Cleveland Cubs

[Circa]

After numerous years of mediocrity, two teams are vying for the crown of best In the land of BASEBALL! Imagine that you millennials. Why there hasn't been a thread already created for this. I'm perplexed.

I was In my car as an 18-year-old driving from Nebraska to Ohio listening to the radio as Omar Vizquel sat in the dug-out depressed after game7. This Is why sports are great at times when ya need em.

 

[Circa]

and they said Perez was a bad hitter....

 

[Southside Sully]

Kluber and miller tough to beat that solid outing

 

[Circa]

Kluber and miller tough to beat that solid outing

Miller is a Killer! That lefty with the Slider .

 

[Circa]

1-0 Indians!

 

[Southside Sully]

 

[Circa]

I wouldn't go that far;. Cleveland hasn't lost yet in the post-season.

 

[bluengold4732]

Definitely had our opportunities with both Miller and Kluber. Man on second no outs...bases loaded no outs...just didn't get anyone home. You can't win if you don't score. Only game 1 though...Kershaw and Jansen did the same thing in game two and then...?

 

[Southside Sully]

This might be better for today....

 

[Southside Sully]

I wouldn't go that far;. Cleveland hasn't lost yet in the post-season.

False they lost against Toronto

 

[bluengold4732]

I wouldn't go that far;. Cleveland hasn't lost yet in the post-season.

They lost game 4 against Toronto I believe

 

[Circa]

done!

 

[Circa]

False they lost against Toronto

did they? Maybe the ump found the zone in that 1

 

[ulukinatme]

They lost game 4 against Toronto I believe

Yeah, my fault there.

 

[Crazy Balki]

After numerous years of mediocrity, two teams are vying for the crown of best In the land of BASEBALL! Imagine that you millennials. Why there hasn't been a thread already created for this. I'm perplexed.

I was In my car as an 18-year-old driving from Nebraska to Ohio listening to the radio as Omar Vizquel sat in the dug-out depressed after game7. This Is why sports are great at times when ya need em.

Speak for yourself.

ND (2-5 - Expected to contend for a playoff sport or NY6 bowl bid; Instead are just trying to make a bowl game)

Bears (1-6 - Likely missing playoffs for 6th straight season)

White Sox (78-84 - Missed playoffs for 8th straight year and 4th straight losing season)

Blackhawks (3-3-1 - sport an embarrassingly bad PK and got ousted in the 1st round last season)

Bulls (Missed the playoffs for the first time since 2007 and lord knows what mess they'll turn out to be this year given my luck)

At this point, I'd like for any of my sports to be slightly above mediocre, much less great.

 

[military_irish]

I was starting to wonder if the Indians tried to intentionally walk the Cubs, if it would still have been called a strikeout. The strike zone was ridiculous.

 

[dang227]

I was starting to wonder if the Indians tried to intentionally walk the Cubs, if it would still have been called a strikeout. The strike zone was ridiculous.

A lot of whining from Cubs fans today. It worked both ways last night. There were Lester pitches called strikes that were not even close too. The inconsistency has been like this the whole playoffs from what I have seen. Last night was a must win for the Indians but not necessarily for the Cubs.

 

[military_irish]

A lot of whining from Cubs fans today. It worked both ways last night. There were Lester pitches called strikes that were not even close too. The inconsistency has been like this the whole playoffs from what I have seen. Last night was a must win for the Indians but not necessarily for the Cubs.

It was inconsistent most of the night for both teams but had a strong favorable lean for the Indians early on. Until Lester got in the umps ear.

Not really going to use that as an excuse for the loss because the Cubs could have still won with the 7th and 8th inning runners in scoring position but the bats just weren't there.

 

[irishfanjho15]

Final PitchF/X numbers for HP Larry Vanover: 107/110 Balls + 65/67 Strikes = 172/177 = 97.2%. +1 CHC

Just for reference. Vanover was damn near perfect last night. And I am a diehard Cubs fan.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Kluber was filthy. He did get the benefit of some of the inside corner left handed hitter strikes. That made him unhittable. He's got so much run on the sinker...not sure what you do except tip your hat.

But he can't pitch tonight. So that's good.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Also...Schwarber...dang. What a hitter.

 

[ACamp1900]

Final PitchF/X numbers for HP Larry Vanover: 107/110 Balls + 65/67 Strikes = 172/177 = 97.2%. +1 CHC

Just for reference. Vanover was damn near perfect last night. And I am a diehard Cubs fan.

From a neutral standpoint (I am going for Cleveland but it's not like I'm a fan or am against the Cubs or anything)... I was very disappointed in all the talk about balls and strikes on the way to work today... historic series, great first game, let's make a faux controversy and ignore real story lines... ugh

 

[Wild Bill]

Also...Schwarber...dang. What a hitter.

I read somewhere that Miller only walked one left handed batter all year and Schwarber battled him to a walk in the 7th. That was an impressive at bat for a guy who hasn't played in months, and has likely never seen a slider like that in his entire life.

 

[Southside Sully]

Final PitchF/X numbers for HP Larry Vanover: 107/110 Balls + 65/67 Strikes = 172/177 = 97.2%. +1 CHC

Just for reference. Vanover was damn near perfect last night. And I am a diehard Cubs fan.

This - Smoltz did a good job during the game showing why Millers looked like strikes but were actually balls too. Its where it crosses the plate, and he did a great job of balls/strikes last night.

 

[bobbyok1]

Cubs fan for life here.

Sucks to lose anytime. And I was very frustrated last night watching the game. I have no idea how the series will shake out. But I wanted to offer some things I thought were positives and get some feedback.

1. Schwarber can play ball, even if he is rusty. The double off the wall off of Kluber was nice. But the walk was equally good in my opinion. Think he stays in lineup so long as he doesn't struggle going forward.

2. We had guys on base against their best, Kluber and Miller. We simply did not capitalize when we had the chance.

3. Looks like our gameplan was the long road approach hoping to wear down their strongest. We took a ton of first pitch strikes from Kluber who ended up throwing 88 pitches (not a ton). Same or similar approach we had with Kershaw. Then in game 6 we attacked more. I was frustrated thinking "why are we laying off these first pitch strikes?!" Then I remember the Dodgers series. Not saying this is the approach but if so we also got Miller to throw 46 pitches. Seeing how Francona has already said Kluber is going games 1,4,7 if necessary, I think it is a good overall approach since we do have the better rotation overall.

4. Personally I think Maddon threw out Grimm and Rondon to see what they had in the moment early in the series. They are the bullpens liabilities at this point, so makes sense to me to see if they are going to step up. Neither looked very good. I don't think we'll see Rondon again unless we are up big. He just hasn't looked himself since we returned from injury. Grimm might not see important action either based on his outing. So, as bad as those guys were in their outings, I think Joe knows what he has now in the pen for this series, and they are not it. Not saying he wasn't trying to win in the moment, but Joe was planning for future games in my opinion.

5. Maddon seemed less than concerned in the post-game interview.

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[ACamp1900]

Cleveland was supposed to win last night,...

It would have been a MUCH bigger deal for Cleveland if they had lost than it now is for Chicago.

I wouldn't even worry if I were Chicago. Even if they lose tonight it's not panic time IMO (although that would mean they'll have to win a game that Kluber starts at some point).

 

[BobbyMac]

I read somewhere that Miller only walked one left handed batter all year and Schwarber battled him to a walk in the 7th. That was an impressive at bat for a guy who hasn't played in months, and has likely never seen a slider like that in his entire life.

You're right. They sat Schwarber in both games last year vs. Sale but I did see him get a couple of hits off Kershaw in spring training this year. Those are the only two sliders I'd say that are consistently as filthy as Miller's.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

I'm not at all making the argument that the Cubs lost because of the umpire. There were certainly times I thought Kluber was getting the benefit of both sides of the plate (i.e., starting it inside and letting it break over the inside of the plate and starting it on the outside corner and having it run off the plate and still being called a strike). But, no, that wasn't the cause of the loss. He was filthy.

But I am curious why people are so against using the electronic strike zone. Can anyone jump in to help me understand? The argument this morning is that the umpire was right most of the time (I've seen conflicting reports, but somewhere around 93%). If we're using the computer to grade (and sometimes reprimand) umps, why aren't we just using the computer?

ETA: From a personal standpoint, the computer has made me a more reasonable fan. If I get frustrated about balls and strikes, I wait for the replay (unless they have it up all the time, which I love). When I see that it hit the box, I accept that the umpire was right and I was wrong.

 

[BobbyMac]

I'm not at all making the argument that the Cubs lost because of the umpire. There were certainly times I thought Kluber was getting the benefit of both sides of the plate (i.e., starting it inside and letting it break over the inside of the plate and starting it on the outside corner and having it run off the plate and still being called a strike). But, no, that wasn't the cause of the loss. He was filthy.

But I am curious why people are so against using the electronic strike zone. Can anyone jump in to help me understand? The argument this morning is that the umpire was right most of the time (I've seen conflicting reports, but somewhere around 93%). If we're using the computer to grade (and sometimes reprimand) umps, why aren't we just using the computer?

The purists say that what makes a great pitcher is how they react to the strikezone that the ump sets each game. I agree 100%.

The other thing to remember about the pitch tracker is it's just a 2 dimensional square. It needs to be a 3D cube. They have the tech to show it as such. I watched the game with a bunch of fans and the pitch tracker makes it impossible to enjoy yourself. Everyone is b!tch!ng because they don't understand the game at that level.

 

[Booslum31]

I was starting to wonder if the Indians tried to intentionally walk the Cubs, if it would still have been called a strikeout. The strike zone was ridiculous.

Even though I'm pulling for the Tribe (big time), There were some strike/ball calls lastnight that had me scratching my head.