GDT 9/19/15-Cardinals (Wacha) @ Cubs (Wood) 12:05 CDT

[fanforever]

The Cards simply can't match the Cubs lineup depth and the offense is so feeble they can't even get the job done against Wood or Cahill. I would love to believe this is a mirage...but I don't see it.

Cardinals are 24th in runs and the middle of their order has no home run power. It's incredibly difficult to keep winning this way. What they've done this season is incredible.

True Dat....some people need to read up on the 69 Mets....you can win a championship with great pitching

[Magneto2.0]

Cubs offense isn't that good either. They're middle of the pack in pretty much everything. We're basically neck and neck with them in wOBA and wRC+. They've scored 40 more runs then us, but they also didn't have arguably their two of their 3 best offensive players (Holliday and Grichuk) and another everyday player (Adams) miss so much time either.

They're not exactly the Bluejays themselves.

[MinorLeagueGuy]

I don't find it to be an overreaction to believe the Cubs have surpassed the Cardinals...even if they do get Grichuk/Holliday back. The Cubs have a more dynamic lineup and if the starting pitching falters or if they need a bullpen game they STILL win. They are 40-21 since the ASB despite Jason Hammel, Kyle Hendricks and Daren Haren posting 5.43, 5.29 and 5.00 ERAs respectively. Jake Arrieta has a 0.95 ERA in the 2nd half and there are only 2 pitchers in the NL who are on his level. Both play in LA. The Cubs sat Fowler, Schwarber, Coghlan and Russell today and still pounded Wacha.

The Cards simply can't match the Cubs lineup depth and the offense is so feeble they can't even get the job done against Wood or Cahill. I would love to believe this is a mirage...but I don't see it.

Different stratosphere

[Magneto2.0]

I don't find it to be an overreaction to believe the Cubs have surpassed the Cardinals...even if they do get Grichuk/Holliday back. The Cubs have a more dynamic lineup and if the starting pitching falters or if they need a bullpen game they STILL win. They are 40-21 since the ASB despite Jason Hammel, Kyle Hendricks and Daren Haren posting 5.43, 5.29 and 5.00 ERAs respectively. Jake Arrieta has a 0.95 ERA in the 2nd half and there are only 2 pitchers in the NL who are on his level. Both play in LA. The Cubs sat Fowler, Schwarber, Coghlan and Russell today and still pounded Wacha.

The Cards simply can't match the Cubs lineup depth and the offense is so feeble they can't even get the job done against Wood or Cahill. I would love to believe this is a mirage...but I don't see it.

The Cubs have a slightly better lineup, Cubs have a better 1-2 punch, but the Cardinals have more depth in the rotation, and Cardinals have a better bullpen. I don't think there's much separation between the Cards/Cubs/Pirates, if any at all. Hell, honestly, I think all the teams in the NL playoffs this season Dodgers, Mets, Cards. Cubs, Pirates are pretty much all equal. I don't see any big difference between the 5. Some might be better in categories then others, but yeah. At full strength, I think the Cards/Pirates are probably the two best teams top to bottom, but the other teams might be more dynamic offensively or just have a stronger 1-2 punch in the rotation then the Cards and Pirates.

[go birds]

Cubs offense isn't that good either. They're middle of the pack in pretty much everything. We're basically neck and neck with them in wOBA and wRC+. They've scored 40 more runs then us, but they also didn't have arguably their two of their 3 best offensive players (Holliday and Grichuk) and another everyday player (Adams) miss so much time either.

They're not exactly the Bluejays themselves.

40 runs is about 40 games worth of runs for us

[Magneto2.0]

Cubs offense isn't that good either. They're middle of the pack in pretty much everything. We're basically neck and neck with them in wOBA and wRC+. They've scored 40 more runs then us, but they also didn't have arguably their two of their 3 best offensive players (Holliday and Grichuk) and another everyday player (Adams) miss so much time either.

They're not exactly the Bluejays themselves.

40 runs is about 40 games worth of runs for us

Lack of homerun power really hurts the offense. I really want us to get Chris Davis but I don't see it happening.

[dmarx114]

The difference in the approach at the plate between the cards and Cubs is staggering. The Cubs grind out every at bat while the cards are way more aggressive early in the count.

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

Yeah the cardinals are terrible baseball wise and the Cubs are the baseball Einsteins...hence the recent success. Amazing how stupid one organization can be while the other one is so good. Wish I was rooting for the successful guys for once.

[Magneto2.0]

Yeah the cardinals are terrible baseball wise and the Cubs are the baseball Einsteins...hence the recent success. Amazing how stupid one organization can be while the other one is so good. Wish I was rooting for the successful guys for once.

Lol I love how a team 5 games worse then us are world beaters and we stink.

[davhern]

Cubs offense isn't that good either. They're middle of the pack in pretty much everything. We're basically neck and neck with them in wOBA and wRC+. They've scored 40 more runs then us, but they also didn't have arguably their two of their 3 best offensive players (Holliday and Grichuk) and another everyday player (Adams) miss so much time either.

They're not exactly the Bluejays themselves.

Check the second half numbers after being very poor in the first half (bottom 10 in just about everything, IIRC). They've really come into their own, plus the addition of Schwarber.