I can’t imagine wanting Canha to play much more than backup 1B? In which case, his ability to hit LHP is moot since Rhys can do that too.
Chourio, Mitchell, Frelick and Yelich should get 95% of the playing time in the outfield?
Cubs drop game two. 15 base runners and only three runs. Not a lot of bright spots against a Dodger lineup that was without Betts and Freeman.
I guess the Cub bullpen only allowed one run over 5 IP today.
Cubs travel to Arizona for four game series next week.
.876 OPS this spring
.761 OPS last spring as a team
.782 in 2023
.741 in 2022
is there something different about the baseball this season? The 110 point bump in team OPS seems significant.
I cannot remember another spring training where nearly every starting position player has an OPS above 1000 seemingly.
Milwaukee leads all of baseball with a .876 team OPS in spring training
The Cubs have a brutal opening month of the season. They could be meaningfully below .500 entering May. Even the A’s series could be tough.
After tomorrow’s game in Japan against the Dodgers:
Four against the Diamondbacks in Arizona
Three against the A’s in Sacramento
Three against the Padres at home
Three against Rangers at home
Three against the Dodgers in Los Angeles
Three against the Padres in San Diego
Three against the Diamondbacks in Chicago
Two against the Dodgers in Chicago
Three against the Phillies in Chicago
Cubs take 1-0 lead against Dodgers. Counsell goes to bullpen after 4 innings of zero hits from Imanaga. Four walks allowed though..
After a stomach bug (Betts) and rib soreness (Freeman), the Dodgers lineup doesn’t seem too tough.
The Brewers have won six straight spring training games. Even though it is inconsequential, it does feel good seeing the hitting and run prevention performing well last week.
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Oblique injuries seem common to all teams. There is a lot of rotational force for hitting and pitching. Players strength train their legs to a much higher level than ever before and it seems that abdominal/core/oblique muscles have a hard time keeping up with the force being generated by legs. I am not a doctor, though.
Quick search of current oblique injuries from this week:
Matt Waldron (SDP) link
Sean Manaea (NYM) link
Jeff McNeil (NYM) link
Tyler Stephenson (CIN) link
Jesus Sanchez (MIA) link
Why are oblique strains so common? Link