2016 WS Champions/Cubs Thread

[SenorGato]

1 hour ago, Scott Dierking said:

How often did you watch him play?

Scotttaaaaaaaaay.....Good morning, still go **** yourself!! I can tell you missed the sh*t out of me ya dirty **** you!

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Paredes went 1/4 with a HBP and a throwing error in his SB debut. Of course the big thing with this call up is that he's set up to play full season ball at 18, ala Gleyber Torres, who (whom?) Paredes outperformed in the AZL at the plate. The 17 YO IFA had an ~11% K rare and nearly 10% XBH rate to go with a .305/.359/.443 line in 185 PAs. My favourite thing about his AZL run was that he had a 5 K game in his 4th pro outing, came back and got the game winning hit off the bench the next night, and hit .325/.373/.477 with a 7.8% K rate and ~11% XBHs in the 167 PAs after.

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19 YO Eloy Jimenez, the top prospect in the Cubs' minors and big breakout guy in 2016, was selected to play in the AFL. The AFL is ~AA level of competition, so it should be a nice test for Jimenez. He will likely open next year in High A unless he blows the league out of the water. He hit .331/.371/.536 with a 20.4% K rate in A ball this year with Baseball America rating him the best power hitter and most exciting player in the MWL. 

[SenorGato]

Oh duh, Cubs' magic number is down to 12

[SenorGato]

Great day for Heyward. Man, this lineup if he gets going just will not have an easy out outside of the pitcher spot. It's just hysterical to think this lineup can get better with just the in-house talent.

[NJ]

On 8/30/2016 at 7:13 AM, Lith said:

Yeah, the country music sucks, but I would still rather watch a game with a bunch of Jet fans who know how I feel during the highs and the lows instead of sitting by myself in BWW, in front of a TV with no sound and hundreds of streaming Bear fans in the background.  I used to do that every Sunday with my son before he went off to college and then moved to Iowa.  Look forward to seeing you sometime this season.

Back on topic.  Nice win last night.  Great night of baseball, right after Ces walked off in our game, I tuned in just in time to see Contreras and Soler tie the game.  Didn't see your guys win it.  Extra innings after a rain delay was a little too late for me with the alarm going off at 5:15 AM the next morning.  But thanks, we need the help.

 

Stopped in and talked with Pete (mgr/owner) when I went to Cubs /Giants today. 

He said that Mark (DJ) hates country anyway - says we can bring in an Ipod and he'll play off that for the Jet games - Sweet!

[GimmeShelter]

Decent article on Heyward's season.

 

https://theathletic.com/17113/2016/08/13/sheehan-for-the-cubs-jason-heyward-stands-tall-hits-small/

[SenorGato]

That article doesn't say anything that hasn't been said a million times this year, and The Athletic as a whole is just a bad idea. That said, reblogging mediocre content is a big step up from a dozen pages of trolling. Baby steps! 

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With the minor league season winding down....Some #Hottakes on the minor league pitching:

- Dylan Cease will make his last start of the regular season tomorrow. Over his last 4 outings he has given up 6 Hs and 1 ER with 29 Ks in 16 IP. He's K'd 56 in 39.2 IP with just a single HR and 26 Hs allowed, routinely hitting the mid-upper 90s. I doubt he will ever be a workhorse in a rotation, but on a per inning basis he could be dominant if his arm survives the minor league crawl. My guess is that the Cubs will allow him to move as quickly as possible next year once in full season ball since he's already had TJ.

- Trevor Clifton had the year I hoped for in MB, showing himself to be a better prospect than the more hyped Duane Underwood. He'd outperformed Underwood the whole way through, but Underwood was a year ahead and had a pretty ERA so he got the attention last year. This year Clifton K'd 129 in 119 with just 97 hits and 4 HRs allowed. He reminds me loosely of current Cubs reliever Justin Grimm with his fastball/curve combo. With Edwards Jr. graduated, he's really the only full season arm I like on the farm and think could make the Cubs if he's still around in a couple years.

- Rob Zastryzny has looked surprisingly competent as a MLer. There may be a role for him on next year's team as a LH MR with Travis Wood likely on his last legs with the org. 

- Pierce Johnson has looked much better coming out of the pen. Since switching to relief he has K'd 35 in 22 IP, allowing only 13 hits. Unfortunately, 3 of those hits have been HRs. I can't say I've ever been a fan of Johnson, always saw him as a reliever and not a particularly exciting one thanks to his breaking ball outpacing his fastball, but he should collect some ML pay checks.

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Slappy Almora has hit .26something with an OBP in the .270s and a SLG pushing .330 since getting sent back down. Cubs fans are eager to give this guy a job next year but I prefer trading him this offseason in whatever SP deal they make. I think Heyward fills the quota on glove first starting OFs, I'm not eager to see Heyward's 2016 replicated or worse.

[no psls]

OK - I concede the regular season - win 110 games and lose in the first round of the playoffs - Cubbie Baseball !!!!

[RutgersJetFan]

1 hour ago, no psls said:

OK - I concede the regular season - win 110 games and lose in the first round of the playoffs - Cubbie Baseball !!!!

Yeah so that's a Mets jersey. Aside from the fact that the Cubs' blues don't have piping, that is definitely O'Neils in Maspeth.

[SenorGato]

3 hours ago, no psls said:

OK I concede the regular season 

Nice of you to catch up to May of this year!

[SenorGato]

22 YO GG caliber SS Addison Russell has 20 HRs, a .763 OPS (league .741), has dropped 5.4% off of last year's K rate, and increased his hard contact rate by 4%. He's also improved as a baserunner all around. 

[NJ]

18 hours ago, SenorGato said:

22 YO GG caliber SS Addison Russell has 20 HRs, a .763 OPS (league .741), has dropped 5.4% off of last year's K rate, and increased his hard contact rate by 4%. He's also improved as a baserunner all around. 

Addi is money.

Thank you Jeff Samardzija for having a very trade worthy first half in 2014 and then resorting to your pedestrian self.

Thank you Billy Beane for going for it in 2014 and giving us the cornerstone of our infield.

  

[SenorGato]

20 hours ago, NJ said:

Addi is money.

He personifies the Cubs - a player, former top shelf prospect, with almost all the boxes checked on being an elite MLer while still being young enough that he can be much better over the next 2-3 years. 

This is pretty corny:

https://mobile.twitter.com/Addison_Russell/status/773991013786411008

but they also likely paid him so all is well.

[SenorGato]

BTW the two best teenagers in the org - Eloy Jimenez and Isaac Paredes - got promoted for the playoffs. Jimenez went to High A and will play in the AFL at 19 this year. Paredes at 17 made the jump from the AZL, where he opened as the second youngest player in the league and hit .305/.359/.443, to full season A ball in South Bend. Both had promising performances periphs wise and continue on an excellent track as bat prospects.

Scientifically using science, it is pretty obvious these two will make up for Soler and Baez not turning into the studly star starters they should have been for the Cubs.

[Scott Dierking]

9 hours ago, SenorGato said:

BTW the two best teenagers in the org - Eloy Jimenez and Isaac Paredes - got promoted for the playoffs. Jimenez went to High A and will play in the AFL at 19 this year. Paredes at 17 made the jump from the AZL, where he opened as the second youngest player in the league and hit .305/.359/.443, to full season A ball in South Bend. Both had promising performances periphs wise and continue on an excellent track as bat prospects.

Scientifically using science, it is pretty obvious these two will make up for Soler and Baez not turning into the studly star starters they should have been for the Cubs.

OK kitty cat, I admit it. You got me and got me good. I am the one that got, got.

You are the one that was trolling us. Throwing out all of this minor and HS talent and actually trying to make us believe that you had had insight, when you are just posturing and throwing others thoughts there as if they were your own. You had us believing that you actually believed what you were saying. Great job. 

But you screwed up on this one, You tried a little too hard, Great job, you old trollmeister! 

[SenorGato]

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/the-legend-of-shohei-otani-grows-after-throwing-fastest-pitch-ever-in-japan-001630360.html

Quote

Japanese ace Shohei Otani has already given Major League Baseball teams plenty of reasons to drool over him, but he added another Tuesday: Otani, a 22-year-old pitcher for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, threw the fastest pitch ever recorded in the history of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball organization.

Otani hit 164 kph, which translates to 101.9 mph, breaking his own mark of 163 kph, set earlier this season. Interestingly enough, the fastest pitch ever in Japanese pro baseball was knocked into the outfield for a two-run single.

Don’t let that ruin the Otani hype train, though. Get ready to hear his name a lot, since he figures to one of the next big Japanese stars that MLB teams will be courting. He struck out nine in five innings Tuesday, giving him 142 K’s this season in 118 innings. In one start this season, he threw 31 pitches that were 99 mph or faster.

All this is enough to earn Otani the title of the most intriguing pitching prospect in the world, according to some. But there’s one more particularly fascinating wrinkle in Otani’s story, and it might even be better than the 102 mph fastball.

Otani is also one of the best hitters in Japanese baseball. He’s the winner of this year’s NPB Home Run Derby, he ranks seventh in the league in homers and he’s his team’s go-to DH. He also leads the NPB in OPS at 1.036, which is higher than even the MLB leader, Davis Ortiz at 1.034. Everybody knew Otani was a good pitcher, but he’s having a breakout season at the plate too, improving his slash from .202/.252/.376 in 2015 to .326/.425/.611 this season.

 

Can't wait until this dude hits the market. The Cubs will pounce to pretend surprise from the mainstream.

[SenorGato]

Jimenez finally took a K as a Pelican. 1 in 12 PAs for a 19 YO thrown into a championship series? I'll take it. He even worked 3 walks, including a 7 pitch on in his first game. Isaac Paredes struck out twice in his 2something A ball PAs. That's good enough for me, even though neither has mashed initially.

If you're wondering why the emphasis on K rates for hitters - see FamGraphs' KATOH posts. I generally agree with the principle that K rates are a very predictive stat, particularly in the low minors. There's exceptions - see Kris Byrant's minor league dominance - but they are extremely, extremely rare and require significant power.

[SenorGato]

Myrtle Beach needs 6 more outs to capture their second league championship in a row. They joined the Cubs in 2015. Top prospects are Trevor Clifton mentioned above, Eloy Jimenez mentioned times and recently called up, and Donnie Dewees.

I should also mention that Victor Caratini, a switch hitting catcher, made the AA Southern League postseason All Star team. He will be joining Jimenez in the AFL.

[RutgersJetFan]

[The Crusher]

Hey.  No personal attacks. That go's double for bringing someone family into it.  If you can't get along avoid each other. Game in 40 minutes, go watch the game and cool out!!!

[SenorGato]

Looks like the trolls got the first one. That sucks.

The good thing is that thread spanned the rebuild and got only to the tip of the iceberg as far as how good this franchise is set up to be for a long time. Right now they're set up to be the cream of the crop for the the next 3 years, still in that hunt over the next 5, and will likely be the richest team in baseball at the end of the decade when they will cash in on media rights. This franchise is here to stay, and so long as they continue to field elite teams the rings will come.

Magic number for 2016 is 1

[RutgersJetFan]

That'll show them.

[SenorGato]

4 minutes ago, RutgersJetFan said:

That'll show them.

Said Marvel to DC, amirite?!?!

[Maxman]

Adding to Crusher's thoughts....

I just deleted about 20 posts. I got PMs from two posters in this thread. You guys should both be banned, this is just complete garbage. Guess what? I don't care who is right and I don't care who started it. Put each other on ignore.

This thread is locked, I will consider opening it again in a few days.

Please don't PM me with any explanations. It doesn't matter. You two just need to ignore each other. Fighting like this is embarrassing and we won't have any of it here.

One thing I would like to repeat...please please please don't PM me trying to explain. Let's just move past it and talk Jets football.

[no psls]

But what have the Cubbies won so far ?

[SenorGato]

Eloy Jimenez is on BA's minor league AS team:

Quote

 

OF Eloy Jimenez • Cubs
Low Class A South Bend (Midwest)

Jimenez took another giant step forward in his development in 2016, when the 19-year-old took home Midwest League MVP honors in a season in which the left fielder ranked third in the league batting race (.329) while leading the circuit in doubles (40) and slugging (.532). Jimenez, the top international talent available in 2013, doesn’t walk much and his long levers create holes in his swing, but the righthanded-hitting Dominican makes enough hard contact to thrive.

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/minor-league-star-team-2016/#vJCvmDbKMhBT8ac4.99

BA also had their end of year Cubs minor league report with stuff on Jimenez, Minir League pitcher of the year Trevor Clifton, and RHs Jose Albertos and Oscar de la Cruz:

“It’s hard to believe when you look at him sometimes that he’s 19, when you see how advanced he is at the plate with his approach,” farm director Jaron Madison, who considers the 6-foot-4 Jimenez’s ability to stay healthy all year a major step in his development, said. “He still swings and misses, but he’s made adjustments.”

On de la Cruz, who I see in the mold of Ivan Nova:
 

The Cubs have him scheduled for instructional league and possibly some Dominican League play to accumulate innings. If all goes well, he should start 2017 at high Class A.

Keep An Eye On: Righthander Jose Albertos, 17, is another potential power starter in the mold of De La Cruz, with a fastball that touched 97 mph early in the season before the Cubs shut him down after one Rookie-level start because of forearm soreness.

Despite no report of structural damage, the Cubs shut him down before slowly working him back into pitching shape, and Albertos will build up some instructional league innings before going into next spring.

The 6-foot-1 build is mature for his age, and Madison calls him a “stuff guy,” who “commands both sides of the plate with a breaking ball and a 70 changeup.”

Isaac Paredes made the AZL All Star team, remains my favorite long term sleeper in the org.

[no psls]

23 hours ago, no psls said:

But what have the Cubbies won so far ?

The silence is deafening !!!!

[GimmeShelter]

Congrats to Cubs & fan base on clinching NL Central. Hopefully Mets get to see them again in postseason.

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reporting that Heyward may platoon in post season due to third lowest OPS among regulars in MLB. I wasn't aware things had gotten to that point.

[SenorGato]

 

33 minutes ago, GimmeShelter said:

Congrats to Cubs & fan base on clinching NL Central. Hopefully Mets get to see them again in postseason.

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reporting that Heyward may platoon in post season due to third lowest OPS among regulars in MLB. I wasn't aware things had gotten to that point.

They haven't, it's speculation since September is dragging along at a snail's pace and it's the one legit negative to go after on this team. 

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So the Cubs are at least top 5 in every major category in the NL and most of this roster is either early or mid prime with multiple years away from FA. The defense has been making headlines lately for being historically good. This defense is part of why it's unlikely the Heyward situation gets to platoon status, along with his productive postseason past, as Heyward has been the premier defensive OF in baseball and one of the handful best defensive players overall this decade.

[SenorGato]

Today's lineup is hilarious:

https://mobile.twitter.com/CSNCubs/status/777189812998541312

Bryant continues to prove he clearly does not drink. I'm happy for Kawasaki, that guy's awesome.

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Eloy continues to pile up attention:

Quote

Eloy Jimenez, OF, Cubs' No. 2

The Cubs gave Jimenez $2.8 million back in the summer of 2013 during an international spending spree, and this year the 19-year-old outfielder really started showing what all of the fuss was about. Making his full-season debut, Jimenez topped the Midwest League in slugging percentage and OPS, finished second in total bases and third in batting average. He was also in the top 10 in home runs. Jimenez had his coming-out party on a national stage with his long home run and acrobatic catch in the Futures Game. He's now No. 24 on the Top 100, after not even entering the conversation at the start of the season.

 

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/201368102/10-prospects-who-raised-their-stock-in-2016/?topicid=151437456

 

The other guy on that list this board should know is Rosario, IMO a top ten overall prospect in the game.

 

[Maxman]

Let's talk baseball again. @SenorGato you should have been banned for mentioning someone else's family. Really low move. You have been here a long time, so we will give you the benefit of the doubt on your really bad judgement.

That said, avoid personal attacks, fighting and just put people on Ignore.

Let's go Cubbies...

[faba]

Congrats to the Cubs unless they play the Mets

[GimmeShelter]

6 hours ago, SenorGato said:

They haven't, it's speculation since September is dragging along at a snail's pace and it's the one legit negative to go after on this team.

I don't think Rosenthal was going after anything but rather simply reporting something he had heard. 

It's good that Heyward's offensive  shortcomings get lost in that line-up but I'd be curious if Theo and the FO would like a do-over on Castro, Heyward and Zobrist deals if given the opportunity. If they get a ring for Chicago it won't matter either way.

[SenorGato]

2 hours ago, GimmeShelter said:

I don't think Rosenthal was going after anything but rather simply reporting something he had heard. 

It's good that Heyward's offensive  shortcomings get lost in that line-up but I'd be curious if Theo and the FO would like a do-over on Castro, Heyward and Zobrist deals if given the opportunity. If they get a ring for Chicago it won't matter either way.

Yes, he was reporting some speculation he's heard during a slow month. 

They wouldn't want a redo on any of those deals. I have no idea why they'd even consider regretting Castro or Zobrist. Castro a very limited player, though I'm glad he hit some HRs this year. While Zobrist is a weirdo with a weirder wife, he's still an excellent player and fits the overall philosophy much moreso than Castro. Heyward's not a one year thing and will be all of 27 most of next season - no one's full out panicking yet given the previous 3000+ PAs he's taken.

[NJ]

11 hours ago, Maxman said:

Let's go Cubbies...

Props to The Northsiders for putting together a great regular season. 

That said - nobody gives a white rats rear end about the Central Division Championship as it means very little other than it's punched ticket to the rest of the dance.

The hard work is in front of us - lots of time to celebrate if we win some jewelry - now's not that time.  

[Maxman]

1 hour ago, NJ said:

Props to The Northsiders for putting together a great regular season. 

That said - nobody gives a white rats rear end about the Central Division Championship as it means very little other than it's punched ticket to the rest of the dance.

The hard work is in front of us - lots of time to celebrate if we win some jewelry - now's not that time.  

You might want to sneak in a World Series this year. The Yankees are about to start another dynasty.  But I won't hijack this thread.