Series Preview: Chicago Cubs (8-15) at Cincinnati Reds (11-11)

In Series Previews by berselius58 Comments

I'm swamped with work deadlines so this is going to be relatively short.

After a slow start to the season Cincy finished April strong, winnign series against NL central foes St. Louis, the Cubs, and the Astros. Jay Bruce is the hottest hitter in the NL right now, and has hit HRs in his last 4 games.

The Cubs splitting a series against the Phillies feels like a series win for this squad, though the fact that the Phillies roster is 5000 years old takes a bit of luster off the accomplishment.

Pitching Matchups

Tuesday: Jeff Samardzija, RHP vs Bronson Arroyo, RHP, 6:05 PM CT

Hopefully this is also 80s hair band night at GAB.

Samardzija looked good in his last outing after two rough ones. A big part of it could have been his velocity, which moved closer to his excellent first start after being down for starts two and three. He's had some bad luck with batted balls (.352 BABIP) but most of his problems seem to have been posthoc rationalized to be that he loses whatever program he's on and ends up having a big inning.

Arroyo has pitched shockingly well in his first four starts, and a big part of it is due to the fact that he's not walking anyone. He has just two walks in four starts. He's also giving up half as many homers as his career numbers would suggest. Fun fact – he posted a 5.71 FIP last year, and despite that was thrown out there for nearly 200 innings.

Wednesday: Paul Maholm, LHP vs Homer Bailey, RHP, 6:05 PM CT

Maholm finally had start where he did Paul Maholm things last time out. He still gave up a HR, which has been his main problem this year, but most importantly he induced 15 ground balls. He only had one strikeout, but blowing away hitters is not his gameplan.

Bailey's seen a small dip in his strikeout rate this year but has otherwise been right about what you would expect. He beat the Cubs on 4/20, giving up 4 runs (1 earned) in seven innings. Shockingly, he only managed to strikeout two members of this lineup.

Thursday: Ryan Dempster, RHP vs Mike Leake, RHP, 11:35 AM CT

Dempster looked great before his DL trip, and hopefully he can get back on track quickly. His injury never sounded *that* serious anyway.

Leake has not looked good at all this year. his strikeout rate has dipped below 4 K/9 and batters have hit 38% of balls in play for line drives. According to fangraphs pfx numbers, batters are just destroying his changeup.

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  1. Mercurial Outfielder

    He’s had some bad luck with batted balls (.352 BABIP)

    Sure, but it should be pointed out that he’s a fastball-sinker pitcher who works up in the zone. He’s going to give up a lot of hits.

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  15. GBTS

    Breakin’ 2 is the best movie of all time.

    When I worked for the media department with the Iowa Cubs in college, I would occasionally play the scene where Turbo dances up the walls and ceiling during pitching changes. The perplexity of the crowd was audible from the press box. (dying laughing)

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  22. uncle dave

    GBTS wrote:

    Van Damme is in “Breakin”? That’s awesome.

    Further research indicates that it was his first Hollywood role. By the way, I was pleasantly surprised by “JCVD” — worth a look if you have a couple of hours to kill.

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  23. EnricoPallazzo

    GBTS wrote:

    When I worked for the media department with the Iowa Cubs in college, I would occasionally play the scene where Turbo dances up the walls and ceiling during pitching changes. The perplexity of the crowd was audible from the press box.

    1. is this true? if so, please continue to #2.
    2. HOW ARE YOU NOT WORKING FOR A PRO SPORTS FRANCHISE?

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  25. GBTS

    @ EnricoPallazzo:
    This is true. It was a summer internship.

    I also held the record for the summer where I was able to get seven different sound effects over the PA after a foul ball before the batter re-entered the box.

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  27. ACT

    @ GBTS:
    You’re making the mistake of looking at the scoreboard, when you should be checking the fWAR. The Royals are fWAR-ing the hell out of the Tigers now.

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  28. uncle dave

    GBTS wrote:

    I also held the record for the summer where I was able to get seven different sound effects over the PA after a foul ball before the batter re-entered the box.

    Lemme guess: broken glass, Homer Simpson, wet fart, “sproing”, sad trombone, shrill and terrified scream, “No more yankee my wankee, Donger need FOOD!”

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  36. Rice Cube

    @ ACT:
    I would use stadia.

    I read that the Red Sox had considered some weird bubble wrap roof. I wonder if that was for real or if they had hired a mad scientist.

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  46. Author
    Berselius

    Speaking of the Dodgers, I’m going to be in LA next week. I thought about catching a Dodgers-Giants game in Chavez Ravine but it appears to be an enormous/expensive pain in the ass to get from UCLA to Dodger stadium if you don’t have a car, so that sucks.

    /cool story bro

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  51. Rice Cube

    @ Berselius:
    Heathens.

    Try this…

    http://www.recreation.ucla.edu/insidepage.aspx?uid=9dc479c6-19c7-4bed-878d-af358a6f01f6

    Public Transit – The Metro’s Dodger Stadium Express will bring you right to the stadium from Union Station in downtown Los Angeles. Your Dodger ticket is even good for the fare! The Metro Red, Purple and Gold Lines can bring you to Union Station. Use the Trip Planner to find directions using public transportation from your specific location.

    The Dodger Stadium Express link does say that the buses stop running towards midnight. Quicky search suggests it’ll cost you $58 by taxi. I can see how it’d be hefty. Not sure what it is about CA but most of their public transit systems suck. Chicago has spoiled me.

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