OSS: Stellaaaaaaa!
Three up:
- Tommy La Stella hit a go ahead two run homer in the sixth inning and the Cubs managed to make it stick. La Stella has been eclipsed by Bote in recent days but it’s good to see him still making some noise.
- The pen was aces in this one, pitching 4.2 innings and allowing just one hit and no walks. Kintzler gave up a sac fly to his first batter to score one of Monty’s trailers, but they managed to hang on to the lead once La Stella clawed it back.
- Looks like KB will be back tomorrow!
Three down:
- Heyward left the game with a hamstring injury, which led to a chunk of the Braves runs. No word as yet on the seriousness.
- It was a relatively rough return for Monty. He looked good through the first two innings but got shakier as the start went on. Even then, were it not for the injury-assisted triple, he might have hung on for another inning or so.
- The Brewers and Cardinals both won, so nothing changes in the standings other than time.
Next up: The Cubs head to Philly to take on the reeling Phillies, who have won three of their last ten and have seen their run differential on the season drop to +3. The Cubs will miss facing Arrieta once again, but draw Aaron Nola on Sunday.
Comments
Notable “minor” league performances:
Drew Smyly: 1IP, 0H, 0ER, 3K, 0BB
RynoQuote Reply
I’m so glad there’s evidence that my expectations are still realistic.
RynoQuote Reply
RynoQuote Reply
Ryno,
Hopefully he starts next year at AA. He’s already too old for the lower minors in my opinion.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
Yup. I think he had an injury or something. #minorleagueexpert
RynoQuote Reply
Nice movement on the fastball, but didn’t look like it had a lot of juice.
MylesQuote Reply
There’s this AAA DH that I think will probably get a big-league look in the near future.
MylesQuote Reply
Joining Webster.
RynoQuote Reply
Myles,
big if true
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
Myles,
RynoQuote Reply
Jim Bowden’s top 9 CHC prospects:
1. Miguel Amaya, C;
2. Alex Lange, RHP;
3. Nico Hoerner, SS;
4. Brailyn Marquez, LHP;
5. Adbert Alzolay, RHP;
6. Justin Steele, LHP;
7. Aramis Ademan, SS;
8. Brendon Little, LHP;
9. Duane Underwood Jr., RHP.
I think Cole Roederer belongs, but I’m on board with this list. Especially the top 5.
RynoQuote Reply
–> NL Central champs
RynoQuote Reply
Ryno,
I don’t know if that’s good enough for them to win the division, but I think they’d be the favorites over the Cubs if the two teams met in the postseason. They might already be the favorites.
dmick89Quote Reply
RynoQuote Reply
dmick89,
It seems they forgot that baseball teams lose games every now and then.
RynoQuote Reply
I don’t think much of Garcia, but in a very limited sample of him as a reliever in Toronto, he was pretty good. The Cubs have a whole lot of relievers nobody will remember in three years so he’ll fit right in.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
Yeah, unfortunately the Cubs have an outstanding regular season bullpen featuring no one you can truly depend on to shut anyone down in the postseason.
andcountingQuote Reply
I’ve not followed things too closely as of late. We expecting Morrow to return at some point this year?
uncle daveQuote Reply
uncle dave,
He hasn’t thrown off a mound as of a couple days ago. He’s confident he’s going to return, but I’m much less than confident than he is. I figure if he hasn’t pitched off a mound in a couple weeks then the Cubs will probably shut him down.
dmick89Quote Reply
uncle dave,
see BN’s writeup here but i think it’s pretty optimistic to expect him back at any point this year
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
You know something’s wrong when Javy has a better idea of the strike zone than the home-plate umpire.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
If living through the ‘00s taught us anything it’s that the pitchers never really come back from the DL.
andcountingQuote Reply
Any word on the seriousness of Heyward ‘s injury?
dmick89Quote Reply
Q: 33 pitches, 4 outs.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Looks like Quintana is going to struggle to go more than five so a typical start for him.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
Good thing the Cubs added Maples.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Rizzo the Rat,
(dying laughing)
dmick89Quote Reply
This game feels very sluggish.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
That Rizzo swing is one reason why I don’t care too much about bad umpire ball/strike calls. Players are at least ten times worse than umpires.
dmick89Quote Reply
Nice play by Rizzo. Still doesn’t make up for that strikeout, though.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
dmick89,
Well, if umpires had to decide what to call when the ball was not quite halfway to the plate, they’d be ten times as bad too.
andcountingQuote Reply
Q has settled down nicely. Through 4, he has twice as many hits as the Phillies do.
andcountingQuote Reply
andcounting,
Yeah, I get that and ten times worse may be overstating how bad the players are at ball/strike recognition. It still pisses me off much more when a player swings at an obvious ball than when an ump misses a close call.
dmick89Quote Reply
Javy!
andcountingQuote Reply
Javy!
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Javy!!!
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
Yeah, and hitters get more wrong for sure. What cracks me up is when they swing and ask the ump if it was a strike.
andcountingQuote Reply
Whew!
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
I hate hit-and-runs.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
dmick89,
At some point I started looking at it differently, though. Like, when they swing at terrible pitches, instead of thinking, “Wow, what an idiot,” I think, “Shit, it must take crazy skill to be able to hit anything.”
andcountingQuote Reply
Bote’s regression toward the mean is predictable, but still annoying.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
*Checks on Reds-Cardinals game*
Yup, Homer Bailey is still terrible.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
What the hell, La Stella?
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
The Cubs deserve to lose this one. Two hits from Quintana and he finally pitches a good game and the Cubs can’t take advantage.
dmick89Quote Reply
Terrible day for Rizzo.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
I have no idea why the Cubs decided to play with a short bench today.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Jesus, Vic.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Joe.
dmick89Quote Reply
Also, why use Caratini rather than Schwarber?
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
God. Damn. It.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Woof.
uncle daveQuote Reply
At least the Cardinals didn’t land Donaldson.
dmick89Quote Reply
Contact? With two outs? That makes no sense.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
With two outs and the bases loaded, you want the guy who gets on base (and, preferably, hits for extra bases). A strikeout is no different from any other out.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Rizzo the Rat,
Joe just makes shit up as he’s talking. He went with Caratini because he hit a home run the other day. I’ll guarantee you that’s as far as it goes. I like Joe, but people, especially the media, give him way too much credit for thinking more about why does things the way he does.
dmick89Quote Reply
Since pizza is not sliced in the extended Breaking Bad/Saul universe, should we consider the shows as magic realism?
uncle daveQuote Reply
dmick89,
Maybe he’s just giving Vic a swansong for this season, because when Bobby Wilson comes off the DL, we won’t see Caratini except during major blowouts.
BVSQuote Reply
Fixed
BVSQuote Reply
Wow. Terps beat Texas.
BVSQuote Reply
Phillies defense!
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Rizzo is killing his WPA this series.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Zo!
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Schwarber!
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Caratini sucks.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
He was a lot of fun to root for in his old Pelican days. Because is D is so so, I don’t see a long term fit. Expect him to be gone by April 1.
BVSQuote Reply
Báez is having a weird season on the basepaths. He seemed invincible in the first half, but he’s been getting caught more often than not in the second half.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Rizzo the Rat,
He’s been pretty bad on the bases for a couple months.
dmick89Quote Reply
Rizzo the Rat,
As if the success in the 1st half went to his head…
BVSQuote Reply
Some more runs would be nice.
dmick89Quote Reply
Pitching changes immediately after inning breaks should not be allowed.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Happ!
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
What’s the yellow ribbon on the right chest of everyone’s jerseys tonight?
BVSQuote Reply
BVS,
Not sure, but I won’t be surprised if it’s to honor McCain because go patriotism.
dmick89Quote Reply
BVS,
Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
dmick89,
Rizzo the Rat,
Dmick, that was my guess tio, but couldn’t figure the connection.
The real answer makes more sense.
BVSQuote Reply
Bote!
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Bote!
dmick89Quote Reply
Way to screw the closer, Cubs.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Cardinals lose.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
KB and Russell being back already makes me feel better about the remainder of 2018 Cubs baseball. They’re a really good lineup even when Caratini starts. Murphy, Baez, Rizzo, Zobrist, Bryant, in any order, is a really good way to start. With Heyward healthy it would be even better, but still. This is a good team.
andcountingQuote Reply
BVS,
It’s much, much, much more likely that the wear and tear of the season has gotten to his legs and he’s a bit slower.
andcountingQuote Reply
Soto!
North Side PatQuote Reply
Brewers lose.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
http://www.obstructedview.net/cubs-7-phillies-1/
berseliusQuote Reply
There’s a lot of power in the lineup today.
andcountingQuote Reply