My flowery end-of-Blogathon writeup is over here, but it’s this EBS that marks the end of my 40-hour odyssey, at least here in posts on the site. Thanks again to all who read and commented and donated to Make-A-Wish.
The Zombie Cubs are now 0-1 on the season.
Jake Arrieta was surprisingly thrust back into the rotation, with Trevor Williams traded to the Mets. He wasn’t terrible, though the hard contact is still aplenty. I am not sure how long he’ll stick in the rotation, what with Zach Davies not being traded and Justin Steele getting close to being ready to come up.
We got not one but two Cubs pitching prospect big league debuts in this one, with Michael Rucker showcasing his diverse repertoire, including 97 mph and this nasty 92 mph cutter, to go with his slider and curveball. And then Manny Rodriguez had one of the most impressive debuts you’ll ever see, throwing 98 to 100 mph (yup, he touched triple digits), and then busting out a 90 mph breaking ball that just fooled the heck out of the keyed up Nationals hitters. I loved Rodriguez before tonight, and boy did he show up.
Offensively, it’s just not the lineup it was. Of course, they were having their own issues, but it’s still really weird to see a Cubs lineup without any of Kris Bryant or Anthony Rizzo or Javy Báez …