6/29 Cubs (Hendricks) @ Reds (Reed) 11:35, WGN

[Cubswin11]

so who is usable today out of the 'pen? I guess Strop, he didn't pitch last night, did he? Maybe Cahill for a batter or two, Grimm?

Strop, Edwards and Peralta should be good to go for sure

[Banedon]

What'd Javy do?

Slow grounder to 2B, Javy charged it hard, lunged to make the tag on Votto, did a 270 degree spin and while going down threw a strike to Rizzo to get the guy at first.

 

I hope the DVR caught this game.

[jersey cubs fan]

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[UMFan83]

What'd Javy do?

Slow grounder to 2B, Javy charged it hard, lunged to make the tag on Votto, did a 270 degree spin and while going down threw a strike to Rizzo to get the guy at first.

 

I hope the DVR caught this game.

 

If not, Javys got it

[Tim]

JD: "The Reds are proving to be the soft, creamy filling in the Oreo cookie road trip"

[BigSlick]

There's been some debate over whether or not plate discipline is really "teachable" though, hasn't there? Certainly some tweaking can be done around the edges, but as far as I've gathered, the type of hitter you are is who you are going to be. (And has to do with all sorts of natural talents, eye-sight, swing style etc.)

 

I dunno, obviously no one is expecting Javy to make huge changes in his approach and be a Ben Zobrist, I think whats encouraging for me is how much more contact he's making, because he's always going to be a hacker. Just gimme a Vlad Guerrero otherworldly type hacker, IMO.

[UMFan83]

If the Cubs schedule only had the Reds and Pirates on it, they would be on pace for a 144-18 season assuming we take care of business the rest of this one. Edited June 29, 2016 by UMFan83

[Thrilho]

Are there any more Javy deniers or are we all of the opinion that he's an annual 3+ win guy? You don't have to think much of the bat to figure that's what he is.

[Cubswin11]

Grimm warming up per Jesse Rogers

[Andy]

There's been some debate over whether or not plate discipline is really "teachable" though, hasn't there? Certainly some tweaking can be done around the edges, but as far as I've gathered, the type of hitter you are is who you are going to be. (And has to do with all sorts of natural talents, eye-sight, swing style etc.)

 

I dunno, obviously no one is expecting Javy to make huge changes in his approach and be a Ben Zobrist, I think whats encouraging for me is how much more contact he's making, because he's always going to be a hacker. Just gimme a Vlad Guerrero otherworldly type hacker, IMO.

I don't think the FO is trying to turn Javy into a high-walks guy, as they seemed to try with Castro. I think they just want him to learn not to swing at pitches that aren't even close. I don't know if that's teachable either, but it's not a dramatic shift in approach.

[Bryants Disco Ball]

There's been some debate over whether or not plate discipline is really "teachable" though, hasn't there? Certainly some tweaking can be done around the edges, but as far as I've gathered, the type of hitter you are is who you are going to be. (And has to do with all sorts of natural talents, eye-sight, swing style etc.)

 

I dunno, obviously no one is expecting Javy to make huge changes in his approach and be a Ben Zobrist, I think whats encouraging for me is how much more contact he's making, because he's always going to be a hacker. Just gimme a Vlad Guerrero otherworldly type hacker, IMO.

 

I feel like around the time Sosa started using roids his plate discipline also went up. He started walking a ton more, which I'm sure was also because he was hitting 60 homers, but he also seemed more patient with his toe tap thing.

[UMFan83]

There's been some debate over whether or not plate discipline is really "teachable" though, hasn't there? Certainly some tweaking can be done around the edges, but as far as I've gathered, the type of hitter you are is who you are going to be. (And has to do with all sorts of natural talents, eye-sight, swing style etc.)

 

I dunno, obviously no one is expecting Javy to make huge changes in his approach and be a Ben Zobrist, I think whats encouraging for me is how much more contact he's making, because he's always going to be a hacker. Just gimme a Vlad Guerrero otherworldly type hacker, IMO.

 

I think teaching discipline is tough but if you have 40+ HR power you are going to naturally going to be pitched around more. Sammy Sosa had a career .308 OBP over his first 9 seasons, then starting with 1998 he had a .372 OBP over his last 9 seasons. Obviously there are a LOT of variables in there (steroids, the era, intentional walks, etc etc) but it is theoretically possible.

[Cubswin11]

Are there any more Javy deniers or are we all of the opinion that he's an annual 3+ win guy? You don't have to think much of the bat to figure that's what he is.

I wouldn't say I'm a denier per se, I clearly get and see how he's valuable as the current player he is. His at bats/approach just frustrate me when a 2-3% increase in the right direction on his BB and K rates could make him something really special and it's frustrating because all it seems he has to do is not be a godless hacker up there to correct that.

[philosophizer75]

Contreras just got hendricks that k with the frame job.

[17 Seconds]

madduxesque

[Andy]

Great job today by Hendricks.

[BigSlick]

Are there any more Javy deniers or are we all of the opinion that he's an annual 3+ win guy? You don't have to think much of the bat to figure that's what he is.

I wouldn't say I'm a denier per se, I clearly get and see how he's valuable as the current player he is. His at bats/approach just frustrate me when a 2-3% increase in the right direction on his BB and K rates could make him something really special and it's frustrating because all it seems he has to do is not be a godless hacker up there to correct that.

Yeah that's the thing. If he can accomplish a few changes in his approach and he can go from a valuable starter MLB player to a perennial All-Star

 

And there he hits another double. Nice.

[Banedon]

<3 Javy

[Tim]

I love Javy

[philosophizer75]

Baez is a bruce "im playing the cubs" defensive effort away from a 4-4 game today.

[Tim]

re: Javy - if you doubt he's making progress, read the articles from Duke on the front page. He's made big strides even within this year.

[UMFan83]

Javy is such an interesting player. He looks like he's falling back into old habits and then all the sudden he hits a grand slam and has 3 hits the next day and looks like a franchise cornerstone. I for one am enjoying the ride.

[Aaron_Kennelly]

No more complaining about Javy's plate discipline for at least a week.

[BigSlick]

Hail Szczur

[itisallpartoftheplan]

It seems like Javy does well on afternoon mid-week get away road games.

 

2 hr game vs rockies in 14, hr vs mets in 14, 4 hit game vs philly this year, and today.

 

It's a thing. Haha