The question was directed to Cubs pitcher Jameson Taillon, still nursing the invisible psychic wounds left by a five-homer barrage from the White Sox in an 8-3 loss Saturday night at Rate Field.
Now that you’ve laid eyes on him, Taillon was asked, did he understand all the fuss surrounding Munetaka Murakami, the Japanese slugger who so far this season is outshining even the great Shohei Ohtani?
“Yeah, man,’’ he said of Murakami, who took Taillon deep twice, giving him 17 home runs for the season. “I can’t understand why 29 other teams weren’t interested, to be completely honest. Like some groupthink where people just decided they were out on him, and the whole league decided they were out.
“Like, it’s crazy to me. I mean, he can hit, he can put the ball in the seats, he’s young, he’s got a ton of juice, he’s got a presence up there, for sure. He controls the strike zone, he does a lot of things really well.”
Only Kyle Schwarber, with 20, has hit more home runs than Murakami, who had Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf calling out, “Big win” to various Sox employees who waved as he made his way through the ballpark lobby.
Baseball’s beloved statistician, Sarah Langs, whose battle with ALS has gripped the industry, noted that Murakami and shortstop Colson Montgomery, who homered for the second straight night, have homered in the same game eight times this season. That’s more than any other duo in a team’s first 45 games in big-league history.
“Yeah, man, it’s crazy to me that more teams weren’t interested,’’ Taillon said. “I don’t know what the situation was, but it seems like he’s got a great fit here, and he’s comfortable here, they’ve made him feel welcome, and that’s quite a show in how he’s playing.’’
Swanson sits
Shortstop Dansby Swanson was given the night off, with Nico Hoerner moving to short and Matt Shaw to second. Swanson had a double in five trips in Friday night’s 10-5 win, but in the 18 games he has played since his last home run, April 24 in Los Angeles, Swanson is batting .161, has an OPS of .422, has just three extra-base hits and four RBI. Bad luck may be playing a part: His batting average for balls in play is just .200.