CSF77
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Kinda. Wick would have been worse with Morrow
Kinda. Wick would have been worse with Morrow
CSF77
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I wonder who sets the record this year. The Astros whole team or Rizzo on plunks.
CSF77
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Had to guess right now:
Mills and Cotton get long relief.
Brothers and Ryan get the Lefty gigs.
Now on the AAA rotation
Alzolay
Miller
Steele
Should be locks. The other 2 are under debate.
Rea I see being cut. He was a long shot anyways. Cotton has a better shot right now.
Underwood and Wick should be favs for 2 spots in the pen. I believe they both have run out of options and have solid upside for pen arms.
So that is 7 guys that should be set. Weick IMO has good upside and should be in the mix when healthy.
I see the #5 Chatwood's to lose. Add to it stuff wise he is the 2nd best Cubs starter if he gains full command. Movement wise and velocity wise he is up with Darvish.
Mills and Cotton get long relief.
Brothers and Ryan get the Lefty gigs.
Now on the AAA rotation
Alzolay
Miller
Steele
Should be locks. The other 2 are under debate.
Rea I see being cut. He was a long shot anyways. Cotton has a better shot right now.
Underwood and Wick should be favs for 2 spots in the pen. I believe they both have run out of options and have solid upside for pen arms.
So that is 7 guys that should be set. Weick IMO has good upside and should be in the mix when healthy.
I see the #5 Chatwood's to lose. Add to it stuff wise he is the 2nd best Cubs starter if he gains full command. Movement wise and velocity wise he is up with Darvish.
anotheridiot
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I guess we see how Ross feels about situational lefties if they can only close an inning since situational guys are going to need to be complete pitchers. I guess its why I would prefer to see a 6 man rotation and starter mentality in the pen since no doubt they will need to face hitters on both sides of the plate. Thought it set up nicely with 3 or 4 extra starters.
CSF77
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CubsFaninMN
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Good point. I bet we see average scoring go up and game length go longer because the LOOGYs that are still considered effective relievers will end up getting their brains beaten in when they have to face a few righties.
This new rule just means that not only will that LOOGY get lifted after facing the guy he can get out, he'll have to face two extra batters each of which will take 5 to 10 minutes for their at-bats and who are much less likely to make outs than the leftie the LOOGY was brought in to shut down. Which will end up extending game times, not reducing them.
I believe you will not see managers stop using LOOGYs, they will say that well, if I can stop this lefty from hurting me right now, I'll do that and worry about the next batter after this guy is taken care of. In other words, I'll shut down this next batter and take my chances on the two guys after him. Which will make the next two guys, righties who are just waiting to see some left-handed pitching to get their games going, start pounding. Or the opposing manager will just line up his best righties to pound on the LOOGY.
In any event, just watch. I bet you anything this rule change has the exact opposite result than intended.
-New Doug
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Not familar with the full wording of this new rule.....what if he brings in the lefty with 2 outs in the inning? He gets the one guy out. Can the manager PH for him or just replace him the next inning?
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They have to face three batters in a single inning. If they come in and get a batter out and end the inning. The manager can replace them cause inning is over.
CSF77
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I believe there will end up inning starters and higher leverage guys that can come in to get out of a jam.
Really not much changes except a manager can not yank the inning starter until he has faced the min requirement. And if he brings in a guy to get out of said jam he can't play the L/R/L game.
So IMO the best way to build a pen is to target guys that get RH hitters out because that is 2/3 of all hitters. But not to sacrifice their ability to get outs from the left. IMO it is better to take what you have and teach them a counter pitch vs their weakness. Take Weick. He is a knuckle curve guy that fairs better vs RH. Have him swap it for a slider vs LH is a quick adjustment. His fastball will still be his bread and butter but going from a 12/6 to a 10/4 is a minor change.
But the bonus this year is the 26th man. Teams will have their starting 8 with 1 main UI and a guy that can float and a back up catcher. Then adding a bat that can tighten up late inning D.
Then the starting 5. That is 17 spots tied up with 9 spots for the pen. Take the closer out you have 8 guys.
The way the Cubs are built right now they have Mills and Cotton as early inning guys to bridge. Ryan, Wick and Jeffress as late inning starters. That really leaves 3 roster spots open for high strike out guys to close out innings.
Really not much changes except a manager can not yank the inning starter until he has faced the min requirement. And if he brings in a guy to get out of said jam he can't play the L/R/L game.
So IMO the best way to build a pen is to target guys that get RH hitters out because that is 2/3 of all hitters. But not to sacrifice their ability to get outs from the left. IMO it is better to take what you have and teach them a counter pitch vs their weakness. Take Weick. He is a knuckle curve guy that fairs better vs RH. Have him swap it for a slider vs LH is a quick adjustment. His fastball will still be his bread and butter but going from a 12/6 to a 10/4 is a minor change.
But the bonus this year is the 26th man. Teams will have their starting 8 with 1 main UI and a guy that can float and a back up catcher. Then adding a bat that can tighten up late inning D.
Then the starting 5. That is 17 spots tied up with 9 spots for the pen. Take the closer out you have 8 guys.
The way the Cubs are built right now they have Mills and Cotton as early inning guys to bridge. Ryan, Wick and Jeffress as late inning starters. That really leaves 3 roster spots open for high strike out guys to close out innings.
CSF77
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Mild Calf Tear Sidelines Brandon Morrow For 10-14 Days
By TC Zencka | February 29, 2020 at 12:22pm CDT
The whack-a-mole game that is Brandon Morrow’s body continues to keep him from his comeback. He threw earlier this week and appeared to be on track, until a twinge of pain in his calf during a run revealed a mild tear, per The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma (via Twitter). The injury is minor, with Morrow projected to be sidelined for a mere 10-14 days.
Still, given the absolute deluge of elbow, bicep, and back injuries Morrow has undergone over the last couple of seasons, it’s fair to sound the alarms here. This latest setback is innocuous enough in a vacuum, and yet it certainly takes on greater significance given Morrow’s recent history. Even a short-term injury such as this one has to put Morrow’s availability for opening day in question.
The Cubs bullpen is primed for a re-characterization after moving on from veterans like Pedro Strop, Steve Cishek, Brandon Kintzler, and Mike Montgomery, who was dealt to Kansas City at last year’s deadline. Morrow, 35, re-joined the Cubs on a minor league deal after being physically unable to contribute for the entire second season of his original two-year deal with Chicago. At this point, he has to be considered a long shot to make the team, fun as his reemergence would be.
By TC Zencka | February 29, 2020 at 12:22pm CDT
The whack-a-mole game that is Brandon Morrow’s body continues to keep him from his comeback. He threw earlier this week and appeared to be on track, until a twinge of pain in his calf during a run revealed a mild tear, per The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma (via Twitter). The injury is minor, with Morrow projected to be sidelined for a mere 10-14 days.
Still, given the absolute deluge of elbow, bicep, and back injuries Morrow has undergone over the last couple of seasons, it’s fair to sound the alarms here. This latest setback is innocuous enough in a vacuum, and yet it certainly takes on greater significance given Morrow’s recent history. Even a short-term injury such as this one has to put Morrow’s availability for opening day in question.
The Cubs bullpen is primed for a re-characterization after moving on from veterans like Pedro Strop, Steve Cishek, Brandon Kintzler, and Mike Montgomery, who was dealt to Kansas City at last year’s deadline. Morrow, 35, re-joined the Cubs on a minor league deal after being physically unable to contribute for the entire second season of his original two-year deal with Chicago. At this point, he has to be considered a long shot to make the team, fun as his reemergence would be.
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Didn't see it. But sounds like Yu was sharp for the most part?
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Yea, he threw almost every pitch. I think he threw 15 or 16 pitches. I think he threw one ball. lol The homerun was first pitch. He talked after his performance that he thought about the first batter last night. He said he thought it would be Arcia and he may jump on the first pitch and he did. It was quite amazing. He seems to be in a good place. His English is really good now as well.
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It’s unfortunate...when healthy the guy is a stud. As a fellow 35 year old, I’m not sure he will get back to healthy enough. My body doesn’t react like it used to either now lol
CSF77
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I was not adding him into any pen scenarios myself. I have Ryan, Jeffress and Wick as the set up crew. IMO Morrow would have been pitching at closer level to crack that mix.
CSF77
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Wick and Underwood tossing a scorless frame each was a bright point. Those two have a legit shot of making the team. Alzolay had a poor showing and IMO really needs a full year in Iowa to prove that he is 100%. It should be more of a innings building year vs a results situation for him.
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What I see happening is maybe an immediate 15 day DL stint to any pitcher pulled for "injury" other than puking his guts out on the mound. You just know some team is going to try to get an injured pitcher replaced. If its a real injury like shoulder, hammy, ankle, the player should be out 2 weeks anyway.
Its really what you can count on, 3 guys to get one out to finish the sixth, seventh or eight, considering someone gets on base. Will we see a situational lefty come in, face two lefties, get them out, then intentionally walk a hitter to get to 3 so he can come out?
I wonder how all the brain trusts in baseball are looking at getting around the rule already instead of just having their guys work both sides of the plate.
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To be fair...I would guess they were more so running on Lester than on Contreras
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Misconception on Lester, he doesnt like to throw to first(or whatever he tries to do) but he is extremely quick to the plate and its why runners dont steal a lot of bases off him.