5/1/24 - CHC (Imanaga) @ NYM (Butto) 6:10 MSN

[Brian707]

Cubs 0-3 in my game threads. Best pitcher on the mound against someone with Butt in his name. Something gotta give.

Edited May 1, 2024 by Brian707

[squally1313]

Nice little Butt-Shot matchup here

[We Got The Whole 9]

Just wanted to pop in to say Nick Madrigal is the worst "contact" hitter I have ever seen in my life

[CubinNY]

22 minutes ago, We Got The Whole 9 said:

Just wanted to pop in to say Nick Madrigal is the worst "contact" hitter I have ever seen in my life

would have been nice if he took the walk last night.

[cl smooth]

will be in attendance tonight behind the cubs dugout. 

[WhyCantWeWin]

Madrigal has options right? Would rather they send him down and bring up Vazquez. 

[Transmogrified Tiger]

4 minutes ago, WhyCantWeWin said:

Madrigal has options right? Would rather they send him down and bring up Vazquez. 

Madrigal does have options.  He is also a good reminder of the gap between AAA and MLB.  In rehabbing his injury last year Madrigal hit .424/.514/.678 at Iowa in 70 PA.  Vazquez is hitting well for his first AAA exposure but there's little reason to think he is a better option going forward, and he would lose developmental momentum with Madrigal's current spotty playing time.  Plus, if they were to send down Madrigal, bringing back Mastrobuoni to have a LHH infielder and PR option would probably be preferable.

[PackLandVA]

13 minutes ago, Transmogrified Tiger said:

Madrigal does have options.  He is also a good reminder of the gap between AAA and MLB.  In rehabbing his injury last year Madrigal hit .424/.514/.678 at Iowa in 70 PA.  Vazquez is hitting well for his first AAA exposure but there's little reason to think he is a better option going forward, and he would lose developmental momentum with Madrigal's current spotty playing time.  Plus, if they were to send down Madrigal, bringing back Mastrobuoni to have a LHH infielder and PR option would probably be preferable.

Is David Bote worth another try instead of Mastro.  He's versatile on defense and at least provides a little pop. Madrigal can't hit the ball past a drawn in outfield and Mastro's only real redeeming qualities are his versatility and left-handedness.  I know he's not really in the Cubs future, but could he be worse than those two. Maybe they catch lightening in a bottle again for a few weeks.

[Crusader]

6 minutes ago, PackLandVA said:

Is David Bote worth another try instead of Mastro.  He's versatile on defense and at least provides a little pop. Madrigal can't hit the ball past a drawn in outfield and Mastro's only real redeeming qualities are his versatility and left-handedness.  I know he's not really in the Cubs future, but could he be worse than those two. Maybe they catch lightening in a bottle again for a few weeks.

I think Bote is still on the IL

[PackLandVA]

1 minute ago, Crusader said:

I think Bote is still on the IL

He played the last two games for Iowa.

[UMFan83]

5 minutes ago, PackLandVA said:

Is David Bote worth another try instead of Mastro.  He's versatile on defense and at least provides a little pop. Madrigal can't hit the ball past a drawn in outfield and Mastro's only real redeeming qualities are his versatility and left-handedness.  I know he's not really in the Cubs future, but could he be worse than those two. Maybe they catch lightening in a bottle again for a few weeks.

The problem with Bote is that he isn't on the 40 man roster.  We can probably clear a spot for him but is it worth doing that when Bote isn't exactly even tearing the cover off the ball in Iowa?

[PackLandVA]

Didn't think about the 40. But Nick has been really good on defense but provides absolutely nothing on offense. 

[chibears55]

1 hour ago, We Got The Whole 9 said:

Just wanted to pop in to say Nick Madrigal is the worst "contact" hitter I have ever seen in my life

Boog disagrees, he said last night he was one of the best 😅😅😅😅

[chibears55]

18 minutes ago, PackLandVA said:

Is David Bote worth another try instead of Mastro.  He's versatile on defense and at least provides a little pop. Madrigal can't hit the ball past a drawn in outfield and Mastro's only real redeeming qualities are his versatility and left-handedness.  I know he's not really in the Cubs future, but could he be worse than those two. Maybe they catch lightening in a bottle again for a few weeks.

I'm very surprise he hasn't been given another opportunity, at first i thought maybe there was something between him and Ross, I mean he can't be any worse then Madrigal and he was a decent glove at 1B and 3B.

I'd love to see him back

[chibears55]

Off topic: Steele pitching game 1 for Iowa today, game is at 12 on Marquee if interested. 

[Bertz]

Nick Madrigal sucks but he's better than David Bote.  He's also better than Jake Slaughter and lightyears better than Chase Strumpf before anybody goes there.

Like TT I would swap Madrigal for Mastro probably?  I do also think Nick tends to do better when he has been given consistent play time, so having him stashed at Iowa and coming back up when injuries demand it is probably the best move.

[Bertz]

 

This would, pending appeal, force both to miss this weekend's series in Chicago

[squally1313]

I think in modern baseball there's a lot of value in having a guy on the bench with a single digit K rate. We complain all the time about putting runners in scoring position with less than two outs and not converting, the single most important aspect of converting to me is just....not striking out. You can't trust Canario for that, you definitely can't trust Wisdom, Bote has dropped below a 20% rate in AAA but ran a 35% rate the last time he was with the Cubs in 2022. Mastro is over 20% at any level the last couple years. 

It's been an ugly 35 ABs for Madrigal, but he was plenty valuable last year and he's not going to rock a .206 BABIP because no one does.

[CubinNY]

15 minutes ago, squally1313 said:

I think in modern baseball there's a lot of value in having a guy on the bench with a single digit K rate. We complain all the time about putting runners in scoring position with less than two outs and not converting, the single most important aspect of converting to me is just....not striking out. You can't trust Canario for that, you definitely can't trust Wisdom, Bote has dropped below a 20% rate in AAA but ran a 35% rate the last time he was with the Cubs in 2022. Mastro is over 20% at any level the last couple years. 

It's been an ugly 35 ABs for Madrigal, but he was plenty valuable last year and he's not going to rock a .206 BABIP because no one does.

I agree with this, a lot. Sometimes you need a guy to hit a HR and sometimes you need a guy to put the ball in play. It would be great if the put the ball in play guy would also take a walk on occasion. 

I used to be extremely anti-Madrigal, but he has a place on this team.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

1 hour ago, PackLandVA said:

Is David Bote worth

NO

[sneakypower]

i'm still extremely anti-Madrigal, his best-case scenario anymore is beating out a run-scoring FC

"putting the ball in play" only matters if you're capable of finding the OF grass occasionally; .233/.268/.315 since last August has no role, you can close your eyes and point your finger at a AAA roster and find a better hitter

[jersey cubs fan]

2 hours ago, cl smooth said:

will be in attendance tonight behind the cubs dugout. 

Too bad you missed dollar dog night last night. Those wieners were more firm than madrigal’s bat

[We Got The Whole 9]

15 minutes ago, sneakypower said:

i'm still extremely anti-Madrigal, his best-case scenario anymore is beating out a run-scoring FC

"putting the ball in play" only matters if you're capable of finding the OF grass occasionally; .233/.268/.315 since last August has no role, you can close your eyes and point your finger at a AAA roster and find a better hitter

What's his BA with RISP in that span? It feels like he very rarely got the job that he is supposed to be so dependable at done.

[spaincubsfan]

Looking ahead it would be good to have that advantage against the Brewers with the suspensions. You take adavantage of any opportunity regardless of how they come about.

Edited May 1, 2024 by spaincubsfan

[squally1313]

8 minutes ago, We Got The Whole 9 said:

What's his BA with RISP in that span? It feels like he very rarely got the job that he is supposed to be so dependable at done.

Bored, he only has 39 PAs this year, how hard can this be. At the plate with runners in scoring position, less than two outs:

• 4/2, guy on third, 1 out: single
• 4/2, guys on first and second, 1 out: 2 RBI double
• 4/2, loaded, 1 out: FC, out at home
• 4/2, guy on second, 0 out: groundout to third (worth noting he obviously starter here and this a blowout)
• 4/3, 1st/3rd, 1 out: GB to third, thrown out at home
• 4/5: 1st/2nd, 1 out: RBI single
• 4/15: 1st/3rd, 1 out: GIDP
• 4/19: loaded, 1 out: FC 5-4, runner scores
• 4/25: 2nd, 0 outs: single to second(?), guy gets to third
• 4/29: 1st/3rd, 1 out: FC 5-4, runner scores
• 4/30: 1st/3rd, 1 out: walk
• 4/30: 2nd, 0 out: 6-3, runner advances to third

Key takeaway for me: no strike outs.