OSS: Cubs mount a late comeback to eke out a win.
Three up:
- The Cubs came back in the top of the ninth against erstwhile Cubs hurler Arodys Vizcaino, thanks to a hustle double by Almora and run scoring hits by Addy and Zobrist to tie and lead the game, respectively. To be technically correct, the best kind of correct, Zobrist’s go-ahead single had a bigger WPA than his more famous double from a few years back that you may have heard of.
- Yu Darvish was okay in this one, striking out five in four innings and allowing two walks and a solo shot to Inciarte. He left with some leg cramping after throwing only 61 pitches, and the Cubs were probably taking it easy after his trip to the “DL”.
- The bullpen was solid in relief of Darvish’s short outing, allowing one run and just two hits over five innings. Said run was given up by Edwards to Ronald Acuna, who might be good at baseball.
Three down:
- The Cubs got a lot of help from Barves TOOTBLANs in this one. Freddie Freeman tried to score following a throwing error on a steal attempt by Willie but was gunned down by War Bear. In the fifth, they had runners at the corners with no outs thanks to a Baez error but saw both guys get thrown out on the bases on plays that even Coomer had to admit the umps blew.
- Until that ninth inning comeback, the Cubs lone run was on a sequence that went double, walk, dropped third strike, wild pitch. Not exactly a recipe for a sustainable offense. Foltynewicz lasted just five innings but struck out ten Cubs hitters.
- It was a rough day at the plate for Javy Baez, who went 0-4 with three strikeouts. His contact rates were looking a lot better when his bat was hot, but some Old Javy seems to be slipping into his game of late.
Next up: Tyler Chatwood takes on noted Trans-Siberian Orchestra fan Brandon McCarthy at 6:35 PM CT. I’m not sure why the Braves start games half an hour later than everyone else, I guess it’s to give fans extra time to get to their crappily located stadium boondoggle.
Comments
Brewers lose.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Machado would have walked it off.
ceruleanQuote Reply
In regards to some comments I’ve seen from “smart” Cubs fans elsewhere:
Not rooting for Russell because you think he’s a domistic abuser: defensible.
Concluding Russell is a bad player based on his wRC+: idiotic.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Hate Russell all you want, but don’t pretend he hasn’t been a positive contributor to the Cubs’ success since 2015.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Rizzo the Rat,
It’s as trivially easy to wish ill of those who have made mistakes without allowing for them to learn and grow as it is to justify the misdeeds and faulty logic of successful and productive people.
For the record, I want Russell to learn and succeed, but obviously Machado will save the world from disaster.
ceruleanQuote Reply
I don’t understand why people are so upset with Russell’s performance. His wRC+ is 93, which is one point away from his career best 94. It’s better than last year and his defense seems to be back on par with what he did in 2015 and 2016. He already has 0.8 fWAR and can probably be expected to contributed another 2 to 2.5 WAR the rest of the way. Russell is not a great player, but he’s an above average one and he’s pretty cheap.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
Yeah, but Machado will be worth 25 WAR the rest of the way.
ceruleanQuote Reply
I’d love to have an MVP caliber player at every position, but that’s not realistic and any adult should know this.
dmick89Quote Reply
cerulean,
Are people still thinking the Cubs have a legitimate shot at trading for him? Best case scenario for the Cubs at the deadline is the only need they have is in the bullpen, because I don’t think they have the minor league talent to add anything else.
dmick89Quote Reply
TyroneQuote Reply
dmick89,
The Cubs have more than enough to land Machado—and they should because few people realize that the O’s have won 5 consecutive World Serieseseseseses in a row with no gaps in between. If the Cubs are ever going to break their hundred-plus-year drought, they need a Macho Man like Manny Machado.
ceruleanQuote Reply
So I did a quick google and it seems like people are mostly just coming to terms with the fact that Russell is never going to be the great player they thought he would be. That’s on them. He never really had the tools to become a great player.
dmick89Quote Reply
TyroneQuote Reply
My guess is that people only remember that he has just one HR this year, and scale down the rest of his numbers to match.
Berselius is too lazy to loginQuote Reply
Remember when Addison Russell hit a grand slam in game 6 of the 2016 World Series, a game in which the Cubs won en route to winning the 2016 World Series (coming back from a 3-1 deficit)?
MylesQuote Reply
Remember when Addison Russell hit a 2-run bomb in Game 5 of the NLCS to break a 1-1 tie in the penultimate game of that series?
MylesQuote Reply
To-day’s base ball squadron
CF Almora
3B Bryant
1B Rizzo
C Contreras
2B Baez
LF War Bear
SS Russell
RF Happ
P Chatwood
berseliusQuote Reply
Man, Javier Baez has not taken a walk in a looooooooooooooooooong time.
MylesQuote Reply
It has literally been over a month since Javier Baez has drawn a walk (April 11). April 7th for the last unintentional walk. That’s really hard to believe.
MylesQuote Reply
Baez has the same number of HBP as he does UIBB this year (2). Guys, I think Baez Day might have ended.
MylesQuote Reply
Machado hit two great grand slams when the O’s won the World Series in 2016. Prove me wrong.
ceruleanQuote Reply
Myles,
His walk rate is back down to where it was in 2016 and it was terrible last year.
dmick89Quote Reply
Agree that Schwarber must have a nickname but there’s gotta be something better than War Bear.
SKQuote Reply
SK,
Hulk works well.
Rice at homeQuote Reply
Rice at home,
https://goo.gl/images/EgiHGF
berseliusQuote Reply
Ugh.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Chatwood shouldn’t have thrown so many strikes. That’s where he gets into trouble.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Wow, Almora.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
(dying laughing)
berseliusQuote Reply
Let’s gather some stats, fellas. Especially RsBI.
berseliusQuote Reply
Flowers has been stealing strikes.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Bryant!!!
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
berselius,
Well gathered, KB
berseliusQuote Reply
Runs, please.
dmick89Quote Reply
Another rough day for Rizzo.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
(dying laughing) no idea how Contreras hit that.
dmick89Quote Reply
Another horrible at-bat for Baez.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Hey, Rizzo did something right!
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Ugh!
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Goddamnit.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Why is CJ hittable all of a sudden?
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
At least the Cubs aren’t the Dodgers (who just lost again. To the Marlins.)
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Hancock???
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
And who, I might add, now have the same record as the Marlins.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
TyroneQuote Reply
Translation: Shutout.
TyroneQuote Reply
I just went back and skimmed through the World Series threads and, man, that was a pretty fucking magical few weeks.
RynoQuote Reply
Ryno,
I hate when people post sentimental shit like that…
RynoQuote Reply
https://frsbaseball.com/mlb/cubs/heyman-cubs-could-be-landing-spot-for-manny-machado/
I just don’t see how they could pull this off. CHC’s system is trash.
RynoQuote Reply
Ryno,
I don’t either unless the Cubs are willing to deal Russell, Schwarber or Contreras. I don’t want that. I’d rather they wait until free agency. The O’s may not even be interested in those three. They probably want guys who will be ready in the near future and that they can control for six years at a minimum. The Cubs don’t have anyone like that that any team doesn’t already have 10 of.
dmick89Quote Reply
I like how calm and collected I was, even when the situation looked dire.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Pat Hughes just referred to Felipe Vázquez (f.k.a. Rivero) as “the player to be named later.”
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Tonight’s game——–> postponed
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Cardinals lose.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Time warp!
Lazy mylesQuote Reply
Chatwood is terrible.
dmick89Quote Reply
No matter the time of year our blog is at, this is still true.
MylesQuote Reply
Myles,
We’re so discredited we’re going backward through time.
dmick89Quote Reply
If we go far enough back in time, can we prevent the Chatwood signing from happening?
North Side PatQuote Reply
Josh Hader’s K-BB% is 45.5%.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
What’s his R+RBI?
RynoQuote Reply
Carr should say something.
RynoQuote Reply
https://www.mlb.com/news/early-2019-mock-mlb-draft/c-280269044
I wrote a story about No. 1.
RynoQuote Reply
1 in only 1 plate appearance. We should be thankful he’s not playing every day. At his pace, he’d score about 700 runs over a full season.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
He must have off-the-charts ZORPS and Value Over Mythical Unicorns.
RynoQuote Reply
https://wtop.com/local/2018/06/latest-armored-vehicle-theft-suspect-company-commander/
A+ name.
RynoQuote Reply
RynoQuote Reply
Happ!
dmick89Quote Reply
I’d be perfectly fine if the Cubs replaced Chatwood with Monty once Darvish is back.
dmick89Quote Reply
Corey Mazzoni is the team’s setup pitcher?
dmick89Quote Reply
Runs, please
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
Monty is a very mediocre pitcher, which means he’s basically Chris Sale compared to Chatwood.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
I’m tired of high-drama ninth innings.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Yes.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Put Happ in left and he becomes Almora and Heyward combined.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
That was a great catch.
dmick89Quote Reply
Rizzo the Rat,
I think Chatwood would look really good in the Brewers rotation. Can we just gift him to Milwaukee?
dmick89Quote Reply
First place!
berseliusQuote Reply
I think I’m still on the old server on my desktop.
berseliusQuote Reply
Dammit, Phillies
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
Clear the cache. That did it for me this morning.
dmick89Quote Reply
Apropos of nothing in particular, I don’t think Baez is a better player than Russell, but I’d miss Baez more if he were traded.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Rizzo the Rat,
If the Cubs had to trade one of them, I’d prefer they keep Addy. Baez may have more potential, but that’s questionable considering his inability to take walks. Neither player is going to be the perennial all star we hoped both would be, but both are still valuable and young enough we can expect some improvement.
dmick89Quote Reply
Where’s JD?
dmick89Quote Reply
Pierats
berseliusQuote Reply
dmick89,
I think that’s him, but with an extremely sore throat.
berseliusQuote Reply
dmick89,
This is JD. He has a cold. He sounded even worse yesterday.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Schwarber gets the most bad strike calls of any hitter I’ve seen.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Live look at the Pirates’ broadcast booth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvU26k8Fsv0
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
That was a win I recently enjoyed.
berseliusQuote Reply
My favorite thing about the recent string of success is having so many ninth-inning leads, they have to do the closer-by-committee thing to avoid overworking Morrow.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Jesus.
dmick89Quote Reply
The Cubs have a leadoff hitter with an OBP under .290.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
It’s only been a month since Bryant’s last home run? Seems like longer.
dmick89Quote Reply
Ian Happ strikes out during batting practice.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Come on, Tommy.
dmick89Quote Reply
Rizzo the Rat,
He probably falls behind in tee ball.
dmick89Quote Reply
I wish Joe had pinch-hit with Zobrist there.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Baez makes up his mind if he’s going to swing the night before each game.
dmick89Quote Reply
Jesus Christ.
dmick89Quote Reply
I thought batting Baez leadoff was supposed to magically cure his slump.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
I’ll never understand why anyone would ever intentionally throw Baez a pitch in the zone.
dmick89Quote Reply
At least now I don’t feel so bad about those missed scoring opportunities.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Joe makes a lot of questionable decisions, but pinch-hitting for Hendricks was clearly correct. Zo is a better hitter than La Stella, but it’s possible Joe promised him a day off.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Or not.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Rizzo the Rat,
Pinch hitting was definitely the right call.
dmick89Quote Reply
No time for love Dr Jones. Also for a series preview.
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
I have time to do a preview.
dmick89Quote Reply
new shit: http://www.obstructedview.net/series-preview-chicago-cubs-37-25-milwaukee-brewers-39-26/
dmick89Quote Reply