It’s Jeff Samardzija Time! – Cubs Game Thread

@ GW:

It’s hard to watch what has become of him.

@ bubblesdachimp:

Yeah, he’s looking pretty rough on Gameday. Missing up and spotty velocity. I miss young Z.

@ Suburban kid:

Yeah. I’d rather neither of DeWitt and Stewart were on this team.

@ ACT:

Selfish.

@ bubblesdachimp:
Lots of innings, age-based decline, probably a few nagging injuries.

Z has settled down some. His control, especially. Just doesn’t seem to have any pop to his stuff, though, at least on Gameday.

82 pitches through 5 for Z.

F7 keeping that H/9 at expected levels.

The One-Armed Bandit up next inning.

He’s doing a nice job of keeping that fastball in on the hands. I guess if you’re going to throw an arrow-straight 4-seamer, you better be able to keep them from pulling it.

@ Rice Cube:
He’s always been able to get it up there.

14 pitches through 2 innings. Way to make the pitcher work, Cubs.

What I’m anxious to see with F7 is the 3rd and (hopefully) 4th times through the lineup.

And just like that, out of the inning. Fucking stupid fucking bunts.

Still up in the zone.

Control getting spottier by the inning, but he had a 2-seamer/cutter working that inning.

@ Rice Cube:
All due to F7′s transformation.

Much more effective than the auto-bunt.

@ Rice Cube:
Yeah, he’s walking a pretty fine line with his fastball. Reminds me of Z, really. If he loses the handle on that thing just a bit, it’s all going to go pear-shaped.

Two pitches, two outs. Cubs. (dying laughing)

@ Rice Cube:

I’m sure we can expect that to continue. (dying laughing)

The undue adulation of F7 is about to reach critical mass. We should all get hold of a shovel.

@ Rice Cube:

Yeah, he really has. But there’s as much cause for concern as there is for optimism, IMO, on the strength of this start.

It would nice if the offense could pick up F7 here.

@ WaLi:

It’s certainly possible. Not much pop in this lineup.

3rd time though the heart of the order. Interested to see what and how F7 does.

Bailed out there.

Marlon Byrd really hates taking pitches.

F7 is about to find what the pressure of irrational expectations from the Cubs’ fanbase feels like.

Starlin Henderson.

4 more runs and the lead will be bullpen proofed.

Marlon will not be cheated.

F7 is really putting that fastball in hittable places.

Nice fucking pitch.

Nice snag, awful throw.

@ Rice Cube:
Gameday had it dead down the middle. Belt-high, heart of the plate. You throw that pitch to a guy like LaRoche, you deserve the results.

@ bubblesdachimp:
If he doesn’t keep that fastball down when the weather warms and the wind shifts, he’s going to be in trouble.

@ bubblesdachimp:

I’m not sure nasty factor is really indicative of anything inherently positive.

@ GBTS:

It tastes like confirmation bias with a bit of sample size and a dash of Thenatshaveareallyshittyoffense.

@ bubblesdachimp:
No, there’s a bunch of other shit thrown in. From MLB:

The Nasty Factor evaluates several properties of each pitch, and rates the “nastiness” of the pitch on a scale from 0-100, based in part on the success or failure of opposing hitters against previous similar pitches. The Nasty Factor incorporates several different factors for each pitch, including:
Velocity — The greater the pitch’s velocity — as compared to that pitcher’s and the league’s range of speed for that pitch type — the greater the nastiness;
Sequence — The more the pitcher mixes up his pitches, the greater the nastiness… and certain pitch sequences are nastier than others, too;
Location — The closer to the edges of the strike zone is, the greater the nastiness, while pitches closer to the middle of the plate, and farther away outside the strike zone, decrease in nastiness;
Movement — The more movement the pitcher applies to the pitch — as compared to that pitcher’s and the league’s range of movement for that pitch type — the greater the nastiness.
The Nasty Factor also adjusts for how often the pitcher has faced the current batter during the game, as well as how often he has used the same pitch type against the same batter in the current at-bat and previously in the game.

There’s so much noise in that number, I doubt it’s useful for much at all. Basically, it tells what we could already see: the pitcher is pitching with movement.

@ mb21:

Is he still cost-controlled?

@ GW:
Ned Yost, 2008 Cubs MVP.