Chicago Cubs 2014 Season Thread (super-official)

thejumper5 said:
AND the Cubs got another approval from the Landmark Commission, pushing Wrigley renovations one step closer to reality.

AND Addison Russel got his first hit(s) as a member of the Cubs' organization.

Yesterday was a very good day for the Cubs organization.
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Yes it was. I'm very excited for the future. The clubhouse has to get better for the Cubs, so this is a big step in the right direction.
 
Potential Cubs 2016 Lineup:
CF-Alcantara
2B-Russell
1B-Rizzo
LF-Bryant
RF-Soler
SS-Castro
C-Schwarber
3B-Baez

homer-simpson-drooling.gif
 
thejumper5 said:
Potential Cubs 2016 Lineup:
CF-Alcantara
2B-Russell
1B-Rizzo
LF-Bryant
RF-Soler
SS-Castro
C-Schwarber
3B-Baez
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We know some of these guys won't make it due to injury, or just not ever living up to their potential, that's just how baseball works. But if the Cubs can get 2 or 3 of these guys to be major impact players (along with Rizzo and Castro), they can get anything else they needed from Free Agency. You can also expect someone that we've never heard of to come up and make a difference also. The future is bright.
 
DJL said:
We know some of these guys won't make it due to injury, or just not ever living up to their potential, that's just how baseball works. But if the Cubs can get 2 or 3 of these guys to be major impact players (along with Rizzo and Castro), they can get anything else they needed from Free Agency. You can also expect someone that we've never heard of to come up and make a difference also. The future is bright.
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Absolutely. We've already seen the injury bug hit Soler and Russell hard this year. I think it's pretty clear that Bryant will be a big league starter for years. If he doesn't pan out as a starter-level big leaguer, I'll be stunned. I could see any of the other current minor leaguers washing out for one reason or another. That said, I agree that if only a 2-3 of those guys pan out, the Cubs will be set for the long run.

Also, one big thing to consider is that if/when the Cubs become a playoff contender again, some of those guys might be traded to make room for veterans.
 
thejumper5 said:
Absolutely. We've already seen the injury bug hit Soler and Russell hard this year. I think it's pretty clear that Bryant will be a big league starter for years. If he doesn't pan out as a starter-level big leaguer, I'll be stunned. I could see any of the other current minor leaguers washing out for one reason or another. That said, I agree that if only a 2-3 of those guys pan out, the Cubs will be set for the long run.
Also, one big thing to consider is that if/when the Cubs become a playoff contender again, some of those guys might be traded to make room for veterans.
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Absolutely agree on Bryant. The guy is a monster. For how little experience he has, the numbers he is putting up are out of this world.
Russell is another guy who seems like he is going to pan out. I haven't seen him play, but Billy Bean called him Barry Larkin.
A couple of guys look a little further away to me, but there is more talent here than I can ever remember. I remember being excited about guys like Bobby Hill, Corey Patterson, and Felix Pie.
 
thejumper5 said:
Potential Cubs 2016 Lineup:
CF-Alcantara
2B-Russell
1B-Rizzo
LF-Bryant
RF-Soler
SS-Castro
C-Schwarber
3B-Baez


Don't forget about Almora, who is ranked higher than Soler I believe. I have to believe one of these guys could be dealt too. I really like the Schwarber pick. I read they have actually been playing him in the OF some too or were planning too. I really hope he sticks as a catcher, could be a Varitek type glue guy for many years. Guy can flat out hit and is a tough gamer we need.
Does Kris Bryant remind anyone else of Richie Sexson? Tall and lean and hits bombs. Just hope he doesn't K as much as ol Richie.
With Rizzo and Castro both signed thru 2019 I believe, if these guys pan out we should have a very tough team for quite a few years. What I like is the athleticism all over the field. Alcantara had 2 infield hits yesterday. Speed and Athleticism makes things happen on Offense and Defense.

I think the Cubbies are going to make a major play for one of Lester/Price/Sherzer this offseason. Basically a little more than we would have given Smardz, but we get the prospect load from the A's to go with our money we would have spent for Smardz if you think about it.
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bogeyman said:
thejumper5 said:
Potential Cubs 2016 Lineup:
CF-Alcantara
2B-Russell
1B-Rizzo
LF-Bryant
RF-Soler
SS-Castro
C-Schwarber
3B-Baez


Don't forget about Almora, who is ranked higher than Soler I believe. I have to believe one of these guys could be dealt too. I really like the Schwarber pick. I read they have actually been playing him in the OF some too or were planning too. I really hope he sticks as a catcher, could be a Varitek type glue guy for many years. Guy can flat out hit and is a tough gamer we need.
Does Kris Bryant remind anyone else of Richie Sexson? Tall and lean and hits bombs. Just hope he doesn't K as much as ol Richie.
With Rizzo and Castro both signed thru 2019 I believe, if these guys pan out we should have a very tough team for quite a few years. What I like is the athleticism all over the field. Alcantara had 2 infield hits yesterday. Speed and Athleticism makes things happen on Offense and Defense.

I think the Cubbies are going to make a major play for one of Lester/Price/Sherzer this offseason. Basically a little more than we would have given Smardz, but we get the prospect load from the A's to go with our money we would have spent for Smardz if you think about it.
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I didn't intentionally forget Almora. I just think that he would still be a year or two away from being a starter by 2016.

Between Almora and Soler, I like Soler's power more than I like anything about Almora, and I think the Cubs are probably more committed to Soler because they've already committed so much money to him.

Schwarber has been catching and playing outfield for Kane County. The reports I've read have said that he will never be a Gold Glover at either position, but he might be a great enough hitter to make up for any deficiencies at either spot.

Regarding the Sexon comparison--I don't love that comparison. I agree there are some physical similarities, but after looking at their AA and AAA numbers, Bryant is far ahead of where Sexon was at this age. I know this is crazy talk since Bryant hasn't even played one major league game, but the Bryant comparison I keep coming back to is Mark McGwire. I think KB can be THAT good.
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Fun to see Alcantara get a hit with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th, steal 2nd, and score the game winning run. Ruggiano had the game winning hit. He's up to .286 now.
 
After scoring the winning run in two of his first three big league games, Alcantra will make his CF debut today.

[tweet]487993159775842307[/tweet]
 
DJL said:
Fun to see Alcantara get a hit with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th, steal 2nd, and score the game winning run. Ruggiano had the game winning hit. He's up to .286 now.
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Very fun. Funny how he's been at Triple AAA and now leading off and playing 2 positions in less than a week....maybe we should have had him up sooner? This is exactly what I meant before and why Theo didn't hesitate to jump on another SS in Russell. These guys are so athletic they can make things happen and play multiple positions. First time in forever we have a slew of tremendous athletes. Crossing fingers they pan out. Ruggiano has been a decent pickup. Most of these type of guys would be a nice 4th OF bench guy, which is much of our roster.

Jumper - I hope Bryant has McGwire like numbers, however real they were. More physical comparison with Sexson than anythnig.

So anyone else thing they'll jump on one of the 3 pitchers I mentioned this offseason?
 
thejumper5 said:
Schwarber has been catching and playing outfield for Kane County. The reports I've read have said that he will never be a Gold Glover at either position, but he might be a great enough hitter to make up for any deficiencies at either spot.
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I apologize in advance for quoting myself.

Schwarber got the call up to High-A Daytona tonight. Some of the insiders I've seen on Twitter are suggesting that the Cubs like his bat A LOT and are fast tracking him. The organization seems to like him enough at the plate that they aren't going to spend too much more time developing him as a defensive catcher and are going to focus on his outfield work. As of today, it sounds like his future is now as a corner outfielder and emergency catcher.
 
Good stuff Jumper, I saw he got the call up again. We definitely need offense and soon. I would still love to see him develop as a Catcher though, we'll have faster more athletic guys who can play OF but REALLY need a good Catcher for the long haul.

Anyone else realize that Josh Donaldson, the starting 3B for the AL in the ASG tonight, was the Cubs 1st round pick in 2007? Heard that last night and had never put that together for some reason.
 
bogeyman said:
Good stuff Jumper, I saw he got the call up again. We definitely need offense and soon. I would still love to see him develop as a Catcher though, we'll have faster more athletic guys who can play OF but REALLY need a good Catcher for the long haul.

Anyone else realize that Josh Donaldson, the starting 3B for the AL in the ASG tonight, was the Cubs 1st round pick in 2007? Heard that last night and had never put that together for some reason.
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He was traded to Oakland as part of the Rich Harden deal in '08.
 
HawkeyeMike23 said:
I can't believe that team got swept in the first round. They were 85-50 at one point!
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Game 3 of the Dodgers series (the last loss of the year for the Cubs) was one of the worst sports experiences of my life. I watched the series in a common room of my dorm because we didn't have cable in our rooms. There were several Cubs fans for the first two games (I went to school in suburban Chicago), but only two of us for game 3. We were joined by a Dodgers "fan" who talked the entire time and asked horribly stupid question. She would say things like, "This Manny Ramirez guys is a good hitter. Is he new to the team?" She clearly knew nothing about baseball. It was horrible to have to deal with that while the Cubs got swept away.
 
Huge night in the Cubs minor league system. Bryant, Baez, Soler, Russell, and Vogelbach all homered, and then there's this:

[tweet]489937029984051201[/tweet]
 
thejumper5 said:
Huge night in the Cubs minor league system. Bryant, Baez, Soler, Russell, and Vogelbach all homered, and then there's this:

[tweet]489937029984051201[/tweet]
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This is awesome. Bryant is just a beast, and Baez has really come around after a slow start. I saw somewhere that he would be the most likely to be traded, but the fact that the Cubs are trying him at 2nd base shows they want to keep him (as they should IMO).
 
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