How To Watch
TV: CSN+
Radio: 670 the Score
Time: 8:40 PM CST
Cubs Starting Lineup
Dexter Fowler CF
Jason Heyward RF
Ben Zobrist 2B
Anthony Rizzo 1B
Kris Bryant 3B
Kyle Schwarber LF
Miguel Montero C
Addison Russell SS
John "Beer and Chicken" Lackey P
Diamondbacks Starting Lineup
Jean Segura 2B
Nick Ahmed SS
Paul Goldschmidt 1B
David Peralta RF
Beef Castle C
Jake Lamb 3B
Yasmany Tomas LF
Chris Owings CF
Rubby De La Rosa P
Things to Watch
For the second series in a row, the best player between the two teams isn't on the Cubs. Paul Goldschmidt is like Anthony Rizzo except a little bit better in every single way. He has best-in-class defense, walks a little more, with a little more power. He even stole more bases than Rizzo last year (21 to 17). Goldy is good enough where it makes sense to just push all your chips in the middle and hope to win it all, even if your window is only open for two years or so.
The Diamondbacks might have the best infield defense in the majors this year. Goldschmidt is an elite defender at first, and Ahmed is pretty close to elite at short. Both Lamb and Segura are very good defenders at third and second, respectively. Stuff like that isn't easy to quantify, but don't be surprised if very few of our grounders end up for hits.
Soler gets the night off, so he'll be first off the bench.
Dexter Fowler has already been worth .4 wins this year, and he's been the best player on the team so far.
Will the Cubs Win?
Yes (26)
Randy's Record: 2-0
Randy currently has the Cubs at 26-24.
Comments
Randy isn’t so confident today.
WaLiQuote Reply
Ugh.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Double ugh.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
At least the Cubs offense can score.
dmick89Quote Reply
My bad for making fun of Segura’s projection.
berseliusQuote Reply
Nice li’l AB by Schwarber.
uncle daveQuote Reply
Ugh again.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Russell!
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Don’t bunt, Lackey.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
I miss the DH.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Oh god.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Can we just forfeit this game before anything else goes wrong?
uncle daveQuote Reply
Fuck.
dmick89Quote Reply
Well, that’s why you sign Dexter Fowler.
MylesQuote Reply
uncle dave,
Isn’t there rain in the forecast?
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Fuck
WaLiQuote Reply
Welp, this is why you keep all the players.
Fucking baseball.
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
Matt Szczur gets to stick around a little longer than expected.
dmick89Quote Reply
That fucking sucks. Here’s hoping it’s just a sprain. When I tore my ACL, I wasn’t able to put any weight on it right away, and it looks like Schwarber could.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Yeah, maybe. I seem to recall Corey Patterson blowing out his ACL in 2003 and walking off the field.
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
Anyone else bracing for another catastrophic injury before the night is over?
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
I’d be surprised if that’s NOT a torn ACL. Looked like his knee buckled out. Fucking shit.
MuckerQuote Reply
Perkins,
I could put some weight on mine. I tore it on a morning run and was able to limp home. I may have damaged it more though. Probably depends on the severity.
dmick89Quote Reply
Mucker,
Yeah, that’s what I would guess too. That sucks.
dmick89Quote Reply
My thought as well.
Though ingrown toenails can be a bitch to walk on if you aggravate one…
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
If it is the ACL, I guess one good thing is that no one was counting on his legs in the future so there’s that.
dmick89Quote Reply
That’s great base running.
dmick89Quote Reply
Nice fucking baserunning, Riz. Make ’em fuck up. Love it.
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
What happened? I’m just on game day and this bar is l GSW coverage.
berseliusQuote Reply
Schwarbs down, probably for a while. Collided with Dexter. Lackey is not so good right now.
Cubs, undaunted though, have tied the game at 4.
EDIT: Lackey just gave up the lead again.
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
Damn it, Lackey. Stop sucking.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Lackey is having a shitty start to his Cubs career.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
Was yours a partial tear? Mine tore right in two, and it was…frightening.
PerkinsQuote Reply
theyre not going to have a meaningful update on Schwarber until they get MRI results.
dmick89Quote Reply
Perkins,
Just a partial tear. I can’t imagine what snapping it into two pieces hurt like. How long did it take you to recover?
dmick89Quote Reply
I wasn’t thrilled with Lackey signing at time it happened……..haven’t changed that stance.
MuckerQuote Reply
Smokestack Lightning,
Also my bad for picking a down year for Schwaber
berseliusQuote Reply
Mucker,
Pretty good years and dollars for a guy like Lackey IMO.
dmick89Quote Reply
Fowler!
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Why didn’t Soler come in for Schwarber?
MuckerQuote Reply
Mucker,
Because La Stella is a lefty?
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
dmick89,
Yeah but I’m annoyed with him right now so I’m being unreasonable.
MuckerQuote Reply
Lackey is ok, but he’s old and is coming off a fluke season.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
The Schwarbs injury is a bummer, no doubt, but the panic around Cubdom is unwarranted. Maybe everybody had him inked for Pujols numbers circa 2004, but I always kind of thought it was a pick ’em between him and Soler, and that neither of them might be very good this year.
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
It’s a shootout.
Pewpewpewpew!
umbraQuote Reply
dmick89,
I had surgery a couple months after tearing it and rehabbed it enough over the next 4 months that they let me deploy to Afghanistan.
That was probably a poor health choice since I don’t think it’s ever fully healed. But I can walk fine and hike and stuff. I don’t run anymore, though.
How long did yours take to heal?
PerkinsQuote Reply
Fixed.
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
So Schwarber may have torn his ACL.
This game is beyond belief.
ceruleanQuote Reply
Smokestack Lightning,
That’s some high praise for Soler. Unwarranted I think, but I agree it’s not the end of the world. The Cubs were built to withstand an injury like this. I’m hopeful Soler is better than last season. He almost has to be or Szczur would probably be a better option. I’m guessing Baez plays a lot of 3rd with Bryant in LF now.
dmick89Quote Reply
I love you, Anthony!
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Rizzo is insane. That is all.
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
Bad baserunning by Bryant there.
Edit: never mind, he looks safe
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Is it just me or are all of the pitches straight as an arrow?
ceruleanQuote Reply
Perkins,
Damn. That’s some serious dedication to getting back to the desert.
I had surgery a few weeks after the injury and it took me 4-6 months to get back to near 100%, but I didn’t feel comfortable running. Took me another 6 months before I could really do that. Mine healed up well though.
dmick89Quote Reply
I love this offense.
dmick89Quote Reply
Cue Yakety Sax
PerkinsQuote Reply
Don’t tell me what to do.
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
dmick89,
It was one of those situations where my unit was going and I didn’t want to get left behind. That would have been more crushing than the injury itself.
Glad to hear yours healed well and that you can run on it again.
PerkinsQuote Reply
I can’t argue with you today.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Shut him right up.
MuckerQuote Reply
Schwarber ——————> Sprained… ankle.
Big, if true.
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
Sounds like an ankle sprain, but MRI scheduled for tomorrow. That’s probably the best possible outcome here.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Find it hard to believe. Unless when they were futzing with his knee, he was saying “It’s not my fucking knee!”
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
So sprained ankle means it’s almost certainly not a break. Could be a hairline fracture, which would suck, but it’s much better than an ACL tear. Good news.
dmick89Quote Reply
Smokestack Lightning,
They did mess around with the ankle, but spent a lot more time looking at the knee.
dmick89Quote Reply
Kyle Drabek didn’t inherit much of his father’s skill.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Gordo says MRI will look at knee too, but for now it appears to be just bruised. No timetable yet (obviously). I’m thinking June-ish myself. Because in lieu of timetables given to me, I’ll just make up one on my own.
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
Man. This lineup.
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
Drabek is like Marmol without the strikeouts.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Walking the bases loaded to pitch to Rizzo seems like a poor strategy to me.
dmick89Quote Reply
Smokestack Lightning,
I look forward to many five-hour games.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Lackey somehow only at 59 pitches. I’m calling it now: he goes the distance. Because baseball.
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
Smokestack Lightning,
I think the dbacks have thrown about 150 pitches.
dmick89Quote Reply
The Effectively Wild podcast had Sheehan on today talking about the dearth of swingmen in the bullpen and the specialization of all pitchers’ roles increasing Ks and decreasing balls in play and runs scored. I think the Cubs are outliers in this respect. Well, except for the Ks.
ceruleanQuote Reply
Smokestack Lightning,
Depending on the severity of the sprain (and assuming it’s just a sprain), I’d guess 3-6 weeks including a rehab stint.
PerkinsQuote Reply
I was figuring Schwarber was out for the year and with an ankle sprain, if that’s all it is, it’s possible he doesn’t even hit the DL. Doubtful, but possible.
dmick89Quote Reply
A grade 3 ankle sprain has a recovery time of 4-12 months so maybe not so good news after all. I’ll take a wait and see approach.
dmick89Quote Reply
Hail Seezer.
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
130+ pitches by the dbacks one out into the 7th.
dmick89Quote Reply
145 I guess. I can’t add (dying laughing)
dmick89Quote Reply
Strop appears to have gotten good at sports.
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
Smokestack Lightning,
He’s been good for years.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
“Good at sports” is a special designation. It’s not that he wasn’t good at sports before, because he was, it just wasn’t this brand of good at sports, which he is now.
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
I love this damn team.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Poor Rondon. This offense won’t keep games close enough to let him save any games.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Rizzo!
dmick89Quote Reply
Rizzo will be at 100 RBI by June.
dmick89Quote Reply
I was out drinking wine with Bizarro Tony Soprano tonight, so I didn’t see any of this game. Maybe someone else should write the recap (dying laughing).
berseliusQuote Reply
I vote Randy.
MylesQuote Reply
Amusing, but wrong
WaLiQuote Reply
You spoke of chance, Grasshopper. As if such a thing were certain to exist. In the matter you speak of, destiny, there is no such thing as chance. For which ever way you choose, right or left, it must lead to an end. And that end is our destiny.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
I went with Dee and Addison up the middle, which I’m happy with, but Starlin would have been a smrt fake team draft pick at least for April. I see he’s still available in 13% of Yahoo leagues.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
New Shit
http://obstructedview.net/cubs-14-diamondbacks-6-schwarber-0-4716/
mylesQuote Reply