4/15 - 4/28 Game Discussion Thread

[SPTO]

Re: 4/15 - 4/28 Game Discussion Thread

You know a guy is loved when he hits an RBI single in his return and gets cheered.

Classy gesture by the Jays doing a video tribute to Pillar as he went out to take the field in the bottom of the 1st as well.

[WaitTilNextYear]

Re: 4/15 - 4/28 Game Discussion Thread

Bellinger almost murders Quintana with a line drive, but Q's glove is just a little faster than Bellinger's exit velo. Self preservation.

[LambertandHam]

Re: 4/15 - 4/28 Game Discussion Thread

More solid pitching wasted for the Pirates.

[WaitTilNextYear]

Re: 4/15 - 4/28 Game Discussion Thread

Quintana is really on a roll lately. Hard to discount him absolutely shutting the Dodgers down tonight. If Almora is in CF instead of Heyward, Q's still got a shutout working.

EDIT: Quintana is one bad hombre...way to end his start with the backwards K on Muncy.

[WaitTilNextYear]

Re: 4/15 - 4/28 Game Discussion Thread

Couple of interesting nuggets for the Cubs. Kris Bryant has exactly 1 HR (.365 SLG) so far this season in 19 games. He hit 39 in 2016 (.554 SLG), then 29 in 2017 (.537 SLG), then only 13 last year (.460 SLG). This trend is not good.

Ben Zobrist has 13 hits this season, all singles. Maybe Father Time is finally catching up to him.

[Jr.]

Re: 4/15 - 4/28 Game Discussion Thread

Couple of interesting nuggets for the Cubs. Kris Bryant has exactly 1 HR (.365 SLG) so far this season in 19 games. He hit 39 in 2016 (.554 SLG), then 29 in 2017 (.537 SLG), then only 13 last year (.460 SLG). This trend is not good.

Ben Zobrist has 13 hits this season, all singles. Maybe Father Time is finally catching up to him.

It's not good how completely lost Bryant looks at the plate the last 2 weeks.

As for Zobrist, I wonder what the MLB record is for most singles before an extra base hit to start the season?

[canes21]

Re: 4/15 - 4/28 Game Discussion Thread

Mr. Biddle is some kind of bullpen pitcher.

[franch1se]

Re: 4/15 - 4/28 Game Discussion Thread

Mallex Smith with a Jose Canseco light play to give Hedges a HR

[PhilliesFan13]

Re: 4/15 - 4/28 Game Discussion Thread

The Mets continue to show how "professional" they are by intentionally throwing at Rhys Hoskins head twice in the same at-bat with 2 outs in the 9th inning of a 9-0 game. The second pitch at the head was after both benches were warned. How Jacob Rhame was not ejected is beyond me. He should be suspended.

The Mets are a total trash organization.

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[countryboy]

Re: 4/15 - 4/28 Game Discussion Thread

There's a new leader in the NL Central Division.

Quick end the season and start the playoffs now...

[Blzer]

Re: 4/15 - 4/28 Game Discussion Thread

Couple of interesting nuggets for the Cubs. Kris Bryant has exactly 1 HR (.365 SLG) so far this season in 19 games. He hit 39 in 2016 (.554 SLG), then 29 in 2017 (.537 SLG), then only 13 last year (.460 SLG). This trend is not good.

It's that poo-poo swing plane, man.

[fugazi]

Re: 4/15 - 4/28 Game Discussion Thread

The shoulder injury was a thing.
Does it go back to being hit in the head?
I have always got the impression KB was a little "soft", mentally speaking. Just an impression.

Add to that Chili Davis's comments about unnamed players needing to adjust their approach...seems more likely to be about KB than, say, Russell or Rizzo or Contreras...but idk.

I also think forcing him in to the 2-hole for 3 straight years has not been a good thing. I know he's not hitting anything right now, but since he's been in that spot he's up far too often with no one on base. He's a fastball hitter, and has a big fly ball swing...that's not 2-hole material, especially if your leadoff guys hardly get on base...that's middle or back middle of the lineup stuff, where you're more likely to have RISP, more likely to see fastballs.

He's striking out almost every 3-3.5 PAs.

I say this despite his poor BAw/RISP back in 2017...which suggests he's either being impatient or not aggressive enough. I don't recall a lot of long KB plate appearances...he's not a BB guy...the book was out after 2016 in terms of throwing fastballs to the Cubs...I'd like to see how many early breaking balls he goes after that get him behind or are weakly rolled over.

It's like Derek Lee all over again, in a lot of ways. Like it almost left overnight.

Tall guys can't afford to lose much bat speed...that seems sensible, anyway...perhaps that's the case here.

He also talked about lowering his launch angle after 2016...his GO/AO ratio was 0.59 in 2016...it has not been CLOSE since, staying in the 0.80+ range for the most part, and 0.95 this year...his strong pre-injury 2018 likely saw a return to form, as even after the injury, the season's ratio was 0.75.

It's hard not to think that injury has caused a hitch of some sort.

Regardless, there should be a few people in the organization looking at old tape and making constructive comparisons...and I think it's malfeasance to create such a GAPING HOLE at the top of your lineup, given the lack of leadoff production and KB's decline...plus Rizzo seeming to be older than his 30yrs...

Rizzo would be great in the 2-spot, and the team can still go LRLR in different ways. It's time for the Cubs to treat KB like a liability in the lineup until he puts the bat on the ball.

And Maddon seems to have gone full Piniella.

[fugazi]

Re: 4/15 - 4/28 Game Discussion Thread

Couple of interesting nuggets for the Cubs. Kris Bryant has exactly 1 HR (.365 SLG) so far this season in 19 games. He hit 39 in 2016 (.554 SLG), then 29 in 2017 (.537 SLG), then only 13 last year (.460 SLG). This trend is not good.

Ben Zobrist has 13 hits this season, all singles. Maybe Father Time is finally catching up to him.

And Schwarber is somehow doing worse than Bryant, despite being in a platoon.

smh

[canes21]

Re: 4/15 - 4/28 Game Discussion Thread

The Mets continue to show how "professional" they are by intentionally throwing at Rhys Hoskins head twice in the same at-bat with 2 outs in the 9th inning of a 9-0 game. The second pitch at the head was after both benches were warned. How Jacob Rhame was not ejected is beyond me. He should be suspended.

The Mets are a total trash organization.

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I feel like you make a similar post about every single NL East team. The Nats are trash, the Braves are arrogant, the Mets are unprofessional. The hate is real in this one.

[Jr.]

Re: 4/15 - 4/28 Game Discussion Thread

It's that poo-poo swing plane, man.

Swing plane didn't bother him for two plus years

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