NEWSLETTER
It’s the start of the postseason this week. That’s just wild. It’s wild that MLB actually made it here when you think about all that happened, and it’s also wild that it’s gonna be 16 dang teams just playing through a bracket. I was very much in favor of the expanded postseason for this year, and I think it ultimately worked out fine. But I will also admit, now that we’re actually here, it does feel weird and wrong that every team will have to survive a series just to get to the Divisional Series. That’s likely the way of the future, though …
• We still don’t know for sure who’ll get Game One this week for the Cubs, but this wouldn’t really surprise anyone:
Yu Darvish is an NL Cy Young candidate, but don’t be surprised if Kyle Hendricks is the #Cubs Game 1 starter vs. #Marlins. Hendricks’ 2.88 ERA as a postseason starter is 2nd in franchise history (min. 6 GS). Darvish also could benefit from added rest. @MLBNetwork @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) September 28, 2020
• The reasoning would be less about postseason success, in my view, and more about just trying to get both guys an extra day of rest. If Darvish goes first, he’s pitching on normal rest, and Hendricks is pitching on eight days rest. If you flip them, then Hendricks in on seven days rest, and Darvish is on six.
• Another solid day – including his first truly obliterated homer of the year – at the plate for Kris Bryant yesterday, and his season-ending line no longer has him among the absolute dregs of the league. Don’t get me wrong, the line is still terrible – .206/.293/.351, 76 wRC+ – but, I mean, hey, there were 62 players this year who had worse wRC+. That includes, for one humorous example, by a fraction of a fraction, Nolan Arenado.
• Also, get this: because his defense was excellent this year and his baserunning is always great, Bryant was worth 0.5 fWAR over his 34 games played. You rate that out over 160 games, and it’s a 2.4 WAR. That’s a slightly above-average regular. That makes me chuckle, but it’s also just a reminder that the guy is valuable even when it seems like he isn’t. Among the other players worth 0.5 WAR this year that you didn’t hear boo about (or heard about how they were having a surprisingly GOOD year!): Pete Alonso, Paul DeJong, Rafael Devers, Miguel Sano, J.D. Davis, Jesus Aguilar, Garrett Cooper (seriously, I kept hearing about how surprisingly GOOD Aguilar and Cooper were this year). And those are just the guys who were exactly at 0.5 WAR, not the guys who were below it, like Gleyber Torres or JD Martinez or Javy Báez or Giancarlo Stanton or Joc Pederson or Tommy Pham, on and on. The point? A lotta good players can have down seasons if a season is so short. And Bryant’s season, when you consider everything, wasn’t even *THAT* bad. Doesn’t mean it was good. It wasn’t. But let’s just keep the context in mind.
• The Cubs were having fun with Bryant’s blast and his comments the day before that he “doesn’t give a sh*t” about his online critics:
#Cubs Ross: someone screamed “I don’t give a sh** either” after Kris Bryant hit his homer today
— Taylor McGregor (@Taylor_McGregor) September 27, 2020
• And of course our friends at Obvious Shirts jumped right on it (officially licensed, too!):
You can buy this. https://t.co/sHMYIGHvoP
— OBVIOUS SHIRTS® (@obvious_shirts) September 27, 2020
• Although all the attention was justifiably on Brailyn Marquez yesterday, it was another lefty who – in my view – locked up a job in the postseason bullpen. Pitching in relief for the third time this year, Jose Quintana looked really good. He was sitting at 93 mph with the fastball (way up for him in recent years), and even touched 94 mph a couple times. His curveball was as good as ever, with him throwing it on two planes so it functions almost like two different pitches. And in relief, he barely has to throw the sinker or the changeup. The four-seamer and the curveball play against righties or lefties, and he just looks very, very capable as a reliever in a way we haven’t seen from many Cubs lefties this year. When the playoff roster is set, I want Quintana in the bullpen as one of the primary lefties, and/or a change-of-pace guy for a couple innings mid-game if you have to pull a righty starter early.
• As for Marquez, he looked very un-ready – the command was a 20 – but it was still fun to see:
The first career strikeout for Brailyn Marquez! pic.twitter.com/WtvcymlenC
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 27, 2020
• The glove Jason Kipnis wore at first base yesterday while replacing Anthony Rizzo:
Lmao – Jason Kipnis’s glove today as he subs at first for Anthony Rizzo. pic.twitter.com/iYjoAYixhm
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) September 27, 2020
• They didn’t come for the haircut:
In pursuit of more jewelry. #FlyTheW pic.twitter.com/lmuwh1yIvz
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 28, 2020
• Definitely digging this ‘W’ gear from our partners at Ivy Shop:
The Cubs have clinched! Fly that dang W! Ivy Shop created a limited run, premium quality W Capsule Collection to celebrate. I want all of these: https://t.co/LaAmOxpx8Z pic.twitter.com/YqWRmi9IiO
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) September 28, 2020
