Dodgers (Miller) vs Cubs (Hendricks): 4/5/24, 1:20pm, Marquee

[Stratos]

9 hours ago, WhyCantWeWin said:

Happ is the worst gold glover in the league 

Pretty sure he lost it in the sun or wind.  He usually makes those plays, and he missed it pretty bad.

[Stratos]

8 hours ago, We Got The Whole 9 said:

The Cubs have 5 regular hitters drawing walks at elite rates. Even Nico looks determined not to chase (or hit)

Nico's swing decisions are forever stupid.

[Stratos]

8 hours ago, We Got The Whole 9 said:

Play of the year so far by Nico. Just goddamn.

 

Pretty much thinking Madrigal is gonna play a ton of 3rd this year. He's really good.

Madrigal is one heck of a defensive 3B.  Fast reactions, very good hands, accurate enough arm and gets rid of ball quickly.

[Stratos]

8 hours ago, chibears55 said:

Wouldn't surprise me if Hendricks ends up in the bullpen this season,  he seems to be a 1 time through the order guy now.

He did ok.  It's the Dodgers and fielders missed at least 2 balls because of sun/wind.

[Stratos]

8 hours ago, UMFan83 said:

It's still just 2 starts though.  People don't seem to have patience so i'd like to understand if its just 2 bad starts against really good offenses or what.

I think that's probably it more than anything.  I'm not quite worried yet.

He overachieved a bit last year too i think.  Had among career lows in HR/9 and HR/FB and had career low in K/9 since rookie season.  At this point he's a pretty average MLB starter at best, he just doesn't get the K's like he used to, possibly because the league has advanced in velo.

[Stratos]

7 hours ago, SOFNR said:

 

It was the right decision to start the season. He performed well last year.  When Steele and Tailon get back, maybe you look at how Assad and Hendricks have performed and reevaluate that fifth spot. But I'm not sure i'm digging his grave after 2 starts against the Rangers and Dodgers either.

Yeah hard to compare Assad vs Rockies and Hendricks vs Rangers/Dodgers.

[Stratos]

7 hours ago, UMFan83 said:

This feels like the offense of last August when they were just relentless and kept piling on.

Yes love it.  Busch and Morel are a big improvement on Mancini/Hosmer.  I'll take Busch in for Tauchman too even if Tauchman isn't terrible.

Cubs may not have a superstar position guy but if you're solid 1 through 9 without any black holes you can be a good offense.  Hoyer has done a good job on the position side.  Pitching is still meh, but passable.  But if i'm investing more money somewhere it would be on position guys over pitchers because of the injuries.

[soccer10k]

8 hours ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

I had the afternoon mostly open to watch this game but then remembered that I'm in horsefeathers Indiana right now, which is a Cubs blackout zone.

A friend of mine lives in Hawaii and is blacked out from watching all five California teams.

[BigbadB]

5 hours ago, soccer10k said:

A friend of mine lives in Hawaii and is blacked out from watching all five California teams.

Tell your lame friend that if he was a true fan of any/or all 5 California teams, he'd get himself a nice motor boat and some season tickets. Some of those stadiums are right on the damn water. 

[Derwood]

I didn’t get to watch this, but what’s the “way too small sample size” takeaway on Hendricks. Is he cooked? Are we going to have to score 8+ runs every time he starts? 

[Rcal10]

16 minutes ago, Derwood said:

I didn’t get to watch this, but what’s the “way too small sample size” takeaway on Hendricks. Is he cooked? Are we going to have to score 8+ runs every time he starts? 

Not cooked. I think so many people have such short memories about Hendricks and overreact often when he has a few bad starts. Even when Hendricks was good he went through seasons where he was bad in 3-5 starts in a row and then starting pitching well again. You can look back at most years, maybe except 16’ and see the pattern. He pitches with such a small line between effective and hittable that when he is off even a little he gets hit. But fortunately more often than not during his career he has been in the right side of that line. Add that to the fact he faced 2 of the best line ups in baseball, had awful defense behind him early yesterday and also had an umpire that did not call the low strikes (and he missed several where the ball was fully in the box-for both teams) and you get the start you got from Hendricks so far. Hendricks needs the strike at the knees. Once that wasn’t being called he has to come up a bit and that causes problems. And then the 3rd time through, Dodgers did hit him hard. But, again, that was the Dodgers.

I am not worried yet. He is not ever going to be a solid #2, like he was in his prime. But he should be a fine #4 starter. 

[17 Seconds]

it feels like we've been saying "is hendricks cooked?" for half a decade. he might be, but my feeling is that we're playing with so much house money with that dude, that i don't even care when his career ends. what a great cub he ended up being

Edited April 6, 2024 by 17 Seconds

[CubinNY]

Hendricks didn’t pitch poorly. He got squeezed a little and they hit some decent pitches. Ohtani’s HR was one maybe only he could hit. 
 

 

[Bertz]

57 minutes ago, Derwood said:

I didn’t get to watch this, but what’s the “way too small sample size” takeaway on Hendricks. Is he cooked? Are we going to have to score 8+ runs every time he starts? 

I think against Texas he looked pretty cooked while against the Dodgers he looked good but just not good enough to hold down their insanely loaded lineup.

Padres next time up should be a good test.  Their lineup has some stars but also some holes, so he has opportunity to manage the lineup more holistically and like pick his battles.

[squally1313]

9 hours ago, Stratos said:

Cubs may not have a superstar position guy

[Rcal10]

21 minutes ago, squally1313 said:

Perfect example of a picture being with a thousand words. I completely agree. 

[Rcal10]

24 minutes ago, Bertz said:

I think against Texas he looked pretty cooked while against the Dodgers he looked good but just not good enough to hold down their insanely loaded lineup.

Padres next time up should be a good test.  Their lineup has some stars but also some holes, so he has opportunity to manage the lineup more holistically and like pick his battles.

But even if he is still not doing great after that game, doesn’t mean he is cooked. I just looked over his career and basically in every season he has a down turn at some point. Can last an entire month. I think it was 18’ or 19’ where at the end of April his era was over 5. But then the next month he was barely under 2. He is just a guy who need everything going right to be successful. And one one thing is off a little he struggles. Fortunately he does figure it out and mostly give decent starts. He isn’t what he was. But he can be a useful #4 starter. He will struggle with top end line ups. Especially if he isn’t getting the edges. But I don’t see him as cooked. As 17 seconds pointed out, we have this discussion every year. And that’s because every year he goes into a funk. This year it is at the start of the season. I think he will figure it out and be fine. 

[Stratos]

3 hours ago, Bertz said:

I think against Texas he looked pretty cooked while against the Dodgers he looked good but just not good enough to hold down their insanely loaded lineup.

Padres next time up should be a good test.  Their lineup has some stars but also some holes, so he has opportunity to manage the lineup more holistically and like pick his battles.

HR from Texas weren't bad pitches at all.