2016 NLCS: Chicago Cubs (1) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (3) - Series Discussion

[ucanthanzalthetruth]

I enjoy voting for the games as well. not just the series

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[Marc the Habs Fan]

Jinx post?

Oh sure, take out Dodgers from the title.

 

[Cassano]

Cubs in 4.

 

[Cubs2024WSChamps]

Cubs in 5

 

[Tecumseh]

I'm not expecting the Dodgers to win but I hope they can take the Cubs to 6 games at least. I'll try to enjoy it

 

[Marc the Habs Fan]

So:

Game 1: Lester vs Maeda
Game 2: Arrieta or Hendricks vs...???? Who could even pitch this game on Sunday for LA? Do they dare bring back Kershaw so soon? Every other proven starter they have is hurt, I believe (Kazmir, McCarthy, Ryu, Wood, etc).

 

[Halladay]

So:

Game 1: Lester vs Maeda
Game 2: Arrieta or Hendricks vs...???? Who could even pitch this game on Sunday for LA? Do they dare bring back Kershaw so soon?

Hill threw 2 innings. He should go game 2 unless he is hurt.

Maybe Urias though.

 

[c9777666]

If the Dodgers pull this off, I am convinced that Dave Roberts made a deal with the Devil.

I mean, Kershaw gets hurt in June, they're way behind the Giants, SF bullpen becomes toxic, a bunch of dudes step up, and now this.

 

[Sarcastic]

Hill threw 2 innings. He should go game 2 unless he is hurt.

Maybe Urias though.

I didn't see the whole game, what was with Hill going just 2 innings?

 

[darko]

Cubs in 6.

 

[BMOK33]

Kershaw goes in games 2 and 6, the Dodgers have to hope they can win his game 2 start and 1 other somewhere else. They are even more of a long shot than the Nationals would have been for sure.

 

[Dr Pepper]

Cubbies in 6.

It'd be nice to see Chicago's run continue, but in all honesty I wouldn't mind seeing Kershaw get a taste of World Series action either.

Heart says LA, head says Chicago.

 

[Tecumseh]

I didn't see the whole game, what was with Hill going just 2 innings?

Two and two-thirds technically. He didn't look to have his greatest stuff today.

 

[BigMac1212]

Sorry, Cubbies, but the original bums will win the pennant for Vin.

 

[Virtanen18]

Going Cubs in 5 here. Hate giant polls honestly.

 

[c9777666]

I think the Cubs will and should win, but given October playoff randomness and the Dodgers seemingly pulling games out of nowhere since the All-Star break (given circumstances), who knows.

If the 1993 Braves can lose to the Phillies, anything is possible.

 

[BMOK33]

So:

Game 1: Lester vs Maeda
Game 2: Arrieta or Hendricks vs...???? Who could even pitch this game on Sunday for LA? Do they dare bring back Kershaw so soon? Every other proven starter they have is hurt, I believe (Kazmir, McCarthy, Ryu, Wood, etc).

Can't they count today as a bullpen session for Kershaw? He threw 7 pitches and maybe 20 in the pen? He would be on the normal 4 days rest for game 2 if you assume today as a pen day.

 

[Terry Yake]

i say cubs in 5 but i really hope the dodgers take the series

win it for vin

 

[The Night King]

I'm not expecting the Dodgers to win but I hope they can take the Cubs to 6 games at least. I'll try to enjoy it

Same here. I'm thrilled they got this far, and the way they did it.

 

[PanthersPens62]

Destiny's darlings move one step closer to breaking the curse. Cubs in 5.

 

[Vamos Rafa]

Is it too late for the Dodgers to sign James Loney and Manny Ramirez?

 

[Honey Bear]

I will post here what I posted on another forum. For the people that have watched the Cubs this season, they will understand why this is accurate.

The Dodgers will be the toughest team the Cubs face in the postseason. I'm pretty confident in saying that because they're the one team that can exploit the Cubs' biggest weakness -- breaking ball pitches. The Cubs were 25th in the regular season at hitting those balls, and the Giants somewhat used that to their favor last series. Fortunately they had a bad enough Bullpen that the Cubs hitters were able to exploit and get out of that series with a victory. That won't be the case here. The Dodgers have a wide array of bullpen pitchers which some could argue make up the best bullpen in the entire NL (they certainly were in the regular season). Couple that with breaking ball specialists Urias and Hill, and the Cubs are going to have a tough time scoring.

I haven't even mentioned Kershaw yet who has had his struggles in October. But that doesn't mean he can't turn it up and take a game over. We don't know how many games he'll pitch in this series but it could be as much as three. At minimum it'll be 2. So those games alone will be tough.

Basically it comes down to this. Can the Cubs hit those breaking ball pitches? If so they will win this series in probably 5 or 6. If they can't, then you're looking at a loss. It's really that simple. The series is pretty close overall. 1 or 2 runs may decide games just like the Giants series. The biggest advantage the Cubs have against the Dodgers are Jon Lester and Mike Montgomery. That's not saying Hendricks, Arrieta or Lackey can't do a good job against their lineup, but those two lefties pose a lot of problems for their lineup. Aside from maybe Carlos Ruiz and a couple of other guys, they really do not hitting lefties well at all. So those games will be the games the Cubs HAVE to win if they want to advance to the World Series.

That's basically my two cents on this series.

 

[MurrayBannerman]

Is it too late for the Dodgers to sign James Loney and Manny Ramirez?

Well, Loney is on the Mets and Manny is in the Cubs dugout. So yea.

 

[ChiGuySez]

Cubs in 5. Try not to suck.

 

[solventless710]

Los Doyers in 7.