In baseball's post season, you cannot give up any outs, any at bats and definitely any games.
Every pitch is crucial and every play can determine the outcome of an entire series.
Here is why the insertion of Kyle Schwarber in to the starting lineup cost the
Cubs game 1 and may have cost the Cubs the World Series. Now before you
accuse me of second guessing our beloved coach whom I love as well, after the game, please note that
when I first heard the possibility of this news before it broke I said no way would they make this
move. Then once the news broke, I posted a highlight of Schwarber on my
facebook page before the game stating that he is my favorite player however I
did not agree with this move. See that post
HERE.
Schwarber
should not have been put in that situation and should not be expected to be able
to deliver over an entire game. If he does, great, I am wrong, Cubs win the
World Series and I am the happiest fan in the world. Baseball is about timing and
is also about numbers and having multiple opportunities.
Contreras probably should have been the DH. He is batting .400 in the post season and has come up
with timely hits all year including in both rounds of the playoffs. Therefore
he should have had every opportunity. Schwarber delivered what proved to be a meaningless 2 out double in the 2nd inning but barely missed the fences in what would have been an epic home run. He struck out when it counted the most, representing the tying run in the 8th inning with 2 on and looked off balance.
My biggest fear going into this series was 1) Maddon being too smart and making one move too many, 2) Javier Baez trying to do too much on the biggest stage and making a crucial error at the worst time. What the Cubs attempted to do was catch
lightning in a bottle from a guy (who again is my favorite player) but hasn't played
all year. Not to mention interrupting the Cubs chemistry. This was similar to
what the Bulls attempted to do in 1995 in Michael Jordan’s return to the NBA.
Although it galvanized the NBA and gave the city hope, ultimately the
Chicago Bulls lost to Shaquille O’Neal and the Orlando Magic and Michael Jordan
was not in NBA shape which contributed to that loss. Jordan came
back during the tail end of the regular season so he had time to attempt to get
up to speed but was unsuccessful. Schwarber is being asked to come back in the championship round against
the best pitching with only four opportunities per game to get his swing and
his timing back. This is something that it usually takes months in spring
training to do. He was asked to do it in one day on the biggest stage. Trying to catch lighting in the bottle should have better been applied
ie, the 1988 Los Angeles Dodgers. For
those who didn't know, that year, their best player by the name of Kirk Gibson
was hobbled by injury and was only placed in the game as pinch hitter in the 9th
inning in an all or nothing dire situation. After limping up to the plate, he of course after almost striking out, delivered a two strike home run
which galvanized the team and the city and lead the Dodgers to capturing their
last World Series title against the heavily favorite and loaded Oakland Athletics team who was lead by the bash brothers Mark Mcquire and Jose Canseco. Had Gibson been inserted in the starting lineup,
he would have surely struck out several times and the Dodgers may not have even
been in that situation to make a comeback in the latter innings.
I am
no journalist or paid baseball expert (believe me had I known that these guys would
make millions just talking about sports and giving their opinions, I would’ve
gladly traded in my Engineering degree for a Journalism degree). I am merely
giving my opinion, like they do, through my knowledge and vision of what was my favorite
game growing up in the city of Chicago.
I pray that the Cubs can recover from this game 1 loss but as you probably already know
12 out of the last 13 teams that won the first game went on to win the World Series. In the past 30 years, 86% of teams that won the first game, went on to win
the World Series. None of those teams had a 108 year curse hanging over their head. Cubs will have to once again defy the odds. They have been resilient all year. If this series goes 7 and the Cubs lose, this game will be remembered for its missed opportunities. If this is really our year, they will overcome this and their weakness against the off-speed pitch to bring home the trophy. Please feel free not to correct me on any misspellings or typos because like I said, I am no Journalist lol. #GoCubsGo
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