Cubs 7, Mets 4

In Postgame by berselius115 Comments

OSS: Adbert Alzolay Arrives Alliteravely

Three up:

  1. Adbert Alzolay made his major league debut as a piggyback starter with Chatwood, and looked very impressive. Who knew that the Cubs could develop any pitchers? Alzolay struck out five batters in four innings and had wicked stuff. He was pulled in his fifth inning of the game after giving up a solo shot to Todd Frazier, and walked off tipping his cap to a standing ovation from the Wrigley crowd. Not a bad day to start one’s career.
  2. Javy had a big game, homering and hitting an RBI triple as a part of the big Cubs rally in the third inning against the Mets debuting(ish) pitcher. The triple was aided but yet another JavySlide™.
  3. The defense did its job behind Tyler Chatwood, turning three double plays on a night where Chatwood was mostly throwing strikes but allowing a lot of hard contact.

Three down:

  1. I guess Daniel Descalso must be happy that Ben Zobrist is going through all these personal issues, because otherwise his role on this team going forward would be even less clear. He did have a good defensive play and knocked in the Cubs first run, but he lead the team in negative WPA in this game anyway. The main reaction when he showed up in the lineup seemed to be “oh, you’re still here?”.
  2. A ball in the dirt from Chatwood ended up as a ball to the balls for Willson. He stuck it out but I’d be shocked if he didn’t get a day off tomorrow.
  3. I only saw it in the highlights, but at one point during Alzolay’s outing Todd Frazier was granted time very late. Alzolay lost the handle on a pitch later in the PA and threw one behind him, and the Mets broadcasters were speculating that this guy, who was making his MLB debut, was sending a message pitch for this. Maybe let’s pump the brakes a little, fellas.

Next up: Jason Vargas takes on Yu Darvish, who looked stellar against the Dodgers, at 1:20 PM.

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Comments

  1. Rizzo the Rat

    I guess Daniel Descalso must be happy that Ben Zobrist is going through all these personal issues, because otherwise his role on this team going forward would be even less clear. He did have a good defensive play and knocked in the Cubs first run, but he lead the team in negative WPA in this game anyway. The main reaction when he showed up in the lineup seemed to be “oh, you’re still here?”.

    What? He had an RBI hit and a positive WPA (0.53, per Fangraphs) for the game.
    https://www.fangraphs.com/wins.aspx?date=2019-06-20&team=Cubs&dh=0&season=2019

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  2. Myles

    Tom G. from the Athletic suggested that Chatwood and Alzolay piggy-back until Hendricks comes back. I sort of love the idea, and support it whole-heartedly. I think Chatwood deserves another start, and I want to limit Alzolay’s innings for the year.

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  3. dmick89

    Myles,

    What’s the word on Hendricks? Hopefully he’s not out much longer. My guess is that once Hendricks is back Alzolay will return to AAA where he can get consistent work.

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  4. Myles

    dmick89:
    Myles,

    What’s the word on Hendricks? Hopefully he’s not out much longer. My guess is that once Hendricks is back Alzolay will return to AAA where he can get consistent work.

    Not good. Talking “around ASG,” which tells me he’s missing at least 3 starts and probably more.

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  5. andcounting

    Myles,

    It sounded like they caught the injury before it got really bad but they’d be extra cautious before letting him get back to pitching. If it’s the difference between missing a month and missing a year, that would be a good thing. And usually my most optimistic expectations are the ones that end up happening, so fear not.

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  6. Myles

    andcounting:
    Myles,

    It sounded like they caught the injury before it got really bad but they’d be extra cautious before letting him get back to pitching. If it’s the difference between missing a month and missing a year, that would be a good thing. And usually my most optimistic expectations are the ones that end up happening, so fear not.

    Yeah, I’d give be super, super cautious with him. We have a surfeit of arms that could replace him in the short-term, and Hendricks needs to be ready to go down the stretch.

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  7. Rizzo the Rat

    I’m OK with a Chatwood-Alzolay piggyback, but I prefer a piggyback with opposite- handed pitchers.

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  8. andcounting

    Great half inning of radio work for Pat and Ron. Ron broke down the Bote at bat pitch-by-pitch before each pitch was thrown, detailing exactly what he’d be looking for each time (being on the right track every step of the way), while Pat described with hilarious detail the attempt to throw Baez out at second that almost resulted in the pitcher getting hit “in the coconut.” It didn’t hurt that Bote seemed to be following Coomer’s advice as if he was listening to the broadcast on a headset in his helmet.

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  9. andcounting

    Too bad Descalso had to be taken out without a PA after Almora got picked off. He was due for a 2-hit series.

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  10. andcounting

    Wow. No one so much as made contact with a Diaz fastball, and after the slider to Bote, that’s all he threw.

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  11. Author
    berselius

    Myles:
    I can’t wait for Craig Kimbrel to come so we can DFA Brach.

    If the Cubs can find a way to DFA Brach twice on the same day somehow, that would be great.

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  12. Author
    berselius

    To-day’s Rizzo less base ball squadron

    LF Schwarber
    3B Bryant
    SS Baez
    C Contreras
    RF Heyward
    CF Almora
    1B Caratini
    P Q
    2B Russell

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  13. Rizzo the Rat

    Rizzo the Rat:
    I don’t get giving Rizzo a day off against a righty.

    In retrospect, I appreciate Maddon’s foresight for not wasting Rizzo in an unwinnable game.

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  14. Author
    berselius

    dmick89:
    What happens at the end of the season when all 5 NL Central teams are tied for first place? How do the tiebreakers work?

    I think it’s a cage match between celebrity fans for each team, only one person gets out alive. If the Cubs getting knocked out of the playoffs meant no more Jeff Garlin, I’d say the Cubs win either way.

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  15. Perkins

    dmick89:
    What happens at the end of the season when all 5 NL Central teams are tied for first place? How do the tiebreakers work?

    The tiebreaker is a culinary competition using cast iron cookware.

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  16. Author
    berselius

    In Florida for work this week, and disappointed that my cab from the airport was not a monster truck.

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  17. andcounting

    perhaps the most surprising part of this story is the fact that Callaway and Vargas got so angry at Healey for not leaving. One would think that two members of the Mets would be used to not being able to get someone out by now.

    (dying laughing)

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  18. WaLi

    berselius,

    Although I went to college there, not much to do there except see the mouse or Universal. Looks like there are some breweries but I haven’t tried any of the beers from there so can’t speak much to them.

    At least you’ll be able to enjoy some 100°F+ weather though ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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  19. Smokestack Lightning

    Home runs after falling behind 0-2 in the count this year:

    9 Javy Baez
    9 Red Sox
    9 Phillies
    9 White Sox
    8 Angels
    7 Giants
    6 Pirates
    6 Marlins
    5 Indians
    5 Royals

    — Jeremy Frank (@MLBRandomStats) June 23, 2019

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  20. Author
    berselius

    WaLi,

    At least air conditioning is a thing here, unlike in central Europe. Somehow I always seem to travel there in the two weeks when you need it.

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  21. GW

    I can’t think of a good analog. My first impression is that it would fail miserably. On the other hand, it might be worth it if it takes Montreal off the board as an expansion candidate. For some reason (Jonah Keri?) everyone seems to think they would be the ideal spot for a new team, despite previous experience.

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  22. GW

    Myles,

    I would think the best candidates are:

    1. Brooklyn or greater NY metro
    2. San Jose
    3. Austin

    Naturally, none of these are serious contenders due to mlb’s garbage territorial system.

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  23. dmick89

    GW:
    That Rays split-city proposal is wild.

    Why would MLB owners approve of this? Would they again have to approve before it was finally put in place? I can’t imagine them being in favor of such a split. This seems more like a way for Tampa Bay to explore moving to Montreal permanently than anything else, but what do I know?

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  24. Perkins

    GW:
    Myles,

    I would think the best candidates are:

    1. Brooklyn or greater NY metro
    2. San Jose
    3. Austin

    Naturally, none of these are serious contenders due to mlb’s garbage territorial system.

    A baseball team in Brooklyn would be great. It takes me about an hour and a half on the Subway to get to Citi Field or Yankee Stadium.

    Though I feel kind of like the Yale admissions officer saying they *could* use an international airport, since NYC already has two teams.

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  25. dmick89

    I think a third team in NYC is only a little more likely than Topeka, Kansas getting an MLB team. Here’s something Manfred said not too long ago:

    In July 2018, Manfred said on FS1’s First Things First, “Portland, Las Vegas, Charlotte, Nashville in the United States, certainly Montreal, maybe Vancouver, in Canada” could be potential expansion markets. “We think there’s places in Mexico we could go over the long haul.”

    I see Mexico as way down the line when they maybe expand to 34 or 36 teams so leaving that out, it seems the cities most likely would be the others that he mentioned. Of those, Las Vegas would seem like a lock to me and I’d be hesitant to go back to Montreal with a new team. If Tampa wants to move there, great, but I think I’d go with Portland or Charlotte.

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  26. Myles

    Charlotte is probably more likely than Raleigh, but I was afraid Charlotte was too close to Atlanta (of course, Raleigh is about as close to D.C.).

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  27. Perkins

    Purely from a weather and geography/divisional alignment perspective, I’d prefer Charlotte to Las Vegas.

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  28. dmick89

    Perkins,

    I don’t think it’s going to come down to Charlotte or Vegas. I think expansion starts with Vegas and then you pick another city. If you’re not going to put a team in Vegas, don’t bother expanding. I could be wrong, but I’m assuming Vegas is a lock if they expand. I think it could be any of the other cities Manfred mentioned after Vegas, but I just don’t see the point of expanding without that market.

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  29. Author
    berselius

    To-day’s base ball squadron

    LF War Bear
    3B Bryant
    1B Rizzo
    SS Baez
    C Contreras
    CF Heyward
    2B Bote
    RF Cargo
    P Lester

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  30. BVS

    I’m assuming, based on his past demonstration of saying stupid bigoted stuff, that Flowers instigated the dust up with Contreras. And Willson told him to shut his f’n trap.

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  31. BVS

    Rizzo the Rat,

    Not a save situation so no Strop.
    Barnette, Kintzler, and Ryan used.
    Alzolay and Chatwood pigging backing or starting this week.
    That leaves Montgomery with 2 righties and a switch hitter with better splits vs lefties, Brach (not if you want to win, at least with little drama), or Cishek.

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  32. BVS

    Myles:
    Charlotte is probably more likely than Raleigh, but I was afraid Charlotte was too close to Atlanta (of course, Raleigh is about as close to D.C.).

    At 3 a.m. Charlotte is close to Atlanta, but during the day I-85 is such a sh.show that it is probably faster to get to Indianapolis from Charlotte than Altanta.

    Good thing the Amtrak leaves Atlanta N-bound at like 8.30 p.m. when it is useful.

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