The thing that will be tough for Chicago is that with the way Cleveland uses Miller, they really need to get a lead early in these games. I know Chicago has a good bullpen, too, but Miller is so tough and can go multiple innings in multiple games. I generally dislike the 'buyer' side of deadline deals, but even though Cleveland gave up a lot (I thought too much at the time), that was a brilliant deal that may win them the WS.
Miller is a very good weapon, but he can only pitch so many innings in the series. And the Cubs have some right handed bats that "might" be able to get some good swings on him. But, he is certainly a nice weapon to have. There starting staff isn't very impressive (due to injuries) and who scares you in the Indians lineup? It is a deep lineup full of slightly above average hitters and then Santana. You could argue the Cubs have 5 bats as good or better than Santana. (if not equal at least in the same ballpark)Originally Posted by smootness
small sample acknowledged.
"Yes, I did think Aldrich was good UNTIL I SAW HIM PLAY. "- thethe
Indians seem to just find ways to win this postseason.
I thought they'd have no chance against Boston and swept, thought they'd be 50/50 against TOR and shut them down. They shut down two top offenses to get here, we'll see if they can stop the best.
Forever Fredi
Huh? The Indians have a pretty damn good lineup. Kipnis, Ramirez, Lindor, Santana, Naquin is pretty good. They're definitely dangerous.
statistically the Cubs are slightly better for 2016. but pretty close. Hard to really compare them with the tribe having the DH, however... My thoughts on the Tribe right now is that they are just clicking and are like the royals of last year knowing they only need a run or two and the lead going into the 6th...
Not trying to say they're better than the Cubs there, but that's still a really tough lineup.
that they are. They seem to do everything well. But they are clicking thus far in the playoffs. lets see if that continues.
Good pitching beats good hitting
Can't have strike out hitters in the playoffs
Some teams are just "clutch"
"Yes, I did think Aldrich was good UNTIL I SAW HIM PLAY. "- thethe
I think that rather than PHing for LHers against Miller, I would be inclined to just leave them in and let Miller mow them down for an inning or two. The last thing the Cubs need to do is PH for their LHed hitters with RHed hitters to face Miller, and then be stuck with all those RHers in the lineup to face the RHers out of the Indians' BP later in the game. I think they have been using Milelr early in part to make the other team do exactly that.
It's not like Rhers hit Miller much better than LHers, so just take your medicine, and let your LHed hitters take their chances against the Indians' RHed BP guys.
Now THAT is thinking like Joe Maddon. Seriously.
Kipnis is a career 112 wRC+ hitter; 117 this past year.
Ramirez is a career 100 wRC+ hitter; 122 this past year
Lindor is a career 118 wRC+ hitter; 112 this past year
Santana is a career 124 wRC+ hitter; 132 this past year
Naquin is a career 135wRC+ hitter.
Again, they aren't bad hitters by any mans. They are all above average with Santana being pretty damn good. Naquin is a small sample with a .411 BABIP guy. They are a decent offense that is more depth of the lineup than individual quality.
To compare to Cubs:
Bryant is a career 143 wRC+, 149 this past year.
Rizzo is a career 131 wRC+; 145 this past year
I guess you could possibly throw in Schwarber since he's playing; 132 wRC+
I don't think it's hard to argue that those 3 are better hitters than anything the Indians have; in Bryant/Rizzo, they are much better.
Contreras is a career 126 wRC+ (small sampe)
Zobrist is a career 119 wRC+; 124 this past year
Fowler is a career 110 wRC+; 129 this past year
That is three guys that are just as good, if not better than anyone on the Indians outside of Santana (caveat of Contreras, but he looks good without extreme luck like Naquin) That is now 6 guys listed that are arguably as good or better (if not in same ballpark) than anyone on the Indians outside of Santana.
With the bats of the Cubs and the weakness of the Inidians starting pitchers, I don't believe the Indians are going to bullpen their way through wins like they did in the ALCS. For one, the Cubs have a much better bullpen (and starters, which will shorten the pen) than the Blue Jays. Miller can't throw 15 innings in the series, can he? Also, the rely on Cody Allen and Bryan Shaw a lot and while they did good vs. the Jays, they aren't special pitchers like the Royals had in their pen.
"Yes, I did think Aldrich was good UNTIL I SAW HIM PLAY. "- thethe
Need to emphasize with hitters as well the need to try very hard to work the count against Miller. If they could push his pitch count up it would limit his innings within the game as well as potentially limit his use from game to game.
I didn't mean pinch hitting, I mean in the everyday lineup; Contreras, Russell, Zobrist, Baez, Bryant, Fowler.
"Yes, I did think Aldrich was good UNTIL I SAW HIM PLAY. "- thethe
The Cubs are definitely the better team. But the sample size alone is enough to make it pretty easy to see the Indians possibly winning.
And baseball is a funny game. You never know when the presence of a guy like Miller gets into players' heads, causing them to press earlier in the game thinking they need to build a lead early.
And I do think Miller can go 15 IP. I don't know if he will, but I think he could do so effectively.
I don't see how he does it. 2 innings back to back, rest a day, and 2 innings back to back to back?
Even so, thats 25% of the innings in a 7 game series. The Cubs will have some damn good pitching is probably 90% of the innings in the series.
"Yes, I did think Aldrich was good UNTIL I SAW HIM PLAY. "- thethe
No doubt. I'm not saying Miller alone means the Indians are the favorites. They're not. Just saying I can definitely see the Indians winning it. They have a really good lineup, even if not as good as the Cubs, and some legit pitching, even if not as much as they had before injuries. It should be a good series.
I think the Indians likely win it. They seem to have a slight pitching advantage and that offense won a lot of money for DFS players over the summer. It's not that far off the Cubs.
Comparing fantasy leagues to actual baseball? Nice!
Im not sure if this was a joke, but that def. got me to laugh.
"Yes, I did think Aldrich was good UNTIL I SAW HIM PLAY. "- thethe
I'm guessing the Cubs will win. Maddon could possibly be the best manager in baseball history but no one could really tell if that were true or not because about all he has to do with this team is spell everyone's name right on the line-up card. I honestly don't think he's the best manager around, more because he just makes moves for the sake of making moves than anything else. But he's got a really good team to manage and he doesn't screw it up very often. The acquisition of Chapman has really made his job a lot easier (as it would any manager).
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