Spring Training Day Two – The Overreationing

Day 2 of the Cubs Spring Training is in the books, and still no wins. Is it time to panic. I say yes. Last season, the Blue Jays had the best AL Spring record and the Dodgers were third in the NL, which is absolute proof you have to finish top 3 on your league in the Spring to have a chance at the World Series. I could go back few years to look at more Spring records, but it will probably disprove my theory, so I’ve decided not to.

Let’s talk about observations from game 2:

• I think the Cubs may need to invest in a device to block out the sun, as seen in the Simpsons episode “Who Shot Mr. Burns Part 1 ” from Season 6. While plants and trees would die, along with the ivy at Wrigley, PCA and Seiya Suzuki won’t lose any more ball in the sun

• Luke Little is such a tantalizing talent. A left-hander reliever who can hit mid to upper 90s should be worth his weight in gold. But while he’s had a few chances at the major league level, lack of control has kept him from finding success. Maybe he can follow the path of Daniel Palencia, and find both the strike zone and a place in the Cubs bullpen. No walks in his first spring appearance is a start.
• Speaking of Palencia, he looked good in his first appearance. All of his fastballs were at 99 or 100, and the slider looked good. We still have to see if he can handle the pressure of the closer role for a full season, but the stuff is there.
• I’m not too worried about Hoby Milner giving up a couple of runs, except that one of the hits was a left-handed batter. He held lefties to a .526 OPS last season and .608 for his career, so I would not expect too many games after the spring where the first guys he faces is hitting right-handed, unless it’s Inigo Montoya, and he only pretends to be left handed.

• Jefferson Rojas had a couple of very hard hit balls (108.1 and 106.2 mph), showing why he’s one of the top ranked Cubs prospects. The infield for the Cubs is fairly crowded at the moment with Bregman and Swanson locked up for a while and Shaw as a potential replacement for Hoerner if he leaves.
• A downside with Rojas is that his throws were a bit erratic, and one helped lead to an injury for Jonathon Long. He was not expected to make the opening day 26, but the elbow sprain pretty much removes any chance he would have had.
• Jack Neely played the Gavin Hollowell role today, striking out the side. The Cubs do have several really tall relievers.