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.
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