The Cubs got a new hitter last night and Joe Maddon isn’t wasting any time getting him involved in the process.
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Daniel Murphy, 2B
- Javy Baez, SS
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Ben Zobrist, DH
- Jason Heyward, RF
- Albert Almora Jr., CF
- David Bote, 3B
- Willson Contreras, C
- Ian Happ, LF
Indeed, Daniel Murphy is leading off for the Cubs today and that’s a very exciting, notable move. HOWEVER, what’s more exciting is what that decision – and the rest of the lineup choices – seems to indicate. With Murphy in, Javy Baez at short, and David Bote at third base, the Cubs are pretty clearly signaling that Addison Russell is heading to the disabled list if he hasn’t already. That’s a bummer, but also something we more or less expected.
Here’s hoping Bote’s recent slump turns around quickly and the drop of in defense the Cubs will experience doesn’t hurt too badly.
There’s also this solid point, by Brett:
Also, I get the personnel plays a role, but I still hate to see three of the top five batters as lefties against a guy who is holding lefties to a .141/.247/.239 line this year. Meanwhile, righties are destroying him (.271/.381/.478).
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) August 22, 2018
Francisco Liriano has been nails against lefties this season, but the Cubs have a whole lot of them at the top of the lineup today. Then again, Murphy and Rizzo are everyday-type hitters and Jason Heyward makes the most sense in right field right now, so that’s just sorta how it has to be. When Kris Bryant comes back, I suspect things will look far more balanced.
As usual, we’ll have your full Pre-Gamin’ closer to game time (6:10 CT).