Chicago Cubs 2019 Season

#401      
Sounds like Zobrist might be taking extended time off for personal reasons. I hope everything is ok with him and his family. Him out and Russell in really diminishes the likability factor of this team.

Also, Strop to the IL and Montgomery back from the IL.
 
#402      
Do we even have space for Russell now? Bote pretty much took his spot long term, Descalso is a better hitter. Do we really need a sub .250 guy coming off the bench? Where will he get starts?
 
#403      

South Farms

near Ogden & Rt 83
Russell has a pretty good glove. Not sure how the whole apple cart gets re arranged tho.
But in Late innings in a 1 run game, I prefer Javy & AR in there, vs Javy and anyone else on the team.
 
#406      
[ Walkoff ] #21

Strangely frustrating day for this usually annoyingly upbeat Cub fan. Much needed bulletpoint list of pleasantries and grievances incoming:
  • Jason Heyward comeback POY (of April & May).
  • Hendricks put on a show. Yet Joe Maddon pulls him early again with only 96 (NINETY-SIX!) pitches, for the Xth amount of time during his managerial helm in Chicago. What's his beef with Hendricks?
  • Despite the bullpen being great over the past month, I'm going to beat the Craig Kimbrel drum until he inevitably signs with the Braves.
  • Happy to see Edwards Jr. return to Chicago with a nice inning. The amount of racially charged hate directed his way by this fanbase earlier this year is shameful.
  • Addison Russell 0-3 and missed a hit-and-run sign in the 7th. Schadenfreude for me. This club has handled this situation so poorly.
Cheers to tomorrow.
 
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#407      
Despite the bullpen being great over the past month, I'm going to beat the Craig Kimbrel drum until he inevitably signs with the Braves.

I don't think you'll see guys like him and Keuchel sign til after the first-year player draft next month. If they get signed now, then their new teams have to give up draft pick compensation to their old team.
 
#408      
I don't think you'll see guys like him and Keuchel sign til after the first-year player draft next month. If they get signed now, then their new teams have to give up draft pick compensation to their old team.

Agreed. Which is why I think the Cubs won't be in on Kimbrel, just because other clubs will offer him longer terms. I'd like to believe he would sign a one year deal, but I think the list of suitors and his actual price might be increasing.

Still, having that 9th inning guy would knock out the Cubs biggest deficiency by far. Shame it probably will only be fixed by trade.
 
#409      

Hoppy2105

Little Rock, Arkansas
[ Walkoff ] #21

Strangely frustrating day for this usually annoyingly upbeat Cub fan. Much needed bulletpoint list of pleasantries and grievances incoming:
  • Jason Heyward comeback POY (of April & May).
  • Hendricks put on a show. Yet Joe Maddon pulls him early again with only 96 (NINETY-SIX!) pitches, for the Xth amount of time during his managerial helm in Chicago. What's his beef with Hendricks?
  • Despite the bullpen being great over the past month, I'm going to beat the Craig Kimbrel drum until he inevitably signs with the Braves.
  • Happy to see Edwards Jr. return to Chicago with a nice inning. The amount of racially charged hate directed his way by this fanbase earlier this year is shameful.
  • Addison Russell 0-3 and missed a hit-and-run sign in the 7th. Schadenfreude for me. This club has handled this situation so poorly.
Cheers to tomorrow.

While it doesn’t matter because we won...I will forever question why Maddon pulled Hendrix when he did during game 7 of the WS. It seemed to alter the flow of the game and change momentum.

He did leave KH in for a complete game shutout a week ago. But that was probably because of Hendricks’ hyper-efficient 81 pitch count.

Maybe they are trying to preserve his arm for later in the year?

Edit: There was racially charged hate being sent Edwards way?? He seemed to have lost his stuff sure...but racial remarks?? WHAT??
 
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#410      
Agreed. Which is why I think the Cubs won't be in on Kimbrel, just because other clubs will offer him longer terms. I'd like to believe he would sign a one year deal, but I think the list of suitors and his actual price might be increasing.

Still, having that 9th inning guy would knock out the Cubs biggest deficiency by far. Shame it probably will only be fixed by trade.

Kimbrell looks like he will be far and away the best closer available.

Wade Davis might become available, and would probably come cheap in terms of prospects, but given what's left on his contract (likely to be $32M over 2 years), I can't see why it would make more sense to target him over Kimbrell since Kimbrell is a better, younger pitcher.

Sean Doolittle has a reasonable team option ($6.5M after this year) which might become a mutual option. But even if the Nats decide they won't win this year, they probably think they'll be better next year and might see Doolittle as the only viable building block of a bullpen that needs to be completely rebuilt next year. So, he might cost a ton in prospects to pry away from DC.

After those guys, there are a few guys that have a year of arbitration left before they become free agents in 2021 - Blake Treinan (Oak), Ken Giles (Tor), Alex Colome (W. Sox), and Shane Greene (Det) from best to worst. These teams don't have to trade them this year, and would probably want a decent haul in prospects to get them.

I'm not really enthusiastic about the potential for the Cubs to trade someone like Amaya or Hoerner for a non-Aroldis Chapman reliever. Especially when they can sign an Aroldis Chapman level reliever without giving up any prospects at all.
 
#411      
Two non-closer relievers to watch for. Both absolutely Theo kinds of guys...

Nick Vincent from SF and Yusmeiro Petit from Oak. Vincent is a FA after this year and Petit has a $5.5M team option.
 
#412      

Deleted member 236589

D
Guest
[ Walkoff ] #21

Strangely frustrating day for this usually annoyingly upbeat Cub fan. Much needed bulletpoint list of pleasantries and grievances incoming:
  • Jason Heyward comeback POY (of April & May).
  • Hendricks put on a show. Yet Joe Maddon pulls him early again with only 96 (NINETY-SIX!) pitches, for the Xth amount of time during his managerial helm in Chicago. What's his beef with Hendricks?
  • Despite the bullpen being great over the past month, I'm going to beat the Craig Kimbrel drum until he inevitably signs with the Braves.
  • Happy to see Edwards Jr. return to Chicago with a nice inning. The amount of racially charged hate directed his way by this fanbase earlier this year is shameful.
  • Addison Russell 0-3 and missed a hit-and-run sign in the 7th. Schadenfreude for me. This club has handled this situation so poorly.
Cheers to tomorrow.
Poorly? I would you have handled it any differently and what did you expect in his first Major League game in 9 months?

This is a business and it needs to be treated as such. The Cubs followed all protocol and required additional treatment. His ex wife signed off on him getting a second chance and quite frankly, even if they did want to unload him, his value couldn't be any lower right now. They are not going to outright release an asset and get nothing back for it. So, one of two things will happen. He'll excel and the Cubs will have the best middle infield(defensively) in baseball OR he'll be mediocre, but at least they'll be able to trade him for more than a bag of baseballs.

Remember, this guy was instrumental in helping win a World Series. The talent is there. If the head is there, the Cubs will be a better team and just as important, Russell will become a better person to his ex wife, to his kids(who don't need this story forever in their lives) and to society. If they dump him, that doesn't help anybody.... literally, nobody.

By all accounts, media included, the Cubs organization has handled this perfectly.

Wondering what you wanted to see done differently?
 
#413      

mattcoldagelli

The Transfer Portal
By all accounts, media included, the Cubs organization has handled this perfectly.

I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with your point of view, but if you've got an article that says "the Cubs have handled this perfectly", you should post it because that would be the first I'd seen of that sentiment.
 
#414      
Theo was on the radio this morning and as he gingerly spoke about who has signed off on Addison making progress in his personal life, you could tell he didn’t want to say “ the mother of his first child..,,the ex wife and mother of his second child.., his current partner”. I mean he’s a good looking kid and all, but that’s a lot of people to have run through for someone so young. I’ve got no misconceptions about a professional athlete’s lifestyle, but Addi is gonna be the Shawn Kemp of baseball if he keeps this pace up.
 
#415      
I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with your point of view, but if you've got an article that says "the Cubs have handled this perfectly", you should post it because that would be the first I'd seen of that sentiment.

Yes, that's a very rosey sentiment. No matter how thick the fan-blinders are in this situation, I'd think any rational person would get that Maddons comments and the story about the negative-slant-reporters being intimidated on the heels of Nightengale's weird hero's redemption puff piece were handled faaaaaar from perfectly.
 
#416      

bdutts

Houston, Texas
the story about the negative-slant-reporters being intimidated on the heels of Nightengale's weird hero's redemption puff piece were handled faaaaaar from perfectly.

That was only one person it appears, who hosts a show on WSCR. And it's more of someone requesting a tweet to be removed. Attached is what the beef is about.
 

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#417      
That was only one person it appears, who hosts a show on WSCR. And it's more of someone requesting a tweet to be removed. Attached is what the beef is about.

I was talking about the Sheryl Ring tweet that set the whole thing off, and then others corroborating with another sources. Ignore deadspins conclusion but here's the paragraph with all the writers coming forward saying they were intimidated or threatened to lose access if they wrote negative Russell stories:

Baseball Prospectus writer Mike Gianella also tweeted that he had heard similar comments from anonymous sources, and Bill Baer of Hardball Talk wrote that he received confirmation of Ring’s report from a media member after publishing a blog Sunday on the subject. Ring told Deadspin, and also clarified in later tweets, that she had several sources who all shared similar stories.

Maybe it's all misunderstanding or embellished by the sources, but if the organization would have handled this "perfectly", this kind of stuff wouldn't be out there.

I think the only "perfect" way to have handled this was to no longer employ Addison Russell, but that's my opinion and reasonable minds can disagree there.
 
#418      

KBLEE

Montgomery, IL
Bryant HR in the 1st makes it 15 games in a row with a HR for the Cubs.
 
#420      

South Farms

near Ogden & Rt 83
Is it time for Darvish to be “injured?”
its an injured head
there is no reason for so many walks. He's pitching defensively, not offensively . Its like Lester's throws to first. Its all between the ears and he needs to get it figured out. Monty won the 5th starter job today.

Darvish, for his own sake, needs to go to Iowa and get his stuff together.
 
#421      
Poorly? I would you have handled it any differently and what did you expect in his first Major League game in 9 months?

This is a business and it needs to be treated as such. The Cubs followed all protocol and required additional treatment. His ex wife signed off on him getting a second chance and quite frankly, even if they did want to unload him, his value couldn't be any lower right now. They are not going to outright release an asset and get nothing back for it. So, one of two things will happen. He'll excel and the Cubs will have the best middle infield(defensively) in baseball OR he'll be mediocre, but at least they'll be able to trade him for more than a bag of baseballs.

Remember, this guy was instrumental in helping win a World Series. The talent is there. If the head is there, the Cubs will be a better team and just as important, Russell will become a better person to his ex wife, to his kids(who don't need this story forever in their lives) and to society. If they dump him, that doesn't help anybody.... literally, nobody.

By all accounts, media included, the Cubs organization has handled this perfectly.

Wondering what you wanted to see done differently?

I appreciate your response, though I respectfully disagree with you.

When the most positive spin Theo Epstein can provide during a press conference is "He doesn’t deserve to be met with an unconditionally warm welcome and with open arms" regarding Russell's return, it signals to me that Russell shouldn't be here. Having worked for several years directly with survivors of the form of the abuse Russell is the perpetrator of, cheering for him because this is a business decision and he is a talented, young ballplayer is a no-go for me. And the fact that he was a major contributor to a World Series championship doesn't mean anything to me. Similarly, I am eternally grateful that Aroldis Chapman did not record the last out for that iconic moment for that exact reason. His kids will have this story forever in their lives because of the decisions Russell made. It's an unfortunate reality of the constant news cycle we now live in, but Russell is at the core of the problem until he can prove otherwise to his ex-wife(s), partners, family, and children.

I firmly believe Russell should be a better person before he rejoins a big league roster. A few months of mandated therapy, an apology tour likely spearheaded by the Chicago Cubs public relations team, and a 40-game suspension (less than that for performance-enhancing drugs, mind you) does not change a person. Same goes for other sports (e.g., Kareem Hunt, Tyreek Hill, Ray Rice, etc...). Abusers who are not professional athletes face much different ramifications in the real world. Russell has a lifetime of change and growth ahead of him.

Perhaps my response is more of an affective one than a business-y one, but I agree with FollowTisdale in that handling the situation perfectly would be to see Russell as a free agent.

And I can imagine that if Addison Russell were a St. Louis Cardinal, some Russell defenders would be viewing the situation much differently.

In other news... [ W ] #22.
 
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#422      
While it doesn’t matter because we won...I will forever question why Maddon pulled Hendrix when he did during game 7 of the WS. It seemed to alter the flow of the game and change momentum.

He did leave KH in for a complete game shutout a week ago. But that was probably because of Hendricks’ hyper-efficient 81 pitch count.

Maybe they are trying to preserve his arm for later in the year?

Edit: There was racially charged hate being sent Edwards way?? He seemed to have lost his stuff sure...but racial remarks?? WHAT??

Back in April, yes, unfortunately. MLB led an investigation.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/carl-edwards-jr-racist-abuse-cubs-mlb-investigation/
 
#423      
I appreciate your response, though I respectfully disagree with you.

When the most positive spin Theo Epstein can provide during a press conference is "He doesn’t deserve to be met with an unconditionally warm welcome and with open arms" regarding Russell's return, it signals to me that Russell shouldn't be here. Having worked for several years directly with survivors of the form of the abuse Russell is the perpetrator of, cheering for him because this is a business decision and he is a talented, young ballplayer is a no-go for me. And the fact that he was a major contributor to a World Series championship doesn't mean anything to me. Similarly, I am eternally grateful that Aroldis Chapman did not record the last out for that iconic moment for that exact reason. His kids will have this story forever in their lives because of the decisions Russell made. It's an unfortunate reality of the constant news cycle we now live in, but Russell is at the core of the problem until he can prove otherwise to his ex-wife(s), partners, family, and children.

I firmly believe Russell should be a better person before he rejoins a big league roster. A few months of mandated therapy, an apology tour likely spearheaded by the Chicago Cubs public relations team, and a 40-game suspension (less than that for performance-enhancing drugs, mind you) does not change a person. Same goes for other sports (e.g., Kareem Hunt, Tyreek Hill, Ray Rice, etc...). Abusers who are not professional athletes face much different ramifications in the real world. Russell has a lifetime of change and growth ahead of him.

Perhaps my response is more of an affective one than a business-y one, but I agree with FollowTisdale in that handling the situation perfectly would be to see Russell as a free agent.

And I can imagine that if Addison Russell were a St. Louis Cardinal, some Russell defenders would be viewing the situation much differently.

In other news... [ W ] #22.

Very well put. I will say one thing, if it wasn't for Zobrist going MIA and Descalso getting hurt, I don't believe Russell would be up yet.
 
#424      

South Farms

near Ogden & Rt 83
does anyone know what BZ's issue is? Is it just a personal issue and that's that? Fine with me, ballplayers today deserve the time off during the season to deal with it. He's a great guy and I believe 100% he would be with the team if he could.

We need more BZ's and fewer AR's.
 
#425      

South Farms

near Ogden & Rt 83
with all due respect to my fellow Cub fans who feel AR should have been flat out released:

As I have said, I am rather indifferent to AR coming back to the MLB roster....
but, just about everyone in society deserves due process. There are those few who should just get wild wild west justice on a horse and tied to a rope. But 99.9% of people deserve to get heard and allowed to go through the process.

We would not be doing AR , or his kids or ex's , justice , if we took away his way of making money and cast him off like yesterdays newspaper. I find his past actions pretty bad. But, it does not mean he cant correct his behavior. I wish him well on his last chance to prove himself.

If he succeeds , I want to be first in line at the HOF to embrace him
If he fails, I want to be first in line to kick his butt out of the clubhouse

Its all on him at this point to prove to all of us who he really is.

But dont pretend that about fully 20% of the guys in the MLB HOF were just as bad as he's been. Different place . different time.