Iowa Cubs 7 @ Oklahoma City RedHawks 6
Logan Watkins had a double and a single, with 2 RBI. Dave Sappelt had a walk and a single and a single RBI. Brad Nelson went 2-4 with 2 HR. I can't imagine anyone in the organization having a better day than that. Junior Lake heard us arguing and wanted to let us know that he still loves us. He didn't have an error and did have a strikeout. He also had a double. Ian Stewart had a walk and a double and is now hitting a robust .164 on the year. He played first base. Darnell McDonald had a double and an RBI. Luis Flores is only hitting .174 on the season but did draw 2 walks. By the way, none of this counts, because Phil Humber was the pitcher on the other side.
Yoanner Negrin had another poor start. He allowed 5 runs in 5 innings off the strength of 2 home runs allowed, 2 walks, and 10 hits. He did strike out 8 so it's not all bad. Casey Coleman did 3 innings of great work, allowing no runs. Brian Schlitter picked up the save by allowing a single run in the ninth.
Tennessee Smokies 3 @ Mobile BayBears 4
Matt Szczur was 0-4 today. It happens. Arismendy Alcantara went 2-4 and was caught stealing. Rubi Silva had a walk but no hits. Christian Villanueva continues to go on the warpath, going 2-4 with a run and a caught stealing. His OPS in April/May/June: .588/.857/.890. Rafael Lopez was 2-4 with 2 doubles. Hooray!
A.J. Morris had a great little game. He pitched 5.1 innings and allowed 2 hits and no walks. He struck out 4 and allowed a single run. He only had 71 pitches, too. Zach Rosscup had a rare poor outing, allowing a pair of runs on a two-run blast. Trey McNutt had 1.2 scoreless innings, and Kevin Rhoderick wrapped it up with 0.2 innings of one-run ball.
Cincinnati Reds 6 @ Chicago Cubs 2
David DeJesus did not have a great game. He struck out twice and did not reach base. Anthony Rizzo continues to struggle but did have a walk. Alfonso Soriano struck out 3 times with a single. Nate Schierholtz had 2 hits and continues to build some trade value. Starlin Castro had a ninth-inning double. He really needs to start coming around.
Scott Feldman had a poor outing, but still has a 3.22 ERA.
Fort Myers Miracle 6 @ Javier Baez 7
Javier Baez, come on down! He had 4 home runs for 7 RBI, and missed the homer cycle by a grand slam. He now has a line of .291/.339/.570, compared to Jorge Soler's (1-4) .278/.344/.470. Soler is ice cold lately, but let's give Baez his credit. It wasn't a perfect game (his 26th error)… but it was damn close. He's still the owner of an 11/60 BB/SO ratio, but I'd wager that his walks are going to start going up as A+ starts to realize that he can demolish anything you throw at him. He homered off of 3 different pitches, according to sitrick. His OPS in June is 1.725. His OPS is better with Runners On (.946) than when Bases are Empty (.875), and better still with RISP (.968). I don't even want to write about anyone else on this offense. Go Javier Baez.
Zach Cates got the win, thanks to Javier Baez. He went 6 innings and allowed 4 runs (3 earned, Cabezas' first error of the year caused the other run), and Luis Liria had another poor outing. His ERA sits at 7.03. Larry Suarez and Frank Del Valle each were scoreless.
Kane County Cougars 2 @ Cedar Rapids Kernels 6
Gioskar Amaya had 3 walks, so that's great. He was also caught stealing and picked off, so that's not great. Albert Almora doesn't even seem to be trying anymore, with a lowly 1-4, 2B performance. Dan Vogelbach had an RBI, a walk, and a SO. Rock Shoulders went 2-4 with a double, and Oliver Zapata had 2 hits.
Pierce Johnson had an atypically poor night, allowing 5 runs on 7 hits in 2 walks over 4.2 innings. He did face Byron Buxton who roughed him up good. Lendy Castillo closed it out with 3.1 innings of 1-run ball. His ERA is almost under 7 now!
Enderson Mercedes was more like a Reliant Robin in this game. He faced 2 batters and walked them both.
Both Ricardo Marcano and Delbis Arcila went 3-3 with a walk in this game. Marcano had 1 double and Arcila had 3.
Comments
Regarding Maples twitter page, he retweeted a racist image. I’d like to think the organization bitch slapped him after doing it, but it’s still on his page so I doubt it. Gonna be very hard to root for the guy now.
dmick89Quote Reply
It is entirely possible that Ian Stewart is delusional.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
(dying laughing) at the Cubs placement. Nice.
dmick89Quote Reply
I didn’t even hear about this sexual assault issue with Marmol from last fall. Maybe I did and forgot about it. That’s 2 of 25 on the roster who have been accused of this. Hope it wasn’t true about either of them, but I don’t know.
dmick89Quote Reply
Baez now has a .399 wOBA. That’s absurd when you consider his low walk rate.
dmick89Quote Reply
Yeah, I’m really surprised that Maples still has that image on his twitter. He probably tried to delete it but ended up walking 4 more batters instead
MylesQuote Reply
I saw a picture of bacon and some kind of Lebron gif. Was there something else?
Suburban kidQuote Reply
Oh, do you mean his gallery (link went to mobile version which didn’t have that). One pretty racist funnypicoftheday there.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
@ Suburban kid:
look for the one that has niggas in it. It’s the second image when I check it out.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89 wrote:
Has he been accused of PEDs? No? Then what are you complaining about?
WaLiQuote Reply
I don’t think that was racist, but it’s pretty funny.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
The idea that black people ask for water cups to steal soda seems pretty racist to me.
sitrick2Quote Reply
Maples also makes reference to his childhood “bowel cut” in a later pic in the gallery (dying laughing).
BerseliusQuote Reply
BP article on Starlin (free)
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=20899
This jives with what Sahadev Sharma was told a week or so ago from the Cubs hitting coach. They’ve been working on him being disciplined the first few pitches, then letting him go once he gets 2 strikes.
BerseliusQuote Reply
I think Ian Stewart is racist against sanity.
MishQuote Reply
I don’t know if it’s that big of a deal with what Stewart’s doing. He’s basically daring the Cubs to cut him, at this point he’s got nothing to lose with the org anyway.
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
Can’t imagine teams will be lining up to sign a former MLBer hitting .164 in the PCL and calling out his org for not promoting him. He’s tweeting himself out of a job.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
He’s already done all those things anyway. Getting 2 starts a week isn’t helping him get a job either – he’s got nothing to lose.
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
The Cubs aren’t going to set precedent by giving him what he wants. All he’s doing is guaranteeing that (1) what’s been happenign to him will continue to, both because he sucks and because he’s a jabberjaws and (2) that even if the Cubs cut him, it’s likely no-one will want him because of these antics. He only has nothing to lose if he’s really looking forward to getting a real job. Otherwise, he should shut the fuck up and keep stealing that $2M from the Cubs.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
I don’t follow Garza on Twitter, but apparently he’s sticking up for Stewart. Could be he’s looking for a way out, too.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
If the Cubs cut Stewie he still gets paid, right? Maybe he knows he is done and/or doesn’t care if he doesn’t play again.
WaLiQuote Reply
@ WaLi:
Yeah, they’d owe him what’s left of his deal (~$900K was the figure I saw being tossed aroudn the last time he went off on Twitter.).
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
Sorry to go off topic here, but isn’t there someone who frequents this blog who is familiar with Austin? I’m leading a bachelor party there and would appreciate any insights on can’t-miss restaurants or bars. Thoughts?
uncle daveQuote Reply
@ uncle dave:
Berselius and Ryno know it pretty well, and I think WaLi or someone else has been through there a few times.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
@ uncle dave:
I live here, but wouldn’t say I know it very well, especially downtown (dying laughing). GW has lived here longer than me. Ryno’s your best bet if he’s around.
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ uncle dave:
Off the top of my head the main can’t miss thing is Franklin BBQ. Be prepared to wait in line though. Bar-wise the only places I can rec Downtown are Ginger Man (for beers) and Peche for cocktails. I’m not a huge cocktail guy, but the visiting friend of mine I went with is a huge gastro-whiskey-whateverthefuck snob and said the place was highly recommended.
BerseliusQuote Reply
I’m amused that you guys you think MLB managers and coaches know what a twitter is.
joshQuote Reply
@ uncle dave:
If you’re outside of downtown for whatever reason, Flying Saucer is a great place too.
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ uncle dave:
Hit up Juan in a Million or Torchy’s for hangover breakfast tacos, or Kerbey Lane Cafe for pancakes etc.
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
@ Berselius:
Right on, thanks for the info. I’ll try to track down GW later on.
uncle daveQuote Reply
Berselius wrote:
I’m tempted to reject this place on general principles.
uncle daveQuote Reply
Mish, I think you’ve taken this obsession too far this time. You need help man.
http://s2.jrnl.ie/media/2013/05/pug.jpg
Suburban kidQuote Reply
Having difficulty logging in at work but this short piece by Szymborski on PEDs tickled me: http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/szymborski/ARodbadman.txt
MJKQuote Reply
Working on the June Falling Prospects List and a new Top 15 list right now. On my Top 30, I have draft picks at #2, #17, and #20. Our farm system is stupidly deep right now.
MylesQuote Reply
Quasi-papal figure has a positive piece up on the Cubs’ Direction at ESPN (insider, I don’t have it).
http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/9364654/chicago-cubs-moving-right-direction-mlb
BerseliusQuote Reply
BerseliusQuote Reply
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2013/06/11/hoyer-on-stewarts-comments-there-are-going-to-be-consequences/
MylesQuote Reply
http://aeryssports.com/a-league-of-her-own/ian-stewart-twitter-tip/
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
BerseliusQuote Reply
http://www.minorleagueball.com/2013/6/11/4419634/minor-league-ball-gameday-june-11
MishQuote Reply
/selfpromotion
MylesQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
I think this is my personal favorite line:
(dying laughing)
mikeakaleroyQuote Reply
@ mikeakaleroy:
I actually feel bad for Stewart now. It’s not like everyone in the world complains about their job, but by golly when a ball player does it, he’s a jackass. It’s weird.
Mark Prior stated the correct and obvious thing once. He said he was just an employee. Oddly enough, he got blasted by Cubs fans for saying it. Weird world.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ dmick89:
I think the difference is visibility. Yes, I bitch about my job, and used to do it on twitter. A bunch of strangers know my twitter account, and not my employer. If I were to take out an ad in my company newsletter and complain about how shitty of a company it was, I’d expect consequences. Stewart knew that by complaining publicly on Twitter that the Cubs would read it, and he hoped that would lead to his release.
mikeakaleroyQuote Reply
@ dmick89:
Also, I don’t think there’s any reason to feel bad for Stewart. I doubt Jed was there with a gun to his head telling him what to type on his Twitter account. Stewart had to know that his words would have consequences and would cause some backlash. Yes, it’s a shitty situation for him, but his tweets just made matters worse, in my humble opinion.
mikeakaleroyQuote Reply
@ dmick89:
Bitching about minimum wage job =! Bitching about $2M/yr job.
The guy is a former MLB player hitting .164 in an extreme hitter’s league, and he’s alleging he won’t get recalled because the manager doesn’t like him.
Fucking spare me, Ian.
The man is a fucking jackass.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
And here come the backtracking tweets. Someone just got their punk card pulled.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
NOW Jed is sitting next to him with a gun to his head telling him what to type. (dying laughing)
mikeakaleroyQuote Reply
I’m guessing there was a fine and a reminder of just how deeply one can be mired on the bench. I like the Cubs taking the hard line here and not just giving Stewart his release. Two parties sign a contract, after all.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
@ mikeakaleroy:
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
mikeakaleroy wrote:
I don’t disagree. It’s pretty dumb for Stewart to do what he did, but I’m not sure he deserves all the criticism he’s gotten either.
As for consequences, what could they possibly be? He’s playing twice per week and making a bunch of money doing it. He wants out, but he’s also laughing at the Cubs while they pay him to be an asshole.
I think this is a non-story. What I think is the story is this: the Cubs paid a bad player $2 million. I don’t care what Ian Stewart does in AAA. I do care that the Cubs wasted $2 million.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ dmick89:
Yeah, that’s a good point. Cubs should have let the guy walk.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
And so it begins:
I’m guessing he starts getting booed regularly in very short order.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
@ dmick89:
Yeah, I agree with that last part. I admit, I was on the side of “Sign him for $2 mil, what could go wrong?” and that has not turned out so well.
As for the criticism, my guess is that a lot of people didn’t read the real reason he took the 72 hours off when he was assigned to Iowa, and also the fact that he’s been hurt for most of his tenure with the Cubs, and this was just another strike against him. I think he deserves the criticism because he certainly could have sucked it up and stopped batting .164 and played his way back instead of bitching and throwing the FO under the bus.
mikeakaleroyQuote Reply
Mercurial Outfielder wrote:
I’m not saying they’re equal, but wealthy people bitch about their jobs, too.
I think Stewart is an asshole, but as for calling out the Chicago Cubs, I don’t care.
Bigger story: Stewart calling out the Cubs or the Cubs eagerly paying Stewart $2 million? Stewart calling out the Cubs or the Cubs willingness to keep paying him even after he was injured and they could have released him while paying less than league minimum? They had two fucking chances and both times made the wrong decision.
dmick89Quote Reply
mikeakaleroy wrote:
There could have been some arguments for that, but by the time the middle of spring training rolled around and he was still injured, there was no longer any excuse to keep him. The Cubs could have paid a fraction of the $2 million and released him.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
I’m surprised it hasn’t happened yet. If the Cubs were anywhere near contention, I think it would have already started.
dmick89Quote Reply
Stewart suspended w/o pay, Theo cites “loyalty clause.” Be interesting to see how MLBPA takes this.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
@ dmick89:
I really hate this fanbase.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
@ dmick89:
The unfortunate thing about it is that once that sort of bullshit starts, it rarely goes away. I’m not sure why folks are so eager to hang on to their own flawed narratives. Guy could turn into a perennial all-star and folks would still insist that he’s an underachiever.
uncle daveQuote Reply
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Never heard of that one. Not sure Stewart is covered by the MLBPA so it probably won’t matter.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ uncle dave:
Looks like B hit most of it. If you are looking for places to stay, the Driskill is right on 6th. It’s the oldest hotel in austin, and well maintained.
Bars: It’s hard to go wrong with any of the places on Rainey Street. For beer selection, B already mentioned the ginger man and flying saucer, I second those and add the Draught House. Opal Divine’s for liquor. Haddington’s for cocktails. There are lots of more or less interchangeable bars on sixth; Buffalo Billiards and Maggie Mae’s are half decent.
For BBQ: Franklin’s, The Salt Lick (Driftwood, byob), Rudy’s.
Mexican: Trudy’s (stuffed avocado), Curra’s (Carnitas, Chilaquiles, probably anything, actually)
Donuts: Gourdough’s (trust me)
GWQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
Highlight of the Insider article is: The Cubs’ 25-36 record might look more like their 30-31 Pythagorean record if Carlos Marmol’s control had not continued to deteriorate, to the point that he’d have trouble targeting the ground if he dropped the baseball.
MJKQuote Reply
GW wrote:
But I don’t even trust the way you just now said I could trust you.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ MJK:
You still having trouble logging in? What happened when you tried? I think the sidebar login might be fucking things up.
dmick89Quote Reply
Berselius wrote:
MO writes for ESPN now?
mobile svbQuote Reply
@ GW:
Thanks, GW. Sad that we’re all getting so old that the donut shop is more appealing than the titty bar, but I suspect that there will be a stop there. Again with the puns, though. Is that some sorta Austin thing? I’m expecting that a passel of restaurants with punny names will appear in the next Linklater flick.
uncle daveQuote Reply
delete
dmick89Quote Reply
David Simon interview
dmick89Quote Reply
@ dmick89:
Earlier I tried the side bar and it just loaded indefinitely. It worked now, I didn’t try it when I replied to Berselius a moment ago.
Levine said Bryant could be ready for the majors as early as next June in today’s chat.
MJKQuote Reply
@ MJK:
I think similar things have happened to sitrick a few times. I’ve noticed on my phone and iPad on occasion. I think we’ll have to do away with the sidebar login and just have a link to a login page on the menu.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ uncle dave:
(dying laughing) yeah, i haven’t hit any of the strip clubs here. i have friends who swear by chicas bonitas, though.
GWQuote Reply
mike zunino called up
GWQuote Reply
GW wrote:
So you hit the ones out of town?
dmick89Quote Reply
@ GW:
Yeah, they probably shouldn’t have…
Rice CubeQuote Reply
uncle dave wrote:
My favorite one is “Naan Stop”, an Indian food cart downtown.
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ GW:
I swear by chicas bonitas too, but that’s only because I’m usually sitting in I-35 frontage road traffic outside of it.
BerseliusQuote Reply
http://www.baseballnation.com/2013/6/11/4420532/ian-stewart-tweets-cubs
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
Stalker
dmick89Quote Reply
GWQuote Reply
Berselius wrote:
i assumed that you were making a joke but googled it to see if a place with such an awesome name actually exists. it does. better still, they’ve apparently recently changed the name to “naan sense” (seriously).
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
new shit: http://obstructedview.net/news-and-rumors/ian-stewart-twitter-omg.html
dmick89Quote Reply