OFFICIAL 2019 CHICAGO CUBS THREAD!!!!

Said it back in April. Never go an entire season with a lame duck manager. Guys aren't going to give you their best mental effort when they don't even know who the manager is going to be next year.

They're going to finish the season like they started it.
 
NEIChawk said:
You are probably right. If Chicago wants to compete every year, they need to be more active looking for the best possible combo of hitting and pitching. Dump those that are not producing.
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That’s where I’m at. Just tired of the offense being feast or famine
 
spliff45 said:
That’s where I’m at. Just tired of the offense being feast or famine
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You look at every other team in baseball, I mean every other team, and their run differentials correlate closely to their records and place in the standings. Every other one of them.

Then there are the Cubs.

They have a better run differential than the arch heads. Hell they have a better run differential than the Braves, and every team in the NFL sans the Dodgers. And yet they are going to be on the outside looking in about a week from now.

Translation: They are too reliant on the home run, they rack up gaudy numbers in a handful of games, then find a way to lose close ones. When your first baseman can't score from second base on what should have been a double down the line because of his ankle, he ends up stranded and you end up losing by one run, it's proof positive that the baseball gods were pissing in your Cheerios this year.

Here's more proof. The Rockies have a pitcher named Peter Lambert that they brought up in mid season. Only recently did he win his third game of the year. Guess who his other two wins are against?

I can't make this stuff up
 
NEIChawk said:
Time to clean house a little....pitching needs revamped in a huge way, up and down the line.
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Rizzo and his .400 on base percentage need to permanently be in the leadoff spot in 2020. I don't care if his 30 home runs drive in only 70 or 75. There's enough firepower in that lineup and he will score 120-130 runs, if he can maintain a .400 on base percentage with Bryant, Schwarber, Baez and possibly Castellanas hitting behind him.
 
It will be interesting to see what the Cubs do this offseason. I think the window is still open, but they need to actually make some good FA signings this offseason. They haven't done that since they signed Lester.
 
deanvogs said:
It will be interesting to see what the Cubs do this offseason. I think the window is still open, but they need to actually make some good FA signings this offseason. They haven't done that since they signed Lester.
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They're not far off, but they need to inject new blood into the core of this team. They need a closer. And they need to learn how to hit Milwaukee's closer. And Rizzo needs to be a permanent leadoff man (see post 208).

I see a lot of Brewers baseball on TV living in Wisconsin. When Counsell sees the Cubs coming on the schedule he will prepare Hader a week in advance and have him ready to go multiple innings twice in three games, or one inning for all three games. He knows wins in the division are worth two in the standings.

The Cubs been developing some pitching in their system. They need at least one of those guys to stop riding the I-80 shuttle and stick in the rotation. And they need one or two more to stick in the bullpen. This includes guys like Alec Mills, Jerious Norwood, Duane Underwood, and Dillon Maples. Maybe Alzolay will be a keeper.
 
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BTW I've heard some criticism of the players Theo has traded away. The one that hurts the most is Gleybar Torres but the Cubs might not win a world series in 2016 if the don't have Chapman as closer. Still Torres could have played second base, or allowed Baez to play second, and shut down the carnival style merry go round the Cubs have employed at second base this year.

Eloy Jiminez wasn't going to replace Kyle Schwarber or Jason Heyward in the outfield and now Castellanas is in that mix as well. And you got a solid rotation piece in Quintana anyway. That was probably a good trade for both teams.

Jorge Soler has finally stayed healthy for a full season and put up huge numbers, but he has the luxury of playing DH about half the time in Kansas City. Same with Dan Vogelbach, who cooled off in the the second half anyway, in Seattle. He is another player who needs the DH. And was he really going to challenge Rizzo for his job? His role with the Cubs, if he had one, would have been as a pinch hitter.

Here's where the shakeup is going to take place. Almora, Russell, Happ, Zobrist, Castellanas, Bote. I will wager that four of those six won't be back next year. 2020 will be Willson Contreras last year as a cub. He regressed defensively, he can't frame pitches, he has recurring hamstring issues, the Cubs have an adequate catcher on the roster (Caratini) and another one coming. Contreras also has free agency pending and the Cubs aren't going to pay for an injury prone 29 or 30 year old catcher when they have to worry about paying Baez, Bryant, and Schwarber.

Schwarbs has played his way into keeper territory. He has improved his defense and power against left handed pitching. He ain't going anywhere.

Hoerner is just about ready to lock down second base. He may start the year at AAA but won't last there long.

Hamels is toast. He said when he got injured that he didn't want to rush back. The Cubs rushed him back and it hurt his mechanics and ability to throw strikes. He can't be happy with how he was handled.

Strop? Gone. Probably Cisheck as well. They're stuck with Kimbrel's salary but their closer next year should be Rowan Wick.

Manager? A lot of people are saying David Ross. I don't know. It could be one of Theo's metrics geeks that no one has heard of.

Interesting crossroads off-season coming up. Can the Cubs retool on the fly like the Red Sox have? Or will they be anyone hit wonder like the 1990 Reds or 2005 White Sox or 2008 Phillies?
 
The way this year ended was highly disappointing, but even if they made the playoffs I don't see them getting past Atlanta or LA. Maybe this will be a wake up call for the front office.

I think they still have 3-4 years left in this window, but they need to make major changes this off season. They should have roughly $50 million off the books (Hamels, Zobrist, Morrow). Use all of that money to sign the best pitchers they can, whether they are starters or relievers.

Everyone position player except Rizzo should be available for trade. Maybe some team will overpay for Bryant, Schwarber, Contreras or Baez.

Package some of the Cubs' AAAA players (Almora, Happ, Bode, Russell) and trade for someone else's AAAA players. Maybe they get back a player who with a change in scenery vastly improves, like when they traded for Fowler or Arrieta.

If the Cubs go into next year with this same team, then you know ownership just wants to play .500 baseball which is good enough to sell tickets and media rights, but not good enough to win anything.
 
JRD90 said:
The way this year ended was highly disappointing, but even if they made the playoffs I don't see them getting past Atlanta or LA. Maybe this will be a wake up call for the front office.

I think they still have 3-4 years left in this window, but they need to make major changes this off season. They should have roughly $50 million off the books (Hamels, Zobrist, Morrow). Use all of that money to sign the best pitchers they can, whether they are starters or relievers.

Everyone position player except Rizzo should be available for trade. Maybe some team will overpay for Bryant, Schwarber, Contreras or Baez.

Package some of the Cubs' AAAA players (Almora, Happ, Bode, Russell) and trade for someone else's AAAA players. Maybe they get back a player who with a change in scenery vastly improves, like when they traded for Fowler or Arrieta.

If the Cubs go into next year with this same team, then you know ownership just wants to play .500 baseball which is good enough to sell tickets and media rights, but not good enough to win anything.
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If you have had a chance to hear Theo Epstein on the radio this summer, you KNOW he isn't settling for .500 baseball.

It was perfectly reasonable to expect half a dozen 25-27 year olds, under contract control, to take the next step forward as major league hitters. Bryant and Baez, who have been playing through nagging injuries all year, put up numbers similiar to their best seasons. Schwarber and Castellanas since he came over have put up their best seasons. Russell, Almora, Happ and Bote took steps backwards, which is why all of them spent time of various lengths at Iowa.

I don't think Almora ever got over hitting that girl with the foul ball in Houston. It was an unlucky break in a season full of them.

Russell has to see the writing on the wall. What a fall from grace that was. Dude had a 95 RBI season and a world series ring at age 22, with a track record of coming up huge in the postseason.

Contreras is an interesting case. I think there's your trade value. He's 27 and a proven offensive player when healthy, but has a history going back to the minor leagues of hamstring issues. The Cubs have Caratini and another highly touted catcher in their system. They're not going to want to pay a catcher at 29 or 30 for the free agent deal he is going to be looking for when they have Bryant, Baez and Schwarber coming up as well.

I could see another team have interest in Contreras and possibly move him to another position.
 
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I didn't say Theo will settle for .500, I said ownership might. If they limit the payroll then Theo & gang will be limited to what they can change.

I like your optimism, but after the collapse at the end of 2018 and now this year, I just don't want to go into 2020 with this same team and cross my fingers that everyone magically gets better next year.
 
JRD90 said:
I didn't say Theo will settle for .500, I said ownership might. If they limit the payroll then Theo & gang will be limited to what they can change.

I like your optimism, but after the collapse at the end of 2018 and now this year, I just don't want to go into 2020 with this same team and cross my fingers that everyone magically gets better next year.
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I stand corrected on the difference between Theo and ownership, and am legitimately concerned of the possibility of the Ricketts family closing the checkbook. (I'm sure Theo is too)
There are a thousand metrics, as well as the eye test, that support the theory that a group of players age 25-27 will take the next step forward as hitters. For whatever reason it didn't work this year, and in the process some took steps backwards as baserunners and fielder's, but it was reasonable for Theo to project this back in the off season.

We've seen examples of young cores win it all and never win it again. Look at the 1990 Reds. The 2008 Phillies. It's baseball. And it bit the Cubs in the hind end this year. Add the manager uncertainty factor and the resurgence of the Cardinals and it makes it one clusterfuck of an ending to 2019.
 
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