It was a predictable outcome. It was one of those slow developing disaster films . . . you know something bad is going to happen soon.
When Kyle Schwarber was placed in LF it was done to keep highly paid Miguel Montero behind the plate. It was to get Schwarber's power into the lineup on a regular basis. Joe Maddon is not afraid of playing players out of their natural positions. Schwarber was drafted as a catcher. He wants to be a pro catcher. He is working hard to catch major league pitchers. His deficiencies have been magnified because of early scouting reports. But he is a team player, so he goes to LF to learn a new position literally on the fly.
Dexter Fowler is a minus- CF defender. He does not have a strong arm and he does not cover very much ground in the gaps. But he is a switch hitting lead off man with some pop. He can get on base and score a lot of runs. Fowler's re-signing with the Cubs helped balance out the top of the lineup.
In order to get more pop in the lineup, the Cubs have to play lesser defenders in the field.
Last night in Arizona, this philosophy crashed with reality.
Cubs broadcaster Pat Hughes was deeply concerned when an ambulance cart drove Schwarber off Chase Field on
Thursday night after he collided with Fowler after giving chase to a long fly ball in the gap (which turned into an inside-the-park HR). Schwarber laid face down on the ground until the trainers reached him. It looked very serious.
After the game, Schwarber, on crutches, talked to the media. “The ball was literally in no man’s land. We both thought that (the other guy) wasn’t
going to get the ball. So you only call it if you know you can get it.
We both went at it, and I stuck my glove up. I was pretty close. But
then he dove for it, too.
“We were playing hard. I have no regrets about playing hard and getting hurt,” he said.
Initial reports indicate that Schwarber has tightness in his knee and ankle. Trainers were looking at the knee and testing for a strained ACL. X-rays showed no broken bones. An MRI is scheduled for today. The real concern is any knee damage. If so, then that puts Schwarber out of his scheduled catching rotation and lessens his overall playing time. But it appears that Schwarber could be sidelined for at least two weeks.
The injury clouds a 14-6 Cubs comeback win over the Diamondbacks. New starter John Lackey gave up 6 runs in the first 3 innings, but hung around for the win because of Anthony Rizzo's huge night, 3 for 4 with 6 RBIs.
For every player's down time, it is an opportunity for another player. When Schwarber left the game, Maddon inserted Kris Bryant in LF and moved in Tommy La Stella at third base. It seemed that the lesson was lost on Maddon in the moment as he moved Bryant out of his natural position to play LF instead of inserting hot hitting Matt Szczur or platoon Jorge Soler. La Stella was hitless in three plate appearances.
There is no word when Javy Baez is set to return from his dumb head first slide into first base thunb injury. I suspect he will be activated if Schwarber heads to the DL.
Maddon likes moveable pieces on his roster so he can zig and zag his lineups to get match ups he finds favorable. In one respect, it keeps the entire team in the mindset to be ready to play every day. But in another, it upsets a normal player's habit and routine of playing one position and batting consistently in the same place in the lineup. But moving a catcher to play LF in a park with a very large outfield seems to be counterproductive.
UPDATE:
It was the worst possible news: Schwarber tore both his ACL and LCL with a severe high ankle sprain. He is out for the season. There is no time table for his return. He will have to have reconstructive surgery and a long rehab period. There is no guarantee that he will be ready for spring training in 2017.
The injury was described as a "severe football-type" injury. How a badly damaged knee affects a major league catcher is something new for Schwarber and the Cubs. If Schwarber cannot return to being a catcher, that cuts in half his value to the Cubs (or any potential trade partner who would look at a catcher with 30 HR potential a major asset.)
