bdutts
- Houston, Texas
Why not? If you have to pinch hit for the guy in the 6th inning, something is wrong. Send him down for a couple of weeks and let him think about nothing but sweet corn.
Chicago Cubs 2017 Season
- Status
Why not? If you have to pinch hit for the guy in the 6th inning, something is wrong. Send him down for a couple of weeks and let him think about nothing but sweet corn.
Illiniaaron
- Geneseo, IL
I really don't understand what they are doing with Schwarber either. He has pretty much looked lost most of the season, to the point that now it is almost embarrassing for him. I was against batting him leadoff to begin with, and now I think today they have him hitting ninth behind Lester. He needs to go to Iowa and figure some things out.
bdutts
- Houston, Texas
And that's probably why he won't be sent down. The slam, that is.
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[ W ] #26, 27, 28!
Sweep!
Sweep!
Shane Walsh
aka "Captain Oblivious"
- Cynthiana, Kentucky
[ W ] #29
First place (tie)!
First place (tie)!
Illiniaaron
- Geneseo, IL
We were all happy to see him come through on Saturday and we are all rooting for him to succeed. Maybe this turns his season around, maybe not. He's down to .166, .118 over the past 30 days. He strikes out 1 out of every 2.8 at-bats. It's like having Todd Frazier playing left field.
Jason Heyward is having a real nice year. He has the highest average exit velocity on the team.
Shane Walsh
aka "Captain Oblivious"
- Cynthiana, Kentucky
I don't think anyone is denying that he is in a slump, heck, half the team is. Guess what though, they still swept the deadbirds and fought back into first place in the division.
In regards to your Todd Frazier comment, it could always be worse, we could have Piscotty patrolling the outfield....
It is a long season, sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.
If you want angst go check out the bfib's thread. Talk about being on the ledge.....
bdutts
- Houston, Texas
“Bryant is no Todd Frazier.”
- Ken Harrelson
The good thing about Schwarber and the others struggling, if there is a good thing to take out of it, is that it's not "hurting" their place in the standings. Sure, they could be up more but at least they are in first. So from that sense, I could see Russell and Schwarber and all the other guys getting a chance to hit their way out of it.
bdutts
- Houston, Texas
Not sure how often he swung at first pitches last year, but this year it seems like he's having great success on first pitches. Totally different offensive player as compared to last year.
Heyward was a 1.5 WAR last year. He's at 1.2 this year in 98 fewer games played. To say he's been a better player is a massive understatement.
He's still not quite the offensive player he was before coming to the Cubs, but he's within an acceptable range of deviation. The main difference now is OBP, which might come from the fact that he's trying to be more aggressive. If that's what it takes to not be whatever it was we saw last year, I'm ok with it.
And as Shane Walsh alluded to, Heyward's great fielding is certainly put into perspective after seeing a series of Piscotty running around like a headless chicken.
As for Schwarber's fielding, you can have a sub-par fielding left fielder if you have Gold Glove candidates at Center, Right, SS, 2B, 1B, and Catcher. (I know Russel hasn't be great this year, but I'm going to blame that on his shoulder.)
He's still not quite the offensive player he was before coming to the Cubs, but he's within an acceptable range of deviation. The main difference now is OBP, which might come from the fact that he's trying to be more aggressive. If that's what it takes to not be whatever it was we saw last year, I'm ok with it.
And as Shane Walsh alluded to, Heyward's great fielding is certainly put into perspective after seeing a series of Piscotty running around like a headless chicken.
As for Schwarber's fielding, you can have a sub-par fielding left fielder if you have Gold Glove candidates at Center, Right, SS, 2B, 1B, and Catcher. (I know Russel hasn't be great this year, but I'm going to blame that on his shoulder.)
It's only 4 games, but Schwarber has a 1.591 OPS in those games.
A cloud of bad news for the team for the first time I can remember in some time. Addison Russell will be investigated by MLB for domestic violence allegations.
http://www.bleachernation.com/2017/...violence-allegations-against-addison-russell/
http://www.bleachernation.com/2017/...violence-allegations-against-addison-russell/
ILL in IA
- Iowa City
Bryant is no Todd Frazier Defensivly. That was the quote.
The allegations were made my a friend of his wife's in a comment on social media. There may or may not be any substance to it. Who knows.
What's pretty clear is that Russell's young marriage has fallen apart, which certainly may have affected his play this year. He's certainly looked like a guy who could use a week off to get his head right.
bdutts
- Houston, Texas
I took it exactly from an article I found. I didn't doctor it at all. In the body of the article, it talked more about defensively, but in the article I took that from, that is the exact quote they had.
ILL in IA
- Iowa City
I'm no Hawk defender, and as one of the few on loyalty that likes boers/Bernstein (I know the show has since chamged) it always drove me nuts how big of a deal that made of that quote from Hawk. Because they cut the clip just like the article you referenced. Cutting out that last word can change that quote quite a bit. Vin Scilly is no Hawk Harelson......when it comes to Yaz stories.
Illiniaaron
- Geneseo, IL
Well after winning the first five games on the homestand they have now lost three in a row and continue to look like an average at best team. After this series with the Rockies they will begin a stretch of 17 out of 20 on the road. It will be interesting to see where they stand after that. At that point they will surely be at a place where "you are what your record says you are."
[ W ] #30 (postdate) & #31!
The Wade Davis trade is paying off nicely, as has the Jon Jay signing.
The Wade Davis trade is paying off nicely, as has the Jon Jay signing.
Rizzo leading off tonight. Haha, I love it.
[ W ] 32!
Back to .500.
Back to .500.
Schwarber now with an OPS of 1.122 over the last 11 games.
His OPS on the season just passed Contreras and Russell. So he's not even the second worst hitting regular on the team anymore.
His OPS on the season just passed Contreras and Russell. So he's not even the second worst hitting regular on the team anymore.
champaignchris, what do you see/feel is going on with the bats? I just can't seem to put a finger on it.
I'm going to throw out a mid-June prediction for the rest of the season. The Cubs will continue to madden fans with short bursts of winning and losing streaks, continuously hovering around .500. The good news is that the NL Central doesn't look like it will take a 90 win season to take the division. I see this race shaping up to be similar to 2006, when the Cardinals took it with a 1.5 game advantage at 83-78 record. As we remember, this team went on to win the World Series (editor's note: I am not claiming the Cubs will win the World Series, rather, I am drawing parallels to the regular season race).
Prior to the trade deadline, the Cubs may make an investment move for a controllable SP that can make an impact not only this season, but for down the line with Lackey certainly gone and Arrieta likely cashing out elsewhere. Depending on the name, this move may come at a high price, but if it brings in a Sonny Gray or a Chris Archer (the highest priced arm on the foreseeable market), it could be worth it. Hypothetically, those solidifies the rotation and keeps Montgomery as a stronghold in the bullpen.
Defensively the team needs to play better. They've gone from historically good in 2016 to middle-of-the-pack to bottom third of the league this year.
Sneak into the playoffs and who knows what magic could happen.
[ W ]
Prior to the trade deadline, the Cubs may make an investment move for a controllable SP that can make an impact not only this season, but for down the line with Lackey certainly gone and Arrieta likely cashing out elsewhere. Depending on the name, this move may come at a high price, but if it brings in a Sonny Gray or a Chris Archer (the highest priced arm on the foreseeable market), it could be worth it. Hypothetically, those solidifies the rotation and keeps Montgomery as a stronghold in the bullpen.
Defensively the team needs to play better. They've gone from historically good in 2016 to middle-of-the-pack to bottom third of the league this year.
Sneak into the playoffs and who knows what magic could happen.
[ W ]
- Status