4/10 Cubs (Hendricks) @ Padres (Cease) 5:40 PM

[Bertz]

Cubs won last night and Ben Brown might be a dude

The bullpen was great too

Let the good vibes re-commence 

Kyle Hendricks is on the bump.  It's been a rough start to the year and you hope he doesn't join the ranks of other disgraced scholars

On the other hand, his velocity is up in the early going

Let's hope he can blow it by the Padres hitters

Go Cubs

[17 Seconds]

charlie has a sweet right handed swing (couldn't find a gif, so skip to 0:47)

 

 

Edited April 10, 2024 by 17 Seconds

[squally1313]

5:40 local start before I blow off work the rest of the week for the Masters?

[We Got The Whole 9]

1 hour ago, 17 Seconds said:

charlie has a sweet right handed swing (couldn't find a gif, so skip to 0:47)

 

 

That pitch was gonna go over the backstop lol

[gflore34]

The Padres are a slight downgrade from the Rangers and Dodgers, it'd be great if he could make through the twice with minimal damage.  I've my doubts, I to believe Hendricks is cooked nevertheless, its baseball, so most anything could happen.

[Bertz]

3 minutes ago, gflore34 said:

The Padres are a slight downgrade from the Rangers and Dodgers, it'd be great if he could make through the twice with minimal damage.  I've my doubts, I to believe Hendricks is cooked nevertheless, its baseball, so most anything could happen.

I think it's more than a slight downgrade.  And that's not to crap on the Padres.  But the Dodgers probably have the best lineup in baseball against RHP, and the Rangers aren't in the Dodgers/Braves tier offensively but can reasonably argue their lineup against any other team in the league. 

The Padres have a good lineup but to borrow a phrase from the kids the bottom half is pretty sus.  I thought Hendricks looked good against the Dodgers it's just that good is not good enough against that team.  Against a more mortal lineup like the Padres I would not be surprised to see a lot more success.

[Brian707]

12 minutes ago, gflore34 said:

The Padres are a slight downgrade from the Rangers and Dodgers, it'd be great if he could make through the twice with minimal damage.  I've my doubts, I to believe Hendricks is cooked nevertheless, its baseball, so most anything could happen.

[CubinNY]

2 minutes ago, Bertz said:

I think it's more than a slight downgrade.  And that's not to crap on the Padres.  But the Dodgers probably have the best lineup in baseball against RHP, and the Rangers aren't in the Dodgers/Braves tier offensively but can reasonably argue their lineup against any other team in the league. 

The Padres have a good lineup but to borrow a phrase from the kids the bottom half is pretty sus.  I thought Hendricks looked good against the Dodgers it's just that good is not good enough against that team.  Against a more mortal lineup like the Padres I would not be surprised to see a lot more success.

I agree. It almost looked like Hendricks was tipping his pitches. They were crushing his change up in good locations (for Hendricks). 

[gflore34]

5 minutes ago, Bertz said:

I think it's more than a slight downgrade.  And that's not to crap on the Padres.  But the Dodgers probably have the best lineup in baseball against RHP, and the Rangers aren't in the Dodgers/Braves tier offensively but can reasonably argue their lineup against any other team in the league. 

The Padres have a good lineup but to borrow a phrase from the kids the bottom half is pretty sus.  I thought Hendricks looked good against the Dodgers it's just that good is not good enough against that team.  Against a more mortal lineup like the Padres I would not be surprised to see a lot more success.

Trying to be diplomatic?  I agree though, they're a significant downgrade from the Dodgers.

[WhyCantWeWin]

So you guys are saying we don’t need to batten down the hatches?

[Stratos]

2 hours ago, CubinNY said:

I agree. It almost looked like Hendricks was tipping his pitches. They were crushing his change up in good locations (for Hendricks). 

Maybe they were sitting on the change.  I'd think you'd have to sit on either his FB or change and guess right to have success with him.  You're going to be right almost 50% of the time LOL since he doesn't throw the curve much.

[Stratos]

5 minutes ago, WhyCantWeWin said:

So you guys are saying we don’t need to batten down the hatches?

Seems like teams either demolish Hendricks or are mystified by him.  So let's flip a coin haha.

[BigSlick]

It'd make me happy if Hendricks still had one good year in him - he's the last of that magical 2016 team and I'm sentimental. It would be cool if he could bridge the gap of the tremendous mid-2010 teams with whatever's coming next. 

[Bertz]

Looking ahead, the pitching matchups are a little more forgiving during the second half of this west coast stretch.  We got two of the Dodgers' top three and all of the Padres'.  Against the Mariners we are slated to miss both Kirby and Gilbert, though Castillo is obviously great and Miller/Hancock are hardly slouched.  Then against the Dbacks we get Kelly but miss Gallen and E-Rod.

This is on paper the hardest stretch of the season and 7-5 is starting to look like a reasonable outcome?

[Bertz]

 

 

[JHBulls]

Let’s do today what should have happened yesterday and win this series. 

Edited April 10, 2024 by JHBulls

[squally1313]

Caveating that none of this really matters, some interesting nuances in that lineup: Busch over Dansby, the Morel/Mastro combo in the infield with Madrigal not starting.

[KCCub]

4 minutes ago, squally1313 said:

Caveating that none of this really matters, some interesting nuances in that lineup: Busch over Dansby, the Morel/Mastro combo in the infield with Madrigal not starting.

It most likely has to due with Cease's splits. Lefties hit him much better. 

[chibears55]

4 hours ago, CubinNY said:

I agree. It almost looked like Hendricks was tipping his pitches. They were crushing his change up in good locations (for Hendricks). 

I've been wondering if it has anything to do with him calling his own pitches with that control button.  If somehow the hitters can hear it through the catchers mask or something 

[KCCub]

7 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

I've been wondering if it has anything to do with him calling his own pitches with that control button.  If somehow the hitters can hear it through the catchers mask or something 

I believe the catchers can hear at all times through their ear piece, ideally to make sure they selected the correct button. 

[chibears55]

32 minutes ago, KCCub said:

I believe the catchers can hear at all times through their ear piece, ideally to make sure they selected the correct button. 

I know they obviously can, I just wondered if somehow the hitters can sometimes if the pitcher sending it

[PackLandVA]

Shocker. It’s sunny, blue sky, about 75 degrees, and a light breeze out to RF (although the LF flags seem to swirl). 
 

Different vantage point for today’s game. About 100 feet past 3B, five rows back. Think I’m in good foul ball range but just enough behind Meeting to NOT have to worry about screaming liners. 
 

Hoping for good Kyle and even better lineup results. 
 

#WhyNotUs!!!!

Edited April 10, 2024 by PackLandVA

[KCCub]

5 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

I know they obviously can, I just wondered if somehow the hitters can sometimes if the pitcher sending it

For the catcher it’s an actual inner ear piece. What I’m saying is, there is no difference between the catcher calling the pitch or the SP calling it - the communication is the same in the catchers ear. 

[JHBulls]

3 hours ago, WhyCantWeWin said:

So you guys are saying we don’t need to batten down the hatches?

It’s been several years since I have heard the expression “batten down the hatches.”. Society needs to bring it back into daily use. Solid expression. 10/10. Would read again. 

Edited April 10, 2024 by JHBulls

[chibears55]

Need Bellinger to have a big game tonight