Doesn’t even count Happ and Madrigal needing a few days off here and there due to sore hamstrings. Really rough first 7 weeks of season.
*****Official Cubs 2024 Thread 🪦*****
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No argument. They’ve made some pretty questionable lineup choices and have had several guys out. I’m really interested to see what this roster looks like in a month.
We’ll see. Counsell apparently said Taillon responded well to throwing, but they want to give him a couple more days off. Would imagine Keegan or Lovelady get the option here.
I’m fine with Lovelady getting waived at this point. Try Pannone for a bit. Alzolay is a more complex problem. I think his stuff and velocity are still good, but he’s lost his ability to locate his pitches. He’s hanging balls over the middle of the plate.
Nice of the Mets to win in walk off fashion tonight. The Braves get to stew on a gut punch loss while getting in around midnight tonight while the Cubs have already been sitting in their hotel rooms for hours.
The Cubs may get to the point with Adbert where they get forced into a move, but I’m 110% certain Adbert will work it out eventually, whether with the Cubs or someone else.
Besides the control part (missing corners then middle/middle pitch), his fastball velocity is down. I also think I heard announcers say in a different appearance his slider velocity is up slightly, seemingly leaving only like 4-5 mph difference between the 2 pitches which I think is also hurting him
So far the Braves aren't hitting like they did last year. Acuna, Riley, and Olson so far have combined for just 10 HRs this year with about 1/4 of the season having been played whereas last year the 3 combined for over 130 HRs IIRC on the season. They're still winning of course but they don't seem as dominant. Of course that can change pretty quickly but if the Cibs SP holds to its recent performances, this could be a good series for the Cubs. I think playing the Braves twice this early in the season could be advantageous.
I haven’t looked after his last couple outings, but earlier in the season, his slider was a little bit flatter, too, which adds to the lack of deception. Still, all the differences are kind of in the margins, but they’re all pointing the same way and bringing his pitches closer to being simply one thing. It’s likely there’s something mechanical (usually is with pitchers), but I’m not sure what it is.
Well, the good thing is they won the Pittsburgh series 2-1, so if you cobble things up they only need to go 1-2 in Atlanta, and then they come home for a week after splitting a road trip 3-3.
We'll get it right one of these times.
The Cubs bullpen is almost becoming an "any port in a storm" situation with all the FA pickups, trades, recalls, etc. I wonder how long it will be before the Cubs trade for an actual closer, or if they are just going to ride things out.
Pretty unusual for guys of significance to be available at this point in the season. Even teams already likely out of it usually play the market out longer until a couple teams show interest in order to maximize value. I know the Padres just got Arraez in a rare move, but reports are that the Padres and Marlins were close on an Arraez deal before the season started.
I’ll be very surprised if the Cubs DON’T trade for a closer in June or July, unless their run of injuries ultimately tanks this team. Haven’t heard any update on Morel today, but hopefully he’s not lost for any significant time. Wild that this team has had Steele, Taillon, Hendricks, Wicks, Suzuki, Bellinger, Smyly, Merryweather, Swanson, Almonte & Alzolay spend time on the IL and they’re still 24-18 against a tough early schedule.
I don’t know why everyone is worried about the Cubs trading for a closer? Neris has done a good job. The Cubs have a big problem at left field that needs to be addressed.
Slaughter was having a really good year at Iowa; I thought he might finally get his shot with the Cubs this season with all the injuries. I hope he's able to break through in Seattle. And I REALLY hope that re-acquiring T. Miller is the first piece of the puzzle in fixing the pen....
I think it's time for Happ to join Alzolay in the fake injury club until he can figure things out. Would love to see Canario as a LF regular for a few weeks. Defense might drop a little, but hitting couldn't be worse and likely would be a lot better.
