Weekend Catch-Up: Rough Starts, Bullpen Shine, and a Series Split

That didn’t go the way we were hoping the opening weekend would go. I think the clear highlight was Michael being forced by Ian Happ to jump into Lake Michigan, but even for Happ, it was pretty downhill from there. And that includes my own trip to Marlins Park, which was a freaking fiasco.

Meanwhile, if you missed anything …

Friday, March 30

  • Thoughts on Jon Lester’s tough season debut.
  • At least the bullpen was fantastic in the opener (the whole weekend, really).
  • A Q&A with Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo that is a heckuva great read.
  • Home run records, tough start for Trout, and other bits from around baseball.
  • It actually ended on Saturday, but after 17 innings, the Cubs lost to the Marlins. The Cubs’ lone run came on a Kris Bryant homer.
  • Saturday, March 31

  • Despite the loss, there was one great moment, when Anthony Rizzo returned fire on Willson Contreras.
  • Love for Butler’s performance, Mike Montgomery’s early role, and other Bullets.
  • An interesting financial rumor circulated late on Saturday, and it had the Dodgers and Brewers swapping Matt Kemp and Ryan Braun.
  • Kyle Schwarber walloped a two-run shot.
  • The Cubs won this extra-innings affair, in a much quicker fashion, too, thanks to some 10th inning heroics from Kris Bryant and Ben Zobrist.
  • Sunday, April 1

  • The troubles with runners at third base and fewer than two outs has been a real issue already this year, but it’s so early. Right? That, and other Bullets.
  • We know that Kyle Schwarber has ridiculous exit velocity, but how about that baserunning velocity!
  • The Cubs finished up the weekend with a shutout loss to to the Marlins.
  • 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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