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Chicago Cubs Thread - Playoff Push Pending

BlackjackMc said:
Happ or Zobrist for Zagunis? No problem if they carry 13 position players, but that hasn't happened in a long time. Bote appears to have become a permanent fixture and rightly so. He has been as clutch as anyone on the roster. Caratini or Davis as backup catcher. Injury will probably give Happ another opportunity but he appears to be odd man out for now. Dewess at .354/.459/.532 is making a statement at Iowa as well.
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What? Happ for Zags, dont need 13 position players - Happ is better and offers more flexibility. The switch will happen once they are confident they can get Happ consistent ABs.

Still hoping they cut or trade addy.
 
I don't think Russell is leaving. He may become the Iowa connection along with Happ. He is the only legitimate SS behind Baez and the best defensive 2B behind Javy. If Russell hits he will eventually start at second. No disrespect meant to Bote, Descalso or Zobrist. The Cubs retained Russell for a reason. That's it.

Happ's K rate this year at Iowa mirrors his K rate in the minors. The problem is he has holes in his coverage of the strike zone at the major league level and opposing teams know what they are. No contact. Easy out. .244/.359/.403 at Iowa won't get a recall until the problem has improved. There is a reason Happ is at Iowa. That's it. When Zobrist is ready to return he will replace Zagunis. If Russell doesn't hit he and Happ will shuttle. If Bote regresses he could be eligible as well.
 
You need to look more at Happs stats. He started off very poorly, he has been locked in the last few weeks, walks up, ks down.

Zobs is off the 40 man roster, meaning he may be out for awhile, no clue what's going on, but doesn't sound quick.
 
BlackjackMc said:
There was absolutely no reason for Joe Maddon to remove Kyle Hendricks from the game. None. Send him to the plate and watch three strikes go by. Return to dugout and prepare to pitch the ninth. Painting the corners with complete command for eight innings. Who in the bullpen can do better? Not a soul. Taking Kyle out did the Marlins a favor and they cashed in. This a reason Maddon's contract has not been extended.
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You gotta trust your pen at some point. This isn't the '70s, nobody the Cubs included is asking their starter to throw complete games every time out. And wanting a fresh arm to face the heart of Miami's order is understandable.

The pen gave up a run then shut Miami down til we could win. Not the end of the world. Deep breaths
 
They should have just thrown Cishek for the whole inning, I get turning Walker around, but seemed like a waste. Alls well that ends well - hopefully this gets JHey back on track.
 
Report out said the Tigers and Giants had been scouting the Cubs minor leagues pretty heavily recently. Giants have a bunch of interesting bullpen pieces with Watson, Melancon and Dyson - they all make decent money, which should make them somewhat cheap (Giants would have to eat a ton on Melancon for anyone to take him). I looked at the Tigers pen, haven't heard of any of those guys, but have a few guys having good years so far.
 
It did end well.

Taylor Davis catching Darvish again. If he can coax a good performance from Yu it would be a step in the right direction.
 
Darvish gives up one hit and one run in four innings using 97 pitches (50 strikes) to accomplish the task. Hard to watch. Playing defense behind him must be tough. Confidence and aggression are lacking. He may need a brain transplant.

Rizzo with a two run blast to extend the lead to 4-1. Montgomery on the mound to eat innings.
 
BlackjackMc said:
Darvish gives up one hit and one run in four innings using 97 pitches (50 strikes) to accomplish the task. Hard to watch. Playing defense behind him must be tough. Confidence and aggression are lacking. He may need a brain transplant.

Rizzo with a two run blast to extend the lead to 4-1. Montgomery on the mound to eat innings.
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Hey, but remember. He's Yu Darvish. He walks people.
 
The decision to stretch Montgomery out in his rehab assignment pays immediate dividends. He delivers five shutout innings in relief of Darvish to get his first win. He also dropped his ERA from 16.88 to 5.87. Not bad. The rest of the pen is rested for the Brewers. Both parts of Brizzo hit home runs.
 
Weekend series with the Brewers should be a lot of fun - Q, Hamels and Lester set to go.
 
Had never seen back to back IBBs before. Guess it worked, really thought Javy had ended it.
 
BlackjackMc said:
Darvish gives up one hit and one run in four innings using 97 pitches (50 strikes) to accomplish the task. Hard to watch. Playing defense behind him must be tough. Confidence and aggression are lacking. He may need a brain transplant.

Rizzo with a two run blast to extend the lead to 4-1. Montgomery on the mound to eat innings.
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Darvish seems like he wants to strike out every single hitter he faces. It's painful at times. And, rarely, it's awesome.
 
DaDeacs, I saw it back in the fifties in the second game of a doubleheader. Immediate flashback when I read your comment. At least one brain cell still works. It was a surprise then and today but made sense to get the match up you want.

Chatwood looks different out of the pen. Velocity up to 95-98 with two and four seam fastball and enhancing his breaking balls. A little wild can be used to his advantage. Great effort today.

Agree on Darvish, but it looks like fear of contact to me. An old vet like Ross would probably be on his ass hard to trust his stuff, which is damn good. Kick ass rather than carry candy.
 
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BlackjackMc said:
DaDeacs, I saw it back in the fifties in the second game of a doubleheader. Immediate flashback when I read your comment. At least one brain cell still works. It was a surprise then and today but made sense to get the match up you want.

Chatwood looks different out of the pen. Velocity up to 95-98 with two and four seam fastball and enhancing his breaking balls. A little wild can be used to his advantage. Great effort today.

Agree on Darvish, but it looks like fear of contact to me. An old vet like Ross would probably be on his ass hard to trust his stuff, which is damn good. Kick ass rather than carry candy.
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I think we're just seeing first hand now that Darvish has a long history of pitching for K's and not to induce contact. And it is maddening to watch. Regardless, I do like the makeup of this team.

Bryant, Rizzo, Baez, Contreras is a great core of hitters and there is a lot to compliment them as well. The staff may lack a true "ace" but it is very deep and has shown to be reliable. No one controls injuries. But if you consider what last year's team managed to do with so eh years from key guys you can certainly envision this team being really good if they injury bug doesn't really hit them all that hard during the course of the year.
 
Good win this evening to take the series from the Brewers. Cubs need to enjoy their day off tomorrow. They play 16 straight games before another scheduled day off.
 
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