OSS: Jake Arrieta is good at baseball
Three up
- Arrieta made it look easy today, striking out eight over eight innings. He allowed five hits and walked one with no real jams to work out of all game. He now has a season ERA of 1.23, so I guess he can improve on last year after all (dying laughing).
- The Cubs offense slugged several homers today, including back to back homers by Rizzo and Soler to lead off the fourth. Soler's looked especially impressive.
- Dexter Fowler put the game away with a long three-run homer in the seventh inning. The Cubs had a strangely tough time against Bergman, but they drank the Rockies bullpen's milkshakes from the sixth inning on.
Three down
- Uh, I got nothin' here. I'll complain that this lineup should probably have been playing yesterday's day game after a night game, but this is also a lineup you'd rather see for an Arrieta start than a Hendricks one, so *shrug*.
- The Cubs biggest negative WPA play of the day was Russell's GIDP with two on and no out in the second. Matt Szczur's flyout to end that inning was the #2. In the literal sense, not the figurative sense, in which Russell's double play was #2.
- There was some grumbling about Arrieta batting for himself in the 8th, but I don't really care. His strikeout cost the Cubs a whopping .000 WPA at that point in the game. Arrieta seems to like to hit, so Joe was probably just throwing him a bone before he hit the showers. Uh, phrasing.
Next Game
Jon Lester takes on Tyler Chatwood in the series finale at 1:20 tomorrow afternoon, before the Cubs gear up to take on the red birds. Unfortunately, they won't be facing Adam Wanwright, who gave up seven runs today and has a cool 8.27 ERA on the young season.
Comments
(dying laughing) Brett can write 15 posts a day without breaking a sweat, but if you forced him to compile a list of bad decisions from the last four years, it would take him a week and a half. And the end product would be full of caveats as to why each was actually secretly brilliant.
GWQuote Reply
http://www.hardballtimes.com/index-the-minimum-salary-to-mlbam-and-tv-revenue/
dmick89Quote Reply
To-day’s base ball squadron
Fowler
Heyward
Zobrist
Rizzo
Bryant
Soler
Baez (SS)
Ross
Lester
berseliusQuote Reply
dmick89,
I am disappointed that this analysis was not based on multiple overfit regression models.
berseliusQuote Reply
Seven guesses as to which member of today’s lineup has the highest average exit velocity and the longest average distance per statcast (minimum 10 balls in play).
Hint: neither Baez nor Lester have had enough BIP occurences to be options.
ceruleanQuote Reply
Jorge Soler
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
He is second and second. Try again.
ceruleanQuote Reply
My first guess would be Bryant followed by Rizzo, but I assume it’s neither of those. That’s why I went with Soler. David Ross
dmick89Quote Reply
Boom. David Fucking Ross. In the gameday preview at the bottom is a Statcast tab that has that info on the starting lineup in one place. (Imagine if Ross’s launch angle was greater than 14.5º.)
ceruleanQuote Reply
so sick of that pink hat douche. he never claps or anything.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
Really good play by Gwampa Wossy and Baez.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
I’m not a big fan of the dropped third strike rule. “Reached on a strikeout” just seems silly to me.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Rizzo the Rat,
Reached on dropped fly ball sounds weird too, but makes sense. Gotta hold onto the ball to get the out.
dmick89Quote Reply
Gameday should write it as reached on dropped strikeout.
dmick89Quote Reply
“David Ross is on pace for 9 caught stealings today.”
–JD
Suburban kidQuote Reply
Lester is looking very sharp.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
I spoke too soon.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Chatwood is looking very sharp.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
I’m kinda a newbie here, but what’s wrong with John Lackey’s face?
Thanks, I’ll take my answer off the air.
umbraQuote Reply
“Cubs are on pace for 17 caught lookings today.”
–SK
Suburban kidQuote Reply
I guess my jinx only works when I don’t do it on purpose.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Purrfect game, right cats?
????????
umbraQuote Reply
Cubs offense has kind of looked like shit most of this series and that’s against terrible pitchers.
dmick89Quote Reply
No Len, Lester does not need some “John Lackey to rub off on him”
Suburban kidQuote Reply
A baserunner! Yay!
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Really good AB by Soler.
dmick89Quote Reply
Baez just swings at everything.
dmick89Quote Reply
Baez decides to swing two pitches in advance.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
Suburban kid,
It stands out in this patient lineup.
dmick89Quote Reply
Lester is looking very sharp.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
Since we were talking about pinch hitting for pitchers yesterday, I’d punch hit for Lester in the bottom of this inning. He’s pitching great, but the Cubs are behind and this is the 3rd time through the order already.
dmick89Quote Reply
Lester could probably go another couple innings if they needed it, this 1-0 deficit is annoying though.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
dmick89,
It’s probably the right move on paper, but I don’t see any manager doing that.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
dmick89,
I’d be interested to see if he does…swap out Lester for Montero, then take Ross out of the game to put in another PH later.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Rizzo the Rat,
Maybe in the bottom of the 7th, but not with this workload so far..
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Rizzo the Rat,
Yeah, it won’t happen. It probably would in the playoffs, but managers don’t manage to win every game during the regular season for some reason.
dmick89Quote Reply
SHUT YOU RIGHT UP
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Great move allowing Lester to hit. Maddon is a genius.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Rice Cube,
Yeah, Lester screws himself every game for having that personal catcher.
Good thing Lester hit. (dying laughing)
dmick89Quote Reply
Should have punch hit, eh?
umbraQuote Reply
dmick89,
Ross hasn’t been absolute garbage so far and I’m thinking the defense helps a bunch.
Ouch re: bricks
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Rice Cube,
Yeah, so far it’s been ok, but I’m betting by the end of the season it’s going to be a negative.
dmick89Quote Reply
Heyward is due
dmick89Quote Reply
BUST
umbraQuote Reply
dmick89,
Guessing by then he sits more or just retires and Contreras takes over. We’ll see.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Heyward’s slump is getting frustrating.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Heyward just can’t catch up to a fastball so far this season.
dmick89Quote Reply
Weak fan cam. Too many kids, not enough ladiessssssssss
umbraQuote Reply
Jon Lester is the OPS leader of this lineup: 1.667. Jason Heyward is the laggard: .509.
This team feasts on marginal pitching. Whatever it is we want to say about Chatwood, he hasn’t beat himself with a bunch of walks.
ceruleanQuote Reply
It’s Sunday afternoon. Be glad there’s no GBA.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
Lester is dealing—10 Ks. Time for a back to back to back to back him.
ceruleanQuote Reply
Stupid Arenado
Rice CubeQuote Reply
So much for that. The heart of the order may not get another chance.
ceruleanQuote Reply
cerulean,
bench is handy
Suburban kidQuote Reply
Nice throw, Lester!
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
WTF LESTER HAHAHAHAHHA
Rice CubeQuote Reply
(dying laughing)
dmick89Quote Reply
Bahahahajajajaha
umbraQuote Reply
It’s clobbering time!
umbraQuote Reply
Grimm was doing awesome up till then
Suburban kidQuote Reply
Clobbered!
umbraQuote Reply
Ugh.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
That’s a start, JH.
ceruleanQuote Reply
Warning track power!
umbraQuote Reply
C’mon three true outcomes.
ceruleanQuote Reply
Three choices and he chooses that one.
ceruleanQuote Reply
Two games up…
Rice CubeQuote Reply
That game sucked, but I could watch this all day: https://twitter.com/MLBGIFs/status/721842988033290240
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Rizzo the Rat,
(dying laughing) The runner would have been out had it hit him. I wish it would have.
ceruleanQuote Reply
cerulean,
Why would he have been out? He wasn’t interfering with the throw.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
I hate his face
WaLiQuote Reply
Berselius’s series preview is up http://obstructedview.net/series-preview-chicago-cubs-9-3-at-st-louis-cardinals-7-5/
dmick89Quote Reply