Horrible news from Ballpark Village at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, where one man is dead and another is injured after a shooting (STL Post-Dispatch). The early reporting indicates that an argument broke out, one man pulled a gun and started shooting, hitting bystanders. One of them was killed. There to have a good time, not involved in any way, and then dead. Just like that.
It’s hard to transition from stories like that, but we do it all the time. On to other things …
After the latest gem from a Cubs starting pitcher, the team is now working on a streak of six straight quality starts. It’s up to Jon Lester to keep things rolling tonight against the Rockies, who are tied for the second worst offense in baseball on the road.
If Lester does it, if the Cubs win the game, and if the Pirates fall to the Nationals tonight in Washington, the Cubs will finish April precisely where you would have predicted back in March: in sole possession of first place in the NL Central.
(Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
How familiar does Travis Shaw’s comment about playing at Wrigley Field sound to Cubs fans (ESPN):Â “We just couldn’t score any runs. It’s tough to score runs here when the wind is blowing in. We’re kind of a home run-hitting team and we need to find other ways to score when that’s not there.” How many times have we heard that before about Cubs teams built with power? And it’s not like being a home-run-hitting team is bad, but as you saw with the Brewers this weekend, so many well-struck balls would have changed the series … if it weren’t April with the wind blowing in.
I tend to think that’s at least part of the reason the Cubs have had more success offensively the last few years – yes, they’ve got these hulking, slugging, youngsters, but they have also chipped away (slowly, yes) at their contact issues. When the wind howls in at Wrigley, yes, even the pitchers want to see the ball in play, BUT if you’re also striking out a ton, that’s the kind of double-whammy that yields zeroes in games like that. High contact, a line-drive approach, and good situational hitting can carry the day on a windy day at Wrigley.
Speaking of a line-drive approach, Joe Maddon continues to push back against SOME of the proliferating analytics in the public space, telling the Tribune that he’s down with exit velocity (since everyone wants to hit the ball hard), but not so much with launch angle. You’ll recall, Maddon earlier this year suggested the fly ball revolution was going to hit a wall, so to speak, in the face of increasing reliance by pitchers on the high fastball. Whether that proves to be the case is yet to be seen, but, again, it is certainly true at Wrigley Field on a windy day in April that line drives are going to play better than fly balls.
(… to the extent a player’s game is really that malleable. For the most part, I’d just want to see Cubs batters taking whatever approach works for them to hit the ball the hardest consistently. For some guys, that’s gonna be full on fly ball revolution stuff. For others, it’s going to be a more level swing. I *tend* to think that’s what hitting coach Chili Davis is all about – meet a guy where he is.)
Tyler Chatwood, himself, knocked in the only run the Cubs would ultimately need yesterday:
He might be able to hit a little bit (for a pitcher), though it’s hard to know the dreaded Coors effect – despite a nice (for a pitcher)Â .216/.243/.246 career batting line, he’s got a meager 18 wRC+. Still, even that’s a lot better than Jose Quintana (-71), Kyle Hendricks (-44), Jon Lester (-31), and Yu Darvish (4).
Each of Javy Baez’s and Albert Almora’s 11-game hitting streaks ended yesterday.
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.
In the top of the seventh inning of today's 8-3 win over the Miami Marlins, Alexander Canario trotted out to left field in place of Ian Happ. At first, we thought (or maybe just hoped) that Craig Counsell was giving...
And just like that the Chicago Cubs are the first team in the NL Central to reach 12 wins! They're not technically in first place yet because the Brewers (11-6) have played fewer games, but we're talking about a matter...
With a lefty Marlins starter on the mound this afternoon, Nico Hoerner lead off today's game for the Chicago Cubs. And he did it in style, ripping a leadoff double to the left-center field wall, before coming into score a...
*The Cubs were rained out yesterday, but today? Today, we've got a Friday 1:20 start at Wrigley Field, and that means all is right in the world. Before you take a look at the Cubs lineup against Miami, check out...
Happy Friday! Well, for everyone except for the pilots who were supposed to be manning the Colorado Rockies flight last week but instead allowed a member of the Rockies coaching staff to hop in the pilot's seat for a fun...
Justin Steele, arguably the single most irreplaceable player on the Chicago Cubs 2024 roster, went down with a hamstring injury just 4.2 innings into his Opening Day start against the Rangers on March 28. In his place, the Cubs sixth...
If you do this job long enough, it's really wild to see the range of topics that can somehow become attached to sports. That is to say, I did not envision myself at some point writing about flight safety, cockpit...
The Iowa Cubs were rained out, but the rest of the farm was in action, and so was Kevin Alcántara, who picked up four hits and now has seven in his last three games as he breaks out of an...
Well, the rain stole one from us yesterday, which is a blessing and a curse. On the bright side, the bullpen gets an extra day of rest (on top of the day Hayden Wesneski bought them). But on the flip...
The Chicago Cubs are against theft. Of bases: https://twitter.com/codifybaseball/status/1781046629103231339 The Chicago Cubs this year have stolen just three bases, the fewest in all of baseball. Dansby Swanson has stolen two bases, Nick Madrigal has stolen one. That's it. I don't...
The Cincinnati Reds (10-9) host the Los Angeles Angels (9-11) for a home game at Great American Ball Park on Saturday. First pitch is at 6:40 PM ET.The probable starters are Graham Ashcraft (2-1) for the Reds and Patrick Sandoval...
After winning their past five games, the Atlanta Braves (13-5) host the Texas Rangers (11-10) at Truist Park on Saturday at 7:20 PM ET.The probable pitchers are Charlie Morton (1-0) for the Braves and Nathan Eovaldi (1-1) for the Rangers.Braves...
The Kansas City Royals (13-7) and the Baltimore Orioles (12-7) square off at Kauffman Stadium on Saturday at 7:10 PM ET.The probable starters are Corbin Burnes (2-0) for the Orioles and Cole Ragans (0-1) for the Royals.Orioles vs. Royals Pitcher...
The 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs begin today. It's the most exciting time of year for 16 cities in the NHL because every one of them -- yes, even the Islanders and Capitals -- have a chance to win it all....
The Cleveland Guardians (14-6) are set to take on the Oakland Athletics (8-12) Saturday at 6:10 PM ET, airing on NBCS-CA. The Guardians are listed as -170 favorites by oddsmakers, while the underdog Athletics have +141 odds for the contest.Cleveland's...
Following a two-homer game last time out, Alec Bohm leads the Philadelphia Phillies (12-8) into action as -320 favorites against the Chicago White Sox (3-16). First pitch from Citizens Bank Park at 6:05 PM ET on Saturday, live on NBCS-PH.Zack...
The Philadelphia Phillies (12-8) look to add to a four-game winning streak as they host the Chicago White Sox (3-16) at 6:05 PM ET on Saturday.The probable starters are Zack Wheeler (0-3) for the Phillies and Mike Soroka (0-2) for...
The Oakland Athletics (8-12) visit the Cleveland Guardians (14-6) for a road game in Cleveland on Saturday. The contest begins at 6:10 PM ET.The probable pitchers are Logan Allen (2-0) for the Guardians and Alex Wood (0-1) for the Athletics.Guardians...
It's that time of the year again – playoff season in the NBA kicks off TODAY, promising months filled with relentless excitement! New users are in for a treat with an amazing FanDuel promo code offer. By signing up today,...
In Game 1 of the opening round of the NBA Playoffs, the New York Knicks will go up against the Philadelphia 76ers.In their last time out, the Knicks won on Sunday 120-119 against the Bulls in overtime. The 76ers' last...
NEWSLETTER
