Bullpen Improving, Ryan Succeeding, Strike Zone Ridiculous, and Other Bullets

I just noticed that the MLB Shop started getting in their “special day” gear for the Cubs (i.e., Mother’s Day, Armed Forces Day, etc.), so you can check out the newest stuff right here (free shipping, too).

  • Jose Quintana is going to get most of the love for the pitching in last night’s game – as he should! and will soon! – but I want to point out that the Cubs’ bullpen notched another couple scoreless innings of work. And don’t look now, but they’ve got their ERA under 5!
  • And check out this ridiculous run:
  • Quietly, among the best performers in that group is the guy who finished things up last night – Kyle Ryan has posted a 2.84 ERA over his 6.1 innings of work so far this year, complete with a 35.7% K rate and a 64.3% GB rate, each of which are fantastic. That 14.3% BB rate needs to come down, but overall, so far so good for the guy the Cubs liked so much at the end of last year that, rather than let him walk after his minor league season, they signed him to a big league deal.
  • (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

  • Despite what you may believe, I actually *hate* complaining about the strike zone. I’d rather I didn’t have to think about it at all, and you usually grouse about it when it goes against your team (when they’ve lost), so it comes off as sour grapes almost no matter how you present it. So I am comforted today that I get to discuss a really bad strike zone that didn’t hurt the Cubs. It was just kinda really bad last night for both sides, in both directions, in every way (Brooks):
  • That’s just so bad. All over the place. No consistency. One aspect that did specifically hurt the Cubs, though, was that this “walk” turned into a run:
  • Nico Hoerner took a pitch off the hand/wrist last night and was pulled from his AA Tennessee game. I’ll just be over here holding my breath until he plays again, or until we get an update (which can be a rare thing in the minor leagues).
  • The early, early word on Pirates reliever Nick Burdi – who suffered a terrible-looking injury the other night just after releasing a pitch – is that it might not actually be as bad as it looked. It could just be a flexor mass issue and a biceps strain, rather than a broken bone or a serious tear of something. Based on how it looked and his reaction, it seems like that would be a miracle.
  • There is a huge board game sale today at Amazon, so heads up on that. Games for adults, games for kids, etc. Just tons.
  • LOL. This is Rich Hill’s way of telling the Dodgers he didn’t think another rehab outing was necessary:
  • DO IT:
  • written by

    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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