MSS: …before Tuesday’s game against the Athletics, pitcher Jeff Samardzija said he wasn’t thrilled with the moves. “I don’t think this team improves by trading Scott Feldman,” Samardzija said. “He was one of our better pitchers. He’s thrown a lot of innings, a solid dude, a solid guy in the clubhouse. It’s a shame to see him go, and the same with Clevenger. A great dude to have around, a great teammate who played the game hard and played the right way. It’s unfortunate. Just hope the guys they get in return are comparable and bring the same attitude to the field every day that those guys brought.” 7/2/13
Three up:
- Addison Hustle was the Cubs WPA leader on the day, largely due to the two-run single in the seventh inning that gave the Cubs the lead (.393 WPA).
- Jason Heyward also extended his relatively hot stretch with an RBI single in the first. The Cubs took the death by a thousand singles approach against Shark in the first and batted around on the way to scoring three runs in the inning.
- Mike Montgomery may have struggled, but the rest of the pen (Zastryzny, Smith, and Edwards) did not allow a single baserunner in their five innings of work, striking out five batters.
Three down:
- It was not Monty’s day today, and I wish Joe had brought out the same hook that he had for Hammel last week. Especially considering that the Cubs finally have bullpen reinforcements. Though with a now 15 game lead on the divison, eh, might as well see if they can let him stretch out.
- Rizzo had a rough day at the plate, going 0-4 including a strikeout with runners on and no outs in the seventh and avoiding hitting into a DP during the Cubs rally in the first.
- The most negative play of the game was a Heyward pop-up with the bases clogged in that seventh inning rally. Luckily Russell was able to get some of them home.
Next up: Albert Suarez takes on Jon Lester, 1:20 PM CT
Comments
I was googling around to try to find some other Shark quote, but this was the first one that came up and it made me laugh.
berseliusQuote Reply
Arrieta and Strop for Feldman and Clevenger? I mean, I don’t know what kind of clubhouse guy Pedro Strop is, buy I have to think the Cubs at least broke even.
JoshQuote Reply
SKQuote Reply
I think I want to get a poster of this picture for my basement.
MylesQuote Reply
Myles,
Make it a black light poster.
dmick89Quote Reply
Just finally read that Fangraphs article on Hendricks and I was reminded of an oft-used scouting report prior to playoff games for Greg Maddux: will throw any pitch in any count in any location.
I always thought that was true of most good pitchers, but it was said regularly about Maddux. It can now be said about Hendricks.
dmick89Quote Reply
To-day’s Contreras-less base ball squadron
Fowler
Bryant
Rizzo
Zobrist
Coghlan
Heyward
Baez
Ross
Lester
berseliusQuote Reply
Myles,
apparently you can actually make that happen. think i might need to order that.
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
EnricoPallazzo,
on second thought, i might just go with this sick Sir Lancelot of Barvan poster
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
EnricoPallazzo,
It would be way better if it wasn’t marked up with all the SI crap.
dmick89Quote Reply
I was looking at Todd Frazier’s stats and he really is a lot like Bryant except for a few small things. He’s not nearly as good a hitter, he’s quite a bit worse on defense and he’s not close to as good on the bases. Other than that, here are their similarities: both are white, play Major League Baseball, play 3rd base, were drafted a lot higher than most players in their drafts, play in Chicago, use or have used iTunes and to top it all off, both of them get their best sleep in at night. If that’s not enough, both of them are physically attracted to human beings. So yeah, they’re the same.
dmick89Quote Reply
So they’re not into bestiality? That’s surprising.
MuckerQuote Reply
Definitely. If all that was photoshopped out, it’d probably be a lot better.
MylesQuote Reply
Mucker,
Their beastiality preference is unknown. Yet another similarity.
dmick89Quote Reply
And I mean everything that isn’t the Sports Illustrated and the “wrigleyville is winnerville” bit.
MylesQuote Reply
Myles,
SI had to use a high resolution image for that so the original one is available somewhere. Could probably find it on google with the right search terms.
dmick89Quote Reply
Yeah, I poked around and couldn’t get the exact picture. I can get it from a slightly different (worse) angle.
MylesQuote Reply
yeah there are some weirdos out there
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
Rizzo’s fWAR (4.1) + Fowler’s fWAR (3.8) = Bryant’s fWAR (7.9)
MylesQuote Reply
Myles,
can you post it?
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
https://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ocbrasxga0UWQz2cs-eQrN64xAw=/57×0:4508×2967/1310×873/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/46847068/GettyImages-482165654.0.jpg
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwibosSQl_HOAhWG5SYKHVzvC6AQjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.reddit.com%2Fr%2Fbaseball%2Fcomments%2F4igvj3%2Fjavier_baez_hits_a_walk_off_home_run_in_the%2F&psig=AFQjCNFkjOkLsElfSgEqn1IgyOeRAObPvA&ust=1472922736987713
MylesQuote Reply
(dying laughing) at the guy crouching down low looking for loose change in the dirt – is that Rizzo?
SKQuote Reply
Myles,
Surely that’s not the same
Todd FrazierKB walkoff? One’s a day game and the other’s a night game.SKQuote Reply
Sorry, this one:
http://www.cubsinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/StropRun.jpg
MylesQuote Reply
Remember when Chris Denorfia was a thing? Good times.
JonKneeVQuote Reply
Tell me about it. Now that the gays can marry, I’ve been told that I’m finally going to be able to wed my canine sweetheart.
dmick89Quote Reply
FYI, there is a Cubs game going on right now.
SKQuote Reply
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
SK,
Lester is dominating.
dmick89Quote Reply
Fowler!
SKQuote Reply
dmick89,
Lester doing the thing
BerseliusQuote Reply
Maybe someone should tell these Giants players that long hair looks terrible in baseball hats. Can’t tell if they all have mullets or not.
dmick89Quote Reply
crap
SKQuote Reply
Terrible pitch. That sucks. Oh well. Lots of line outs today.
dmick89Quote Reply
Zobrist has to keep that in the infield.
dmick89Quote Reply
This is the perfect example of how you could get the pitchers more rest without going to a six man rotation. Lester shouldn’t have batted and he shouldn’t be pitching.
dmick89Quote Reply
40 games above .500.
dmick89Quote Reply
Now that they’ve won, I heartily disagree. (dying laughing)
ceruleanQuote Reply
Inverted M
BerseliusQuote Reply
That’s no magic number; that’s a magically disappearing number. 14 going on 0.
ceruleanQuote Reply
105 wins is 48 games over.
ceruleanQuote Reply
I can’t believe Braves fans—not the Barves, I mean those amazing teams of 20 years ago. How in the hell could you get bored of winning? It’s so fun.
ceruleanQuote Reply
http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-the-mlb-standings-would-look-if-teams-stuck-with-whoever-they-drafted/
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
I figure he was so low stress most of today that it didn’t matter. Also, barely over 100 pitches for CG is pretty awesome.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Rice Cube,
I think it’s less stressful when pitches are more spread out. e.g., 100 pitches over 6 innings is harder than 100 pitches over 9 innings.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
BerseliusQuote Reply
Rice Cube,
Don’t get me wrong. I think today’s start was pretty fun to watch even if he was a bit (a lot?) lucky. It’s not often you get to watch 100 pitch complete games. Still, I’d much prefer 75-80 pitches per start over the next 3, 4 starts and sticking with a 5-man rotation than 100-120 pitch outings and a 6-man rotation.
dmick89Quote Reply
Breaking: apparently it is possible to run on Noah Syndergaard.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
dmick89,
I assume they want to keep them somewhat stretched but also give them extra rest days.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Rice Cube,
There are plenty of ways to do that without going to a 6 man rotation. I’ll get over it, but I just hate the idea.
dmick89Quote Reply
Fangraphs, BP, and 538 Elo each have the Cubs simulated to win 104 games with respective 18%, 23%, and 27% chances of winning the Series. I am pretty sure 27% is the highest I’ve seen. This is team is pretty good.
ceruleanQuote Reply
cerulean,
18-20% sounds about right to me. Yeah, this team is good.
dmick89Quote Reply
The Cubs are 25–6 going back to July 30th. Who was it here that said another 25–6 run would be nice? And this was with bullpen meltdowns, Jake Arrieta not so Great Again, their #3 starter and two of their three best relievers on the shelf, and the curious case of Tommy La Stella.
ceruleanQuote Reply
Ha—that July 30th game was the Matusz start against Seattle. Start weaving those narratives people.
ceruleanQuote Reply
Cardinals lose.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Magic number:
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Clayton Richard now has a 1.48 ERA in 24.1 innings for the Padres.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
cerulean,
I said about the all star break that another 25-6 stretch would be nice. You’re welcome.
dmick89Quote Reply
I also said way back that winning the division by 20 would be a lot nicer than winning it by 10-15. Again, you’re welcome.
You know what else would be nice? Winning a World Series.
dmick89Quote Reply
SKQuote Reply
To-day’s base ball squadron
Fowler
Bryant (1b)
Zobrist
Soler
Russell
Contreras
Baez
Szczur
Arrieta
BerseliusQuote Reply
Berselius,
They will be unstoppable against the six-fingered man.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Rice Cube,
Alfonseca came out of retirement?
BerseliusQuote Reply
Berselius,
All right.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Berselius,
Al Fonseca.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
i hope not
SKQuote Reply
Soler was scratched due to an ingrown toenail. New lineup:
Fowler CF
Bryant 1B
Zobrist RF
Russell SS
Contreras C
Baez 2B
Szczur LF
Arrieta P
La Stella 3B
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Baw Gawd, King, that’s Kyle Schwarber’s music!
umbraQuote Reply
Ugh.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Baez at 2nd and LaStella at 3rd? Seems like Joe values Baez’s tagging ability over having his arm at 3rd.
mcalis2Quote Reply
great AB for Willson
SKQuote Reply
mcalis2,
don’t think he likes LaStella anywhere but 3B this year
SKQuote Reply
Throw strikes, please.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
I miss the Arrieta that had even decent command.
dmick89Quote Reply
Baez!
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
This is why you don’t want to tamp down Baez’s instincts.
ceruleanQuote Reply
Why was nobody covering second?
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Why did Contreras call for the low breaking ball with a runner on third?
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
What a stupid inning.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Crawford is as wily and confounding as Baez.
ceruleanQuote Reply
Runs, please.
dmick89Quote Reply
SKQuote Reply
Bochy is keeping the LOOGY in the game to face Rizzo. I gotta admit, I like this unconventional thinking.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
What the hell was Rizzo thinking?
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Lots of stupid mistakes this game.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Wow. That’s some fucking awful base running.
dmick89Quote Reply
TOOTBLAN
umbraQuote Reply
umbra,
That’s so bad it’s worth a dozen of them.
dmick89Quote Reply
That was…
That was.
I have nothing else to say on the matter.
ceruleanQuote Reply
And they still almost won the game. (dying laughing)
ceruleanQuote Reply
Cardinals losing big in the 9th.
dmick89Quote Reply
New magic number:
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Ugh.
I just saw a clip of a CSN talking head talking about Rizzo learning he was “cancer-free” eight years ago. Congratulations, idiot, you just outed yourself as someone who knows nothing about cancer.
ceruleanQuote Reply
cerulean,
I think people who have never had someone close to them have cancer often don’t understand what remission means. No excuse for a news person to not check their facts, though.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
You mean it isn’t like when the flight attendant comes by selling overpriced wares above international waters chanting “duty-free” with a non-descript European accent?
ceruleanQuote Reply
To-day’s base ball squadron vs Johnny Cueto
Fowler
Bryant
Rizzo
Zobrist
Russell
Heyward
Contreras
Coghlan
Lackey
berseliusQuote Reply
Well, this sucks.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
I bet the Cubs get a no-hitter and still lose.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Heyward!
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Cueto has thrown less than 70 pitches. He’s in good shape for the rest of the game.
dmick89Quote Reply
Cueto “outlasted” Lackey, according to the TBS announcers. Both have pitched five innings, you dolts.
ceruleanQuote Reply
I am impressed by this Lackey start. I thought he’d be rusty, though it might be an indictment of the Giants offense more than anything. Even so, Lackey gives up one hit through five—I’ll take it.
ceruleanQuote Reply
This has been quite the battle between Cueto’s ability to induce double-play balls and the Cubs’ ability to run them out.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Cueto is hitting? It’s stupid, but I’ll take it.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Losing still sucks.
dmick89Quote Reply
Would be nice to see good Rizzo before the end of the season.
dmick89Quote Reply
ADDY!!
ceruleanQuote Reply
Safety squeeze?
ceruleanQuote Reply
Heyward!!!!!!!!!!
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
J-Hey ties it!
ceruleanQuote Reply
dmick89Quote Reply
J-Hey!
berseliusQuote Reply
Contreras hasn’t had a homer in a while, has he?
ceruleanQuote Reply
(Not going to hit one with a stationary bat.)
ceruleanQuote Reply
So many bunts
berseliusQuote Reply
Soler Power time.
ceruleanQuote Reply
Damn. (dying laughing)
112mph off the bat, foul.
ceruleanQuote Reply
Come on, Soler.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Come on, Fowler.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Damn foul balls!
ceruleanQuote Reply
Bryzzo time.
ceruleanQuote Reply
Long double, please.
dmick89Quote Reply
If Russell were to hit a homerun, who would get the loss?
ceruleanQuote Reply
Wow. Terrible call.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
cerulean,
I don’t know anymore. I stopped paying attention to wins and losses more than a decade ago so I’ve forgotten that stuff.
dmick89Quote Reply
My feed crapped out, but I gather that Russell was rung up on a dubious strike. Robot umps, please.
ceruleanQuote Reply
dmick89,
My sense is that it would go to whoever left the men on base and not to the guy who gave up the homer.
I can’t imagine why you would have stopped paying attention to that. /deadpan
ceruleanQuote Reply
Wake up, Cubs bats.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Rough day for Contreras.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Some strikes would be nice.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Rizzo the Rat,
That was good.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Pat is really into this game
SKQuote Reply
But now Ron is doing PBP by himself in the 13th.
SKQuote Reply
The TBS announcer thinks the Cubs will need to travel to Milwaukee tonight. That’s BS, right?
ceruleanQuote Reply
Did anyone hear Sutcliffe yesterday in the radio booth?
Pat asked him what he thought about the emerging superstar Addison Russell.
Sut said he’s great, but seeing him last year in spring, and this year in spring, even then the talk was all about can he stay healthy. Because Addison’s had so may leg problems and just hasn’t been able to stay healthy.
I was dying to hear Pat’s reply but lost the feed. When I got it back a couple minutes later it was hearing Sut basically calling himself an idiot, so I’m guessing Pat gently let him know he was drunk and got Russell mixed up with Soler.
SKQuote Reply
cerulean,
Teams generally travel the night before no matter how late. But I don’t know how they handle Milwaukee, it being so close.
SKQuote Reply
Pat’s back. Guess he had to go pee.
SKQuote Reply
Russell gets the Bonds treatment. I approve.
ceruleanQuote Reply
HEYWARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
HEYWARD!!!!!!!!!!
Edit: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ceruleanQuote Reply
I guess he is the player of the game. I like this budding Russell-Heyward tandem at five and six.
ceruleanQuote Reply
That was a fun series.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
SKQuote Reply
The Pirates got embarrassed by the Brewers. They are running out of time to catch the Cardinals, though I can’t blame them for not wanting to do another play-in game.
ceruleanQuote Reply
I’d feel a little sad for the Giants for not having a winning streak in two months, but they have three rings to keep them warm are night. Enjoy your current disappointment, Giants fans.
ceruleanQuote Reply
Regarding travel to Milwaukee, I believe they take their own cars up tomorrow. They just have to show up at a specific time.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
Hmm. Would be awkward if they were playing in a third city on Thursday (unless they had clubhouse guys drive them back to Chicago). But with the day off on Thursday, they probably just need to catch the team bus from Wrigley to O’hare on Thursday afternoon.
SKQuote Reply
cerulean,
I would like the Mets to win the play in game against whoever and then get slapped by the Cubs in the LDS.
SKQuote Reply
SK,
I’m guessing they have a team bus there and guys are able to commute if they want. I know I’ve heard players talking about that in the past.
dmick89Quote Reply
Hey guys, this game was fun.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Magic number:
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
https://twitter.com/CubsUmp/status/772551453290430464
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
http://obstructedview.net/cubs-3-giants-2-9-4-16/
berseliusQuote Reply