So Much Fun with Anthony Rizzo’s Annual Crazy Catch and Other Bullets

The extra rest last night hopefully helped with the sicknesses I’m feeling. I don’t want to have to miss the back-end of tonight’s game, too. See! I’m just like a ballplayer!

  • Anthony Rizzo, Jason Hammel, and Joe Maddon discuss the first baseman’s annual ridiculous into-the-stands catch, with last night’s iteration taking on an appropriately Olympics twist. Like last year in August, Jason Hammel was on the mound, and Rizzo tracked a perfectly-placed pop foul over by the tarp. This time, he had to go all the way up on the wall to make the catch, and managed to reach and snag it without going into the stands (which would have been terrifying). It’s up to you. Which catch is better:
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  • I actually think this year’s may have been more impressive. Heck, even Rizzo couldn’t believe he snagged this one.
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  • More on the starter who benefited from that catch, Jason Hammel, later. Suffice it to say, he’s been really good lately.
  • The Cubs have a decision to make on John Lackey, who left his last start with shoulder tightness. Even if the Cubs want to give him a break before his next start, they could just push him back a couple days because of Monday’s off-day, and keep the other starters on normal rest. The Cubs could also just let Trevor Cahill take that start, and give Lackey even more time. Alternatively, the Cubs could DL Lackey for a couple weeks until September, which would give him a little extra rest, and would ameliorate the Cubs’ roster crunch until the Cubs can use the full 40-man in September. Either way, it sounds like the Cubs would like to figure out a plan today (CSN).
  • Speaking of Lackey, Buster Olney had the Cubs righty on his podcast for a short interview, with some interesting comments on how he’s maintained velocity in his late-30s, and how he’s working better with Willson Contreras.
  • Joe Nathan’s 10-day DFA period expired yesterday, and the briefly-former Cub has signed a minor league deal with the Giants. I would bet he is up with them for September, and based on what we say with the Cubs, he might be a contributor. The timing of things with the Cubs was just unfortunate, because I’m sure the Cubs would have loved to have been able to keep him for September, too.
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  • Although the Smokies weren’t in action, it’s still cool to say: for the second day in a row, every single minor league Cubs affiliate from short-season low-A up won. And the big league team won twice, so it’s kinda like that covers for the Smokies, too.
  • Just try not to love Adrian Beltre. It is impossible.
  • If you’ve ever thought about getting a Kindle, now is the time – big sales at Amazon, which is not all that common on their devices.
  • Fun factoid:
  • And more Rizzo fun:
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    written by

    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.

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