I had fully intended, regardless of where the game was at the time, to go to bed at 11pm ET last night. As The Wife aptly puts it, I’m in marathon training right now, and I need as much sleep as I can get in advance of the #BNBlogathon on Thursday and Friday.
But then the Starlin Castro/Padres rumor came out, which morphed into a Tyson Ross rumor, and I wondered if I was going to have to stay up just a little bit later. Then the Cubs/Rockies game got so crazy – with the Cubs coming back from 4-0 down and about to put things away in the 9th – that I couldn’t go to sleep if I tried. So I stayed, only to suffer through the top of the 9th (my couch cushions suffered right alongside me), and then be elated by the bottom of the 9th.
Then, once the buzz of the crazy win had slowed enough for me to think about heading to bed, the dang Rockies and Blue Jays got together on a Troy Tulowitzki trade. When all was said and done, I didn’t make it to bed until 1am ET. And, because my body is trained to get up at 6am ET, I really wasn’t able to restfully sleep past 6:30am ET or so. In the end, I’m glad I stayed up for the craziness – totally worth it – but I’m now in a bit of a sleep deficit heading toward the end of the week. Tonight, I’m absolutely going to have to go to bed before the Cubs game ends. There’s almost no way around it. My apologies in advance.
Lefty Ryan Buchter has officially been added to the Iowa Cubs roster after agreeing to a minor league deal with the Cubs this weekend. Additional bullpen depth looks to be increasingly important with some recent struggles at the big league level. Guys like Buchter (or Ben Rowen or Armando Rivero or even Carl Edwards, Jr.) aren’t going to come up and pitch the 8th or 9th, but they could possibly come up and pitch the middle innings, allowing guys like Justin Grimm and Hector Rondon to perhaps be relied upon in later innings.
Speaking of which: just like with the rotation (which will feature Dallas Beeler getting a start tonight), it’s pretty inarguable at this point that the Cubs would benefit from adding another significant arm in the bullpen. It’s unfortunate that it’s taken some blowups to hammer that home, but that’s why I’ve discussed it so much in the last few weeks: ideally, you seek upgrades and supplementation in advance to avoid these kinds of issues, rather than to address them after they become a problem.
Even after the win, Joe Maddon conceded that a four-run top of the 9th isn’t something you can have happening (ESPN).
Joe Maddon, hitting coach John Mallee, and assistant hitting coach Eric Hinske put in some extra work with Starlin Castro yesterday (Tribune). Maddon suggested that he noticed something subtle that was giving Castro issues, and that’s what they’re working on (CSN). Absent a surprise trade in the next few days – though there are rumors – the Cubs desperately need Castro to become something vaguely resembling his past self in the next couple months.
For what I would assume are obvious reasons, I think this is something to watch (even if the sample is far too small yet to draw any real conclusions):
Schwarber has started 6 times: 3 Hendricks (1 decent start, 2 awful), 2 Hammel (1 bad, 1 awful), & 1 Richard (bad). Small sample obvs.
There are explanations for all of those starts that would have nothing at all to do with Schwarber behind the plate. But, as I said, it’s worth following, especially as the sample gets larger. We can’t suddenly forget the fact that the primary reason we were so excited for the Cubs to get Miguel Montero was because of how good he is behind the plate and with pitchers.
Chris Coghlan, doing good work on and off the field.
Kris Bryant, who said that he believes in the baseball gods eventually getting you back after hitting so many warning track shots in the last week (Cubs.com), gets the Gatorade shower courtesy of Anthony Rizzo:
Your browser does not support iframes.
I love, love, love watching in-crowd reactions to dramatic moments like that. I could watch this so many times:
Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here.
Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.
No surprises here, as the decision to start Kyle Hendricks this afternoon against the Pirates was made yesterday, but the news has officially hit the wire, and here it is. Kyle Hendricks Activated Kyle Hendricks is returning from his short...
CUBS LINEUP — The Cubs have played thirteen series so far this season, and this is already their eighth rubber match. Let's see if Kyle Hendricks and the Cubs can bring this one in. Chicago Cubs Lineup: Nico Hoerner, SS...
Happy Mother's Day to the mothers among you, and to the mothers in my life! I'll be doing some extra family stuff today, so I'm gonna cruise through these Bullets ... Up front, because this was certainly the thing most...
The Sunday TBD has been D'd, and it's going to be Kyle Hendricks coming back an outing early. Instead of making another rehab start at Iowa, Hendricks is going to be activated from the IL to rejoin the rotation tomorrow:...
The Cubs came within 90 feet of keeping that ridiculous game going. No dice. Stupid game. Early on, it just kinda seemed like the Cubs might lose a perfectly normal - bad, but normal - game. Justin Steele did not...
CUBS LINEUP — After a little tease yesterday, Seiya Suzuki is actually, officially in the Cubs lineup today. And he'll be greeted with a tough matchup against the top pitching prospect in Major League Baseball. Welcome back! Chicago Cubs Lineup:...
Today the Chicago Cubs placed reliever Yency Almonte on the Injured List with a right shoulder strain. Jose Cuas has been recalled from Iowa to take his place in the bullpen. Almonte, together with Mark Leiter Jr., had been performing...
How did I not know that the Aurora Borealis was going to be visible last night?!?!? I woke up this morning to all these awesome pictures from friends and other people in the area, and I'm MISERABLE ABOUT IT. With...
In 2015, Kyle Schwarber hit a monster home run onto the top of the right field scoreboard at Wrigley Field, where it stayed for the remainder of the postseason. Watching the game live, I remember thinking "Dang, he got all...
Usually, I like to use this space to celebrate a great game from a top Cubs prospect, but sometimes, it's important to note when the other thing happens. Last night, Cade Horton had his very first really bad start. He...
I was rounding up this morning's set of Bears Bullets when I saw this note from the Chicago Tribune's Dan Wiederer on rookie wide receiver Rome Odunze sitting out Saturday's practice with hamstring tightness and I knew I had to...
No surprises here, as the decision to start Kyle Hendricks this afternoon against the Pirates was made yesterday, but the news has officially hit the wire, and here it is. Kyle Hendricks Activated Kyle Hendricks is returning from his short...
Two of the league's top power hitters meet Sunday when the Atlanta Braves (24-12) and New York Mets (18-20) take the field at 7:10 PM ET, live on ESPN. Marcell Ozuna has 12 home runs for the Braves (-124 favorites...
The NBA Draft Lottery has arrived. Despite the lackluster nature of this year's prospect pool, this remains a highly-anticipated day for teams around the league. The truth of the matter is that the opportunity to snag a high pick is...
CUBS LINEUP — The Cubs have played thirteen series so far this season, and this is already their eighth rubber match. Let's see if Kyle Hendricks and the Cubs can bring this one in. Chicago Cubs Lineup: Nico Hoerner, SS...
It's Mother's Day today. And while my mother passed away in 2017, I try to use this day to remember and honor her memory. Do something nice for the moms in your life today. You only get one. Chicago Bears...
Player props are listed for Pascal Siakam and Jalen Brunson, among others, when the Indiana Pacers host the New York Knicks at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday at 3:30 PM ET.How to Watch Pacers vs. KnicksDate: Sunday, May 12, 2024Time: 3:30...
Following a stretch of four consecutive wins, the Atlanta Braves (24-12) play the New York Mets (18-20) at 7:10 PM ET on Sunday.The Braves will give the nod to Bryce Elder (1-1) against the Mets and Luis Severino (2-2).Braves vs....
The Colorado Avalanche are -135 on the moneyline versus the Dallas Stars (+114) on Monday, with this matchup taking place at Ball Arena in Denver.Watch the NHL on Fubo!Avalanche vs. Stars Favorite, Moneyline, TotalFavorite: Avalanche (-135)Underdog: Stars (+114)Total: 6.5Best Avalanche...
If there was an Equipment Manager of the Year award, I think my aunt might deserve it. Having to leave at about 5 a.m. to drive to my sibling's college graduation on Saturday, I may have kinda sorta broken my...
NEWSLETTER
So, that was a nuts 12 hours, man.
