Matt Clapp

Cubs & baseball; Editor/writer: @AwfulAnnouncing, @TheComeback. Bears/NFL account: @DaBearNecess. Main account: @Matt2Clapp. [email protected]

[Matt Clapp @TheBlogfines]

I would get Ramirez a couple of more games (and he is starting tonight), but in the end, guys like Dansby Swanson are going to have to hit.

And his defense is still too important. The last thing this pitching staff needs is to make the defense worse, especially up the middle.

[StewBob @bobstewart66]

@TheBlogfines Seems like a good time to get Pedro Ramirez some at bats instead of the guy hitting under the Mendoza line

[Matt Clapp @TheBlogfines]

Part of the problem is that they're scheduled to face a lot of righties again, beginning this weekend.

Like, at this moment, beginning on Saturday, they will face 8 straight righties.

The last couple of games/through Friday is when he would've been useful.

[Jared Wyllys @jwyllys]

Craig Counsell said Matt Shaw could stay in Iowa through the weekend because the Cubs want him to get a consistent stretch of at-bats before he returns.

[Matt Clapp @TheBlogfines]

Corbin Burnes was one of the "safe" and "durable" guys.

(There is no such thing with pitchers)

[Bob Nightengale @BNightengale]

Diamondbacks ace Corbin Burnes has setback in his recovery from Tommy John surgery with a lat strain and will be shut down. Diamondbacks are hoping he can return in September

[Vincent Adultman @Briant1]

@TheBlogfines The LAST thing this team needs to do is start giving up outs. And I don’t know if Haugh has watched this team, but absolutely NO ONE “knows” we are getting a fly ball from anyone, let alone Suzuki with a man on third and less than 2 outs. Because we never do.

[Matt Clapp @TheBlogfines]

You don't know when a hot or cold streak is going to end or begin.

All you can really do is trust the track records and projections, hope that these guys start hitting like they're capable of. Band-aids aren't going to fix the issue in the big picture.

[Matt Clapp @TheBlogfines]

Who else is supposed to be in the middle of the lineup and is performing well in these spots?

These have been teamwide issues. And they're going to lean on track records and projections more than a few awful weeks of baseball.

[BG 🇺🇸 ✝️ ⚾️ 🏳️‍🌈 🇺🇸 @84chicubs]

@TheBlogfines Counsell makes up the lineup and is the one that puts guys in RBI spots on the lineup that are hitting in the .100’s with men on base. Granted the Ricketts letting Hoyer run the team unchecked is a huge mistake and they absolutely own the responsibility of the Cubs performance.

[Matt Clapp @TheBlogfines]

You're also trying to *win* the game there, not just get one run and give up outs, with your middle of the order up. Those guys just need to be better and more like their entire track records.

[Matt Clapp @TheBlogfines]

I'm just never going to ask my No. 3 hitter to bunt (& with force outs at 2nd and 3rd base, & with the hitter being very slow for a potential double play from that), & with slumping Suzuki and (righty) Happ to follow.

Odds are a guy who's hardly ever bunted fails at it too.

[Nathan Moore @nmoore08]

@TheBlogfines I feel like Counsell has bunted a lot in similar situations previously, though (thinking about previous extra inning games where we had the ghost runner on second and needed a run). Maybe Bregman wasn't the right guy to lay one down, but I think it's fair to question the strategy

[Matt Clapp @TheBlogfines]

If they want to make a change wherever, I sure as heck don't care.

But in the end it comes down to players performing. These guys have a long track record of hitting.

[Matt Clapp @TheBlogfines]

But aside from Bregman, all of those numbers I shared are of Cubs that were hitting very well under the same staff a year ago.

It's not like they're being taught new philosophies. Hitters are just not hitting like they should be and largely always have.

[Ken Busch @KenBusch12]

@TheBlogfines Great case for replacing the hitting coach

[Matt Clapp @TheBlogfines]

Last season's SLG vs. this season's SLG...

Busch: .523 to .387 (.554 to .429 vs righties)
Suzuki: .478 to .386
Bregman: .462 to .358
Swanson: .417 to .326
Kelly: .428 to .366 (.415 to .297 vs righties)
PCA: .481 to .390

[Matt Clapp @TheBlogfines]

Putting this stuff on Counsell is so silly.

The players need to hit and perform. It's really that simple.

[104.3 The Score @thescorechicago]

David Haugh didn't like Craig Counsell's strategy in the ninth inning of the Cubs' 2-1 loss to the Athletics on Tuesday.

[Matt Clapp @TheBlogfines]

The RISP stuff always gets annoying. But that usually moves closer to the overall numbers in the end, and you also don't get as annoyed by it when you are also slugging.

This is a team built on OBP (which is 4th) and SLG (which is 18th). They need to hit for a lot more power.

[Matt Clapp @TheBlogfines]

Yep. And zero XBH.

[Aldo Soto @AldoSoto21]

Cubs had 5 hard-hit balls all night (95mph+ exit velocity).

Pete Crow-Armstrong and Carson Kelly each with 2.

[Matt Clapp @TheBlogfines]

That game was just a microcosm of their issues for a while now.

And the RISP issues aside, really nobody drove the ball all game. That's the bigger issue. Need to slug.

[Brett Taylor @Brett_A_Taylor]

It’s actually really hard to have this many failed RISP moments over a one month period.

[Matt Clapp @TheBlogfines]

The industry consensus was viewing the player as a top-100 prospect.

This was a No. 21 overall pick that turned into that. This is a good outcome for a prospect. People hate hearing it, but you're trying to collect assets. He was a strong one. He no longer is.

[Gavin @Rematch727]

@TheBlogfines Saying he was a good pick bc he was once an overrated prospect is certainly a choice

[Matt Clapp @TheBlogfines]

@SjbMichael Yep.

[Matt Clapp @TheBlogfines]

He wasn't a bad pick.

The Cubs took him at No. 21, and he was viewed as a top-50 prospect for a while. He flashed as a rookie and was very good in the minors prior to that. He looked as advertised. But he's regressed considerably since then.

[Reptomins @reptomins831]

@TheBlogfines Atrocious pick. Wasn't he being hyped as being ML ready as a SP in his draft year 5 years ago?

[Matt Clapp @TheBlogfines]

@TrojanFever @LetsGo8888888 They can be blamed for not capitalizing on his trade value or not helping develop him more/prevent this regression.

But they got exactly what they wanted out of the pick for the first few years.

[Matt Clapp @TheBlogfines]

@TrojanFever @LetsGo8888888 Yeah, the goal is to turn them into assets, either to help your big-league team or to be used to acquire pieces that help your big-league team.

He was drafted at No. 21 in 2021 and was viewed as a top 50-100 prospect into 2024. That was a really strong outcome.