The picture of blood dripping close to the appropriate eyebrow of Chicago Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson on Monday night time invoked the play-through-anything status he has developed throughout his profession.
This isn’t the primary time Swanson’s helmet lower him. This time, as he slid headfirst into second base for a one-out double within the third inning of the Cubs’ 5-1 win versus the Washington Nationals, the helmet popped off and have become pinned in opposition to second baseman Luis Garcia’s leg, slicing Swanson as Garcia turned to use the tag.
It prompted a quick delay as supervisor David Ross utilized strain to the small gash to cease the bleeding whereas a Cubs coach placed on medical gloves to bandage the spot.
“I guess I can add that to my resume,” Ross quipped.
Swanson joked with Ross that he had been watching an excessive amount of Stanley Cup playoff hockey recently.
“I’m 0-for-3 in terms of wins against a helmet,” Swanson mentioned. “So unfortunately this is nothing new. As soon as I felt it, I knew I was going to start bleeding.”
The unfortunate sequence would possibly require gluing the lower to keep away from one other bloody scene, however in any other case it isn’t bothersome. Swanson hit a two-run homer in his subsequent at-bat within the fifth to increase the Cubs lead and provides starter Drew Smyly extra wiggle room. The lefty didn’t want it, holding the Nationals to at least one run in seven innings.
The offense acquired to Nationals starter MacKenzie Gore early behind Seiya Suzuki’s RBI single and Trey Mancini’s RBI double within the first, each coming with two outs.
The victory shortly moved the Cubs (15-13) previous their three-game sweep in Miami. They have scored at the very least one run in every of their first 28 video games, solely the sixth time they’ve completed that within the enlargement period (since 1961).
“The Miami series you’ve got to toss out because we didn’t play our best,” Swanson mentioned. “It’s truly good to have the ability to say, let’s depart that behind, simply exit right here and play our sport, play persistently. Just form of getting again to doing what we’re doing.
“Kind of a perfect reset day — it’s May 1. It’s time to move on and put our best foot forward.”
The Cubs be ok with the place they sit coming into May, although their document doesn’t essentially replicate how nicely they performed in April. Their offense stays top-of-the-line in baseball whereas a top-five rotation continues to set the tone. The bullpen wants extra consistency, however total, the Cubs are trending in the appropriate course.
Their place leaves the entrance workplace balancing the appropriate time to advertise their high hitters from Triple-A Iowa, Christopher Morel and Matt Mervis, whereas persevering with to judge their major-league roster. General supervisor Carter Hawkins described it as a “multivariable conversation” that requires bearing in mind the big-picture view of the group and the place there are alternatives to enhance.
When evaluating a minor-league participant’s match, 40-man roster standing, minor-league choices, the supply of big-league taking part in time are all weighed.
“There’s no easy answer to any of those because there’s no actual formula to make those decisions,” Hawkins mentioned Monday. “I discovered in my experiences that gamers form of hit you over the pinnacle with it over time, and also you begin having a dialog in regards to the huge image, after which you end up having a dialog each day. And in some unspecified time in the future it turns into in the end apparent.
“Obviously, there are some guys down in Triple-A right now that are really hard to ignore so we’re talking about them every day.”
Morel’s bonkers numbers at Iowa are notably spectacular. Any disappointment at not being a part of the Cubs opening-day roster hasn’t hindered his efficiency. He’s hitting .363 and owns an eye-popping .463 on-base proportion and 1.298 OPS with 11 dwelling runs and 28 RBIs by way of 23 video games.
Strikeouts stay part of his sport, however that may must be one thing the Cubs reside with. If he hits like that, it gained’t matter. Morel’s defensive versatility will assist in discovering him common big-league at-bats when the time comes, barring an damage. Morel possessing a 40-man roster spot makes a promotion a lot simpler.
Mervis’ path to the majors would require extra maneuvering. The lefty slugger, who has a .296/.407/.580 slash line in Iowa with a .987 OPS, six dwelling runs and 27 RBIs in 23 video games, isn’t on the Cubs’ 40-man listing. The left-handed hitting veteran Eric Hosmer is logging a lot of the at-bats in opposition to right-handers on the first base and designated hitter positions. A discount in Hosmer’s function will ultimately change into a actuality if he continues to supply a sub-.300 OBP and 83 OPS+.
“The guys that are up here have played well and been winning baseball games and are in a good place. Does that mean that we’re not constantly looking to improve? Of course we are,” Hawkins mentioned. “And there’s some guys down there displaying that they might help so we’re attempting to determine what’s the appropriate time to make these strikes. It’s a every day course of to suppose by way of.
“Part of it as well is trying to maintain depth and knowing that we have 26 guys up here right now, but we’re going to need a lot more than 26 over the next five months.”
The entrance workplace doesn’t need to overreact to a nonetheless small pattern dimension, whether or not good or unhealthy, as they proceed to place the group in line for the postseason hunt by September.
At some level, Morel and Mervis will likely be referred to as as much as assist the Cubs. It won’t be as quickly as some followers hope.
()
Source: www.bostonherald.com