Cubs

[winonsports]

Yes, when the Cardinals lose two of their regulars, including arguably their best hitter, and don't face our best SP it is clear that the Cubs have a better lineup and better pitching.

Cubs have won 2 series from winning teams in their last 10 series and both of those were the Reds. They've lost 6 and split 2.

I don't want to be that guy, and I know the Cardinals have a better record vs winning teams, but how many games have the Cards made up in the standings over that period of time?

[Cranny]

They have a much better lineup with players who produce. And they have a much better pitching staff. Cardinals are playing second fiddle.

How sad.

But not inaccurate.

A weak opinion only.

[scoutyjones2]

They have a much better lineup with players who produce. And they have a much better pitching staff. Cardinals are playing second fiddle.

Yes they swept the cardinals in a humiliating fashion oh wait they only split it

But which team would you put your money on during a seven-game series?

The team I root for. The Cards. What a maroon

Never put your money on the team you root for. That’s terrible emotional risk management.

I don't bet money ever...but I don't find the Scrubs a better team.

[WLTFE]

They have a much better lineup with players who produce. And they have a much better pitching staff. Cardinals are playing second fiddle.

Be careful. .you'll be called a spoiled fan!

[Futuregm2]

They have a much better lineup with players who produce. And they have a much better pitching staff. Cardinals are playing second fiddle.

They do have a better lineup, and more power, especially. They have two very good starters, both LH - Imanaga and Boyd. Unfortunately the Cardinals had to face both in this series. Their other starters are no better than the Cardinals' bottom 3.

Their best relievers are looking decent right now, but I don't consider them to be superior to the Cardinals' Helsley, Maton, Romero, Leahy, and O'Riley.

Cubs are where they are now basically without their top 3 in the rotation for most of the year from last year (Steel, Shota, and Assad). Getting Shota back is big.

And if you think Helsley is better than Palencia, I don't know what to tell you. Helsley has 5 blown saves to 1 for Palencia. Whip- Palencia is even 1.00 while Helsley is 1.46. Batters are hitting .184 vs Palencia while hitting .266 vs Helsley. Yeah, Helsley has had more opportunity for saves, but mainly because the Cubs let Hodge and Pressley close early and they also have a lot of blowout wins (cubs +100 in runs, vs the Cards +30) so less opportunities.
Palencia has been dayam good.

I do agree that Maton and Romero have been good, but so has Hodge, Pomerantz, and Theilbar. I have no explanation for how Pomerantz has a .88 whip and a zero ERA or Theilbar's .94 whip

Cubs and Cardinals both have 25 “blowout” (baseball reference classifies it as games that are 5+ run difference) games. And Cardinals are slightly better in those games (17-8) than the Cubs (16-9).

[Futuregm2]

As of June 23rd, the Cubs have the 9th best bullpen ERA at 3.53. And they improved it in this series. The Cards were 16th at 3.94. So yeah, the Cubs have had the better bullpen and it passes the eye test also. Other than Shota and Boyd, I do think the Cards have the better starting staff due to injury. I would be shocked if the Cubs didn't add a top of the rotation pitcher at the deadline. They have the assets to get that done.

Hitting-wise, the Cubs had one of the best offenses in the first quarter of the season and we're averaging a ridiculous 6 runs per game. That wasn't sustainable obviously. But overall, they are top 5 in most metrics and the Cards are mostly top 10 except in two very important stats... Slug and OPS.

So it's not a credible argument to say the Cards are a better overall team - at this point in the season. It is a long season however.

Cubs bullpen has the worst K/9 in baseball, is 11th in BB/9, 24th in K/BB ratio, and 13th in batting average against. Their WHIP is 13th in the game. Yet all of that said, they are 5th lowest in ERA. So I wouldn’t say it really “passes the eye test”. To this point they have been fortunate.

[CCard]

They have a much better lineup with players who produce. And they have a much better pitching staff. Cardinals are playing second fiddle.

Clearly they are the better team, though the better team still can lose. But the Cards could have signed Shota and chose to cheap out. Pitching wins, always has, always will.

[Cranny]

They have a much better lineup with players who produce. And they have a much better pitching staff. Cardinals are playing second fiddle.

Clearly they are the better team, though the better team still can lose. But the Cards could have signed Shota and chose to cheap out. Pitching wins, always has, always will.

"Cheap out"? Do you understand what's going on in the industry?

[CCard]

They have a much better lineup with players who produce. And they have a much better pitching staff. Cardinals are playing second fiddle.

Clearly they are the better team, though the better team still can lose. But the Cards could have signed Shota and chose to cheap out. Pitching wins, always has, always will.

"Cheap out"? Do you understand what's going on in the industry?

Yeah, that only affects the Cards, right? Other teams manage to sign talent but here you are defending the penny pinching Cards ownership. Good job.

[scoutyjones2]

They have a much better lineup with players who produce. And they have a much better pitching staff. Cardinals are playing second fiddle.

Clearly they are the better team, though the better team still can lose. But the Cards could have signed Shota and chose to cheap out. Pitching wins, always has, always will.

According to you, Shota has no say in where he signed...

[CCard]

They have a much better lineup with players who produce. And they have a much better pitching staff. Cardinals are playing second fiddle.

Clearly they are the better team, though the better team still can lose. But the Cards could have signed Shota and chose to cheap out. Pitching wins, always has, always will.

According to you, Shota has no say in where he signed...

I expect a post like that from you. The Cards had him in town and could have made him a great offer and he would have signed most likely. Instead they slow walked him and didn't offer him a great deal and the rest is history. He went over to the Cubs and they signed him. Any more brilliant dialogue?

[Futuregm2]

They have a much better lineup with players who produce. And they have a much better pitching staff. Cardinals are playing second fiddle.

Clearly they are the better team, though the better team still can lose. But the Cards could have signed Shota and chose to cheap out. Pitching wins, always has, always will.

According to you, Shota has no say in where he signed...

I expect a post like that from you. The Cards had him in town and could have made him a great offer and he would have signed most likely. Instead they slow walked him and didn't offer him a great deal and the rest is history. He went over to the Cubs and they signed him. Any more brilliant dialogue?

They didn’t “slow” walk him, if anything they worked too aggressively in the offseason. Imanaga didn’t sign with the Cubs until mid January. By that point they had signed Gray, Lynn, and Gibson. They obviously felt like he’d either get more money or that he wasn’t really wanting to come to St. Louis.

[CCard]

They have a much better lineup with players who produce. And they have a much better pitching staff. Cardinals are playing second fiddle.

Clearly they are the better team, though the better team still can lose. But the Cards could have signed Shota and chose to cheap out. Pitching wins, always has, always will.

According to you, Shota has no say in where he signed...

I expect a post like that from you. The Cards had him in town and could have made him a great offer and he would have signed most likely. Instead they slow walked him and didn't offer him a great deal and the rest is history. He went over to the Cubs and they signed him. Any more brilliant dialogue?

They didn’t “slow” walk him, if anything they worked too aggressively in the offseason. Imanaga didn’t sign with the Cubs until mid January. By that point they had signed Gray, Lynn, and Gibson. They obviously felt like he’d either get more money or that he wasn’t really wanting to come to St. Louis.

LOL...Did he leave town without an offer? Yes. Did they go out and get two bandaids instead of signing him, the two bandaids are gone and he's still top tier pitching for the Cubs. Right? After he left town without a contract, he went to the Cubs, right? They obviously felt like going cheap. They went cheap and now we see the results. Right? Stop making excuses for poor ownership decisions. The facts aren't "fake news". They never were.

[Futuregm2]

They have a much better lineup with players who produce. And they have a much better pitching staff. Cardinals are playing second fiddle.

Clearly they are the better team, though the better team still can lose. But the Cards could have signed Shota and chose to cheap out. Pitching wins, always has, always will.

According to you, Shota has no say in where he signed...

I expect a post like that from you. The Cards had him in town and could have made him a great offer and he would have signed most likely. Instead they slow walked him and didn't offer him a great deal and the rest is history. He went over to the Cubs and they signed him. Any more brilliant dialogue?

They didn’t “slow” walk him, if anything they worked too aggressively in the offseason. Imanaga didn’t sign with the Cubs until mid January. By that point they had signed Gray, Lynn, and Gibson. They obviously felt like he’d either get more money or that he wasn’t really wanting to come to St. Louis.

LOL...Did he leave town without an offer? Yes. Did they go out and get two bandaids instead of signing him, the two bandaids are gone and he's still top tier pitching for the Cubs. Right? After he left town without a contract, he went to the Cubs, right? They obviously felt like going cheap. They went cheap and now we see the results. Right? Stop making excuses for poor ownership decisions. The facts aren't "fake news". They never were.

He made less money than either Gibson or Lynn last season and less the last 2 seasons than those two pitchers combined last season.

I saw on baseball reference that he has both a team option and a player option for 2026, does that mean he could be a FA after this year if he declined the player option?

[JDW]

The Cubs current OF stable of Tucker, PCA, Happ and Suzuki is pretty darn good, I'll give them that.

[scoutyjones2]

They have a much better lineup with players who produce. And they have a much better pitching staff. Cardinals are playing second fiddle.

Clearly they are the better team, though the better team still can lose. But the Cards could have signed Shota and chose to cheap out. Pitching wins, always has, always will.

According to you, Shota has no say in where he signed...

I expect a post like that from you. The Cards had him in town and could have made him a great offer and he would have signed most likely. Instead they slow walked him and didn't offer him a great deal and the rest is history. He went over to the Cubs and they signed him. Any more brilliant dialogue?

I stand by my statement. Shota makes a decision too. I can only explain it to you, I can't make you understand.

You make massive ASSumptions of what did/didn't/could have happened...