Baseball

The White Sox Are On Message With Dylan Cease, They Just Don’t Seem To Know It

By Sam Fels 1339 0

You can certainly understand White Sox fans’ frustration. When Lucas Giolito isn’t pitching, thanks to injuries or various incompetence, having to suffer through Manny Banuelos or Ivan Nova or earlier Ervin Santana or Dylan Covey (“Dylan Arrieta” according to Fifth Feather) isn’t a great way to extend one’s lifespan. Especially with Dylan Cease sitting at Charlotte, and seemingly putting up numbers that would warrant a look. Certainly a look over the circus clowns that have toed the slab (god I love baseball terminology) for the Sox so far.

Still, if you look at what the Sox have done with their other pitching prospects, it makes perfect sense that Cease isn’t here yet. Between the Cubs and Sox systems, Cease has thrown 336 innings in the minors over parts of five seasons. How much did the others go through? Michael Kopech threw 383 innings in the minors before coming up for brief air last year. Giolito threw 367 in the Nationals system before he got a brief call to DC, and then the Sox piled on another 128 in Charlotte for him upon arriving under their tent for a total just under 500. Reynaldo Lopez had thrown 307 innings in the Nationals system as well before getting his own cameo in the Capital, and then the Sox piled on another 121 in AAA for him after his trade for a total of 428 innings in the minors. So only Kopech has thrown a similar total of innings in the minors to Cease before being called up, and that was just a shade under 50 more innings. Kopech is also now on the shelf, so take that for what it’s worth.

Scouting reports suggest that while Cease is getting the results in Charlotte, the process is still a touch wonky. He’s falling behind in counts and powering through with his fastball, which works there but definitely won’t work in the majors, especially as it gets hotter on the Southside and it returns to its normal air-traffic control disturbance. The other side is that Cease isn’t getting any luck considering the amount of ground-balls he’s giving up, and he might actually benefit from getting to pitch in front of what’s been for now at least a plus-infield defense.

Of course, every pitcher is different and no plan should work for two people. Everyone’s still guessing at this, of course.

Still, it’s a little jarring when Rick Hahn comes out and compares Cease’s promotion timetable to that of Eloy Jimenez’s, because we all know that Jimenez’s was bullshit. Jimenez was ready to be in the majors last year, and probably even pretty close to the start of the season and everyone knew it. The Sox kept him in Charlotte thanks to the CBA and getting another year of control, and guised it as the normal, “Oh he needs to work on his defense (this is left field, people),” or “We just want to make sure he’s ready.”

There are no such concerns with Cease, which makes the comparison to Jimenez pretty weird. The Sox appear to be enacting the same plan with Cease that they have with all their other pitchers, and that’s the story they could easily stick to. And fuck, even with that plan, it took Giolito a full-season and plus to become this. Lopez hasn’t become anything yet, and Kopech has his arm in ice. So maybe they’re figuring it out with the rest of us.

Hahn’s probably on the right track here, he should just avoid mentioning Jimenez when describing that track. Doesn’t really support the argument.

Everything Else

Offseason Trade Target(s): Calgary Salary Flotsam

By Sam Fels 1741 0

It would seem odd that the Flames would want to detract from the strength of their team, which is their blue line. However, with $14M in cap space, and a now very expensive Garbage Son Tkachuk to re-sign, the Flames might be looking to jettison either Travis Hamonic or TJ Brodie to make room. Especially with Oliver Kylington and Rasmus Andersson both up next year and big parts of the future, if everything works out. There have been rumors the Flames are kicking the tires on what they can get for each. And because they’re looking only to get rid of money, they’re probably a little more open to just getting picks and/or prospects back and not too worried about something that can go straight on the roster.

We’ll start with TJ Brodie. Seemingly he is more of what the Hawks need than say Ryan Murray or Jacob Trouba. He has feet, can push the play, and is left-handed. Generally though he has preferred to play the right side, as he did all of last year being paired with likely Norris winner Mark Giordano.

And that’s the rub with Brodie. It’s kind of hard to know what he is because generally, he’s sucked when away from Mark Giordano and been really good with him. So yeah, his metrics from this year are pretty glittering, when he was paired with #5 all season. The season previous, when it was Dougie Hamilton with Giordano and Brodie with Hamonic, very much less glittering. In fact, you have to go all the way back to 2015-2016 to find the last season Brodie had where he was above the team-rate in possession and expected goals, and wouldn’t you know it that was the last season previous to this one where he was paired with Giordano for most of it.

I hate to break this to you, but there’s no Mark Giordano here. The Hawks might think there is, they might even think that Duncan Keith is still Mark Giordano, but he’s not. Now, perhaps Keith can claw back some of his faded glory with a mobile partner who can clean up the greater amount of messes he leaves around these days, and Brodie is certainly mobile. But Brodie hasn’t responded well to doing most of the puck-carrying in the past, when paired with Hamonic or Big Money Wides, as he was in the past. Keith doesn’t really handle the puck up the ice, or at least shouldn’t, preferring to try and make plays happen at the line still (which he can’t do nearly as well but we’ve had that talk). So Brodie is an odd fit.

Hamonic is clearly a different player. Much more stationary, much more the road grater, and even more of what the Hawks probably don’t need. He had a much improved season last year in Calgary, but he still was behind the team-rate in the metrics we look at. He was paired with Noah Hanifin, who everyone agreed has a very rough season in Alberta, but Hanifin’s numbers improve away from Hamonic, so you deal with that. Hamonic’s metrics are always going to suffer because he’s been used in the defensive zone the most of any team he’s been on for the most part, and he’s not a puck-mover. Neither is Hanifin, but Brodie was supposed to be in ’17-’18 and that didn’t go well for anybody. Then again, the Flames were coached by a moron then in Glengarry Glenn Galutzan, but Hamonic has been around now for a while and we know what he is.

If you could put a left-sided puck-mover with Hamonic, it’s just crazy enough to work. Again, the Hawks might think that’s Keith, and Hamonic would be an improvement on Seabrook in that area, but that’s also a pairing asking for a ton of trouble. He’d be the perfect partner for Gusatfsson if Gus actually had feet, which he does not. He’s basically slower Connor Murphy, which the Hawks don’t need.

Still, there are appeals. One, both are on the last year of their deals and neither are very expensive. Brodie clocks in at $4.6M and Hamonic at $3.8M. Given their contact status, and age, they really wouldn’t be that expensive in a trade. Maybe a lower round pick and a non-Boqvist prospect is enough to get it done. Then you get a year to see what it looks like, if you’re not really planning on doing much this year anyway (which the Hawks still might be), and if it doesn’t work you send them on their way with the cap space in tow.

But again, these are middle of the road moves that don’t address the top of the roster which needs addressing. The Hawks don’t have the pieces that would help Brodie or Hamonic maximize their usefulness, which is now why I totally expect this to happen.

Baseball

Series Preview – Nationals vs. White Sox: Mini Discontent

By Sam Fels 1088 0

vs.

RECORDS: Nationals 30-35   White Sox 31-33

GAMETIMES: Monday and Tuesday at 7:10

TV: WGN Monday, NBCSN Tuesday

NOT THE EXPOS: Federal Baseball

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS

Anibal Sanchez vs. Odrisamer Despaigne

Patrick Corbin vs. TBA

PROBABLE NATIONALS LINEUP

Trea Turner – SS

Adam Eaton – RF

Anthony Rendon – 3B

Juan Soto – LF

Howie Kendrick – 1B

Matt Adams – DH

Brian Dozier – 2B

Gerardo Parra – CF

Yan Gomes – C

PROBABLE WHITE SOX LINEUP

Leury Garcia – CF

Yoan Moncada – 3B

Jose Abreu – DH

James McCann – C

Eloy Jimenez – LF

Yonder Alonso – 1B

Tim Anderson – SS

Yolmer Sanchez – 2B

Charlie Tilson – RF

 

The Sox and Nats finish out what is essentially a split four-game series the next two nights, leaving the Sox with the rare Wednesday off before the Yankees and all their fans smelling of sauerkraut show up for four through the weekend. In the interim, the Nationals spent the weekend in San Diego, splitting four with the Padres. That included hitting four consecutive homers off Craig Stammen yesterday to get a win, and it’s not like Stammen is on my fantasy team or anything and I’m not bitter at all.

It continued a soft push toward the middle for the Nats, who have won 11 of their last 15 since getting swept by the Mets. They’re still not really close to .500, much less ready to push the Braves or Philies, but they’re at least not loitering down with the Marlins as they were.

The offense has tuned up for them, as all of Kendrick, Rendon, Dozier, Suzuki, and Soto are on fire the past couple weeks. The Sox will know all about Suzuki, who has seemingly been the hitting version of Bruce Chen to them for his entire career, no matter where he’s plying his trade. That’s the last thing the Sox need right now.

The Sox will get another face-full of Anibal Sanchez, who pretty much rubbed their ass in the moonshine last out in DC. They’ll also get a first look at Patrick Corbin, who has been chum in his last two starts, giving up nine runs over 7.2 innings to the Reds and Padres. But on his day he can make you look pretty dumb.

As always with the Nats, their bridge to Sean Doolittle is rickety and unstable, and is pretty much the Tacoma Narrows bridge. Of late, Tanner Rainey, Matt Grace, and Wander Suero has held down the fort ok, and if that continues the Nationals have it in them to make a run in the NL East. Especially as the Phillies haven’t really gotten away.

For the Sox, they’ll continue to refuse to call Dylan Cease up even though Dylan Covey is now on the IL and they’re on their like 12th starter. So the wonderfully named Odrisamer Despaigne will get the call to bring his underwhelming repertoire to Comiskey, and to call him a journeyman would be something of a disservice. The Sox are his fifth organization in five years, perfecting the “have arm, will travel” career arc. He’s a seat-filler, but that’s apparently what the Sox think they need right now. They don’t have anyone listed for Tuesday night, so we could all be in for the Manny Banuelos experience again.

In other moves, Jace Fry is also on the IL and Nicky Delmonico was released to follow The Backstreet Boys on tour, as is his destiny.

A weird two-gamer before the always anticipated visit of the Yanks. Off we go.

 

Baseball

Nationals Spotlight: Patrick Corbin, Sliding Into Your…Everywhere

By Sam Fels 1162 0

There is something pretty simple about identifying your best pitch and deciding you’re just going to throw the ever living fuck out of it and see what happens. Most pitchers have decided they need a mix to get through a lineup two or three times. Then there are pitchers like Patrick Corbin, who stand out on a rock and say things like, “I throw a goddamn slider half the time and I dare you to do anything about it.”

The past two seasons, which just so happened to be the last two seasons before free agency for Corbin in Arizona, he decided that’s what he was going to do. Only two pitchers threw more sliders than Corbin in 2017, and only Jhoulys Chacin threw more last year. You could understand why, as according to FanGraphs it was the most valuable slider in the game. When toting that kind of weapon, it’s probably best you use it as much as you can, especially when you’re eying a contract with nine-digits on it, as Corbin got from the Nationals.

The scary thing for the Nats, or maybe it should have been, is that pitchers that lean that hard on a slider don’t tend to do very well long-term. Last year the top slider-throwers were Chacin, Corbin, Luis Severino, Jakob Junis, and Jon Gray. Chacin and Junis have ERAs over 5.00 this year, and Severino has yet to throw a pitch thanks to a lat strain. Only Gray has improved on what he did last year, and only marginally really.

In 2017, the top slider-throwers were Chris Archer, Corbin, Jason Hammel, John Lackey, and Ervin Santana. Archer has backed up since, and you don’t need me to tell you what happened to the other three.

The year previous, Madison Bumgarner made his way into the top five as far as throwing a slider, and then 2017 was the first year he ever got hurt and ended up missing about half the season. Same goes for Michael Pineda. It’s a very hard pitch to maintain its sharpness over multiple years and also your health. This is the needle that Corbin is trying to thread.

It would appear Corbin is somewhat aware of this, as he’s backed off of it a bit, throwing it 5% less than last year and replacing it with more fastball usage. It seems to have cost him some strikeouts and increased his walks, but he’s still got an ERA and FIP under 4.00. He’ll be hard-pressed to ever match the 11 K/9 that he put up last year, and if that’s what the Nationals thought they were paying for, well that’s on them.

The thing is, Corbin’s slider is getting more movement, both down and across the zone, than it did last year:

So he might be better off just riding and dying with it, whenever that might be.

That doesn’t make his signing any less weird. Yes, the Nationals definitely had a hole in the rotation after Scherzer and Strasburg, and you wouldn’t want any part of this in a playoff series. But does that matter if you’re not getting to the playoff series? The Nationals have a pretty middling offense–partly due to the growing pains of Victor Robles and Juan Soto–and a woeful bullpen. They also have an overmatched manager. Was another starter really highest on the shopping list?

It’s definitely a Cerberus of a top of a rotation. It’s just a wonder if that’s worth it when it’s getting you 80 wins.

Everything Else

Offseason Trade Target: Jacob Trouba

By Sam Fels 1956 0

As we idle away waiting for Game 7, and really the offseason when the Hawks will be involved again, it’s probably time to cycle through some possible targets the Hawks could trade for. There will be time to discuss free agents, the draft as well, but we know a lot of deals happen between the end of the Final and draft day, and really right up until July 1st. With the free agent market being pretty damn thin, the Hawks are likely going to have to work out an exchange with someone if they want to upgrade either the defense or top six.

So let’s start with probably the best d-man available via trade, Jacob Trouba (unless Carolina gives up on Dougie, but we don’t know that they will).

Trouba is an RFA this summer, which means you could simply offer sheet him and just give up the draft picks. That runs the risk of the Jets matching, a forfeiture of picks that is a tad heavy, as well as breaking the NHL’s unwritten “no offer sheets” rule. So it’s more likely you’d have to work out a straight trade for his rights.

To some, it may be curious why the Jets would be giving up on their top-pairing d-man, and they certainly don’t have to do anything given his restricted status. But the Jets and Trouba have been at odds for years, and it’s hardly a secret that he wants out and has for some time. And the Jets, after a pretty sad first-round flameout are eager to make some changes, and probably want to keep a large chunk of the $25 mildo in space they have for Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor and maybe some new blood. Something is amiss up there (it’s behind the bench but they seem determined to ignore that), and the Jets will try and address it. They very well may start with clearing out a malcontent.

So the next question is what is Jacob Trouba? Well, he’s big at 6-3, but he’s mobile as well. There is a snarl to his game, or there can be. He took the hard shifts, along with Josh Morrissey, for the past few years, freeing up Dustin Byfuglien to do whatever it is he does, when he could be bothered to be healthy and not straining himself at Timbo’s. The last three years, Trouba has started about half of his shifts in the defensive zone

So with the unsheltered zone starts and the toughest competition, it puts something of a thin layer of gloss to his generally team-rate metrics. Trouba has always been just a tick ahead of the team rate when it comes to attempts and expected goals, and is just a year removed from a dominant year in expected goals relative to the rest of the Jets (+5.07).

Trouba is coming off something of an offensive explosion, setting a career-high in points with 50, 17 more than his previous high. Most of that can be attributed to far more power play time thanks to Byfuglien’s needing time with a wash cloth on a stick, and you can bank a lot of points on the man advantage simply being out there with Wheeler, Scheifele, and Laine. Clearly, Trouba wouldn’t get that here but he also wouldn’t be following a bunch of dolts on the power play either. Assuming he could get on it, which seems far fetched thanks to the presence of Messrs. Gustafsson, Keith, and Seabrook.

The other factor is that Trouba is right-handed, and balked in the past when the Jets tried to kick him over to the left side. The Hawks seem to be collecting right-shooting d-men, and just on the team next year you’d have Seabrook, Jokiharju, and Murphy. The latter two have shown they can play the left side if need be, but one wonders how much you want to go to that well.

Still, something seemed off with Trouba during the playoffs and most of the year. Maybe it was just the misery of the Jets, but at times when you’ve wanted him to dominate playoff games, it just hasn’t quite been there. That said, Trouba was excellent in the playoffs just a year ago when the Jets made their only run, so it’s in him, it’s just not always apparent.

Another question about Trouba is what kind of surcharge the Jets would slap on him to trade him within the division, and whether he is worth it. The Jets and Trouba clearly want to be done with each other, but there won’t be a shortage of suitors and the Jets would almost certainly prefer to get him somewhere where they don’t have to deal with him five times a year. It doesn’t always work out that way, but clearly the Hawks offer would have to best the second-best one by a distance.

What the Jets would be looking for is another question. They don’t really need another forward, though it probably can’t hurt. Trouba’s absence would have to be accounted for, especially as Byfuglien is getting fucking old. Selling them on just the Hawks defensive prospects is a stretch to be sure. Perhaps you could sell them on Gustafsson’s ridiculously low contract for a year and insurance that they would have a PP QB whenever Buff pulls another section of fat. But the Hawks seem to treat Gus like he’s found gold or that check that Ricky Henderson framed instead of depositing.

The bottom line is that Trouba is an improvement on what the Hawks have, and by a distance. He’s idealized Murphy, in that he’s not a puck-mover per se but he’s also not simply a road grater. He can get your team up the ice through passing and breaking up plays instead of his feet, but you’d want to pair him with another mobile d-man who can use his feet on the other side. The Hawks don’t have that right now, though they probably think it’s still Keith if just in the right spot.

It’s hard to believe but Trouba is still only 25, so some sort of long-term commitment is unlikely to bite you in the ass until very well down the road. He’s not everything the Hawks need, but he’s a lot of it. The problem is the Jets are going to be asking for the moon and they just might get it. Saad and a prospect and a second-round pick might not even be enough, and I can’t see the Hawks wanting to go much further than that. Especially as the Jets don’t really need Saad and the prospect almost certainly wouldn’t help them this year and the Jets are very much in their window.

It’s a long-shot, but one worth considering.

Baseball

Series Preview – Cubs vs. Rockies: This Is The Funhouse

By Sam Fels 1151 0

vs.

RECORDS: Cubs 37-27   Rockies 33-31

GAMETIMES: Monday and Tuesday 7:40, Wednesday 2:10

TV: NBCSN Monday and Wednesday, WGN Tuesday

PROBABLY HAVE NEVER HEARD OF JOE WALSH: Purple Row

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS

Yu Darvish vs. German Marquez

Jose Quintana vs. Peter Lambert

Cole Hamels vs. Antonio Senzatela 

PROBABLE CUBS LINEUP

Kyle Schwarber – LF

Kris Bryant – 3B

Anthony Rizzo – 1B

Javier Baez – SS

Victor Caratini – C

Addison Russell – 2B

Carlos Gonzalez – RF

Jason Heyward – CF

PROBABLE ROCKIES LINEUP

Charlie Blackmon – RF

Trevor Story – SS

David Dahl – CF

Nolan Arenado – 3B

Daniel Murphy – 1B

Raimel Tapia – LF

Ryan McMahon – 2B

Tony Wolters – C

 

After a successful homestand that seemed to wash away the struggles of the previous week, the Cubs head out on a not particularly pleasant road trip. The first stop is the baseball funhouse that is Coors Field, where the hope is to get out alive as much as winning the series. Something stupid always happens during the course of these, and it feels like there’s almost always at least one 13-11 loss where the lead changes with every half inning starting in the 6th. The Cubs will do their best to avoid that, as the Brewers aren’t going anywhere.

The Rocky Tops spent the interim between these series with a weekend in Queens (what a fate), losing two of three to the mystery box Mets. But hey, sometimes you just get Thor’d and Matz’d, even if the latter’s elbow is made of wishes and dreams at this point. That’s the annoying thing about the Mets. The Cubs will worry about that next week, though.

The Cubs will get another look at Peter Lambert, whom they didn’t have an answer for at Wrigley and helped the Rockies avoid a sweep. The difference this time around is they’ll also see Antonio Senzatela, who’s had a small home run problem, which is actually a big problem. They got past German Marquez last week, and will have to do so again tonight which is generally not what you’d choose.

The Rockies are in something of a tough spot. The Dodgers are already over the hills and far away, and barring something completely inexplicable they won’t be caught. The deficit is 11 games. Which leaves them wondering just how hard to push for a coin-flip spot, which would be their third in a row. It got them…well, a quick exit last year, and they assuredly had higher hopes this time around. But are you giving up assets for half a playoff spot? You wouldn’t think so, and there’s plenty of competition with whichever of the Cubs or Brewers don’t get there, the Braves, if the Nats can ever get their head out of their ass, and the Diamondbacks are ahead of them as we speak.

As strange as it might sound, the Rockies could probably use another bat or two. The numbers make it look better than it is thanks to altitude, but they have holes in center, left, and the right side of the infield because Daniel Murphy is very crisp at the moment. Getting David Dahl more playing time would help, and they’re going to try and stick him in center and hold their nose and hope nothing explodes. He did play there in the minors, and maybe the improvement in his bat is enough to keep Ian Desmond on the bench, as one of the more boneheaded signings in recent memory.

The Rockies should be putting up boxcar numbers every night. Right now they only put up good ones. If Gray can avoid blister problems they probably have enough in the rotation and pen to make a run at the coin flip spot, but that is just about the height of their expectations right now.

For the Cubs, they’ll just try and not have a shredded pitching staff to roll into Los Angeles with, which is the last place you’d want to do that. Joe Maddon will give Carlos Gonzalez at least one start you’d think in his old stomping ground, which…fine. Just not going to waste the breath. There will also be a game where he deploys the hands team in the outfield for the whole thing because he might have to. Yu Darvish looks for an actual decision this time, maybe even a win.

These are always silly. Try and enjoy the ride.

 

 

Baseball

Rockies Spotlight: Chuck Nasty And Taking The Emotion Out Of It

By Sam Fels 2359 0

If you’re a cold-eyed analyst, and probably to be the best you can at being an analyst, you wouldn’t have handed Charlie Blackmon another five years on his deal last year as his contact was winding down (or four with a club option. Details, details…). He was entering his 30s, wasn’t very productive away from the altitude, and the question of how much longer he could play center was already popping up. That last one has already been answered, as Blackmon has spent this season playing right field.

And again, on a sheet of paper, Blackmon playing right field doesn’t give you all that much. He doesn’t hit for quite enough power, even in Coors, that you would expect from a right fielder, doesn’t have the arm for it, and these days he’s not even covering enough ground for right in Denver. Basically the Rockies need to field three center fielders to make it work out there, and center fielders who can all hit, it’s a real trick. Even with heightened slugging, Blackmon has been worth just 0.6 fWAR so far this season, putting him on pace for little more than a 2.0-fWAR season.

The signing wouldn’t make much sense for any team other than the Rockies. The thing is though, it does for the Rockies. Because while it would matter to the other 29 teams that Blackmon has only been an average hitter on the road in his career, the Rockies do get the 81 games at home that Blackmon would play. The question is would any palooka you put out there give you an above-average season there offensively, and could they do it with a better glove and at a cheaper rate? And possibly younger. David Dahl comes to mind, although he doesn’t really come equipped with the glove. Like, at all.

Still, the Rockies have rarely had homegrown talent their fans can get attached to since Helton and Holliday. Tulowitzki was traded (and then all the king’s horses and all the king’s men…), and Arenado and Blackmon give the Rockies that. There is value in that, if only to the fanbase. After all, if you take the emotion out of being a baseball fan, what’s the point?

And Blackmon might make it work for a season or two. He’s slugging higher than he has in his career aside from his bonkers 2017 when he was a nearly 7-WAR player. It might have to do with hitting more fly balls than he ever has, and there’s a lot of space for them to land comfortably in grass in Coors. He’s also hitting them as hard as he did in that 2017, so maybe the right field thing will work better than we think. Saving the legs a bit?

Blackmon doesn’t appear to be selling out on fastballs to do that either, as some other players his age have done. He’s absolutely murdering curveballs and change-ups this year as well as maintaining his excellent work on fastballs. So it’s probably sustainable as there isn’t an obvious avenue pitchers can go. Blackmon has chose to swing at more pitches and take the slightly more whiffs along with it to get the more contact, and it’s working.

Still, Chuck Nasty is will turn 33 in a few weeks, and he’s signed until he’s 37. What’s that going to look like in two years when he can’t get around right field anymore either? The Rockies don’t have a center field prospect coming through, and Ian Desmond is not a solution out there anyone should be satisfied with. Raimel Tapia seems to have all the instincts for the game as a sloth. It’s going to be a tough picture for the Rockies to solve pretty soon.

Still, Blackmon has been the heartbeat for this team for a while, if Arenado is the star. Sometimes you just can’t let a player walk because it makes the most sense analytically. We can try and sell that, but it’ll never work. The Rockies will just have to suck it up, and their fans won’t mind because Blackmon will retire as a Rockie most likely. Maybe that’s not so bad.

Everything Else

Stanley Cup Final Game 6 Recap – Oh, So Close

By Sam Fels 1936 0

“If you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”

That was the text compatriot Matt McClure sent us before puck drop last night, fearing that we were about to cross the rubicon and face our worst fears. But what we should have remembered is…this is the St. Louis Blues.

So of course they were going to come out with their ass-hair on fire and run everywhere and over everyone, but of course they would take it too far in front of their drooling, screaming, belching fanbase and take a dumb penalty to ruin it all. Step up and be counted, Brayden Schenn! Then a little slice of bad luck, the only kind they’ve ever known, with ROR putting the puck over the glass, and they’re chasing the rest of the night.

There’s a tendency to push this as a Tuukka Rask game, and he was brilliant and back to the level he had been. But by any measure the Bruins actually controlled this one, dominating attempts, scoring chances, and expected goals. The Blues can’t say they put Rask under the cosh when they only fired 29 shots at him. Yes, they had good chances, but not a fountain of them. Considering the condition the Bruins are in, they should never be able to hold the Blues at arm’s length for a game like this. But essentially, they did.

Let’s clean it up.

The Two Obs

-The Bruins were able to do what they do because their best players were their best players again. The Perfect Line was all over 60%, as was Charlie McAvoy, who I might not get but he was magnificent last night. When in control and not trying to Leo Messi everything, he is the perfect antidote to the rabid dog forecheck of the Blues because he’s quick and shifty enough to simply evade it. David Krejci actually appeared last night, which gave the Bruins a second line of threat.

-For all the huffing and butt-chugging of Ryan O’Reilly last night by the broadcast and his magical faceoff abilities, his line got their head kicked in by McAvoy and Chara, which shouldn’t happen at all because Chara was a complete liability last night. All the action happened around him. He looked like when Ant-Man enlarges himself at the airport and Spider-Man and Iron Man are just flying around him. He couldn’t get to any loose puck, and when he did he generally turned it over. And other than his non-consequential goal, ROR’s line did nothing about it.

-Bruce Cassidy, in a change, kept Chara-McAvoy separate from Bergeron’s line, and let the latter simply nullify the Blues top line of Schwartz-Schenn-Tarasenko. They carried an 85% possession mark against them. You would expect to see this a lot on Wednesday when Cassidy can also choose the matchups, and wonder why maybe New Genius Berube didn’t try something else?

-I’ve always liked John Moore, but recognize that both Devils and Bruins fans hate him because he really has become past sell-by date milk the past few years. That said, in a third pairing role last night he had a very strong game which could have been a weakness the Blues exploited.

-Boy, it wouldn’t be a true Blues balls-up without a really bad goal, huh? Thanks for sticking with tradition, Jordan Binnington. It looked exactly like Sharp’s goal against Ryan Miller in Game 6 in ’14. Brought back so many memories. They’ll be replaying that one for a while if the Blues don’t come out on top on Wednesday. I’m here for it.

-So I’d love to pronounce the Blues dead, but it hasn’t worked that way this spring. They biffed both their home games against the Jets but then took another win in Winnipeg after that. They were down 3-2 to the Stars but came through that. They recovered from “that call” against the Sharks. Yes, this feels like where it should come undone and you can’t really fathom the Bruins losing three straight at home, especially if Rask is going to play like this. But if any Blues team is different, and I’m not sure they are yet, it’s this one.

You could also see them giving up three power play goals in the 1st period on truly moronic penalties and all of us giggling and frothing at the mouth on our couches. Should be fun.

Baseball

Series Wrap – Cubs Sweep Cardinals: Pretty Good For A Bunch Of Sucks, No?

By Sam Fels 2146 0

Game 1 Box Score: Cubs 3, Cardinals 1

Game 2 Box Score: Cubs 9, Cardinals 4

Game 3 Box Score: Cubs 5, Cardinals 1

It was only a week ago before most of Cubdom was tearing their hair out and declaring it was all over people, we don’t have a prayer. Swept in St. Louis tends to bring everyone to the irrational zone. The Cubs just has a bad couple weeks, but they seem intent on backing up a bad 10-12 games with a solid month, and they certainly got off to a great start to that by taking six of seven on a homestand. The Cards came into this series with a chance to really vault themselves into the discussion. They leave 5.5 games back and under .500. The Brewers are enough to deal with, thanks.

Let’s get to it.

The Two Obs

-We’ll have to start with Kyle Schwarber, who appears primed to go on a binge. He didn’t start on Friday, but had four hits the past two days, four RBI, a homer on basically a half-swing after seeing 11 pitches Saturday, and another two doubles. The War Bear’s OPS has now crawled above .800, and his OPS from the leadoff spot is higher than Dexter Fowler’s was in 2016 so maybe everyone can shut the fuck up about Fowler for like five minutes? His ABs have been great for a while now and he wasn’t getting the results. This is what he should have gotten. I don’t think this is just a hot streak. I think this is what he is. Let’s go.

-We can go over Jon Lester’s numbers and trends all we want. Point out the added walks and the less ground balls and the harder contact. But at the end of the day, he might just be Sargent Hartman’s corollary, “Sometimes guts is enough.” He’ll have bad innings, he’ll have bad starts even. But more often than not, he’s just going to find a way. He had a bad inning last night, and then tossed five innings where the Cards didn’t even get the ball out of the infield. I’m not sure how, Don’t even know why. He just did it.

-Meanwhile, Cole Hamels on Friday decided it was time to go back to the fastball, as he threw it more than he had in his last five starts. It was mostly that and change-ups, and the Cards didn’t have much of an answer.

-The pen didn’t give up a run all series, but was only asked to cover six innings over three games. Given that workload, just about anyone can find the finish line. So keep doing that.

-You know, I spend a good amount of time bitching about Jason Heyward, but he’s still carrying an above average OPS and wRC+ and if he can hit more balls hard like he did this weekend, he’ll probably stay there. With that defense, that’s enough.

-Kyle Hendricks…man, there isn’t much more to say. He didn’t use the curve hardly at all tonight, but his new toy is going up in the zone and I have no idea how he’s getting away with it but I don’t have to. As long as you’re hitting the corners up there too, then you’ll have the success you have hitting the corners down low.

-I think we might just have to say David Bote is good. I’m not sure I believe it, but given what he’s asked to do an .827 OPS is really outstanding.

-I’m not sure this Cardinals thing is going to work out because Carpenter is actually old, Ozuna isn’t actually that good, and Goldschmidt is going to have to carry it all at some point. Totally heartbroken about it, let me tell ya.

Onwards…

Everything Else

Series Preview – White Sox vs. Royals: With Or Without The Silliness

By Sam Fels 1279 0

vs.,

RECORDS: White Sox 29-32   Royals 19-43

GAMETIMES: Friday 7:15, Saturday and Sunday 1:15

TV: NBCSN Friday and Saturday, WGN Sunday

ANDY REID WILL NEVER WIN: Royals Review

PITCHING MATCHUPS

Ivan Nova vs. Homer Bailey

Lucas Giolito vs. Brad Keller

Reynaldo Lopez vs. Glenn Sparkman

PROBABLE WHITE SOX LINEUP

Leury Garcia – CF

Yoan Moncada – 3B

Jose Abreu – 1B

James McCann – C

Yonder Alonso – DH

Eloy Jimenez – LF

Tim Anderson – SS

Yolmer Sanchez – 2B

Ryan Cordell – RF

PROBABLE ROYALS LINEUP

Whit Merrifield – RF

Alex Gordon – LF

Adalberto Mondesi – SS

Jorge Soler – DH

Ryan O’Hearn – 1B

Cheslor Cuthbert – 3B

Nicky Lopez – 2B

Martin Maldonado – C

Billy Hamilton – CF

 

The Royals and White Sox renew acquaintances this weekend on the outskirts of Kansas City, where everyone can try and prove how adult they can be by not throwing at Tim Anderson. Or it’s Ned Yost proving just how baseball dumb he can be. Which would you bet on?

We’ll keep it short because they just did this last weekend and no one should spend too much time on the Royals at all. Homer Bailey might be the worst pitcher to ever throw two no-hitters, though Mike Fiers would certainly give him a run. The Sox will also see Glenn Sparkman on Sunday, which sounds like the name you’d come up with for a garden variety salesmen character in the screenplay you’re writing. Brad Keller you already know, and if you don’t, he’s a control pitcher with no control, It’s going about as well as you’d guess.

The lineup isn’t actually that bad, now that Alex Gordon has decided to try and play baseball again. They run a lot, they run into some outs, and Billy Hamilton still sucks. There, you’re caught up.

For the Sox, the only mystery is whether Anderson will have to duck more projectiles trying to settle whatever debt is in Yost’s head. Here’s hoping Anderson goes like 8-for-11 this weekend and stares down the Royals dugout every goddamn time. This shit is so dumb and if you don’t want Anderson or anyone else bat-flipping and strutting then you get his ass out. Otherwise, shut up and take it.

Ivan Nova has a nice streak going of three straight quality starts, including one against the Royals just 11 days ago. Lucas Giolito gets to beat up on this outfit again, as he’s had two good starts against them already and got hurt in the third one. Do these teams every play anyone else? Reynaldo Lopez will try and introduce himself to the strike zone.

The volume gets turned up on the Sox after this, as they’ll host the Nationals, then the Yankees, then travel across town, before a trip that takes them to Texas and then Boston. Might as well cash in now.