bdutts
- Houston, Texas
PECOTA predicting the Cubs win 79 games and finish in last.
https://legacy.baseballprospectus.com/fantasy/dc/
https://legacy.baseballprospectus.com/fantasy/dc/
PECOTA predicting the Cubs win 79 games and finish in last.
https://legacy.baseballprospectus.com/fantasy/dc/
PECOTA sucks. Fangraphs predicts the Cubs win 87 and finish first.
PECOTA sucks. Fangraphs predicts the Cubs win 87 and finish first.
87 and first? Will the NL central be weak this year? (At least predicted to be weak?)
To the contrary, it has everyone with at least 80 (Pirates) wins. By far the toughest division in baseball.
Cubs have done fairly well in their division for the past 4 seasons. I don't see them all of a sudden having difficulty , (less than 45% or so) this year.
I don't like the quiet offseason, and Chatwood's away splits when he was in Colorado were salivatingly good (IIRC sub 3). It was a decent deal, and Chatwood showed plenty of promise. No reason to believe he can't return to at least a 4/5 role that he was signed to take over.The Cubs 7th starting pitcher (Chatwood), two relievers that probably won't make the team out of spring training (Kintzler and Duensing), last position player off the bench (Descalso), and shortstop currently suspended for domestic violence (Russell)- combined, they make more money than the AAV Harper just signed on for in Philly.
Theo really hasn't had a very good 12-18 months.
BTW, I was 100% in favor of the Chatwood signing even though it quickly became apparent that Theo over-bid and could have had a very similar pitcher had he waited further into the offseason. I think it's safe to say, Theo and co. didn't understand the new market reality last offseason and are paying the price for it this offseason.
Darvish's start to last season was anything but promising. Now you can say maybe that was a precursor to the injury, or that sample size was too small (which is absolutely true), but I think there's plenty to be concerned about. Spring training reports are nice to hear, but his first box score looked like something straight out of Chatwood's history book--not something to strive for. He's trended downward for a few years now and the injury last year cant possibly help. Concern for his overall performance is real.Darvish’s contract won’t be an albatross unless you have some reason to think he’ll never ever be healthy. Last year is a sunk cost, but he should carry his weight going forward.
This offseason really sucked, but I am starting to get hyped for this team. They've looked great so far in Arizona.
It's almost like they didn't need to do anything dramatic because their team has been consistently great for four seasons.
They could still use a veteran catcher and a bullpen arm though.
Chatwood with another 3 inning, no walk outing! (I know it's spring training, but still.)