OSS: Cubs squander some early chances, hang on to win.
Three up:
- The Kyle Schwarber Leadoff Experiment worked out well this series. Schwarber had three hits and four walks (and one HBP) in 15 PAs. He had RBI on two sac flies in this game, which is not really what you expect to see from a leadoff hitter but the Cubs will take it. Almora will probably find his way back up there against lefties, but so far it looks like Joe has someone he can pencil in without much thought.
- Anthony Rizzo hit an opposite field solo shot, putting a four-way tie for the HR lead on the team at 11. The heart of the Cubs lineup now has wRC+ of 156, 138, 148, 175.
- After some bullpen shakiness, Steve Cishek came in to nail down your average 2.1 inning save without breaking much of a sweat.
Three down:
- Of course, before Cishek came out to close things out in the bottom of the ninth, he got a PA with two outs and a runner on base. I wish I loved anything like Joe loves having relievers hit. Caratini was even out on the on deck circle before Joe called him back.
- Javier Baez came up gimpy following a great play in the third inning. He ended up hanging in there for another two innings before being pulled for Russell. It sounds like it’s just a bruised heel, and Javy thinks he should be good to go tomorrow. But maybe it’s a good time for an off day anyway.
- Cyle was cruising through the first five innings, but things kind of fell apart after a Russell error in the sixth. The Nats started hitting Hendricks hard, and he and Kinztler managed to escape the inning before what seemed like a comfortable lead slipped away.
Next up: The Cubs take on old pal Jay Carrieta and the Phils for a four game set back at Wrigley. Game one is a 7:05 PM CT.
Comments
Series preview may or may not post at noon. I can’t tell it what to do.
berseliusQuote Reply
(dying laughing) at all the folks grumbling that the GOT show runners are going to ruin another franchise now that they’re doing the next Star Wars movies. It’s almost as if those last two GRRM books didn’t exist.
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
Not as simple as that. HBO offered as many as 10 seasons with 10 episodes each. The writers wanted to finish it and move on to other projects (Star Wars). GRRM thought it would take 12 seasons.
I have tons of gripes about the writing, mainly the lack of cohesion or logic. But the main drag is the pacing and quick conclusion. The show has popular due to the excellent writing and storytelling, not CGI dragons. Having to wrap everything up well short of how long it should have taken caused tons of issues in the minds of the main fan base.
This was because a) the writers hubris that thought they could wrap things up and b) HBO not having the courage to find new writers to finish the series out in a more reasonable timeframe.
JKVQuote Reply
berselius,
Eh if D&D are writing Star Wars movies, then they will probably suck. The writing they did for GOT was atrocious.
WaLiQuote Reply
last post had 69 comments
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
I’m usually up for complaints about Joe sending a relief pitcher to the plate, but maybe it made sense last night? Trying to balance the chances of Caratini getting a hit (with two outs) vs having to burn another pitcher. You’re probably right to complain but I don’t think its a total gimme as much as usual.
URKQuote Reply
I haven’t watched Game of Thrones, but was there any way that the fans were going to be pleased with the final season? There are many more dramas that have a conclusion that pisses people off than satisfies them. Breaking Bad seems to be the exception.
dmick89Quote Reply
They were in kind a tough position due to GRRM. Before I stopped watching the show a few years back I actually kind of admired D+D for how they managed to cut out a lot of the extraneous shit from the books that a good editor would have pushed back on GRRM , if he hadn’t gotten so famous. But I guess I just have an axe to grind on the last two books he published, and moved on years ago when I found other things that scratched the itch that those books used to scratch.
berseliusQuote Reply
dmick89,
Yeah, I don’t think fans wanted it to end. Wanting to like the finale is like hoping for a good break-up. That’s how I felt about Lost, and I like the finale more and more as time goes by. Removed from the hysteria of the moment, my focus departs the quest for the perfect conclusion to the narrative and redirects to appreciating what they did with the characters. I would have liked the writers strike not to have affected that series, but shit happens.
andcountingQuote Reply
andcounting,
I didn’t watch Lost until years later. Actually, I watched it within the last year for the first time and I absolutely loved the ending. I went in expecting to hate it because it’s seemed like one of the most disliked endings ever, but I loved it. What got me to watch Lost was that Damon Lindelof’s The Leftovers had ended and it was and still is maybe my favorite show of all time so I gave Lost a chance and I couldn’t stop watching. I can’t wait until this fall when Watchmen comes out on HBO.
Lost is a great example of there not existing a perfect ending that would have pleased everyone. It would have been impossible. I have no problem accepting that some loose ends exist. I went in expecting a lot of unanswered questions because he used Let The Mystery Be for The Leftovers opening credits:
dmick89Quote Reply
andcounting,
I needed the show to end. I have gotten to cynical about it and it just wasn’t enjoyable to me anymore. I knew there was no way the final season could be good. S8E2 gave me renewed hope though and I thought they could redeem the story, but everything was downhill from there.
WaLiQuote Reply
dmick89,
Awesome. Now I have something new to start watching.
andcountingQuote Reply
andcounting,
It’s different than Lost, but it’s fantastic. I think Lindelof chose that song for the credits after the first season when it seemed like people were again getting worried about getting answers so he changed the credits to that song just to tell people to forget about it. I think he even once said that you’re not going to get the answers you want, but the story is just so good that it doesn’t matter. Carrie Coon is a force and she should have won all the Emmy’s. I haven’t read the book it’s based on, but I’ve heard the show gets better after the first season when they’ve finished adapting the book. If you like Lost, you’ll probably like The Leftovers. It’s different, but it’s got a lot of the same things that made Lost so good. He’s adapting DC’s Watchmen later this year and it I can’t think of a better person to do that.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
I’ll probably watch it at some point but not anytime soon. My wife worked in a bookstore during peak Left Behind, so she has zero interest in any storyline remotely similar, no matter the pedigree (dying laughing).
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
(dying laughing) it’s not an easy watch. I remember thinking I could try and rewatch the series at one point, but couldn’t get past the second episode. It was still great, but it’s not the kind of show that can be rewatched unless you want to be permanently depressed. I really do wish I could go back and watch it for the first time just to appreciate the awesomeness of Carrie Coon again. Same thing for Regina King in the second season.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
It looks really good just seeing the cast. I think any show that goes past four seasons faces a Herculean task of maintaining any kind of consistency. I’m amazed anyone can do it well.
andcountingQuote Reply
berselius,
(dying laughing)
andcountingQuote Reply
WaLi,
The Washington Post printed a recap of the finale which I enjoyed. Since the only episode I ever watched was while suffering from jet lag in a hotel in Seattle. I watched based in how much comment-space was dedicated to GoT here at OV back then. Must have been about 2011 or 12? Season 2 or 3. All I could figure was no one liked each other and no one ever bathed.
I think GoT comments ran about equal in volume to Cubs comments that summer. Cubs comments were mostly about whether some dude who couldn’t top 91 was a good return for Dempster, homages to Kerry Wood on his retirement, and how much the team generally sucked.
BVSQuote Reply
I never read the book so I became convinced to watch it after I kept reading from a few critics I like how awesome it was. I think I started the show after the first 3 episodes. I usually only pay attention to what a few critics say because everyone has different tastes, but I figured if these people liked it then there was a good chance I would. I know some didn’t much like the first season and then loved it after that, but I think all 3 seasons are great. I had it as my favorite show every year it was on.
dmick89Quote Reply
Such as?
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
EnricoPallazzo,
Here
dmick89Quote Reply
EnricoPallazzo,
Pat Rothfuss’s books are high on the list, but given how long it’s been since he published his last book it’s kind of going the way of Game of Thrones for me. Same with Scott Lynch’s Locke Lamora books. Mostly I’ve veered towards reading a lot more nonfiction.
berseliusQuote Reply
dmick89,
(dying laughing)
berseliusQuote Reply
To-day’s base ball squadron
LF War Bear
3B Bryant
1B Rizzo
C Caratini
RF Heyward
CF Almora
2B Descalso
SS Russell
P Darvish
berseliusQuote Reply
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
berselius,
Yeah I think it was one of you jabronis on here that got me turned onto rothfuss. Is he ever going to finish that series? Never heard of locke lamora…will have to check that out.
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
I was hoping the GoT finale would go like this…
Lots of dragons and killing, then…
Cut to scene: In bed, Bob Newhart turns to Emily and says, remember the other morning when I told you about this really crazy dream I had? You’ll never believe this…
Emily: I think we need the Dr to adjust your Lipitor.
BVSQuote Reply
Smokestack Lightning,
+1 for the gif. Lost is another series I haven’t seen.
BVSQuote Reply
EnricoPallazzo,
The Locke books also suffer from a long publication gap but the stakes are relatively lower so it doesn’t really bother me. The main characters are con men and each book is more or less a big caper.
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
Other recs are books by Brent Weeks and NK Jemisin. I liked her award winning books okay but they never completely clicked with me, though friends of mine have them squarely at the top of their favorites lists.
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
I’ve started reading The Expanse (which also has 3 seasons on TV) and it’s pretty good. Political Sci Fi
WaLiQuote Reply
berselius,
thanks!
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
10 pitches to get through one inning for Yu seems good. However, a 100 and then a 115(!!!) mph out — I would prefer less than 100 mph contact, thank you.
ceruleanQuote Reply
BVS,
It’s a truly incredible show. Especially for its era. Well worth the time to watch even now.
But imo they didn’t stick the landing. Not even close.
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
This backup catcher batting cleanup gambit might be paying off.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Caratini is so slow.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Damn
WaLiQuote Reply
War Bear!!!
PerkinsQuote Reply
Schwarber would’ve caught that.
andcountingQuote Reply
Schwarber! Rizzo!
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
It’s snowing here, this is some bullshit
berseliusQuote Reply
Darvish’s splitter working today.
berseliusQuote Reply
I’ve never heard a hitter get more audibly frustrated than Heyward.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Anthony Isslow.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Crap.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Really would have been nice if the Cubs could have cashed in on those opportunities.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Goddamnit.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Neither of those 2 hits against Darvish had a hit probability over 40%.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Perkins,
Luckily they only do this on days that end in y.
berseliusQuote Reply
Zagunis is a waste of roster space.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Rizzo the Rat,
What a shame. He pitched really well tonight.
Up yours, Cubs offense.
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
The Cubs offense was victimized by unlucky sequencing.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Also, Harper’s arm>>> Rizzo’s legs.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Rizzo the Rat,
That’s not saying much. Jacque Jones could throw out Rizzo. It would take 17 bounces, but he’d get him.
dmick89Quote Reply
Why does Albert keep sliding into first?
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Almora is the only player in the MLB who slides feet-first into first base.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Descalso!!!!
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
(dying laughing)
dmick89Quote Reply
Descalso!!!!!!!!
PerkinsQuote Reply
Little league HR!
berseliusQuote Reply
Descalso!!!
andcountingQuote Reply
Gameday says Bote flied out, pitcher to the first baseman. That’s…wrong, yes?
andcountingQuote Reply
Craig Kimbrel, please.
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
Kind of a bullshit check swing call there.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Fuck
WaLiQuote Reply
Are you fucking serious?
PerkinsQuote Reply
fuck
dmick89Quote Reply
If the Phillies could stop getting 70 mph hits, that would be nice.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
This game is fucking bullshit.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Note to self: stop wishing on that monkey’s paw.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Hmmm. Seems like the bullpsn could use an infusion. …
BVSQuote Reply
Fuck this shit
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
Goddammit.
andcountingQuote Reply
The shittiest part of this game was when the Cubs won in the 9th and the 1B umpire disagreed.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Perkins,
I have a better look from my couch on whether or not a player checked his swing than the umpire. They need to install some cameras or something and take it away from the base umpires. It’s 2019. There has to be a relatively simple way of using some tech to better call check swings.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
Or at least make calls like that reviewable or something. The video was a slam dunk.
PerkinsQuote Reply
dmick89,
Why don’t we just let robots play the game?!
RynoQuote Reply
For sci-fi, I recently enjoyed the three-body problem trilogy. It’s a chinese translation, so ymmv.
For fantasy, in addition to those previously mentioned, Riyria Revelations is pretty good. The author finishes all his series before publishing any of the books, which alone is enough to sell me.
GWQuote Reply
The only books anyone needs: https://www.amazon.com/Al-Yellon/e/B001PL3HFI
dmick89Quote Reply
GW,
I picked up three body problem on a rec from a friend but haven’t read it yet. I consume most of my books on audio but given all the Chinese names and contextual footnotes this would be a tough one to do on audio.
I also recently enjoyed Ancillary Justice, a sci-fi book that has more in the series that I’ll probably get to soon.
berseliusQuote Reply
Here’s a random comment, but for those of you cycle or care about people who do, check out this hack.
Or don’t. I, of all people, cannot tell you what to do. I don’t bike, because I’m a typical baseball watching couch potato, but a good friend tells me it works.
BVSQuote Reply
dmick89,
The rules defining what constitutes a swing need to be changed somehow to make it an easier, clearer call. It’s so vague as it stands. If any part of the bat enters the strike zone, it’s a swing. If you place your bat in the strike zone waiting to bunt then withdraw your bat, it’s still a strike. Then use tech to alert the home plate umpire when any part of the bat enters the zone. They make the call with a human common sense check against obvious flukes where no attempt whatsoever to swing was made.
andcountingQuote Reply
andcounting,
Which does a good job of preserving what’s actually valuable in the “human element’ and also of incorporating technology to correct what isn’t. Nice.
URKQuote Reply
That’s not the current rule, correct? Only a proposed standard.
BVSQuote Reply
yeah, something like this is far better than the current system of having the base umpires guess whether or not the player checked his swing.
dmick89Quote Reply
Looks like my preview was off by a day
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
http://www.obstructedview.net/series-preview-philadelphia-phillies-27-19-at-chicago-cubs-27-17/
berseliusQuote Reply
BVS,
Right. The rule as it is is pretty open to interpretation. I’ll look it up.
andcountingQuote Reply
andcounting,
From what I can see, the rule states a strike is called if a pitch is struck at and missed. That’s it. No specifics on check swings.
andcountingQuote Reply
I hate the Cubs bullpen.
dmick89Quote Reply