Chicago Cubs 2017 Season

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#176      
IanKEvans2
Shane Walsh said:
So long Miggy, we'll always have your playoff grand slam

http://www.bleachernation.com/2017/06/28/anthony-rizzo-is-not-happy-with-miguel-montero/
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I don't disagree with Miggy's comments (despite Miggy's bad arm, Arrieta is particularly slow to home), but he should have kept them in-house.

AAA catcher Victor Caratini just got the call, according to Buster Olney. He was received in the trade with Atlanta for James Russell and Emilio Bonafacio. Seems like Montero is a likely corresponding move.
https://twitter.com/Buster_ESPN/status/880097023629942785

EDIT: Montero to be DFA, per my least favorite Cubs writer Jesse Rogers.
https://twitter.com/ESPNChiCubs/status/880097239720501248
 
#177      
ChicagoIllini
Glad Montero is gone. No place for pointing the finger at a teammate in the media. Plus it's the second time he has done something like that so it's not a one-time frustration thing with him.
 
#179      
IanKEvans2
Hoppy2105 said:
Also I'm pretty sure he was the one who gave us the insurance run that helped us win game 7 of the WS. I feel like that is often overlooked.
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Indeed he was, with an opposite field single. I'll always look back fondly on Montero.
 
#180      
bdutts
ChicagoIllini said:
Glad Montero is gone. No place for pointing the finger at a teammate in the media. Plus it's the second time he has done something like that so it's not a one-time frustration thing with him.
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That's the strange thing about this, he wasn't like that the first years here. I suppose when Rizzo and Bryant and Baez and Russell and Contreras and Happ and Almora and Schwarber steal some of your spotlight and pretty much all of your playing time, he would be upset. Actually, I don't recall hearing anything about him pointing fingers and being a "bad" teammate was when he was mad for not getting playing time in the WS.
 
#181      
ChicagoIllini
bdutts said:
That's the strange thing about this, he wasn't like that the first years here. I suppose when Rizzo and Bryant and Baez and Russell and Contreras and Happ and Almora and Schwarber steal some of your spotlight and pretty much all of your playing time, he would be upset. Actually, I don't recall hearing anything about him pointing fingers and being a "bad" teammate was when he was mad for not getting playing time in the WS.
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I was referring to the comments he made just after they won the world series (http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/17973532/chicago-cubs-catcher-miguel-montero-critical-manager-joe-maddon-role-team-postseason), where he retroactively complained about his playing time and was critical of Maddon and his bullpen use (a reasonable opinion but, again, better kept private). I remember it rose to the point where he had to have a sit down meeting with Maddon to "clear the air" about everything. I'm sure from that point forward the Cubs were essentially on a zero tolerance policy with Miggy so the move today is not surprising to me.
 
#182      
champaignchris
When you have a history of throwing your teammates and management under the bus...

And your defense has deteriorated badly...

And you're in the last year of your contract...

And you've batted .211 over the last month and a half...

And your likely replacement is hitting .343 at AAA...

You probably should keep your big mouth shut.

I mean, this was going to happen eventually anyway.
 
#183      
Illiniaaron
I would have completely understood if Montero would have asked Arrieta in the dugout if he could possibly at least consider holding someone on, but there is no point in doing it publicly. I think he also was stung by some criticism he was receiving in the national media for not being able to throw anyone out this season. This does add to my feeling that things on the field have looked really bad compared to last season and I think there must be some stuff going on in the clubhouse that is hurting the team.
 
#184      
Serious Late
Odd, unfortunate end to Montero's time with the Cubs. That said, he is still and will always be, a champion to me. Thanks for your contributions Miggy, we will always have this:

[YOUTUBE]R-3RCvdWaPQ[/YOUTUBE]
 
#185      
Deleted member 16340
There may be something to possible clubhouse discord. The club is so under-performing this year. It feels like the way a normally well behaved toddler behaves when over tired. This is where leaders are identified.
 
#186      
IanKEvans2
CHI 1086 said:
There may be something to possible clubhouse discord. The club is so under-performing this year. It feels like the way a normally well behaved toddler behaves when over tired. This is where leaders are identified.
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424325.jpg
 
#188      
ThreatLevelMidnight
Serious Late said:
Odd, unfortunate end to Montero's time with the Cubs. That said, he is still and will always be, a champion to me. Thanks for your contributions Miggy, we will always have this:

[YOUTUBE]R-3RCvdWaPQ[/YOUTUBE]
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I was at this game and it's the loudest I've ever heard Wrigley. The place was literally shaking. Everyone was still going crazy when we noticed Dexter had just went deep too.

An unbelievable moment...one I will never forget.

Hope Miggy catches on somewhere
 
#191      
bdutts
ChicagoIllini said:
I was referring to the comments he made just after they won the world series (http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/17973532/chicago-cubs-catcher-miguel-montero-critical-manager-joe-maddon-role-team-postseason), where he retroactively complained about his playing time and was critical of Maddon and his bullpen use (a reasonable opinion but, again, better kept private). I remember it rose to the point where he had to have a sit down meeting with Maddon to "clear the air" about everything. I'm sure from that point forward the Cubs were essentially on a zero tolerance policy with Miggy so the move today is not surprising to me.
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This is the only other time I have heard of him complaining/being a bad teammate.
 
#193      
Illiniaaron
This team's starting pitching is barely holding on. If they had any type of starting depth in the minors Lackey would be sent to the pen by now. At this point I can't see the Cubs being too interested in signing Arrieta to a long-term deal in the offseason. Some other club will over-pay him based on his past performance but he is basically a fourth or fifth starter now.
 
#194      
Serious Late
Illiniaaron said:
This team's starting pitching is barely holding on. If they had any type of starting depth in the minors Lackey would be sent to the pen by now. At this point I can't see the Cubs being too interested in signing Arrieta to a long-term deal in the offseason. Some other club will over-pay him based on his past performance but he is basically a fourth or fifth starter now.
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Personal opinion, but I don't think the Cubs were ever re-signing Arrieta, regardless of his performance this year.

No doubt though, his performance to date this season (and really a good portion of last season) has not been good. He is leaving too many pitches in very hittable locations, resulting in a .318 batting average against him on balls put in play. His hard contact rate is up a bit (31% this year, his career average is 26%) as well. This all results in less runners being stranded on base (66% vs. a career average of 75%).

However, Arrieta's K/BB rate is really good this year (24% K rate, 8% BB rate) and his SIERRA is substantially lower than his ERA (ERA 4.67, SIERRA 4.01).

My point being, Arrieta hasn't been quite as bad as the results suggest. That isn't to excuse his performance so far this season, but I am personally expecting improved results for Arrieta after the all star break. This is all to say that I don't blame a team for paying him like a #2 and expecting #2/#3 type results out of him moving forward. He is not helping his market with his performance this year though, should be interesting to see where he ends up and at what price next season.
 
#195      
IanKEvans2
Illiniaaron said:
This team's starting pitching is barely holding on. If they had any type of starting depth in the minors Lackey would be sent to the pen by now. At this point I can't see the Cubs being too interested in signing Arrieta to a long-term deal in the offseason. Some other club will over-pay him based on his past performance but he is basically a fourth or fifth starter now.
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I agree with Serious Late in that I never thought they were going to resign him, which is why I think they make a deadline move for Chris Archer.
 
#197      
champaignchris
Steal 4 bases on us, we break your wrist!

And the Cubs starting pitchers had a 2.18 ERA in the 10 games leading up to these two bad starts from Arrieta and Lackey, including one really good start from Arrieta and 2 from Lackey.
 
#198      
Hoppy2105
Usually get a lot of offense when we play Cincy. Oh well...

Back to one game under .500.
 
#200      
Hoppy2105
IanKEvans2 said:
[ W ] #41.

Back to .500.
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We just have to use the 2nd half of the season to beat out the brewers and take first in the NL Central since I don't think we will be grabbing a WC spot. Let's hope it happens!
 
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