How Many Games Will the Cubs Lose As They Play Out the String for the Break? and Other Bullets

Are we back? This thing on?

So, the site was down for about an hour this morning, which to me feels like five weeks. And it wasn’t just BN that was down, as an important behind-the-scenes provider (Cloudflare) was disrupted, apparently taking upwards of 10% of the entire internet down. That’s wild. Even MLB.com was down, which really stinks for them because it happened right as they were pushing out all the IFA signings.

The cruel irony? Cloudflare is basically a decentralized loading buffer between your server and the end-user, which lightens load on the server and also protects your site if the server goes down. The entire reason it exists is to ensure “sites going down” isn’t a thing. But if Cloudflare itself goes down, you don’t even have an easy mechanism to TURN OFF Cloudflare at that time, so you’re kinda stuck. Seems like a regrettable design flaw. Then again, given the nature of what Cloudflare does, it would be really, really, really difficult for it to go down outside of a really significant attack on their service. So they probably had a worse morning than I did.

Adbert Alzolay’s start last night was a disastrous combination of wildness out of the zone AND missed spots in the zone AND the Pirates taking full advantage every single time. So, I do find this very interesting, as long as you keep it in context:

Maddon gave Pirates credit for hitting all night but on Alzolay added: “The only part that was curious was that they were on everything. I was like, `Is he tipping pitches?’ "
Says kid still in mix for 2nd H plans but "there’s different things we have to research first.”

— Gordon Wittenmyer (@GDubCub) July 2, 2019

Maddon thought Alzolay could have been tipping pitches based on how the Pirates were on everything: "That was my first thought." Said they would do some research on the start.

— Jesse Rogers (@ESPNChiCubs) July 2, 2019

Alzolay himself conceded he was missing his spots, and sometimes that’s enough to torpedo you if the other team is really on their game. On the other hand, even if you’re tipping your pitches, you might not get torched if your command is plus-plus. That is to say, it’s conceivable that Alzolay was really off in his command AND was tipping his pitches. The kind of double whammy that might get you absolutely scorched like he was last night.

Whatever the case, the Cubs definitely have to figure it out before Alzolay makes another start. With the way cameras and data are used in the game, it’s not likely he’d survive another five+ innings if the other team knew what was coming every time. It’s a bummer, but I do expect him to be optioned down today when Kyle Hendricks is activated – both for the good of the Cubs and for the good of his development and usability in the second half. There could be other moves, too.

As for the game, more broadly, I don’t really know what to take away from just how uniformly the Cubs’ pitching was shellacked. I guess once the game got away, it’s like, who gives an eff, but it’s a little hard to toss it aside mentally when it feels like there’s been a ton of “who gives an eff” over the past few weeks and with the break still a week away. This can’t be permitted to be the Cubs saying to themselves, “Ah, let’s just get to the break.” No way. Not acceptable.

To be sure, I know that the stupid schedule isn’t helping the Cubs – just two days off in the last two months! – but I don’t like hearing this from a veteran clubhouse leader (Daniel Descalso at ESPN): “I’m sure everyone could use a break at this point. [But] no one is going to sit there and feel sorry for us because we’ve been playing not so great. We can suck it up for five games, push to the break, relax for a few days and have our foot on the gas and come back for the second half.” I get the point he’s TRYING to make, but it just can’t be about getting to the break. How many games are you going to fart away in the meantime? Is that really the message you want circulating in the clubhouse? That it’s all gonna be fine after the break, and let’s just get to the break?

Am I being too hard on the Cubs, given the schedule? Maybe. But it’s not like I’m alone in being frustrated by the sloppy play. This is as critical as you’ll ever see Joe Maddon:

Maddon on the mistakes the Cubs have been making: “You talk, talk, talk and at some point they just have to start getting it done. Those have been very glaring.”

— Jesse Rogers (@ESPNChiCubs) July 2, 2019

We got to see Craig Kimbrel again! … and he, too, got blown up. Shrug. For him, specifically, in that situation it’s just about getting work. It’s like a rehab outing, and I don’t really care about him getting crushed on middle-middle fastballs in a 10-run game. Let’s see how he looks if and when the Cubs get him another save opportunity.

It wound up 18 runs and 23 hits:

This weekend in Milwaukee, the Pirates scored five runs on 22 hits.

Tonight, the Pirates have scored 16 runs on 22 hits.

— Adam Berry (@adamdberry) July 2, 2019

History:

Just the second time since 1908 the Pirates have 12 extra-base hits in one game. The other is August 1st, 1970.

— Kazuto Yamazaki (@Kazuto_Yamazaki) July 2, 2019

Carl Edwards Jr.’s first rehab outing was a physical success, I think:

Up and down outing for RHP Carl Edwards Jr on MLB Rehab with the @IowaCubs — BB, 1B, K, E-3. 22 pitches, 11 strikes. Fastball was 94-96 mph. Curveball looked very sharp later in outing.

— Alex Cohen (@voiceofcohen) July 2, 2019

His line was bad, but you can see in the video here that the hit was a meh groundball that got through and then the error was a thrown away double play ball.

This home run, which proved the difference in the game, was exceedingly stupid:

#30 for the MVP! #ThisIsMyCrew pic.twitter.com/iMEC6tJJEb

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) July 2, 2019

TVs, more MacBook Pros, and skincare stuff are among your Deals of the Day at Amazon today.

new twitter who dis:

The “Remember James” tweets have begun. Clock officially strikes 15:01! https://t.co/W68pXCLz8U

— James Holzhauer (@James_Holzhauer) July 2, 2019

People actually … liked what the Bulls have done? Wut:

What the … People Are *Praising* the Bulls? https://t.co/yU9hzqVnPE pic.twitter.com/IWSJjB80An

— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) July 1, 2019

Jokes, we have jokes:

Look, I liked the Bulls’ moves, too, but this is too much. pic.twitter.com/L4FTvmZO3G

— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) July 2, 2019