Cubs 2022 Season

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#376      

ChiefGritty

ChiefGritty
Chicago, IL
ChiefGritty
GrayGhost77 said:
He's 42
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Lol not even close.

He is minimum 3 years older than his listed age, as everyone always knew, which is why he wasn't drafted very highly. But it makes his longevity as a playable if not great MLB player that much more extraordinary.
 
#378      

champaignchris

C
champaignchris
Cubs’ .540 record post ASB would have been good enough to get them into the playoffs over the whole season.

Overall, they got off to that horrible start and then had that putrid June, and have otherwise been a pretty good team. In both bad stretches, the blame is largely on the starting pitching, which is ironic since it’s been phenomenal outside those two bad stretches. 3rd best starting pitching ERA since the ASB behind only the Dodgers and Astros.

There’s no mystery with what happened in June. The whole starting staff was hurt and they were plugging in relief starts, non-prospects and prospects who clearly weren’t ready. If there was any positive out of that stretch, it’s that they were eventually forced to start Sampson, who they had DFA’d earlier in the season and no other team had claimed.

At the start of the season, it was Stroman, Steele and Leiter - all guys who ended up having overall nice seasons - who were getting lit up. Steele and Leiter were both put in that role due to Mills, Alzolay, and Milely all being hurt. Steele eventually settled in as a starter with a fantastic last 18 starts of his season and Leiter carved out a nice role as a solid reliever. Maybe Stroman was just putting pressure on himself after signing the big contract.
 
#379      

Warren Carter Fanclub

Warren Carter Fanclub
Warren Carter Fanclub
They sign a top end FA or 2, their young pitchers keep progressing and a couple of the minor league hitters emerge and I'm mildly optimistic for at least a season that will keep our interest if not compete for a playoff spot.....and stay healthy.
 
#380      

ChiefGritty

ChiefGritty
Chicago, IL
ChiefGritty
Warren Carter Fanclub said:
They sign a top end FA or 2, their young pitchers keep progressing and a couple of the minor league hitters emerge and I'm mildly optimistic for at least a season that will keep our interest if not compete for a playoff spot.....and stay healthy.
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With the way the 12 team playoff has lowered the bar to entry and the way the team has played once Jason Heyward and Frank Schwindel weren't playing prime positions anymore, I feel like playoffs is a totally reasonable target.

And then that doesn't even mention the very solid and deep minor league system starting to flower at the upper level.

I'm pretty optimistic about the Cubs medium-term future so long as ownership is willing to provide financial support that aligns with the ticket prices.
 
#381      

champaignchris

C
champaignchris
ChiefGritty said:
With the way the 12 team playoff has lowered the bar to entry and the way the team has played once Jason Heyward and Frank Schwindel weren't playing prime positions anymore, I feel like playoffs is a totally reasonable target.

And then that doesn't even mention the very solid and deep minor league system starting to flower at the upper level.

I'm pretty optimistic about the Cubs medium-term future so long as ownership is willing to provide financial support that aligns with the ticket prices.
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That last part is key. There’s no excuse for this team to be fielding a middle of MLB payroll.

With the young pitching emerging, they shouldn’t have to spend a ton of FA money there. They need about 150 reasonably competent starter innings and then look for a couple more high leverage veterans in the Robertson/Givens vein. (Zach Britten would be perfect.) They don’t need to break the bank there.

Which should leave them with some serious money to spend on bats. They entered this season with glaring holes at DH and CF and there’s just no excuse for a franchise with the Cubs resources to ever do that.

Next year, they must sign at least two starting quality, preferably All Star caliber, bats headed into the season. Fortunately, the amount of position flexibility on the roster means those bats can come from basically any position on the diamond.

Also, fortunately, with the amount of help that looks like it’s on the way from the minors, the Cubs can sign 30-somethings for 3 or 4 year contracts and don’t have to break the bank on 20-somethings with 9 figure, decade spanning contracts.
 
#383      

Illiniaaron

I
Geneseo, IL
Illiniaaron
Dare I say that the Cubs have a chance to finish only 10 games under this season? Looks like the Reds already have their bags packed and vacation plans made.
 
#384      

Mr. Tibbs

Mr. Tibbs
southeast DuPage
Mr. Tibbs
based on expectations in mid-late May this year, the Cubs have over-achieved this season and the Sox have way under-achieved
 
#385      

ChiefGritty

ChiefGritty
Chicago, IL
ChiefGritty
Illiniaaron said:
Dare I say that the Cubs have a chance to finish only 10 games under this season? Looks like the Reds already have their bags packed and vacation plans made.
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With that win today the Cubs have clinched a winning record post-All Star break, and have finished a winning September after their winning August.

There are only seven teams with better records since the All Star break than the Cubs.
 
#387      

Warren Carter Fanclub

Warren Carter Fanclub
Warren Carter Fanclub
74 wins. Vegas is uncanny.

7 games behind the World Series lock White Sox.

I know that there was no pressure on the second half of the season but I'm cautiously optimistic about 2023.

I really think that of all the Chicago pro teams they are positioned the best for the future.
 
#389      

champaignchris

C
champaignchris
Happ deservedly won the NL Gold Glove for LF.

In his statement after getting the award, the first guy he mentioned was Jason Heyward. Referred to him as a mentor and talked about them working on fielding together.

Reminded me of Alec Mills almost in tears after his no-hitter talking about how Heyward was the first guy to welcome him to the club.

Say what you will about Heyward’s on-field performance, but he clearly had a big effect on the team off the field. I assume he’s going to try to latch on to another team this year. After that, I think he’ll likely have a very interesting post-playing career, whether it be in baseball, business, politics or whatever else.
 
#390      

Gary J

G
Gary J
champaignchris said:
Happ deservedly won the NL Gold Glove for LF.

In his statement after getting the award, the first guy he mentioned was Jason Heyward. Referred to him as a mentor and talked about them working on fielding together.

Reminded me of Alec Mills almost in tears after his no-hitter talking about how Heyward was the first guy to welcome him to the club.

Say what you will about Heyward’s on-field performance, but he clearly had a big effect on the team off the field. I assume he’s going to try to latch on to another team this year. After that, I think he’ll likely have a very interesting post-playing career, whether it be in baseball, business, politics or whatever else.
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Agreed- Heyward is a class act. Super nice to the fans too. He is one of the key pieces that got us a 2016 WS. Never forget Jason.
 
#391      

ChiefGritty

ChiefGritty
Chicago, IL
ChiefGritty
champaignchris said:
After that, I think he’ll likely have a very interesting post-playing career, whether it be in baseball, business, politics or whatever else.
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The name that springs to mind when you say that, with the success he's having in his nascent coaching career, is Brian Randle.

That's another guy who had all the talent in the world and was by all accounts a terrific person and a leader in the locker room and all the cliches you'd want in a player, but was just frustratingly and confoundingly unable to consistently tap into the gifts he clearly had.

The book on Randle was sometimes that he was too smart to be an effective player, he was thinking too much out there. May not be too different with Heyward.
 
#392      

IanKEvans2

IanKEvans2
IanKEvans2
Looks like Josh Bell or Jose Abreu could be in play for the Cubs this offseason. Really hoping they make a strong push for Kodai Senga as well.
 
#393      

KBLEE

KBLEE
Montgomery, IL
KBLEE
IanKEvans2 said:
Looks like Josh Bell or Jose Abreu could be in play for the Cubs this offseason. Really hoping they make a strong push for Kodai Senga as well.
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Looks like they also met with Trey Mancini's reps as well. Of Bell, Abreu and Mancini, I'd definitely prefer Abreu. He is a few years older, though.
 
#396      

IanKEvans2

IanKEvans2
IanKEvans2
KBLEE said:
Looks like they also met with Trey Mancini's reps as well. Of Bell, Abreu and Mancini, I'd definitely prefer Abreu. He is a few years older, though.
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I like Bell, personally. Saw that the Cubs could be a player for Cody Bellinger in an OF position. Not sure how I feel about that yet.
 
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