ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
Chicago Cubs 2024
Bringing up Mastro is like rearranging the deck chairs.
At this point I would be happy with going full 2011-2013 mode. Just tank. Full rebuild. This product since 2019 is just awful.
And maybe, must maybe Counsel is not that great of a manager after all. Definitely not worth $8 million/year. Milwaukee seems to be doing just fine without him. I get that the Cubs have had injuries and they have no bullpen but at some point shake things up in the lineup.
And maybe, must maybe Counsel is not that great of a manager after all. Definitely not worth $8 million/year. Milwaukee seems to be doing just fine without him. I get that the Cubs have had injuries and they have no bullpen but at some point shake things up in the lineup.
Whoa
"Dodgers bat boy had the spidey senses tingling and saved Ohtani from seriously getting hurt. Dude is a hero, and coolest thing you’ll see today"
"Dodgers bat boy had the spidey senses tingling and saved Ohtani from seriously getting hurt. Dude is a hero, and coolest thing you’ll see today"
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
They can't sell off. With the exception of Tauchman (who is hurt) and Morel (selling low) who would take on any of these contracts of non-pitchers ? And they're all blocking our prospects from coming up in the 2nd half. They're stuck.
......Thinking about it a little more....is the Belli contract attractive to anyone?
Probably to a lot of teams. There are only 12 guys in MLB That have played a qualifying number of innings and are hitting .300 or above. .273 is actually top 50 in BA. His .764 OPS is good for #58 in MLB. The fact that he can play anywhere in the OF and 1st base is attractive, and the fact that his contract isn't guaranteed beyond this season is also attractive.
While his numbers aren't overwhelming, they are more than solid when compared to what everyone else is doing.
Believe it or not, Happ also has a top 80 OPS... The lack of offense around baseball this year is, well... offensive.
Problem is, they don’t really have anyone to trade.
Kyle Hendricks is the only guy on an expiring contract and he just passed his 5/10 rights date and would be able to block any trades.
The guys on team options - Bote, Smyly and Nerris - won’t get you anything. Nerris in particular, you have to not pitch him too much or his $9 million contract vests for next year.
Bellinger is on a player option which makes him worth even less than he was last year when the Cubs passed on trading him.
Happ and Suzuki are kind of duplicative and the Cubs have several outfield prospects on the way, but both of them have no trade clauses in their contracts.
Tauchman might get you something OK, but he’s hurt and will have to show that he’s healthy to net anything.
To actually get some difference-making talent, the Cubs will have to trade someone they see as part of their core going forward. Of the bats, that’s probably Hoerner or Morel.
Or, they could trade away a starting pitcher. Either Taillon or Assad would likely net them a great haul.
But the better Belli is, the better chance he will exercise his option. So you have to look at him as a rental. The worst thing that could happen to whatever team he is on is that he tanks in the 2nd half or gets hurt and doesn't exercise his option.
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
I mean the situation isn't SO dire. The Cubs still have an excellent farm system and payroll flexibility. None of their long-term contracts looks like an albatross.
They just don't have any premier frontline players, and Jed is going to have to risk failure in order to add that to the roster. Nibbling around the edges and keeping the powder dry isn't getting him anywhere.
The Cubs have none of MLB's top 50 hitters in WAR and only one (Imanaga) of MLB's top 60 pitchers in WAR as of today.
They just don't have any premier frontline players, and Jed is going to have to risk failure in order to add that to the roster. Nibbling around the edges and keeping the powder dry isn't getting him anywhere.
The Cubs have none of MLB's top 50 hitters in WAR and only one (Imanaga) of MLB's top 60 pitchers in WAR as of today.
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Chuck Nuggets
Dip your nuggets in my staff source sauce.
Cubs must be the worst team in baseball in terms of dollars per win over the last couple months. If not them, then the Sox. Chicago sports are an absolute joke.
I don’t want to buy into the excuses, but it is true this team has been incredibly snake-but with injuries.
6 (Steele, Taillon, Wicks, Assad, Hendricks and Brown) of the top 7 starting pitchers in the organization have spent time on the IL this season and the 7th (Imanega) only pitches every 6th day instead of every 5 and was given an 11 day break earlier this season to manage his load.
Bullpen mainstays from last year - Leiter, Alzolay and Merryweather - have all been hurt. One of the two relievers picked up the the offseason - Almonte - got hurt. The two left handers - Little and Smyly - both got hurt.
In the outfield, Bellinger, Suzuki and Tauchman have been on the IL. Both starting middle-infielders, Swanson and Hoerner, have been hurt.
6 (Steele, Taillon, Wicks, Assad, Hendricks and Brown) of the top 7 starting pitchers in the organization have spent time on the IL this season and the 7th (Imanega) only pitches every 6th day instead of every 5 and was given an 11 day break earlier this season to manage his load.
Bullpen mainstays from last year - Leiter, Alzolay and Merryweather - have all been hurt. One of the two relievers picked up the the offseason - Almonte - got hurt. The two left handers - Little and Smyly - both got hurt.
In the outfield, Bellinger, Suzuki and Tauchman have been on the IL. Both starting middle-infielders, Swanson and Hoerner, have been hurt.
Yup. If you told me at the beginning of the season that Morel would cut his K% by 10%, increase his BB% by 4% and maintain his elite bat speed, I would have assumed that he’d be putting up MVP numbers.
Just an amazing percentage of the balls he’s hitting that aren’t leaving the park are finding gloves.
And again, I don’t think any of the above excuses the front offense from ignoring the holes at 3rd and DH, constructing a lineup with very little power and a bullpen with a bunch of soft-tossers.
Edit- The bullpen is especially disturbing when we’re going against the divisional frontrunner whose closer is a former Cubs prospect that Hoyer let walk for nothing who’s consistently hitting 99 while posting a 1.79 ERA.
Edit- The bullpen is especially disturbing when we’re going against the divisional frontrunner whose closer is a former Cubs prospect that Hoyer let walk for nothing who’s consistently hitting 99 while posting a 1.79 ERA.
I guess I did not make it clear what I meant. I am not saying trade all your guys (clearly they have almost nobody anyone would want). I am trying to say their run from 2015-2019 happened because they were awful from 2011-2013. I would rather have them be really awful and potentially get another Kris Bryant, Baez, Schwarber, etc. This hovering at/just below or near 500 is for the birds.
See also Jeremiah Estrada, who was released this Spring, and is throwing 97 for the Padres.
For whatever reason, the Cubs haven’t been able to get their hard throwing relievers to perform, but they go to other teams and do fine.
For whatever reason, the Cubs haven’t been able to get their hard throwing relievers to perform, but they go to other teams and do fine.
Illiniaaron
- Geneseo, IL
Bellinger gets doubled up from first on a fly ball to center. Are they even attempting to pay attention on the bases?
Illiniaaron
- Geneseo, IL
They are starting to get buried in the wild card race. This is really bad. 21-36 since the 17-9 start.
There are only 2 teams with worse records in the NL. They are buried and have to catch and pass nearly everyone.
Chuck Nuggets
Dip your nuggets in my staff source sauce.
Who needs 48 strikeouts in 27 innings? Jed sucks. He's not the guy.
nice to finally see some passion from someone on this team when steele walked into the dugout and cussed out the team, looked like he said "wake the F*** up, wake the F*** up!" .Shota, steele and morel when he does well are the only ones with emotion on this team. not much/any leadership