Cubs 8, Mets 3 (9/13/2017)

In Uncategorized by myles291 Comments

OSS: Cubs finally score more runs than they allow.

Three Up:

1. Kyle Schwarber went 3-3 with a HR and a walk. If only he stopped doing so much god damn charity work, he might have went 4 for 3, right Alvin?

2. Kris Bryant hit a 3-run bomb and silenced all of Cubs RISP Twitter. I get the impression that people understand SSS when it's over a short period of time, but absolutely do not understand it when it's over a long period of time or with infrequent trials. 

3. Jose Quintana has earned my respect with 7 innings of 2-run ball. I'll have to come up with a new nickname. 

Three Down:

1. So Justin Wilson may not make the postseason roster, should it come to that. In what was the world's clearest "throw strikes" scenario, Wilson couldn't get the ball over the plate. He was staked 6 runs and did not get through the inning. He injured; either physically, mentally, or both.

2. With the bases loaded in the first inning and one away, Ian Happ grounded into a double play. He redeemed himself with a HR later on in the game, but that really hurt. He also struck out with men on first and second and two out.

3. I think I pick on Joe Maddon a little too much, but when Baez doubled in the 6th after Quintana was at a hundred pitches you just knew that he was batting for himself and you were going to be frustrated. It worked out in this instance, but the process was poor. Rosters are expanded and you don't need your pitcher to get through the 7th (though with this bullpen, maybe you do!). 

Next Up

7:05 PM CST, WGN/670 the Score

Fatt Harvey (5.82 ERA, really really sucks) vs Jon Lester (4.35 ERA, hopefully doesn't injure himself)

Will the Cubs Win?

If you can't beat Matt Harvey, then you really, really, really don't deserve to make the playoffs. Fun fact about Harvey: he's horrible. He might not be able to start for the Reds.

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  1. dmick89

    Kris Bryant hit a 3-run bomb and silenced all of Cubs RISP Twitter. I get the impression that people understand SSS when it’s over a short period of time, but absolutely do not understand it when it’s over a long period of time or with infrequent trials.

    I’ll admit that his lack of home runs was starting to irritate me, but only because the Cubs need him to be Kris Bryant if they’re going to win. He’s still been really good, so it’s great he can be excellent even without the home runs, but he’s better with home runs. I was, however, never worried about his power. I knew it would come at some point (this year or next), but I’m definitely glad to see it. Hopefully it continues because winning this division will be a lot easier with him at full potential.

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  2. Edwin

    I don’t understand how Harvey can be so terrible. His velocity is still solid. It’s down a bit, but not much. His movement on his pitches is basically the same as it was before, with the breaking pitches having less movement. All of sudden though he can’t get swinging strikes, and he’s lost control and command over his pitches. In 2013 he looked unhittable, it’s so strange to seem him now.

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  109. dmick89

    Perkins: Looks like Sonny Jackson did.

    So did Jose Hernandez so this is weird. Hernandez wore it and either gave it up so Sonny Jackson could have it or after he was traded Jackson grabbed it before Ramirez could get it.

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  119. Perkins

    dmick89,

    Yeah, I saw him on there with both 15 and 16 in 2003. I thought it odd that he had 15 briefly, but I get that a coach had 16 first. I meant that I saw Hernandez and Ramirez for 15 and Ramirez and Jackson for 16.

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  123. dmick89

    Perkins,

    The Cubs have a three game lead over both teams in the loss column. I think the Cubs magic number is still high enough that it doesn’t mean much, especially with the number of times the Cubs play the Cardinals and Brewers. A three game lead is great. You’d rather be up three, but it won’t take anything other than a bad weekend this week or next to eliminate it.

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  125. uncle dave

    I love this blog because there were like six comments on the Cubs scoring 17 runs tonight and sixty about what number Aramis wore.

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  126. mcalis2

    While Grimm and Pena continue to bleed out every night, Wilson cant find the strikezone and Uehara may have died— cubs designated Pierce Johnson for assignment to open up a spot for tomorrow’s starter. Oddly, Eddie Butler is still on the 40 man. Pierce didnt have a phenomenal year at AAA but hes got good stuff and has another year of minor league control.

    Pierce must be hurt again. Because this move didnt make any sense.

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  134. dmick89

    mcalis2: Pierce must be hurt again. Because this move didnt make any sense.

    Yeah, I don’t get why Eddie Butler is still on the roster. I don’t think Johnson will be much as a starter, but I still think he could be a valuable reliever. i wouldn’t even mind seeing him on the team right now considering how much the bullpen sucks. He’s probably a better bet against lefties at this point than Wilson is.

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  137. BVS

    dmick89,

    My theory is that Todd Ricketts kept freaking out every time Pierce Johnson was mentioned, because college and…duh, and it was too impractical to issue trigger warnings before any discussion of prospects or minors.

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  138. BVS

    EnricoPallazzo,

    So it’s a group of tubby middle-aged white guys who still mow the lawn shirtless without sunblock, wearing batting helmets without earflaps and their last few wisps of curls sticking out along the edge, singing Whitesnake?

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  149. dmick89

    This game is kind of important since the Cubs can’t just lose a game. If the Cubs lose tonight they’re pretty much guaranteed to lose at least three in a row. At that point the Cardinals are tied with the Cubs and the Brewers are probably in first place.

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  151. dmick89

    Rizzo the Rat: So, three or four innings at most.

    If Tseng only goes three or four, odds are the game is over and Davis sticks around. Besides, Joe will wait until the 8th when he can use Contreras against a lefty. He doesn’t want to burn through pinch hitters too early.

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  159. BVS

    dmick89:
    Perkins,

    I guess since Davis is familiar with Tseng. I don’t like it though.

    Assumed this was the case as soon as Tseng’s start was announced. I think this is OK. Davis was up already, independent of Tseng’s start, so he must have some skills. I think it makes sense to have the guy who has worked with Tseng before start. It helps both Tseng and the C. Contreras or Avila can watch him tonight and catch him next time. This is no different than signing Ross after signing Lester.

    HOWEVER, if Caratini has caught Tseng more than twice, then I think he should be the starter.

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  160. dmick89

    BVS,

    I’d be fine if this was just a one and done start, but it may not be. Arrieta hasn’t thrown off a mound yet. My guess is he misses at least one more and probably two more starts. Maybe more if there’s a setback. I’d put Avila back there tonight and with his next start I’d put Contreras back there.

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  162. BVS

    Perkins,

    BVS,

    I think the bigger lineup question than Davis at C is not putting Zo in. With a contact pitcher wouldn’t you maximize D or some combination of D + hitting? Zo has been hot and has slightly better splits against righties than Happ. I think Zo is better at D too, but certainly not much worse. I put Zo in because he is picking it up at the plate instead of treading the waters of mediocrity like Happ.

    Could put Zo in LF, but Schwarber has been hitting better than Happ lately too. But even that is a more defensible lineup than a “no Zo” today.

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  163. BVS

    dmick89,

    I can see that. Agree that he’ll probably get a second start if he doesn’t implode tonight. I think Joe giving him Taylor Davis probably helps his comfort level and is basically an attempt to give him everything possible to succeed. The starter is more important to any single game than any particular batter in almost any case. Plus there is the language barrier too. Doubt any of the others speak any Korean. Maybe The Stare has picked some up.

    100% agree that the next start should be with another C, whoever the best framer is, I guess. Contreras has a good stare too.

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  169. uncle dave

    dmick89,

    I dunno, do we still have some earmarked for Carlos Silva?

    I feel like Ohtani is a guy you break the bank for either way. He’s a potential generational talent already producing at a high level. You just figure the rest out later. (Unfortunately, I’m just going to assume that the Dodgers will wind up with everyone worth having at this point.)

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  171. uncle dave

    BVS,

    Mandarin, but whatever. Hopefully, he’s picked up some English over the past four years. (Enough to understand “throw a fucking strike, kid” at least.)

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  172. uncle dave

    dmick89,

    True, but that only magnifies the advantages that LA and New York have in these deals. LA especially, I’d think, owing to proximity to Japan and so on. There’s also the possibility that the next deal is part of this one, illegally or no.

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  173. Rizzo the Rat

    uncle dave: (Enough to understand “throw a fucking strike, kid” at least.)

    Even some of the native English speakers on the Cubs staff seem to have trouble understanding that phrase.

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  176. Perkins

    dmick89,

    As I understood the article, the Cubs would be bound by their IFA restrictions, as would every other team. But Ohtani doesn’t sound like he cares about the first year money that much. It sounds like any team signing him would have to work out some kind of under-the-table agreement to offer him a massive contract extension, maybe even after his first season in MLB.

    What the article notes is that Francisco Lindor reportedly turned down a $100MM extension after his first year, so a nine figure extension that resembled a free agent contract to a first year player would have precedent (even if just as an offer). He also toys with the idea of allowing Ohtani to opt into arbitration if he thinks he’d make more, as Jose Abreu’s contract allows him to do.

    Given that the Cubs look to be flush with cash and are expecting a much more profitable TV agreement after 2019, and that they have a core anchored by two potential HoFers (early, I know), I’d say they could make him an attractive offer.

    But I bet he signs with the Yankees.

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  177. dmick89

    Perkins: It sounds like any team signing him would have to work out some kind of under-the-table agreement to offer him a massive contract extension, maybe even after his first season in MLB.

    I thought I read that MLB would be closely watching to make sure this does not happen. I would also bet there is almost no chance that he’d get that sizable extension if he was only mediocre in his rookie season. He’d have to be ridiculously good for MLB to look the other way IMO.

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  179. Perkins

    dmick89,

    It does sound like MLB is hoping to prevent such a deal (i.e., sign for the minimum and throw a truckload of money at Ohtani shortly after), but that seems to be the only way he’d sign. I think the main thing is not to be too obvious that’s what’s going on, so as long as he performs well in his first year, the signing team should be in the clear. That’s why those comps (Lindor and Abreu) are so important, since they give a team plausible deniability when it throws a nine figure contract to a player before his second year in MLB.

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  180. dmick89

    Perkins,

    Yeah, I agree, but I think a promise to him for a certain amount after year one is useless and he’d likely know it. If he’s not performing at least at an all-star level, I think MLB would find some way to void the contract. Also, what’s to stop the team from just paying him as if there was no under the table deal?

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  181. Perkins

    dmick89,

    I’d assume a team could do that, but probably only a handful of owners make a move like that. While it would be technically correct, I assume it would poison the well for that team with respect to signing players from Japan and possibly elsewhere for a long time. Players, owners, and agents are all adults and I don’t think anybody expects Ohtani to assume all the risk and pitch for the league minimum for three years. Paying him the league minimum for three years looks like negotiating in bad faith.

    I think you’re right that if he’s not producing at a very high level, MLB would step in on a massive contract extension. My guess is the team would then offer him something more modest (something like 7/$80MM or so) after the first year that would show they’re betting on him, but that it would be easy for him to turn down if he wanted to bet on himself and wait another year.

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  191. uncle dave

    uncle dave:
    BVS,

    Mandarin, but whatever.Hopefully, he’s picked up some English over the past four years.(Enough to understand “throw a fucking strike, kid” at least.)

    I stand corrected. He has not.

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  199. BVS

    uncle dave,

    Yeah, should have remembered from his hyphenated first name that he was grom Taiwan, but I would have said Cantonese in that case and still been wrong.

    Still, Bosio went out to the mound with an interpreter. Pretty sure his stay in Myrtle Beach wasn’t helpful for learning English. Not super cosmopolitan here. Better than Iowa, perhaps.

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  206. BVS

    My gut tells me that Javy would have held the tag at 2b on the steal. Maybe Zo too. Not impressed with Happ at 2b, wasn’t at Myrtle Beach either.

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  211. Rizzo the Rat

    I’m so annoyed that the Cubs FO allowed this to happen. The Cubs should be treating every game like the playoffs.

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  212. Perkins

    Now would be as good a time as any to pinch hit for both Davis and Tseng. Montgomery can also give up a bunch of runs, but he at least gives you a chance of not doing so.

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  224. Rizzo the Rat

    I’m so glad Joe let the pitcher hit with two runners in scoring position so he could stay in and give up home runs.

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  228. dmick89

    Rizzo the Rat: The Cubs should be treating every game like the playoffs.

    That’s the worst part about this. It’s almost like Joe doesn’t even realize the Cubs play eight straight on the road against two teams chasing them. It’s just fucking stupid.

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  248. BVS

    So…

    Cubs have a hitter with a bunt single and triple, but it’s Schwarber, not Heyward.

    Cubs have a player with 2 SB, but its Rizzo, not Baez.

    Cubs had the best starter tonight: 5 ER in 3 IP. A contact pitcher who struck out 6 guys in those 3 IP.

    Baseball

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  251. Rizzo the Rat

    BVS: Cubs have a hitter with a bunt single and triple, but it’s Schwarber, not Heyward.

    Officially, it was ruled a double and an error.

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  274. Perkins

    Rizzo the Rat:
    I guess I won’t be posting a picture for magic number 14 tonight. You’ll never guess whose uniform I chose!

    I think you’re going to be able to post the Charlie Root picture after all.

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  282. Rizzo the Rat

    Perkins,
    d’Arnaud ———————-> twisted knee
    Rosario ———————–> tight hip flexor

    The Mets can’t just lose. They have to lose multiple players to injury.

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