It’s Monday March 31st and the Chicago Cubs are 2-4, which I find to be just okay.
The bright side is that they could easily be 0-6 when you look at the schedule and consider the bullpen.
The downside is that we had 3-3 locked up in the 8th inning yesterday until this happened, which blows:
It’s too early to let an 8th inning ruin a season. But we’re conditioned to late game failure after last year’s epically bad bullpen in high leverage situations. Specifically something like like an 8.50 ERA when games were on the line. Meaning we averaged one earned run per inning we led a game by one run. Think on that before you tell me I’m overreacting.
In the meantime, I want to round up some of the better things I’ve seen from the Cubs so far.
We’ve done a lot of bitching early. From Tom Ricketts to Craig Counsell and Eli Morgan in-between. There’s been a lot to draw my ire and we haven’t shied away.
For this blog though I want to keep a good positive frame of mind and hopefully some of that trickles over to you. So let’s get into it:
Dansby Swanson is a genius.
You have to be thinking at 100mph to make this play so fluidly and that’s exactly what Dansby Swanson’s doing on every single pitch. So much that it comes across as pure instinct in the field leaving everyone to wonder how the hell could you see that? The answer is he didn’t see anything. He just knew the runner would be aggressive coming around 3rd on a slow roller and he baited him into looking stupid.
What bothers me is that we’re surprised with heads up baseball. That’s because we’re accustomed to seeing an aggressive throw in the dirt across the field. There’s been so much mindless baseball that we’re left to celebrate fundamentals.
That said it’s still a remarkable play however you slice it. The kinda play that makes you feel lucky to have Dansby Swanson up the middle and championing your defensive efforts.
And while on topic, I think Dansby Swanson looks phenomenal this year. He looks strong and stable and you can tell the swing changes from last year held throughout the offseason. Somehow he found a way to improve and that’s really encouraging for the long-term success of the club.
MVPete is the fastest player in baseball.
I can’t believe we got this kid for 2 months of Javy Baez. I know Steve Cohen’s rich as fuck but that doesn’t give you a license to be a complete moron with player development. But alas that happened and PCA became a Cub. And right now that looks like it has the legs to be another Scott Feldman level yield.
Only 6 games into the season and I’m starting to get that Derrick Rose feeling before he got hurt where you’re just so lucky to watch him play every night because he’s so much different and more special than the next guy.
Obviously we got a long way to go before he wins an MVP and takes over Chicago. But right now we’re capturing the same amount of home and promise behind his athleticism and I think that’s worth recognizing before we get to April.
MVPete EXAMPLE B
I knew he had a good arm but I didn’t know it was that good. Which in the mix of Kyle Tucker and Ian Happ probably gives the Cubs the 2nd best outfield defense in MLB behind the San Diego Padres.
Or do you like the Cubs more? That’s an interesting debate.
No Debate = Extend Kyle Tucker
I’ve said it every day since we traded for him and will repeat myself again. The Cubs need to extend Kyle Tucker to validate the Cam Smith trade. That’s a guarantee.
Here’s another one: the Cubs are 9-10 wins better with Kyle Tucker and you got a good dose of it over the weekend with his home runs. He’s an elite power hitter with the 3rd lower plate-appearance-rate-per-HR in MLB behind Shohei and Judge. And it’s much closer to those 2 than it is to the rest of the list which means he is an elite world class HR hitter.
That’s the one thing that’s been missing since the WS core and I don’t know where else we can find this kinda power. He’s wearing a Cubs uniform right now. There’s no reason to shop for different talent when you can just extend Kyle Tucker right now and be done with it.
That’s the single most important thing the Cubs can do to improve the long-term chances of winning another World Series.
#2 most important thing?
More Torpedo Bats
Apparently Nico and Swanny are swinging the T sticks and that’s a good start. But I want more. I want Matt Shaw and PCA and Seiya and everyone but Kyle Tucker because he’s already awesome and doesn’t need any help.
And while you might think I’m joking, you’re talking to a guy that would willingly inject steroids into every single player on the Cubs roster AND the entire front office if given a choice.
I want every edge and advantage available to me at all times and the torpedo bat is no different.
Example Of A Disadvantage: Playing In This AAA Stadium
Legitimately laugh out loud funny and a good stopping point as we get ready for a 9pm first pitch tonight.
PS – Quietly under the radar is Shota starting the season with mediocre stuff but only giving up 1 ER in 11 innings. That’s the measure of being a very good pitcher and there’s a chance we’re just scratching the surface. I know that sounds crazy but I’m being dead serious
PPS – BARF
I am worried that Counsell’s bullpen management in Milwaukee looked so brilliant because Josh Hader was insanely talented. Counsell doesn’t have a ton to work with, but he seems to get the least out of who he has to work with.
Padres outfield better than cubs? With Heyward in left?