Morning Marquee: Bryant has arrived; Chicago Cubs fall to Padres

The debate. The talk. It’s done. Kris Bryant is a member of the Chicago Cubs. Unfortunately in his debut, his potent bat didn’t make an appearance. But apparently the time spent in Iowa to work on his defense paid dividends as he was sparkling in the field. The Cubs would come up short in his debut however, losing 5-4 to the San Diego Padres.

Bryant never seemed nervous, but was simply overmatched by a solid veteran in James Shields. After striking out the first three at-bats, he grounded into a force out in his final chance. The Cubs held the lead till the seventh when a questionable non-strike call led to a three-run home run from Wil Myers. Joe Maddon immediately came out to let his displeasure be known and was ejected from the game.

Now that Bryant has his much-anticipated debut out of the way, it’s time to simply get back to playing baseball. Standing ovations for everything that you do, every at-bat–that’s not what baseball will be like every day. He’s ready to transition into being “one of the guys”, and getting into a rhythm. There will still be some anticipation for that first hit, the first home run. But now he can work on settling into his routine.

Continuing on the subject of young stars, Mike Trout continues to amaze. He became the youngest player to 100 home runs and 100 steals, homering twice against the Astros on Friday. At 23 years and 253 day, he surpassed Alex Rodriquez as the youngest to the 100/100 club (A-Rod was 23 years and 309 days). Even more encouraging, like Bryant, Trout struck out a lot. This season on 0-2 counts he’s 8-for-20. Just remember, it’s only been one game for Bryant,

These and other stories from around the league:

‘Cubs fall to Padres 5-4 in Bryant’s debut’ – Cubbies Crib

‘Now Bryant can settle in and just play’ – Cubbies Crib

‘Halo’s Trout goes deep; fastest to 100 HR, 100 steals’ – MLB.com

‘Cardinals take over NL Central lead’ – Redbird Rants

‘Fastball’ dials up the heat on the big screen’ – MLB.com

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