One of the Worst Games for Maddon, Baez’s Frustration, Wilson’s Loss of Control, and Other Bullets
Early game + family time in the morning = not a lot of time for the Bullets. Hurry, Brett …
- We called yesterday’s first-game loss one of the worst you could possibly see, and Joe Maddon didn’t mince words after the loss:
“That was one my least favorite games as Cubs manager.”–Joe Maddon after watching his team go 1-for-16 with runners in scoring position, plus Javier Baez not hustling, Anthony Rizzo not sliding, Addison Russell's error and Justin Wilson's 11th-inning meltdown in a walk-off loss.
— Patrick Mooney (@PJ_Mooney) May 19, 2018
Joe Maddon, not putting on a happy face after Game 1 loss in Cincinnati: “It just looked fatigued to me. We had so many chances to take control of that game and did not. It was not a good game. One of my worst sitting in that dugout.”
— Patrick Mooney (@PJ_Mooney) May 19, 2018
Baez didn't have a problem with Garrett's "roar," only when it got personal with the stare: "I don’t control what he’s doing. He can do whatever he wants. Any pitcher can. But you can’t show up anybody, because we don’t, even now that we’re struggling."
— Gordon Wittenmyer (@GDubCub) May 19, 2018
Javier Baez – who obviously shows his emotions – on Amir Garrett's Lion King routine: "He stared at me and he’s frustrated because I got a homer off him last year – a grand slam, four RBIs. Right now, anybody can strike me out because I’m struggling. I’m frustrated."
— Patrick Mooney (@PJ_Mooney) May 19, 2018
- Javy Baez’s line is down to .256/.289/.543, his strikeout rate is up to 23.1%, and his walk rate is down to an abysmal 3.5%. He will need to make an adjustment to his willingness to extend his zone right now, or he will find fewer and fewer pitches to drive.
- Jason Heyward nearly had an inside-the-park grand slam yesterday. I wish he’d kept going just to see if it could happen, because that would have been fun as hell.
- Justin Wilson started out the 11th inning with a walk that should have been a strikeout, and a bloop single. I can’t say for sure that’s what got in his head, but he completely lost the plate from then on, walking two more – including Billy Hamilton with the bases loaded – and losing the game. Ever since his similar blowup against the Pirates well over a month ago, Wilson had been so good and – for him – so consistently in the zone: 1.64 ERA, 27.9% K rate, 11.6% BB rate over 12 games. But, given the history there, I don’t think it’s at all unreasonable to say that a meltdown like yesterday’s immediately puts him back in the you-just-can’t-trust-him category. Sure, maybe don’t dump him just yet, but it would be malpractice to trust him in a key situation right now if there are ANY other options available. Maybe in another month, if he grinds away in low-leverage and gets it back. Heck, maybe I am being unfair. You just can’t have a reliever totally losing it like that and giving away games with complete wildness.
- As expected, Randy Rosario goes back down today after being the 26th man yesterday. He looked really good, eh? But so has Justin Hancock, and so did Luke Farrell for a bit, and so did Cory Mazzoni for a bit, and so did Rob Zastryzny for a bit, and we haven’t even seen Dillon Maples yet this year. Unlike years past, when the Cubs’ 9th/10th relievers were purely fresh bodies, the Cubs have some really good extra relief options available right now. That could loom larger as the season goes on, and the unreliability of Wilson is tested further.
- He was there just long enough to beat the Cubs with a three-run homer:
The Braves have released Jose Bautista. Anthopoulos says Camargo will be the everyday third baseman.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) May 20, 2018
- This is *slightly* more enjoyable since the Cubs won the second game:
https://twitter.com/MLB/status/997899971453042688
- What is both interesting and expected about this graphical look is that the Cubs are one of the most sedentary defensive teams – they just don’t move around a lot (and I don’t necessarily have a beef with it):
Breaking down every @mlb teams defensive positioning this year. Pretty fun to see all the various alignments teams use. pic.twitter.com/iOmriLm3s9
— Daren Willman (@darenw) May 20, 2018
- The Nationals are calling up a 19-year-old superprospect whom many of us have probably not heard of (because his rise has been so crazy rapid): outfielder Juan Soto. Keep an eye out.
- Hot Wheels, patio gear, activewear, above-ground pools, and Kindle books are all the Deals of the Day at Amazon.
- And it’s a 20% off orders day at Fanatics, so jump on that:
Heads up! 20% off all orders at Fanatics TODAY ONLY, so get your Cubs gear here: https://t.co/vt8G9rPsv7 pic.twitter.com/qCba2pnIXA
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) May 20, 2018
