Author: myles

Cubs Gameday: Barves (7-5) @ Cubs (6-6) (4/13/2018)

Time: 1:20 PM CST
TV: NBC Sports Chicago
Radio: 670 the Score

Cubs

Happ CF
La Stella 3B
Bryant 1B
Contreras C
Schwarber LF
Russell SS
Baez 2B
Heyward RF
Yu Darvish SP

Barves

Inciarte CF
Albies 2B
Freeman 1B
Markakis RF
Suzuki C
Tucker LF
Swanson SS
Flaherty 3B
Anibal Sanchez SP

Note: originally Albert Almora Jr. was going to start at CF and lead off today, but he is battling an illness and is unavailable for the game.

Kris Bryant, first baseman! This an interesting lineup for the Cubs. I like the vote of confidence for Tommy La Stella. If you click on Anibal Sanchez, you’ll also know why I am betting today is Addison Russell’s first HR. Sanchez gets absolutely obliterated by righties in the back nine of his career. While that makes it slightly weird that this is the day La Stella gets a start, we can at least take solace in the fact that Sanchez has been horrible for the past few years.

The Braves are well on their way to being the 2015 Cubs. There are absolutely tons of great, young players on this team. Freeman, Swanson, Albies, Inciarte, and (soon) Acuna is an excellent young core of hitters. The Braves only have 2 really good pitchers (Teheran and Newcomb), so that’ll be what the Braves need to grab in FA or through trades. They have a few rounds in the chamber in the minors (Kyle Wright, Luiz Gohara, Mike Soroka), with Gohara being the one in the group that can really end up anchoring a rotation should be put it all together, but none of them are sure things.

Cubs Gameday: Pirates (8-3) @ Cubs (6-5) (4/12/2018)

Time: 1:20 PM CST
TV: NBC Sports
Radio: 670 the Score

Cubs

Happ CF
Bryant 3B
Zobrist 1B
Schwarber C
Russell SS
Caratini C
EL MAGO 2B
Heyward RF
Kyle Hendricks SP

Pirates

Frazier 2B
Polanco RF
Marte CF
Bell 1B
Dickerson LF
Cervelli C
Moran 3B
Mercer SS
Trevor Williams SP

I sort of like Trevor Williams as a back-end rotation filler. During his career, he’s kept the ball in the park, and if you can do that and stay healthy than you’ll get a lot of chances over your career.

Kyle Hendricks had two bad pitches in his last start, but that will ALWAYS be Kyle Hendricks’ problem. He isn’t going to overpower anyone, so he can’t make any mistakes. Luckily for Kyle, he rarely makes any. The other weird quirk of last start is that he only struck out one batter.

 

 

Cubs Gameday: Pirates (7-2) @ Cubs (5-4) (4/9/2018) (Opening Day)

Time: 2:20 PM CST
TV: ABC 7 Chicago, MLB Network
Radio: 670 the Score

Cubs

Happ CF
Bryant 3B
Zobrist 1B
Contreras C
Schwarber LF
Russell SS
Heyward RF
Baez 2B
Tyler Chatwood SP

Pirates

Harrison 2B
Polanco RF
Marte CF
Bell 1B
Dickerson LF
Cervelli C
Moran 3B
Mercer SS
Ivan Nova SP

I think I’m the high man on the planet for the Pirates. I don’t hate that lineup – not sure there’s an all-star on it but it is pretty deep, with nobody so bad that you feel there is a free out to be had. There’s a lot of value in having a low-variance lineup, where you can feel that you can consistently score a few runs. I’m not sure the Pirates are better than the Cardinals or the Brewers (in fact, I’m very sure they aren’t), but if you told me that they’d have a better record than one of them I wouldn’t be shocked at all.

Of course, that pitching staff is horrible (though with some upside). The Cubs will dodge the staff ace (Taillon) and today they get Nova, who is almost the definition of a league-average pitcher. He’s a pitch to contact guy who should be helped by the extreme frigidity of today’s game.

Tyler Chatwood is going to have to not walk a shitload of batters today. Free passes are going to be backbreakers in a game that figures to have almost no offense due to course conditions. Saying that, prepare for an 8-6 game or something.

Cubs Gameday: Cubs (4-4) @ Brewers (5-4) (4/8/2018)

Time: 1:10 CST
TV: WGN
Radio: 670 the Score

Cubs

Almora Jr. CF
Bryant 3B
Zobrist 2B
Contreras C
Schwarber LF
Russell SS
Caratini 1B
Heyward RF
Jose Quintana SP

Brewers

Cain CF
Santana RF
Braun LF
Aguilar 1B
Perez 3B
Pina C
Villar 2B
Arcia SS
Chase "Ace" Anderson SP

OF Christian Yelich –> 10-day DL
RHP Taylor Williams –> 25-man roster

 

Cubs Gameday: Cubs @ Brewers (4/6/2018)

It's my daughter's 5th birthday. Hopefully the Cubs get her some runs.

Time: 7:10 PM CST
TV: NBC Sports Chicago
Radio: 670 the Score

Cubs

Zobrist RF
Bryant 3B
Schwarber LF
Contreras C
Russell SS
Caratini 1B (Rizzo scratched with lower back tightness)
Heyward CF (!)
Baez 2B
Kyle Hendricks SP

Brewers

Cain CF
Thames 1B
Braun LF
Shaw 3B
Santana RF
Pina C
Villar 2B
Arcia SS
Brandon Woodruff SP

Interesting lineup for the Cubs without Rizzo in there. Wonder if Happ's time as the leadoff hitter is already over. Also, how shitty does it feel to be Albert Almora Jr, and you can't even get in the lineup today?

Kyle Hendricks will hopefully build on his excellent first start of the year. In that start he was blowing up the speed gun (for him). I'll be intensely interested if a) that keeps up and b) he mixes in more of that curveball he was raving about all spring.

 

Cubs 8, Brewers 0 (4/5/2018)

OSS: It's the Javy Baez show.

Three Up

1. Javy Baez walked 3 times, scored from 1st on an error, and was generally awesome. He had a rough go of the first series of the year, so it's nice to see him with his first-ever 3 walk game. 

2. Jon Lester was really good tonight (Ron Coomer's player of the game), rebounding from his Opening Day start with 6 innings of 1-walk, 3-hit, no run ball. Lester even threw out a steal "attempt" by Bryan Raun in the first innings. Man, I hate that guy. 

3. Willson Contreras was on every single ball threw at him tonight. Even his out was a scorcher. It was great to see.

Three Down

1. Anthony Rizzo is probably fine, but he sure has been awful so far this year. Today he was 0-5 with a strikeout.

2. Ian Happ had a single and scored a run, so it wasn't all miserable, but he also went 1-6 with 4 SO so he clearly needs to fix some holes.

3. I just…want…to punch…Ryan Braun. What a smug face.

Cubs Gameday: Cubs (2-3) @ Reds (1-3) (4/3/2018)

Time: 5:40 PM CST
TV: WGN
Radio: 670 the Score

Cubs

Zobrist LF
Bryant 3B
Rizzo 1B
Contreras C
Russell SS
Almora Jr. CF
Baez 2B
Heyward RF
Lester SP

Reds

Hamilton CF
Gosselin 2B
Votto 1B
Suarez 3B
Duvall LF
Winker RF
Peraza SS
Barnhart C
Reed SP

The Cubs will look to actually score in this game. 

 

Cubs Gameday: Cubs (2-2) @ Reds (0-3) (4/2/2018)

Time: 3:10 PM CST
TV: NBCSCH, Youtube TV, Free Game of the Day on mlb.tv
Radio: 670 the Score

Cubs

Happ CF
Bryant 3B
Rizzo 1B
Contreras C
Schwarber LF
Russell SS
Heyward RF
Baez 2B
Tyler Chatwood SP

Reds

Winker LF
Pennington SS
Votto 1B
Gennett 2B
Suarez 3B
Schebler RF
Barnhart C
Hamilton CF
Mahle RHP

The Reds are honestly not much better than the Marlins are. Sure, Votto is perhaps the best hitter on the entire planet, but he is supported by some real flotsam and jetsam. Eugenio Suarez is the player that Pat Hughes most loves to pronounce on the Reds; Suarez signed an extension before the season started and is probably the only other player I’d look at on the Reds as far as serious concerns.

Tyler “#elitespinrate” Chatwood makes his Cubs debut today. Great American is no Coors Field, but the ball can get out in GABP. Park factors are around +10% on HR, which is 10th overall in baseball.

With the obvious caveat of “it’s still early,” it sure looks like Jason Heyward’s bat is in midseason form (for him). I think this year I’ve been most impressed with Addison Russell so far, in terms of “no wasted plate appearances.” Besides Russell, Bryant and Schwarber (I think his second HR broke the windshield of Elon Musk’s roadster) have been the most impressive Cubs.

Cubs Gameday: Cubs @ Marlins (3/31/18)

Time: 12:10 CST
TV: NBC Sports Chicago
Radio: 670 the Score

Cubs

Almora Jr. CF
Bryant 3B
Rizzo 1B
Russell SS
Schwarber LF
Caratini C (first start of the year)
Heyward RF
Baez 2B
Quintana SP

Marlins

Brinson CF
Dietrich LF
Castro 2B
Anderson 3B
Cooper 1B
Maybin RF
Rivera SS
Wallach C
Peters P

These teams have already played 4 innings' worth of games, but they will go for the quick turnaround today. I'm frankly shocked to see so many regulars in there today – if any day calls for a Schwarber day off, it's this one. Quintana is a flyball pitcher, and Peters is a lefty. If I were the manager, Baez would be the SS, Zobrist would be the 2B, Happ would be the LF, and Almora would be the CF (Rizzo and Bryant would almost never sit under any circumstance). In the scheme of things, it's relatively unimportant.

What is important is for Quintana to go as deep as he possibly can. If the Cubs can avoid using more than 2 relievers, I'll feel really good about this game (assuming we win).