Author Topic: Cubs in '20  (Read 49206 times)

Bennett

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #2745 on: August 13, 2020, 09:45:00 am »
Bob Nightengale  @BNightengale  12h
The #Cubs (12-3) running away with the NL Central with 5 1/2 game lead. They have an .800 winning percentage. No one in #MLB even has .700 winning percentage. Magic Number: 39

brjones

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #2746 on: August 13, 2020, 08:24:53 pm »
During the game, Rosenthal said the Cubs and Cardinals will likely play double headers on Monday and Wednesday next week.

brjones

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #2747 on: August 13, 2020, 09:30:33 pm »
Jordan Bastian @MLBastian
Yu Darvish with Cubs...

1st 26 starts (2018-19):

4.99 ERA
160 K
70 BB
.228 AVG (117-513)
137 IP

Last 17 starts (2019-20):

2.56 ERA
145 K
11 BB
.192 AVG (73-381)
105.2 IP
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JR

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #2748 on: August 13, 2020, 09:32:06 pm »
Darvish has just been brilliant so far.  We badly needed this from him this season.

brjones

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #2749 on: August 13, 2020, 09:38:09 pm »
Coming into tonight, Kyle Hendricks was leading NL pitchers in fWAR, and Darvish was 7th (in 3 starts--all pitchers ahead of him had 4 starts except for Trevor Bauer). I suspect that after tonight's start, Darvish is #1 and Hendricks is #2.

Deeg

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #2750 on: August 13, 2020, 09:44:46 pm »
What a shame we don't have Jiggy here to remind us that Asians are soft and fragile.
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craig

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #2751 on: August 13, 2020, 10:10:07 pm »
..
70 BB
137 IP

Last 17 starts (2019-20):
11 BB
105.2 IP

Over that latter sample, the walk rate is 20% (on a per-inning rate) than over the front sample. 
Per inning, .52 walks/inning => 0.104 walks/inning. 

Pretty radical transformation for a pitcher in his 30's. 

Doesn't need to be quite that extreme, but I'd love to see Hottovy pull off a fraction of that walk-reduction with Kimbrel and Winkler, too!  :):).
(OK, I've given up on that happening for poor Maples.).

craig

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #2752 on: August 13, 2020, 10:16:33 pm »
Chatwood's walk-per-9 rate, 18-19-20:  8.2 - 4.3 - 2.4. 

He got clobbered last game, which was weird because he didn't walk anybody.  And being 3-appearances into the season, who knows where he'll go from here. 

But *IF* both Darvish AND Chatwood had radical reductions in their walk rates while working with Hottovy, that might look pretty impressive on his resume, if at some point he wants to look for a job elsewhere.  "Man, look what he did with Darvish and Chatwood..." would be what a lot of hopeful fans would be thinking...
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JR

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #2753 on: August 13, 2020, 10:24:20 pm »
Something that crossed my mind tonight, but once Quintana comes back, would there be any potential for Chatwood to make a Ryan Dempster type transition to closer or late inning reliever?  Maybe that last Royals start he had was a complete fluke, and we wouldn't want to take him out of the rotation.  Still, that might be something worth kicking around. 

craig

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #2754 on: August 13, 2020, 11:10:15 pm »
Something that crossed my mind tonight, but once Quintana comes back, would there be any potential for Chatwood to make a Ryan Dempster type transition to closer or late inning reliever?  Maybe that last Royals start he had was a complete fluke, and we wouldn't want to take him out of the rotation.  Still, that might be something worth kicking around. 

With thought and come playoffs with maybe zillions of off days, maybe you'll talk me into it.  :)

But my gut reaction really doesn't like that idea at all.  Chatwood has really good stuff, was excellent his other two starts.  I really like what he can bring to the rotation, and his stuff.  I think good Chatwood is probably way better than Q.  And the rotation has been doing so well, I'd really prefer not to mess with it, or to bring in another soft-tosser.  Bullpen is thin and short on lefties, *IF* Q has anything to offer, I think he can best do that in the pen.  I wouldn't mess with anything right now.  (If Chatwood stacks a couple of outings like last one, of course, I might change my tune...  But I'm pretty pro-Chatwood right now. 
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Bennett

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #2755 on: August 14, 2020, 01:03:23 am »
During the game, Rosenthal said the Cubs and Cardinals will likely play double headers on Monday and Wednesday next week.

Sounds like it is official.  (Considering, of course, that it is the Cardinals)

Derrick S. Goold  @dgoold  5h
#stlcards will play three doubleheaders in Chicago -- Saturday, Monday and Wednesday. The latter two coming in Wrigley vs #Cubs.


That comes to eight games in the next six days for the Cubs.

craig

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #2756 on: August 14, 2020, 08:20:20 am »
..That comes to eight games in the next six days for the Cubs.

How long does it take for a "stretched out" guy to get "unstretched"? 

In summer camp, the story was that we'd need multi-inning relievers, and relievers were being stretched out to that effect.  But given that the rotation has been giving ≥6 innings with only a couple of extensions, I think there have been only a couple of relief 2-inning efforts, and I'm not sure any with >7 batters. 

So will guys who were stretched out to be able to go 2-3 in summer camp still have that capacity, perhaps even more so because they are now so well rested?  Or will 3 weeks of non-use have removed it? 

That will be interesting and fun, and maybe a nice opportunity to see some of the reliever mish-mash. 

We've got 9 relievers.  *IF* the regular starter was able to give ≥5 innings in each of the M-T-W days, that could leave like ≤9, 2, and 9 innings to pick up on those days.  If a couple guys could go an extra inning (starters included), I'd think Ross has the numbers to make this work without excess stress.

Might be a cool opportunity for Colin Rea to maybe get a start and see if he might go 3 or 4.  I assume he was stretching for rotation work at South Bend? 
*I wonder if they'll try to rush Quintana back to start one of those?
*Or perhaps call up Alzolay to start one of them? 

craig

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #2757 on: August 14, 2020, 08:20:32 am »
Do the special rules allow any extra roster spots for double-headers?  For example, Alzolay on Monday and Q on Wednesday, without needing to cut anybody? 

Bennett

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #2758 on: August 14, 2020, 08:30:35 am »
Do the special rules allow any extra roster spots for double-headers?  For example, Alzolay on Monday and Q on Wednesday, without needing to cut anybody? 

Yes.

craig

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #2759 on: August 14, 2020, 09:21:27 am »
Thanks.  So then we'll have 10 non-rotation guys available for each of those days, including some "stretched" guys. 

might not be too bad at all.  Probably the key is that the rotation starters keep plugging away.  Chatwood got hammered last time, and Lester and Mills are probably both subject to pretty short starts *if* their stuff is off. 

But otherwise, a double-header is maybe like a 14-inning extra-inning game?  Only much less stressful, both because you have the extra pitcher available, and you know it's going 14 in advance, so you can pace your relievers accordingly, as opposed to 3 pitchers in the 9th and 2 more in the 10th and then running out of pitchers as the game extends unpredictably.  Plus with DH, *IF* you've got a guy who can extend for an extra inning or two, you don't need to pull him for a pinch hitter. 

Should be fun, I think!