*****Official Cubs 2019 thread*****
- Thread starter QChawks
- Start date
thats a bit of a relief, it could still be bad but his shoulder would be much worse.
Heading to milwaukee for the weekend and to tomorrow nights game. one of the couples that was supposed to be with us can’t make it. Anyone in Milwaukee area interested in a couple tickets?
With less than a week until the trade deadline, the Cubs need some relief
By Sahadev Sharma 4h ago
A 7-1 start out of the break made it look like the Cubs were ready to take control of the NL Central.
But, if you’ve been following the Cubs for years, like starting after the World Series, you probably knew that wasn’t going to be the case.
The Cubs promptly lost three straight before winning 4-1 Wednesday in San Francisco. Still, they did some things right against the Giants. They hit .412 with runners in scoring position and didn’t make any errors in an entire series.
If those two positives continue, that’s a big step forward for this team. Still, many of the same problems persist.
The Cubs lack depth and are giving too much playing time to players who aren’t performing at a level representative of a championship-level team. If Kris Bryant is going to miss any more than a start or two with a tweaked right knee, that lack of depth will only continue to be exposed.
Some key relievers’ struggles means the front office is likely targeting multiple pitchers before the July 31 trade deadline. And the Cubs’ confounding issues on the road have continued. The only way to attack that problem is by adding better players.
The lack of depth remains a huge concern. Getting Willson Contreras back from the injured list and sending Addison Russell down to Triple-A Iowa is the first step in making this a better roster. Contreras is obviously a huge boost and his return helps the bench merely by allowing Joe Maddon to not have to overplay Victor Caratini and keeping him from getting exposed by pitchers who may pose a bad matchup for the young, switch-hitting catcher.
Addison Russell is back with the Iowa Cubs after a sluggish truncated season so far in the majors. (Charlie Neibergall / AP Photo)
The complexity of Russell’s past and his recent suspension under Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy with the players’ union makes focusing on his play alone difficult. Poor play is one thing. But the consistent mental mistakes were finally unacceptable to the Cubs. Russell may be the team’s only true backup shortstop, but this was the right move.
It’s felt as though momentum has been slowly building for Russell’s demotion ever since his bone-headed decision to throw home during a loss in Pittsburgh days before the All-Star break. But this past Sunday seemed to be the turning point, at least as far as Maddon is concerned. When Maddon publicly excoriated Russell for multiple poor base-running decisions and generally sloppy defense, it was clear Russell’s time was limited. Russell’s comments to ESPN about how he has to get better at knowing the signs compounded the issue and had to frustrate his bosses.
Maddon had already indicated that Robel García would get a chance to show what he can do with regular playing time and he’s followed through on that promise by giving him six straight starts. García has been what many had expected – a ton of power paired with a ton of strikeouts. He’s already shown that he can demolish mistakes, especially fastballs, but if he fouls off his pitch or falls behind, he’s susceptible to becoming an easy out as pitchers expose his struggles with breaking and off-speed pitches. With more playing time, he’ll have a chance to prove he can adjust to how big-leaguers are attacking him. Even small moments like his sixth-inning soft single in Wednesday’s win on a 2-2 changeup is a nice step in the right direction for him.
With García starting regularly, Contreras back and Cole Hamels’ return seemingly imminent (and assuming Bryant isn’t out for any significant period of time), the Cubs may soon have their most impactful roster together for the first time this season. Health is the first step towards some consistency. But continuing to address the depth issues and finding more relief help as the trade deadline approaches is becoming a must.
The bullpen looked headed for some stability with Craig Kimbrel finding his rhythm and others slotting in nicely behind him. After allowing five runs over his first three outings, Kimbrel has a 0.00 ERA in his last eight outings and is perfect in his six save opportunities. While his 15.6 percent walk rate is too high, he’s counteracting that with a .331 OPS against and a 34.4 percent strikeout rate over those eight outings.
Steve Cishek has been brilliant (2.53 ERA), but he’s tied for third in the NL with 48 appearances and unless the Cubs add at least one more reliever for Maddon to call upon in high-leverage situations, he runs the risk of getting burnt out well before October. Lefty Kyle Ryan (just three earned runs in his last 20 appearances) is tied for 16th in appearances and Brandon Kintzler 23rd.
With Pedro Strop struggling, Kintzler may end up being leaned on even more going forward. Strop’s recent issues are also a chance for Rowan Wick, who has been sitting 95-97 mph with his fastball, displayed a solid curveball and has struck out three of the five batters he’s faced in his 1 1/3 innings of work since being recalled earlier this week. He could get some high-leverage work in the coming days.
Strop’s struggles are odd if you look at his peripherals. His strikeout rate (26.6 percent), walk rate (8.3 percent) and swinging-strike rate (16.1 percent) are all the best he’s posted since 2016 and among the best for his career. But the average velocity on both his four-seamer and sinker are the lowest of his career.
Hitters are squaring up those offerings more often, resulting in higher exit velocities on both pitches.
The sinker is what’s hurt Strop the most. Opponents are hitting .571 on the pitch with a 1.500 slugging percentage. He’s using his pitches in a different manner than previous seasons, but the last time he was below 20 percent in sinker usage was 2016. That season, he still had strong results with the pitch. The velocity dip is an issue in that it gives him a smaller margin of error. However, it’s clear that he’s done a terrible job locating the pitch all season long as well.
Back in 2016 (image to the right), Strop was able to locate his sinker on the edges for the most part. This season (image on the left), that sinker, at a reduced velocity, has sat in the middle of the zone far too often. And when it is, hitters are punishing it.
Can Strop find the command of that pitch and get back to being a trusted part of this Cubs bullpen? Can Wick (or someone else currently at Triple A) emerge as a reliable late-game option?
Is a healthy group of position players and García’s emergence a potential cure to what ails an inconsistent offense?
One thing is for certain: with a week before the deadline, the Cubs can’t rely on all that happening. Moves must be made to continue to improve this roster, otherwise unexpected occurrences — like Strop struggling or random injuries — will inevitably keep this team from achieving its goals. As the last four games showed, a nice start to the second half didn’t change that. Sending Russell down to the minors is a nice first step in correcting this team’s issues. But activity from Theo Epstein and company over the next seven days will be essential.
I imagine Theo wants to see what Happ might be able to contribute before going for help from outside the organization.
The Cubs are now tied with red hot St. Louis, and just 2 games ahead of Milwaukee with road series at both on tap (the Cubs are absolutely worthless on the road by the way).
Do you guys want the Cubs to make aggressive moves? I'm not sure they win the division anyway, and I don't like their chances of beating LA to get to the WS. The farm system is in shambles, the starting rotation is old, and it's time to start to look ahead a bit. The Cubs can still contend around their young positional core in 2020-2021, but I am deeply concerned about Theo leaving the org in shambles in 2021 after more "win now" moves that backfire.
Do you guys want the Cubs to make aggressive moves? I'm not sure they win the division anyway, and I don't like their chances of beating LA to get to the WS. The farm system is in shambles, the starting rotation is old, and it's time to start to look ahead a bit. The Cubs can still contend around their young positional core in 2020-2021, but I am deeply concerned about Theo leaving the org in shambles in 2021 after more "win now" moves that backfire.
Holland against lefties this year: .182 BA against with a 76% ground ball rate. Sounds like a Yelich specialist.
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You said the EXACT same thing when Theo got Cargo on the cheap. It's a cosmetic improvement and basically replaces Montgomery.
Was there really any cost to the Cargo signing ? He didn’t work and they moved on.
Not like they gave up anything
LOW cost/low return. That signing and the Holland acquisition today doesn't accomplish much. Read the comments from the dialed in posters here and you'll see where the emphasis should be.
Get a real leadoff guy and a second baseman. Then find that dependable set up arm. I realize the task is made harder when your farm system is barren.
meh, he's on par with Russell if you compare stats (based on full year)
Sogard (281 AB's)
.299 10HR 30 RBI
Russell (146 AB's)
.247 6 HR 16 RBI
When you don’t have money or trade assets would are you supposed to do
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