NEWSLETTER
The good news is that I’m pretty sure I’ve kicked the COVID. I no longer feel “sick,” and instead just have some of the residual stuff from my body being a little beat up. By far the worst lingering effect is that, while I’ve gotten my senses of smell and taste back, they aren’t yet quite “correct.” Everything is tainted by a foulness, and the worst impacted item is so cruel to me: coffee. There’s something about coffee, in particular, that is triggering the foulness, which means every type of coffee I try smells and tastes horrible. But I’m so addicted to the morning caffeine that I still have to choke it down. PLEASE COME BACK, GOOD SMELL AND TASTE OF COFFEE!!! I NEEEEEED YOUUUUUU!!! (And of course coffee makers are among the Deals of the Day at Amazon today, just to taunt me.)
• It’s no surprise that a younger, not-yet-established pitcher like Adbert Alzolay, who has all the tools and pitches to be wildly successful, is working on the mental part of the game as much as the physical part. The 26-year-old righty pitched in a B game yesterday, and apparently finally had his slider working again, after dealing with some anxiousness/rushing with the pitch, leaving it out over the plate (NBC): “I try to (keep in) mind that I don’t have to make the pitch nastier than it is already,” he said. “I feel whenever I try to make a pitch, to make a pitch happen, is whenever I start making mistakes over home plate. But whenever I let myself flow on the mound and just drive to home plate like today, I feel that I’m in better rhythm, so I can command and control my pitches a little more.” Slowing the game down is so critical for a developing player making that transition to the big leagues, and it’s easier said than done – it’s also a part of why not every player with obviously awesome tools or pitches can actually succeed.
• For his part, Alzolay is surrounded by a great pitching infrastructure and a lot of veteran starters. I like his chances:
Alzolay said Arrieta showed him a different grip for his curveball and it's helped lock that pitch in and change the shape a bit.
"My last 2 games, I've been able to throw my curveball for a strike whenever I want," Alzolay said.
— Tony Andracki (@TonyAndracki23) March 19, 2021
• And yes, we’re STILL waiting on word from the arbitrator about the fourth option year thing. The season starts in less than two weeks, and teams/players across baseball don’t yet know whether they have an option year left or not. Alzolay will pitch quite a bit in the big leagues this year, and will probably hit the same innings total whether he’s got an option or not. But the timing will depend a great deal on whether he’s got that option, which would allow the Cubs to option him initially and keep another pitcher on the roster to open the season.
• Historic broadcast day today:
https://twitter.com/si_mlb/status/1372974480549679110
• The Reds seem increasingly serious about moving Eugenio Suarez from third base to shortstop, which would allow them to get prospect Jonathan India in at third (and, well, cover the gaping hole at shortstop):
The Reds should have just gotten an actual shortstop, but since they didn't, well, it's not like Suárez isn't making a few dozen plays there every year anyway, if it gets India in the lineup:https://t.co/d9KLcHsCMv
— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) March 20, 2021
• This kind of move is really rare, as Suarez has not regularly played shortstop in five years, and you don’t see too many 29-year-olds going back to shortstop once they move off the position. It seems like a big risk for the Reds’ pitchers, but obviously if he’s at all playable at shortstop, he’ll have a heckuva bat there.
• Meanwhile, after multiple times basically saying Carlos Martinez was done being a starter, the Cardinals’ injury issues are forcing him back into the rotation to open the season. His velocity was waaaay up in his previous outing (reportedly like 96-97 mph, which is nuts), and then was all the way down to 92 mph this last time out. I don’t know of a pitcher whose velocity varies as wildly as Martinez’s has over the years. Normally, you’d see a drop like that and you’d assume a guy was broken … but he just kinda does that. So, anyway, he might be good and fine for the Cardinals in the rotation, or he might crap out again because of various arm/shoulder issues. From where I sit, they should just park him in the bullpen and let him eat for an inning or two, where he’s been at his best over the last few years. But if they want to keep trying to start him, so be it.
• With more states opening up vaccinations to all adults within the next few weeks, this is not a surprise – no more line-jumping risk:
This should be more of a headline: President of @BlueJays tells @TheAthletic he has “fairly good information” that MLB players will be vaccinated within the next month: https://t.co/sk6NYKYMdv pic.twitter.com/pRqMVA5dBC
— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) March 20, 2021
• Hopefully the players and personnel get the vaccine relatively soon, which will not only help keep them safe, but will also reduce the risk of games/teams getting shut down, which in turn leads to cramming the schedule later and risks player health.
• Very cool shot:
https://twitter.com/realcubsinsider/status/1373102736783204355
• A fun history if you were unaware:
Los Angeles’s Wrigley Field in was built and opened in 1925 as the finest minor-league park in the country. Some called it the best park in the country — majors or minors. Read the @sabr story to find out why & its connection to @Cubs https://t.co/5Ir05WYgub @MLBcathedrals pic.twitter.com/uKOuzzAOzw
— SABR BioProject (@SABRbioproject) March 20, 2021
• That Wrigley Field was built after (and modeled after) the one in Chicago, but it was named Wrigley Field while the one in Chicago was still called Cubs Park. So which “Wrigley Field” was first? (The one out west lasted more than 40 years, and eventually – briefly – was home to Major League Baseball. A very impressive run, all things considered … and about 1/3 the life of the one in Chicago, which has been refabbed to last another 50+ years.)
• This was fun to see develop:
https://twitter.com/obvious_shirts/status/1373059974675435522
