ok maybe i was wrong about Edwin Jackson. he's still the bum that we know him to be.



ughhhh, we blew this game.

And so the streak ends as it began, with an Edwin Jackson appearance. I think I'm fine with keeping him in his current role of only pitching once every 9 days in low-leverage situations.

well he's gotta be the one to go when Soriano finally gets called up so his days are numbered.

I would hope so, but I've been hoping that for at least a year, so who knows. He actually hasn't been terrible this year just eating innings out of the bullpen, but you can never really trust him with a lead in a close game.

Scoring 26 runs in 13 games (13 of them in just 2 of those games) is... not good. We're lucky to have gone 6-7 over this stretch.

Still on pace for 88 wins at the halfway point of the season though, with a 2.5-game lead for the 2nd wild card, which isn't a bad position to be in.

I hate to be "that guy" but I hated the Lester signing, I hope he turns it around but he was never worth $150M imo.

Yeah, don't be that guy. That guy is annoying as hell.

those contracts are never worth it. you just deal.

and close your eyes this offseason. they'll sign a couple more of em

Yeah, and I mean his FIP this year is actually below his career average and he just almost threw a no-hitter. Not sure how much more you really expect him to "turn it around". He's probably never going to be the guy he was in 2009 again.

The luxury of being a large market team though is being able to afford a few deals like that, and even though they're not strictly "worth it" relative to the value you can get from young players, the difference between having a guy like that in your rotation vs the alternative, which is a guy like Jackson or Wood, is huge in a season where every game could be the difference between making the playoffs or not. The only real question is whether that money could be better spent elsewhere, but with elite prospects at nearly every position except pitcher, that's where the big contracts are going to go.

Fun day to be a Cubs fan yesterday. Taking 2 from the Cards is huge!

Arietta is such a beast

Yeah, would be really sweet to get a series win against them tonight.

Both Bryant and Rizzo in the HR derby

awesome, didnt know they had changed the HR Derby format.

send Clayton Richard back to Pittsburgh.

Meh, that's a tough spot for him, basically getting a surprise start against the Cardinals on only 3 days rest. Our bullpen stats are going to take a hit tonight though. Feels like an Edwin Jackson night unless we get some more runs soon.

I'm just glad the Hammel injury doesn't sound too serious and it's a hamstring not an elbow or something. With the all-star break, hopefully he doesn't even miss another start.

Montero!

migggggyyyyyyyyyy

looooooooooooooool cards arguing

Trololololololol! Just because I haaaaaaate Sutcliffe so much!

losing with one strike to go hurts. before this series started I was thinking that we needed to win it if we were gonna be legit contenders this year... sigh. back to enjoying the preface to the greatest season in cubs history.

One game doesn't matter. Probably aren't catching the Cards anyways. Just get to the one game playoff.


But still.... LolSutcliffe you supreme **********.

7-3 start so far against the best teams we'll face all month. I'll take it. Now it gets much easier: 20 games against the White Sox, Braves, Reds, Phillies, Rockies, & Brewers.

****ing peralta man

I was at the game, that one hurt. So many pissed off people and rightfully so. It was a great comeback for the Cubbies tho!

This year I won't be happy with anything but a sweep of the sox. Let's get it done!

Hammel MRI looks good, will start 5th game after the break. No DL.