Official 2018 Chicago Cubs Thread!

[Northside Hawk]

It's ironic. One of the reasons they didn't re-sign Arietta is because they were certain he was overdue for arm issues and didn't want it to be on their watch. So they sign two pitchers with a history of arm issues who shockingly get hurt again. And who knows what kind of injury the third pitcher, Chatwood, was trying to pitch through. Meanwhile, Jake kept eating innings for Philadelphia, which is what he always does.

How much do you think our bullpen would have been saved if we still had Jake and could have kept Montgomery in the pen?

 

[bogeyman]

It's ironic. One of the reasons they didn't re-sign Arietta is because they were certain he was overdue for arm issues and didn't want it to be on their watch. So they sign two pitchers with a history of arm issues who shockingly get hurt again. And who knows what kind of injury the third pitcher, Chatwood, was trying to pitch through. Meanwhile, Jake kept eating innings for Philadelphia, which is what he always does.

How much do you think our bullpen would have been saved if we still had Jake and could have kept Montgomery in the pen?

I never heard they were worried about arm issues. I think they thought Yu was a small step up to be an Ace and pitch like he did against them in Game 3 of NLCS last year. That and they just couldn't come to an agreement with Jake on years and dollars. I think the latter is the main issue.

 

[Northside Hawk]

I never heard they were worried about arm issues. I think they thought Yu was a small step up to be an Ace and pitch like he did against them in Game 3 of NLCS last year. That and they just couldn't come to an agreement with Jake on years and dollars. I think the latter is the main issue.

Jake ended settling for a lot less than the Cubs were originally offering, partially because of Scott Boras and partially because it was a wierd year for free agents, some of who weren't signed until after spring training begun. And this doesn't take into account what the Cubs were offering after 2016, which was even more than after 2017, but that was all Boras.

My info source here is Chicago sports talk station WSCR. They mentioned numerous times that Cub brass was concerned that Jake both relied on the slider much and threw across his body, both of which are true . He hasn't had Tommy John yet his career, also true. They saw him as more risk than reward and felt they had got the best years out of him, probably also true.

In the end I think the Cubs outsmarted themselves and got too proactive. They were following the old Atlanta Braves philosophy of not wanting to hang on to a player one year too long. Bottom line:. there is little or no arguement, in my opinion, that the Cubs could have really used a 14-12 version of Arietta this year. It would have kept Montgomery in the bullpen and rippled down from there. I was lamenting his loss all season, its in several of my posts. They also gave Morrow the same money that could have kept Wade Davis and nobody has talked about that.

On a side note, early tea leaf rumblings indicate that Bryant may play more outfield next year and that the Cubs are in the running for Bryce Harper. The first of those would signal trouble for Kyle Schwarber, the second would be the death of him as a Cub, and possibly Almora too because Heyward would certainly go to center field in that scenario.

 

[judzeehawk]

One of Schwarbers downfall is he has a great eye at the plate. The bad thing there is always a putz behind the plate that is going to ruin your day. Need to swing the bat and not let the ump determine your at bat. Kyle is one person that would of benefited with electronic ball and strike. Anybody have a guess at how many times he came up empty with the bases loaded? I really don't care for Harper and it would be hard for me to see him in a Cubs uniform. Bryant is an outfielder from now on and hopefully he can get that shoulder healed up. I would like to see Almora stay instead of Happ. Jake A. was a terrible deal. I think his buddy talked him into heading to the Phillies. I hope I never see Chatwood throw anymore for the Cubs.

 

[DJL]

Okay here is the real problem. In 2016 I started the "Official Chicago Cubs" thread on HN. They won the World Series. The past 2 season I have not. I think this is on me guys ;-)

 

[GoHawks24]

I'll be interested to see what they decide to do as big free agents from other teams hit the market and when the Cubs' big-timers' contracts run out. Who stays, who goes, who do they bring in?

I think they sign Harper and try to ship Heyward elsewhere, or they put Heyward in CF. I would hate to see Almora get pushed out though, as he's a gold glover in CF and I feel like his bat will get better with more chances.

I agree with what some have said that Bryant is not a good defensive 3rd baseman. He belongs in LF.

I hope to gawd that they ship off Happ somewhere. I doubt it'll happen because Joe has a weird man crush on him and/or Happ must have some dirt on Joe. In 387 total at-bats this past season, he struck out a staggering 167 times! That's over a 43% strikeout rate or a strikeout every 2.3 at-bats. Uggglyyy. He batted for a .233 average this season as well. He's a good defensive outfield though, I will give him that.

I would also be totally OK with them trading Schwarber. I don't know if there's a more overrated player in baseball. He's a career .228 hitter. While he's gotten better in the outfield, I feel like he's still a liability. He's a DH. Trade him to an American League club and get some value for a team that's hopefully willing to overpay for him.

I hope they bring Hamels back. Hopefully they can rework his contract though, as $20 mil seems a little high, because I feel like he's due to regress a little bit next season.

Hopefully they bring back Chavez as well. He may have been out best arm in the bullpen overall.

And this is wishful thinking, but it'd be nice to get a true leadoff hitter. I think we missed that hugely this past season.

Regarding Chatwood, I think they need to give him an off-season and Spring training to get it figured out. If he doesn't, then they need to eat that contract, unfortunately. One of the only bad moves that Theo has made. They print money at Wrigley Field though.

 

[bogeyman]

Jake ended settling for a lot less than the Cubs were originally offering, partially because of Scott Boras and partially because it was a wierd year for free agents, some of who weren't signed until after spring training begun. And this doesn't take into account what the Cubs were offering after 2016, which was even more than after 2017, but that was all Boras.

My info source here is Chicago sports talk station WSCR. They mentioned numerous times that Cub brass was concerned that Jake both relied on the slider much and threw across his body, both of which are true . He hasn't had Tommy John yet his career, also true. They saw him as more risk than reward and felt they had got the best years out of him, probably also true.

In the end I think the Cubs outsmarted themselves and got too proactive. They were following the old Atlanta Braves philosophy of not wanting to hang on to a player one year too long. Bottom line:. there is little or no arguement, in my opinion, that the Cubs could have really used a 14-12 version of Arietta this year. It would have kept Montgomery in the bullpen and rippled down from there. I was lamenting his loss all season, its in several of my posts. They also gave Morrow the same money that could have kept Wade Davis and nobody has talked about that.

On a side note, early tea leaf rumblings indicate that Bryant may play more outfield next year and that the Cubs are in the running for Bryce Harper. The first of those would signal trouble for Kyle Schwarber, the second would be the death of him as a Cub, and possibly Almora too because Heyward would certainly go to center field in that scenario.

Davis signed for 3 years $52 million. Morrow signed for 2 and $18. Not even close, just no way the Cubs were going to spend nearly $18 mil a year on a closer. Did they swing and miss on Morrow staying healthy? Absolutely, should have known better. But for most of the year the Bullpen actually wasn't the issue. Offense and lack of nothing from Yu and Chatwood was.
I love Jake as much as the next guy, sure he would have been better than Yu this year but that isn't saying much. Front office swung and missed on Yu also. But Jake's ERA was almost 4 and his innings per start was only 5.55. The bullpen still would have been taxed with him. He was solid, but not $25mil solid. I think the front office made Jake quite a few fair offers, his fault for passing them up. If there was a huge market for him and he was worth that amount, he wouldn't have signed so late and with the Phillies. I wouldn't put the fault on the Cubs with him, as you mentioned I think Boras played a big part and his contract would also hamstring us for years for an average pitcher.
Bottom line, IMO, we just need to develop some young studs in our system because free agent pitching is a total crapshoot!

 

[bogeyman]

Okay here is the real problem. In 2016 I started the "Official Chicago Cubs" thread on HN. They won the World Series. The past 2 season I have not. I think this is on me guys ;-)

Yes your fault! You forced me to start this with your slacking!

 

[Northside Hawk]

Davis signed for 3 years $52 million. Morrow signed for 2 and $18. Not even close, just no way the Cubs were going to spend nearly $18 mil a year on a closer. Did they swing and miss on Morrow staying healthy? Absolutely, should have known better. But for most of the year the Bullpen actually wasn't the issue. Offense and lack of nothing from Yu and Chatwood was.
I love Jake as much as the next guy, sure he would have been better than Yu this year but that isn't saying much. Front office swung and missed on Yu also. But Jake's ERA was almost 4 and his innings per start was only 5.55. The bullpen still would have been taxed with him. He was solid, but not $25mil solid. I think the front office made Jake quite a few fair offers, his fault for passing them up. If there was a huge market for him and he was worth that amount, he wouldn't have signed so late and with the Phillies. I wouldn't put the fault on the Cubs with him, as you mentioned I think Boras played a big part and his contract would also hamstring us for years for an average pitcher.
Bottom line, IMO, we just need to develop some young studs in our system because free agent pitching is a total crapshoot!

Yes, $34 million is a pretty big difference. I should have checked on it before I made that comment.

The reason there wasn't much of a market for any free agents was a perfect storm of wierdness, none the least of which is that team's were saving up for this year's class, which includes Harper, Machado, and Kershaw. It will be interesting to see how certain elements of free agency are handled at the next collective bargaining session.

The Brewers may never lose again. That bullpen is dealing.

 

[thedukeofearl]

Well, the possibility of an official World Series exists although hanging by threads.....

Clash of the Titans: Yankees vs Red Sox.....

My two favorite baseball teams. My father was from Boston and loved the Red Sox, Celtics, and Bruins. After WWII he moved to Philadelphia and educated me on the wonders of Boston and Philadelphia professional sports. Boston teams were his favorite, of course, but the Philadelphia teams were next. We watched all the Celtic and Warrior games, all the Red Sox, Phillies and the Athletics games.....

The Athletics went to Oakland and became one of my favorite teams ever. Reggie Jackson was dearly loved. He made striking out as exciting as smashing a home run. Then he went to the Yankees.....


And who can forget Reggie Jackson's Revenge? Some fool at a bar in DM wanted to bet on the Dodgers I took the bet on this game.....


The Yankees were legendary for years, from Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle to the Reggie Jackson years, and I really enjoyed watching them winning World Series after World Series.....

My second love was the Red Sox especially the modern day Sox with Manny Ramirez. and I really enjoyed their run to the World Series in 2004 and 2007. When they played Cleveland in the playoffs, Manny's former team, the Cleveland owner had two babes standing with him the entire game within view of the batter's box. They would dance and wave at Manny when he was at bat. Outstanding tactics.....

Now I have the best of both worlds, Yankees vs Red Sox. Excellent first game tonight. I was really impressed by the relief pitchers for both teams. Yankee reliever Robertson was simply excellent and the Red Sox reliever, Kimbrel was outstanding. Wonder why the Cubs can't get talent like that. Mookie Betts is the Goods. Very entertaining series. I don't have the time to watch baseball during the season but if teams I like are in the playoffs I do watch.....

The Kansas City Royals World Series Championship was very nice. They were one of the better Teams I have ever seen. Really enjoyed that team, and, of course, last years historic Cubs run to the World Championship.....

 

[judzeehawk]

Sounds like Hamels will be back. He wants to be a Cub and Theo wants him a Cub. Lester,Darvish,Q,Hendricks and Hamels sounds pretty good. Strop will be a free agent but I hope we can keep him. Can't count on Morrow pitching all year. Sounds like we're still stuck with Chatwood.

 

[NEIChawk]

Sounds like Hamels will be back. He wants to be a Cub and Theo wants him a Cub. Lester,Darvish,Q,Hendricks and Hamels sounds pretty good. Strop will be a free agent but I hope we can keep him. Can't count on Morrow pitching all year. Sounds like we're still stuck with Chatwood.

I read that Schwarber, and Russell could be a possibility to be gone. I believe that was a read from one of the Chicago papers, or on Cbssports.com, not sure, still pissed about how these guys finished

 

[Northside Hawk]

I could see Strop leaving, too. And he's a very popular player in that clubhouse. He is a free agent and picked up a few saves filling in for Morrow (before Pedro himself got hurt) and now I can see his agent asking for closer money.

Schwarber is in a bad spot. He evidently can't play catcher anymore so he can only play one position in the field, a major negative on a Maddon coached team. He gets on base, but for all his power he doesn't drive in a lot of runs. He didn't help himself when he didn't run out a fly ball against Pittsburgh in the last week and it was misplayed and he was on first when he should have been at least on second.

Bryant experienced baseball adversity for the first time in his life. He had excelled at every level and won a world series. Bote is older than him and kicked around the minors six years before earning a shot. Bryant at 100% alone will make the offense better. He is a run scoring machine.

This young core in general experienced a lot of success at a young age. This year was hopefully an eye opening experience at just how cruel this game can be. 95 wins and home field advantage for game 163 and the one game elimination wild card wasn't enough. This game will do that to you once in a while.

 

[bogeyman]

I could see Strop leaving, too. And he's a very popular player in that clubhouse. He is a free agent and picked up a few saves filling in for Morrow (before Pedro himself got hurt) and now I can see his agent asking for closer money.

Schwarber is in a bad spot. He evidently can't play catcher anymore so he can only play one position in the field, a major negative on a Maddon coached team. He gets on base, but for all his power he doesn't drive in a lot of runs. He didn't help himself when he didn't run out a fly ball against Pittsburgh in the last week and it was misplayed and he was on first when he should have been at least on second.

Bryant experienced baseball adversity for the first time in his life. He had excelled at every level and won a world series. Bote is older than him and kicked around the minors six years before earning a shot. Bryant at 100% alone will make the offense better. He is a run scoring machine.

This young core in general experienced a lot of success at a young age. This year was hopefully an eye opening experience at just how cruel this game can be. 95 wins and home field advantage for game 163 and the one game elimination wild card wasn't enough. This game will do that to you once in a while.

Well said at the end. I think they realized someone is always gunning for you, always wanting to take your spot and nothing is guaranteed.
Schwarber had very few doubles also which concerns me, just some Homers. He has to be better, he gets paid to hit and hit only.
Everyone but Javy, Riz and Zo had a down year, I guess the only thing we could think is surely they can't all have a down year again. If they do, then are the younger players really that good?

Have no idea if we'll get anything out of Darvish at this point. And Chatwood I'm guessing they'll just dump if he doesn't have any control in Spring training.

 

[spliff45]

Just read that Bryant/Boras turned down a $200m extension as it wasn’t enough

 

[bogeyman]

Just read that Bryant/Boras turned down a $200m extension as it wasn’t enough

Saw that, but then read today that the report wasn't true. Not sure where that even came from, but its amazing how fast things spread and get out. That said, I'm sure the Cubs have tried to lock him up early but Boras always declines

 

[Northside Hawk]

Saw that, but then read today that the report wasn't true. Not sure where that even came from, but its amazing how fast things spread and get out. That said, I'm sure the Cubs have tried to lock him up early but Boras always declines

Boras may have ruined Corey Patterson's career. Well Corey, who never wanted to change his swing, had a hand in that, too. Anyway, the Cubs wanted to lock him up early. Corey got off to a great start in 2003, injured his knee, then got stubborn as a mule. By the time he was 28 he was drifting around the league and any hopes of a big free agent payday were long gone.

 

[bogeyman]

well, Chili Davis was fired. Interesting that they place most of the blame on the hitting coaches. Some of it boils down to certain guys just aren't as clutch as we thought they would be.

 

[NEIChawk]

Who are the Cubs going after? Harper?? Mechado?? And who are they giving up? The off-season will be interesting for sure

 

[Northside Hawk]

well, Chili Davis was fired. Interesting that they place most of the blame on the hitting coaches. Some of it boils down to certain guys just aren't as clutch as we thought they would be.

Theo isn't messing around. He didn't extend Maddon either, meaning that next year we will have a lame duck manager, a potential soap opera, and players with voices. There is no better time to dog it in baseball, or make your true feelings known, than when the manager has no contractual leverage. Remember that for next year. Of course they could repeat 2016 and dominate wire to wire but I don't know if the division will allow that. I think Theo senses the strength of the division, too, which is why he is taking such a hard stance. He was not happy with the way some at bats were approached down the stretch. He is a proponent of launch angle.

Also, you will hear me say this a dozen times this fall. Baseball can be a cruel game. I've watched it for almost half a century. Twenty five years ago the Cubs don't even get a one game wild card. They end up a footnote like the 1987 Toronto Blue Jays.