Cardinals at Cubs IST

[JosMin]

Damn it.

 

[beckdawg]

How the hell did that ball get through? Feel like Castro should have made that play.

 

[SilenceS]

How the hell did that ball get through? Feel like Castro should have made that play.

He was in the hole. He had no shot. Ozzie Smith may have had a shot.

 

[TL1961]

28 bouncer gets through. Damn.

 

[SilenceS]

Really bad managing by Renteria. He should have had a righty warm. Rondon was all over the place the entire inning. Just poor, poor managing.

 

[beckdawg]

He was in the hole. He had no shot. Ozzie Smith may have had a shot.

I didn't really see his positioning but it wasn't like the ball was smoked up the middle is all I meant.

 

[SilenceS]

I didn't really see his positioning but it wasn't like the ball was smoked up the middle is all I meant.

They have him playing in the hole when Molina bats. That was defensive positioning that allowed that ball to get through.

 

[JosMin]

Valbuena!!!!!!!!

One run game again!!!! Come on, I need a Rizzgasm tonight!

 

[JZsportsfan]

Valbuena or Bonifacio need to start every day at 2B. No more Barney. Maybe he just needs a change of scenery but we can't be having this horrid of production from an infielder while Valbueno or Bonifacio sits

 

[JZsportsfan]

Well 2/3 from the Cards is always nice. Perfect time to start another 3 game win streak. Really like what I have seen from the Cubs lately, aside from Rondon tonight. Just need to improve the bottom half of the order, Rizzo and Castro can't combine for 4-5 hits every night

 

[JosMin]

Tough way to end that game but we took two of three within the division -- I'll take it.

Another strong showing by Hammel. Definitely question Renteria's decision to keep Rondon in after getting his pitch count up... and the fact he pitched the two previous days. Should've had a righty and lefty up. Oh well, rookie manager mistakes. :dunno:

 

[zack54attack]

I hate Darwin Barney so much.

 

[JosMin]

I hate Darwin Barney so much.

He can go eat a shit sandwich.

 

[beckdawg]

Well 2/3 from the Cards is always nice. Perfect time to start another 3 game win streak. Really like what I have seen from the Cubs lately, aside from Rondon tonight. Just need to improve the bottom half of the order, Rizzo and Castro can't combine for 4-5 hits every night

I think Rondon was fine he was just in there too long and frankly even the Molina hit wasn't like a no doubter.

 

[SilenceS]

I think Rondon was fine he was just in there too long and frankly even the Molina hit wasn't like a no doubter.

He was wild. Even his outs, he was wild during those at bats. He clearly didnt have a good feel tonight, probably because of going 3 days straight but Renteria completely ignored it.

 

[Boobaby1]

He was wild. Even his outs, he was wild during those at bats. He clearly didnt have a good feel tonight, probably because of going 3 days straight but Renteria completely ignored it.

Probably wouldn't have hurt to have the Cubs muster up more than 5 hits all night, and a former AL pitcher had one of them with half the Cubs RBI's.

Renteria has done a good job considering the hand he was dealt.

 

[SilenceS]

Probably wouldn't have hurt to have the Cubs muster up more than 5 hits all night, and a former AL pitcher had one of them with half the Cubs RBI's.

Renteria has done a good job considering the hand he was dealt.

I saw that coming. Lance Lynn has the best avg against right handed hitters in the NL and maybe the whole league. We also put in Barney and Baker which is like automatic outs. You beat Lynn with lefties and Nate and Kalish arent world beaters by any means

 

[beckdawg]

I saw that coming. Lance Lynn has the best avg against right handed hitters in the NL and maybe the whole league. We also put in Barney and Baker which is like automatic outs. You beat Lynn with lefties and Nate and Kalish arent world beaters by any means

It would be interesting to see what kind of win total they'd have if they had a better bench. I'm considering Barney a bench player whether or not they do. Him and Baker are killing them. Granted they have others like Lake who aren't playing great but they aren't murdering the team the way those two are.

 

[JosMin]

Probably wouldn't have hurt to have the Cubs muster up more than 5 hits all night, and a former AL pitcher had one of them with half the Cubs RBI's.

Renteria has done a good job considering the hand he was dealt.

Renteria should get a large portion of the blame tonight. The Cubs drew six walks on top of their five hits and had opportunities to score runs, the bottom half of the order was atrocious. At this point, there is no reason for Barney to be out there. None. I understand Baker needs to be out there to spell Beef Castle, but there's no way Kottaras would've been worse then Baker offensively. My issue with Renteria stems for the ridiculous platoons that don't need to happen. You can't expect inexperienced players to get reps and gain continuity with the guys who're asked to play everyday if they aren't assured to get playing time. Whether it's a ploy to give everyone reps so they can build some kind of trade value or he truly feels like he's playing the averages, the young guys who're supposed foundational pieces need to be getting as much PT as possible. The team won't be making the playoffs, so why not maximize PT for Olt, Lake, etc?

Valbuena needs to be starting every day at second until Watkins or Alcantara gets a call-up. He draws walks, can hit fastball and isn't abhorrent defensively. Olt and Lake also need to be getting a majority of the starts. It seems like each guy goes through a cold spell, then when they're finally given another opportunity to play, they bust out of it. Olt, in particular, needs to be out there. He was a focal point in the Garza trade and they need to figure out fast what they have in him. It's only a matter of time before Bryant is up. We all know he'll get everyday time at third when the time is right.

 

[beckdawg]

The team won't be making the playoffs, so why not maximize PT for Olt, Lake, etc?

If he thinks that's what will help them win I can't blame him because Sveum wasn't supposed to make the playoffs either but that sure didn't stop them from canning his ass. I honestly don't care that much that Olt and Lake aren't starting daily. Lake generally is called on to pinch hit so he at least gets an AB nearly every day. What bothers me is that Barney sees as much action as he does. I suppose in turn that is stopping Olt since if they play Valbuena they are playing him a 3B.

I honestly think Olt's got maybe a month left to prove himself. If Alcantara and Baez are both up they are going to be starting and the only way that currently works is at 3B/2B unless they do something drastic like trading Castro which I don't see right away. I suppose it's possible they leave Baez down longer than is expected. But either way, Olt's not really long for the MLB roster IMO. He'll likely need to go down to AAA and mash and then will become a trade piece.