NEWSLETTER
After Jake Arrieta’s revelation that he pitched feeling less than 100% this week, I would call these comments a surprise.
Today, on The Score:
Jake Arrieta on his progress from hamstring issue: "I haven't had the drive off my back side." #Cubs
— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) September 28, 2017
Jake Arrieta is unsure of whether he'll make his scheduled start Sunday, adds rest is crucial for him now. #Cubs
— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) September 28, 2017
After his ugly performance against the Cardinals, it was already a question on whether he’d start against the Reds in the Cubs’ final game of the year. So I don’t want to sound any additional alarm bells here. They were sounding.
The question for the Cubs and for Arrieta is whether getting the extra game in will be sufficiently valuable to him to outweigh the risk that he would have been better in the NLDS if he just hadn’t thrown at all.
We can’t know the answer to that on the outside. Heck, even the Cubs and Arrieta are going to only be able to make a best guess. From where I sit, especially when you consider how good Arrieta looked in that first start back after missing two and a half weeks, I’d probably err on the side of just letting him sit, and rolling the dice that he’ll be better for it (and not rusty) when the NLDS rolls around. If he’s altering his delivery to account for being less than 100% in the hamstring (which he said he was doing), then I get very worried that he’s at a greater risk of throwing a total clunker when his mechanics get out of whack.
As I said, though, we can’t really know the best answer here. Maybe Arrieta wakes up tomorrow feeling fantastic, and the Cubs want to give him five innings on Sunday (and then start him eight days later in Game Three of the NLDS, so he’ll still have extra rest). Or maybe they really roll the dice, sit him, and surprise the Nationals with Arrieta as the Game One starter.
We talked about the possible playoff rotations earlier, and the Arrieta injury is a significant complicating factor. I’d expect to learn in the next day or two whether Arrieta will make his start on Sunday. If he doesn’t, that won’t necessarily mean his playoff standing is impacted, mind you.
