Chicago Cubs 2014 Season Thread (super-official)

After watching Bryant and Baez both live, I like Bryant's approach at the plate better and agree with DJL that I would like to see him shorten up in CERTAIN situations. Such as runner on third with 1 out and 2 strike count. There are certain times when a strikeout is the worst thing that can happen such as this. He is strong enough that if he "shortened up" slightly could still hit it out of the park.
On another note, good to see Hendricks pitching well. I like what he and Arrietta are doing.
 
bogeyman said:
After watching Bryant and Baez both live, I like Bryant's approach at the plate better and agree with DJL that I would like to see him shorten up in CERTAIN situations. Such as runner on third with 1 out and 2 strike count. There are certain times when a strikeout is the worst thing that can happen such as this. He is strong enough that if he "shortened up" slightly could still hit it out of the park.
On another note, good to see Hendricks pitching well. I like what he and Arrietta are doing.
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They say that he is a student of the game. Spends a lot of time watching film. He has been impressive so far. I saw him live against the Cardinals, and after the first inning home run, he didn't give up anything, and the wind was blowing out that day.
 
DJL said:
They say that he is a student of the game. Spends a lot of time watching film. He has been impressive so far. I saw him live against the Cardinals, and after the first inning home run, he didn't give up anything, and the wind was blowing out that day.
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If Hendricks and Arietta can pitch as well or close to as well as they have been the last 2 months, along with a decent Wood there is a start of a decent Rotation. Throw in a Lester or Price type FA pitcher now we have good enough arms to keep us in games I think. Not much depth though, so if injuries happen we are in trouble. With the lack of roids in the game now, pitchers are easier to find that can hold their own.
 
bogeyman said:
If Hendricks and Arietta can pitch as well or close to as well as they have been the last 2 months, along with a decent Wood there is a start of a decent Rotation. Throw in a Lester or Price type FA pitcher now we have good enough arms to keep us in games I think. Not much depth though, so if injuries happen we are in trouble. With the lack of roids in the game now, pitchers are easier to find that can hold their own.
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I think one of Dubront, Straily, and Turner finds their way into the rotation next year.
 
spliff45 said:
Baez and Rizzo going yard back-to-back is a pretty nice sight.
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Seeing Baez, Rizzo, and Castro in the batting order after one another is definitely a nice sight. Throw in Bryant in the near future and you could have a very nice looking batting order for the 2, 3, 4, & 5 hitters. All that without mentioning the other prospects in the farm system like Soler, Russell, etc. Don't sleep on Alcantara either, I'm liking his potential as a possible lead off or bottom of the order type of guy. The pitching still needs to get better but I'm liking what I see from Hendricks and Wada to go along with what Arrieta has done this year. The future is looking bright my friends.
 
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Looks like Brett Jackson has been traded to the Diamondbacks organization for minor league reliever Blake Cooper. Jackson was on the 40 man roster and Cooper may not be taking his spot as he wasn't on Arizona's 40 man. So that gives the Cubs 1 spot to select somebody's minor league contract. Perhaps Bryant will get the nod even though Theo has said he won't be seeing the MLB this season.
 
Saw this little tidbit below in the Chicago Tribune today. Interesting, but to trade an All Star SS not even in his prime yet would be risky unless you think the pitcher is "can't miss"...which with all the TJ injuries lately there is no such thing anymore hardly. I do think Castro has improved tremendously on Defense this year which is encouraging. I could see him playing some 3B too if Russell is the real deal at SS.

The Cubs' four-game trip to New York undoubtedly will cause more focus on shortstop Starlin Castro because the Mets need a shortstop for the future.


The Mets have a surplus of young high-ceiling pitching that might entice the Cubs, and Mets pro scout Roy Smith watched Castro play during the Cubs' series against the Rockies before the trading deadline.
The Mets could shift their emphasis to Castro because the Rockies' Troy Tulowitzki hasn't played since July 19 and is scheduled to undergo season ending left hip surgery Friday.
 
bogeyman said:
Saw this little tidbit below in the Chicago Tribune today. Interesting, but to trade an All Star SS not even in his prime yet would be risky unless you think the pitcher is "can't miss"...which with all the TJ injuries lately there is no such thing anymore hardly. I do think Castro has improved tremendously on Defense this year which is encouraging. I could see him playing some 3B too if Russell is the real deal at SS.

The Cubs' four-game trip to New York undoubtedly will cause more focus on shortstop Starlin Castro because the Mets need a shortstop for the future.


The Mets have a surplus of young high-ceiling pitching that might entice the Cubs, and Mets pro scout Roy Smith watched Castro play during the Cubs' series against the Rockies before the trading deadline.
The Mets could shift their emphasis to Castro because the Rockies' Troy Tulowitzki hasn't played since July 19 and is scheduled to undergo season ending left hip surgery Friday.
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If we could get a top level pitching prospect for Castro, I would take the deal. Just me.
 
DJL said:
If we could get a top level pitching prospect for Castro, I would take the deal. Just me.
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It has to be more than just one top prospect for an All Star SS. SS is a premium position and I don't know if people realize what a commodity it is. Smardz brought a couple high prospects plus Straily. I would think with Castro's age, position, plus the fact he has a very manageable locked up contract through 2019 (perhaps most important out of all) we would need to get at least 2 if not 3 guys we feel have a great chance to help us at the MLB level soon.
 
bogeyman said:
It has to be more than just one top prospect for an All Star SS. SS is a premium position and I don't know if people realize what a commodity it is. Smardz brought a couple high prospects plus Straily. I would think with Castro's age, position, plus the fact he has a very manageable locked up contract through 2019 (perhaps most important out of all) we would need to get at least 2 if not 3 guys we feel have a great chance to help us at the MLB level soon.
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Yes a agree, and probably should have been more clear. We would need more than one guy, but the cornerstone of the deal would be a high end pitching prospect. With that said, it would be a risk. If Starlin was going to hit .280 with 20 home runs and 80 RBIs, and play average defense every year, I think you can feel good about rolling the dice with a trade for some very strong prospects. But, he is still young, so there is still plenty of opportunity for him to become a consistent over .300 hitter and improve defensively. That's why you can afford to be picky and ask for more. There is a ton of potential. But if you get what you want, having all of that minor league infield talent should make it easier to pull the trigger.
 
I would want a top veteran pitcher to go along with a top prospect or two for a guy with Castro's age, experience, contract, and ability. Just because you have a couple of top prospects at the same position doesn't mean you should give a discount to other teams for your all star player.
 
Always the chance a guy like Russell does't pan out either, hard to bank on them. We do know what we have in Castro at least.
 
zhawk21 said:
http://grantland.com/the-triangle/c...epstein-javier-baez-kris-bryant-jake-arrieta/
Good article on the approach the Cubs are using to rebuild. In Theo We Trust.
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Great article, thanks for posting! I like Theo's approach. Building around hitters is a smart move considering how difficult it is to project a pitcher's career, especially when injuries occur so often. Hitters are normally more stable and injuries, unless severe, normally don't cause too much hindrance to their development and longevity. Using sabermetrics to basically find cheap solid pitchers that have simply had bad luck so far in their careers is genius. Low risk, high reward, and for a cheap price is hard to beat. Good things are happening and and the future looks bright for the Northsiders.
 
zhawk21 said:
http://grantland.com/the-triangle/c...epstein-javier-baez-kris-bryant-jake-arrieta/
Good article on the approach the Cubs are using to rebuild. In Theo We Trust.
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Very interesting stuff zhawk. Thanks for posting. About the only thing that the FIP doesn't take in to consideration is once a ball leaves the bat, no the pitcher has no control over if it finds a hole and goes through. But, how hard the ball is getting hit does make a difference and a guy getting hit hard consistently is more likely to give up hits. The naked eye can tell you if a guy is giving up rockets consistently.
I do like the speed on defense we are gathering though with the plethora of SS. Guys making plays behind a pitcher can make an average pitcher much much better.
 
Taking FIP into account, Jackson and Wood have both pitched much better than their ERA's may suggest this season. Like bogey said, FIP doesn't take into account the type of contact a pitcher is giving up. Is the pitcher jamming guys but they are getting lucky with base hit bloopers or are they roping the ball to the gaps etc. It still is an interesting stat to say the least.
 
JG10Hawk said:
Taking FIP into account, Jackson and Wood have both pitched much better than their ERA's may suggest this season. Like bogey said, FIP doesn't take into account the type of contact a pitcher is giving up. Is the pitcher jamming guys but they are getting lucky with base hit bloopers or are they roping the ball to the gaps etc. It still is an interesting stat to say the least.
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And any fool with a set of eyes, even us crazy amateur GMs can tell Jackson has been horrible :)
 
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