JotCast | Game 163s Live Chat Jubilee Event

Craig Edwards

12:49

Hello everyone. Chat/Live Blog to begin shortly. Feel free to load up the queue.

12:50

Who are you rooting for in the early game?

Brewers (75.6% | 267 votes)

Cubs (24.4% | 86 votes)

Total Votes: 353

12:55

Just so everyone is aware, the game is on ESPN, so plan accordingly.

Dave

12:58

Odds we see Josh Hader if the Brewers are down 3+?

Craig Edwards

12:58

10%? If the team is down three, you are probably going to want multiple innings from him tomorrow, which would preclude an appearance today.

5 Run Homer

1:00

I’d just like to say that MLB is very rude for scheduling these games while I have assignments to do and classes to attend. Why can’t they cater to my specific needs?

Jay Jaffe

1:00

Re: Hader, I'd put them at lower than 10%. As Joe Maddon said yesterday (? time is a blur), you're managing for two games and not one, and I think that's applicable to all four of these teams. Hader has struggled a bit bit lately, and not wasting his bullets seems important

Fangraphs reader

1:00

Which bullpen of the remaining field would you feel most comfortable with in the playoffs?

Meg Rowley

1:00

As a former TA, I suggest you use one of your "A vague familial relation is sick, missing, trapped in a ditch" excuses

Jay Jaffe

1:01

re bullpen: probably the Yankees and A's. So many weapons, and a lot of experience.

Silly Season

1:01

How deep does Chacin go? Seems vulnerable to lefties. Maybe he's just bait to get Maddon to stack the lineup before Milwaukee bullpens their way though?

Erik

1:01

These games count as regular season for stat purposes, right? Any idea why?

Craig Edwards

1:02

I could see him go five innings, but a lot will depend on the situation. He's not going to face Rizzo in the fourth inning if there are runners on base.

Erik

1:02

Prediction for how many total innings will be thrown by starting pitchers today?

Jay Jaffe

1:03

They are tiebreaker games, to determine division winners and wild card teams. That they're not elimination games is a new wrinkle in the history of Game 163s, but MLB decided that it didn't want to merely settle the issue on the basis of head-to-head record.

Aaron

1:03

Do you think MLB will eventually move away from Wild Card format? It seems bad form to have 100 and 97 win teams face off because they were unfortunate enough to be in 2 very strong divisions.

Craig Edwards

1:03

As for Quintana, I expect to go pretty deep, deep enough that there is going to be some gambling on Maddon's part late in the game.

Paul Swydan

1:04

I just want it noted on the record that Carson Cistulli smells like the exact opposite of teen spirit.

Craig Edwards

1:04

Noted.

nehzqk

1:04

So since we're all rooting for chaos, we want this to be a game with scoring by both teams every inning right?

Craig Edwards

1:05

I wold rather see a bunch of basreunners but little scoring.

Jay Jaffe

1:05

Eventually we'll get either four eight-team divisions or eight four-team divisions, which may or may not put the wild card out of existence. I don't mind the format now — count me as one who thinks a team should be penalized for not winning the division, even if they win 100 games.

Meg Rowley

1:05

I tend to agree

Jay Jaffe

1:05

speaking of chaos, this thing with the questions and answers getting overlapped is going to be tough for our readers to follow

CamdenWarehouse

1:06

Can I root for Javy and Brewers simultaneously? This shouldn't take too much cognitive dissonance right?

Craig Edwards

1:06

Yes. Yes you can.

Noah

1:06

is Carson chatting today?

Meg Rowley

1:06

Indeed!

Carl

1:06

There has been much talk about how hard hit the Cubs have been by injuries, but have they really compared to the average MLB season? Darvish, Bryant, Strop and Morrow are significant losses, but isn't that a lot better than most pitching staffs? Just look at Oakland or TB to see rotations getting hit hard.

Craig Edwards

1:07

if you are comparing the Cubs to the Brewers, then yes, the Cubs have been hit harder, but if you look at say the Dodgers, one Corey Seager isn't that much different than all the losses you have mentioned.

Jay Jaffe

1:07

Everybody hurts. Every team has lost players of significance for some stretch of time, some for the season. There's no crying in baseball, even over injuries.

Sean Dolinar

1:08

Hi everyone! I'll be in and out of this chat through out the games. I can answer all your FG-related questions, questions about playoff odds, front end web development, and various other things.

Ray Liotta as Shoeless Joe

1:08

The Triple Crown proved too much for J.D. Martinez. But Christian Yelich has a _____ % chance today...

Craig Edwards

1:08

5%. He needs a homer and three RBI and Baez not to have any.

Stanley

1:09

The Cubs bullpen seems to be straining recently, do you think that will be their downfall?

Oddball Herrera

1:09

I am trying to find a middle ground between rooting for the fun underdog (Brewers) and not having to root for Ryan Braun...this is a toughy

Meg Rowley

1:10

So many other guys on the roster! Just think of it this way: there's one rude jerk on every team. At least one!

Craig Edwards

1:10

It could be, though we could also see starters lose the game in the 6th or 7th that a stronger bullpen might come in to help. Maddon doesn't have a history of trusting a lot of relievers.

Jay Jaffe

1:11

If not today then at some point this month, yes I think the Cubs' recent bullpen woes will be a factor, and there's reason to be a bit wary of Maddon's management in this area. Recall the 2016 postseason, he didn't have the softest touch there.

Garrett

1:11

I have class that will make me miss all but 40 mins of each game. Should I just ditch?

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