I saw the new Stephen Spielberg movie, “Ready: Player One” over the weekend, and it was pretty good. Having read the book, though, I didn’t love how much was left out, but I get it. They could’ve either made it a trilogy and annoyed movie-goers who are sick of franchises, or made it a one-off (like they did) and annoy the book-readers.
Maybe there really is no winning – just like the Cubs. (OH BURN!).
I drafted Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen in my fantasy baseball league last week, so naturally his fastball velocity has been down this season and he has an 18.00 ERA and a blown save through his first 2.0 IP. According to Jansen, he’s perfectly healthy, but is working through some mechanical stuff. Given the long playoff stretch last year (and what we saw happen to the Cubs in the first half of 2017), and the fact that he’s always pitching into the playoffs, it’s not too surprising to see Jansen struggle with his mechanics/velocity/results. Let’s just hope his then-Dodgers bullpen-mate (and current Cubs closer), Brandon Morrow, doesn’t follow suit.
(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy ran on the field for the first time since his microfracture knee surgery last October, but his return to the team is still a ways off. If you recall, Murphy had fielded some grounders and hit off a tee in Spring Training, but was ultimately slowed way down and hung back in Florida to continue his rehab, as the Nationals started their season. According to the Washington Post, Murphy won’t be ready to play until late-April at the earliest, and even if he is ready by then, he’ll need a significant rehab assignment, given that he missed Spring Training, too. The Nationals are sufficiently loaded that missing a month-plus of Murphy probably won’t dent their NL East chances, though.
You know, I thought the Cubs were going to end up with Tyson Ross as a reclamation project one of these winters, but they went with Brett Anderson last year after Ross chose the Rangers, and then went with Drew Smyly this time around, while Ross returned to the Padres on a Minor League contract. And it’s probably a fine thing, because Ross would’ve been back too early for the Cubs:
Tyson Ross is here, which means he'll be activated tomorrow to start.
Ross is trying to come back from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery, a rarity. Best of luck to him, and maybe being back with his original team will help.
This was a fantastic and meaningful moment – I love when baseball gives us those:
What a moment. Astros coach Rich Dauer was given a 3% chance to survive after suffering an acute subdural hematoma during the team's World Series parade.
He beat the odds and threw out the first pitch tonight after getting his ring. pic.twitter.com/rWn1qYN9Q1
From Deadspin: “When Dauer initially felt unwell during the parade, team trainers thought that he was likely simply dehydrated. While he was being transported to the hospital, things began to look more serious, and the coach was ultimately diagnosed with an acute subdural hematoma. Doctors estimated that Dauer, who is now retired, had just a 3 percent chance of surviving the surgery. But he pulled through and has since recovered nicely.”
At FiveThirtyEight, Michael Salfino writes about the nearly unbelievable increase in above average fastballs (124% increase in fastballs traveling over 95 MPH since 2011!) … and the equally unbelievable improvement hitters have shown against those pitches. I suppose some of that can be player improvement that comes with experience, but you have to wonder if smart front offices saw the fastball velocity ticking up and increasingly targeted players who could already better handle the heat.
Speaking of which, do you know who’s throwing the hardest this season? It’s not Aroldis Chapman or Luis Severino … it’s Jordan Hicks. According to FanGraphs, the young Cardinals righty has thrown the five fastest pitches this season, and six of the top ten. So far, his top speed has been 101.6 MPH. I wonder if Chapman will catch up.
Miss Dexter Fowler? Well, this won’t help. After starting his season with an 0-13 skid, Fowler tweeted, “I will get a hit.” thirteen times in a row on Twitter … and immediately broke the hitless streak in his second at-bat of the Cardinals’ next game. Naturally, given Fowler’s success, other hitless players followed suit:
I will get a hit. I will get a hit. I will get a hit. I will get a hit. I will get a hit. I will get a hit. I will get a hit. I will get a hit. I will get a hit. I will get a hit. I will get a hit. I will get a hit. I will get a hit. I will get a hit.
My turn: I will get a hit. I will get a hit. I will get a hit. I will get a hit. I will get a hit. I will get a hit. I will get a hit. I will get a hit. I will get a hit. I will get a hit. I will get a hit. I will get a hit. I will get a hit. https://t.co/tKVzv9SSM5
Jose Ramirez went 0-3 last night, but did wind up walking twice, and Josh Reddick went 1-2 with two walks!
So … The Cubs will win tonight. The Cubs will win tonight. The Cubs will win tonight. The Cubs will win tonight. The Cubs will win tonight. The Cubs will win tonight. The Cubs will win tonight. The Cubs will win tonight. The Cubs will win tonight. The Cubs will win tonight. The Cubs will win tonight. The Cubs will win tonight. The Cubs will win tonight.
Or at least this:
Cubs with RISP: “I will get a hit. I will get a hit. I will get a hit. I will get a hit. I will get a hit. I will get a hit. I will get a hit. I will get a hit. I will get a hit. I will get a hit. I will get a hit. I will get a hit. I will get a hit.”
Bill Baer followed up on the Twins’ whining that Orioles catcher Chance Sisco laid down a bunt in the 9th inning of a shutout (the Orioles were *losing* mind you), and Brian Dozier doubled down on his complaints. You can read all about it at NBC Sports. I don’t mean to dismiss this story, because it’s obviously interesting, but I’m not using any more fake computer ink on such a bad opinion. If your team is losing in the ninth and there’s not a no-hitter or perfect game going on, then you get on base HOWEVER you can. Period. If the game is close enough for the other team to shift on you, then bunt all you want.
Jared Diamond had some fun with the Royals/Tigers unusually short game today:
But I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that Manfred is probably hoping that games *do* go long this year, like they have been for the past half-decade or however long, so that he can more easily impose his more robust pace-of-play initiatives next season. Remember, he walked back A LOT of those desired changes just before the season, effectively giving the Players Association one more chance to prove they can self-police the pace. I’m not sure that they will, but we’ll see. Obviously, fewer changes to the game is better than the alternative, but if they’re needed, they’re needed.
Michael Cerami began covering the Chicago Cubs for Bleacher Nation as a part-time contributor in 2015. One year later, he joined Bleacher Nation full-time, covering the Chicago Cubs and Major League Baseball. Today, Michael runs Bleacher Nation, contributing as a writer (Cubs, MLB) and an editor for all sections of the site, including the Chicago Bears, Bulls, and Blackhawks, as well as MLB, NBA, NHL, and NFL.
In 2019, Michael was the co-host of NBC Sports Chicago's Cubs Post-Game Show Outside the Ivy.
You can find him on Twitter/X @Michael_Cerami
For the second straight night, the Cubs are jumping all over the Astros in the first inning. After a couple hits from Nico Hoerner and Ian Happ to get things going, Michael Busch hit a sac fly, Christopher Morel walked,...
What a road it's been - continues to be - for Cubs outfield prospect Brennen Davis. The former top prospect was on a rocket ship to Triple-A in 2021, and then mostly lost the last two years to various injuries....
So much for all those words of optimism and negative X-rays. After colliding with the outfield wall last night, Cody Bellinger fractured his rib (Update: It's actually TWO fractured right ribs) and will hit the injured list today. Chicago Cubs...
CUBS LINEUP — The Chicago Cubs took Game 1 against the Houston Astros in convincing fashion last night. So tonight, they'll go for the quick series win against Spencer Arrighetti at Wrigley Field (it'd be a good idea to win...
Ed. Note: Since this article was published, a CT scan revealed a rib fracture for Cody Bellinger, who is now on the Injured List. You can find all the details of that news in our most recent article right here....
With Cody Bellinger headed to the Injured List with a rib fracture, the Cubs are in need of another outfielder: center field prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong is coming back up to the big leagues for the second time. https://twitter.com/670TheScore/status/1783217891195625709 Crow-Armstrong, 22,...
Hey, we're just having some early-season fun. So allow me to present the 'Mike Tauchman Is Clearly Better Than' list. As of this moment, Mike Tauchman has ... ... a higher wRC+ (151) than Pete Alonso, Fernando Tatis Jr., and...
Name a player hotter than Kevin Alcántara right now. Go ahead, I'll wait. (He's already raking again today. Literally as I type this.) More on Alcántara's big day and the Smokies home run parade last night in today's Cubs Farm...
Just three starts into his San Francisco Giants career, Blake Snell is heading to the injured list with a left-adductor strain. Oof. You hate to even say it — and who really knows if this was related — but early...
In 1997, I was a miserable Chicago Cubs fan. I mean, that was true a lot of the time, but I mean it in a very specific way that year: the Cubs had started the season 0-14. They had literally...
The Seattle Mariners (12-12) visit the Texas Rangers (13-12) at 2:35 PM ET Thursday for a sluggers' duel between two of the best home-run hitters in baseball. Caleb Raleigh has racked up six homers this season (No. 9 in the...
The San Diego Padres (14-13) are favorites (-151) on the moneyline when they square off against the Colorado Rockies (6-19) Thursday at 3:10 PM ET, live on SDPA.Randy Vasquez takes the mound for San Diego while Dakota Hudson is Colorado's...
The Los Angeles Dodgers (15-11) have an opportunity to add to their three-game winning streak as they visit the Washington Nationals (10-13) at Nationals Park on Thursday at 4:05 PM ET.This contest's pitching matchup is set, as the Dodgers will...
The Toronto Blue Jays (13-12) are the underdogs on the moneyline (+100) in Thursday's contest against the Kansas City Royals (15-10). The game starts at 2:10 PM ET on SNET. The Blue Jays are favored against the spread in this...
Two of the league's top power hitters meet Thursday when the Houston Astros (7-18) and Chicago Cubs (15-9) take the field at 2:20 PM ET, live on SCHN. Jose Altuve has six home runs for the Astros (-127 favorites on...
The Boston Red Sox versus the Cleveland Guardians is a game to see on a Thursday MLB schedule that features 10 competitive contests.There are typically plenty of MLB player prop bets available for each and every matchup. Scroll down to...
The San Diego Padres (14-13) play on the road against the Colorado Rockies (6-19) on Thursday. The matchup is set to begin at 3:10 PM ET.This contest's pitching matchup is set, as the Padres will send Randy Vasquez (0-1) to...
The Milwaukee Brewers (15-8) are set to take on the Pittsburgh Pirates (13-12) Thursday at 12:35 PM ET, airing on BSWI. The Brewers are listed as -126 favorites by sportsbooks, while the underdog Pirates have +105 odds for the contest.Freddy...
The Chicago White Sox (3-21 look to avoid the sweep when they visit the Minnesota Twins (10-13) in the final game of a four-game set. Oddsmakers have listed the Twins as -252 favorites, while the White Sox are +206 underdogs...
Expect a display of power when Kyle Schwarber (6 HR) and the Philadelphia Phillies (15-10) take on Elly De La Cruz (7 HR) and the Cincinnati Reds (14-10) at Great American Ball Park at 1:10 PM ET live on BSOH....
NEWSLETTER
