Nico Gets the Love, Hendricks Good on the Road, Schwarber Takes Ball Three, and Other Cubs Bullets

CHICKEN FINGER TUESDAY! It is not actually a thing, but it’s becoming a thing for me on Tuesdays. Get kids ready, write a little, heated pilates, write a little more, then Raising Cane’s for lunch. Woo.

  • Praise for Nico Hoerner from his manager and teammates (via Cubs.com, and Tribune):

  • “You could have just put a spotlight on him the entire evening,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. “He made some really good plays, had some really good at-bats, ran the bases well. None of that really surprised us. That’s what he’s capable of doing.”
  • “It’s huge,” Kyle Hendricks said of Hoerner’s immediate impact. “It just brings a whole different energy. It lifts the whole ballclub up. We were so fired up for him in the dugout. It’s just awesome to see somebody come up and perform, have a game like that right out of the gate.”
  • “He showed his composure, showed his maturity for his age,” said 38-year-old second baseman Ben Zobrist. “Getting called up after being home. There’s a lot of things that go into being able to perform at this level on your first day with all the guys, and it’s a dream come true for him. But to see him preform is quite impressive.”
  • From the man of the hour, himself:
  • More on the incredibly perfect debut here.
  • (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images)

  • More good stuff to read on Hoerner, because how could you get enough today:
  • The Pitching Ninja loves to have some fun with Kyle Hendricks:
  • Overall, it was a solid night for Hendricks, who would have gone 6.0 scoreless (at least) if not for a Ben Zobrist throwing error on a double-play ball. Nevertheless, it wound up a very solid performance on the road, something we’ve seen far too little from him this year.
  • Huge sale at Fanatics today if you want to peruse all kinds of sports gear.
  • Rough moment at the plate for Kyle Schwarber, who had otherwise balled out in the game:
  • Well this is just wonderful:
  • This is just so bizarre and so shitty:
  • OtterBox cases, cast iron cookware, and school gear are among the Deals of the Day today at Amazon.
  • Good dog:
  • Michael released episode two of his podcast, and I will admit, it is probably a better get than episode one:
  • A couple things I very much did not like about Thursday’s game, and I’m glad to see Luis (and the Bears) digging in:
  • Meanwhile, Eli is starting to wonder aloud about something:
  • 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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