When the Cubs signed Japanese pitcher Shota Imanaga, sorry if I wasn’t over the top thrilled. I mean, I was happy the Cubs actually brought somebody new in, somebody for our rotation, at least one big free agent signing; no disrespect to Hector Neris, and Cody Bellinger was with us last year, so… this guy was it. I was upset; I still am a bit. Why didn’t the Cubs, after getting a new manager, do more in the offseason? At no point did I think that this guy may be enough all by himself. It’s Imanaga Time!
It all started on April Fools’ Day, no joke… 6 shutout innings and a win over the Rockies at Wrigley. I remember another Japanese player who made a pretty good home debut back in the day; remember the Fukudome walk off against the Brewers? OK, so it was the hapless Rockies… still, nice way to start his career in the US, specifically Chicago, with the Cubs, at Wrigley. Cool. The next opponent was a little better. The Los Angeles Dodgers, a team I will be rooting against all year, except when they play the Cardinals, came to Wrigley. Shota threw some more shutout innings, this time only 4, but it was enough, at the end of the day, to help get the Cubs the W. No win for his stats, but 10 shutout innings to start his Cubs career. OK, first road test was coming next.
OK, the guy is human; he gave up 1 run (unearned) to the Mariners in Seattle in 5.1 innings pitched. Another performance good enough for a win, both for him personally, and more importantly, the team. A home date against the Marlins came next, and although he was touched up a bit, he got another win. Friday night in Boston? Yep, another win. Currently, Imanaga has a 0.98 ERA and a 4-0 record. Did the Cubs hit jackpot with this signing?
I’m not going to count my chickens just yet, which is my same attitude with the Cubs hot start. Don’t get me wrong. In both cases, I’m very happy, yet… baseball is a 162 game deal, and we’re only scratching the surface. Other teams will get the book on Imanaga, and then he’ll have to adjust; his adjustments to the hitter’s adjustments will determine if his success will continue. Here’s hoping. As for the Cubs, they’re playing good ball. They’re surprising me, just like they did at the beginning of last year; we all know how last year ended. Will this year be different? Will the Cubs return to the postseason? Will Imanaga be starting one of those games? The answer to all three questions: “that would be nice”. Go Cubs!
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