Cubs Jake Ovation, Pure Class
As we tend to do in sports, when a popular player returns after leaving town, you salute him. It doesn’t matter the terms, if he wanted out, of the team traded him, or if it was a mutual thing – the in thing (and probably right) to do is salute him in some way.
That’s what Chicago Cubs fans did for Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher, Jake Arrieta. The memories he helped create during his time here. The incredible stretch he had, matched only by the likes of Bob Gibson. A World Series which broke 108 years of woeful suffering in Cubdom.
For the first time, well except maybe Dexter Fowler’s return, the salute felt… warranted.
In the past, Cubs fans would salute players like Augie Ojeda, Ryan Theriot, or probably the most deserving (pre-championship era) Mark Grace. Ultimately, this was a well deserved nod of the cap to one of the biggest parts in the first Cubs championship since Teddy was in office.
If only someone caught this…
A game that went extras, which saw the Cubs lose 5-4, shouldn’t have. With two out, and two strikes on Phillies left fielder, Andrew McCutchen, Brad Brach seemed to have struck McCutchen out on a swinging check swing. This noticeably got to Brach, who had to take a moment.
“Looking at first-base umpire (Hunter Wendelstedt), I was taken aback,” reliever Brad Brach said of McCutchen’s checked swing. “That’s why I went off the mound to re-gather myself. I didn’t want the emotion to get to me.“
Jean Segura would then single in the game’s tying run, and send the tilt into extras. That’s when JT Realmuto would bast a pitch by Kyle Ryan, left up in the zone into the left field bleachers, and eventually win the game.
I have two criticisms on the last inning of the ballgame, first, that check swing was a horrible call. Here’s a side-by-side if Cutch’s swing and the check swing Kyle Schwarber was called out on a few weeks back.
Next, Cubs fans in the bleachers – YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO THROW THE BALL BACK!!!
Watching that Realmuto homer, there were several fans piling on for the ball, but they never tossed it back. This is Wrigley etiquette. Sure, it’s easy for me to say sitting in my plush sofa with a Revolution Brewery Every Day-Hero in my hands. But come on! You owe it to the millions of Cubs fans watching to show your displeasure by tossing that one back.
Free agent pitcher matchup – 2018
The game Monday night also featured the matchup of, somewhat a controversial free agent decision, at least across some Cubs fan’s minds. With Arrieta and Yu Darvish on the market, Cubs leadership decided to pursue Darvish instead of their guy – Jake Arrieta. While there were statistical factors which proved this to be the right path, and the seemingly apparent idea that Arrieta wanted his price or he’d leave, the first year and a couple months have gone Arrieta’s way.
Jake Arrieta – 41 starts 3.91 ERA 1.308 WHIP
Yu Darvish – 18 starts 5.01 ERA 1.500 WHIP
Sure, it is a tad unfair to compare the two since Darvish was injured much of 2018, but that is the actual argument a lot of fans will make. Darvish has had a ton of injuries since coming to the states. This is a common thing for Japanese pitchers when coming to the MLB, and I put that on the fact that the American game and Japanese game is a bit different.
In Japan, pitchers tend to get ahead in counts with offspeed or breaking pitches, then get outs with their fastball. In the American game that script is flipped, and it’s fastball first, offspeed second.
But Darvish seemed to be different. He has a fastball (or several variations of the fastball) first pitcher in Japan as well as here in America. The difference for him just might be the stress on the arm of a pitcher in the bigs. Every run in the American game is crucial (which doesn’t change much) but big league hitters are more able to put any pitch in any spot out of the park. Where Yu might have been able to get out of jams by just being more dominant in Japan, isn’t the case in the MLB. This isn’t to knock the Japanese game, but the power factor is a real thing here.
Jake on the other hand, has never really been hurt. Sure there were signs of him breaking down a bit – reduces velocity, inability to lock down mechanics, mistakes getting hit extremely hard, and forgot the best pitch in baseball – the Arrieta slutter. But there were a lot of people willing to bet that an 80% Arrieta would be a better investment than Darvish. Luckily or unluckily for the Cubs, Darvish has until 2023 to prove it.
