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***Chicago Cubs Thread*** (2 Viewers)

Power Monster said:
Congrats to all Cub fans. Looks like the year is here!
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They're just building us up for the inevitable soul crush. 1969, Leon Durham, Steve Bartman. It's coming, and it's going to be a gut punch. It's just a matter of time.

He says, trying to keep his hopes in check.

 
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Rirruto said:
Power Monster said:
Congrats to all Cub fans. Looks like the year is here!
Click to expand...
They're just building us up for the inevitable soul crush. 1969, Leon Durham, Steve Bartman. It's coming, and it's going to be a gut punch. It's just a matter of time.

He says, trying to keep his hopes in check.
Click to expand...
Looks like they have the potential Cy Young, rookie of the year and coach of the year.

The Cubs have cleared some major demons out of the way thus far - improving the ball park, positioning a third baseman that looks like the real deal, beating their nemesis at home and winning the first ever playoff series at Wrigley (mind blowing).

Time to root for the Mets to win because a date with the Mets is going to allow them to exact revenge on '69.

 
DoubleG said:
pantagrapher said:
Lackey gets hit hard today.
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In some ways, the team he is facing today is not the same he faced Friday. Rizzo and Bryant seeme to have broken out of their slump, Soler didn't even face Lackey Friday, and the Cub hitters have their collective confidence back. The Cubs will not be shut out today - and I'll be surprised if Lackey makes it to the 6th inning.
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:yes:

 
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Power Monster said:
Rirruto said:
Power Monster said:
Congrats to all Cub fans. Looks like the year is here!
Click to expand...
They're just building us up for the inevitable soul crush. 1969, Leon Durham, Steve Bartman. It's coming, and it's going to be a gut punch. It's just a matter of time.

He says, trying to keep his hopes in check.
Click to expand...
Looks like they have the potential Cy Young, rookie of the year and coach of the year.

The Cubs have cleared some major demons out of the way thus far - improving the ball park, positioning a third baseman that looks like the real deal, beating their nemesis at home and winning the first ever playoff series at Wrigley (mind blowing).

Time to root for the Mets to win because a date with the Mets is going to allow them to exact revenge on '69.
Click to expand...
Oh, I'm on your side. I'm already trying to talk myself out of dropping more money than I really have to spend on nosebleed World Series tickets, not to mention plane tickets/hotels/transpo/bail money. We'll see how all that goes.

This team is way more fun to watch (for me) than 2003, but this season does feel eerily like that year except with hitters under 23 instead of pitchers under 26. I guess in this analogy Sammy is Arrieta and Lester is Aramis.

Being in the playoffs is fun. Watching these guys even when they weren't setting the world on fire was still fun. This has been as fun an MLB season as I remember. #wearegood

 
Rirruto said:
Power Monster said:
Rirruto said:
Power Monster said:
Congrats to all Cub fans. Looks like the year is here!
Click to expand...
They're just building us up for the inevitable soul crush. 1969, Leon Durham, Steve Bartman. It's coming, and it's going to be a gut punch. It's just a matter of time.

He says, trying to keep his hopes in check.
Click to expand...
Looks like they have the potential Cy Young, rookie of the year and coach of the year.

The Cubs have cleared some major demons out of the way thus far - improving the ball park, positioning a third baseman that looks like the real deal, beating their nemesis at home and winning the first ever playoff series at Wrigley (mind blowing).

Time to root for the Mets to win because a date with the Mets is going to allow them to exact revenge on '69.
Click to expand...
Oh, I'm on your side. I'm already trying to talk myself out of dropping more money than I really have to spend on nosebleed World Series tickets, not to mention plane tickets/hotels/transpo/bail money. We'll see how all that goes.

This team is way more fun to watch (for me) than 2003, but this season does feel eerily like that year except with hitters under 23 instead of pitchers under 26. I guess in this analogy Sammy is Arrieta and Lester is Aramis.

Being in the playoffs is fun. Watching these guys even when they weren't setting the world on fire was still fun. This has been as fun an MLB season as I remember. #wearegood
Click to expand...
Agreed but save your money and watch it all at home.

 
Addison Russell (hamstring) is out for the NLCS.
Russell strained his left hamstring while legging out a triple in Game 3 of the NLDS against the Cardinals. Javier Baez will fill in in at shortstop in the best-of-seven Championship Series and try to build some momentum toward an expanded major league role in 2016. Russell could rejoin the postseason roster if the Cubs advance to the World Series.
 
shady inc said:
Addison Russell (hamstring) is out for the NLCS.
Russell strained his left hamstring while legging out a triple in Game 3 of the NLDS against the Cardinals. Javier Baez will fill in in at shortstop in the best-of-seven Championship Series and try to build some momentum toward an expanded major league role in 2016. Russell could rejoin the postseason roster if the Cubs advance to the World Series.
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That sucks. But man, hard not to be excited about watching Baez in the NLCS.

 
shady inc said:
really hoping for a win tonight. lester at home, then arrieta due up again. it could get interesting.
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I don't mind that they are losing (or may eventually lose the NLCS), I just don't think they're playing well at all. The bats (save for Schwarbs) are dead and the defense has been awful.

I thought I read/heard that the Cubs shifted defensively LESS than anyone else during the regular season (despite the fact that Maddon was well known for doing it a lot with the Rays). While I understand the reasons for doing it, it seems as though it's actually hurting the Cubs - Baez misplayed Granderson's hot in the first, Bryant looks clueless in that shallow RF spot.

I guess I was just hoping to see the Cubs make it a competitive NLCS - but really hasn't been. And I'm not even going to get into the umpiring, which, for the most part has been horrific in terms of balls and strike calls - from anyone's perspective.

 
Great season guys.

:pours40:

All the pieces aren't in place yet, but there's a bright future for this organization. Better than any time in our lifetime.

 
Considering I would have been happy with an 81 win season, I'm more than excited about our future.

Expectations met and exceeded.

Now "there is always next year" doesn't ring so hollow

 
I'm happy we made it this far. Yes, we would have been happy to see this team finish over .500. Even happier if they had an outside shot at the playoffs. And they exceeded everyone's expectations getting as far as they did. And the core group will be together a long time and we'll be enjoying a similar ride again next year. So now we try to figure out where to go from here.

• The no-brainer: SP. At least one, probably two. One front-end guy. One 5th starter. I think Hendricks proved he can be a 3 on an average team so I'd be happy to see him be our 4. But you can't just walk out your front door and sign top-flight pitching. We're not the only team that will be courting the Prices and Grienkes. The cost will be ridiculous. But this team has money coming in now—big money— so they'll be able to overpay, which they'll have to do.

• Center field. Fowler is likely gone and he will be very hard to replace without paying the kind of money Fowler will eventually get. Sign Fowler? I doubt it happens, but I guess it's possible. This team needs a strong defensive center fielder and a guy who can get on base at the top of the order. Almora could be that guy, but I worry about relying on a prospect to fill a hole that big.

• Defense. We have big problems here, and they all came to the forefront during the Mets series. Our pitchers can be run on with impunity. Our catchers are old and crafty, but not very good at throwing out base stealers. Schwarber will be a liability in left. Soler will be a liability in right. I think Bryant can be average at third with another offseason of practice. The bright spot is middle infield. The combination of Russell and Castro worked very well down the stretch. But where does that leave Baez? He has tremendous potential defensively, but he's green and will make mistakes, and that showed in the Mets series. If they move Castro, is Baez ready to play second base? Are we ready to let him sink or swim offensively for an entire season, while other young hitters continue to mature themselves? I'm actually leaning toward keeping Castro at this point.

• Bullpen. Rondon, Wood, Strop will all be arbitration eligible. I anticipate a lot of shuffling back there. I'd love to see Edwards added to the regular mix, as I really liked what I saw from him in September. Rondon can close, but he's not a lockdown guy. I'd rather live with him than spend big money to court a closer though. I can see Strop coming back, but he was so inconsistent in the second half that I don't know that you can trust him to be the 8th inning guy.

Anyway. I'm sure we'll discuss this at length in the coming months. I'm excited to see what moves are made.

 
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Almora's bat isn't ready. A Schwarber/Bryant/Soler outfield would be a defensive disaster. Can Alcantara actually be Maddon's super utility in 2016? His offensive numbers were bad across the board in 2015.

Greinke or Price would be exciting, but I'm so leery of free agent pitchers. Both of them are already in their decline phase. Case in point, Lester. I mean, $26M a year for mediocre is silly. Especially when anyone who gets on immediately takes a base. I'm hoping he works on it a bit this winter? He had an ok year, but I already regret that signing.

I'm on record saying I don't like Jason Heyward, but I might make a run at him and then dangle some youngsters to an AL team for a legitimate starter who is still under team control.

 
Grahamburn said:
Almora's bat isn't ready. A Schwarber/Bryant/Soler outfield would be a defensive disaster. Can Alcantara actually be Maddon's super utility in 2016? His offensive numbers were bad across the board in 2015.

Greinke or Price would be exciting, but I'm so leery of free agent pitchers. Both of them are already in their decline phase. Case in point, Lester. I mean, $26M a year for mediocre is silly. Especially when anyone who gets on immediately takes a base. I'm hoping he works on it a bit this winter? He had an ok year, but I already regret that signing.

I'm on record saying I don't like Jason Heyward, but I might make a run at him and then dangle some youngsters to an AL team for a legitimate starter who is still under team control.
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I love Alcantara. I do. I thought he'd be the sneaky success story of this past season, but he took a huge step backward. Cubs just can't afford to roster another free swinger with no on-base skills, no matter how much talent he has elsewhere.

One guy I actually like to fill Fowler's spot is Denard Span. His injury history is worrisome but that could help Cubs get him for decent value.

 
I don't mean to be a jerk, as I'm guessing you may be referring to their ages, but what exactly indicated a "decline" from Zack Greinke this season?

 
RnR said:
I don't mean to be a jerk, as I'm guessing you may be referring to their ages, but what exactly indicated a "decline" from Zack Greinke this season?
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Pitchers just don't age well. He obviously didn't decline in 2015, but the team signing him will be paying for his decline phase.

 
You're right. The mega SP contracts rarely work out for the teams, especially on the back end of the deal. That being said, the Greinke deal was one of the success stories... he just opted out of the final few years of it.

 
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If you believe Bill James' theories hold water (and Theo obviously does), the Pythagorean W/L, Law of Competitive Balance and Plexiglas Principle all have the Cubs as candidates for decline in 2016.

Just sayin'

 
I have this weird feeling the Cubs are going to trade Castro & Soler.

Also heard radio guys talking about moving Baez to the outfield. They seemed to imply this has been talked about before, but that's honestly the first I've ever heard of that.

 
pantagrapher said:
I have this weird feeling the Cubs are going to trade Castro & Soler.

Also heard radio guys talking about moving Baez to the outfield. They seemed to imply this has been talked about before, but that's honestly the first I've ever heard of that.
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Keep your feelings to yourself.

I've got a soler eclipse of the heart

 
Wrigley said:
pantagrapher said:
I have this weird feeling the Cubs are going to trade Castro & Soler.

Also heard radio guys talking about moving Baez to the outfield. They seemed to imply this has been talked about before, but that's honestly the first I've ever heard of that.
Click to expand...
Keep your feelings to yourself.

I've got a soler eclipse of the heart
Click to expand...
I have to speak out.

My thinking is that as much as we they're rumored to be landing spots for the big free-agent arms, the Cubs do not want to go that route if they can avoid it. And lucky for them, they have a surplus of options and a couple problems that make this the right time to deal offense for pitching. They won't trade Schwarber, Russell, or Bryant. I think it's safe to say those guys are locked in. Baez and Castro will be all over the hot stove, but neither is in a trade value sweet spot. I think Soler is in that sweet spot. He performed well and showed growth through the season, but never really peaked. He's still raw, so his full potential is untapped, but we did see that he is a liability in the field. And I just can't see the Cubs fielding Schwarber or Bryant in left and Soler in right. I think they'll go out and get a quality defensive center fielder, which will help a bit. Denard Span would be a great fit, and his injury-heavy season last year will keep his price reasonable. But still, I think Soler is the guy who could command a top arm in return. Maybe a guy like Carrasco in Cleveland or Alex Cobb from TB.

We'll see.

 
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Their options are fairly limitless. They could sign Price or Greinke and trade for another starter. The Rays or Indians would definitely be teams to call.

 
Why would you trade for Cobb coming off surgery? He has a pretty well-documented track record of not staying on the field.

#donaldsonforharden

 
This has always been the push all in off-season. I don't think anything would be off the table. That being said, I don't know that I'd want to trade away from the group who just went to the NLCS.

 
Rizzo's track record and team friendly contract makes him one of the highest trade value guys in the game. Schwarber and maybe eventually Bryant are destined for 1B and even the most extreme shift doesn't allow you to play three first basemen. I don't know if Theo dangles Rizzo this off-season but I wouldn't hang up the phone if somebody offers a blockbuster deal.

 
Eephus said:
Rizzo's track record and team friendly contract makes him one of the highest trade value guys in the game. Schwarber and maybe eventually Bryant are destined for 1B and even the most extreme shift doesn't allow you to play three first basemen. I don't know if Theo dangles Rizzo this off-season but I wouldn't hang up the phone if somebody offers a blockbuster deal.
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I dunno. That guy kinda seems like the heart of that team.

 
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