Kyle Schwarber Scratched Due to Sore Ribs

Kyle Schwarber, last night’s hero, was a late scratch for Wednesday’s matinee after feeling soreness in while taking BP prior to the game. Few details exist at this point, but it’s very possible he suffered an injury while diving for a Joey Votto fly ball last night. The good news is that it wasn’t severe enough to keep him from hitting a ball 430 or so feet into the bleachers in left-center later in the game to beat the team he cheered for growing up.

This could very well be a case of things tightening up a little and flaring up after your body has time to clear out all the adrenaline. At this point, it doesn’t seem to be anything to really worry about, so let’s avoid stepping out on the ledge just yet. The Cubs are a good enough team to beat the Reds even without Schwarber, so this looks to me like Joe Maddon exercising discretion as a function of valor.

It is a bit suspicious, however, that Schwarber is complaining of sore ribs shortly after taking part in a game John Kruk called for ESPN.