Dbl and Truman and their raging Cubs boners. I'd tag them but I know both will be reading the thread anyway.
Truman is fine. Being a Cards and Blues fan living in Chicago is frustrating given the vast amount of sidewalk fans the past few years
Saturday...This seem right? Fowler KB Rizzo Ben Baez Willson Russell Almora Hendricks Maybe flip Willson and Baez
That's what I was learning towards. Just can't start Heyward against lefties anymore. At least not at Wrigley.
Almora is a right handed bat. Give me his bat and the slight downgrade in D over Heyward and Soler right now.
Heyward needs to not start against lefties. Or righties. Or at home. Or the road. He should be done for the rest of the year. Defensive replacement only. Fix the swing in the off-season and start over with him. But don't start him in another game.
Hendricks gives up contact, Heyward is starting in right or Almora. Soler is a pinch hitter or DH for me at this point. We've seen time and time again how important defense is in the playoffs.
If I was making up the lineup card, I would go with this tomorrow. Fowler Baez Bryant Rizzo Zobrist Contreras Russell Almora I think with the way Baez is seeing the ball right now, give him that extra protection of Bryant behind him and get him that extra at bat vs Kershaw than batting him down at 5th.
I have to say Baez does a lot of flashy things that we get enamored with. The one thing that I think is going unnoticed is his approach with 2 strikes. He is doing a much better job of not biting on breaking pitches and getting the bat on the ball and getting it in play. This post season he has consistantly made contact with 2 strikes and a few of those have turned into a grounder with eyes or a bloop single. I could not find the splits for him in the post season with 2 strikes but in the regular season with 2 strikes he was hitting just under .200. In this post season I can only find a stat for behind the count. So I am assuming that lumps in 0-1 but he is hitting .400 when he is behind in the count. He is hitting .286 when he is ahead in the count.
I know with the world series being one game away I shouldn't ask about next season but I will. Are we going to let Fowler walk and move Heyward to CF? I'd assume Zobrist and Schwarber will be our normal LF and RFs since Baez will keep Zobrist in the OF and Contreras will take any catching opportunities from Schwarber.
Schwarber news is exciting. Gotta get there. Do it tonight please. I can't deal with a game 7. Almora in there for Heyward. I'll take it.
I wouldn't put much into the schwarber news. He hasn't swung a bat all year. His timing will likely be shit
He's been with the team all year so they're not sending him to Arizona the day they could possibly clinch a World Series birth if they didn't think it was at least possible.
He's starting tonight for Mesa. Also this ChicagoCubsOnline @TheCCO 8s8 seconds ago #Cubs officially activated Kyle Schwarber from 60-day DL. LHP Giovanni Soto DFA'd to make room on 40-man
Give me a cold, rusty, gimpy Schwarbs over Cogs, La Stella, and anyone else on the bench against a righty. The guy was born to hit a baseball.