Imrem: Let's be patient with Cubs' Schwarber
You can almost hear the standing ovation Kyle Schwarber is going to receive when the Cubs come home Friday afternoon.
Thunderous is the customary welcome Cubs fans give a player they have already nominated for the Hall of Fame after a few handfuls of at-bats in the major leagues.
Tuesday night's "Schwarber Game" - a ninth-inning home run to tie the Reds, a 13th-inning homer to beat them - elevated the rookie catcher to legendary status.
The big deal was that not many athletes have "His Game" before he knows where the toilets are in all the league's clubhouses.
Schwarber's came early, albeit late into the night.
The next morning, all-sports radio was buzzing over Schwarber's clutch performance. What Cubs fans always seem to forget is that a baseball career is a stare rather than a blink.
Just about every one of the top prospects the Cubs promoted to the majors since last year impressed early.
Now Kris Bryant and Jorge Soler are batting in the .250s. Addison Russell is up - up - to the .230s. Javier Baez, well, he's back down in the minor leagues with Arismendy Alcantara and Junior Lake.
We won't even mention young veterans Starlin Castro, who all of a sudden is batting a lightweight .239, and Anthony Rizzo, who has dipped from the .300s to the .290s to the .280s.
Look, most of them, including Schwarber, figure to be legitimate major-league players for a long time. Exactly how long and how legitimate remains the question.
Good? Great? All-star-caliber? Hall of Fame quality? Who knows yet?
Each will suffer the inevitable growing pains.
The process usually is that a player is promoted to the big leagues, he emerges on fire, the league adjusts to him, he adjusts to the league, that game occurs a couple of times and he finally becomes whatever he's destined to become.
Bryant, in a bit of a slump at the time, was asked recently whether he was involved in the chess moves yet. His eyes lit up and he smiled as if he were relieved that someone knew what he was going through.
Schwarber has been with the Cubs for barely a blink rather than a stare. Now it'll be interesting to see what he sees as the games and at-bats add up.
Schwarber is the kind of phenom that a Cubs fan loves to grab on to. My goodness, he's built like a Mike Singletary linebacker at 6-feet and 235 pounds.
On top of that, Schwarber has a catcher's last name, sort of like Brian Urlacher has a linebacker's last name that fans wanted on the back of their Bears shirts.
Then there's that wonderfully violent left-handed swing, though it's doubtful Schwarber will continue hitting .409 for his career.
Finally, there's the attitude that Schwarber flashed when he glared at Reds pitcher Jumbo Diaz after striking out Wednesday night.
The only thing Schwarber has to do to make this physical, mental and emotional package matter is become the player that scouting reports predict he'll become.
But let's wait to see, please. Heck, Schwarber's potential might turn out to be even better than has looked this week like it's going to be.
Then again, Kyle Schwarber and Kris Bryant and Addison Russell and Jorge Soler might turn out to be all-stars instead of Hall of Famers, good instead of great, or, dare we say, busts instead of booms.
The journey is just beginning, the destination is a mystery, and it's best to sit back and enjoy the ride regardless of how bumpy it gets.
mimrem@dailyherald.com