I’ll be headed to Chicago tomorrow, and will be at the game in the bleachers on Friday. If you see me in right field, come say hello. Or join me. I like friends. Michael is also going to Friday’s game, I do believe, though I realize now as I’m typing that I don’t know if he’s going to be in the bleachers. Hey, Michael, where are you sitting Friday? Wanna split some nachos?
Joe Maddon went with an atypical bullpen usage last night, calling on Pedro Strop in the 7th inning after starter John Lackey, who’d been fantastic, allowed the first two batters of the inning to reach second and third. Strop got out of the jam with some nasty pitches, allowing only a sac fly. From there, Travis Wood started the 8th inning, and some wondered why Maddon didn’t just stick with Strop – but Maddon explained after the game that, in his experience, going back out there after an emotionally intense inning like Strop had “almost never works” (Tribune). Hector Rondon took over for Wood with one out in the 8th, allowing a single and a sac fly before shutting the Nationals down the rest of the way.
Strop, though, deserves special mention as, like the nominal hero of the game Albert Almora, he came through when the moment was the biggest. It’s no surprise, then, that Strop and Almora had the largest Win Probability Added on the night, at .223 and .299, respectively. For Strop, that was his 28th appearance of the year, and while he sports an excellent 2.66/2.41/2.07 pitching slash line, it’s all the more impressive to consider that he’s allowed an earned run in just 4 of those 28 appearances. Indeed, virtually all of the “bad” in his numbers come from a single outing – the absolute disaster of an appearance against the Padres in which he faced five batters, retired none of them, allowing two walks and three hits, including a homer. It’s not like you get to take that appearance out of the mix, because it still counted, but Strop has basically been perfect outside of that. He deserves some love. Love now given.
I really enjoyed this read from Patrick Mooney on Jon Lester, the front office, and last year’s pursuit-ish of Jonathan Papelbon, who was ultimately traded by the Phillies to the Nationals. There’s so much in there about how the front office relates to and with players like Lester, so you should read it. One Lester quote that I want to share, though, with no other context, because it’s just awesome on its face: “We get our asses powdered enough – I don’t need my teammates to do it.”
Studly young Pirates pitcher Jameson Taillon was once again summoned from AAA to make a start at the big league level with Gerrit Cole going on the disabled list (triceps strain), and all he did was take a no-hitter into the seventh inning as he dominated the Mets. Conveniently for the Pirates, they saved five days of service time on Taillon by sending him down after his last start and then calling him back up to make his next start in place of Cole (normally, you can’t recall a player who has been sent to the minors for at least 10 days, but the exception is if he’s replacing someone going on the DL). The Pirates’ rotation is in flux now, but if Taillon stays in the rotation on normal rest, he’ll face the Cubs in Chicago on Sunday night on ESPN.
The Minor League Daily today included Jeimer Candelario’s first AAA homer, another diving Jacob Hannemann catch, and word of the Cubs extending their stay in Eugene, Oregon.
If you found yourself, like Len Kasper did, desiring to call the Cubs’ win last night “pretty, pretty, prettaaaaay good,” it’s probably because you saw the news that HBO and Larry David’s ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ will be coming back for another season. Not only did that result in a fun end-of-game call by Kasper, but it also will probably yield a Joe Maddon cameo on the season, when it is finally made. Cubs fan Jeff Garlin, who also stars on the show, promised Maddon a spot on the show if it ever came back, and Maddon is ready (CSN). Maddon, who says the show is “the best,” doesn’t want to play himself, though – he wants to play Larry David or Bernie Sanders (who has been parodied not infrequently this election season by David, so this is all getting extremely meta – and so I’ll turn to a meta topic).
META: A little net neutrality news for those who’ve been following that issue, and its impact on the future of the web. An appeals court upheld the rules put in place last year designed to protect net neutrality (i.e., service providers can’t favor some sites/apps/traffic over others (the long-term fear is that Verizon, for example, could slow down connections to some sites/apps in order to preserve better speed to preferred (paying) sites/apps)). In my view, this is good news for the future of smaller, innovative sites and services, though it’s important to note this is only one decision. The rules can still be changed at the administrative and legislative levels, and the decision can also be appealed to the Supreme Court.
A trio of pitcher injury news updates, all of potential relevance to the Chicago Cubs ... Sandy Alcántara - The Marlins' ace, out with a UCL sprain, was trying to hustle his way back through a rehab assignment so he...
Well there it is. Another surprising turn in the ever-mysterious, ever-twisting saga of Marcus Stroman's injury and return. It's very good news: https://twitter.com/jon_greenberg/status/1705330802802757828 https://twitter.com/WatchMarquee/status/1705333054691070457 The Cubs obviously kept that one very much close to the vest, with Stroman pitching twice...
FINALLY. The Cubs really took care of business in a game where they were supposed to take care of business. The final regular season Friday at Wrigley Field ends in a W. Jameson Taillon was not super efficient today, but...
You really couldn't ask for a better second-half from Seiya Suzuki, who just hit his 20th home run of the season, as part of a 3-3 effort so far. https://twitter.com/Cubs/status/1705304145962455136?s=20 He's now slashing .281/.352/.485 (124 wRC+) and has been the...
Was that headline a little mean-spirited? Perhaps. But we're all a little tense right now. So while I was very happy to see Kris Bryant get his standing ovation at Wrigley Field in his first at-bat this afternoon, I was...
Well the news is all there in the headline: Jeimer Candelario, who's been on the injured list with a strained lower back since September 10, could be back with the team as soon as this weekend. But we can get...
Some years, it's pretty easy to guess who is going to win player of the year-type honors in the Chicago Cubs' farm system. Other years, it's really difficult, either because several guys were so good that you're just picking between...
Cubs Lineup — The Cubs cannot afford to lose more than one game this series. In fact, they probably need to sweep. But let's just take it one game at a time ... especially with Jameson Taillon on the mound....
Cubs vs Rockies — I ended the last series preview asking the Cubs, directly: "Can you just not make this terrible, please?" They did not oblige. After dropping two of three to the Pittsburgh freakin' Pirates, who were playing on...
The Little Boy and I are headed to Chicago today for the final series of the year at Wrigley, and I gotta tell you, when we planned this a couple weeks ago, I didn't think THESE would be the circumstances....
The South Alabama Jaguars (2-1) and the Central Michigan Chippewas (1-2) square off at Hancock Whitney Stadium on Saturday, September 23, 2023.The Jaguars' matchup against the Chippewas will be available on ESPN+.When is South Alabama vs. Central Michigan and when...
The Eastern Michigan Eagles (2-1) visit the Jacksonville State Gamecocks (2-1) at Burgess-Snow Field at JSU Stadium on Saturday, September 23, 2023.Go to ESPN+ to watch this game live.When is Jacksonville State vs. Eastern Michigan and when does it start?This...
The South Alabama Jaguars (2-1) play the Central Michigan Chippewas (1-2) on Saturday, September 23, 2023 at Hancock Whitney Stadium. The Jaguars are without a doubt the favorites in this one, with the spread sitting at 16 points. The over/under...
The Baltimore Orioles (95-59) hope to avoid their fourth straight defeat when they visit the Cleveland Guardians (74-81) Saturday at 6:10 PM ET on BSGL. The Orioles are listed as -142 favorites to snap their losing skid, while the Guardians...
Following a stretch of three consecutive wins, the Philadelphia Phillies (85-69) play the New York Mets (71-83) at 4:05 PM ET on Saturday.This contest's pitching matchup is set, as the Phillies will send Zack Wheeler (12-6) to the mound, while...
The Oakland Athletics (47-107) play on Saturday in Oakland against the Detroit Tigers (72-82). First pitch is at 4:07 PM ET.The Tigers will look to Joey Wentz (3-10) against the Athletics and Joe Boyle.Tigers vs. Athletics Pitcher Matchup and Game...
The Toronto Blue Jays (86-68) visit the Tampa Bay Rays (94-61) for a road game in St. Petersburg on Saturday. The game starts at 4:10 PM ET.This contest's pitching matchup is set, as the Rays will send Zack Littell (3-6)...
The Chicago White Sox (58-96) face off against the Boston Red Sox (76-78) on Saturday at Fenway Park after a three-game losing streak. The contest begins at 4:10 PM ET.The Red Sox will give the nod to Nick Pivetta (9-9,...
After winning three games in a row, the Minnesota Twins (82-72) play at home against the Los Angeles Angels (69-85) at 2:10 PM ET on Saturday.This contest's pitching matchup is set, as the Twins will send Sonny Gray (8-7) to...
The New York Yankees (78-76) play at home against the Arizona Diamondbacks (81-73) on Saturday. The contest is set to start at 1:05 PM ET.The probable pitchers are Carlos Rodon (3-6) for the Yankees and Zach Davies (2-5) for the...
I’ll be headed to Chicago tomorrow, and will be at the game in the bleachers on Friday. If you see me in right field, come say hello. Or join me. I like friends. Michael is also going to Friday’s game, I do believe, though I realize now as I’m typing that I don’t know if he’s going to be in the bleachers. Hey, Michael, where are you sitting Friday? Wanna split some nachos?
