NEWSLETTER
The Bears offensive line today will be mostly constructed of matchsticks and bubblegum, and since Nick Foles ain’t exactly the definition of “mobile,” and since Mitch Trubisky is out, there’s a chance we might get some Tyler Bray time. So that’s … well, that’s something. SPORTS!
• At a primary level, I just want to enjoy this video, and then I’ll comment upon it:
Every swinging strikeout Adbert Alzolay (@adbert29) got with his new slider in 2020. 14 in all. Truly one of the most exciting and important things for the Cubs future that happened this year. Could watch this all day. pic.twitter.com/T9jzFaydOs
— Cubs Prospects – Bryan Smith (@cubprospects) November 5, 2020
• Gorgeous stuff, and everything Bryan said is spot on. To pick up a slider at an alternate site and then deploy it almost immediately against big league hitters with tremendous effect? You just don’t see that very often. But given that it was the SECOND pitch Alzolay added last year (he also added a great two-seamer/sinker), he might just be a rare guy who is very pliable in his ability to develop and then command multiple pitches. For now, he’s got five really good ones (slider, two-seamer, four-seamer, curveball, changeup).
• Here’s what I wonder about, though: is there any chance that the slider (and the two-seamer) was extra effective last year precisely because it was developed at an alternate site and then busted out on hitters who had absolutely no idea it was coming? There would be no way to have scouted it and worked on video, and obviously you definitely wouldn’t have ever faced it live. So even if it were merely a “decent” slider, it’s possible it would’ve looked a lot nastier to hitters who were otherwise solely prepared for a three-pitch mix from Alzolay (and especially when you were diagnosing breaking ball out of the hand, but it suddenly came up on at a very different pace and shape from the curveball).
• By extension, this thinking got me wondering about a whole lot of pitchers – not just with the Cubs, but around baseball – on whom teams would have almost no meaningful ability to scout and prepare with video (to say nothing of the lack of ability this year to use in-game video!). Any chance we’re in for a lot of pitchers who were surprisingly effective in 2020 showing up in 2021, throwing the same stuff (with the same spin rate, movement, command), and yet having a lot less success? Or any chance we already saw it happen? For example, a guy like Ryan Tepera, who was absolutely filthy early on thanks in large part to a brand new cutter … and then struggled mightily in the second half? Just something I am thinking about.
• Circling back to the starting point, let’s call this all the more reason for Alzolay to have a great offseason really getting all five of his pitches in superior shape. He has the arsenal to be a truly excellent number three, but we shouldn’t presume – for lots of reasons, this new one included – that his final two starts are just going to translate right away into next season.
• PED testing was way down this year in MLB, mostly for understandable logistical reasons:
ICYMI https://t.co/4CARzig69i… There was no PED testing of MLB players during the lockdown and the number of tests was down significantly once play began.
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) November 8, 2020
• The testing that did occur was still very random, so it would be nearly impossible to game. You do wonder, though, whether we’ll see stray positive PED tests early next year, given that players now know the pace of testing was way down. There are guys who try to cheat the system in normal times, so maybe the risk-reward balance gets a little tilted right now.
• To be sure, the Nationals aim to have every president throw out the opening pitch for their season, but I’m sure this tweet takes on a different character when you have a sitting president who is disputing the results of the election:
We look forward to hosting President-Elect Biden on Opening Day of the 2021 season.@JoeBiden // #NATITUDE pic.twitter.com/n3YzL7olWA
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) November 8, 2020
• Awesome colorized shot from 82 years ago:
Babe Ruth, serving as the first base coach for the Brooklyn Dodgers, meets up with Dizzy Dean of the Chicago Cubs before a game at Ebbets Field in 1938.#ChicagoHistory ™️ pic.twitter.com/c0IHV7Yn7s
— Chicago History ™️ (@Chicago_History) November 8, 2020
• Ruth was just 43 years old there, three years removed from raking in the big leagues. That’s a life lived hard right there.
• Hot Wheels, projectors, Instant Pot, clothes, headphones, and more are your Deals of the Day at Amazon. #ad
• It didn’t take long:
Billy Donovan Has Already Proven to be the Exact Opposite of Jim Boylen https://t.co/X3Ce8NPdmP
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) November 7, 2020
• Jump on today’s boost for the Bears game:
HEADS UP to a major boost: https://t.co/s1Gx9sLWFR pic.twitter.com/ywV9G89Drr
— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) November 7, 2020
