On Bended Knee - The Rizzo Thread

[imb]

In my mind, Rizzo will always be thought of as the beginning of the move toward this. He was the first #fpitchers before we even knew that was gonna be the cubs motto. And to see him bounce back from early struggles, become a superstar and then turn that into a world series is just amazing.

[David]

i still have rizzo's debut on my DVR too! just found it while i was deleting other crap

[David]

In my mind, Rizzo will always be thought of as the beginning of the move toward this. He was the first #fpitchers before we even knew that was gonna be the cubs motto. And to see him bounce back from early struggles, become a superstar and then turn that into a world series is just amazing.

 

Yep.

 

It's crazy to think that he was a part of so much of that losing and now is a huge part of this. Seeing how much he clearly enjoys playing and winning, I can't imagine what kind of toll those few years took on him. Aside from like Travis Wood, he's the only one who was around for that (what year did we take Rondon in the Rule 5?)...

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Rizzo and Wood are the only holdovers from 2012 after Castro and Valbuena were traded away. 2013 was Rondon's Rule 5 year, along with Arrieta, Strop, and Grimm mid-season.

[David]

Rizzo and Wood are the only holdovers from 2012 after Castro and Valbuena were traded away. 2013 was Rondon's Rule 5 year, along with Arrieta, Strop, and Grimm mid-season.

 

Blows my mind that Arrieta was on that team. I mean, I knew it, but it's still nuts. Like he became a different person in 2014 and then a super hero in 2015.

[Irrelevant Dude]

His going to David Ross for emotional support is among my fondest memories of the season.

Yeah, I think that will be one of the things I remember most about the entire playoff run. I loved Rizzo even before that, but his conversation with Ross in the dugout sealed the deal for me.

[TommyGuns15]

I love Rizzo, favorite Cub on this team he's like a big kid and is out there just having fun. I hope he get's to retire a cub

[davell]

[Brian]

[tweet]

[/tweet]

[Geech]

[tweet]

[/tweet]

 

The ocean? What ocean?

[Gmoney08]

Rizzo and Wood are the only holdovers from 2012 after Castro and Valbuena were traded away. 2013 was Rondon's Rule 5 year, along with Arrieta, Strop, and Grimm mid-season.

 

I was looking at different Cubs rosters & stats the other day. The 2013 team really blew my mind, it was just weird seeing all these 2016 WS Champs listed above on the same Cubs rosters as Carlos freaking Marmol, Kevin Gregg, Michael Bowden, Matt Garza, Julio Borbon, Brent Lillibridge, Logan Watkins......

 

Literally guys I do not remember.

 

Alberto Gonzalez, Thomas Neal, JC Boscan, Darnell Mcdonald, Kameron Loe, Chang Yong Lim, Matt Guirrer, Darrel Walker, Ed Nealy, Henry Rodriguez (& no not the LF from the 98 Cubs), Cody Ransom, Zach Putnam, and a few more I vaguely remember... like Rafael Dolis, oh yeah he was a guy..

 

By the way 2016 leader in WAR was Travis Wood at 5.1, leading position player Wellington Castillo.

[davell]

[tweet]

[/tweet]

[Bull]

[tweet]

[/tweet]

 

#herefortheopium

[TruffleShuffle]

friendly reminder that even if rizzo gives himself a bump up in salary by finishing top 5 in the MVP voting in one of the next 2-3 years, we have him for the next 5 years (through his age 32 season) at a maximum of $59 million.

 

if only theo could have used some kind of jedi mind trick to convince bryant and russell to take a deal like that.

[UMFan83]

Great retrospective on the Rizzo/Cashner trade 5 years later with interviews from Hoyer and Byrnes discussing what went on:

 

https://sports.vice.com/en_us/article/inside-the-anthony-rizzo-trade-that-kickstarted-the-cubs-historic-world-series-run

[Brian]

[tweet]

[/tweet]

[Schwarber Fan]

Rizzo and Wood are the only holdovers from 2012 after Castro and Valbuena were traded away. 2013 was Rondon's Rule 5 year, along with Arrieta, Strop, and Grimm mid-season.

 

I was looking at different Cubs rosters & stats the other day. The 2013 team really blew my mind, it was just weird seeing all these 2016 WS Champs listed above on the same Cubs rosters as Carlos freaking Marmol, Kevin Gregg, Michael Bowden, Matt Garza, Julio Borbon, Brent Lillibridge, Logan Watkins......

 

Literally guys I do not remember.

 

Alberto Gonzalez, Thomas Neal, JC Boscan, Darnell Mcdonald, Kameron Loe, Chang Yong Lim, Matt Guirrer, Darrel Walker, Ed Nealy, Henry Rodriguez (& no not the LF from the 98 Cubs), Cody Ransom, Zach Putnam, and a few more I vaguely remember... like Rafael Dolis, oh yeah he was a guy..

 

By the way 2016 leader in WAR was Travis Wood at 5.1, leading position player Wellington Castillo.

 

If you followed the Cubs at all that year, you have to remember Ransom. He went on a nice little run for a few months. Don't blame you on the other names.

[David]

[tweet]

[/tweet]

 

check out his J's

[David]

friendly reminder that even if rizzo gives himself a bump up in salary by finishing top 5 in the MVP voting in one of the next 2-3 years, we have him for the next 5 years (through his age 32 season) at a maximum of $59 million.

 

if only theo could have used some kind of jedi mind trick to convince bryant and russell to take a deal like that.

 

maybe if russell or bryant hadn't had first round bonuses and had had some major struggles in the big leagues

[davell]

[Banedon]

http://www.si.com/mlb/2017/03/14/anthony-rizzo-naked-motivational-speeches-cubs-world-series

 

An hour before Game 5, Rizzo had broken out his pregame inspirational and comedic presentation, quoting motivational lines from movies with no clothes on. The Cubs won, so Rizzo did it before Game 6, too. They won again, so he did it before Game 7 as well.

 

An hour before the seventh game of the World Series, Rizzo stripped off all his clothes, cranked the theme from Rocky on the clubhouse stereo one more time, jumped on top of a coffee table, and began quoting lines from the movie and throwing his best shadow-boxing punches. Pitcher Hector Rondon, joining in on the hijinks, picked up an aerosol can of shoe cleaner and sprayed it in the direction of Rizzo’s groin.

 

Startled and angered, Rizzo stopped and yelled, “What the heck, man!” He cut the music and stormed off toward the showers to clean off the spray. “I’m thinking, Dang, what’s he doing?” Ross said. “We can’t have this negative vibe right before the game. I go by there. I can tell he’s a little irritated.”

 

Ten minutes went by. Rizzo finally emerged from the shower. He walked back silently to his locker with a towel around this waist. The room was quiet and uneasy.

 

Ross walked up to Rizzo and broke the silence.

 

“Hey! It’s not how many times you get knocked down. . . it’s how many times you get up!”

 

Rizzo chuckled. “You know what?” he said. “You’re right!” Said Ross, “He rips the towel off, runs up, turns the music on again, and he jumps back on the coffee table and starts doing the Rocky motions again.”

[UMFan83]

So Rondon almost blew game 7 without even appearing in the game?

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Welp, reading that article sealed that I'm buying Verducci's book, it comes out 2 weeks from today.

[David]

Welp, reading that article sealed that I'm buying Verducci's book, it comes out 2 weeks from today.

same

[Andy]

I'm surprised anyone would've needed to be sold on that book, Verducci is a really good writer and that book's going to be freaking awesome.