Don't fret, Maddon will throw a pajama party tonight to keep the team loose.
*****Official Cubs 2019 thread*****
- Thread starter QChawks
- Start date
Neither the Cubs nor Cardinals has a great outlook moving forward.
Bleacher Report’s farm rankings in June has the Cubs #28 and the Cards #25.
Then, look at the amount of money both teams have committed to guys 30 and up. Both teams are upwards of $120M.
The Cards develop pitching better, and the Cubs will spend a bit more, but I would bet on both teams being worse next year.
In terms of smart front offices, LAD and Houston are ahead of the class. It’s very easy to see why a high ranking STL official was hacking into Houston’s database some years back.
“What did you think of your team's execution, Coach?”
The answer: “I'm in favor of it.“
The answer: “I'm in favor of it.“
The contracts are probably the big thing in all this. It hinders flexibility in who you choose to retain, and who to choose to bring in.
The Cubs have roughly $42M available right now BEFORE arbitration. You're gonna let Morrow ($12M) walk for certain - all other club options except Rizzo/Quintana let go free up another $7M. You're gonna drop off Zobrist, Hamels, Castellanos, Cishek, Strop, Kintzler - all possibly gone. 3 to 5 of those are gonna hurt.
Hamels leaves a gaping hole in the rotation. And if Darvish ($22M) walks, while you gain much needed space, it's another gaping hole.
I'm betting, given the arbitration (Contreras, Bryant, Baez, Schwarber) coming - they're gonna try very hard to deal Heyward and Chatwood.
The Cubs FO has a very chaotic winter coming.
The Cardinals are in much better shape by comparison. However as mentioned, a lot of it is tied up in older players who are declining. Carpenter, Fowler and Molina...yikes ($55M total). But they're sitting at $146M for 2020 at the moment and only have John Gant for arbitration. They got about $70M to play with, with only the currently dead money of Brett Cecil a complete waste (drops off after 2020).
They've got Wainwright and Ozuna as key FA's. Wacha and Wieters are probably gone. I believe Ozuna walks because there's OF's galore in the system (Dylan Carlson is the name to remember). Wainwright may be reasonably cheap to retain. The fans believe Wacha is gone but I am not so sure, he also may be cheaply had (benefits of his bad year) and he's insurance if you aren't all in on rookie replacements. And a return to health of Reyes, Gomber etc would certainly mitigate the need (versus the desire) to go all in for a Gerrit Cole.
And if Carlos Martinez can return to starting, all the better. The bullpen can absorb losing him given Giovanni Gallegos' ascension, and the depth guys like Miller, Gant, Brebbia, Fernandez, Webb, Helsley, Ponce de Leon et al provide. The bullpen is deep and mostly all locked up barring injury.
They have cheap internal options, but few high end cheap options save Carlson (who might be a half-year away yet). Yes, the system isn't deep currently with high end guys nearly ready, but they have somewhat useful options that the Cubs don't really have. And it's reasonable to assume maybe Wainwright, Fowler and Carpenter might have one more decent season in their tanks (just be average), with Goldschmidt rebounding somewhat. Molina...2020 will probably be his swan song given Knizner's presence. Father Time appears to have made the kill finally with his bat (yet, we got a guy ready to go to replace him), but he's still serviceable behind the plate. But the recent injuries have finally (I believe) caught up with him.
Troubling (the pitching depth got a hell of a lot thinner this year)...but not the end of the world. I can see a very similar roster come April 2020, but I don't see them falling off a cliff. They need upgrades/rebounds more than having gaping holes to fill. But yeah, a Gerrit Cole would be awful nice to slot in the rotation and they will definitely check in hard on him.
25 blown saves.
10 since the ASB.
Convert half of those and you’re running away with the division.
10 since the ASB.
Convert half of those and you’re running away with the division.
I just believe they're not very good and are being asked currently to produce things they aren't capable of.
Of course, you're missing your best what, 4 guys on your 40 man currently. Take the best 4 guys off any MLB pen and chances are they'll be a bit of a disaster, too.
This is correct. Division is winnable and the playoffs either go to the team that's the hottest or the best/deepest. Dodgers, Astros, Yankees, Braves have to be the current favorites, but a lot can happen between now and October.
But that bullpen right now.....woof.
Relievers and Joe. When his options are this limited due to injury, he needs to quit trying to be too cute by half. Last night would have been a good time to just let Kyle Ryan try to get the save. He got the leadoff guy and then a weak tap. Kintzler hadn't pitched, so you don't know what his command was going to be (though you could reasonably predict he wouldn't be sharp). I'd have given Ryan another hitter to see if he could get out of that inning.
As much as people accuse joe of going by his gut he’s really a by the numbers guy. The numbers say pull Ryan. I would not have gone with kintzler there though because he hadn’t pitched in 10 days.
And if he doesn’t use Kintzler and they still blow it, it becomes why didn’t he use his best guy there?
Second guessing after the outcome is observed will always occur in sports. Relievers have stunk the last two nights, but even so they were a couple of feet away on seeing eye ground balls in Philly and a foul popup in Pittsburgh from closing both games.
I laughed yesterday driving through Chicago when I heard a fan on the Score complaining that Harper was not intentionally walked with a 2-run lead, one out, and bases loaded. When the host tried to explain the nonsense of that opinion, especially with Realmuto on deck, the guy answered that the Cubs lost on a grand slam proving him correct.
Agreed...and at a more normal time of the year, I don't mind the move to Kintzler, but it's a 2-1 game where the Cubs just made a late rally to take the lead and Kintzler hadn't pitched since he went on the shelf.
Honestly, outside of the actual outcome, I was desperately hoping the Cubs could coax a hard ground ball out of Harper because I was more worried about him than Harper.
The Cardinals closed the gap and caught the Cubs with Ozuna, Molina and Carpenter on the DL. Closer Hicks lost for the season in early June with TJ surgery. Brett Cecil has missed most of the season as well. O'Neil and Martinez on the DL now.
Somebody gave Chatwood and Wick some fortitude.
I give Chatwood a lot of credit. He was the forgotten man for about two months, but he has taken up some valuable innings lately. Wick comes in blazing, and without fear.
The Cubs face eastern Iowa's own Mitch Keller tonight. Keller is a 2014 graduate of Cedar Rapids Xavier High School who signed for a million dollar bonus with the Pirates after initially committing to play for the North Carolina Tar Heels. Good luck Mitch...
Edit - Put one in Rizzo's earhole to get him off the plate...
Edit - Put one in Rizzo's earhole to get him off the plate...
Chatwood is not being used enough, at least with all these injuries. Strop cannot be used in anything outside of mop-up duty—his fastball is gone. Ryan, Wick, Kintzler, Cishek, Chatwood and Kimbrel are all good when healthy.
At least the game isn't blacked out. I've only seen the Cubs when they've played the Cardinals this year, otherwise mostly blocked...
Isn't the Sunday night ESPN basball crew great?
Vasgersian is great, but ARod and Mendoza are god freaking awful. Keep Mussina around, he’s better than both of them.
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