IST: Cubs vs Braves

[beckdawg]

1. Dexter Fowler, CF
2. Kyle Schwarber, C
3. Kris Bryant, 3B
4. Anthony Rizzo, 1B
5. Jorge Soler, RF
6. Chris Coghlan, LF
7. Starlin Castro, SS
8. Kyle Hendricks, P
9. Addison Russell, 2B

Hopefully Hendricks keeps going what he'd been doing before the break. Also feels weird Castro is in the 7 hole but given the way he's hit maybe not that surprising. Also, nice to see Schwarber C. Hopefully he looks good.

 

[CSF77]

I'm not mad at the line up

 

[CSF77]

It will take time and I'll bet Montero will coach him on Hendricks and what has been working

 

[Diehardfan]

Makes sense having the kid in there tonight...with Lester going tomorrow, you'll be getting Ross. The pitiful way Lester holds runners could be a confidence shaker for a young catcher. I like this.

 

[FrankieLyrical]

Schwarber is a stud!

 

[FrankieLyrical]

HR Derby... Kris Bryant...strikeout... swing broken forever... derp

 

[Diehardfan]

This shit is really getting old. 2 on, no outs....best hitters up there and nada. WTF

 

[FrankieLyrical]

This umpire has a really tight strike zone. Hopefully he's consistent

 

[beckdawg]

When did TBS stop doing all the braves games? Just got home from dinner with the family hoping to catch it on TBS and family guy was on. Guess streaming the internet is the way to go tonight.

 

[FrankieLyrical]

For the love of everything Holy, please get a couple of runs here Cubbies

 

[FrankieLyrical]

Bryant can't pick up that slider at all today, he's flailed at all of them

 

[Diehardfan]

That is ridiculous.

 

[beckdawg]

Bryant can't pick up that slider at all today, he's flailed at all of them

It is a pretty filthy slider. On the plus side Fowlers been on base both times vs a righty with good stuff despite his numbers this year.

 

[beckdawg]

They are talking about fangraphs on a live telecast? Is this real life? What is going on here!? Respect points for Len and JD +1000

 

[beckdawg]

The hell was Soler doing there? Least he plated 2 but can't have that happen. Also, Teheran is already at 63 pitches through 3. Looking like it's going to be a short night on him.

 

[FrankieLyrical]

It is a pretty filthy slider. On the plus side Fowlers been on base both times vs a righty with good stuff despite his numbers this year.

Yeah, I'm not downplaying the slider. It's nasty, I've just never seen Bryant look so lost at the plate like that

 

[Diehardfan]

Yeah, I'm not downplaying the slider. It's nasty, I've just never seen Bryant look so lost at the plate like that

Does this team even have a guy pretending to be a hitting coach? I mean, its not rocket science. Tough pitches, yeah sure they are but only one of them was a strike. You gotta lay off those pitches, get up on the plate a little and either drive it the other way or take it. Pitchers are on to the fact that Bryant doesn't adapt...he needs to. A good coach would have already enlightened him.

 

[FrankieLyrical]

Does this team even have a guy pretending to be a hitting coach? I mean, its not rocket science. Tough pitches, yeah sure they are but only one of them was a strike. You gotta lay off those pitches, get up on the plate a little and either drive it the other way or take it. Pitchers are on to the fact that Bryant doesn't adapt...he needs to. A good coach would have already enlightened him.

Yeah I've had the same concerns man. The fact that this line-up consistently looks at pitches right down the pipe but swings at so many pitches out of the zone is frustrating.

 

[beckdawg]

Does this team even have a guy pretending to be a hitting coach? I mean, its not rocket science. Tough pitches, yeah sure they are but only one of them was a strike. You gotta lay off those pitches, get up on the plate a little and either drive it the other way or take it. Pitchers are on to the fact that Bryant doesn't adapt...he needs to. A good coach would have already enlightened him.

I think some of the issues revolve around the strike zone being called. Fowler had some gripes about the zone called on him. Soler has had an expanded zone. It is hard for a patient hitter because when you start having that happen the tendency is to expand your zone and then you're swinging at stuff you can't hit. Even Fowler who's not striking out more than career norms is having it impact his hard hit ball rate. His soft contact is better this year but his pushed about 5% from his hard rate to medium contact.

I'd be interested to see if they are expanding the zone on all the cubs hitters or if it's a selective thing because that might explain some of what Castro is going through.

 

[beckdawg]

This Schwarber kid might be alright.