National League Wild Card: Cubs @ Pirates

[Seth Stohs]

After the Astros shutout the Yankees last night in Yankees Stadium, tonight the baseball attention is shifting to the National League. The Cubs will take on the Pittsburgh Pirates. Consider this one-game Wild Card game will be comprised of two teams with 97 or more wins.

 

It'll be a great pitching matchup too... Jake Arrieta, who has been the best pitcher in baseball in the second half, will take on Gerrit Cole in what should be a great pitchers' dual!

 

Feel free to discuss here.

[Squirrel]

All I can say is I'll be cheering on Pittsburgh! Sacrilege since I live in ChiTown ... and I'm not an anti-Cubs person, but ... I don't know ... I just want Pittsburgh to pull it out.

[Willihammer]

Lineups are up:

 

Cubs
Jake Arrieta ®

1. Dexter Fowler (S) CF
2. Kyle Schwarber (L) RF
3. Kris Bryant ® LF
4. Anthony Rizzo (L) 1B
5. Tommy La Stella (L) 3B
6. Starlin Castro ® 2B
7. Miguel Montero (L) C
8. Addison Russell ® SS
9. Jake Arrieta ® P

 

Pirates
Gerrit Cole ®

1. Gregory Polanco (L) RF
2. Josh Harrison ® 3B
3. Andrew McCutchen ® CF
4. Starling Marte ® LF
5. Francisco Cervelli ® C
6. Neil Walker (S) 2B
7. Jordy Mercer ® SS
8. Sean Rodriguez ® 1B
9. Gerrit Cole ® P

[Willihammer]

Did not realize Sean Rodriguez has logged 118 PAs as a first baseman for the Pirates.

[Comrade Bork]

So do we cheer for the Pirates so we can watch Florimon get a ring?

[Vanimal46]

Pirates leaving Alvarez on the bench in case if they need a late inning HR?

[twinsnorth49]

Yeah, so this Arrieta guy is pretty good eh?

[Monkeypaws]

Kevin Correia could dominate with a strike zone as big as the one the ump is giving Arrieta - he's ringing up guys on pitches 2 inches off the plate.

[TheLeviathan]

 

Yeah, so this Arrieta guy is pretty good eh?

 

He's no PJ Walters, but he's alright.

[Monkeypaws]

I'm starting to dislike Arrieta: I'd never heard of the guy, then tuned in about inning 6 for the no-hitter, discovered his history(poor Oriole fans), and he has been on an insane roll ever since.

 

However, he is the spit and image of a former douchebag college roommate.

 

Incredible dominance though.

 

Cubs caught fire in a bottle this time. This guy could do for them what Bumgarner did for the Giants.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

What did the Cubs do that Baltimore didn't? is what I'm wondering. A guy just doesn't suddenly flip a switch after he gets traded does he?

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

I was thinking Joe Maddon might pull a Matt Williams and take Arrieta from the game due to some preconceived wisdom about pitch count or matchups or something, alas no luck.

[twinsnorth49]

Cub fans haven't had anything to celebrate in any of their lifetimes. Literally no living person last saw the Cubs win.

 

How is that they're still really annoying?

[Monkeypaws]

 

Cub fans haven't had anything to celebrate in any of their lifetimes. Literally no living person last saw the Cubs win.

How is that they're still really annoying?

It can change - I lived in Boston 93-94. I remember a tshirt at the airport, "Boston Red Sox, 1918 World Series Champs." Funny at the time, but 3 championships later, yeah. White Sox, annoying as hell, won their WS too.

 

Remove incomprtence from the formula, and the Cubs seem poised for success at every level.

[Otto von Ballpark]

I hope they provide some compelling postseason games, but ultimately I think I want the Cubs to fall short again.  Now that they Red Sox have broken through, the Cubs underdog status is one of the few constants left in the baseball universe.

[biggentleben]

 

Cub fans haven't had anything to celebrate in any of their lifetimes. Literally no living person last saw the Cubs win.

How is that they're still really annoying?

 

They've had some very good teams fall just short over the years, so it's not like no fan has seen them win. They've just not seen a WS win.

[jimmer]

It feels wrong that of the teams with the 3 best records in baseball, only one can make it past the LDS.

[jimmer]

 

I hope they provide some compelling postseason games, but ultimately I think I want the Cubs to fall short again.  Now that they Red Sox have broken through, the Cubs underdog status is one of the few constants left in the baseball universe.

If the Cubs win the WS, Theo Epstein will have been the architect of both 'curses' being broken.  I like that story.

[twinsnorth49]

They've had some very good teams fall just short over the years, so it's not like no fan has seen them win. They've just not seen a WS win.

I'm talking about the WS.

[Purple Jesus]

So damn cool that the Cubs pulled that one off. Now onto the tough, rival Cards. We were pretty good against them in the second half. Hope we surprise some people, even though it may not be that surprising, and knock them out, too. this season is magic! GO CUBS!