Hello, again everybody. The Cubbies are 8-7, and I must admit, it is a rather disappointing 8-7 at that, but I will say that this team is better than I expected. A team cannot win the pennant in April, but it can definitely lose one. The past few years it seemed like late May arrived before the Cubs tenth victory did, but that will change this year, along with many other things from years past.
This is all very exciting as we sit here on April 24, a hopefully nice day in the springtime. So let’s get down to it, and go rambling on this fine, fruitful and fun Friday.
• Thank you, Los Angeles Dodgers. Thank you, Andrew Friedman. Thank you, Joe Maddon’s Agent. Thank you, all.
• Man, I just love the Cubs manager. It is all too exciting for me right now. I might have to sit out the next play.
• So basically it took less than a weekend for Kris Bryant to learn that he would see a slider low-and-away every time he had two strikes. So, he stopped swinging and started walking. He has walked in two runs this week. He has two RBI by walks in ONE week.
• Again, he learned this in less than one weekend. Alfonso Soriano played 15 years in the Bigs and never learned this.
• Just sayin’ …
• Remember when everyone was so excited about bullpen depth and how great it will be to have a decent bullpen, and all those great, fun conversations … remember?
• However, there is no need to panic, yet. Ramirez and Grimm will be back soon, which will hopefully shore up the 6 – 8 innings on a more regular basis, and when needed.
• While this team has made great strides, Thursday’s game was reminiscent of 2014. But, one game does not a season make, and Thursday bucked the short trend that had been established. It is fun to expect comebacks and late-inning wins. I haven’t had those expectations in seven seasons.
• I went out of my way all of Spring Training to talk about anyone BUT Travis Wood for the fifth starter position. I accidentally injured Turner and Wada in the process. And look at him now. Trust me, when I picked him up on waivers last night in my fantasy baseball league, I laughed out loud.
• Wait, should I not have admitted something about fantasy baseball? Was that wrong? Should I not have done that? I have to plead ignorance on this one. Had someone told me that was wrong, I would not have done it.
• Let’s hope when we bring E-Jax out of the bullpen it is so start innings, not to bring him in to hold it together. He can barely take care of his own batters, let along someone else’s runners.
• Last year the Cubs had two legitimate hitters. This year they appear to have four. And what a difference two more makes. This is true in life, like the difference two more cookies make, or two more beers …
• I didn’t say “two more” was always a GOOD thing.
• Alcantara needed to go down. He was probably losing confidence, and he needs to find that, and build it back, along with his value to others. He could be a chip come July.
• If Welington can play well, and Alcantara can build back up, and Lake can play well in Iowa, and, and, and and … I know there are a lot of ands, but the Cubs are buyers now. It is a totally different situation than the past five years, and a much more enjoyable mindset from a fan’s perspective.
• Dexter Fowler’s OBP is 82 points higher than his batting average. That is solid. If he can that average up to his career .270 mark, and maintains the OBP spike, the Cubs will have a leadoff hitter getting on base more than 35% of the time. That is huge.
• I hope you will join me in standing up and applauding Starlin. I know it has only been 15 games, but he looks focused and, if you can actually say this about a 25-year-old, completely rejuvenated. I don’t want him going anywhere right now.
• It is funny how even when the future looks so bright, we must not lose sight of what had kept the team afloat, if you can even call it that. Starlin did that for the Cubs, along with the recent help of Rizzo. And we are talking about two men who are only halfway to age 30. This could really be special.
• Arrieta is 2-1 with a 1.74 ERA while allowing only 14 hits over 20.2 innings with 19 strikeouts. That is the stuff of aces. But yea, Feldman for Arrieta and Strop was such a horrible trade. Terrible. Theo is awful. [SARCASM ALERT]
• Fine, I will say it. This Cubs team could have two hall-of-famers on it … maybe three. No, I am not kidding.
What do you think about that final statement? Am I crazy, or I am I keen? Am I right, or am I wrong? I hope you’ve enjoyed this installment of Ramblings. Also, I hope everyone has a fun-filled, safe and relaxing weekend.
And until next time …
Stay Classy Cubs Fans!!