Cubs Early Offensive Fun, Rizzo’s Monster Shot, Schwarber’s Powerful Base, and Other Bullets

April 1, 2019, by Brett Taylor Chicago Cubs

There is a lot to get into from yesterday’s loss, and the weekend in general, and we’re gonna get into it shortly. I want to touch on the non-angry stuff here in the Bullets, though. Maybe just for me, I want to start my day off on a good foot.

For example, the offense sure continued to rake yesterday, and the small sample leader board is a lot of fun:

Anthony Rizzo is the Cubs’ fifth worst hitter! I think Kyle Schwarber’s .583 ISO is sustainable, how about you? You cannot retire Victor Caratini if he puts the ball in play!
Of all those numbers, which looks to be the most actually plausible going forward to you? I guess it would probably have to be Kris Bryant, though that strikeout rate will come up and the ISO might come down a little. Otherwise, it’s just about what you could realistically expect/hope for. Well, him and Mark Zagunis. I see no issue projecting Zagunis for a .500/.500/1.000 line – exactly – over the next six months.
Rizzo’s monster homer came in a losing effort yesterday, but it shouldn’t be missed:

.@ARizzo44 answers the call. #EverybodyIn pic.twitter.com/g2gTSGwbpv

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) March 31, 2019

Javy Baez swings so very hard when he’s thinking fastball:

Swing as hard at life as Javy does at fastballs and you'll do just fine. pic.twitter.com/5KeCXkkx0H

— Michael Cerami (@Michael_Cerami) March 31, 2019

Joe Maddon is loving Kyle Schwarber’s return to a more crouching stance, a vestige of his younger days (Cubs.com): “That’s even better than I saw in Spring Training. His hands, his base, the bottom, the balance, his hand position, the shortness. Everything. Everything. Everything’s different. He’s got much better control of his body. He should be able to be shorter to the ball, make better adjustments down and up. I’m curious to watch this whole thing.”

Thinking on the new base, because when you look at Schwarber in isolation, it looks like it would be really hard to pull the crouch off with as much power as you’d want to generate. And yet, there’s no question my preconception is wrong, because look at the guy who comes to mind as also having a low, wide, crouched base:

Coffee, cleaners, and a dirt cheap smart TV are your Deals of the Day at Amazon today.
I can’t stop watching this:

https://twitter.com/PitchingNinja/status/1112140786362212352

Topical Cubs fandom:

Yep. Yep. pic.twitter.com/jSkVFWvD5c

— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) April 1, 2019

The Bears couldn’t resist:

The Bears Are TOTALLY Wearing Triple Digits This Year https://t.co/aBS1BbZe95 pic.twitter.com/bca70UsUgN

— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) April 1, 2019

Filed to: Chicago Cubs