Chicago Cubs 2021 season

#451      
here’s the story :
October 1981

Rick Sutcliffe was the NL Rookie of the Year in 1979, but that didn't mean Tommy Lasorda liked him. In fact, it was widely known that Lasorda and Sutcliffe got along poorly. After Lasorda left Sutcliffe off the Dodgers' 1981 postseason roster, Sutcliffe burst into Lasorda's office, overturned his desk and smashed chairs. "There was a lot of booming and banging going on in Tommy's office, chairs getting busted up and all," recalled Dusty Baker, a Dodger outfielder at the time. Within a couple months, Sutcliffe was a Cleveland Indian.
 
#452      

illini80

Forgottonia
here’s the story :
October 1981

Rick Sutcliffe was the NL Rookie of the Year in 1979, but that didn't mean Tommy Lasorda liked him. In fact, it was widely known that Lasorda and Sutcliffe got along poorly. After Lasorda left Sutcliffe off the Dodgers' 1981 postseason roster, Sutcliffe burst into Lasorda's office, overturned his desk and smashed chairs. "There was a lot of booming and banging going on in Tommy's office, chairs getting busted up and all," recalled Dusty Baker, a Dodger outfielder at the time. Within a couple months, Sutcliffe was a Cleveland Indian.
Wow. I did not know the history on that. The Red Baron!
 
#453      
This is just wrong. He won a Gold Glove in 2016 and his leadership in the locker room (see rain delay speech) has been noted by many as being instrumental to them closing out the Cleveland series.
Maybe he should retire and be an inspirational speaker at $20,000,000 per speech. Managers are paid to be be inspirational at $2 or 3 million a year. Players are paid to perform on the field. With all due respect of your opinion KBLEE, I find it difficult for you to look back and say this was a good signing for 8 years. I don't think Schwarber, Zobrist and Montero were thinking about his speech when they got their hits in the top of the 10th. I'm sure he is an inspirational guy but he has somehow lost whatever stroke he had. That said, if he's in the lineup tonight I hope he goes 4 for 4 and we get back to 10 over!
 
#455      

KBLEE

Montgomery, IL
Players are paid to perform on the field. With all due respect of your opinion KBLEE, I find it difficult for you to look back and say this was a good signing for 8 years.

There's a huge gray area between a GOOD signing and THE WORST signing. Heyward can easily be considered neither of these. He wasn't a good signing. But, to call a player who has won multiple Gold Gloves (performance) and significantly participated in the only World Series Championship any of us have seen in our lifetime the worst signing ever, is simply ignoring facts.
 
#457      
There's a huge gray area between a GOOD signing and THE WORST signing. Heyward can easily be considered neither of these. He wasn't a good signing. But, to call a player who has won multiple Gold Gloves (performance) and significantly participated in the only World Series Championship any of us have seen in our lifetime the worst signing ever, is simply ignoring facts.
I 'm not saying he was the worst FA the Cubs ever signed. I'm saying that in terms of money and length of contract it was the worst investment for the return.

The closest thing we have to facts in baseball are numbers. We'll just agree to disagree.
 
#460      

Illiniaaron

Geneseo, IL
They looked as bad as they could possibly look yesterday. If Arrieta keeps pitching like this he can’t stay in the rotation.
 
#462      

Illiniaaron

Geneseo, IL
Question is, is this a good team going through a slump or a mediocre team regressing to the mean?
I think its a mediocre team with the benefit of playing in a division with a bunch of mediocre to bad teams. Nice to get a win today but this offense is brutal lately. Although 40-32 isn't a bad record for sure.
 
#467      
At some point, I’m going to stop being surprised by how this offense utterly collapses for weeks at a time.

They’re worse now than they were at the start of the season. Their worst 9-game stretch had been 17 runs from Apr 6 - Apr 16.
I don’t know if they can realistically do it based on where they are in the standings, but I am fine with them focusing entirely on the future at the trade deadline. I’ve seen enough of this team to know the odds are very slim they can make a long run in the playoffs. Time to load up the farm system as much as possible. They are finding themselves back in the position of being a mediocre major league team with a below average farm system. Not good.
 
#469      

KBLEE

Montgomery, IL
Hoyer still defends the Darvish deal saying it was a smart move for the team. How can he continue to say that if they end up being buyers at the trade deadline ?
They may end up being buyers, but they are not going to pay anyone a salary close to the $21 million/year Darvish was making.
 
#470      
Hoyer still defends the Darvish deal saying it was a smart move for the team. How can he continue to say that if they end up being buyers at the trade deadline ?
Darvish is making (and earning) a lot of $$$. Beyond that, the trade also infused some talent into a very talent poor farm system. Davies has been up and down, but typically gives us a chance every 5th day.
Even if they become "buyers" it won't be for say, Max Scherzer, or a TOR type guy.
 
#472      
What do they have to offer to be buyers?

If this were a normal team in a normal season, the main thing they’d have to offer is the fact that they’re ~$50MM below the luxury tax and have a ton more salary coming off the books next year. They can take on salary.

I’m just not sure ownership is willing to do that even with the COVID restrictions easing up.
 
#473      
Darvish is making (and earning) a lot of $$$. Beyond that, the trade also infused some talent into a very talent poor farm system. Davies has been up and down, but typically gives us a chance every 5th day.
Even if they become "buyers" it won't be for say, Max Scherzer, or a TOR type guy.
Thought they should get more for a Cy Young candidate. Davies is a one year. The 3 teenagers they got were not rated highly at all in the Padre system and we also gave up a position with a glaring weakness this year.. a back up catcher, and a pretty good one.

The Cubs bullpen is making the decision what to do harder than they thought.