Cubby-Blue

Despite contractual angst, there's alot of Cubs Spring goodness.

If you just forget that Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Javy Baez need new contracts, things are actually pretty cool in Mesa.
It's just baseball.
KB hit his first springdinger.
Joc Pederson looks like a total beast.
Bummer for Cameron Maybin, but Jake Marisnick's calf healed and he's looking really good for outfielder #4.
Bleacher Nation says, "After today's performances, Jake Marisnick (1.500) has overtaken Joc Pederson (1.442) for the Cubs spring OPS lead."  (that statement has the usual "small sample" warning of course).
Pedro Strop got out of Covid-cheating jail and into the save column yesterday. Just great seeing him out there smiling in a Cubs uni again.
Trevor Williams, the guy who grew up in a Cub Fan household, will more than likely be the #4 starter after looking so good this spring.
Jake Arrieta has... well we all know about the slider(s), but he's got this curve that's really working for him. And he's sharing knowledge with Adbert Alzolay which seems to be making Adbert better. 
Willson Contreras has 9 hits in 29 at bats, 3 of 'em homers. 
We all know who's gonna be starting position-wise except at 2nd, except wait... it's going to be Nico Hoerner, right?
We got to hear Pat Hughes. 
The Cubs hired a female announcer for the first time in their history, Beth Mowins, and she was awesome in her debut yesterday.
There's just a ton of good stuff going on, and fan-wise you have to be feeling pretty dang good going into... real baseball games.
That's just 11 days away at 1:20 vs the Pirates. 

What else?
The other night, I realized that I had the grill going and... IT WAS STILL BRIGHT DAYLIGHT OUTSIDE!

Summer is gonna be here in no time, which makes me SO HAPPY.
What makes me sad?
Finding an xacto blade in a drawer.

Okay.
Go Cubs.
Oh yeah, the Javy Baez painting.
That's Javy with his bat that can splatter baseballs. 

Tomorrow the Cubs will have 2 less guys on the active roster.

it's kinda like Jenga.
Jed Hoyer's gotta push out two guys.
And the question is... will this be about the future? 
Will it be about now?
Will he just let it go and some current players on the roster suddenly develop injuries, allowing major decisions to be made down the road?

This all started with the owner's lockout resulting in the shortened spring, and everyone agreed it would be okay to have 2 extra players - 28 - on the active roster, mostly to help the pitching staffs. 
Until tomorrow, then it's back to the normal 26.
And within those 26, teams are allowed to have 14 pitchers on the active roster until May 29th, when it goes down to 13.
Bleacher Nation article about that here.

So... it's all actually pretty complicated.
And each player is different, depending on.. stuff.
Some players, like Michael Hermosillo, are out of options.
If the Cubs decided they need to lose him, he'll go on waivers and surely get picked up by another team.
Is he part of the future? 
Some players, like Alfonso Rivas, can just flip back to the minors and no big deal.
But Rivas is at a point where everyone would like to see what he can really do, and he's been amazing.
Some players, like Jason Hayward, are established vets with big contracts who may be sort of irrelevant for the future, and actually taking a space that could be better suited to letting a kid play.
Emotions aside and no matter what you think of J-Hey, we've seen Jed do some drastic things in the name of the future.
Eating the last two years of Heyward's contract would not surprise me in the least.
Pitchers... the Cubs currently have 15, which will have to reduce to 14 so they'll definitely take at least one pitcher off the roster. 
Then, what if some other team has someone without options that they put on waivers, and the Cubs think that guy would be a good fit?
Do the Cubs pick him up?

See?
It's just two slots, but your head spins with all that might happen.
Tomorrow the Cubs will have a different look and that'll offer us a peek at what Hoyer's thinking for this year, next year and beyond.

Meanwhile in Milwaukee... ahhh never mind.

One more game there at 1:10 today, then a day off, and then the White Sox come to Wrigley.
They're a train wreck right now, matching the Cubs with just 2 wins in their last 10.
Hopefully the Cubs are catching them at the right time and later we won't be hearing, "Well the Cubs sure cured whatever was wrong with the Sox..."

This afternoon will be Marcus Stroman vs Corbin Burnes, who the Cubs beat earlier.
Stroman looked way better his last time out, and it would be so nice to see him go deep and the Cubs pull one W out of Milwaukee.
With the weird weather (tornado warning went off last night complete with sirens  j u s t  as I was putting ribs on the grill), I'll happily hang out indoors and watch.

Go Cubs.

Cubs fill up their stat tank, score 21 vs Pirates.

About 9:30 my wife goes, "It's gorgeous out. You should go to the game."
Huh?
Me?
I went online, found a killer seat for $90. I mean... I coulda gotten one way up top for $52, but it was my first game, so...
(Of course I forgot about the "fees", so add $32.)
Whatever, after this long miserable freaking winter I splurged.
And just driving to the park on a day the weather app says "80" will do magic things for your head.
I texted my parking friend Bernadette and had a spot waiting for me.
Walked to the Bernie's corner at Waveland and Clark and... will ya look at that.
It's Wrigley Field.

There is a day every year in Chicago, that first gorgeous day of Spring when EVERYBODY goes out and EVERYBODY is in the best mood they've been in for 6 months, and I walked right into it.

Showed my phone ticket and went immediately to the dog stand with grilled onions and cold beer.
And then... you know... walked up a tunnel, got visually hammered with all that green, and then nothin' mattered but baseball.

How lucky can I get?
I posted this picture on Facebook and captioned it: "I hate my miserable life".

The wind was blowing out non stop at about 100 mph.

There is Kyle Freaking Hendricks RIGHT THERE.

Old friend Dan Vogelbach leads off with a ground out. The next 2 guys Reynolds and Chavis smack the ball pretty good, but they both line out.
When the Cubs come up, I get my first live look at Seiya Suzuki.

In what would become the theme of the day, he gets a hit.
Shortly after, Happ drives him in.
Patrick Wisdom comes up, and that silly American Airlines logo looks like Wisdom shattered his bat.

He grounds out and, after the bases load, JHey pops out, and it's Cubs 1 Pirates nothin'.

It was the 2nd inning where things went so crazy I started to feel bad for Pittsburgh starter Zach Thompson.
Because the Cubs are hitting balls all over the place, Thompson's infield commits two errors and the Cubs put 8 more on the board.
Including a very loud and impressive 416 foot outtahere shot by Alfonso Rivas.


So now it's 9 nothin' and that half inning lasted so long I worried that Hendricks would be affected, but no.
He was masterful.
And after that, AFTER scoring the 9 runs in the first two innings, the Cubs did this the rest of the day: walk, hit by pitch, single, double, double, double, single, double, single, single, single, single, single, walk, single, single, single for a total of 19 hits on the day. 
Pittsburgh mustered up 3, and never scored.

When Pat Hughes says "a laugher", this was the extreme definition.

I bought a couple filets on the way home.
They were delicious.

How much do you love Keegan Thompson, Cub Fans?

As usual last night, had some Cubs texting going on, and suddenly I sent this out: "Keegan Thompson is my current favorite Cub".

Twice this season he's come in, gone for 3+ innings, shut the other guys down and got the W.
Game-changing performances.
In total, 9.2 innings, 4 hits, 2 walks and 10 Ks. 
He's 27, the age when baseball people say baseball players are at their peak.
Their prime. 
And he really looks the part. So confident. Scary. In control.
His cheeks flush with adrenaline and... I've seen that look before.
It's right before someone lands a haymaker on someone else's chin. 
Which is basically what he's doing from the mound.
That Brewers game... when Rossy "didn't" ask him to plunk anyone, and Thompson just decided to "try out" some different pitches during the game, and one got away from him... Of course no one wants anyone to get hurt, right?
That's what I always say out loud.
But in my old school head when that happened... let's say I wasn't politically correct in my thinking.

Anyway... having any fun yet?
The bats are crazy.
The Cubs are 2nd in ALL baseball in OPS (.803), 2nd in OBP, 3rd in SLG, 2nd in doubles... it's the opposite of the last Core.
Seiya Suzuki was voted Player of the Week, and he's really truly WAY beyond anybody's expectations. 
Patrick Wisdom might be making the right adjustments...
It's just been really fun to watch and yeah, still not gonna write any sentences with "sustainable".
"Sustainable" is for fish.

Okay tonight we've come around again to Justin Steele.
Super fun, like watching a live grenade.
Did you see him last time out?
Cubs up 3-0 in the bottom of the 5th, and he gives up a single, a line out, and a walk. Rossy pulls him.
He wasn't angry about being pulled, I don't think, but he looked like a wild animal in the dugout. 
Love this kid.

Okay 2 more against the Rays and 4 vs the Pirates in Chicago, and then it gets really rough with the freaking Braves, Brewers, White Sox and Dodgers. 
The Cubs just might turn out to be that team with no real expectations, but who play like they don't care about any of that.
Yeah it's early but nobody wants to play a team like that.
Fun.
It's all I ask.

Lastly, did this for Jackie Robinson Day:

 

Cubs travel to Colorado for Steele's 2nd start.

Well... 5 games into 2022, the Cubs are 3-2 and already have half as many wins vs Milwaukee as they did in all of 2021, when they were 4-15 vs Brewers.
Last Saturday in his first start of the year, 26 year old Justin Steele's dance partner was Brandon Woodruff, an All-Star last year with a 2.56 ERA.
Gulp.
I mean, before this game started how confident were you?
Didn't matter to Steele, who went 5 and gave up nothin' but a walk and 4 singles. 
In the 4th, both Adames and Yelich led off with singles, but Steele escaped when he got Renfroe to ground out, then struck out Hiura and Taylor.
This season is just a little tiny baby, but if Steele keeps it up omg that would be huge.

He'll be starting tonight in the skinny air of Colorado, which means we'll all see Kris Bryant in another funny uniform and have our emotions put in a blender. 
Have you been keeping tabs?
Bryant is .350/.391/.500 with 3 doubles, Rizzo is .300/.481/.800 with 3 dingers, and El Mago is .316/.350/.526 with one homer and one walk. 
And...
Seiya Suzuki is .400/.524/.1000 with 3 homers, 6 hits, 5 BBs and 5 Ks.
Not gonna use the word "sustainable", but instead just... how about that?
CRAZY COOL!

Jed Hoyer told us this team would be "scrappy", and he was right.
You saw the benches clear against the Brewers. 
Names change, but the plunking is constant.
If you saw the post game... Rick Sutcliffe hilariously just flat out said that Rossy instructed Keegan Thompson to hit Andrew McCutchen. 
This was after Woodruff hit Contreras and Madrigal, and Gott hit Ian Happ in the knee with a gunshot sound that made me leave the room.
Then later of course Ross and Hottovy and Thompson all denied denied DENIED!
Whatever, hopefully no one gets seriously injured and.. I may have to do some "I hate the Brewers" pages.

And now it's game #6 for the 2nd place Cubs. 
It would be nice if Frank the Tank and Mr. Wisdom would wake up, but overall this team looks like some serious fun.
Nico Hoerner's Derek Jeter impersonation against the Pirates was jaw dropping, and the bullpen seems to be the opposite of early last year's strugglers.
You've read over and over that it's either a "rebuild" and "not a rebuild", so how about we just call it a "build" and enjoy the summer?

If I time it right, I should be pulling some chicken off the grill about 7:30, get some plates ready and tune in for the 7:40 start.
Ahhh, that's heaven.
 
Go Cubs, and lastly for all you Wilco fans, here's a Jeff Tweedy painting.

Happy Opening Day, Cub Fans.

Went outside on this, the morning of Opening Day 2022, and I thought hey, what's that sound?
Of course. 
A cardinal.

I've come full circle on these superstition things.
I mean I used to LIVE by them, then about 2015 I stopped because it was just smarter and easier to believe the players.
But now... that stupid Cardinal will be in my brain all day long, thinking it's a sign.
Whatever.
Hey do you know the Cubs starting lineup?
It's okay if you don't - so many new faces and they haven't posted it yet.
Here's what it was one day in August last year, the year the Cubs featured 3,021 different lineups:

Wow.
Well... pretty sure the starting right fielder will be the new kid, Seiya Suzuki.

He went 4 for 17 this spring, with 2 going out.
Just like the team overall, it'll be smart to not expect too much too soon with him.
He'll have that learning thing coming from Japan's Bigs to the Bigs here.
And since I didn't see him do that crazy corkscrew tornado turn-all-the-way-around swing... no comp to Kosuke Fukudome at all.
So... my hope is he's a nice surprise, getting better as the season goes along.

Today we'll get to see if normally Old Faithful Kyle Hendricks has figured out last year's homer problem - it's always awesome watching him. 
Then the starting staff features ex-Met Marcus Stroman, who I've got huge hopes for.
Then Wade Miley... oh wait. Ouch he's out with a sore elbow.
So after those top two guys the Cubs feature lotsa questions, and as I explained to my cat... that's not good. 
On the other side, what's exciting?
Well there's Nico Hoerner at short. Did you see that play he made the other day?
Here's hoping he stays healthy and we get a good season long look at him playing every day.
There's the catching duo of Willson Contreras and Yan Gomes, meaning Willson won't have to wear the Tools of Ignorance every day. 
Like last year's Core, Willson's on that no long term contract bubble and you gotta be realistic and expect he may be gone at the trading deadline.
But in the meantime, the lone All-Star on this team.
Enjoy!
Will Patrick Wisdom and Frank Schwindel continue where they left off, respectively smacking homers and OPSing with the best in baseball?
Will Ian Happ be his best Ian Happ?
And then after him... it's a lot of hmmms.
In 2012, the Cubs traded Andrew Cashner for Anthony Rizzo.
In all the freaking crazy trading Jed Hoyer did last year... could any of these new guys turn into a kind of Rizzo?
Time will tell, but for now probably the guy you'd hang your hat on would be Suzuki. 

2022.. man. The smart people have the Cubs waaaay down there. I saw a power ranking thing that has the Cubs 23rd, the Cards 13th, and the Brewers number freaking 4.
Made me do this drawing here:

Well, that's not encouraging.
But eff that.
It's Opening Day.
Let the rain not come, the beer be cold, and lets see what these fresh faces can do. 

I have a couple "last things".
First and most importantly, listen to this The Athletic's  "Starkville" podcast with Jason Stark and Doug Glanville interviewing Theo Epstein in his new role as the Guy Trying To Save Baseball. Theo explains all the game's changes in that clear, smart Theo style.
If that link doesn't work, try this. It's soooo good!

Albert Pujols went back to St. Louis and while we all hate the Cards, it'll be deadly-foe awesome if and when he bats in Wrigley. (This is a sketchbook painting from 2003, when he was a skinny kid hitting 40 homers.)


And lastly, how long can Liam Neeson be an "action" star?

WHAT DID THAT STUPID CARDINAL MEAN ANYWAY?

Here's hoping Jed Hoyer's got a clear vision for the future.

Trying to remember a time when so many teams were incomplete at the same time. It's furious/crazy time identifying and signing players right now, and the Cubs are in the thick of it.

Jed Hoyer.. he snuck in a couple pitching biggies just before the owner's lockdown with Marcus Stroman and Wade Miley. 
The before and after look at the starting staff with just those moves... isn't small.
Then I guess either a new starting shortstop or the latest version of Daniel Descalso with the Andrelton Simmons signing. 
The Cub starters are still overall off-speed control guys, and having stellar gloves behind them is really important so signing a 4-time Gold Glover makes sense even if the guy's not Correa. 
We've gotten no indication from management that the Cubs are all in this season anyway, so to see them pass on what'll be the biggest contract doesn't surprise me at all. 
Then again, so far this ain't 2012 all over again, just filling holes with zombies like Blake DeWitt, because they just signed the best player in Japanese ball, Seiya Suzuki.
From Bleacher Report: "He has been one of the best players in NPB since making his debut in 2013. The 27-year-old has a .315/.414/.570 slash line with 182 homers and 82 stolen bases in 902 career NPB games with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. He was named to the NPB All-Star team five times in the past six seasons." 
Yeah there's a knee jerk reaction - a Fukudome Flashback, but if you're not excited about Suzuki, I can't help you.

Meanwhile...
Ex-captain Anthony Rizzo will continue (2 years, $32mil) to be a Yankee.
Yes it's a sentimental bummer, but: A) he's a good fit there and B) the new Cub Chapter started last year.

Trade Rumors tells us Kyle Schwarber will be (almost) a $20 mil/year lefty slugger in Philadelphia for the next 4 years.

It would be crazy weird if Kris Bryant signed there as well, but it appears right now that it's the Phils or Rockies for KB. 

And Javy Baez is a Tiger.

If any of these guys ever sat near me at my fav Portage Park restaurant, Community Tavern, I'd offer to buy dinner. And I'll root for them forever.

Okay that's all I got.
Except WHEN WILL THIS MOVIE END?


And lastly, I don't really pray, but I do for Ukraine, their people, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.