Justin Grimm Is The Most Sensitive Cubs Player On Twitter

It turns out that Chicago Cubs pitcher Justin Grimm searches his name on Twitter to seek out his bashers and it’s kind of sad. Now, I have said previously that if you tweet directly at an athlete then you deserve the embarrassment that comes back your way like what Kyle Long did to some poor woman last year. However, what Grimm does on social media is really only embarrassing to himself.

Apparently this has been known throughout the Cubs fans community on Twitter, but I didn’t notice the behavior until yesterday when Grimm allowed a home run against the Oakland A’s. Grimm is currently penciled in as the eighth and final reliever in the Cubs bullpen and he’s coming off the worst season of his career. He lost his arbitration case, so maybe he’s feeling the pressure of being on the roster bubble.

Giving up home runs was Grimm’s biggest problem in 2017, allowing 12 of them in 55.1 innings. So, after Matt Olson hit a homer off Grimm in the fourth inning, Aaron Kennelly, who writes about the Cubs on northsidebaseball.com, broke down the issues with Grimm. It was pretty informative and wasn’t bashing Grimm at any point.

The bad news from today is that Justin Grimm gave up a homer. While I wouldn't take much from Spring stats, that's like the one thing he can't be doing right now. Of 355 pitchers that threw at least 50 innings last year, Grimm had the 29th-highest HR/9.

— Aaron Kennelly (@aaron_kennelly) February 28, 2018

Grimm is tough to figure out. He's been extremely inconsistent from month-to-month. He can be lights out still, but we don't see that guy often enough. I understand why the Cubs are taking another look at him, though. If he figures it out, that's a boon to the 'pen.

— Aaron Kennelly (@aaron_kennelly) February 28, 2018

That probably won't happen, but he can also be released and not cost much. Grimm's curveball is still really good, though. Batters hit .155/.217/.247 off of it last year. He's been getting roughed up with his fastball, though. Batters slugged .611 off of it last year.

— Aaron Kennelly (@aaron_kennelly) February 28, 2018

In '15, batters only slugged .378 against Grimm's fastball. There hasn't been a huge transformation in his stuff, though. His velocity is the same. The movement on his fastball is the same. He's not leaving more pitches over the heart of the plate.

— Aaron Kennelly (@aaron_kennelly) February 28, 2018

The only thing I notice is that the separation has widened on the vertical release point difference between his fastball and his curveball. It's nothing really that striking. But he might be having trouble concealing which pitch he is throwing.

— Aaron Kennelly (@aaron_kennelly) February 28, 2018

That’s all he said. Simply looking at some numbers and trying to provide some analysis without any name calling. Also, note that Kennelly never included Grimm’s Twitter handle, so the only way Grimm was able to see any of those tweet would be if he searched his name on Twitter, which he obviously does all the time.

So, Grimm responds and it’s nothing at first until he throws a soft jab.

😂😂😂

— Justin Grimm (@GrimmReaper_52) February 28, 2018

Wouldn’t give you that satisfaction! Keep “writing”!!!

— Justin Grimm (@GrimmReaper_52) February 28, 2018

And then here comes the sensitive part. Even after the exchange that had no malice involved, Grimm just had to block Kennelly.

Ouch. Blocked by the guy who had to be told that it was raining during Game 7 of the World Series. pic.twitter.com/1KXzJ12Lws

— Aaron Kennelly (@aaron_kennelly) February 28, 2018

That’s when I became aware of the fact that this happens all the time with Grimm. Again, this dude is going on his phone and searching his name on Twitter.

Probably for this… pic.twitter.com/gxefSMcc9b

— WhenClarkMetAddison (@ClarkMetAddison) February 28, 2018

Can confirm. I never tweeted anything all that bad about him. pic.twitter.com/3C8qyfm56v

— Justin Bates (@_JustinBates) March 1, 2018

Relatable pic.twitter.com/It6guePhka

— DaWindy (@OfficialDaWindy) February 28, 2018

Everything was fine and dandy after the Cubs won the World Series in 2016, but once Grimm started to struggle in 2017, it appears as though he started to have a thinner skin. Actually, it looks like it started in spring training last year.

what does that even mean? Pay attention!!! Swagger hah I'm fine thanks 👍🏻

— Justin Grimm (@GrimmReaper_52) March 16, 2017

Didn't realize curveballs were the same pitch as a FB!! 🤣🤣 granted it just wasn't a good one! It happens…

— Justin Grimm (@GrimmReaper_52) June 18, 2017

But Grimm had enough of Twitter in July and wasn’t active until this January. And then again, he couldn’t help but go out and see what fans were saying about him.

Now that isn’t nice 🤷🏼‍♂️😎😎

— Justin Grimm (@GrimmReaper_52) February 16, 2018

So, if you have ever made a comment about Justin Grimm on social media, know that he has definitely read it and if it was remotely critical of him you’re probably blocked.

Grimm, 29, is out of minor-league options with the Cubs and if he keeps looking bad he’s going to have a lot more time to search Twitter.

Keep “pitching.”

— Northside Baseball (@nsbbcom) February 28, 2018