Cubs Live
By: Ryan Melson (@RyanMelson1)
Here are the quick highlights from the weekend in Cubs land. 1) Get Out To Arizona For Spring Training. Before getting to the Cubs weekend, I wanted to mention how special the Cactus League is for those who have not been out to Arizona or have not been in a long time. If you love baseball, you must come out here to Arizona for Spring Training. There is an endless stream of baseball to be watched. All of the stadiums are in close driving distance to one another, making travel easy. Oh, did I mention the weather is always perfect, too? Friday 2) Jonny Ballgame. Jon Lester dazzled on Friday against the Los Angeles Angels. Over five innings, Lester allowed three hits, zero walks, and he had three strikeouts. Seeing Lester dominate like this in spring training gives you an early view of what his 2018 season may look like. Lester looks to be on a mission to have a major comeback in 2018. 3) The Great Schwarbino. We have all heard about and seen how Kyle Schwarber has transformed his body this offseason through rigorous training and through his diet. With his changed physique, Schwarber is still crushing homeruns like the guy we know and love. He hit his second homerun of the spring against the Angels on Friday. 4) Centerfield Battle. Albert Almora Jr. hit another double early in the game against the Angels. We have an old-fashion showdown in centerfield, folks. 5) De La Cruzin’. Oscar De La Cruz continues to impress. Through four innings this spring, De La Cruz has sparkled. Keep De La Cruz in your mind throughout this season and keep tabs on him to see his progress in the minor leagues. If he can stay healthy, De La Cruz projects to be a September call-up. 6) MVP Mike Freeman. My Cactus League MVP, Mike Freeman, produced two more hits today. My Freeman shersey is in the mail. Saturday 7) The Professor. Against the White Sox, Kyle Hendricks looked very solid. Hendricks struck out seven over four innings. Because of his pitch count, Joe Maddon had to pull Hendricks out after he started the fifth inning. Hendricks appears to be in mid-season form with the nastiness of his pitches in full-swing, making professional hitters confused. 8) King Eloy. On a breaking ball away against the team he signed his first professional contract with, Eloy Jimenez hit an opposite field homerun. Yes, a lot of people are going to be sad that Eloy Jimenez will not be a Cub when he is a perennial All-Start and he is in MVP contention (as long as Mike Trout is in the AL, I am not sure if anyone else has a chance of winning an MVP). However, Jose Quintana was worth the price it took for the Cubs to land him. Do not sleep on how good Quintana will be this coming year and into the future. With that being said, I will always be a fan of and root for Eloy Jimenez. 9) Catching Update. Vic Caratini provided some pop from the left side against the White Sox with a homerun to right centerfield. If Caratini would have started the spring like that, then we may have had competition behind the plate. At this point, the back-up catching position is Gimenez’s spot to lose. Sunday 10) The Great Schwarbino Alert Part 2. Kyle Schwarber cranked another homerun in the first inning on Sunday. Focus in on Schwarber this season because he is very serious about winning the MVP and his play is showing it this spring. 11) Yu Are Ready For The Regular Season. Yu Darvish was solid on Sunday. Darvish said he is right where he needs to be at this point in spring training. I cannot wait until Darvish is throwing meaningful games and striking out every batter in sight. 12) Arrieta Is A Philadelphia Philly. Jake Arrieta signed with the Philadelphia Phillies. As many of us would agree, the Cubs handled this situation brilliantly. They offered him the same amount of money they signed Yu Darvish for and Arrieta rejected it. In good faith, the Cubs extended this offer to Arrieta, but he always thought he could get more than this deal. Arrieta was always betting on himself throughout this process and wound up taking a deal that was nowhere close to the original $200 million he was looking for. 13) Arrieta’s Significance on the Cubs. Jake Arrieta will always be a Cub. Without him, the Cubs are not as good as they have been over the last three seasons. Arrieta’s contributions will live forever in Cubs history. When I think of the Cubs, I think of Jake Arrieta. He helped foster a winning baseball environment on Clark and Addison. Cub fans know what Arrieta has done, what he has meant to this team, and how you knew you could rely on him to get you that big win. We will always stand and applaud you, Jake. 14) El Mago Update. Javier Baez said he is “110%” with his hamstring. All is good on the Javy front and he will be back in action this week. 15) More Than Yu’s Personal Catcher. Chris Gimenez hit his first homerun of the spring on Sunday, while catching his former batter mate. Gimenez has truly impressed me this spring. 16) Odd Man Out. At this point, it is inevitable that the Cubs are going to have to part ways with Justin Grimm. Grimm struggled yet again on Sunday, allowing two more earned runs on a homerun. Grimm’s spring ERA is up to 9.00.
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Kyle MalzhanFounder who is an aspiring journalist who covers the Chicago Cubs daily. Archives
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