May the Fourth obviously has Star Wars on the brain, which makes me want to watch something Star Wars-y today. The very best thing is probably ‘Andor,’ but I keep resisting re-watching it until we’re MUCH closer to season two coming out (which won’t be until next year … crying). Maybe I’ll pop on ‘The Phantom Menace,’ which was wildly disappointing at the time, but has aged incredibly well in comparison to the dregs that were the post-quel movies.
Also, Amazon has a big Star Wars sale today for the holiday, so make sure you peruse here. #ad
Let me say first that Adbert Alzolay has the right attitude about his struggles to begin the year, including yesterday’s blown game. He heard the boos, but, “You’re out there, you’re competing. If you let that get to you, then you got a much bigger problem.” He’ll keep working to figure out what’s going on, and in the meantime, he’ll keep facing the fans and the media – it’s just who he is.
What felt especially bad about the outing was that it was the first time that he’s blown a game this year and it *wasn’t* because of one swing. All five of the previous bad outings were because of a home run. That’s a crapload of game-blowing homers in a single month, but it also allows you to try to tell yourself “ah, well, sometimes homers are flukey – it’s just one swing!” Yesterday’s was not that. It just looked like a guy who could not execute his pitches the way he wanted, could not really miss bats the way he needed (his putaway rate this year has plummeted), and could not help keep the runners close at first base. Sometimes those ground balls or bloops find a glove, sure, but you’ve gotta execute at a very high level on the days that they don’t. So that might be why yesterday felt even worse than the home run days.
Craig Counsell (via Marquee): “It feels awful. It feels bad for sure and you feel for Adbert for sure. He’s struggling right now for sure. But we need Adbert. We need Adbert to be an effective member of the bullpen and we need to keep giving him opportunities to do that …. The situation we’re in with just who we have available today, you can’t just stay away from people. We just can’t in a stretch like this. And so we went with the guy that was best suited for that spot in the lineup and that part of the game. And it just didn’t work.”
It’s not like we haven’t seen semi-established relievers struggle for long stretches like this, work in low-leverage for a while, and then turn it around. Heck, just last year, Michael Fulmer, signed to be a key part of the bullpen, posted a 9.35 ERA from April 10 to May 27, and it seemed like maybe he just wasn’t the guy the Cubs thought he was when they targeted him. And then, poof, the guy posted a 2.48 ERA the rest of the way, and was so key to the bullpen that his injury late in the year – together with Alzolay’s injury! – really crushed the pen.
So yeah, you just have to try to hide Alzolay in low-leverage while he works through these issues. He does not have minor league options remaining, and unless he’s injured, that means the only way to move him out is a DFA and waiver, where he’d almost certainly be lost forever. No way I want to see the Cubs give away Adbert just yet on the basis of 13.0 bad innings.
Hayden Wesneski was so good yesterday, he was even getting lefty whiffs on the sweeper:
The Brewers started six lefty bats against Wesneski, making his performance all the more impressive.
When Justin Steele returns to the rotation on Monday, it’s possible he could take Ben Brown’s spot or Wesneski’s spot, and it might depend on which of those two the Cubs want to move into the bullpen. It’s hard to imagine either going to Triple-A at this point, because the needs in the bullpen are pretty significant.
I’m not sure how much longer the Cubs can give starts to Matt Mervis. I mean that literally and not rhetorically for now, I’m really not sure how much longer they should give him to adjust. The at bats do not have a competitive look to them, and he’s now hit .155/.222/.259/33 wRC+ in 127 plate appearances, with peripherals that almost wholly support that level of production. Mervis has hit to a level that would not support an elite defensive shortstop, let alone a bat-only guy. It’s a real problem, and unless the Cubs see signs that a switch is about to flip, there’s not much reason to be giving him those at bats over Alexander Canario or Nick Madrigal or Patrick Wisdom.
I know we talk about guys who are great at Triple-A and struggle in MLB – it’s not like it’s that uncommon – but the SPREAD between Mervis’s performance at Triple-A and in MLB is one of the largest spreads I can remember seeing.
A look at Seiya Suzuki taking BP:
If you missed it late last night, the Marlins traded Luis Arraez to the Padres shockingly early in the season, and my immediate reaction was … ok, so now the Cubs should go trade for closer Tanner Scott. Immediately. Then again, he’s gotten off to a kind of terrible start this year on the peripheral side, so you’d want to make sure he’s not broken (and then pay a lower price!).
About that trade:
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