*****Official Cubs 2019 thread*****
- Thread starter QChawks
- Start date
This. MLB relief pitcher is like being a corner in the NFL. On the basis of his consistently solid performance over the past six seasons, I'll give him a pass and let him deal with failure however he needs to, so long as he's ready to take the ball again the next night if called upon.
Strop has been terrific for the Cubs since they traded for him. He's been consistently very good and extremely durable. He also throws almost nothing but high leverage innings either as set up man or now the closer, so yeah when he has a bad outing the Cubs lose a lot of the games, comes with the territory. He's not throwing in five run games where he doesn't need to be sharp very often. It's crazy how some dumb fans always want him gone each time he struggles.
Strop, historically, is one of the best Cubs relievers ever. It’s pretty amazing how long he’s been here and how consistently good he’s been.
The Arietta/Strop trade is arguably the GOAT trade in all Chicago sports history.
That trade was insane. Strop alone for Feldman & Clevenger would have proven to be a massive win.
Agreed, even if they didn't get Arrieta in that trade and only received Strop, it would have been a huge win for the Cubs.
In the aftermath of Addison Russell's suspension for violating baseball's domestic violence policy, the Chicago Cubs decided to put their staff through enhanced training.
Family Rescue, an organization that works to curb domestic violence by supporting victims and advocating for change, conducted wide-ranging sessions with the club's front and back office employees that touched on everything from the dynamics of domestic violence to their experiences with fans at Wrigley Field and their personal lives.
"We talked about being an upstander, a person that would in safe ways intervene and make a statement and not just stand by and say nothing, do nothing," Family Rescue executive director Joyce Coffee said, "because domestic violence thrives in an atmosphere of silence."
From the preseason training all the way to its ongoing work with Family Rescue and House of the Good Shepherd, another domestic violence organization in Chicago, the Cubs' response to Russell's suspension continues on the brink of his return to the majors.
The 25-year-old Russell was optioned to Triple-A Iowa after he completed his 40-game suspension last week, but he isn't expected to stay there for very long.
"Not too much longer because he is a major league player, as long as everything is going well," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "You don't want him sitting down there so long that it starts becoming almost negative regarding his development."
Russell was suspended after a series of allegations made by his ex-wife, Melisa Reidy. Without getting into specifics, Russell said in February he was accountable for his past actions and apologized for "the hurt and the pain" he caused.
Reidy has said she supports the Cubs' decision to give Russell another opportunity rather than cut him loose. Coffee also believes in the concept of a second chance, calling domestic violence a learned behavior that can be unlearned as well.
"It requires some hard work on the part of abusers who have crossed over that line and have now engaged in those behaviors, but abusers do make changes," Coffee said. "It depends upon what's important to them. If they want to sustain significant relationships, if they want to and in the case of athletes playing with the various sports and the various clubs, if they want to maintain the contracts that they have with their employers, they cannot be engaging in these kinds of behaviors with impunity."
The Cubs reached out to Coffee and Family Rescue in November when they were deciding what to do with Russell, and the conversations rekindled a decades-old connection between the organizations that had faded over time.
Coffee said part of the discussions focused on what exactly the Cubs wanted.
"There's a domestic violence protocol that all the clubs have to follow, but does the Cubs organization want to go above and beyond or do they just want to do the minimum of what's required of them?" she said. "And they were at that point of wanting to be more proactive and go above and beyond."
Coffee said Russell expressed interest in making a donation or volunteering with Family Rescue, but the organization felt it wasn't the right time.
Family Rescue staffers also met with some of the players' wives and significant others during spring training, but they did not speak to the players themselves. Major League Baseball and the players' union have their own joint domestic violence program through a partnership with Futures Without Violence, a nonprofit working to end violence against women and children.
The Cubs have said all along that Russell's return is a day-by-day proposition. But he has met each of their requirements so far.
When it comes to Russell's future, Coffee thinks only time will tell.
"The question that was asked is, 'Well, how do you know when an athlete says that, whether or not their statements are authentic?'" Coffee said. "We don't know. The Cubs don't know. The various clubs, they don't know at that point whether or not it's authentic. What they do know is what happens afterwards."
https://www.nonpareilonline.com/new...cle_1ba21400-2ee5-58de-ba0a-71da7a80a220.html
Family Rescue, an organization that works to curb domestic violence by supporting victims and advocating for change, conducted wide-ranging sessions with the club's front and back office employees that touched on everything from the dynamics of domestic violence to their experiences with fans at Wrigley Field and their personal lives.
"We talked about being an upstander, a person that would in safe ways intervene and make a statement and not just stand by and say nothing, do nothing," Family Rescue executive director Joyce Coffee said, "because domestic violence thrives in an atmosphere of silence."
From the preseason training all the way to its ongoing work with Family Rescue and House of the Good Shepherd, another domestic violence organization in Chicago, the Cubs' response to Russell's suspension continues on the brink of his return to the majors.
The 25-year-old Russell was optioned to Triple-A Iowa after he completed his 40-game suspension last week, but he isn't expected to stay there for very long.
"Not too much longer because he is a major league player, as long as everything is going well," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "You don't want him sitting down there so long that it starts becoming almost negative regarding his development."
Russell was suspended after a series of allegations made by his ex-wife, Melisa Reidy. Without getting into specifics, Russell said in February he was accountable for his past actions and apologized for "the hurt and the pain" he caused.
Reidy has said she supports the Cubs' decision to give Russell another opportunity rather than cut him loose. Coffee also believes in the concept of a second chance, calling domestic violence a learned behavior that can be unlearned as well.
"It requires some hard work on the part of abusers who have crossed over that line and have now engaged in those behaviors, but abusers do make changes," Coffee said. "It depends upon what's important to them. If they want to sustain significant relationships, if they want to and in the case of athletes playing with the various sports and the various clubs, if they want to maintain the contracts that they have with their employers, they cannot be engaging in these kinds of behaviors with impunity."
The Cubs reached out to Coffee and Family Rescue in November when they were deciding what to do with Russell, and the conversations rekindled a decades-old connection between the organizations that had faded over time.
Coffee said part of the discussions focused on what exactly the Cubs wanted.
"There's a domestic violence protocol that all the clubs have to follow, but does the Cubs organization want to go above and beyond or do they just want to do the minimum of what's required of them?" she said. "And they were at that point of wanting to be more proactive and go above and beyond."
Coffee said Russell expressed interest in making a donation or volunteering with Family Rescue, but the organization felt it wasn't the right time.
Family Rescue staffers also met with some of the players' wives and significant others during spring training, but they did not speak to the players themselves. Major League Baseball and the players' union have their own joint domestic violence program through a partnership with Futures Without Violence, a nonprofit working to end violence against women and children.
The Cubs have said all along that Russell's return is a day-by-day proposition. But he has met each of their requirements so far.
When it comes to Russell's future, Coffee thinks only time will tell.
"The question that was asked is, 'Well, how do you know when an athlete says that, whether or not their statements are authentic?'" Coffee said. "We don't know. The Cubs don't know. The various clubs, they don't know at that point whether or not it's authentic. What they do know is what happens afterwards."
https://www.nonpareilonline.com/new...cle_1ba21400-2ee5-58de-ba0a-71da7a80a220.html
Great moment for KB last night - silencing folks like me who have lamented his performance in "leverage" situations.
You could really see things turn in the AZ series. He hit a couple of home runs, but also started having loud outs. In short sample sizes, you judge a hitter not by their results, but by the exit velocities and he has been hitting the ball very hard for 10 games now (and the results show it).
Also, how about Brandon Kintzler? I was concerned he'd be the right-handed Brian Duensing, but he's been nails.
And finally, what in the world has been up with the Chicago weather? It has not been nearly as cold in other northern MLB cities. Need to get through this homestand and then the weather should be good the rest of the year.
You could really see things turn in the AZ series. He hit a couple of home runs, but also started having loud outs. In short sample sizes, you judge a hitter not by their results, but by the exit velocities and he has been hitting the ball very hard for 10 games now (and the results show it).
Also, how about Brandon Kintzler? I was concerned he'd be the right-handed Brian Duensing, but he's been nails.
And finally, what in the world has been up with the Chicago weather? It has not been nearly as cold in other northern MLB cities. Need to get through this homestand and then the weather should be good the rest of the year.
While I'm still not entirely wild about the Cubs' offseason, Theo was right that this was a baseball team with a lot of talent coming back. Looking back, I still find it fairly amazing that last year's team won 95 games with next to nothing from Darvish, KB and Morrow.
I really like their approach this year. They're going to lay eggs like they did Monday from time to time (everyone does), but if the Cubs keep working all fields, this looks like a lineup that just never stops. If they stay mostly healthy, hopefully they can always have a couple of these guys hitting, which should help avoid the extended slumps.
I had the same thought last night. We saw KB/Rizzo/Contreras with star production in 2016-2017, but we still had overly-erratic Javy. In 2018, we had All Star Javy, injured KB, Rizzo's worst season since 2013, and Contreras cratering all at once.
You're never going to get every player performing to their potential each year, but imagine this offense if those four all have "B+" seasons relative to their potential. If the others (Heyward, Schwarber, Descalso, Bote, Zobrist, etc.) all have average seasons relative to their talent, that's likely the best offense in the NL.
I didn't catch this during the game, but apparently some "fan" made a gesture behind Glanville during the 3rd inning while on camera.
https://mlb.nbcsports.com/2019/05/0...-white-power-sign-behind-nbc-sports-reporter/
https://mlb.nbcsports.com/2019/05/0...-white-power-sign-behind-nbc-sports-reporter/
The Cubs have moved the starting time of Wednesday’s game against the Marlins at Wrigley Field to 6:35 p.m.
The first pitch was moved up by 30 minutes because of rain in the forecast later in the night.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-marlins-starting-time-20190508-story.html
The first pitch was moved up by 30 minutes because of rain in the forecast later in the night.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-marlins-starting-time-20190508-story.html
I wonder what is going on with zobrist, he missed time in spring training for personal reasons too. His wife recently deleted her twitter page, i hope all is ok.
Yes. They mentioned this last night during the broadcast, and said they'd inquire. Nothing on any outlet, so I wish them the best.
Descalso was held out for two games, and then pinch hit two games in a row. He looked gimpy trying to run. If the Cubs are only making one roster move to replace Zobrist by going on the restricted list you hope it is not too serious. But, since the labor agreement allows for a lot of flexibility in this instance you kind of fear it is a significant event.
As a baseball move it leaves them short handed, and means they really have nobody else in AAA they can move up and down as needed. I hope Russell is in charge of his life, but bringing a guy up in this instance is a baseball move, and not exactly how Theo has framed things.
Strop is a bit more worrying. If not properly healed a hamstring injury will linger and linger. They can't really option Webster, so a DL move makes sense.
As a baseball move it leaves them short handed, and means they really have nobody else in AAA they can move up and down as needed. I hope Russell is in charge of his life, but bringing a guy up in this instance is a baseball move, and not exactly how Theo has framed things.
Strop is a bit more worrying. If not properly healed a hamstring injury will linger and linger. They can't really option Webster, so a DL move makes sense.
He should be deported to whatever s***hole country he wants to go to. A banning from a baseball stadium isn't enough.
Holy Cow, that was a wild play by Rizzo at first. If you weren't watching, with a runner on first, a Marlins batter bunted one up into the air. Rizzo came up and pretended like he was going to catch it, then let it drop. He tagged first, and in the confusion the Marlins runner from first took off, and was caught in a run down.
So, who were the batters, Gordon?
I’ll wildly guess Sammy Sosa and Henry Rodriguez?
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