Cubs (Smyly) vs Twins (Gray): 5/12/23 7:10pm, Apple TV+

[Brock Beauchamp]

It's another Friday night Apple TV+ game. I know it bothers some of you but you should really be in one of two camps here:

1. You're watching Ted Lasso and already have ATV+.

2. You don't have ATV+ and should be watching Ted Lasso.

At $7/mo, ATV+ is a banging deal to catch up on a variety of shows. It doesn't have a ton of content but what is there is of exceptional quality: Severance, Mythic Quest, Black Bird, Ted Lasso, and several other shows are absolutely worth a watch. I just finished Black Bird the other day and it's bloody outstanding.

As for the Cubs, don't sleep on this team. They're actually pretty good. Smyly is not only a lefty, he damned near pitched a perfect game a couple of weeks ago. Wesneski goes tomorrow and he's a very promising young arm. And Stroman closes out the series on Sunday. It's a formidable trio and the Twins luckily miss the Cubs' ace, Justin Steele.

As for the offense, it has holes but Cody Bellinger is back to beast mode. Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner are an outstanding top of the lineup. They recently recalled Mervis and Morel. This team is no longer a pushover. Their weak spots are probably their bullpen and their manager, David Ross. If you get annoyed with Baldelli, be thankful you're not a Cubs fan... which is why I often suggest fans go watch some other teams for awhile when they start railing on Baldelli non-stop. He just isn't that bad in the grand scheme of things.

The Cubs may be stumbling at an 18-19 record but their 25-12 BaseRuns record tells a very different story. This is a team that has backed into a ton of unlucky losses, they're a lot better than their record suggests.

[minnesotacubsfan]

GO CUBS!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[minnesotacubsfan]

I dont think many Cub fans thought this team was going to be very exciting this year. Swanson being the big FA name was less than who many of us wanted, aka Turner. But Belli has been a surprise, Hoerner is steady eddy, and the starting rotation has actually been solid. Missing Steele is a blessing for the Twins, absolutely. Ultimately, this years version of the Cubs has at least been entertaining to watch; they can quickly put up a 3 or 4 spot in an inning.

I think the biggest lost was watching Contreras go to the Stupid Louis Cardinals, but then again, he isnt beating the world down there either.  I hope the pressure of following Yawwwwnndi gets to him and his .6xx ops stays...forever....because that's all he had. He was never a game manager, always just a bat. sukkas took the WORST cub

anyway, i hope its a good series, Cheers to I-90/94 corridor!!

[Craig Arko]

3 minutes ago, minnesotacubsfan said:

I dont think many Cub fans thought this team was going to be very exciting this year. Swanson being the big FA name was less than who many of us wanted, aka Turner. But Belli has been a surprise, Hoerner is steady eddy, and the starting rotation has actually been solid. Missing Steele is a blessing for the Twins, absolutely. Ultimately, this years version of the Cubs has at least been entertaining to watch; they can quickly put up a 3 or 4 spot in an inning.

I think the biggest lost was watching Contreras go to the Stupid Louis Cardinals, but then again, he isnt beating the world down there either.  I hope the pressure of following Yawwwwnndi gets to him and his .6xx ops stays...forever....because that's all he had. He was never a game manager, always just a bat. sukkas took the WORST cub

anyway, i hope its a good series, Cheers to I-90/94 corridor!!

I know next to nothing about the Cubs, and look forward to finding out. Hopefully finding out as the Twins defeat them, but it’s baseball, you never know.

[Brock Beauchamp]

22 minutes ago, minnesotacubsfan said:

GO CUBS!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[USAFChief]

More of this AppleTV ********??

 

Boooooooooo!!!

[minnesotacubsfan]

3 minutes ago, Craig Arko said:

I know next to nothing about the Cubs, and look forward to finding out. Hopefully finding out as the Twins defeat them, but it’s baseball, you never know.

they may beat up the Cobs (as we like to call them when they flounder), and yet the Twinkies might get rolled. Hopefully, its just close games all weekend, like 10-1, 8-3, 5-0 all Cubs wins!

 

 

[I wish the twins were good]

I watched the Apple broadcast last week. Seemed to be somewhat of an emphasis on non-traditional stats and the camera work is interesting - exciting even! The announcers though... just grating. Dontrelle Willis and some other guy. Most of it sounded like the generic soundbites you'd hear in the background of MLB The Show or something. I'm guessing more of the same tonight. If I have it on probably going to put it on mute. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

2 minutes ago, minnesotacubsfan said:

they may beat up the Cobs (as we like to call them when they flounder), and yet the Twinkies might get rolled. Hopefully, its just close games all weekend, like 10-1, 8-3, 5-0 all Cubs wins!

Honestly, this is going to be a really interesting series against two very similar teams in a lot of ways. Surprisingly good starting pitching, some offensive might, but offensive holes. I think the Cubs have the distinct advantage tonight simply because the Twins have been utterly helpless against LHP. But with Gray on the mound, it might only take two runs to record the W.

An interesting series that could be telling for either/both squads.

[CRF]

I'll be listening to Cory and Dazzle tonight. I need to catch up on how many opposing players names that Dazzle can't pronounce. He had a lot of trouble yesterday with Cronenworth. 

[minnesotacubsfan]

4 minutes ago, I wish the twins were good said:

I watched the Apple broadcast last week. Seemed to be somewhat of an emphasis on non-traditional stats and the camera work is interesting - exciting even! The announcers though... just grating. Dontrelle Willis and some other guy. Most of it sounded like the generic soundbites you'd hear in the background of MLB The Show or something. I'm guessing more of the same tonight. If I have it on probably going to put it on mute. 

fun fact: Donte was a Cub. this whole series is going to haunt you guys. CUBS EVERYWHERE

4 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

Honestly, this is going to be a really interesting series against two very similar teams in a lot of ways. Surprisingly good starting pitching, some offensive might, but offensive holes. I think the Cubs have the distinct advantage tonight simply because the Twins have been utterly helpless against LHP. But with Gray on the mound, it might only take two runs to record the W.

An interesting series that could be telling for either/both squads.

yea, added to that the Cubs have been the Cobs of late. But any series/season can change on one pitching outing, should be fun

 

[Brock Beauchamp]

By the way, anyone who wants to catch up on the Cubs, we have a Cubs site now...

https://northsidebaseball.com/

[gil4]

33 minutes ago, minnesotacubsfan said:

GO CUBS!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Only 101 years until their next championship. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

Just now, gil4 said:

Only 101 years until their next championship. 

1991 was 32 years ago. Let's not laugh too hard.

[DJL44]

One of the few games this year that I'll get to watch on TV. Yay!

[DJL44]

42 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

At $7/mo, ATV+ is a banging deal to catch up on a variety of shows. It doesn't have a ton of content but what is there is of exceptional quality: Severance, Mythic Quest, Black Bird, Ted Lasso, and several other shows are absolutely worth a watch. I just finished Black Bird the other day and it's bloody outstanding.

I haven't watched a bad TV show on Apple TV (granted, I haven't watched them all). "CODA" is a great movie, so is the Tom Hanks feature "Finch".

[gil4]

9 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

1991 was 32 years ago. Let's not laugh too hard.

There are 30 reams. We're slightly overdue. This is the year!

[Brock Beauchamp]

2 minutes ago, gil4 said:

There are 30 reams. We're slightly overdue. This is the year!

[farmerguychris]

No thanks for Apple TV or any streaming service broadcasts for me.  I know some people prefer it (good for them), but BSN is the ONLY reason I pay for DirecTV.

[minnesotacubsfan]

25 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

By the way, anyone who wants to catch up on the Cubs, we have a Cubs site now...

https://northsidebaseball.com/

I've been posting there for 20 years. When Brock showed up, it was like

 

its working out...so as long as he doesnt take our social forum away!

 

 

 

 

[minnesotacubsfan]

15 minutes ago, gil4 said:

There are 30 reams. We're slightly overdue. This is the year!

by that calculus, the Cubs are due for 2-3 more soon

 

I'll take it!

 

[wabene]

There is a good option for easily catching all these games, which I did last week. Go to Best Buy and search for the free 3 month Apple TV trial. Add it to your cart and check out. You will get an email with the product and just follow the instructions. Easy peasy and will work for much of the season. 

[Squirrel]

2 hours ago, minnesotacubsfan said:

GO CUBS!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Geez, I just went over to NorthsideBaseball.com to troll their game thread with ‘Wrigley sucks! Go Twins!’ but I can’t find a game thread … pathetic 🙂

[Squirrel]

1 minute ago, Squirrel said:

Geez, I just went over to NorthsideBaseball.com to troll their game thread with ‘Wrigley sucks! Go Twins!’ but I can’t find a game thread … pathetic 🙂

Found them!

[Squirrel]

3 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

Found them!

And if @Brock Beauchamp doesn’t approve my post there, I’m gonna give him a warning point here!

[Nine of twelve]

Good news for game threaders: I have other plans tonight that will preclude me from watching or listening to the game. That means you won't have to listen to me gripe about Apple TV during the game. I'll get that out of the way with just this one post.

[IndianaTwin]

3 hours ago, CRF said:

I'll be listening to Cory and Dazzle tonight. I need to catch up on how many opposing players names that Dazzle can't pronounce. He had a lot of trouble yesterday with Cronenworth. 

He'll be honoring a Chicago tradition: 

 

[IndianaTwin]

2 hours ago, minnesotacubsfan said:

by that calculus, the Cubs are due for 2-3 more soon

 

I'll take it!

 

When I was a pastor about 15 years ago, we had a gentleman in the church who had just turned 100. When I referenced that from the pulpit, I noted that he had actually been alive the last time the Cubs won the World Series. 😀 

[minnesotacubsfan]

 

joking aside, my dad never saw them win the WS. 2016 was a legit big deal..but really we want more

 

 

[USAFChief]

3 hours ago, CRF said:

 Dazzle ... had a lot of trouble yesterday with Cronenworth. 

It's kind of entertaining though, particularly since you're likely to get a different pronunciation no matter how many times he's forced to say "Cronenworth."