I don’t want to complain too much although it would be very easy when you wake up at 4am to no pregame show. That will bother me for a long time but again I don’t want to complain too much.
Instead I’d rather just write up some game notes
So here are the game notes for your Chicago Cubs (0-1)
- I thought it was a big advantage to play the Dodgers without Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. And in the grand scheme, I’d much rather play the Dodgers in Tokyo in mid-March then mid-July when they’re in the middle of a 15-game win streak. There’s never an ideal matchup against the Dodgers but I figured this would be more favorable than your traditional summer fare, especially without the two hall of famers. And while the Dodgers won handily, I think it could have been a lot worse given an uncharacteristic 4 walks from Shota
- I think the Tokyo Dome is cool but ultimately it’s overrated. Especially at $3,500 for an upper deck ticket. No disrespect to the culture and their own baseball history but it was kind of a snooze fest when I thought it would sound more like a world cup game.
- THIS MADE ME VERY HAPPY:
- Apparently it’s against the law to scalp tickets in Japan punishable by up to 1 year in jail? That’s fucking crazy
- Did Shota Imanaga get squeezed? He issued 4 walks – by far the most in his MLB career – but it looked like a lot of fringe ball calls. Nice thing is he pitched around it and looked sharp when it mattered. That’s probably his greatest strength and nice thing is that it’s almost always on display. He doesn’t give in when runners are on base and he almost never throws cupcakes over the middle of the plate. So even when he kinda stinks like today, he’s also still very difficult to score against
- People are mad at Craig Counsell for taking Shota out but remember it’s just mid-March. It would be so dumb to run his pitch count up when he’s so important to the full season. So while he could have kept going, I think there’s an obligation on the Cubs part to not over extend him this early for 1 game. As hard as it is for me to admit that, I think it makes sense when you consider where we are on the calendar.
- Today’s a perfect example of why I don’t love Ben Brown as much as everyone else. He’s not aggressive enough for the kinda stuff he’s throwing. It’s really now just a matter of attitude and intent on the mound because he has all the physical intangibles. But there’s something that holds him back from taking on the mentality he needs to be successful. He’s trying to be too introspective and thoughtful and careful when in reality he needs to abandon his ego and let his stuff work over the heart of the plate. He tries to be too perfect and that’s how you end up walking the 9-hitter twice.
- You can’t walk 8 guys and win a baseball game
- Kyle Tucker lolly gagged a fly ball in right field towards the end of the game that Michael Busch ended up catching and it caught me off guard. I know he’s big league and sweet and better than me. But I want better communication and longer strides with 2-outs in late innings. There’s really no excuse for that other than he’s coming off an injury and its first game of the season and he’s the most important guy on the team. Other than that, I want to see just a little more hustle.
- Matt Shaw made his debut…
- He went 0-4 with two punchouts and a couple of weird plays. The one above is most notable but there’s also another slow roller play he made that I hated to watch. Choppy footwork and a lot of double pumps to make a soft throw Busch had to work a little for. I know his first game but we have to watch this shit closely. I need smoother action and I need it immediately.
- Miguel Amaya picked up right where he left off in spring training. Especially against Yamamoto throwing bullets today. This was probably my favorite offensive moment of opening day
- Craig Counsell is pissing me off at every single opportunity. Not so much taking out Shota but just the overall demeanor around the dugout and his interactions with umpires and media appearances and literally everything. I’m on a perpetual quest to tolerate him without disgust and it’s failing miserably. His biggest weakness is that David Ross was so fucking cool and sweet and downright-mean when necessary. Craig has none of that and I don’t need to make it any more complicated. He simply looks and feels out of place.
- Way too many in-game interviews today that were completely unnecessary. Just sit and talk about the baseball game in front of us and don’t be afraid to introduce some silence every now and then. It’s much more enjoyable without all these distractions and tangents and advertisements and promotions. Just tell me what the count is and where the pitcher went to college and let’s keep it moving. That’s a big time hardo take but I don’t give a shit. In game interviews blow.
- The Dodgers are very good at baseball. I’m not going to overreact to one game but it’s obvious they have the deepest pitching staff in baseball. Shohei Ohtani isn’t too shabby either. So while I’d like to win to win every game, the reality is we’re big underdogs against the Dodgers for a reason. Most important is that I don’t let this ruin the rest of my day because it’s just a baseball game. Right?
Another year of fringe playoff baseball. Horrible way to start a Tuesday.
Good to have a cub Carl blog for lunchtime. Only 1 game with many to go but I was wildly concerned with the fact not one ball outside of Amaya’s double was squared up. Can someone hit a piss missile to at least get my blood flowing?
I thought the Pokemons was “gay” or “made you a puss”