Commentary: Sweet Home Chicago |
It feels good to be home after several games out on the West Coast. The Cubs ended the West Coast trip by winning the series against the defending world champions, the Dodgers, before heading down I-5 and losing the series to the Padres. As in life, baseball has its ups and downs, and it will be a nice change going back to regular game start times and getting to play in front of the best fans in baseball at the friendly confines.
The team will be coming home without their number one prospect, Matt Shaw, who was optioned to Triple-A Iowa. Seeing a prospect getting demoted never feels good. As fans, we all hope for all the prospects to come right into the league and start taking over, but rarely is that the case. Even the great Mike Trout took the ride from the show to the minors. Shaw will be just fine and needs to get his timing back down at the plate, and maybe alter his swing a bit, as the way his stance is, he was having trouble catching up to heaters and missing breaking balls thrown to him. At least attempting to fix his leg kick may be a good start to find a rhythm and a swing that will compete at the major league level. Plus, getting his confidence back by taking care of minor league pitching will help him be more confident once he is called up again, which most likely will come sooner rather than later. Michael Busch has started to display his power by going deep numerous times out west, which is no easy feat considering Dodger Stadium and Petco Park are big parks to take one out. The one surprising aspect of this trip would be Pete Crow-Armstrong, or PCA, who has started to find his rhythm at the plate and even showcased his power in front of mom and dad Sunday night against the Dodgers. He has always been a roadrunner on the basepaths and is entertaining with his incredible speed. Still, the bat has so much more potential, and his confidence at the plate should lead to that potential becoming reality soon. Rumor mills have been swirling with some reports stating that the Cubs and Kyle Tucker have begun to discuss a long-term extension to keep him a Cubbie blue for the rest of his career. You can take these with a grain of salt, as it is just a rumor until both parties have signed on the dotted line. Also, making the rounds was a rumor that the Cubs are trying to sign PCA to an extension, which makes sense as you want to keep your young core at a reasonable price to give you cost certainty moving forward. What the future holds regarding these contract extensions remains to be seen, but if both get done this season, it’s a win for the organization and its fans. Still sitting in first place after the West Coast swing and heading home, and playing an extended homestand with three outstanding teams in Arizona, Los Angeles, and the Phillies will test the Cubs' grit and continue the trend of what is most likely the most demanding schedule in the majors to start the season off with. The fact that they have held their own and are still in first will strengthen their resolve for the season and show that Chicago can compete with anybody. The season has just started, and it is long and grueling for the players. It feels nice to be back home in sweet Chicago.
