I have to say that I had more or less packed it in on last night's game when Schlitter and then Motte pretty much opened the floodgates in the sixth and seventh innings. When the Cubs put in Jackson to pitch the eighth, I figured the end was nigh. Jackson, however, pitched very well.
Still, I didn't think it likely the Cubs could come back in the ninth down three runs. At least not the Cubs we have all known for the past five seasons. However, these guys in the middle of the lineup - Rizzo, Soler, Bryant - are good. They combined to load the bases on a single, a double, and a walk. After that, they just kept grinding away to put up four runs and win the game.
Who knows how long the magic will last, but the combination of rookies, young veterans, and some role players like Coughlan and Fowler and Montero is probably going to be enough to keep them in contention for quite a while.
Addison Russell made his debut today, more or less forced up like Bryant because of injuries and just a big hole at second base. I had thought that LaStella might plug this gap to allow a bit more time for Russell and possibly Baez to develop, but his injury and the poor performance of the utility guys forced into the gap necessitated a drastic move. Russell's debut was pretty much a carbon copy of Bryant's, though he hit the ball hard in his last AB. Lets hope his second game duplicates Bryant's as well.
Just a remark on the bullpen and maybe a slight knock on Maddon, but these guys are not the first string anymore with Grimm and Ramirez out, so going to the pen in the sixth inning is not the best idea. I know Wood has been a six inning pitcher most of his time with the Cubs, but he was at 84 pitches when he came out and he might have had another couple of outs in him. Second guessing I know, but Schlitter is just pretty bad right now and that move almost blew the game.
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