NL Central Discussion 2026

[RobertCrawley]

Cubs not very smrat.

[Dragonbait]

[willie key]

Peralta is bad

[yourout]

16 minutes ago, willie key said:

Peralta is bad

As much as I like to rag on hitting coaches I think Pitching coaches are the most valuable.

I would gladly make Hook the highest paid pitching coach.

[Underachiever]

Skenes gave up 4 runs in the second inning to the Reds. PGH has lost his last seven starts.

[markedman5]

Beat goes on for Cubs

 

[Dragonbait]

[thebruce44]

On 6/24/2026 at 10:07 AM, titanrick said:

And for those who didn't see it live, they froze the replay at the moment Bauers hits the base and from the angle, you can see CB in the background.  He is looking in a different direction, following the errant throw.  So he said Bauers missed the base, Bauers clearly hit the center of the base, and he wasn't even looking to check if he hit the base.

I think Levering was in the booth for that game. When they pause the replay, you can tell he's searching for words to describe the situation, but doesn't want to say anything too harsh.  I think he said something like, "And ... long pause ... oh my, he's not even looking at the base when Bauers hits it" following by more awkward silence.

Just an unbelievable call.  Wouldn't surprise me if MLB decided he would be done after that incident.

He of course should be looking at the base, but also the sound of the base being compressed should have been able to be heard. Just a bad call all around from a guy who has no business being on the field any more. I didn't realize he hasn't umped since.

[Brian]

Jake Bauers was asked why he thinks the Brewers are having success again this year and he said,  "No egos involved and when you have 26 guys pulling on the same rope its never a bad thing." 

[markedman5]

 

[Jim French Stepstool]

I wonder if the last couple games Chicago has played might be a microcosm of their season going forward. Big offense when they're all clicking, but those pitching issues............

[wiguy94]

Cardinals are signing Wetherholt to an extension. Sucks that he's going to be around for a long time.

 

[sveumrules]

Looks like 8/$112.5M for Wetherholt with performance escalators but no option years.

That’s $30.5M more in guaranteed money than Chourio, or $30.75M more than Pratt & Lara combined.

[markedman5]

 

[sveumrules]

Whoopsie!! Looks like Bruce Levine accidentally posted (& quickly deleted) a text intended for Counsell or another Cubs coach to X instead...

[Underachiever]

PCA on the red carpet, bringing pleated khakis back? I got a whole new wardrobe in storage if this is true.

[titanrick]

8 hours ago, sveumrules said:

Whoopsie!! Looks like Bruce Levine accidentally posted (& quickly deleted) a text intended for Counsell or another Cubs coach to X instead...

How in the world can someone accidentally tweet out a text they intended to send someone privately?

Although thinking that tweedledee and tweedledum were actually named "twinkle dee and twinkle dum" might be a clue.  Just like you eventually have to take the car keys away from Grandpa, I think the same should be done for a phone.

[thebruce44]

5 hours ago, Underachiever said:

PCA on the red carpet, bringing pleated khakis back? I got a whole new wardrobe in storage if this is true.

Wasn't it like 100 degrees and humid there? What is he thinking?

As for the Seinfeld reference, this is who he reminds me of:

[Frisbee Slider]

Civale to the Cubs. I’m not one for math but it is hard to see how Civale’s 2026 performance makes him above replacement level. Park factors and defense, I suspect.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/49395139/civale-joins-cubs-depleted-pitching-staff-trade-as

[Jopal78]

16 minutes ago, Frisbee Slider said:

Civale to the Cubs. I’m not one for math but it is hard to see how Civale’s 2026 performance makes him above replacement level. Park factors and defense, I suspect.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/49395139/civale-joins-cubs-depleted-pitching-staff-trade-as

They’re so desperate for pitching they have literally picked up nearly every pitcher DFA’d in the last month or so, trying to catch lightning in a bottle:

Bryce Wilson

Jake Woodford

Drew Pomeranz 

Aaron Civale

Jayden Murray

Tyler Ferguson 

 

 

[wibadgers23]

13 minutes ago, Jopal78 said:

They’re so desperate for pitching they have literally picked up nearly every pitcher DFA’d in the last month or so, trying to catch lightning in a bottle:

Bryce Wilson

Jake Woodford

Drew Pomeranz 

Aaron Civale

Jayden Murray

Tyler Ferguson 

 

 

And yet they are still hanging around because of their offense. Would be nice to push our lead closer to 10 games during this stretch where our schedule is on the easier side.  After the Marlins, we play the Mets, Rockies, Giants, Angels, Pirates, Twins, and Padres.

[sveumrules]

1 hour ago, wibadgers23 said:

And yet they are still hanging around because of their offense. Would be nice to push our lead closer to 10 games during this stretch where our schedule is on the easier side.  After the Marlins, we play the Mets, Rockies, Giants, Angels, Pirates, Twins, and Padres.

It's pretty wild, really.

On May 26th the Cubs lost their 10th game in a row dropping them to last place in the NLC with a 29 W - 26 L record, 4.5 games behind the Brewers.

Since then their 26 W - 17 L record is tied for 5th/6th in MLB with the Marlins. The Brewers have gone an MLB best 29 W - 17 L over that same stretch to increase their division lead to the current 6.0 games.

During that stretch Cubs pitchers have a 106 ERA- (19th) and 125 FIP- (29th) while their batters have posted a 117 wRC+ (2nd) scoring 5.51 R/G (3rd). 

During that same stretch Brewers pitchers are at a 91 ERA- (7th) and 92 FIP- (4th) while their batters have posted a 112 wRC+ (8th) scoring 5.26 R/G (5th).

[umphrey]

The Cubs and to a lesser extent the Cardinals could be pretty dangerous if they successfully add pitching at the trade deadline. It seems like those trades bust a lot though, even for the higher end guys. 

[liveforoctober]

37 minutes ago, umphrey said:

The Cubs and to a lesser extent the Cardinals could be pretty dangerous if they successfully add pitching at the trade deadline. It seems like those trades bust a lot though, even for the higher end guys. 

I kind of want the Cardinals to stay in this and make a move or two. They are so far ahead of their rebuild schedule.. would like them to get rid of a few young prospects rather than add to the supply.