Jordan Wicks after he returns from the injured list.<\/a> The majority of you said \u201cLeave him in Iowa\u201d as 56 percent voted for that. Another 34 percent thought he should go into the Cubs depleted bullpen.<\/p>\nOn Tuesday nights I don\u2019t normally do a movie essay, but I always have time for jazz and that time is now. You can skip ahead if you wish.<\/p>\n
Today we\u2019re continuing our series on Chicago jazz in anticipation of International Jazz Day in Chicago on April 30. This is Chicago\u2019s own saxophonists Clifford Jordan and Von Freeman at the Chicago Jazz Festival in 1988. This sax battle features Willie Pickens on piano, Dan Shapera on bass and Robert Shy on drums.<\/p>\n
Welcome back to those of you who skip all that jazz.<\/p>\n
Since Mois\u00e9s Ballesteros, also known by the nickname \u201cMo Baller,\u201d was called up to the majors for good last September, he\u2019s done nothing but hit. So far in his career, he\u2019s hitting .333\/.405\/,529 with five home runs in 39 games. When you throw out his numbers from his first stint in the majors last May, the numbers are even better.<\/p>\n
This year, Mo Baller is hitting .378\/.420\/.600 with three home runs in just 50 plate appearances. I don\u2019t need to tell you that\u2019s elite production. Those are the kinds of numbers where you don\u2019t care whether or not he ever learns to be a catcher. You just stick him in the lineup at designated hitter and let him do his thing.<\/p>\n
The problem with this, of course, is that the Cubs aren\u2019t just sticking him at DH and letting him do his thing. Ballesteros is being strictly platooned, playing only against right-handed pitching. So far, manager Craig Counsell\u2019s strategy has been to start Ballesteros against right-handers and then pull him for a pinch-hitter (usually Matt Shaw or one of the other two catchers) if the other team brings in a left-handed reliever to face Ballesteros. Then Counsel goes to Michael Conforto as the DH if a right-handed pitcher comes in later.<\/p>\n
So far, this strategy has worked. Saturday\u2019s game was the best example, and I know some of you grumbled when Counsell pinch hit for Ballesteros in the sixth inning. Of course, everyone who did happily reversed themselves when Carson Kelly hit a pinch-hit three-run home run, but that doesn\u2019t necessarily mean that it was the right call in the situation. Sometimes in baseball, the wrong call works out and the right call fails.<\/p>\n
So far, Ballesteros is hitting .405 with a .447 on-base percentage against right-handers and .000 with the same on-base percentage against lefties. Of course, that\u2019s only three at-bats against lefties. Counsell has been pretty strict about not letting Mo Baller face a lefty.<\/p>\n
Ballesteros has mixed success facing left-handed pitching in the minor league. Last year in Iowa versus left-hnaded pitching, Ballesteros managed to hit just .230\/.296\/.281 in 152 plate appearances. That would argue that Counsell is doing the right thing by sitting him. But in 2024, between Iowa and Tennessee, Ballesteros was actually better against left-handers than right-handers. He hit .302 with a .356 OBP against lefties in 2024 and \u201cjust\u201d .285 with a .354 OBP versus right-handers. So there is some evidence that Ballesteros can hold his own versus left-handed pitching if given the chance.<\/p>\n
Should Counsell let Ballesteros face more left-handed pitching? No one is arguing Ballesteros should be starting everyday, against both lefties and righties. At least not at this stage of his career. What I am asking is whether you think that Counsell should be less aggressive in pinch-hitting for Ballesteros mid-game. Letting him get some at-bats against lefties would serve two purposes. The first is that it would give him more experience facing lefties, which he needs if he\u2019s going to be an everyday DH. The second would be that it would leave Ballesteros in the lineup for the late innings if the opposing team goes to an right-handed reliever later on.<\/p>\n
Of course, the argument against this is that what Counsell is doing now appears to be working. Having Michael Conforto on the bench lessens the risks of pinch-hitting for Ballesteros.<\/p>\n
So what would you do with Mo Baller? Would you let him at least get his feet wet against lefties? Or would you just stick with what Counsell is doing now? Again, we\u2019re not asking if Ballesteros should start every game, just whether or not Counsell should not automatically pinch-hit for him mid game. Maybe get a rare start against a left-handed pitcher.<\/p>\n
Thanks for stopping by tonight. We\u2019re always glad to see you stop by. Please get home safely. Don\u2019t forget anything around your table. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow evening for more BCB After Dark. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s another Tuesday evening here at BCB After Dark: the coolest club for night owls, early risers, new…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":680726,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2399],"tags":[5,138,24,81725,4245,161,4],"class_list":{"0":"post-680725","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-cubs","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-chicago","10":"tag-chicago-cubs","11":"tag-chicago-cubs-discussion","12":"tag-chicagocubs","13":"tag-cubs","14":"tag-mlb"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116446166157022698","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=680725"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680725\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/680726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=680725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=680725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=680725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}