Bleed Cubbie Blue - Cubs vs. Dodgers Tuesday game threadsA Chicago Cubs Fan Community Since February 9, 2005https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47557/cubbieblue.png2018-03-06T18:15:01-06:00http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/rss/stream/168340252018-03-06T18:15:01-06:002018-03-06T18:15:01-06:00Cubs 9, Dodgers 5: Yu showed me
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<figcaption>Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Yu Darvish’s debut was a success, despite some wildness.</p> <p id="IIdjge"><strong>MESA, Arizona</strong> — The <a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/">Cubs</a> put up six runs in the first inning off <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> rookie <span>Wilmer Font</span> and <a href="http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2018_03_06_lanmlb_chnmlb_1">defeated L.A. 9-5</a>, but I’m more interested in telling you about my first impressions of <span>Yu Darvish</span> in a Cubs uniform.</p>
<p id="p6LunQ">First, Darvish has a completely different pre-game routine than any other Cubs starter. He was on the field at 12:15 — at least 15 minutes earlier than the other starters I’ve watched — running and stretching. He paused briefly to greet his former catcher with the Dodgers, <span>Austin Barnes</span>, as <span>Barnes</span> entered Sloan Park, then resumed his workout routine. He was very methodical in his warmups, and was popping them into <span>Willson Contreras</span>’ glove with what seemed to be excellent velocity. If you didn’t see my Facebook Live of Darvish’s bullpen session, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/285440674555/videos/10156140384324556/">you can watch it here</a>.</p>
<p id="yFnarZ">Then Darvish came into the game and completely lost his command. He walked leadoff hitter <span>Chris Taylor</span>, who stole second. After Yu struck out <span>Corey Seager</span>, he uncorked two wild pitches, scoring Taylor, then walked Justin Turner. This was not a good beginning.</p>
<p id="uZqFYd">However, he recovered to strike out <span>Matt Kemp</span> (who looks awful at the plate and has lost a ton of speed in the outfield, incidentally) and Yasiel Puig. So none of the first five Dodgers put the ball in play against him.</p>
<p id="MKE8yg">The second inning was better, with a ground out, a fly to right and a called strikeout. All in all, despite the wildness in the first inning, I thought it was a good outing for his first Cubs appearance. Here are a couple of Darvish’s K’s:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Just a taste. <a href="https://t.co/pUTF3FAMXK">pic.twitter.com/pUTF3FAMXK</a></p>— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cubs/status/971173793652707328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2018</a>
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<p id="0KfcKF">By the time Darvish threw that second inning, he had a 6-1 lead thanks to an explosion of Cubs offense off of Font, the big blows a two-run double by <span>Javier Baez</span> and a two-run homer by <span>Albert Almora Jr.</span></p>
<p id="f9W1Fx">Almora had to leave the game in the fourth inning after doing a faceplant on the warning track attempting to make a catch on a double by Logan Forsythe. BCB’s Danny Rockett was fortuitously placed in the stands and got a photo of what happened to AA:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Almora. Hits homer. Makes circus catch. Gets bloody nose. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ThatsCub?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ThatsCub</a> <a href="https://t.co/GDHj44yecm">pic.twitter.com/GDHj44yecm</a></p>— Danny Rockett (@SonRanto) <a href="https://twitter.com/SonRanto/status/971136163095465985?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 6, 2018</a>
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<p id="cpvwSI">I’m sure he’ll be fine — he was probably going to leave the game after that inning anyway.</p>
<p id="joHDg4"><span>Brandon Morrow</span> also made his Cubs debut in this one, and allowed a couple of hard hits and a run, and I suspect, as is the case for many pitchers early in the spring, he was throwing nothing but fastballs. We’ll likely see him again later in the week.</p>
<p id="GsOZkq"><span>Steve Cishek</span> was touched up for a two-run homer by Dodgers prospect Edwin Rios in his one inning of work. <span>Carl Edwards Jr.</span> threw a scoreless frame with a pair of strikeouts, and the final Dodgers run was an inside-the-park homer in the ninth off Alec Mills. The fly ball by Matt Beaty bounced crazily off the right-field wall away from <span>Jacob Hannemann</span> and Beaty, who played in Double-A for the Dodgers last year, flew around the bases.</p>
<p id="2myK14"><span>Hannemann</span> drove in a run on a fielder’s choice in the fifth, and <span>Peter Bourjos</span>, who replaced <span>Ben Zobrist</span> in the fourth inning, had two RBI. Zobrist was 0-for-3 in his first spring game and had no fielding chances in left field, so there’s little to judge him on.</p>
<p id="QjQVmo">One interesting play happened in the second inning. <span>Kris Bryant</span> led off with a walk, and the Dodgers defense shifted on Anthony Rizzo. You could tell that Rizzo was trying to go to the left side; instead, his ground ball went to first base with Bryant running. But with the infield shifted, no one was covering third, so Bryant advanced two bases on an infield out. Unfortunately, he was stranded.</p>
<p id="loZEXB"><strong>Attendance watch:</strong> 14,479 paid to see this one, a few hundred short of a sellout. That makes the total attendance for seven dates this spring 84,086, or 12,012 per date.</p>
<p id="w2BmgW">Wednesday, the Cubs will play their first night game of the spring, traveling to Goodyear to face the <a href="https://www.letsgotribe.com/">Indians</a>. Jose Quintana will go for the Cubs and <span>Trevor Bauer</span> for the Tribe. Game time is 7:05 p.m. CT. There will be a webcast on <a href="http://cubs.com">cubs.com</a>, and TV via WGN-TV. The WGN broadcast is being picked up nationally on MLB Network. Enjoy!</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2018/3/6/17088430/cubs-dodgers-recap-yu-darvish-albert-almora-mlb-scoresAl Yellon2018-03-06T15:30:01-06:002018-03-06T15:30:01-06:00Overflow thread: Cubs vs. Dodgers, Tuesday 3/6, 2:05 CT
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<figcaption>Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p id="KUHDB3">——</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2018/3/6/17069982/overflow-thread-cubs-vs-dodgers-tuesday-3-6-2-05-ctAl Yellon2018-03-06T14:00:02-06:002018-03-06T14:00:02-06:00First pitch thread: Cubs vs. Dodgers, Tuesday 3/6, 2:05 CT
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<figcaption>Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p id="KUHDB3">Go get ‘em, Yu.</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2018/3/6/17069976/first-pitch-thread-cubs-vs-dodgers-tuesday-3-6-2-05-ctAl Yellon2018-03-06T12:00:02-06:002018-03-06T12:00:02-06:00Cubs vs. Dodgers at Mesa preview, Tuesday 3/6, 2:05 CT
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<figcaption>Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>At last, Yu Darvish makes his Cubs debut.</p> <p id="CaUdsX"><strong>SCOTTSDALE, Arizona</strong> — This is the day that we’ve all been waiting for, the first start for Yu Darvish in a Cubs uniform.</p>
<p id="e4eSMQ"><a href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/as-yu-darvish-debuts-for-cubs-unsigned-jake-arrieta-faces-likely-delayed-season/">Here’s why Joe Maddon thinks</a> it was important for Darvish to be in camp right when it began:</p>
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<p id="Jp7LtU">“The six weeks [of spring training] is really important, especially for the pitcher,” manager Joe Maddon said. “I think the length of spring training is designed for the pitcher. Hitters can get their number of at-bats in a shorter amount of time, but I don’t think pitchers can be rushed.</p>
<p id="LT3ilA">“Beyond that, culturally speaking, I like the idea that [Darvish is] going to be here from Day 1 to just know the guys. One of our strengths is we’re four years together now, with a lot of success. So he needed to be here right from Day 1. It’s good for him, and it’s good for us, moving into the first game of the season.”</p>
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<p id="ikmJqQ">I think Joe’s right. It was good to have the entire team together and everything set before camp began, to set the right tone and for Darvish to feel completely a part of the team.</p>
<p id="pUaWVE">Obviously, today won’t be as important as his first regular-season start, but it will be the first time of many that we will see Darvish’s familiar No. 11 (which he has worn his entire career, except with the Dodgers when No. 11 was already taken by <span>Logan Forsythe</span>) on the mound.</p>
<p id="e3xp7W">No TV today, but I am going to try to do a Facebook Live showing him warming up in the bullpen. Check <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Bleed-Cubbie-Blue-285440674555/">the BCB Facebook page</a> at about 1:45 CT.</p>
<p id="hEX5SN">Here are today’s particulars.</p>
<p id="NIhSkF"><a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/">Cubs</a> lineup:</p>
<blockquote><p id="GerhRs">Zobrist LF, Bryant DH, Rizzo 1B, Contreras C, Heyward RF, Russell SS, Baez 2B, Almora CF, Bote 3B</p></blockquote>
<p id="uvybWc"><span>Ben Zobrist</span> also makes his spring debut today. I don’t know whether having him lead off is a tryout for that spot, or whether it’s just to get him as many at-bats as possible.</p>
<p id="1cH5Am">Also, this is one of the first lineups that resembles what we might see in the regular season.</p>
<p id="GAwW9l"><a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> lineup:</p>
<blockquote><p id="39mTYK">Taylor CF, Seager DH, Turner 3B, Kemp LF, Puig RF, Forsythe 2B, Barnes C, Solano SS, Segedin 1B</p></blockquote>
<p id="B29vTD">As noted above, <span>Yu Darvish</span> will start for the Cubs. Relievers on the Cubs list today: <span>Brandon Morrow</span> (also making his Cubs debut), <span>Steve Cishek</span>, <span>Carl Edwards Jr.</span>, <span>Cory Mazzoni</span>, <span>Randy Rosario</span> and Alberto Baldonado.</p>
<p id="W4nqQH"><span>Wilmer Font</span> gets the call for the Dodgers. Others on the Dodgers pitching list today include <span>Pedro Baez</span> and <span>Yimi Garcia</span>.</p>
<p id="FVbf2P">Today’s game is on <a href="http://cubs.com">cubs.com</a> with Len Kasper and Mick Gillispie.</p>
<p id="XAtl65"><a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2018_03_06_lanmlb_chnmlb_1">MLB.com Gameday</a></p>
<p id="MNoeEF"><em>Please note that during spring training, Gameday doesn't usually go pitch-by-pitch as it does during the regular season -- usually, it will update after each at-bat.</em></p>
<p id="duh5N2"><a href="https://www.mlb.com/live-stream-games/2018/03/06">Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.</a></p>
<p id="77FG6H">Please visit our SB Nation <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> site <a href="http://www.truebluela.com/">True Blue LA</a>. If you do go there to interact with Dodgers fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.</p>
<p id="fnbMtI">For spring-training games, we'll have a first-pitch thread at five minutes to game time and one overflow thread, 90 minutes after game time (because I know how you all like overflow threads!). For today, that will be 2 p.m. CT and 3:30 p.m. CT.</p>
<p id="eDrZXV">These threads will <em>not</em> post individually onto the front page; instead, you can find links to them in the box marked <a href="http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/chicago-cubs-game-threads">"Chicago Cubs Game Threads"</a> at the <em>bottom</em> of the front page. There will also be a StoryStream on the front page with all the game thread links, as well as the recap after the game is over. The pitcher boxes and regular-season stats will return on Opening Day.</p>
<p id="HH7zQ1">Discuss amongst yourselves.</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2018/3/6/17069968/cubs-dodgers-mesa-preview-tuesdayAl Yellon