Great Bullpen Debut, Scouting Happ, Schwarber’s Defense, and Other Bullets

Mar 30, 2018

I’d started writing about my experience in Miami yesterday here in this space, and then it turned into 1000+ words. Figured that wouldn’t make for a great Bullets intro …

How about the bullpen yesterday? Without even getting Brandon Morrow or Carl Edwards Jr. into the game, the bullpen threw 5.2 scoreless innings and allowed *ONE* hit. No, they’re not pitching against the Yankees, but still. That was great to see on the first day of the season, even if you now very much hope they can get a little bit of a break tonight.

Best of all? Justin Wilson debuts with a scoreless, no-walk, one-strikeout inning. If part of his issue last year really was a rhythm/confidence thing after getting off to such a poor start with the Cubs, then him having a great first outing could be huge.

Ian Happ was looking first-pitch fastball from Jose Urena, and Urena was looking to pound with fastballs early yesterday (Cubs.com). I mean, fine, but did you guys scout Ian Happ at all?

Speaking of that homer, since I was stuck in traffic and looking for the game on the radio, I heard it described on the Dan Le Batard Show, live, and this is what I heard – I thought they were joking with their audience because they were so down on the Marlins:

Kyle Schwarber had a really bad inning in left field at the end of Jon Lester’s day, getting a poor read on a triple and then overruning a single. He looked really awkward on both plays, though he did not look bad the rest of the game. He looked like he usually does: fine, unspectacular. Not what you wanted to see in the first game after the body makeover, but it’s one game (and really, it was one inning – two plays). I think you’d be crazy to take much from it in either direction just yet.

Anthony Rizzo’s homer yesterday was about more than a run on the board for the Cubs (ESPN): “I’ve hit a lot of home runs. That was probably the most out-of-body experience I’ve had hitting a home run, probably in my life. My emotions on Opening Day are usually pretty high, but with all this, you can’t really put it into words.” Rizzo put his hand on the Stoneman Douglas patch on his uniform after he rounded the bases.

Four families of victims or survivors of the shooting at Rizzo’s alma mater will be throwing out the first pitch today.

The Cubs and Dodgers are playing waiver wire tennis with righty Cory Mazzoni:

Busy few days for pitcher Cory Mazzoni, who was waived by the Cubs, claimed by the Dodgers, then waived by the Dodgers and claimed back by the Cubs. Wouldn't shock me if Cubs try to get him through waivers again eventually. pic.twitter.com/IaOmz17lUF
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) March 30, 2018

Given the makeup of the roster, you almost hope there isn’t a spot for him this summer, but I’m glad to see the Cubs brought back Chris Coghlan anyway. This is the only place he’s really had success in the last few years (and it was tremendous success! why does everyone sleep on his great numbers with the Cubs?!), and if a need arises for another outfielder/lefty bat, it’s great to have him available at AAA. He undoubtedly will have an opt-out available in his deal, though – probably June 1.

Never get cheated:

Baez pic.twitter.com/37zrSKF9O6

— ⓂarcusD (@_MarcusD2_) March 29, 2018

The Cardinals lost to the Mets yesterday, so I got to do this, which is nice:

Today is pretty good. #CardinalsLose pic.twitter.com/k7JXFPpRQK

— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) March 29, 2018

There’s no baseball connection here, but it’s just too good not to share: thanks to the emergency goalie rule, a 36-year-old accountant who is in a beer league just got to play goalie for the Blackhawks:

Quite the story and an unforgettable night for accountant turned emergency goalie Scott Foster: https://t.co/7kKhgKPJq8 pic.twitter.com/bwQfobMx17

— NBC Sports Chicago (@NBCSChicago) March 30, 2018

And I’m just over here imagining an emergency catcher rule like this. Instead of Kyle Schwarber back there, it’s … you. Here comes Brandon Morrow to close out the game. Good luck catching his fastball/slider combo and not pooping.

Michael was on the Locked on Cubs podcast to discuss, among other things, his unique Opening Day experience.

If you’ve been mulling an Echo Show from Amazon, a heads up that it’s 30% off right now.

written by

Brett Taylor

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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