Chicago Cubs Baseball News | Clock Running Out BUT Still Time

Back in Cleveland where the Cubs won the 2016 World Series had to talk about that But this week it was not good in Cleveland The Cubs were swept by the Guardians and now the rest of the season looks like it's up for grabs It felt like for a second the Cubs were starting to turn the corner not so fast We're gonna talk about that and more on this edition of the Cubs baseball channel Make sure to LIKE and subscribe and get in that comment section. But here is your invitation to our show What's up, everybody welcome to the Cubs baseball channel, my name is Anthony Pasquale. He is Mick Gillespie You can find him on Twitter at broadcaster Mick. You can find me at Ant underscore Pasquale three Mick we were talking about for the Cubs to do something to make a run at the playoffs They have to play almost perfect baseball from here on out. They have to keep winning series a sweep is Detrimental and that's what just happened in Cleveland a lot of close games. I thought the first game they made some mistakes they got some bad umpiring and I know that we're gonna get into that because The umpiring was not very good for the Cubs the whole series, but after that, you know It was kind of back to the whole thing again Can't score They don't do a good job of making in bat Adjustments and that's what baseball is all about. I remember Hall of Famer Eddie Murray saying that they ought to call baseball adjustments because you're constantly adjusting to what someone else is doing and it feels like one of the biggest problems and I'm Talking about going back to even you know, the later years of hobby and Chris Bryant and those guys were making in bat Adjustments and so I mean and I'm talking about like pitch to pitch and I've heard this from other people too But I feel like it's one of the issues because there's nights when they're on it But then there's nights where they can't hit and then that turns into two nights that they can't hit they don't have very competitive at bats on the nights when they're not hitting and It takes adjustments and you know I don't know if it's one guy that could go in you can insert one guy in the lineup That's just like a Ryan Friel type of guy and you know, I've talked about this before Ryan Friel Not probably most people's favorite player, but he was a pain in the butt man like fouling off pitches and Getting on base and you know, they're Extinct x-teens type guy, you know, just get on base man figure out a way to get on base foul off pitches Like just be a pain, you know like and and I don't really know that the Cubs have that from night to night and there just seems like there's a lot of fast innings and Then they get swept and I Cleveland has a young team They didn't spend a lot of money on the team But these guys just play good baseball and there's a lot of pests in that lineup and they know how to win yeah, they do and I think you kind of mentioned it that like these poor offensive games turned into like poor offensive series and Instead of it being just like, you know one inning and then they kind of figure it back out with an adjustment I think the the hardest part about it like from a fans perspective or two people like us watching the games is Like, you know in the first or second inning man, it's gonna be a long game Like this is one of those games if they're not gonna be able to do anything Offensively the Cubs scored first in all three games of the series They had a lead in all three games of the series and they end up getting swept that that type of stuff isn't supposed to Happen obviously game one was that you know thrillers nine to eight Exciting back and forth the Cubs kept on fighting in it, even though they lost you felt like okay that we're in a good place We can compete with these guys and then you go up the next two games and across 18 innings you score two runs like you just can't respond that way after that first game and The the schedule lightens up we're gonna get into that a little bit later But you're gonna have to beat good teams Eventually, and I know they don't play a lot of good teams for the next couple of weeks But the Yankees the Dodgers the Phillies they're all still lurking on the schedule And if you want to make that move that we've been talking about You're gonna have to start winning series against good teams and they did last week against, Minnesota and against Baltimore before the break But this was a pretty good reality check up against the Guardians and they they stuck it to us for sure Yeah, that's what good teams do though They make pitches and they play good defense and they get timely hitting and that's not what the Cubs did The the last two games and I said it on you know after they lost the first game. I thought well, they're fine I mean you're gonna lose games. You don't win every night But but the bad part of that is that you've never you never accept losing, you know And I'm we're just commentators. I'm gonna go in here and say hey, you know what those losses don't bother me as bad It's the last two losses and that's just how I feel I mean, I feel like you go out there and play a good game That's all you can do from night to night You know umpire misses a call for show to the game that then that turns into a four run inning and it's a difference in the game If you call that strike three, I don't think the Cubs lose. Yeah, I just don't and he should have called it, but he missed it and Then the last the next two nights are back to just bad at bats a lot of a lot of easy outs And you know you start looking in the next year and I'm I just don't know I mean if the Cubs don't make the playoffs and they're probably not going to that there's You know, there's a lot of thought in the what the future is because at the end of the day the Yankees want to make the playoffs every year, they're gonna hold people accountable and And and it's it's a tough decision. I see what the organization is doing right now They pushed all their prospects to triple-a for a last-place triple-a team, but I mean I guess what it says is that work You know look we're right here. We're right here. You're gonna fire us. We're right here, but then there's the other part of you If your ownership you're gone, but where's the results mm-hmm? You know I mean they since 2016 They've been getting further and further and further away From winning a championship, and I've said it before and I'm gonna say it right now The goal for the Cubs Should be not making the playoffs But winning the World Series every year and when we get to that point and are serious about it and are the contenders For that then I think we'll be in a good place And I'm not I'm not advocating I know some of you guys are we read the comments every day You'd love to see the front office get canned and but but if you're gonna do that who you bringing in you know What's the what's the next front office gonna? Do you know what what are they gonna be about and? How and then how far are you gonna set yourself back from where you've put yourself right now? You know are we really right here, or are we right here? are we right here, and that's a determination that ownership, and you know the You know the really the ownership's got to figure out. You know what how they feel about things because I Can't figure it out. I don't know if we're right here. It's just yeah, yes, man It feels like one day. We're here, and then the next day. We're here. There's no consistency Yeah, and and one thing I know the end of his tenure was a little bit murky But one thing that Theo Epstein's credit is that he arrived and he had a plan And it was obviously it was obviously communicated with the front office and in the ownership But it was so articulate that he was able to communicate it with the fans He was able to tell us like listen. This is gonna suck for a few years. We're gonna be bad We're gonna stock up and we're gonna be really good and just wait for us to be really good and then you get Hoyer who is supposed to be you know Epstein's brainchild and He says no this isn't a rebuild. Well. What is it you're rebuilding? That's what you're doing, and we're not quite there yet You're gonna have to keep doing the rebuilding that he still refuses to call a rebuilding so it seems like Hoyer doesn't have a vision kind of like how you said a few weeks ago that Hoyer kind of hopes that this team was gonna be good but you can't act that way if you're the general manager of the Chicago Cubs you have to need to be good and Operate like the Yankees do and the Dodgers do and kind of demand the playoffs every year and until we're at that point You don't know what to expect on a year-to-year basis. Yeah, I'll tell you there's some really good people in this Organization you know one of the guys that I love their passion and their hunger to win is Jared Banner You know like you talk to him And it's like the guy just wants to win and I'm not saying that's not the case with with Jed Hoyer But just being around those guys you you know you're around them And it's like hey are all I want to do is find guys that can help us win I just want to find guys that can help us win You know if you're making decisions based on winning and we talked about this before and not based on You know what makes you feel good, and what's politically great, and you know how this is gonna look to the community Sorry, I don't care what the community thinks I think that when you win everybody in the community that likes the Cubs is happy You know like yeah, there's too many decisions that that I feel like this organization makes it like huh You know I mean we sit there We watch Trevor Bauer who would who would have made this team better, but we're not gonna get him because oh well You know that guys guess Major League Baseball doesn't want this guy signed There's other guys that have done stuff that people don't like that are signed and help you win You know I mean, I just feel like overall That I don't want to say that I don't believe where it's going I just don't know like one day. I feel like okay We're going in the right direction and then you know two games that we lost in Cleveland getting swept the way that we perform the way that we go out there and attack the The intensity that we play with you know I look at some of the players that we have on the bench And I'm wondering you know when are you gonna bring these guys up from the minor leagues and and to give the team a better? chance with some of them, and I guess maybe the September call-ups could be that but there's just a lot of questions as to what the future of this organization is going to be and What direction they're going and we'll be keeping an eye on that because the the chances of this team making the playoffs are very slim Even if they would have swept this series. They still would have been like maybe like a 10 or 11 percent chance That means that there's a 89 percent 88 percent chance. You're not making it. You know and there's a reason why Exactly the other thing I want to touch on with this series in Cleveland It and I'm not one to say that the Cubs lost because the umpire I'm not gonna say that But I am gonna say is they got calls that in the other inning with the Cubs pitchers on the mound the Cubs pitchers weren't Getting and it just seemed very inconsistent. I think say a Suzuki is the biggest victim of this He gets the biggest strike zone in MLB by a mile like it's insane Happ got rung up on a pitch yesterday. That was so far out of the strike zone I was shocked Craig council didn't go out and get tossed from the game like it. It was bad and You know, you I'm not saying that the Cubs would have won games, but it could have looked different You know, it keeps innings alive. It keeps that bats alive It keeps pitchers pitch counts working and you never know what can happen. But the umpires in Cleveland this series were not good And I know this is another debate and I do think umpires cost teams games I just do I think that they they sure as hell cost you a game. They miss a call here or there Their people I've been I've seen I'm telling you man. I've probably broadcast 3,000 games It's you know, I don't want to be the bull Durham of minor league radio, but I'm telling you I've seen them all and every single night If an umpire is biased towards one team and I've seen it happen For whatever reason maybe they don't even know it that team that's getting the calls is gonna win more more than they're gonna lose You know, I mean, it's just the way it is. I mean they they can make or break a team and The biggest example of that really where I changed my mind was there was an umpire that hated Ryan Sandberg when he was manager 2009 and this people were so just Mortified the guy was gonna be the home plate umpire for the championship series. I thought these people were crazy they're emailing and complaining and and By God that guy I mean he was the worst home plate umpire I've ever seen I Mean missing strikes and and and calls and I know doing it on purpose because he hated Rhino They had this thing going the guy's name was Chris Ward one of the worst umpires ever and he's not umpiring anymore but it was it was awful and It made me realize like after the game we just like a lot of the people with the front office from Chicago were there and we just look we were everybody was just So snake bit because the umpire literally Gave the other team the game and they ended up winning the series because of that It happens they're people and so the sooner that we can get some sort of technology into the balls and strikes the better the game's gonna be just because You have four guys or you know four guys in a crew or five guys, whatever. However, it works, right? They rotate whose home plate umpire. Well, one guy may be really good and there's some really good home plate umpires and one guy might be okay and one guy might be you know, terrible and Then and then somebody might be Angel Martinez Who's really bad right and you're stuck with that, you know? So there's got to be an appeal process here where you can you know, because we have the technology to do it Yeah, I just want to get it right like that. That's at the end of the day You just want to throw a pitch and know that it's a striker I don't think they can do it where like every single pitch is You know, they review it But what I think what you do is you have, you know Some appeals and if you think one got missed you appeal and that'll fix it and and look at the bases now You know, like when they screw up on the bases, nobody gets upset anymore You just you know, hey do this and then in any to do or you don't it's also cut down on a lot of the arguing Yeah, because there's nothing to argue about yeah, I think the biggest thing for me is Like watching the game like via the broadcasts They all have like little K zone box and that technology has spoiled us into Expecting them to be perfect because we have the box and if it's outside of the box, it's all and if it's inside the box It's a strike. Why can't they call it that way? And obviously it takes a little bit away from the old mantra of hitters, you know with two strikes You got to protect the plate anything close? Well, no, there's a box and if it's outside the box, that's a ball and if it's inside the box, that's a strike So why do the broadcasts have this ability to tell what it should be, but we can't make the umpires have that You know what? I mean? Like we have the technology. It's right there We watch it every single game and then they go and show the 3d version and they show the pitch Arriving right over or right in or right below the zone Why can't we let the umpires look at that after a call and say okay. Yep. That was a ball That was a strike our bad and That that's the part that makes it so tough But either way you look at it the Cubs lost all three in Cleveland. So they are now four games below 500 Here's the I guess the the bright spot of it all easiest schedule in the National League remaining It's August 15th today The Cubs will not play a team above 500 until September 6th, right? 18 straight games against teams with a worse record than the Cubs have Time to go on the run. This is your only chance. You've got 18 games. You got to win like 12 13 14 at least to feel good about it I think you go Blue Jays. I'm gonna read it. We're gonna go Blue Jays first and then Detroit Miami Pittsburgh Washington Pittsburgh This is your chance. This is the stretch of games where you have to get it done Yeah, it's time to do it right now, right? So, I mean I'm with you on that like show us something yeah Come on just if you play 500 or less and you know, you are what you are You get these are games. You got to play like 800 baseball You got to make up you got to get the 500 and keep on going you can't get there and flirt with it and fall back and get a game under and then fall back and And even though these teams have a losing record, they're still major league baseball teams. Yeah, no, look look at the White Sox They're the worst team in the league and it took two heroic performances to beat them. Yes They're still major league baseball teams Yeah and then after that stretch you get a tough six with the Yankees and the Dodgers and then you go right back to Subpar with Rockies A's and Nationals So if the Cubs can continue to play or start to continue to play good baseball You're facing the right teams to be playing good baseball against and then hopefully, you know by the end of the thing It looks a lot better than it does right now which is the Cubs in fourth place 10 back of the Brewers who came back to beat the Dodgers yesterday and Five and a half back in the NL wild-card race make here is your favorite part of the show? Cubs with now a three point six percent chance. Oh 96 point four percent chance that the Cubs won't be in the playoffs this year a 1.7 percent chance to win the division and I always say well, there's a game today The Cubs have a chance to get back on the right track. Actually, there's no game today another another We talked about this during the last series the Cubs skipped Kyle Hendricks We thought he might come out of the bullpen in Cleveland I actually think it was a really bad miss by the Cubs to not let him pitch in Cleveland just because of the history there I would love to see him back on that mound again like that I mean at the very least if this is his last year at least he could have pitched in Cleveland again But either way he will open the series against Toronto. It's gonna be on Friday at 120 Hendricks against y'all real Rodriguez Hendricks, obviously three and ten with a six point six. Oh era and Rodriguez with a three point six zero then it's gonna be steel on Saturday against Chris Bassett and Show Tim and Agha on Sunday against Bowdoin Francis Nick. What are your early thoughts on this series with the Blue Jays? Yeah, big big pitching matchup I mean, these are the marquee games that we got when we you know combined leagues, you know instead of just having the National League and American League I Got into on this channel. I made fun of the Blue Jays. I mean like I just They're they're one of those teams. That is it's not the A's and it's not Tampa Bay, but they're the next team You know that no one cares about But I've seen him win World Series. I know they can do it. Yeah, they're having a year similar to the Cubs just Disappointing for their standards. The Blue Jays are 56 and 64 So there are eight games below and obviously there was some talk about the Cubs trying to trade for Vladimir Guerrero jr We're gonna see him in Chicago this weekend Potentially his new home next year, who knows but let's do it. Let's do yeah Hopefully, but that'll do it for us. You gotta play though. I mean like yeah Bush now Bush He's kind of doing his thing. So that's true It's a fair point, but I mean all the help that the Cubs lineup could get Yeah, who knows? But guys, thanks so much for joining us here in the Cubs baseball channel a little bit longer today We had a lot to talk about obviously Cubs are gonna be off today So we will be back later on with a little preview against the Blue Jays But for now, thank you guys always for coming to the Cubs baseball channel to talk some Cubs Baseball with us one other thing one other thing not to interrupt you, but thank you guys. We just hit a million views, man How cool is that? I mean that there's a million views When I when I saw that this morning I was like wow that that's a number that It I didn't even think to set that as a goal because it just seems so out of the realm of possibility But the only thing if you had a million dollars, yeah exactly a million dollars all of you viewers gave us one dollar a Dollar for each view we'd be we'd be rich. Yeah, we'd be rich Alright, you know what? We're rich because of you guys for being exactly and that's I was just gonna say the only way that that's Possible is because of you guys. So thank you so much. Keep it up Keep liking and subscribing and following us on here and on Instagram tik-tok Twitter Do your thing guys Cubs fans are awesome, and we appreciate you guys every day. So go Cubs go Cubs