You know, I had hoped, at the outset of this offseason, that the Cubs might be in a position to rest many of their regular starting players as October approached. But not like this.
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Tony Kemp, LF
- Ian Happ, RF
- Robel Garcia, 2B
- Victor Caratini, 1B
- Jonathan Lucroy, C
- David Bote, 3B
- Addison Russell, SS
- Albert Almora, CF
- José Quintana, P
Well, this is fun. So let’s have fun.
Tony Kemp as a table-setter is neat. Ian Happ (who is batting .357 in his last six games) receiving an opportunity to showcase himself in the second spot in the order is pretty cool. And I can totally get behind the idea of Robel Garcia batting third and gearing up for fastballs to launch into the Allegheny River. Victor Caratini looks to add onto a career best 105 OPS+ and 109 wRC+ while batting cleanup.
Good luck dealing with that, Joe Musgrove.
Sure, it would be more enjoyable to watch Nicholas Castellanos continue his push for 60 doubles or see if Kyle Schwarber can hack his way to a 40 homer season. Those two can wait for this weekend’s upcoming series against the Cardinals to take a crack at those accomplishments. In the meantime, Castellanos, Schwarber, Jason Heyward, Anthony Rizzo, Ben Zobrist, Willson Contreras, and the rest of the gang should enjoy their day out of the starting lineup.
It has been a long year, so today seems like a good day to rest up and let the kids play.