Ain’t Getting Easier, Rizzo’s Back Issue, Amaya Deserves Way More Love, Contreras Ejected, and Other Bullets

Aug 25, 2019

Oh heck yes, the long-awaited ‘Breaking Bad’ movie has been announced: October 11, on Netflix. As expected, it’s gonna follow Jesse after what happened in the show, and I am extremely here for it.

Hey, so now the Cubs have to beat Stephen Strasburg and the still-quite-hot Nats bats today to avoid the sweep. That’s … unnerving.

Bonus? The Cubs will also face Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard, plus the still-quite-hot Mets bats, in New York this week. Brace yourself for a bit of a rough stretch. Oh, and it could be getting worse thanks to an injury …

If you missed it late last night, David Bote is coming back today, which means – based on the timeline and the option rules – someone is going on the Injured List today. I just really hope it’s not Anthony Rizzo and his back, but since he was just pulled from the game yesterday, and he’s had back issues before, obviously that’s the most logical guess.

There really wasn’t much in the way of info on Rizzo after the game (Cubs.com): “[Head athletic trainer P.J. Mainville] came to me in the dugout and just told me where it got tight,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said after the loss. “That’s all I have right now. I don’t know enough yet. It happened so quickly. That’s why, of course, Lucroy was just hanging out and I said, ‘You’re hitting,’ and he goes up there and has a great at-bat. But there was no indicator that something was wrong.”

Yeah, so, again, things could get scary for a little while. Then again, sometimes this game surprises you – maybe the Cubs will suddenly get hot against the best! It *could* happen!

Ian Happ got the boot for commenting on an obviously incorrect strike call, and it turns out Willson Contreras got ejected from the dugout, too. Haha. He’s still on the Injured List.

This is funny to think about, if you happen to be a tennis fan and baseball fan:

"Yeah, that was out, but it was within four inches of the baseline, so you shoulda hit it. Gotta protect when it's that close, even though it was out. Sorry, Mr. Federer. You lose." https://t.co/eVEEJVRmbt
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) August 25, 2019

This kinda sums up why, for me personally, Miguel Amaya is the Cubs’ top prospect:

If Miguel Amaya’s last 34 games had come at a different time, perhaps to start the season, we’d be making a bigger deal out of it. Perhaps he’s been overshadowed by Marquez. But this is so huge for 20 y.o. catcher:
.313 AVG
.426 OBP
.536 SLG
20 BB (14.7 BB%)
17 K (12.5 K%)

— Cubs Prospects – Bryan Smith (@cubprospects) August 24, 2019

Consider that Amaya is young for his league, is developing (very well) at the most demanding defensive position, plays in a park that does not help offense, and is this year NOT wearing down late in the season. Like Bryan said, this is huge. The guy is now hitting .241/.365/.405 for Myrtle Beach, good for a 127 wRC+ in that league. That’s 10th best in the Carolina League, and none of the nine ahead of Amaya are as young as he is. He also has the 11th best strikeout rate in the league, despite having the 9th highest ISO. Even if Amaya were, like, a corner outfield prospect, we should be taking serious note of what he’s doing offensively. But he’s a PLUS-GLOVE catching prospect!

Grills, toys, books and more are among your Deals of the Day at Amazon today.

Nice to see a Bears kicker drilling one from 58, even if it was preseason and in a covered stadium.

Also, in the football world, holy crap Andrew Luck is retiring at 29.

Our friends have a new line of Willson Contreras-specific shirts, as worn by the man himself:

WILLLLLSONNNNN! Our brand new line of @WContreras40 gear is NOW HERE: https://t.co/sb2kg9BCYx pic.twitter.com/5qms8E5nw9

— OBVIOUS SHIRTS® (@obvious_shirts) August 24, 2019

This is weird, but good:

Good morning. pic.twitter.com/gLAOGWjR41

— Brett Taylor (@Brett_A_Taylor) August 25, 2019

written by

Brett Taylor

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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Ain’t Getting Easier, Rizzo’s Back Issue, Amaya Deserves Way More Love, Contreras Ejected, and Other Bullets

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