Bleacher Bums Forum

95.4 average velocity vs 96.7 last year in his brief time up.

It could be just ramping up still, being in low leverage situations this year.  He has a 25% whiff percentage on his fastball and the RPM and active spin haven't changed from last.  It is still an above average fastball.

And if Estrada is getting more movement and better location at 95+ vs 96+, the lower speed will certainly play better.

MLB hitters can handle 100 if straight and poorly located, though it's hard for me to believe any human could hit a ball moving that fast!

I've stood next to the box with the pitcher throwing just under 90 and the ball looked like a speeding bullet to me.

When once asked how he still gets it done throwing 88-90, Greg Maddux said, "Well, 90 is pretty fast." His FB moved a lot, but he's right.

Boy, you ain’t lying, it is impossible for a normal human being to hit a baseball with a bat when the ball is traveling 90 mph, let alone when it curves or sinks or slurves or sweeps, or seems to be coming straight for your head.  It’s incredible really that hitters can actually DO that, hit it.

Yesterday Estrada has a 1-2-3 out-of-jam on about 10 pitches, it seems really great.  But Vogelbach just missed a HR on his deep fly ball, center field warning track.  Wind blowing out a little, or had he squared it up by a millimeter, that's a 3-run HR.  There's a narrow margin in the game. 

Cubs get runners to second and third with nobody out in the 4th and fail to score.  Hard to win that way.

Terrible.

And was #8 and #9 hitters who got on and guy with 89% contact rate then Ks for the key first out.

Can’t give away an inning like that.

Hoerner lined a homer for a bit of breathing room. More baserunners for Suzuki.

Cubs win 4-2 as Stroman goes 8 and Leiter closes it out.

Trivia from Yahoo:

The Chicago Cubs are 24-11 (68.6%) vs. the New York Mets over their last 35 games

Game 3 of Mets series and Cubs starting Morel at DH and Tauchmam in CF again.

This is 4th game in a row with the above arrangement. Morel DH; Tauchman CF.

Sometimes, Cubs put someone at DH who can be pinch hit for later in game by a guy who plays a different position and that explains the DH choice. More flexibility.

But, here, Cubs won’t be pinch hitting for Morel, so seems fair to conclude just prefer Tauchman defensively in CF—even over any desire to “develop” Morel as a CFer going forward, at least lately.

Cubs stopped playing Morel at 3B after couple weeks of AAA season, not sure why. Not playing 3B since the call-up. No opening for Morel middle IF for several seasons to come. Ditto corner OF. Maybe to rest Happ against a lefty.

Maybe he’s a DH going forward, period, with very occasional forays playing a position? He’s hitting enough, obviously, to be a DH.

Consider him basically career DH/utility?