Mike Wellman's Archives
Connecting Dots
Before recently throwing in with Super Agent Scott Boras, Super Free Agent Carlos Correa was represented by the mega-agency that’s been buying up MiLB teams, including the Iowa Cubs. The former sub-rivalry with the Memphis Redbirds will now be a sib-rivalry since the teams share the same owner. Strange bedfellows. But that’s beside my primary point of interest. The I-Cubs’ ownership had been local for decades, most recently under the community-spirited auspices of a man whose resume includes a Pulitzer Prize in journalism.
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Iowa & Indy Play Cubbies & Indians
After 604 days without a ballgame here, Indianapolis came to town for the first time in almost a quarter century last Tuesday night. The first batter of the too long awaited season homered and baseball was finally back.
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I-Cubs Schedule Play Dates With New Playmates
So the Iowa Cub schedule released this week and it’s, well, different. Different opponents, different format, different duration. But the difference that matters most is that there will be a season this season.
Business Trips
Odd that both the C-Cubs & I-Cubs are idle today.
The locals have punched their playoff ticket and begin a best-of-five series in Round Rock tomorrow night, albeit with a carcass of a roster now that fire marshals have revised MLB dugout capacities upward. Game three and any others required are slated for Des Moines over the weekend.
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The Incredible Shrinking Lead
Down five games in ten days and plunging like a stock market correction, the I-Cub divisional lead that’s been in double digits much of the summer has been cut to five as the PCL regular season enters its final week. Granted, it still sits at five with only eight games remaining, but the last four are versus the onrushing Memphis Redbirds, winners of nine of their last ten (including a series sweep of Iowa), here in Des Moines, culminating with the season finale on Labor Day.
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Do All Roads Lead to Losses?
The I-Cubs headed to Memphis late last week with a road record that was the envy of their parents and a magic number of nine. Had they swept the four-game set with the Redbirds, they’d be returning home tonight with a chance to clinch their quarter of the PCL and lock in their spot in the divisional playoffs. Instead of the broomers, alas, they were doomed and got broomed.
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Reading a Good Book Lately
I’m not quite finished with Ron Rapoport’s new Ernie Banks bio (Let’s Play Two: The Legend of Mr. Cub; The Life of Ernie Banks), but since today’s an off-day I’ll offer a thumbnail review based on the first 300+ pages.
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Balls
J-Hey reached double figures Tuesday night, less than halfway through the season after managing only eight all of last year, and he’s not the only one who’s putting up some impressive HR numbers in 2019.
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Exiled Russell Rehabs Strained Image
Opening Day, 2018. Ian Happ swatted the first pitch of the MLB season into the seats in Miami. Addison Russell was all over the box score of that game. 2/3 at the plate, stole a base, turned a couple of DPs, got picked off, hit by a pitch and made an error.
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Opening Night for the 1st Place Cubs
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Old Ballplayers Never Die
Jackson (Red) Hollis passed away last fall. Cancer finally got him out at the age of 90. He was a fixture at Principal Park, home of the Iowa Cubs, where he preached the gospel of baseball for even more seasons than he played the game professionally.
I wrote an homage to him last summer for our local paper near the end of the minor league season that sketches an outline of who he was and why he is missed.
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KB KOs Fans on the Farm
I’ve been up pretty close at the KB circus here in Des Moines this week. After watching Tuesday night and yesterday afternoon from the camera well adjacent to the I-Cub dugout while our hero played 3B, I am hoping to perch in the LF corner this afternoon since he is penciled in at that spot and hitting leadoff today. Impressions so far: He is so damn disciplined at the plate!
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ASB Filler: Bush League Ballhawking
On I-Cub Opening Day in Des Moines this year, I bundled up and took a seat right behind the bullpen of the Oklahoma City Dodgers. During that first game of this 2018 season, Max Muncy, (sounds like a private eye, don’t you think?) grounded a foul ball down the right field line into the pen. A Dodger reliever retrieved it and casually flipped it to me, the 64-year-old kid shivering in the front row.
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Let's Play Two (Before Lunch)!
The I-Cubs have added some wrinkles to the traditional doubleheader format this year. Call it schedule change brought about by the rising tide of global warming. This IS the Pacific Coast League, remember, and Des Moines IS the city where a game was once played in front of an official attendance of zero due to floodwaters surrounding the ballpark.
Opening Day featured a twinbill in anticipation of inclement weather, not in consequence of it.
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Less Than Adbert-ized
The first two home starts were no-hitters into the 6th. The third began similarly. First inning: 10 pitches, nine strikes, three up/three down. After that, Adbert Alzolay labored. A pair of two-run homers in the second, a solo shot in the fifth. None of the three was windblown. That initial frame was efficient and economical but the other three+ required 80 pitches. Let's put a positive spin on the outing and call it a learning experience. It certainly wasn't a confidence-boosting springboard to the major league debut that's reportedly in the offing next Saturday.
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Recent comments
Dolorous Jon Lester (view)
For sure. This lineup isn’t exactly stacked as is, and subbing out a Cooper or even a Tauchman for Madrigal won’t do it any favors.
crunch (view)
the ESPN bottom graphic taking up 1/8th of the screen sucks.
i only use ESPN during baseball season and i'm forced to watch a baseball broadcast designed to be broadcast in sports bars and betting parlors where the news/scores of other games is as important as what you're actually tuned in to watch.
crunch (view)
morel triple to start the season....yeaaaaaaaaaaaaah
Arizona Phil (view)
LHP Blake Weiman appears to have been the last cut from the AAA Iowa roster. He is with the Tennessee group at Minor League Camp.
crunch (view)
bruce bochy is hobbling rather badly for a guy who's had 2 hip replacements. his gait is extremely wonky taking the lineup card to the ump.
crunch (view)
yeah, for me this isn't about who's better at 3rd. it's madrigal, period. for me it's about who's not hitting in the lineup because madrigal is in the lineup.
occasional play at 3rd for madrigal, okay. going with the steele/ground-ball matchup...meh, but okay, whatever.
seeing madrigal get significant starting time...no thanks.
Dolorous Jon Lester (view)
Yeah I am very disappointed Madrigal is starting. He has no business as a starter. He is AAA insurance, a back up at best. Sure his defense looks fine because he plays far enough in that his noodle arm isn’t totally exposed. It comes at the cost of 3B range.
He’s garbage, and a team serious about winning would NOT have him starting opening day.
crunch (view)
in other news, it took 3 PA before a.rizzo got his 1st HBP of the season.
Eric S (view)
With two home runs (so far) and 5 rbi today … clearly Nick Martini is the straw that stirs the Reds drink 😳
crunch (view)
madrigal at 3rd...morel at DH.
making room for madrigal or/and masterboney to get a significant amount of ABs is a misuse of the roster. if it needed to get taken care of this offseason, they had tons of time to figure that out.
morel played almost exclusively at 3rd in winter ball and they had him almost exclusively there all spring when he wasn't DH'ing.
madrigal doing a good job with the glove for a bit over 2 chances per game...is that worth more than what he brings with the bat 4-5 PA a game? it's 2024 and we got glenn beckert 2.0 manning 3rd base.
this is a tauchman or cooper DH situation based on bat, alone. cooper is 3/7 with a double off eovaldi if you want to play the most successful matchup.
anyway, i hope this is a temporary thing, not business as usual for the rest of the season. it will be telling if morel is not used at 3rd when an extreme fly ball pitcher like imanaga is on the mound.