illini80
- Forgottonia
That’s fair. It was an overstatement of my frustration of not getting to more than 1 WS with what they had and not making the right moves to get there again.
Chicago Cubs 2021 season
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On the plus side, it appears that the Cubs are set to sign Shelby Miller.
With a 6.89 ERA over 183 innings in the last 5 seasons, how could you NOT sign him?!?!
Jose Quintana to the Angels.
Hoyer is in a no-win situation. After 4 years of underperforming, people clamor for change and say Theo held onto to players too long. Hoyer lets them walk and gets blasted. Can't have it both ways
I don't think the people clamoring for change were clamoring for slashing $50 million from the payroll while adding 1 MLB contract to the roster.
Right now, P.J. Higgins is your backup catcher, who'll be getting roughly 200 plate appearances assuming Contreras stays healthy all season.
If the NL has the DL again, it looks like Max Schrock is going to be taking most of those at bats.
The Cubs have exactly 2 outfielders on their big league roster right now.
Shelby Miller, who as I noted above has managed to be healthy for a grand total of 180-ish innings in the last 5 seasons while posting an ERA just under 7 is currently slated as the #5 starter. Adbert Alzolay, with exactly 33.2 innings of Big League experience, is slated to be the #4 starter. Alec Mills and his 17 Big League starts is the #3 starter.
The closer has a 6.00 ERA over the last two seasons and has issued 9 more walks than he has saves during that time.
Go to MLBtraderumors.com or any other baseball news site and show me a single rumor from anyone that the Cubs are in on any free agent who will be signing an MLB contract. Any. Like a single one.
Yeah, I know the offseason isn't over and this won't be the roster at the start of the season, but the clock is ticking and we are less than 5 weeks from Spring Training.
This is impossible to prove, but I believe the Cubs winning in 2016 has lead to management making less of an effort to remain as competitive as they could have been given the core they had. Just feels like the "we gave you a title, now we're going to maximize revenue" attitude has taken over. The opposite of the Red Sox. When the Red Sox broke their curse in 2004, they kept trying to win. Don't get that feeling with the Cubs.
KBLEE
- Montgomery, IL
The trade for Quintana is still one of the least favorite of my lifetime.
My comment was less about the direction of the team, which I completely agree is circling the drain, but more a response to people saying that certain players were overrated/overpaid and then complaining when the Cubs won't resign them.
I have no tears to shed over the Ricketts family losing money over COVID. Every other year, the Cubs basically print money - so be SMART, not CHEAP
bdutts
- Houston, Texas
Ouch! That cuts deep.Wonder if Albert Almora Jr. is available...
bdutts
- Houston, Texas
Sorry, couldn't resist.
The Cubs obviously heard my griping because just like that, they signed a perfectly adequate backup catcher in Austin Romine for 1 year/$1.5MM.
Need about 5 more players to fill out a Big League roster.
Need about 5 more players to fill out a Big League roster.
One hit wonders, please save the Cubs elitism...didn't realize I had already responded to this so toned down my post fyi...I feel for Cub fans...just as Sox, Bears and Bulls fans have had championship caliber teams broken up or not properly reinforced for fiscal/ego/stupid reasons.
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bdutts
- Houston, Texas
So being disappointed that the team is rebuilding when it doesn't appear necessary to do so is elitism?
That trade will sting for several years. Theo failed the team after 2016.
My point is that Theo let this happen. After 2016, he. Never did anything to fix the one huge glaring hole and that was a solid lead off hitter. He never replaced Jake. He lived off the WS win as he knew when he was leaving and never took improving the team seriously. We have no choice but to rebuild as we had once of the oldest and most unproductive staffs in baseball. Trading Bryant after 17 would have been huge in getting the return we needed and future holes filled.
This is weird. Joc Pedersen IS Kyle Schwarber. Their career stats are virtually identical right down to the miserable 2020. And this $7MM contract is maybe only a smidgeon less than what Schwarber was projected to receive in arbitration.
So...
a. The Cubs payroll position is so dire that saving a few hundred $k actually makes a difference, or
b. The Cubs misjudged the market and thought they could get a Schwarber replacement for cheaper, or
c. The Cubs scouts see something about Pedersen that’s not born out by the surface level stats that makes them think he’ll be better than Schwarber this year.
Personally, I think “b” is the most likely answer here, which isn’t an encouraging sign for the new regime.
Actually, the more I think about this the better I like it.
To be sure, it’s a marginal upgrade, but it is an upgrade. Defensively.
Pederson is an average defensive CF, which is where he’s played the majority of his innings. So put him in C, with Happ in L and Heyward in R and you’ve got an improved defensive outfield. Not a huge improvement because Schwarber wasn’t as bad defensively as some wanted to make him out to be, but if we assume Schwarber and Pederson are a wash offensively (and they totally are), this is an overall improvement to the outfield.
I suspect Pederson will be pretty close to a pure platoon player, with Happ shifting back to C, Bryant playing L and Bote at 3b against most left handers.
To be sure, it’s a marginal upgrade, but it is an upgrade. Defensively.
Pederson is an average defensive CF, which is where he’s played the majority of his innings. So put him in C, with Happ in L and Heyward in R and you’ve got an improved defensive outfield. Not a huge improvement because Schwarber wasn’t as bad defensively as some wanted to make him out to be, but if we assume Schwarber and Pederson are a wash offensively (and they totally are), this is an overall improvement to the outfield.
I suspect Pederson will be pretty close to a pure platoon player, with Happ shifting back to C, Bryant playing L and Bote at 3b against most left handers.
The Cubs could go out and sign Wong, Odorizzi, Paxton and Rosenthal and still have a lower payroll in 2021 than they did in 2020.
Mix and match whatever other non-Trevor Bauer free agents you want and it’ll still be true.
Mix and match whatever other non-Trevor Bauer free agents you want and it’ll still be true.
Michael Cerami@Michael_Cerami ·2h
In nearly 1,500 PAs from 2017-2020, new #Cubs outfielder Joc Pederson has a 97 K%+
That means he's struck out 3% *LESS THAN* the league average for four straight seasons. Update your #Facts, my friends.
Same period:
Yelich: 99 K%+
Correa: 99 K%+
Bellinger: 99 K%+
Schwarber wasn’t a huge strike out guy either. Over their careers Schwarber’s k% is less than 4% higher than Pederson’s. Over a 500-600 PA season, you’re talking 20-25 more Ks, or 1 more K every 8-10 days.
Schwarber has had a half percent higher HR% and a 1% higher BB percent.
Like I said, these guys are virtually identical hitters right down to the same career BA and OBP. Pederson has played in more pitcher friendly parks. So maybe that translates to performing better in Wrigley and the Central.
it is pretty much a wash with Schwarber
what we need to see is a legitimate #2 & #3 pitcher if they are remotely serious about contending for the Central division lead.
We need to replace Darvish, Quintana, Lester and Chatwood.
Penciling in Zach Davies , Alec Mills, Alzolay and Shelby Miller as #2 - #5 just isn't enough , imo
what we need to see is a legitimate #2 & #3 pitcher if they are remotely serious about contending for the Central division lead.
We need to replace Darvish, Quintana, Lester and Chatwood.
Penciling in Zach Davies , Alec Mills, Alzolay and Shelby Miller as #2 - #5 just isn't enough , imo
bdutts
- Houston, Texas
I was referring to PopsBlackDog who I think is a White Sox fan. EDIT: yep, he/she is a WS fan.
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