Running Out Pop-Ups, Lester’s Bounce Pass, KB’s Batting Cages, and Other Bullets

Apr 12, 2018

Although I’m always happy to go to a Cubs game, I’m a little bummed that today was supposed to be Yu Darvish’s Wrigley Field debut (back when I got my ticket), but that has since been pushed back to tomorrow because of the Cincinnati rainout. I’m not sure I can go tomorrow, and so, bummer. I guess I’ll need Kyle Hendricks to throw a no-hitter today to make it up to me.

More on Javy Baez’s second straight huge day soon, but it was weird to see a pop out to the shortstop become such a significant subject of discussion. Here are a couple of the quotes, via The Athletic’ Patrick Mooney (who remains a must-follow):

Javier Baez: “You know what I really got out of today? You know what I learned? How ugly I looked on that fly ball. I tossed the bat really high. I didn’t run to first base. A lot of teammates came up to me and they said it in a good way. You learn from it."
— Patrick Mooney (@PJ_Mooney) April 12, 2018

Javier Baez: "After I hit that fly ball where I tossed the bat really high, I was kind of mad about it. Not because of the fly ball, just the way I looked for the kids and everybody that follows me. That’s not a good look, so I learned that from today.”
— Patrick Mooney (@PJ_Mooney) April 12, 2018

Firstly, on that pop out, I was watching and really didn’t think too much about it. He was mad that he missed his pitch, he tossed the bat a little higher into the air than a batter does usually in that situation, and he trotted to first. It was enough to stand out and that I noticed, but it was far from something that I thought, “whoa, that was a really inappropriate reaction.” It was kind of a shoulder shrug to me.

Secondly, if Javy’s teammate(s) wanted to let him know they didn’t like it, then that’s fine by me, too. That’s their business in the clubhouse, and, based on the quotes, it’s not like they’re telling him not to celebrate home runs or not get fiery and passionate on the field. I might have a beef if they were going that direction. But this seems pretty tame all around, and it sounds like they were genuinely trying to help him stay within himself. After thinking about it for a couple minutes, I was no longer jarred.

So I guess I leave it there? I mean, this whole thing got a lot of heat last night after the game, likely because it was a pretty surprising angle following a guy’s second straight two-homer game and there may have been some early misunderstandings in the national media about what Baez was actually talking about. I felt like I had to say something here, but, I mean, this is a nothingburger, right?

This quote from Baez was a little more fun and also telling (NBC): “I’m gonna swing hard most of the time, but it’s something I can control. I’m trying to stay under control, but it’s really hard for me. As long as I stay under control, I’ll be really good.” We’ve seen Baez manage the aggressiveness of his swing before, and he has had excellent contact-related results from it at times. Then again, you can’t deny the awesomeness of his power when he connects on one of his ankle-breaking swings. I think it’s gotta be a tough balance for him, and I have no doubt he’s working on finding that right line.

Jon Lester’s bounce pass last night – on a ball he went out of his way to field – was just perfect:

Bounce pass from Jon Lester for the out. pic.twitter.com/fxxWHnIE6U

— Kevin Marchina (@kg_holler) April 12, 2018

If that’s the way you have to do it, you could not possibly execute it better than that. Well done, Lester.

As for his start, eh. You can and should read more about it here, and I particularly enjoyed the bit about Lester’s conversations with the umpire on the strikes he didn’t get. A little insight into how a pitcher approaches those situations:

Grandpa Lester? Nah. Jon Lester says he doesn’t need the kids to carry him just yet https://t.co/cePqaH7PkF

— Sahadev Sharma (@sahadevsharma) April 12, 2018

Special moment last night:

Dutchie Caray returned to Wrigley Field to honor her late husband, the great Harry Caray. pic.twitter.com/7Ujexel9ip

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 12, 2018

A humorously-placed new image of Kris Bryant outside of Slugger’s – the bar where the batting cages were just named after Bryant and Red Bull – made me smile:

I gotta get me engaged. pic.twitter.com/oUlVelsO8N

— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) April 11, 2018

Speaking of those new batting cages, Red Bull hosted an unveiling yesterday, where Bryant took some swings, and was surprisingly followed by former Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood:

Now he’s ripping ‘em. pic.twitter.com/Xmfxy5ybw9

— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) April 11, 2018

Kerry’s a little late on the heat. pic.twitter.com/9TlSClolRR

— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) April 11, 2018

I also took swings in that same cage, and although I’d like to say this is what it looks like when you hit in the cage following foot surgery, I don’t think it was entirely about that:

https://twitter.com/Brett_A_Taylor/status/984189457300672513

Please tell me you saw this:

Bryce Harper’s Brother Busted Him Using TWO Hair Dryers https://t.co/TNzCSTgfZL pic.twitter.com/ajNNfa6q1W

— Baseball is Fun (@flippingbats) April 11, 2018

It’s about time to start planning some outdoor fun in the coming months, so check out the outdoor recreation stuff at Amazon to see if you can get some deals on the things you’re mulling.

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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