PEORIA, Ariz. – When Cubs manager David Ross assembled his first spring line on Monday, he included Anthony Rizzo in the first slot. This is the same Rizzo who once, with fame and humor, proclaimed himself the greatest drummer of all time.
No, there is no controversy over the Chicago order.
There is a risk in reading too many spring training programs, especially when games start for the first time and veterans are gradually incorporated into the mix. The opening of the Cubs’ Cactus League was a day off for Ian Happ, who won the job last season and will remain there on opening day.
“Ian has a chance to continue that role,” Ross said before his team’s 1-0 victory over the Padres. “He was a guy who had a phenomenal year for the short season. He continues to grow and find his strengths and weaknesses. I see him continuing to improve.”
At the beginning of spring training a year ago, Ross hurried to declare Kris Bryant his choice for the lead role as one of his first business orders. The manager liked the idea of Bryant’s power mix, basic ability and basic running at the top of the command, and the third base star was on board with the experiment.
This decision took place before the COVID-19 pandemic stopped the sport, leading to a disjointed year with an abbreviated season. And during that 60-game sprint, Bryant was never in power. An assortment of injuries affected his performance and time on the field, creating an opportunity for Happ.
Happ was ninth on the opening day of July 24 last season and launched a home round in a win over the Brewers. With such an emphasis on every victory, Ross needed to play his hot hand. By August 18, Happ was installed as the first hitter and responded with a homer, two hits and two walks in his first game.
“[One thing] I really appreciate Rossy for leading you there and continuing, “Happ said.” That was a little different than in the past when I hit the leadoff and I think that was kind of a consequence of last year’s success. “
Happ has said several times that he was happy to take on the “burden” of leaving some of the Cubs’ other hitters. To this end, Chicago has had a kind of revolving door in recent years – both in terms of staff and production.
Consider the fact that, since 2017-19, the puppies have gone through 17 players (in terms of starts) in the lead position. This came after Dexter Fowler was a top of the line during the Chicago trip to the glory of the World Series in ’16. Since Fowler’s departure, the North Siders have been looking for consistency in that job.
Here’s a look at leading production for the Cubs over the past five years:
2016: .267 / .381 / .434, 123 wRC +
2017: .246 / .324 / .422, 94 wRC +
2018: .302 / .366 / .454. 121 wRC +
2019: .212 / .294 / .383, 77 wRC +
2020: .211 / .307 / .418, 96 wRC +
Last year’s figures are slightly misleading, as Bryant turned a .177 / .271 / .323 slash line into his 16 starts as a lead man. Happ started 37 games in that role and hit .239 / .333 / .486 with a 119 wRC +. In 275 career appearances as a leading player, Happ recorded a .809 OPS with 15 homers.
Overall, last season, Happ managed .258 with 12 homers, 28 RBI and a .866 OPS in 57 games, but in the last few weeks it has affected its overall performance.
Happ was hit in the eye by an accidental shot on Sept. 3 in Pittsburgh, missed a day, and then locked two homers on his Sept. 5 return in a double-head opener against the Cardinals. Including Game 2 that day, the center fielder then hit .153 / .247 / .181 in 81 PAs for the rest of the regular season.
Happ said the eye problem is more of a mental obstacle than a physical one.
“It was a tough three-week period to end the year, for sure,” he said. “The eye was something that was a challenge and more than anything, a mental challenge. Because when something like this happens, especially something that is really important to your game, doubt can creep in pretty easily if things start to go wrong. go sideways. “
Between the season and the playoffs, Happ said he managed to use downtime to dig into what he was suffering from. What he found had more to do with synchronizing his cradle than anything else.
“I was able to see that there were some issues with being on time,” Happ explained. “I managed to fix this heading in our doubles playoff games there. And so I felt really good when I made these adjustments. And the goal this year will be to make them faster and mentally faster. . “
As a lead man, that will be imperative.
Since Happ is a switching player, Ross has some flexibility in how he can proceed with the range there. Whether Ross puts Bryant on the right on the second or Rizzo’s left bat in that spot, the manager will have different ways he could alternate right and left for balance.
“It simply came to our notice then [Happ] at the top of the group to get to the base in front of some horses, “Ross said.” As long as everyone stays healthy, we will work from him back. “