Hit For Power or Hit for Contact, But Do Something and Other Bullets

Jun 14, 2018

Ah, the off-day after two losses and before a big weekend series against the Cardinals. These types of days always go well …

The good news is that the Cubs couldn’t have finished up an important June series in a more deflating way, and I still feel pretty confident that they’ll be on top of the division when the final weeks of the season roll around. If you’d told me before the Brewers series started that the Cubs would drop the final two games without so much as scoring a run, I would have thought today would be internal torture. But, you know, I feel pretty chill. My butt isn’t even all that tight.

Speaking of which: the Cubs are scoreless since Joe Maddon proclaimed that the team had no tight butts. I think it’s very reasonable at this point to ask whether at least some level of butt tightness is actually necessary. I’ll start researching the TB+ metrics and their relationship to run scoring. Next market inefficiency? Hopefully the Cubs’ analytics group is also hard at work on this.

Speaking of that lack of run-scoring, yesterday it was a familiar tale:

This game so far has also been a microcosm of the Cubs' offensive irregularity: they put runners on at a ridiculous pace, but their power has evaporated and they cannot buy a hit with runners in scoring position. Same story playing out again and again.
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) June 13, 2018

What has me a little bit worried is the fact that we were concerned about the Cubs trading too much power for contact nearly a month ago, and things haven’t really naturally course-corrected since then. The Cubs post a .417 SLG, .168 ISO, and 105 wRC+ with the bases empty, all among the best in the league. With runners in scoring position, the Cubs post a .351 SLG, a .115 ISO, and an 82 wRC+, all among the worst in the league. At what point do you reasonably wonder whether it’s not just the players in a normal slump or whatever – and you wonder instead if there was a philosophical shift that simply went too far? And heck, the Cubs’ strikeout rate is now actually higher with runners in scoring position than with the bases empty, and their batting average is lower. So the beneficial part of the approach isn’t even taking.

To that end, here’s what Joe Maddon said after the game to Cubs.com: “We get guys out there, but [we need to be] more consistent driving in a run when he’s out there. Every team laments the same situation. It’s where we’re at in the industry, it’s an all-or-nothing approach by a lot of guys. We’re trying to nurture a different method where you can score runs with singles and not just homers. We’re working on it, and it showed up a couple times recently. Today, it did not happen. I think that’s the missing link. Everybody is wanting more action in the game. We have to develop guys who are able to move the baseball and not just swing for the fences.”

I’m not so sure about this just-make-contact-station-to-station-with-runners-on philosophy. I’m open-minded, because the Cubs in the Epstein-Maddon era have pretty much always been right when they zig and the league zags, but this one has been hard to see.

Everyone’s question at the end of yesterday’s game was why Chris Gimenez batted for himself in the 9th while Kris Bryant remained on the bench. Joe Maddon’s explanation was exactly what you’d expect (Sun-Times): he really wanted to give Bryant the full day off, and he thought Gimenez had had some good swings (and, legitimately, he had). It’s tough to swallow losing a one-run game when the best player on the team never makes an appearance, but Maddon works the human side of this game with players better than anyone, so – with some time to step back – I’ll accept it.

Overall, I do think part of my chill-ness today is that you could argue the Cubs were actually really lucky to even win one game in that series (and/or that the one win was a really impressive one). When it takes extra innings just to win one game in a series in which you were shut out twice? That might be as “whew” as you can feel about a series loss. (Also, it’s baseball, and it sure seemed like the Cubs would drop a couple eventually to the Brewers after starting the season 8-1 against them.)

Jonathan Mayo reports that the Cubs’ deal with supplemental second round righty Paul Richan is a few hundred thousand dollars under slot, so there’s some of the bonus pool savings I’d imagine the Cubs will need to sign the high school outfielders they took with the two picks before that.

CONGRATULATIONS! I AM SO HAPPY FOR YOU, TAKE ALL THE TIME YOU NEED:

Jose Martinez will go on the paternity leave for the #Cubs series. #STLCards He’s returning to Venezuela. “Big series for us, but monumental life occurrence” for Martinez,” Mike Matheny said.
— Jose de Jesus Ortiz (@OrtizKicks) June 13, 2018

Of course, the Cardinals losing their best hitter for this series isn’t going to matter when they call up Ralph “Big Hips” Arbodinger and he becomes the first player in baseball history to hit for the cycle in three consecutive games.

Matt Kemp trucked Robinson Chirinos last night, starting a rumble, and it produced this wonderful image:

"Smell my glove! SMELL MY GLOVE!" pic.twitter.com/wdTJCRoQmT

— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) June 14, 2018

The Father’s Day Gift Shop at Amazon is a nice collection of stuff, even if you just want to peruse it for yourself.

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.

more cubs news

Chicago Cubs

STUD: Nico Hoerner Won That Game for the Cubs With Sheer Will

In a game where a rookie pitching prospect makes the best start of his career, a key set-up man has a bounceback performance after a rough start to his season, and a formerly dominant reliever toiling away in Triple-A comes...

On Tuesday at 7:40 PM ET, Bobby Witt Jr. and the Kansas City Royals (11-6) play Gavin Sheets and the Chicago White Sox (2-14) at Guaranteed Rate Field.Keep scrolling to find out all the details on how to watch Kansas...

Sam Russell

Apr 16, 2024

Chicago Cubs

The Boston Bruins have been made -225 favorites over the Ottawa Senators (+185) playing on home ice on Tuesday at TD Garden in Boston.Bruins vs. Senators Favorite, Moneyline, TotalFavorite: Bruins (-225)Underdog: Senators (+185)Total: 6Best Bruins vs. Senators Promo Codes[lasso type="table"...

Brian Twining

Apr 15, 2024

NHL Picks

Flyers vs. Capitals Prediction: Live Odds, Stats, History and Picks – Tuesday, April 16, 2024

The sportsbooks give the edge to the Philadelphia Flyers at home (-142) over the Washington Capitals (+120) when they meet on Tuesday, April 16 at 7:00 PM ET.Flyers vs. Capitals Favorite, Moneyline, TotalFavorite: Flyers (-142)Underdog: Capitals (+120)Total: 5.5Best Flyers vs....

Brian Twining

Apr 15, 2024

NHL Picks

Red Wings vs. Canadiens Prediction: Odds, Picks, Best Bets – Tuesday, April 16, 2024

The Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens face off on Tuesday at Bell Centre in Montréal, and the bookmakers fancy the away team (-162) over the host (+136).Red Wings vs. Canadiens Favorite, Moneyline, TotalFavorite: Red Wings (-162)Underdog: Canadiens (+136)Total: 6.5Best...

Brian Twining

Apr 15, 2024

Chicago Cubs

NO WAY! Michael Busch Ties Cubs HR History with Yet ANOTHER Home Run

Michael Cerami

Apr 15, 2024

Hit For Power or Hit for Contact, But Do *Something* and Other Bullets

Read More

more cubs news

Latest News

more cubs news

Most Popular

Most Popular

Latest News

Most Popular

Most Popular

Hit For Power or Hit for Contact, But Do Something and Other Bullets