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:
  • As for Javy Baez’s moment with Amir Garrett:
  • 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.
  • (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

  • 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:
  • 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):
  • 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:
  • 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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