OFFICIAL 2019 CHICAGO CUBS THREAD!!!!

Just witnessed Eric Thames smack another three run pinch hit home run, his third of the month.

Why do I bring this up? Because this should be Kyle Schwarber's role with the Cubs. Kyle should be Joe's power hitter off the bench in late innings. I would play Bryant full time in left field and platoon Bote/Delscalso at third, especially with Addison Russell's imminent return. Schwarber has had a fair trial to show he can hit consistently and hasn't come through. His reputation was enhanced by his 2015 postseason and 2016 world series.

Yelich, by the way, had a home run taken away by Cody Bellinger today, a huge defensive play in what is now a tie game.

Since this is a Cubs thread, I want to point out that Bote magic struck again today, but with a huge assist from Baez.

Now Bellinger has just taken Hader deep and the air has come of out of a suddenly very quiet Miller Park.
 
So, Morrow's comeback has been put on indefinite hold, there's no room for Chatwood in the rotation, and Tyler pitched on Sunday like the Cubs know he can. Good command and able to set up his out pitches.

Obviously we need to see more with Chatwood but moving him to late inning relief, even closer, cannot be out of the question. IF he stops walking people and keeps pitching like he did sunday. Strop can't do it for a full season and the only reason Kimbrel or Britton will walk through that door will be if they don't want a division rival to scoop them up.

Chatwood is going to get an opportunity to do something. Like Darvish, they're not eating that contract.
 
Northside Hawk said:
So, Morrow's comeback has been put on indefinite hold, there's no room for Chatwood in the rotation, and Tyler pitched on Sunday like the Cubs know he can. Good command and able to set up his out pitches.

Obviously we need to see more with Chatwood but moving him to late inning relief, even closer, cannot be out of the question. IF he stops walking people and keeps pitching like he did sunday. Strop can't do it for a full season and the only reason Kimbrel or Britton will walk through that door will be if they don't want a division rival to scoop them up.

Chatwood is going to get an opportunity to do something. Like Darvish, they're not eating that contract.
Click to expand...

Kimbrel likely wants a long-term contract. Theo is not known for granting said contracts for relievers especially ones that will demand the yearly salary he's likely wanting. Theo gave Morrow a decent 2 year contract with a team option for year 3 but that was pretty low risk being $9M a year vs what Kimbrel will demand. For example Theo let both Chapman and Davis walk and both are making almost double what Morrow is being paid and for more years with their new deals. Is Britton being rumored to be on the trade block? He just resigned with the Yankees this past offseason.

Montgomery is an interesting one to keep an eye on. He's been solid in any role the Cubs have used him and is on track to return from injury soon. If the rotation stays healthy and Chatwood continues to show positive signs, I wouldn't be surprised to see Montgomery become a trade piece. He is a long reliever/spot starter type similar to Chatwood but with a much more appealing contract being under control until 2022.
 
JG10Hawk said:
Kimbrel likely wants a long-term contract. Theo is not known for granting said contracts for relievers especially ones that will demand the yearly salary he's likely wanting. Theo gave Morrow a decent 2 year contract with a team option for year 3 but that was pretty low risk being $9M a year vs what Kimbrel will demand. For example Theo let both Chapman and Davis walk and both are making almost double what Morrow is being paid and for more years with their new deals. Is Britton being rumored to be on the trade block? He just resigned with the Yankees this past offseason.

Montgomery is an interesting one to keep an eye on. He's been solid in any role the Cubs have used him and is on track to return from injury soon. If the rotation stays healthy and Chatwood continues to show positive signs, I wouldn't be surprised to see Montgomery become a trade piece. He is a long reliever/spot starter type similar to Chatwood but with a much more appealing contract being under control until 2022.
Click to expand...
Montgomery has been mostly solid since he was acquired. One would be hard pressed to find a championship team that didn't have someone playing the Mike Montgomery/Travis Wood role.

Carl Edwards should be the man. Theo envisioned him being the future long term closer when he came over with Hendricks in the Ryan Dempster trade in 2013. But Edwards has to get his head screwed on straight. And have a short memory. I had completely forgotten that he was the one that Bryce Harper took deep in the 2017 playoffs. He needs to forget it too.
 
Northside Hawk said:
Montgomery has been mostly solid since he was acquired. One would be hard pressed to find a championship team that didn't have someone playing the Mike Montgomery/Travis Wood role.

Carl Edwards should be the man. Theo envisioned him being the future long term closer when he came over with Hendricks in the Ryan Dempster trade in 2013. But Edwards has to get his head screwed on straight. And have a short memory. I had completely forgotten that he was the one that Bryce Harper took deep in the 2017 playoffs. He needs to forget it too.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Edwards has been pretty good outside of his postseason numbers and the start of 2019. He was pitching well for the Iowa Cubs until he fell down a flight of stairs and was put on the 7 day IL. Hopefully he can get back and have a few more solid appearances before being recalled in a week or two.
 
Bump - Hendricks threw a gem against the red birds today and the Cubs are playing some great ball as of late. Just 1.5 back from the division lead now.
 
As a Cubs fan I jumped for joy when I saw that Miles Mikolas would pitch the Cardinals series finale vs Washington.

That meant he would miss the Cubs.

He shut the Cubs down in the final weekend of last season, and it was enough to allow the Brewers to catch the Cubs. He attacked the strike zone early in the count with offspeed stuff that day, then had the Cubs batters off balance and chasing.
 
Cubs are playing some great ball! Carantini comes back soon, that will be a good thing as Joe has been pretty reluctant to rest Wilson lately and I want him fresh all year. Our biggest need is still a closer or bullpen help. I look for us to make a move this summer and some combo of Montgomery, Schwarber, Happ or Russell will be moved. Possibly Chatwood but the only way someone takes his contract is if he proves himself a lot and I don't see him getting enough innings to show that unless a starter goes down. I personally don't think we can move Russell though. Reason being is if Javy were to go down, we have no one on our current roster that I would consider a Major League Shortstop and that would be killer. We need some insurance if Javy goes down.
 
Cubs would be looking at an 8 game win streak if Strop hadn't totally blown the game on Monday. I really, really want the Cubs to go sign Kimbrel.
 
JG10Hawk said:
Mr. Zobrist says hello as well. The Cubs have a ton of infield options a 2B.
Click to expand...
Zo hasn't looked like himself this year, a concerning situation at age 38. Now he's left the team for"personal reasons".

That ridiculous schedule they had to finish with last year may have affected Zobrist more than any other player. He had to play a lot more than he probably should of and hes ten years older than most of those guys. If Addy can just be a competent player that takes a huge load of Zo, and he can be effective as a spot starter/pinch hitter.

Zobrist did come up big in that long Arizona game that kick-starred this streak. If he can do that a couple times a month he still would have plenty of value.
 
Stanzi said:
Cubs would be looking at an 8 game win streak if Strop hadn't totally blown the game on Monday. I really, really want the Cubs to go sign Kimbrel.
Click to expand...
What would be the package deal to get him? My father gets fucking crazy when Strop or Edwards pitches. He wants Kimbrel as well....dump Russell and throw in Happ, Strip and Edwards
 
Been quiet on this thread... don't tell me you all are becoming Braves fans and becoming complacent with winning? :)
Cubs continue to roll!
 
spliff45 said:
Not if CEJ makes any appearances. He’s worthless
Click to expand...

To be fair he's been solid most of his career outside of his few post season appearances, last night, and the beginning of this season. Since the start of May he has pitched 4 innings, giving up 1 hit (it was a doozy as you point out), 0 walks, and 5 strikeouts to the tune of a 2.25 ERA, and batters batting a whopping .077 against him. Granted that's a small sample size but his career numbers are pretty good as well; 3.33 ERA, 224 SO to 92 walks, and batters slashing .154 BA / .276 OBP / .264 SLG. I think most would take that production in a heartbeat especially considering he's been about as cheap as they come payroll wise.

He's still young and has good stuff that could mold him into the Cubs eventual full time closer. Unfortunately he hasn't been able to make that next step yet and grab the opportunity by the horns while it's there.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Share this page

Top