Chicago Cubs 2026

#851      
Illiniaaron
Juju said:
This time a month ago, we(briefly) had the best record in all of baseball and looked like a legit World Series contender. Now, I'n reading articles wondering if that seat is getting a lil toasty for Counsell. Crazy the difference a month can make.

I like Counsell, but when we kicked David Ross to the curb for him, I wasn't really sold on the idea that he was THAT much better than Ross that we basically yeet a beloved member of the World Series team to get him. Yes, Counsell has only been The manager for 2 1/3 seasons, but I remember when he was hired, so many people were saying how the Cubs were instant World Series contenders for the next decade just by dint of him being the manager.

If this collapse continues, I'm gonna start thinking the Brewers sent him here to sabotage us lol. Not really, but the results compared to the expectations set when he was hired have been mid at best...
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That the Brewers rocket ship has kept on accelerating upwards without him makes the Counsell hiring look that much worse.
 
#855      
UCantHideYer
Did PCA not even chase the ball he lost in the fog just now? We got some club house contagion going on. I had to turn the game off. My Jose Cardinal poster is even shedding tears.
 
#861      
bdutts
Illiniaaron said:
That the Brewers rocket ship has kept on accelerating upwards without him makes the Counsell hiring look that much worse.
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Not sure the manager matters that much, unless you're talking about a guy like Maddon who wasn't a brilliant tactician but he had that intangible quality to make the team great. Call it mojo or moxie or cool confidence or whatever but Maddon was the right guy for the 2016 Cubs. I'm not sure they win it without him. On the flip side, could another manager have made the team that was supposed to be contenders for 10 years just that?

I think what's more important are the FO guys who have a system and fit guys into it, much like the A's did when they were using all of the advanced stats before anyone else. I wonder what the Cubs FO thought when they signed Swanson. Did they think they'd deal with his .200 BA, all the strikeouts as long as he plays elite defense? Or did they think they could fix his offensive issues? To be fair, Swanson wasn't always this bad but he always had a lot of swing and miss in his game and he was only going to get older.

I saw something where the Brewers had the best record in baseball in May while hitting 15 home runs as a team. I wonder what their OPB and slugging % numbers were in May.
 
#862      
EyeoftheIllini
UCantHideYer said:
Did PCA not even chase the ball he lost in the fog just now? We got some club house contagion going on. I had to turn the game off. My Jose Cardinal poster is even shedding tears.
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By the time he realized where the ball was there were two players in full out sprints nearing the ball. Unfortunate play, but I think you are really reaching if you’re trying to say he was digging it.
 
#863      
EyeoftheIllini
bdutts said:
Not sure the manager matters that much, unless you're talking about a guy like Maddon who wasn't a brilliant tactician but he had that intangible quality to make the team great. Call it mojo or moxie or cool confidence or whatever but Maddon was the right guy for the 2016 Cubs. I'm not sure they win it without him. On the flip side, could another manager have made the team that was supposed to be contenders for 10 years just that?

I think what's more important are the FO guys who have a system and fit guys into it, much like the A's did when they were using all of the advanced stats before anyone else. I wonder what the Cubs FO thought when they signed Swanson. Did they think they'd deal with his .200 BA, all the strikeouts as long as he plays elite defense? Or did they think they could fix his offensive issues? To be fair, Swanson wasn't always this bad but he always had a lot of swing and miss in his game and he was only going to get older.

I saw something where the Brewers had the best record in baseball in May while hitting 15 home runs as a team. I wonder what their OPB and slugging % numbers were in May.
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I think the key to the Swanson section is your “to be fair” part. His final year in Atlanta was damn near elite for a SS, and he’s never been close to ending a season at .200. I mean he batted .277 the year before signing with Cubs. Yes, he’s always had swing and miss to his game, but he’s overcome that to have solid+ years. Was the contract too long? Probably, but so are most contracts for high end free agents. I don’t remember who was in his FA class and what other suitors he had, but a SS that fields like he does coming off a 99 runs, 25 HR, 96 RBI, 18 SB, .277/.329/.447, 5.7 WAR season at 28 is a high end FA.

I agree with your thoughts on front office, but the Swanson signing didn’t go against anything the front office had been doing. Cubs were fifth worst in strikeouts in 2020, the worst in 2021 and sixth worst in season before they signed Swanson. Cubs front office hasn’t been afraid of strikeouts. Over the last three years they did get better, being more mid-pack and then actually sixth fewest last year. They’ve slipped back to mid-pack area again this year.

Obviously, Swanson needs to be better. If he doesn’t get back to at least last year’s numbers, this season and the last few on the contract are going to be tough to swallow. The “good news” as I pointed out a few days ago is that Swanson has had at least one month a season since becoming a Cub when he has hit under .200. He’s managed to right the ship to some degree each year. Hopefully last night’s hit starts him on that road again.
 
#864      
Emerson Bigguns
UCantHideYer said:
Did PCA not even chase the ball he lost in the fog just now? We got some club house contagion going on. I had to turn the game off. My Jose Cardinal poster is even shedding tears.
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Too bad you turned it off... Sounded like Pete never picked up the ball off the bat. He had no idea where it was.

His redemption arc didn't take long, though.
 
#865      
Illiniaaron
bdutts said:
Not sure the manager matters that much, unless you're talking about a guy like Maddon who wasn't a brilliant tactician but he had that intangible quality to make the team great. Call it mojo or moxie or cool confidence or whatever but Maddon was the right guy for the 2016 Cubs. I'm not sure they win it without him. On the flip side, could another manager have made the team that was supposed to be contenders for 10 years just that?

I think what's more important are the FO guys who have a system and fit guys into it, much like the A's did when they were using all of the advanced stats before anyone else. I wonder what the Cubs FO thought when they signed Swanson. Did they think they'd deal with his .200 BA, all the strikeouts as long as he plays elite defense? Or did they think they could fix his offensive issues? To be fair, Swanson wasn't always this bad but he always had a lot of swing and miss in his game and he was only going to get older.

I saw something where the Brewers had the best record in baseball in May while hitting 15 home runs as a team. I wonder what their OPB and slugging % numbers were in May.
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I was referring to the optics, but if the manager doesn’t matter that much, what was the point of grabbing your biggest rival’s manager for $8 million per? Obviously Hoyer thought that was a big step towards making the team better. As for Swanson, he’s not been a .200 hitter. He’s roughly .250 over his career. I thought he had a nice season last year, and his first year with the Cubs was decent. Of course his last year with the Braves before he signed the big deal with the Cubs was by far the best in his career. But right now he’s at .184 through 200 ABs. You can’t have that in your lineup unless most everyone else is producing.
 
#866      
Emerson Bigguns
Illiniaaron said:
I was referring to the optics, but if the manager doesn’t matter that much, what was the point of grabbing your biggest rival’s manager for $8 million per? Obviously Hoyer thought that was a big step towards making the team better. As for Swanson, he’s not been a .200 hitter. He’s roughly .250 over his career. I thought he had a nice season last year, and his first year with the Cubs was decent. Of course his last year with the Braves before he signed the big deal with the Cubs was by far the best in his career. But right now he’s at .184 through 200 ABs. You can’t have that in your lineup unless most everyone else is producing.
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Hopefully, the game tying hit last night will spark him...
The main issue is it's really hard to take his glove off the field. Sure, Nico can handle SS pretty well, but it makes our defense worse in 2 spots... and Shaw being on the shelf limits options at 2nd.
 
#867      
bdutts
Illiniaaron said:
I was referring to the optics, but if the manager doesn’t matter that much, what was the point of grabbing your biggest rival’s manager for $8 million per? Obviously Hoyer thought that was a big step towards making the team better.
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In my mind, I'm not sure how much the manager matters. Manager doesn't have control over how an individual person performs. Sure, he can sit the guy but for a veteran team like the Cubs, does sitting a Swanson matter? Will that make him all of a sudden start laying off breaking pitches out of the dirt? Ultimately, the guys have to fight their way out of whatever issues they are having. They are either good enough to or they are not and no manager can strategize that.

Obviously, the Cubs thought he was worth the 8M and I guess they though they'd be stronger while the Brewers were weaker. The Brewers are not weaker and it's debatable how much stronger the Cubs are with Counsell as their manager.
 
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