The Orioles are rather good now, so this will be a tough weekend series for the Cubs. I’d say I would be happy with a series win (which I would), but then I also know that if it were the “win the first two, lose on Sunday” variety, I’d still be a little annoyed. So instead, I’ll just say: maybe do another sweep? The last one was fun.
- It’s good to have Cody Bellinger back, eh? Even if it’s at first base, and even if he needs a little time to get his legs under him, having that lefty power bat there in the middle of the order gives the other side something to think about it:
- Love that he turned that into a double, by the way, not only for the extra base but because it took away the force at first (and the subsequent Christopher Morel hit may have left open a force at second base if the positioning had been different). The knee must feel a LITTLE ok at least for him to book it like that out of the box, thinking about trying to take two.
- Bellinger, who played only two rehab games at Iowa, was apparently itching to get back. He told the Cubs he was “ready to roll,” so that was that. The itchiness started right away, in fact. “From Day 1, the knee’s hurt and he’s hitting off a machine and taking flips in a chair because he wanted to swing,” Ross said, per the Sun-Times. “Goes back to Arizona to face minor-league pitching, is out there working and (shagging baseballs). He told me they ran him to death. They put him through the ringer over there in his rehab process.” The thing about a bone bruise in the knee like that is you aren’t necessarily at a greater risk for a new injury as you rehab, so you can push pretty hard so long as you can tolerate the pain. But the actual healing process is slow, because it’s bone.
- The teammates are obviously happy to have him back. “Belli’s a big part of the team,” Christopher Morel said, per Cubs.com. “Just like a car doesn’t run without a motor, Belli definitely is that motor for our team. He’s very big and important for us.”
- Nico Hoerner is so smooth out there at second base:
- Hoerner has been a roughly league average bat this year, though his expected stats are a bit better than that. Maybe you want a little more production at second base in an ideal world, but it’s worth remembering the whole no-more-extreme-shift thing, and the theoretically-increased value of defense at second base. I think we’re probably not going to get meaningful deep analysis on that until there’s a full season’s worth of data, but the individual metrics so far – and the eye test – all say that Hoerner has been outstanding again at second base. It’s not that any offense he provides is “gravy,” but I do think he need not be that much better than average offensively to remain an extremely valuable player overall, even at second base.
- Tucker Barnhart ultimately walked later in the plate appearance, but this call was so comically bad that not only did Barnhart have to take a timeout to collect himself, the Pirates’ announcers figured their on-screen graphics must be screwed up:
- Injury updates:
- The Heuer one is the one that stands out, as it means he’ll have taken a full week off between appearances. The Cubs have talked about his need to get the command/control tightened up, which is often the last thing to come back after Tommy John surgery. But, candidly, this is an exceptionally long rehab stint for a pitcher who seemed – based on velocity, at least – to be fully physically healthy. Heuer started pitching at Iowa back in the first week of May. You wonder if there’s a little more to this, because I’m sure the Cubs would’ve LOVED to have him back in the big league bullpen as soon as they thought he could help.
- Meanwhile, Julian Merryweather’s ascent continues in the Cubs’ bullpen. He was great again last night, and the metrics are quite lovely:
- The Cubs are hosting a Juneteenth event at Wrigley Field on Sunday:
- If you noticed that MLB teams were generally not wearing logos or rainbow flags or anything like that for their Pride events this year, it’s because the league told them not to. A few teams (Giants, Dodgers, Rays) pushed back, but apparently it became a league-wide policy not to permit teams to do what they wanted this year. Commissioner Manfred’s explanation was aggravating, to put it mildly:
- The entire point of Pride events – gatherings, attire, symbols, activities, etc. – is to let everyone know that the LGBTQ community is seen, loved, accepted, and supported. It’s not about placing them ABOVE anyone else. It’s about ensuring they feel welcomed in every space, including one (sports) where they have historically not always been. That deserves a message, which is why 29 out of 30 teams have Pride nights, and why they should be permitted to do more if they so choose. Players can – and have – opted not to participate in the past, and I’m sure many didn’t love having to thereafter answer questions about why they felt it necessary to make such a demonstration. So when the Commissioner says “protect” the players, the only thing I can think of that he means is “protect” them from having to answer questions on why they are electing not to participate and support the LGBTQ community. I don’t see why fear and bigotry deserve protection at the expense of inclusion and acceptance. It shouldn’t be that way in the clubhouse, just as it shouldn’t be that way at the ballpark.
- One last thing to consider on this topic: statistically speaking, we know there are gay big league players. Yet not a single one is out right now. Why is that? I think the answer is tied up in this very discussion, and why teams *and their players* publicly supporting the LGBTQ community is important.
- Happy Scott Feldman weekend:
- I chuckled:
- Last point: the Cubs are the only team in the NL Central with a positive run differential now, so they are the best.
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June 16, 2023 at 08:36PM
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Bellinger Back and Hustling, Hoerner Smooth, Lack of Pride, Heuer, Merryweather, and Other Cubs Bullets - bleachernation.com
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