Bote has five career home runs. All have either tied up the game or given Cubs the lead. His last three home runs have all come in the ninth inning or later.
Admittedly, he’s been a regular part of the starting line up because Kris Bryant has been out.
But the Cubs have an embarrassment of riches right now. And, Daniel Murphy really needs to get his PR act together and soon.
The money is 100% donated.
Game-worn jerseys from Players’ Weekend will be auctioned at Official MLB Auctions: Authenticated Memorabilia | MLB Auctions, with 100 percent of proceeds to be donated to the MLB-MLBPA Youth Development Foundation, a joint effort focused on improving the caliber, effectiveness and ability of amateur baseball and softball across the U.S. and Canada.
True, but MLB is certainly selling jerseys in their online store.
https://www.mlbshop.com/chicago-cubs/t-36228622+z-808474-1125435766?_s=EML18_MB0138_0824_7PM_1348033_188_&utm_source=MKTG&utm_position=BC13CTLP_B&utm_content=&SFMC=1348033_186_50_78c52ce691c36596774b679398fc1934
I know I’m ‘Get off my lawn!’ but I do tire of endless gimmicks in all sports just to sell more merchandise. Sports teams are supposed to wear uniforms, they’re not supposed to be in a Broadway musical requiring numerous costume changes.
I agree. It’s just stupid.
You want to help amateur baseball? Donate from your already deep pockets.
Cubs are doing what they need to do, beating up on weak teams like the Reds.
It’ll be interesting to see if Daniel Murphy plays tomorrow. It’s Out at the Park day, LGBT day at Wrigley. Murphy has gotten some criticism for his views from the Chicago media and I wouldn’t be surprised if he sits on Sunday.
It looks like Kris Bryant is about ready for a rehab assignment. Perfect timing as we get close to roster expansion. Perfect timing as Bote has earned his roster spot.
Sweep of the Reds today, with a heavy shut-out. Cubs starting to peak at the right time.
The players like it, proceeds going to a good cause, younger fans seem to like it, how is it harming the game or older fans?
Boston is 0-6 since this silliness was begun last year. I’m sure they’d rather just make a donation and wear their regular uniforms than have to put on those costumes again.
As long as it’s not those fucking pink uniforms for Mother’s Day, I don’t mind the uniforms that much. I think I’ll just listen to games on the radio on future Mother’s Days.
Seeing the Yankees wear names on their backs is an affront to tradition and all that is holy. Enough with the special uniforms- pink for mother’s day, blue for father’s day, hyper-patriotic for Memorial, Independence, and Labor Days, and 3 days of looking like products of the Crayola factory. The owners are all fucking billionaires. If they want to help a charity on their own, there’s nothing stopping them.
It’s not a matter of it being a coin flip; it’s that professional baseball players, especially those on a team that will probably win close to 110 games this season, are not going to wet their pants and lose their confidence just because some other team managed to beat them a few times during the regular season.
And so what if this is a split series? In those four games, the Red Sox outscored Cleveland by 9 runs, and the two Boston victories were by 6 and 7 runs respectively. As RickJay suggested, maybe their confidence didn’t just shrivel up and die after two losses.
Could Cleveland beat the Red Sox in October? Sure. But if it happens, it certainly won’t have anything to do with the results of these four games in August.
What’s wrong with wearing pink to celebrate Mother’s Day?
I’m hardly a “younger fan,” and I think it’s great. Fun and whimsical.
It’s goofy, it disrespects the traditions of the game (those stupid nicknames??), it’s done in a crass attempt to obtain added monies (do you REALLY think they’d be doing it if they didn’t have the merchandise available for sale online??), I see no indication that “younger fans seem to like it” (perhaps you have data on that?), and as I pointed out, the “proceeds” could easily be more than matched by the almost limitless pocketbooks of MLB and its owners, so I’m not particularly impressed by this “charity”. As for whether or not the players like it, I’ve not heard anyone say that they do, but then, I’ve not heard anyone say that they don’t, so maybe it’s a wash…
And yes, I believe that one of the things baseball MUST emphasize is its rootedness in tradition. Else, it’s just a poor way to pass four hours (when compared to, say, American Football).
Am I the only one starting to have nightmares about Bucky Dent?
It reminds me of corporate spirit building nonsense with silly hat day or ugly sweater day. Do some players like it? I’m sure they do. But, I imagine most players don’t say anything, it’s not a hill to die on. Some teams such as the Cubs/Yankees/Red Sox/Cardinals/Dodgers have had very few major uniform changes over the years. There’s pride in wearing the same uniform that Ernie Banks, Sandy Koufax, Ted Williams, or Mickey Mantle wore.
And, I don’t remember the MLB alerts from their app hyping the other alternative uniforms used this season. Whereas last weekend, I must have received 7 alerts all about, “Guess what silly nickname player XYZ is using?”
Probably the biggest series early this week is Astros vs. A’s; if one of the team sweeps, it will significantly change the character of the race, either putting the Astros significantly ahead or moving the As into the driver’s seat. If they split, whichever way, they go back to scoreboard watching.
The Astros have finally got most of their important players healthy again; today is the first time they’ve had Altuve, Bregman, Correa, and Springer all in the lineup for probably six weeks. They’ve also gotten one of those year-27 peak years from Tyler White, a guy who has hit at a lot of different minor league levels but only shown sporadic form in the majors. White is putting up a .300/.400/.600 line at the moment, which raises the question of to what degree you trust that this is real. Do you get White more at-bats at the expense of guys like Yuli Gurriel and Evan Gattis, both of whom are adequate .750 to .800-ish OPS guys? He’s currently hitting way better than they are, but do you go with the hot hand or do you go with the guys who have proven that they can do the job in the majors? (In “old timey” baseball terms, it’s about experience and dependability. In modern analytic terms, its about whether you trust a small sample size over a much larger one.)
In the meantime, Lance McCullers is out, and while he might get back to pitching, A J Hinch says that he probably won’t start another game this season. He’s basically the fifth starter this year, so it’s not a great loss, but it still means the current fifth starter is a guy who only had a 4 ERA in the minor leagues this year. (I’m wondering why they don’t just have Brad Peacock start those games - it hasn’t been that long since he was a starting pitcher, and while he’s been good out of the pen, those innings are replaceable. Still, Framber Valdez has done very well in his two starts, so maybe they’ll stick with the hot hand.
In some ways, it’s nice to have an exciting regular season, but I have to admit that the low-drama march to the playoffs last year was more fun. I would really like not to have to play another all-or-nothing game in New York, even with Verlander on the mound. In terms of the playoffs, once again the teams are all very good; Boston seems to be somewhat better than the rest but it isn’t more than a 55-45 edge and probably less in any given matchup with the other playoff teams. It will be an exciting playoffs, even if the regular season in the AL has been almost NBA-like in its lack of drama (despite the A’s late charge).
Nice first game of the series for the Astros. No doubt the win will help them regain the swagger of champions and carry them forward into the postseason. Unless they lose or something.
Nice game by Tyler White, too.
Yuli no, Gattis yes. Yuli can play. I don’t believe that Gattis has proven he can do it consistently in the majors. He strikes me as a slightly more efficient Dave Kingman at this point. Baseball Reference does not have Kingman as a similar player, but they do list Morgan Ensberg. Which is not a player I’d have compared him to, but they are the experts. Too bad, as I’d thought Gattis had turned the corner back in, IIRC, late May early June and saved his career. 14 for 71 since the All-Star break. That said, when he hits, he’s really streaky, and they often leave the park.
The starting pitching has fallen off their torrid start of the year pace. How could they not though, right? Valdez has been a fun find, hasn’t he? What is wrong with McCullers again? Bummer, I’ve always liked his local media appearances, and his animal welfare charities.
At least the Astros are stringing hits together and getting runs. Tonight’s 4 ER performance from Cole would have been a loss last month. Instead of a 11-4 smackdown. I still think they needed a bat by the trade deadline, and I still think it’s Boston’s Series to lose, despite their recent feet of clay, but this Astros team ‘should’ make it to the ALCS. Which isn’t half bad.