behind.The Royals last year were very clutch and so were the Giants the year before.

damn this is not looking good for my Cubs.

 

[GHook93]

Cubs fans don't want to face it, but the rotation is an issue.

I mean the '03 Cubs had 3 headed monster of Prior, Wood and Zambrano. People forget how good those 3 were, because they all fell so hard so quick. Lester, Kendrick & Aierta doesn't have the same ring. The '03 rotation was far far superior.

The '16 pen might be their greatest strength, which was the '03 Cubs biggest liability. So it will be huge in the playoffs.

People will say that the '16 lineup will carry them unlike the '03 team and that it was superior to '03. No doubt this lineup is better, but how much better was it?

Lofton (came later in the year and was a solid lead off man. .327 BA and .388 OBB)
Grundz (was clutch in '03 with a .314 BA)
Sosa (still a 40-100 guy; juice or no juice people forget how great he was, since he was such an asshole)
Alou (.280 22-91 was not nearly as good as Rizzo, but still good)
ARam (was a stud for the '03 team)
Karros, Gonzalez and Miller (not that great)

I am just a skeptical fan I guess.

 

[LA RAM FAN]

if the cubs dont win tonights game,then they might as well throw in the white flag and forfiet the rest of their gamesi mean if you cant beat cuoto at HOME no less after they came off a widl card trip on the road,then you cant beat anybody.

 

[Treeshepherd]

I've always thought game 3 of a 7 gamer was the most important one to win. If a team is up 2-0, game three will either crush the 0-2 team or give them hope.

If it's tied 1-1, huge momentum goes to the winner of game 3.

 

[LA RAM FAN]

I've always thought game 3 of a 7 gamer was the most important one to win. If a team is up 2-0, game three will either crush the 0-2 team or give them hope.

If it's tied 1-1, huge momentum goes to the winner of game 3.

the cubs cannot afford to lose either of the first two games.They will have to win BOTH to advance to the NLC game because game three looms the inhuman Baumgardner and that will be their doom if they dont win BOTH games at home.

I feel very good about tonights game after reading this link.

Mega preview: Will Giants' even-year magic work on Cubs?

Lester is i think it said had a 1.45 era or something like that in his last 12 starts INCLUDING a 7 inning shut out performance against the giants in early september and cuoto and the rest of the giants other that Baum-"him not being human." they used up all their energy and gas in the tank they had to get to tonights game so i feel very confidant,they had the rest to get themselves focused.

Mega preview: Will Giants' even-year magic work on Cubs?

 

[Treeshepherd]

In today's era of luxury private jets I think we exaggerate the toll that travel takes on a team. The Giants won't be tired. Cueto will be rusty if anything from lack of use.

That being said, Wrigley is a small park with the ivy and everything. AT&T is sort of the opposite with a gigantic right field (triples alley). That's where familiarity favors the home team

 

[LA RAM FAN]

In today's era of luxury private jets I think we exaggerate the toll that travel takes on a team. The Giants won't be tired. Cueto will be rusty if anything from lack of use.

That being said, Wrigley is a small park with the ivy and everything. AT&T is sort of the opposite with a gigantic right field (triples alley). That's where familiarity favors the home team

CUBS WIN!! CUBS WIN!!!!

That link was correct.Lester was his usual brilliant self.

They have accomplished one of their goals they needed to do to advance to the next round winning the first game as i said they had to do but I am afraid even if they win tonight,they are just postponing the enevitable.

They should have no problem winning tonight facing the Giants pitcher they have to face tonight,it would be a MAJOR shocker if they lost tonight but come game three,they of course face the cyborg who is not human so that is a given they will lose that game and based on how the hitters hit like shit last night against cuoto and helped him big time chasing all these bad pitches,even though they will have Lester again to face them for game four,this time it will be in SF and having the crowd on the Giants side will be pivitol for them.

If the Cubs hitters come out and lay an egg again against cuout,it wont matter how good Lester pitches,low scoring games like that,the home field always has the advantage as the Cubs did last night so the Giants wiill more than likely be the one on the winning side of a 1-0 score for that game and then of course game five will be the cyborg again which the Cubs will lose again.you cant score more than one run against cuoto,what chance do they have against the cyborg?

The Cubs had their chances.when you can get to cuoto early and take advantage of him,he becomes unglued and rattled,but if you dont take advantage of his mistakes he was making like they were not,you allow him to get into a groove and he is tough then.

their bats better come alive next time they face him,but it looks liek the curse will live on,wait till next year.

 

[LA RAM FAN]

this writer says the same thing i been saying that they got to win those first two games at home since they would have to face the cyborg for the final game.
I like what he says that this cubs teams seems different than that that horrible 2003 jinxed game with that cubs fan ruining it all for them or the painful pinella years where they could not win a game in the post season.Like he says so well,this team just seems to have a toughness those other teams did not have. Lets hope.

Cubs Need to Win First Two Games at Wrigley Field

 

[Treeshepherd]

Another nailbiter last night for the Giants. Once in a while Samardzija pitches a good game. Hopefully that can happen tonight.

 

[LA RAM FAN]

Another nailbiter last night for the Giants. Once in a while Samardzija pitches a good game. Hopefully that can happen tonight.

as i said,you have nothing to worry about.the cubs just delayed the inevitable.they were swinging at everything in the world going after pitches way out of the strike zone and in the dirt not even making johhny work the fucking bastards. not till late in the game.

while they wont have any problem going up 2-0 tonight,after that,they will do what they did in 84 against the padres.,win their first two games then lose three in a row the fact they will face the cyborg twice after that then johnny again.scoring ONE RUN in SF against johnny wont get it done next time around.

this is what i say to those mother fucker cub hitters who kept swinging at everything he threw-