5 On It: Has Daniel Palencia peaked before MLB season has even begun?
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This hour is brought to you by Vasectomy Clinics of Chicago. Has Cubs closer Daniel Palencia peaked before the MLB season has even begun? We joked about it because, my goodness, he looked incredible in this World Baseball Classic. And I know he's got a lot of gas in the tank, but that was a lot of gas that he threw out there and at opposing batters. So this was a big topic on our group thread today.
Has Daniel Palencia peaked before the MLB season?
You don't want that to happen. So I'm going to say that's not the case. But if he keeps this up the entire season, can you imagine? Number one, all-star. And then number two, bona fide playoff quality closer. And that's something that I feel like we have not been able to say at this point in the year, mid-March, for a very, very long time. Let me start by saying this. He can't keep this up. Because what he did was give up zero hits in five games. Not a single hit. He had two people reach base. One guy he hit, one guy he walked. He struck out nine over five innings. That's special. In a winner-take-all situation, that is phenomenal. He can't keep this up. But if he can have a whip sub one, if he can have a K per nine...
Double digits.
What were Daniel Palencia's standout performances in the World Baseball Classic?
If he can convert 95% of his saves... I know that's a high bar, by the way. That's 19 out of every 20. So 38 out of 40. If he can have that type of season, I think he will have... Made it. And we talked earlier about a 40-save season being a possibility, which a lot of guys don't do. I don't know if he'll get that far just because I think the Cubs really have to manage his workload. They really have to, especially early in the season. If you want to have your guy at the end of the season, take it easy on the front end. That's all I'm asking from Craig Council, Tommy Haddavy, and Jed Hoyer and them. So nice to have a guy in that spot, too, that throws the triple digits, that throws 100. I mean, the last time, I think the last time they had a closer that was doing that had to be a role as Chapman.
I know Hector Rondon would hit 100 occasionally back in the day and then the glory years of the Chicago Cubs. But to have that intimidation. that fear factor and other players are obviously watching that, but that's the key. Can he do this for the entire season? And, you know, he's had his ups and downs getting to the point that he is in his career. I love where the emotion level is. We know that that's not going to go down. And yeah, the, the numbers five scoreless touchdowns, hitless innings across five appearance or recording nine strikeouts and one walk so it's nice to know that there is an adult in the closers role as opposed to i keep talking about it with alzali and hector narris and then the ryan presley experiment from last year it's all been experimental and it feels like they might have actually developed the closer which would be absolutely amazing for the price that they're getting him for right now especially
Do you think the Cubs are ready to start Matt Sean right field on opening day if Seah Suzuki can't go due to the strained PCL he sustained in the World Baseball Classic? I think they have to. And frankly, if that is the case, if Seah is not ready to go because of that strained PCL, let him heal. And no offense, Nationals, but I feel like in this weather... When Wrigley Field can be very unpredictable, you know, they say it plays small this time of year. I feel like it played small all of last season. When the wind is unpredictable, perhaps, and the ivy has not grown in, maybe this is the best time to really get some real game experience in right field and acclimate yourself. And I didn't intend on using that word, but I feel like the climate does matter in this.
So Matt Shaw, from an offensive standpoint, pick up where you leave off, continue the spring training performance so far. But then can you think of a truer test for somebody if you really want to get to know the outfield than perhaps next week? That's what I think of. That's probably the best experience that you can get. I think I'm leaning into the fact that the Cubs said that the MRI and the level of strain on the PCL of Seiya Suzuki is minor in nature, and that's giving me hope that he could be back to possibly start the season.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:01–0:40
2
Has Daniel Palencia peaked before the MLB season?
0:40–1:40
3
What were Daniel Palencia's standout performances in the World Baseball Classic?
1:40–5:26
4
Can Daniel Palencia maintain his performance throughout the MLB season?
5:26–12:59
5
What are the Cubs' plans for Matt Shaw if Seiya Suzuki is unavailable?
12:59–19:16
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