Given the expected and immediate absence of Addison Russell, Javy Baez will probably be the Cubs starting shortstop the rest of the season and through the playoffs (perhaps he already was). And with that in mind, Daniel Murphy’s importance to this lineup has increased.
After a hot start, however, Murphy had cooled off significantly at the plate. And with his defensive limitations, starting him at second every day was becoming less and less of a no-brainer. But he’s turned things around here lately, including a leadoff home run to kick off the Cubs/White Sox series!
#Cubs are first to put one on the board. #EverybodyIn pic.twitter.com/JcLtfbSlhh
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 21, 2018
That was Murphy’s 12th homer of the season and 6th already with the Cubs (in fewer than 100 plate appearance, too!). Not too shabby, eh? But my favorite part of this homer is not the lead it provides the Cubs, nor the continued resurgence for Murphy (that was his second homer in as many starts), it’s the beautifully subtle troll-job the Cubs put on Hawk.
In case you didn’t know, this is Hawk Harrelson’s last series as an announcer for the Sox and he’s never held back his distaste for the Cubs. And in that spirit, the Cubs are keeping the rivalry alive for his last few games by referencing his typical home run call as the text for the tweet and using the White Sox broadcast video of the homer (instead of the Cubs announcers). I LOVE it.
Go Cubs. Sox suck.