hrubes20 Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 1 hour ago, Lions017 said: Why do all of our starting pitchers stink so far? Is it the new pitching coach? Have they actually taken the rest too far? I know that they're talked about easing guys in during spring training and limiting workload early in the season, but does that mean that we now have pitchers that aren't ready for the regular season? A lot of the guys that seemed to be doing well early in the season, like Heyward and Russell, are now scuffling at the plate too. I have no idea. The big thing is that command has seemingly evaporated for all of them in the early going. Missing in the middle of the plate, or missing the plate altogether. The issues haven't spread to the bullpen, which has been terrific, so I don't think it's really anything Hickey is doing. Hopefully it's just a fluke and everyone gets back to themselves here shortly. Heyward is just a lost cause offensively. Russell is doing a lot of great things offensively so far (great K/BB rates, solid Hard hit rate), but his soft contact rate is crazy high right now. The HRs will come when it warms up, but that doesn't mean some of that other weak contact will go away. Definitely something to monitor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrubes20 Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 So apparently the season BABIP and AVG with RISP is going to normalize in just one game. Absolutely everything is falling for a hit today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blazer026 Posted April 21, 2018 Share Posted April 21, 2018 Alright I don't know if it's because he's my favorite Cub, but Almora needs to be playing more. Would prefer to have him play over Happ, also think he's much better with the glove. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrubes20 Posted April 21, 2018 Share Posted April 21, 2018 11 hours ago, Blazer026 said: Alright I don't know if it's because he's my favorite Cub, but Almora needs to be playing more. Would prefer to have him play over Happ, also think he's much better with the glove. This has been my position since late last year. Almora kills LHPs and when given extended chances against RHPs, he has shown steady improvements. He makes contact, which is what is needed in this lineup. And yeah, he is GG quality in CF on defense. I want him to start the majority of the games and have for some time now. Javy is the hottest hitter on the planet. Dude is a one man show right now. I’m also LOVING how Meatball and Heyward have been going to the opposite field the past few games. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwny Posted April 21, 2018 Author Share Posted April 21, 2018 In this single moment in time, Javy Baez is the best position player in baseball right now. And this is awesome to watch. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blazer026 Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 Jesus, what a catch by Almora. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrubes20 Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 2 hours ago, Blazer026 said: Jesus, what a catch by Almora. Give him a bunch of run in CF, Joe! 2-4 with a 2B and a BB on top of that catch. What the hell happened in the 5th with Yu? He was cruising through 4. I went out with the fam to get a bite and checked my phone to see he shat the bed again. Ugly start to his Cubs tenure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blazer026 Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 Yikes KB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrubes20 Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 30 minutes ago, Blazer026 said: Yikes KB. No concussion, thankfully. Just a cut above the eye from his sunglasses. Off day tomorrow comes at a perfect time there. Also super proud to be a fan of the Cubs right now, as even though many in the dugout were really pissed at the Bryant beaning (2 coaches ejected), and had a perfect opportunity to retaliate on Arenado the same inning, they didn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blazer026 Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 Almora and Heyward in the OF are ridiculously good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrubes20 Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 Great to get a series win on the road against a solid ballclub in Colorado. Hopefully KB can return on Tuesday. Bats are starting to click, and Quintana finally had a solid outing (numbers look worse due to Heyward losing not 1, but 2 balls in the sun). Hopefully the rest of the rotation can show signs of progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwny Posted April 23, 2018 Author Share Posted April 23, 2018 I still have no idea why people are up in arms about what Javy did. Apparently stealing signals is a part of a game, and thus obstructing the view of a player from doing so is illegal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrubes20 Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 2 hours ago, iPwn said: I still have no idea why people are up in arms about what Javy did. Apparently stealing signals is a part of a game, and thus obstructing the view of a player from doing so is illegal? Yeah, the Rockies can go eff themselves. I loved it. Javy got back to his position before Quintana even started his delivery, so LeMahieu's view of the ball was never obstructed. There is nothing prohibiting Javy from doing what he did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lions017 Posted April 25, 2018 Share Posted April 25, 2018 (edited) Did this team just remember how to hit? Even Heyward is above-average right now. The Cubs are 3rd overall in wRC+ and 1st in the NL. Edited April 25, 2018 by Lions017 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrubes20 Posted April 25, 2018 Share Posted April 25, 2018 1 hour ago, Lions017 said: Did this team just remember how to hit? Even Heyward is above-average right now. The Cubs are 3rd overall in wRC+ and 1st in the NL. They are getting good BABIP luck (.320), but the approaches are looking so much better early on this year. My hot take about Schwarber being Adam Dunn v 2.0 looks ridiculous these days. He's using the whole field; shortening up with 2 strikes; being more selective; etc. His HR/FB ratio isn't sustainable, but nothing else jumps out about his profile that suggests he's due for huge regression. This is the reason the FO refused to trade him. Enormous offensive upside. Even his LF defense as of late has been below average, rather than catastrophic. Javy is doing something he hasn't been able to do so far at the big league level: lay off breaking pitches out of the zone for the most part, and hit breaking stuff IN the zone. He's absolutely murdering curveballs so far this year, and is still mashing fastballs. Changeups are still a bugaboo, but the entire Cubs team has issues there. If this isn't a fluke, or just one of those "Javy is locked in AF" moments, to be followed by a slump where he swings at everything, this is ridiculously exciting. As we have all mentioned, Javy is the most entertaining baseball player on the planet, and if he's turned a corner offensively? I better stop thinking about it. I have a client appointment in a little while and I don't want to have to explain the erection. BN did a profile on Heyward so far this year, which bears reading if you haven't. Great stuff. To sum it up, his underlying offensive profile looks great for the most part. As in, there is reason to believe he could actually sustain his current offensive output. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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