Fan irrationality swings in both directions. After Sunday’s comeback, 9th inning win, I found myself almost unmoved by those first three runs the Reds scored in this one. I mean, I wasn’t happy, but I also didn’t despair in the way I would have, say, two days ago. That’s just silly, to allow a single comeback, super-exciting win to change your entire thinking about things. But it did.
And, what do you know? The Cubs came back from down three not once but twice in this one, bounced back from nearly walking off in the 9th to actually walk off in the 10th on Arismendy Alcantara’s first hit of the season. More on the win in a moment …
On the starter: sure, I like that Jon Lester didn’t walk anyone, and I like that he worked his way through six innings, but this was not a good outing. The stuff didn’t seem crisp, and the command was not there. That led to a whole lot of contact – not all of it hard, mind you – and the Cubs notched 10 hits and 6 runs in those innings. I’m not worried about Lester yet, given the erratic Spring and start of the year, but I am disappointed. The BABIP will probably stabilize a bit, but it’s not entirely bad luck.
Also, the throws to first. I suppose that will be discussed more in depth at another time, but, after the ugly overthrow and subsequent Jorge Soler cannon out at third, maybe Lester should just point to Soler every time a guy’s on base and say, “Him. There. That’s my pickoff move.”
Speaking of Soler … my word. Not only did he hit two rocket, two-run homers, he hit them both with two strikes. He also singled in the 10th, which helped the Cubs score the eventual winner. Also helping that inning was a walk from Chris Coghlan, who had a great night, too … including some nice play at third base.
But, Soler, man …