Wandering by way of the start of the baseball season whereas pulling over to the side of the road for a brief leisure on a lazy Sunday morning in early Might.
Right here’s what we’ve realized so far.
Shades of 1997
The 1997 Cubs misplaced their first 14 video video games, setting a Nationwide League report and efficiently ending their season sooner than it ever acquired off the underside.
The White Sox’s 7-21 start was associated, though supervisor Pedro Grifol insisted after the 10-game dropping streak hope remained no matter being 14 video video games beneath .500 on April 30.
“It doesn’t really feel like that,” Grifol talked about. “I can’t clarify that feeling. I get up each morning, and my feeling is at this time goes to be the beginning of one thing good. That’s how we put together, that’s how we work, that’s how we deal with issues. That’s what we do. …. I don’t really feel that is over by any means.”
The Sox scored seventh ninth-inning runs the next day in a comeback win over the Tampa Bay Rays and gained two of three in opposition to the division-leading Minnesota Twins to stay inside eight video video games.
After Saturday’s 5-3 loss to the Reds in Cincinnati, that they had been 11-23 and eight video video games once more.
Brian McRae, the start coronary heart fielder on the 1997 Cubs, is conscious of the feeling. He talked about the target after falling 14 video video games beneath was to easily get close to .500 and see what may happen.
“We performed the Braves and Marlins back-to-back to begin the season, and all these nice starters like (Greg) Maddux, (John) Smoltz, (Tom) Glavine, Kevin Brown and Alex Fernandez,” he talked about. “Earlier than we had a possibility to catch our breath, we’d already had double doses of the Marlins and Braves — coping with Cy Younger candidates for two weeks straight.
“We by no means recovered, however we nearly acquired it again to .500, perhaps six video games inside .500. However we spent a lot vitality simply making an attempt to get again to .500 and make it considerably respectable.”
Likewise, the Sox carried out seven of their first 28 video video games in opposition to the Rays, the perfect workforce inside the majors this season. They went 1-6.
McRae talked about he has watched the Sox and know they’ve enough experience to get once more into the race.
“Their division is unhealthy,” he talked about. “However it’s going to be highly effective. We weren’t good, nonetheless we carried out onerous and we didn’t have circumstances of fellows not understanding balls (like Luis Robert) and the entire lapses in judgment. We merely acquired beat.
“They’ve expertise, however they simply don’t seem like they care. One thing is occurring there that’s festered. It appears to be like like they don’t even like being round one another.”
‘Gamers serving to gamers’
White Sox nearer Liam Hendriks publicly thanked Cubs pitcher and fellow most cancers survivor Jameson Taillon upon his return last week for some phrases of inspiration all through his battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
The 2 didn’t know each other, nonetheless Taillon reached out to share some suggestion he had obtained from former Colorado Rockies pitcher Chad Bettis, who had survived testicular most cancers.
“There’s not that many baseball gamers which have been affected by most cancers,” Taillon instructed the Tribune. “I really feel prefer it’s a reasonably small quantity. Then clearly (we’re) two baseball gamers taking part in in the identical metropolis which have been affected by it. I simply felt referred to as to succeed in out to him and ensure he was doing all proper.”
Bettis instructed Taillon to look at his private path, which Taillon handed on to Hendriks.
“There are lots of people on this planet that know what you’re going by means of (with) most cancers, however not professionally and with what you’re battling personally off the sphere,” Taillon talked about. “Chad Bettis instructed me: ‘Bro, if you happen to suppose you need to preserve throwing while you’re getting treatment, go for it. When you want to shut it down and completely get away from baseball, it’s your journey. Do regardless of it’s advisable do. Nobody really is conscious of what you’re going by way of. Nobody can inform you what to do. …
“That felt actually highly effective to me once I was going by means of it. So I felt like I wanted to cross it alongside.”
Taillon talked about being on the mound typically is a “secure house,” and pitching could very properly be a much-needed distraction. He plans to talk with Hendriks by means of the Metropolis Collection.
“Gamers serving to gamers,” he talked about.
David Ross will get an A-plus from his boss
Ross’ managing already has been a recurring theme of the Cubs season, as indicated by the response by means of the most recent 1-6 journey.
“Is all people mad at me?” he facetiously requested.
Nicely, a lot of.
Ross talked about he’s good with taking the blame from followers for the downturn and hopes avid gamers get the entire credit score rating as soon as they’re profitable.
What else is a supervisor going to say: “Blame them, not me”?
Cubs President Jed Hoyer, naturally, had no idea his supervisor was taking some flack or whether or not or not any of it was deserved.
“I don’t learn any of it, so I don’t know,” talked about Hoyer, a prolific reader. “I’ve my very own opinions about all the things. We speak each day. He’s A-plus within the clubhouse each day. We discuss all the selections.”
Hoyer modified the subject, saying the Cubs “clearly should do higher” in one-run video video games and noting the hitters “had been at a stage offensively that was sure to return down slightly bit.”
Clark the Cub channels his inside Owsley
The Cubs have scheduled a Might 23 giveaway to commemorate the farewell dwell exhibits of Useless & Firm, which choices the surviving members of the Grateful Useless. Followers will likely be succesful to resolve a singular colored bobblehead of Clark the Cub, who’s positioned identical to the dancing bear emblem made well-known by the Grateful Useless.
The symbol was a nod to Owsley “Bear” Stanley, the distinctive Grateful Useless sound man who was renowned for manufacturing LSD. From Owsley to Clark the Cub? It has been an prolonged, uncommon journey, definitely.
Stat of the day
Main-league relievers had a combined 24% strikeout worth on Saturday, a tick above last yr’s 23.6% worth. In 1997, relievers struck out hitters at an 18.5% worth, setting a report. That season now ranks twenty first all time, and the league widespread has been over 22% every season since 2014.
Sunday morning flashback
It was Might 2006 when the Cubs decided to stop having fun with Van Halen’s “Soar” sooner than the start of every recreation, as had been executed most days as a result of it turned the opening theme on WGN-Ch. 9 telecasts in 1984. The exception to the rule was on the day of the first scheduled night recreation in 1988, when the Cubs carried out Frank Sinatra’s “Night time and Day.”
As a substitute of using “Soar” day-to-day in ‘06, the Cubs advertising and marketing division determined to go along with a rotation that included songs from Chilly Play and U2. Finally the opening songs had been tailor-made to the day’s starting Cubs pitcher, which is why you’ve certainly not heard of so numerous the songs used to start video video games at Wrigley Subject.
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