IST: Cubs (10-7) vs Pirates (11-8)

beckdawg

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Jesse Rogers @ESPNChiCubs
Cubs pitchers: 36 walks, fewest in baseball. Walked zero batters in consecutive games for the first time since 2004.
 

Boobaby1

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The Cubs need Hendricks to pitch the game of his life, and the Cubs can squeak out a 2-1 win and a sweep of the Pirates. ;)
 

TL1961

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Wait. we're bragging about the offense and predicting a 20-spot, and now hoping to squeak out a 2-1 win.

We don't "squeak"!

Knock 'em around tonight!!
 

zack54attack

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#wearegood
 

SilenceS

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I want to see how the league adjust to our young players. They are absolutely pitching away from Kris Bryant power. He is getting hits, but not with the force he use to put on the ball. They seem to be busting him low and inside with fastballs. Pitchers are missing but missing low. I want to see how they adjust because even though the power hasnt been there. The hits sure have been and in big situations. The league is still learning him and will be interesting to watch how they attack. Soler they are pounding low with off speed and breaking balls. He needs to be a little more patient. He is swinging at some ugly pitches. Time for him to adjust back to the league.

Rizzo has sacrificed power for getting On base. I dont mind that. We have enough power in the lineup where he doesnt have to belt 30 plus every year. He will come down a little bit because he usually has a couple of slumps a year.

Castro is just raking to right field which is an awesome sign. Pitchers will get tired of him poking hits to right and will challenge him inside and thats when Castro can show some power. He usually doesnt start walking until later months. His D has been above average and he is hustling on every play. Maddon praised him for his 9th inning run to first base two games ago. Maddon said that just oozes into your game. Castro will be completely over shadowed now by are other big names and thats ok with me and probably him.

The guy who has impressed me the most. Dexter Fowler. I didnt care about the trade for him. I didnt like it. I didnt hate it. I just thought it was like another DeJesus. A solid player that will give you a major league at bat, but fowler I like better. his switch hitting is awesome at the top of the lineup. He squares the ball up well and he has some pop off the bat. He also is a tremendous base runner. He has great instincts for the base path. His D in center has been good as well. He will never be spectacular but those are the guys that help you win championships.

Russell, I dont think he is ready. He looks over matched in almost every at bat. Maybe he works through it in the majors, but I wouldnt count him being up here the whole time. He is extremely young and he shows it.
 

beckdawg

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Baseball prospectus had something on how they are pitching Bryant I read the other day I could dig up if you'd like to see it. The gist of it was essentially people thought they could bust him under the hand with fastballs and thus far he's handled them well. His bb/k rate is stellar at 17.6%/19.6%. As I've previously said, I wasn't 100% convinced his k rate would be 25%+. It's possible he still has a weakness they have yet to find. But it's definitely encouraging that what they expected to be his biggest weakness thus far really hasn't hurt him much.

As for Fowler, I've been on record saying I thought he was a much bigger pickup than people were realizing. Course I believe in the same thing I said Alcantara was going to have a huge season..... hey i mean .500 isn't bad right..... right? Biggest thing with Fowler is that he stays healthy. I had a pretty good idea his defense would be better given wrigley isn't huge and given Coors and Houston were and he's always hit well.

As for Rizzo, I think his power has more to do with the colder weather than anything. April has been colder than usual and April historically hasn't been a great month to hit in wrigley. What's impressive besides his career high in SB in April alone is his bb/k rates. At 16.3%/11.6% we're approaching Frank Thomas rates here(16.5%/13.9%)... We could be talking about him hitting something like .300/.415/.535 with 15-20 SB, 25-30 HRs and near gold glove caliber defense. I said it earlier. I think he finishes top 5 in NL MVP voting.
 

Boobaby1

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Wait. we're bragging about the offense and predicting a 20-spot, and now hoping to squeak out a 2-1 win.

We don't "squeak"!

Knock 'em around tonight!!

2-1 or 20-1. Is there a difference?
 

SilenceS

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What's impressive is this team is showing it can score without the homer. Trust me, a shot of ton of home runs are coming when it warms up. You looking at 25 plus homer in power from your 2,3, and 4 hitter. Castro will get around 15 to 20. Monte to should reach around 15. No team is going to want to face this lineup. They continue to score without the homerun then they will be extremely dangerous for every game


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Diehardfan

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Baseball prospectus had something on how they are pitching Bryant I read the other day I could dig up if you'd like to see it. The gist of it was essentially people thought they could bust him under the hand with fastballs and thus far he's handled them well. His bb/k rate is stellar at 17.6%/19.6%. As I've previously said, I wasn't 100% convinced his k rate would be 25%+. It's possible he still has a weakness they have yet to find. But it's definitely encouraging that what they expected to be his biggest weakness thus far really hasn't hurt him much.

As for Fowler, I've been on record saying I thought he was a much bigger pickup than people were realizing. Course I believe in the same thing I said Alcantara was going to have a huge season..... hey i mean .500 isn't bad right..... right? Biggest thing with Fowler is that he stays healthy. I had a pretty good idea his defense would be better given wrigley isn't huge and given Coors and Houston were and he's always hit well.

As for Rizzo, I think his power has more to do with the colder weather than anything. April has been colder than usual and April historically hasn't been a great month to hit in wrigley. What's impressive besides his career high in SB in April alone is his bb/k rates. At 16.3%/11.6% we're approaching Frank Thomas rates here(16.5%/13.9%)... We could be talking about him hitting something like .300/.415/.535 with 15-20 SB, 25-30 HRs and near gold glove caliber defense. I said it earlier. I think he finishes top 5 in NL MVP voting.

To me, it looks like the better off speed stuff in the Bigs is giving him some trouble. He's not alone there, it causes problems for lots of guys. What I am seeing from him is a real nice knowledge of the strike zone....impressive for a young kid, particularly one that hits for a lot of power.
 

chibears55

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@kozylicious: @TheCCO #Cubs bullpen minus Schlitter is 5-0 w/1.99era... #nasty
 

chibears55

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Cubs could of had 3 hits to start that inning if Fowler wasnt running.. Soler ball looked like it could of gotten through. .

Hopefully that a good sign and they can get some hits together off cole
 

chibears55

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Hate leaving runners in scoring position with no outs..
Needed castro or Coghlan to come through there. ..

I like Coghlan but im hoping eventually they look to trade for a LFer
I just dont see Cogs as an everyday player
 

chibears55

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Soler needs a game off to readjust himself. ..

Sometimes just sitting and watching a game can help a player
 

chibears55

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Seems like when Montero or Coghlan hits behind Bryant, they give him absolutely nothing to hit
 

chibears55

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What was montero looking for. . He gotta swing at that with 2 strikes
 

fatbeard

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Hendricks was getting squeezed on that Marte at bat.
 

JZsportsfan

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Knew this would be a tough game to win

Hendricks has to get better or the Cubs are going to have to dip into the trade pool
 

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