Rizzo Saves Errors and Does Good, Kasper Has Fun, Preventing Injuries, and Other Cubs Bullets

Like everyone else, I’m trying – so hard – to get myself on a dedicated new schedule that gets me the exercise, meditation, sleep, and brain-break-fun time that I need to function, but also covers the family, school, work, safety needs we all have right now. I never though I’d be a month into this quarantine and still struggling with it, but I am. Weight? Up. Mood? Down. Stress? Up. Maybe it was unrealistic to think I could adjust in under a month, but it still feels like a long time not to be in an ideal-as-possible place to take care of myself.

  • Anthony Rizzo, the man behind the dazzling infield plays:
  • https://twitter.com/TonyAndracki23/status/1247562555918372871

  • It’s true, too. When an infielder makes an incredible play and a terrible throw, it’s rare that you see folks also fawn all over the stellar pick at first base that saved the play. Or heck, how about the stellar pick on a *routine* play that saves an error? (Past research suggests that the difference between a good scooper and a bad scooper can be upwards of 6+ runs over the course of a season, which means a good scooper – just that skill, alone – might account for a win over the course of a season. Whether that sounds like a lot probably depends on your perspective, but when every win counts, it feels like a lot to me for something we rarely discuss.)
  • Speaking of all of that, I did a YouTube search for Anthony Rizzo plays, and I found a highlight reel of just him saving errors:
  • And one more on Rizzo, because he continues to do so much good right now:
  • Not to be lost in any public considerations about the structure of a return to baseball, should it happen, is the need for a ramp-up period – Spring Training Part Two. We all know it’s part of the deal, but this read at The Athletic really underscores just how dangerous that period and the early part of the season could be if players haven’t been able to stay in intense competing shape, and/or are not given a long enough period of time to work their bodies back up to the kinds of quick-burst, mild straining, day-to-day wear and tear they’re going to receive. You do it wrong, and acute injury risk goes way up.
  • Have some fun over at Baseball Savant:
  • Interesting David Laurila interview here with Keston Hiura, who doesn’t want to mess with his swing, which is essentially the same as it was in high school. It’s certainly worked well for him so far, as he’s consistently raked throughout his career, including his big league debut this past season. If he can keep slapping the crap out of the ball (44.2% hard contact last year), then he’s probably going to continue to be successful despite a strikeout rate that soared over 30% in the big leagues. Indeed, that figures to come down naturally as he gets more exposure to big league pitching, but as those pitchers adjust, too, you wonder what aspects of the strikeout rate were swing related, and which were merely approach. Something to watch for a guy who has never had to tinker with his swing to find success.
  • I don’t really collect coins, but I find coins – and the idea of collecting them – to be really interesting. So when I was perusing Amazon this morning for a section to share with you folks, I was like, whoa, there’s a whole area for collectible coins. I will be doing more perusing, mostly for fun. #ad
  • Well this is silly fun:
  • These look cool:
  • 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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