July 17, 2022: One Off

posted in: Cubs | 0

What a way to end the first half of the season… is what Boog said after the Cubs beat the Mets on Sunday afternoon… really Boog? Losing 9 out of 10 heading into the break, and THAT’S what you say? I get it though… finally winning a game… feels good. The Cubs were one off that 10 game losing streak I predicted they’d finish the first half with.

I’ve watched them a lot this week, and let me tell you: it ain’t pretty. Actually, the pitching hasn’t been half bad, but the defense… the offense… not that great. I’ve had to listen too, and the feelings are kind of the same. I hate to pick on Boog, but… is it just me, or does he recite the MPH of every hard hit ball, as if 108 vs 102 is going to make a difference to what we’ve just seen happen. Another thing… they really hang on that virtual strike zone, huh? It’s nice to see, to give us an idea of what the strike zone should be, but… it’s not the be all and end all. Sure, there are bad calls… balls in the middle of the box called a ball, and balls way outside the box called a strike, but most of the calls that go the “wrong way” are right on the fringe. Take for example the one Happ struck out on, and got kicked out of the game because of; it was a good pitch. Was it a strike? Maybe. With 2 strikes, should he have been swinging at anything close? Uh, yeah. They’ve certainly twisted that narrative, and blame the ump for any ball called the wrong way per the virtual box… even really close ones. What ever happened to that 2 strike mentality? Relying on the umpire to make the call you want on a close pitch is not a great strategy Cotton…

But the errors… feels like I’m watching my son’s team out there; just straight up botched plays. There was one that went right through Higgins legs at 3rd; there was a dropped fly ball by Ortega. I know there were a couple others. It’s just flat out bad defense. For a team that isn’t going to score a whole hell of a lot of runs… The Cubs aren’t good; we knew that… I kind of got that validation this week. Sure, the Orioles were streaking, and the Mets are in first place, but… just brutal display of baseball in front of the home crowd… sad.

What was also sad was seeing Willson potentially playing his last game in front of the faithful; why trade a young All Star catcher again? Can’t the Cubs pay anybody not named Heyward??? When does it start, the rebuild that is? Are we still in tear down mode? There’s no reason to continue this destruction, especially with Contreras. Dude is all heart, on top of all his skills on the field. If there was one guy not named Schwarber, Darvish, Baez, Bryant, or Rizzo that the Cubs should build around, it would be Contreras. Why feel the need to completely wipe out everyone from that 2016 roster? Stupid ass MFers…

But hey, the Cubs drafted some guys today; the next great Cubs team is on the way… a right handed pitcher at 7 and a lefty at 47. Will we ever see these guys pitch in the majors? Maybe, maybe not… based on those odds, let’s keep trading away established major league talent for a scratch off ticket… perfect strategy Jed. Yeah, Boog… what a great way to enter the All Star Break…

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