Ross stated that the IL wasnt the strategy, however then after Bryant completed his work for the day with the trainers, the move came down. Hes now ineligible to return to the Cubs for another six days, and the hope is that the pain can clear up rapidly, and then in the run up to his return, he can go to South Bend and facing some live pitching.
– It goes without stating: this Cubs offense is absolutely nothing even near to what it can be without a healthy, efficient, typical Kris Bryant in the lineup. Get well, and come back clicking in September, please and thanks.
Our BN Dogathon fundraising event for Make-A-Wish is off to a fantastic start, and next week is going to be a great deal of enjoyable (for people who want to laugh at me). Please check it out and support a great cause!
– Speaking of the offense, which is in quite the rut, Anthony Rizzo offering the stable hand (Cubs.com): “I simply believe youve got a great deal of people that are browsing a little bit ideal now. It happens to basically be a great deal of us at the very same time. Were all grinding, and were all grinding together. Thats the thing, were all in it together. When the ship is sinking, you feel like youre all almost to drown. Thats the appeal of this game. You get to return tomorrow and keep paddling and keep playing.”
– An excellent read here from Sahadev Sharma on how things are going sideways for the bats, and where you can and can not anticipate course correction. One issue? Theyre a huge three-true-outcome group (walks, homers, strikeouts) and have been for a while … however this year, its increasingly been just 2 of those results (strikeouts and strolls). The homers are lacking.
Part of that is due to the fact that the video game is different these days, however many of it is since the White Sox are on an absolutely ridiculous homer binge over the previous week, and the Cubs pitchers just kept missing their spots. The White Sox are really aggressive, have a load of power up and down the lineup, and they are not missing those errors.
– Speaking of which, this one is a carbon copy of a homer Jon Lester quit to Jose Abreu the night before. This one is Rowan Wick, however its the same batter, the exact same request to truly bury the curveball down, the exact same failure to do so, the exact same ultimate area for the pitch, the very same crushed shot, and the exact same reaction by Willson Contreras:
Want the pitch down, WAY down. pic.twitter.com/NOuJrQF6zD
— Ⓜ arcusD ▶ (@_MarcusD3_) August 23, 2020
– That homer by Abreu, his 3rd on the night and 5th in the two games, was likewise a significant one for Wick:
– Its a larger conversation for another day, however I see it in the remarks and on Twitter, so Ill simply explain: the concept that the Cubs need to now sell and start a rebuild is amusing for a first-place group through nearly half of the season, however setting that aside, the much bigger problem is that there is no market whatsoever for the Cubs to sell into. Thats definitely the case in-season, as groups are NOT going to quit significant long-lasting possessions for short-term pieces (that entire plan to sell midseason if the Cubs didnt appear like a World Series contender was gobbled up by COVID-19), and its ALSO going to be the case this offseason, where men like Kris Bryant and Javy Báez are going to have very little trade worth on the final year of arbitration offered the monetary market. It draws, it has long-lasting consequences for the organization, and its “the pandemics fault,” however its the truth.
– For example, barring some miraculous change in between now and December, getting one year of Bryant at $20+ million for the 2021 season is going to have very little trade value this offseason. Heck, even in a NORMAL environment, getting one year of Bryant at that rate point does not have organization-altering trade value (see the Mookie Betts trade or the Manny Machado trade in recent years, and with love to Bryant, he is not those men). Teams are merely not going to provide up extremely valuable cost-controlled talent when their budget plans have been slashed, specifically when the prize on the other side is a really costly single season of a man coming off what might be a lost year. No, no, Im pretty sure the pandemic has actually forced the Cubs into a ride-or-die circumstance through the 2021 season. And you KNOW that is not what I wished to see the Cubs doing in these last two years of the core. The truth of the world is the truth of the world. At this point, it may be much better rooting for sensible extensions for a great deal of Cubs gamers (and thats not the worst result!).
Hes now disqualified to return to the Cubs for another 6 days, and the hope is that the discomfort can clear up quickly, and then in the run up to his return, he can go to South Bend and dealing with some live pitching. Part of that is because the game is different these days, however most of it is due to the fact that the White Sox are on a definitely ridiculous homer binge over the past week, and the Cubs pitchers simply kept missing their areas. Thats definitely the case in-season, as teams are NOT going to give up significant long-lasting properties for short-term pieces (that whole strategy to sell midseason if the Cubs didnt look like a World Series contender was gobbled up by COVID-19), and its ALSO going to be the case this offseason, where guys like Kris Bryant and Javy Báez are going to have really little trade worth on the last year of arbitration provided the monetary market. And you KNOW that is not what I wanted to see the Cubs doing in these last 2 years of the core. At this point, it may be much better rooting for reasonable extensions for a lot of Cubs gamers (and thats not the worst result!).
Abreus homer off Rowan Wick marks the very first launch the righty since Sept. 7, 2018. That snaps a streak of 191 batters faced without allowing a long ball.
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) August 23, 2020
