Cubs Keep Going

The Cubs continue to win no matter what.  Getting a little scary.  Today the big hero was Matt Szczur, who had entered the game as a defensive replacement and wound up hitting a grand slam to ice the game.  The Cubs are showing off the depth of this team.  Szczur had only been brought up to replace the injured Schwarber, but he had made quite a solid contribution already before today.

On the subject of depth, Montero was placed on the DL with back problems.  The Cubs declined to bring up Contreras, who appears to be the catcher of the future and who is tearing up AAA pitching thus far.  Instead they selected Federowicz, a journeyman who has bounced around the last few years in a backup role.  I think this is the right move.  Contreras needs to continue his development in the minors, especially as Montero's stint on the DL is likely to be the minimum.

Break Up the Cubs

I have to say this team is pretty impressive so far.  16-0 no-hitter for Arrieta.  Knock on wood, but we may be looking at a dynasty here.  I also have to hand it to Cubs management for acquiring Arrieta in the first place and re-engineering his career, or at least letting him re-engineer it.  It took some guts to make that trade with the Orioles and take a chance on a pitcher who theretofore had been a bust despite lots of promise.  Arrieta is now probably the best starting pitcher in baseball.

They also must have figured out something about Flannagan, the Reds starter, who had no-hit them into the seventh inning last time out but got clobbered from the start last evening.

The Worm Has Turned

The Cubs lost 5-3 today in a rain-delayed game, but they took the series two game to one and pretty much dominated the Cards in those games.  I rather think this series, in St. Louis, demonstrates how far the Cubs have come as a team even compared to last year.  My recollection of the first St. Louis series of 2015 was that the Cubs were competitive in those games, but they just found a way to collapse and self-destruct.  What a difference a year has made and especially that NLDS.  The Cubs are now pretty much the equal of the Cardinals in confidence and swagger and they are pretty clearly better than the Cardinals right now in skill.

On to Cincinnati.

Cubs Drop Rockies Series, On to St. Louis

The Cubs wound up dropping the Rockies series two games to one despite outstanding starting performances from Arrieta and Lester.  I was really surprised by the Rockies pitching and defense, which were both on display in their two wins.  Heretofore the Rockies had displayed neither, or at least their pitching had been pretty awful until they left Coors Field.  In general, the team's outlook had been projected to be rather poor and it probably still is.

In any case, the Cubs hit the road for three game series against the Cardinals and Reds respectively.  Signs are that Javier Baez, who was activated on Saturday, may have turned the corner.  He had two productive games at the plate giving Russell and Zobrist days off.

Still, 9-3 is a good start.

A Real Stinker

The Cubs, I suppose, were entitled to one stinker and this was it.  They were completely stymied by the Rockies pitching more or less all day and they could not seem to catch or throw anything cleanly themselves.  Hendricks pitched a pretty good game.  The Rockies game plan was to take his outside change-ups and plop them over the infield, which they did consistently.  Anyway, .800 is not a bad start.

Previously the Cubs completely dominated the Reds in the final two games of the series to gain the sweep.  The Cubs activated Javier Baez after the game.  It will be interesting to see how he fares this year, especially playing new positions.  Arrieta and Lester finish off the series, so the Cubs have a pretty good chance to return to winning ways over the weekend.

Quite a Game

I cannot say that watching the Cubs home opener was all that much fun.  One Achilles Heel the team has is dealing with soft-tossing lefties who change speeds, especially those they have seen little of in the past.  That was the case last night, when Brandon Finnegan took a no-hitter into the seventh inning before David Ross broke it up with a solid single.  Finnegan hung around to walk Matt Szczur, his fifth walk of the night, before giving way.  The Reds brought in Cotham, a righty, to face Fowler, who walked.  They then summoned Cingrani, a lefty, to face Heywood, who drove in two runs with a solid single to right.

The other thing that is not all that enjoyable is watching Lester pitch when he doesn't have his best stuff or best command.  I know the guy is good and that he is a bulldog and all that, but I just cannot stand all the nibbling and never giving in and whatnot.  Between that and watching the Cubs hitters struggle against Finnegan, things did not get interesting until the bottom of the seventh inning when they got within striking distance.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Cubs regained their poise and patience at the plate, grinding their way to a winning rally.  After Rizzo grounded out, Zobrist walked.  Cingrani then hit Soler with ball four after mixing in a wild pitch to put Zobrist in scoring position anyway.  Although Russell won the game with his home run, the Soler at bat was a key element and really a demonstration of how much this team has bought into the whole ethos of plate discipline.

In any case, the announcers kept wondering why the Reds didn't bring in Jumbo Diaz to face Soler.  They found out when Diaz gave up the game winning homer to Addison Russell on the first pitch he threw.  If there is one thing these young Cubs hitters can do besides take bad pitches, it is to hit straight fastballs like the ones Diaz throws.

That, as they say, is all she wrote.  Rondon came in to strike out the side in the ninth to preserve the win.

5-1 on Road Trip

It's hard to write much of real interest when the team is playing so well, at least this early in the year.  The Cubs won the last two games of the Arizona series with relative ease.  Arrieta pitched well on Sunday and Hendricks pitched really well on Saturday in the matchup with Greinke.

The Cubs continued their rather inexorable grinding offensive approach, which again put the opposing starters in trouble from the start.  I was really pleased to see Soler contribute with a home run and a sacrifice fly.  I've always thought that Soler was going to be a star once he gained confidence.  I was glad to see he is on the way to overcoming the pressure that is bound to occur with Schwarber being sidelined.

The Cubs home opener is Monday night.  Looks like it is going to be a cold one.  Lester pitches.  Cincinnati has started strong, 5-1 so far, but they are really a pretty mediocre team.  They swept the Phillies to open the season, no great achievement there, but they did take two of three from the Pirates, which is kind of a surprise.

Cubs Lose Tough One

The Cubs lost a tough game last night to the Diamondbacks 3-2.  They were patient enough and took a bunch of walks, but they couldn't really connect off Arizona pitching when they had them on the ropes.  Hammel pitched pretty well, better than Lackey did Thursday night.

I have always thought that Maddon managed his bullpen eccentrically.  I suppose this comes with the territory and it is easy to second guess the manger, but most of the time one would hesitate to pitch to Goldschmidt with the tying run in scoring position and a base open, or one would really pitch around him.  Last night, the Cubs pitched to him and, as a result, he tied the game in the bottom of the eighth.  Also, you wonder why the Cubs went to Wood and Cahill in the ninth inning instead of Rondon.  Arizona had already spent their closer and most of their bullpen, so the odds are that if you get to extra innings, especially with the Cubs deeper pen, you have the advantage.  In any case, they were going to lose a game sooner or later.

On Thursday night, despite a rocky start from Lackey, they were on fire and wound up winning 14-6.  The bad news of the evening, though, was the Schwarber injury.  It's a tough break for the kid as he is likely to be out for the season.  One can only hope he returns as good as ever, since he is so young and has so much potential.  You wonder also if his catching days are over or at least need to be reevaluated.  The Cubs as a team, though, look as if they have enough depth to get past the blow.  I imagine Soler will get the majority of playing time in left field and that they will bring Baez up as soon as he completes his rehab.

As Advertised

Either the Angels are an awful team or the Cubs are scary good right now.  They barely broke a sweat dismantling LA.  The Angels managed only six hits off the two Cubs starters in 14 innings.  The Cubs, on the other hand, were ruthlessly efficient in putting up 15 runs in almost effortless fashion.  Cubs pitchers threw a little over 200 pitches in the series; Angels pitchers more than 300, a stat that alone expresses some of the team's domination.

On to Phoenix, I guess.

Impressive Start

The Cubs looked like a very good team last night, beating the Angels 9-0.  Arrieta looked to be in mid-season form taking a two-hit shutout through seven innings.  The Anhels hit a couple of balls hard in the first few innings, after which Arrieta coasted through the remainder of the game.

The Cubs scored a run in the first on a Fowler double and a Rizzo single.  Richards blew through the order in the next two innings, riding a 99 mph fastball, but the Cubs finally figured out they were swinging at balls, started working the count, and pretty soon forced him into an agonizing fourth inning where he threw nearly fifty pitches and surrendered two runs.  Soler had probably the only solid hit, but it was enough.  The Cubs showed an almost relentless discipline and concentration that inning.

These guys are really good.  They added on six more runs through the rest of the game, capped by a bases loaded double by, of all people, Matt Sczuzr.

Looks like good things are ahead.

Opening Night

Finally.

Anyway, lineups are out.  Not sure I like Zobrist batting third, but, especially in an AL park, there are no easy outs or soft spots and six left-handed hitters.  Kind of a nightmare for a right-handed starter.