Miller killed us in that D-Backs game.

That pitch he threw to tie it and send that game to 19, which then cost us the next game as well, was just so damn bad.

And it sure as hell looked like a simple temper tantrum. The guy absolutely could not get the low strike called on his slider so he just piped one. He gave into the batter/umpire rather than keep grinding.

And yeah, Gant and Fernandez were brutal against Milwaukee when we had a chance to put a boot on their throats.

But hey - to the "God! Why can't we just cut Martinez already!!" crowd - the common thread in the 2 worst losses we had over the last 2 weeks is that Carlos was unavailable. Maybe step back from the ledge and Carlos - m'kay? He's been a HUGE part of this surge.
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That's what I thought.

Can't fix stupid, I guess. Then again, I suppose it's probably better to just ask the special children to stay in the shallow end. You'll just hurt yourself trying to swim with the big kids anyway.

Probably a smart decision...
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The postseason will sort everything out. I could use a ton of words that mean nothing like evaluating the Clark trade hilariously wrong (lulls) and defend that stance to the death...Or watch it play out. Pretty simple.
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But hey the Cubs shitting the bed sure helped pick up a few of those unexpected wins, so there's that
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Because Milwaukee hasn't gotten to play any shit teams during their streak I suppose.

The Cards have the best record in the NL and I believe the 2nd best record in MLB since the ASB regardless of how much you want to complain about mediocre.

I mean sure that's only a half a season sample size. :-)
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I'm with PGM. Seems that Pujols, TLR, and Jeff Luhnow took everyone's balls on the way out.
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It's hard to replace a once in a generation player and a hall of fame manager.
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Wow
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And who’s surprised that a soft tossing pitcher befuddles the Cardinals?

Brewers down by 6. We need this win to finish this off tomorrow so we don’t have to Pitch Flaherty on Sunday.
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Ian Happ sucks. How do you give up a home run to him, he is worse Kyle Schwarber.
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Meanwhile Colorado is crushing the Brewers, we NEED this fucking win.
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Same way you give one up to Tyler O'Neill, by ignoring they are automatic outs on anything above the belt.
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Do you have any sense of Cards postseason history? Sure, we could go out one and done. However we already have won 7 more regular season games than the2006 squad and the 2011 squad won 90. I’ll take getting in any year over not because it is about getting hot at the right time.
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Man, where the fuck is Jobu when you need him?



Bats are definitely afraid.
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Thoughts on the following article???

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/...k11eocghth88xf




Go ahead, Cubs. Fire (or simply don't renew) Joe Maddon, one of the best managers you’ve ever had.

Go ahead, Cubs fans. Celebrate Maddon's dismissal as if it would resolve any of the foundational problems afflicting your favorite team.

Then watch the skipper burnish his already elite legacy elsewhere and pray his replacement can oversee half the success you’ve enjoyed since 2015.

Chicago at its best under Maddon won its first World Series since 1908. It also made a pair of NLCS appearances. The Cubs at their worst under Maddon have gone 177-142 between 2018 and 2019 — better than almost any two-year span his predecessors supervised. Despite those achievements, it appears the franchise will let him go in the coming weeks.

Consecutive underwhelming Septembers on Maddon’s watch have been a bad look, and there is some legitimacy to criticism there. The Cubs are 25-24 in the final month of the past two campaigns.

But placing a majority of the blame for that on a man parked in the dugout would be unfair. Lineup orders for the most part don’t matter. Bullpen management with this crop of relievers is Russian roulette. And if a clubhouse filled with veterans needs a better babysitter, well, maybe that's reflective of their own shortcomings.

Media relations, meanwhile, have long been Maddon's strong suit, his quirky personality and passion for the history of the game generally endearing to reporters accustomed to combative personalities.

When modern managers win, their success is regularly attributed to shrewd front-office moves and player performance. When they lose, they often take a disproportionate share of the blame. Those responses should not exist in the same baseball-watching universe. They’ve been taken to the extreme in Chicago.

Perhaps Maddon has been blessed by more on-field talent than anyone who came before him. Javier Baez, Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo are certainly phenomenal. Perhaps the urgency to win in baseball has become greater than ever before. Elsewhere, the Red Sox just dismissed team president Dave Dombrowski less than a year after winning the World Series.

Even under those premises, though, one would think Maddon is at least deserving of a more respectful exit given his accomplishments. The Cubs after all do not have the historic success to warrant the crazed expectations of the Yankees, Cardinals or Dodgers. They are barely on the level of the Tigers and Pirates in that regard, for goodness sake. And, by and large, they’ve been great with their current leader at the helm.

Should he leave, which appears increasingly likely, Maddon’s legacy will go untarnished for two reasons: His replacement is unlikely to surpass his success, which would emphasize his own contributions, and he will have the opportunity to lead a turnaround at a third franchise, a feat few managers in baseball history have accomplished.

Taking over the talented young Padres, for instance, could be a boon. San Diego hasn’t posted a winning season since 2010 and carries a comparatively laid back fan base, magnifying the possible credit a manager would receive for success there. Most of the roster is under team control through 2023 compared with the Cubs, who face difficult contract choices regarding Baez, Bryant, Rizzo and Kyle Schwarber after the 2021 campaign.

In some respects, the Padres job would be reminiscent of Maddon's time in Tampa Bay, when he was at the helm during the Rays’ quick rise from bottom-dweller to championship contender.

Good for Maddon if he gets to finish his managerial career in a place that won't scorch him at the first sign of trouble. He's on the path toward an eventual send-off akin to what Bruce Bochy and Ned Yost will receive this week. Maybe when that ceremony arrives, his detractors will realize how illogical their discourse toward him has been.
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