4/25 World Champs (Hendricks) @ Pirates (Cole) 6:05pm WGN

[bukie]

The Cubs pulled off a 14-3 squeaker on Monday against the unbeatable Pirates, despite awful, QS pitching by Brett Anderson and only one HR.

 

The Pirates got more chances to show off their impressive defense by turning a flyout into a bases-clearing double, and an inability to catch the ball at home plate. To celebrate, here's my favorite Cervelli play:

 

 

Next up is Gerrit Cole, a pitcher so certain the Cubs aren't the best team in the league, he decided to pitch awful against the rest of the league to prove it. He's going up against Kyle Hendricks, who allows a HR for every 3rd flyball he gives up so far this year, which I think is sustainable.

 

The Cubs failed miserably in their quest to get 20 runs Monday, so they resume the effort Tuesday to make up for their embarrassments.

[Aaron_Kennelly]

I hope Kyle looks good. He's the only pitcher I'm actually worried about. And he's one of my favorites. So I hope he's back to normal soon.

[bukie]

I hope Kyle looks good. He's the only pitcher I'm actually worried about. And he's one of my favorites. So I hope he's back to normal soon.

The velo is concerning, but the HR/FB rate is slightly hilarious. I'm confident he'll get things figured out, he started slow last year too.

[Aaron_Kennelly]

I hope Kyle looks good. He's the only pitcher I'm actually worried about. And he's one of my favorites. So I hope he's back to normal soon.

The velo is concerning, but the HR/FB rate is slightly hilarious. I'm confident he'll get things figured out, he started slow last year too.

 

He did start slow, but his peripheral stats looked good from the get-go. The walks aren't normal from him. And the velo dop -- when he's already so low -- concerns me, especially when it comes with a ton of hard contact, since soft contact is his forte. I'm not super concerned. But I think there is at least something to be concerned about. I don't think there really is with any other starter, though. Lackey and Arrieta share the same hilariously high HR/FB rates. But they aren't even actually getting hit harder on average. In fact, Arrieta's average exit velocity is the lowest in the league of any starter that's made 4 starts.

 

It's an aberration. And it can easily happen in such a small sample. Make but a couple mistakes, and, boom, high HR/FB, high FIP, high ERA, high everything. Hendricks is the same, but he's been a little off in other areas, too.

[Aaron_Kennelly]

That being said, he's The Professor, and we're the Cubs, and everything goes well for us. So he's going to right the ship tomorrow. And we are going to dong the hell out of these scrubs.

[We Got The Whole 9]

11 Cubs have stepped to the plate 30+ times this season. 9 of them have produced a 113 wRC+ or better. These boys are horsefeathering rolling now. Zo looks like he's making stronger contact, and he'll join that group in no time. I like to call our offense, Devastator, when it's clicking and coming together. So fun to watch.

 

Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

[bukie]

Also resulting from last night's game, the Cubs are now the highest scoring team in baseball.

[Derwood]

Also resulting from last night's game, the Cubs are now the highest scoring team in baseball.

 

But only third in RD. Gotta fix that

[Aaron_Kennelly]

Also resulting from last night's game, the Cubs are now the highest scoring team in baseball.

 

But only third in RD. Gotta fix that

 

We'll be looking up the RD record again within a week.

[CubinNY]

I hope Kyle looks good. He's the only pitcher I'm actually worried about. And he's one of my favorites. So I hope he's back to normal soon.

You're not worried about Anderson?

[Aaron_Kennelly]

I hope Kyle looks good. He's the only pitcher I'm actually worried about. And he's one of my favorites. So I hope he's back to normal soon.

You're not worried about Anderson?

 

Nope. He sucks, but he gets ground balls. He can suck all he wants, but as long as he keeps piling up ground balls, he won't fare too poorly with this defense behind him.

[David]

[tweet]

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[Aaron_Kennelly]

Oh horsefeathers, Joe's rolling out the A Team tonight.

[Sammy Sofa]

Maybe somebody told Baez they moved to a different hotel and forced Joe not to use him.

[sneakypower]

*looks for Javy's place in the lineup*

 

just right

[Aaron_Kennelly]

Our #7 hitter is a career .280/.351/.484 hitter and our #9 hitter is a career .283/.325/.462 hitter. Is that good?

[Cubswin11]

Time to treat Cole like the Jabroni he is, he's gotten the better of us his last 2 outings.

[sneakypower]

Our #7 hitter is a career .280/.351/.484 hitter and our #9 hitter is a career .283/.325/.462 hitter. Is that good?

just as a C, Contreras is .290/.359/.517...2.6 fWAR career in 62 G, 231 PA

 

so, um

 

Willson Contreras: Somehow Buster Posey?

[javy knows my name]

Our #7 hitter is a career .280/.351/.484 hitter and our #9 hitter is a career .283/.325/.462 hitter. Is that good?

 

Man, that is a beautiful line from our plus plus defensive CF. My goodness

 

And yes, this is the A lineup, offensively and defensively

[Bryants Disco Ball]

So before the game starts in four hours, question:

 

Willson seems like one of the few from this current wave of offensive guys that could be open to an extension. This is just speculation, but when you look at the fact that he didn't get a big bonus like Bryant, Russell or Schwarbs, and the fact that Boras isn't his agent, it's just something I could imagine he'd be open to.

 

That said, he's under control through the 2022 season, which also takes him through his age 30 season. Would you be interested in buying out the first two years of free agency? Or having a catcher locked up for five more seasons after this one, based on how they could possibly break down over that span, are you good letting it be?

[Cubswin11]

So before the game starts in four hours, question:

 

Willson seems like one of the few from this current wave of offensive guys that could be open to an extension. This is just speculation, but when you look at the fact that he didn't get a big bonus like Bryant, Russell or Schwarbs, and the fact that Boras isn't his agent, it's just something I could imagine he'd be open to.

 

That said, he's under control through the 2022 season, which also takes him through his age 30 season. Would you be interested in buying out the first two years of free agency? Or having a catcher locked up for five more seasons after this one, based on how they could possibly break down over that span, are you good letting it be?

Eh, I love Willson but if we have him through his age 30 season I'd be fine riding it out year by year. Knowing there's a 0 chance on Bryant to extend the only guy I'd really like to see an extension for is Russell. Everyone else I'm fine with letting it ride for various reasons.

[javy knows my name]

So before the game starts in four hours, question:

 

Willson seems like one of the few from this current wave of offensive guys that could be open to an extension. This is just speculation, but when you look at the fact that he didn't get a big bonus like Bryant, Russell or Schwarbs, and the fact that Boras isn't his agent, it's just something I could imagine he'd be open to.

 

That said, he's under control through the 2022 season, which also takes him through his age 30 season. Would you be interested in buying out the first two years of free agency? Or having a catcher locked up for five more seasons after this one, based on how they could possibly break down over that span, are you good letting it be?

Eh, I love Willson but if we have him through his age 30 season I'd be fine riding it out year by year. Knowing there's a 0 chance on Bryant to extend the only guy I'd really like to see an extension for is Russell. Everyone else I'm fine with letting it ride for various reasons.

 

Addy is gonna be just as difficult to extend as KB for the same reason

[David]

So before the game starts in four hours, question:

 

Willson seems like one of the few from this current wave of offensive guys that could be open to an extension. This is just speculation, but when you look at the fact that he didn't get a big bonus like Bryant, Russell or Schwarbs, and the fact that Boras isn't his agent, it's just something I could imagine he'd be open to.

 

That said, he's under control through the 2022 season, which also takes him through his age 30 season. Would you be interested in buying out the first two years of free agency? Or having a catcher locked up for five more seasons after this one, based on how they could possibly break down over that span, are you good letting it be?

Eh, I love Willson but if we have him through his age 30 season I'd be fine riding it out year by year. Knowing there's a 0 chance on Bryant to extend the only guy I'd really like to see an extension for is Russell. Everyone else I'm fine with letting it ride for various reasons.

 

Addy is gonna be just as difficult to extend as KB for the same reason

 

I don't disagree, but devil's advocate - KB has had much more success and has much better traditional stats (this is what matters when it comes to getting raises in arb) and has also already banked $9M from baseball alone, while Russell is "only" at $4.3M in career earnings.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Yeah, anyone who got first round money or a big IFA bonus is going to be difficult to extend if they're worth extending. Contreras is the closest, but he's the least proven and plays the most physically demanding position. I could see something with Hendricks happening, assuming he doesn't completely crater like the last couple starts have been.

[Tim]

I don't know...Addy's got a lot of mouths to feed already.