Needing a Win for Sanity, Quintana’s Blowup, Chavez’s Significance, Javy’s Dinger, and Other Bullets

Jul 29, 2018

Here we are. The day before the (hopefully 40-hour) Blogathon begins. I’m going to time the start tomorrow morning so that the last thing I do in the final hours of the Blogathon is cover the Cubs-Pirates game; heck, I’ll probably live stream a lot of me watching the game delirious and incoherent.

To that end, I need Cubs-Cardinals tonight to go at a breezy pace (a tall ask, given that it’s an ESPN game) so that I can get to bed at a reasonable hour and try to squeeze in as much sleep as possible. I stole some extra hours overnight this past night, but now I’ve got that thing where you have a horrible headache after sleeping too long. Not how I’m wanting to feel the day before I have to go 40 hours straight.

Also not how I want to feel: afraid that the Cubs will be in second place for the entirety of the Blogathon. The schedule this year suuuuucks for Blogathon purposes, because the Cubs play at night just before it begins, and then don’t play again until the very end. That means if – God forbid – the Cubs get swept by the Cardinals tonight, and the Brewers sweep the daggone helpless Giants day, the Cubs will spend the whole Blogathon behind the Brewers. Well, unless the Brewers lose tomorrow night to the Dodgers, but now we’re getting down the road a bit. Short version: FOR THE GOOD OF MY SANITY, PLEASE WIN TONIGHT, CUBS.

Jose Quintana’s 51-pitch first inning was the longest inning of his career (per Quintana). He had no command whatsoever, and the Cardinals punished him for it. The fact that it came after a 121-pitch outing that, itself, came after he was semi-shelved for nearly two weeks over the All-Star break with shoulder fatigue … well … I sure don’t like the way it feels.

In any case, there was no suggestion after the game from Quintana or Joe Maddon that he’s not feeling well, so I guess you just have to – for now – chalk it up as one of those crap innings that happens, and turn the page.

Good trade so far: Jesse Chavez has pitched 8.0 innings, allowing no runs, four hits, one walk, and striking out nine. His 0.2 WAR already is as much or more than Yu Darvish, Tyler Chatwood, Luke Farrell, Randy Rosario, and Brian Duensing.

I am a big fan of this Javy Baez homer from yesterday – Miles Mikolas was trying to go inside on 0-1, he misses over the plate, and Baez simply puts a strong swing on it, slightly off time, and still hits it hard enough to send it out the other way. When you’re hitting homers like this, it’s a very strong sign that you’re just seeing the ball very, very well:

.@javy23baez’s 21st home run of the year gives him a career-high 77 RBI. pic.twitter.com/iPttTj765h

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) July 28, 2018

Javy’s 3.6 WAR is currently tied for the 5th most in the NL. He is – and should be – a legit MVP candidate. ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED:

Anthony Rizzo has a new friend:

Anthony Rizzo with Dexter Fowler's new baby!

A post shared by Bleacher Nation (@bleachernation) on Jul 29, 2018 at 6:49am PDT

Whoopsiedoodle:

https://twitter.com/HammelTime39/status/1023411150493507584

Somehow, this is even more embarrassing than that:

Wow! Joe Simpson rightfully rips @dodgers for rag-tag BP attire. @DOBrienATL pic.twitter.com/2pjEoUlkQl

— Chuck Kelly (@ChuckKellypbp) July 29, 2018

The Dodgers … were wearing … T-SHIRTS! *GASP* for batting practice?!? Somebody alert the queen! If that had been parody, I would have called it too on the nose to be funny. But somehow, it’s real.

Kiké Hernandez nails it:

Tomorrow’s BP attire pic.twitter.com/cL5Yw8Hh3e

— Enrique Hernández (@kikehndez) July 29, 2018

Today is one of the best anniversaries in Cubs baseball history – Happy John Baker Day:

Let’s cheer on the @Cubs to #flythew on this day, July 29th 2018, the 4-year-anniversary of the Day the Back-Up Catcher got the win. 0.00 ERA 1-0 6.13 FIP “You see things; and say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were and say, ‘Why not?” George Bernard Shaw Happy #JohnBakerDay Chase your dreams. You just might catch one…

A post shared by John Baker (@seejohnlearn) on Jul 29, 2018 at 7:51am PDT

Fancy shoes and sheets, and lots of books are your Deals of the Day at Amazon today.

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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