NJ Posted April 3, 2017 Share Posted April 3, 2017 4 hours ago, The Troll said: Well, **** Relief pitching is going to be an issue. Stroup, Rondon, and Grimm - all have magical stuff - until they can't throw it for strikes. Which is unfortunately most every time they touch the ball. I was happy to see Montgomery get the relief role between he and Anderson - but anyone thinking he's going to morph into Andrew Miller is trippin. He's a good arm that is maybe a 4th or 5th starter on some clubs. Wade Davis is not a guaranteed sure thing stopper in my book - and then there's his arm issues. Brian Deunsing????? Hopefully he's not supposed to be the savior. Koji and CJ should be fine. Good news is we have a surplus of trade bait and there will be plenty of teams selling pitching by July. (listen to me sounding like a Yankee Fan) Martinez was, as expected, killer last night. I'm looking forward to seeing many of these young bats mature even more against that caliber of pitching cause they're damn sure going to see it in LA, SF, Pitt, NY, and WAS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SenorGato Posted April 9, 2017 Author Share Posted April 9, 2017 Happ and Candelario already with a couple HRs a piece at Iowa. The pitchers are not dead yet - Cease struck out 8 during his season debut (4+ innings). One of my favorite things about this 2017 team is that they have the farm to fill any hole, I'm thinking OF and pitcher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SenorGato Posted April 10, 2017 Author Share Posted April 10, 2017 I have to say that Isaac Paredes is like...on a very short path leading to being both a stud and my favorite prospect. ****in love the offensive skill set he has shown as a pro. The 18 YO IF is in full season ball, rare as a muh as it is, and went 3/4 with a couple doubles today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJ Posted April 10, 2017 Share Posted April 10, 2017 2 hours ago, SenorGato said: I have to say that Isaac Paredes is like...on a very short path leading to being both a stud and my favorite prospect. ****in love the offensive skill set he has shown as a pro. The 18 YO IF is in full season ball, rare as a muh as it is, and went 3/4 with a couple doubles today. Want to try and get to South Bend and see a game when Cease is tossing and will check him out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJ Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 On 4/9/2017 at 7:54 AM, SenorGato said: Happ and Candelario already with a couple HRs a piece at Iowa. The pitchers are not dead yet - Cease struck out 8 during his season debut (4+ innings). One of my favorite things about this 2017 team is that they have the farm to fill any hole, I'm thinking OF and pitcher. #3 for Happ in 24 AB's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SenorGato Posted April 12, 2017 Author Share Posted April 12, 2017 On 4/9/2017 at 11:12 PM, NJ said: Want to try and get to South Bend and see a game when Cease is tossing and will check him out. Here's what Longenhagen over at FanGraphs wrote about him this week: Quote Isaac Paredes, INF, Chicago (N) (Profile) Level: Low-A Age: 18 Org Rank: 17 Line: 3-for-5, 2 2B Paredes’ name has come up in multiple trade discussions dating back to last summer. He put up favorable numbers last year (KATOH really likes him) and impressed in-person scouts with his bat-to-ball ability, so both scouting and analytics departments have already identified this kid. He’s still playing shortstop but his body is very mature and scouts either think he’s ticketed for second or third base, with some advocating a move behind the plate Two new pieces of info for me: - He came up in trade talks already. - Both the scouts and stats are on this guy. I'm glad to see someone correctly list 2B as a defensive outcome. Catcher would be interesting if he couldn't hit, but maybe hints at what observers think of his baseball IQ, mental makeup, general chutzpah, and even physical tools (even if they're not into the build). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanDoug Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 I think today answered some questions for us. Strop needs something, maybe some new scenery. Deunsing? Please.....and Wade Davis, I'm not sold on. Yes, it's early but some farm for some pen needs to be considered. Or John Jay is expendable as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJ Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 2 hours ago, vanDoug said: I think today answered some questions for us. Strop needs something, maybe some new scenery. Deunsing? Please.....and Wade Davis, I'm not sold on. Yes, it's early but some farm for some pen needs to be considered. Or John Jay is expendable as well. I stand by my thoughts on 4/3 Doug - which I've carried the last 2 years. Stroup, Rondon, and Grimm - all have magical stuff - until they can't throw it for strikes. Which is unfortunately most every time they touch the ball. Intercourse all 3 of them. Deunsing is atrocious. The aforementioned ( minus Rondon who didn't get the chance to step on his pickle) have cost the Cubs 2 games in as many days and will cost them many more for as long as they're around. Today's unfortunate circumstance was CJ Edwards going on bereavement leave yesterday which kept him from being available and either day and putting Duensing on the active roster and consequently the mound to give up most of a healthy lead until "Stroupie" came in to put us in the hole to stay. John Jay is a pretty good outfielder/stick and is a very solid clubhouse guy but I think Almora needs to be out in CF most of the time and Joe sticking Ja-Hey in center is largely to get Baez in the game with Zobrist in right. So yes - he kind of is expendable. He's going to be real expendable if Ian Happ's next 80 AB's are anything like his first 40 in AAA ball. Bottom line - we've got the trade bait and the dough to get pen help as we move forward this year We'll have to see when enough is enough for Jed/Joe/Theo - I've had enough of those 3 stooges long ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanDoug Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 Thanks John, I appreciate your opinion. It was weird watching today - our pen getting hit, throwing walks and beaning batters. The Pirates pen striking our guys out or otherwise getting out of trouble. Uehera was difficult to watch. Grimm as well. 1-0 becomes 1-6 and .500 ball. Not the end of the world. Lucky enough to be going to the Rockies series in Denver early May. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJ Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 24 minutes ago, vanDoug said: Thanks John, I appreciate your opinion. It was weird watching today - our pen getting hit, throwing walks and beaning batters. The Pirates pen striking our guys out or otherwise getting out of trouble. Uehera was difficult to watch. Grimm as well. 1-0 becomes 1-6 and .500 ball. Not the end of the world. Lucky enough to be going to the Rockies series in Denver early May. Uehara has been money - til today. No reliever is going to be on every time he's one of the few good ones we have I believe. Grimm sucks donkey balls and has with the exception some rare statistical anomalies. He needs to go away. We'll see how long Jed/Joe/Theo want to keep him and the other 2 dildos around. 3rd week of the season isn't really the time to be making any trade moves but they can put them down and bring some kids up from the minors. It couldn't be worse. PBurgh is a good club and will need to be reckoned with - but the pen giving them every game in the series isn't a sustainable plan to get to the pennant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJ Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 On 4/16/2017 at 9:02 PM, NJ said: Grimm sucks donkey balls and has with the exception some rare statistical anomalies. He needs to go away. Please get rid of this pos - cut him. He threw 16 pitches - 11 of them were balls and walked a run in He was about to walk his 2nd run in and with a 3-2 count, he threw meat which got hit like a laser but stayed in the park for the 3rd out. Shame of it is he didn't even get tagged for an earned run in this latest abomination. Joes happy cause he won - fact is it wouldn't have gone extra innings if he didn't bring this slug in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SenorGato Posted April 24, 2017 Author Share Posted April 24, 2017 Jason Heyward back from the dead is my favorite thing about this year's team already. According to Statcast data on launch angles and exit velocity he is actually the least lucky Cubs hitter so far this season: https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/statcast_search?hfPT=&hfAB=&hfBBT=&hfPR=&hfZ=&stadium=&hfBBL=&hfNewZones=&hfGT=R|&hfC=&hfSea=2017|&hfSit=&player_type=batter&hfOuts=&opponent=&pitcher_throws=&batter_stands=&hfSA=&game_date_gt=&game_date_lt=&team=CHC&position=&hfRO=&home_road=&hfFlag=&metric_1=&hfInn=&min_pitches=0&min_results=0&group_by=name&sort_col=wobadiff&player_event_sort=h_launch_speed&sort_order=desc&min_abs=20#results I still will probably want an OF at the deadline along with whatever pitching wants/needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SenorGato Posted May 3, 2017 Author Share Posted May 3, 2017 You know who should be a Cub? Marcus Stroman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJ Posted May 5, 2017 Share Posted May 5, 2017 On 5/3/2017 at 4:05 PM, SenorGato said: You know who should be a Cub? Marcus Stroman Need to start looking seriously, and I'm sure they are. Reliever or 2 is 1st priority but the rotation will be different next year. Good different would be the preference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SenorGato Posted May 5, 2017 Author Share Posted May 5, 2017 48 minutes ago, NJ said: Need to start looking seriously, and I'm sure they are. Reliever or 2 is 1st priority but the rotation will be different next year. Good different would be the preference. Fuuuck that, reliever prices have skyrocketed, they still don't make as much impact as a SP, and they're even less predictable. Trade for a age 24-27 SP (ideally, there are some exceptions) of a higher quality quality, grab a reliever at the back of that trade no different from Shields/Davis and Hamels/Diekman, and add to the overall pitching staff that way. Plus the weakness is in the rotation - the Cubs' bullpen has thrown the 6th most innings of any team, they're the only elite team in that top 10. There's some early worry about the velocity of the top 3 starters. For sure any trade priority should be on SP and then staff/bullpen depth. I like how the Tigers might match with Verlander and Justin Wilson. IIRC Verlander's contract is up after 2019, which coincides with the Cubs also finally reupping their media rights deals and possibly Shohei Otani getting posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJ Posted May 6, 2017 Share Posted May 6, 2017 On 5/5/2017 at 6:39 PM, SenorGato said: Fuuuck that, reliever prices have skyrocketed, they still don't make as much impact as a SP, and they're even less predictable. Trade for a age 24-27 SP (ideally, there are some exceptions) of a higher quality quality, grab a reliever at the back of that trade no different from Shields/Davis and Hamels/Diekman, and add to the overall pitching staff that way. Plus the weakness is in the rotation - the Cubs' bullpen has thrown the 6th most innings of any team, they're the only elite team in that top 10. There's some early worry about the velocity of the top 3 starters. For sure any trade priority should be on SP and then staff/bullpen depth. I like how the Tigers might match with Verlander and Justin Wilson. IIRC Verlander's contract is up after 2019, which coincides with the Cubs also finally reupping their media rights deals and possibly Shohei Otani getting posted. In addressing the needs of this team to repeat, no doubt the starters are the primary problem, but what ain't going to happen before September is getting Lackey and Anderson replaced by better arms. If Arrieta, Lester, and Hendricks don't improve statistically going forward this year and stay at an avg 5.5 innings/game thrown, and Lackey/Anderson (or whoever the new rummy is) don't improve dramatically - we're looking at a minimum 3.5 innings per game from the pen. The safe arms of the pen to protect and close a game are: 1.Davis, and 2.Edwards - Davis cant throw/close every day and Edwards is used as much as is close to safe for his point guard little body. The relatively safe arms for preserving a lead or not allowing a greater disparity when chasing runs are: 3.Uehara, 4.Mongomery, and 5.Rondon The "do you feel lucky? - if so roll the dice" pen arm is 6. Stroup Duensing should be DFA immediately and hopefully Joe was not serious when he said yesterday that Justin Grimm would be back up from AAA soon. Justin Grimm is Horsesh*t and desperately needs to wear another uniform - UPS or otherwise. The Grimm down Pena up move I've been crying for since week 2 - hopefully the kids does well and can stay up. So Catman - how does the aforementioned relief pitcher status become priority #2? I'd love to think we're going to need less innings out of the pen as the season progresses but that's a foolish assumption. Also - lets not assume that the insanely low missed starts number that the Cubs staff has will remain insanely low. There's a small or non-existant chance we have Lackey or Arrieta next year, Lester's a year older and slower. We need starting pitching in a huge way. All I'm saying is this season has a high chance of being a disappointment if there's not an additional dependable reliever or 2 picked up. If we can get a potential or bonafide starter this year that's great and needed - but the existing pen doesn't get us to the post season let alone through it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SenorGato Posted May 7, 2017 Author Share Posted May 7, 2017 15 hours ago, NJ said: In addressing the needs of this team to repeat, no doubt the starters are the primary problem, but what ain't going to happen before September is getting Lackey and Anderson replaced by better arms. If Arrieta, Lester, and Hendricks don't improve statistically going forward this year and stay at an avg 5.5 innings/game thrown, and Lackey/Anderson (or whoever the new rummy is) don't improve dramatically - we're looking at a minimum 3.5 innings per game from the pen. The safe arms of the pen to protect and close a game are: 1.Davis, and 2.Edwards - Davis cant throw/close every day and Edwards is used as much as is close to safe for his point guard little body. The relatively safe arms for preserving a lead or not allowing a greater disparity when chasing runs are: 3.Uehara, 4.Mongomery, and 5.Rondon The "do you feel lucky? - if so roll the dice" pen arm is 6. Stroup Duensing should be DFA immediately and hopefully Joe was not serious when he said yesterday that Justin Grimm would be back up from AAA soon. Justin Grimm is Horsesh*t and desperately needs to wear another uniform - UPS or otherwise. The Grimm down Pena up move I've been crying for since week 2 - hopefully the kids does well and can stay up. So Catman - how does the aforementioned relief pitcher status become priority #2? I'd love to think we're going to need less innings out of the pen as the season progresses but that's a foolish assumption. Also - lets not assume that the insanely low missed starts number that the Cubs staff has will remain insanely low. There's a small or non-existant chance we have Lackey or Arrieta next year, Lester's a year older and slower. We need starting pitching in a huge way. All I'm saying is this season has a high chance of being a disappointment if there's not an additional dependable reliever or 2 picked up. If we can get a potential or bonafide starter this year that's great and needed - but the existing pen doesn't get us to the post season let alone through it. Wait, what? Why? Even if we were to pretend that trades can't happen until then, there's the real shot that Montgomery is already better than Anderson. As far as it being a foolish assumption that the bullpen will throw fewer innings this year than they currently are: Unless all three guys at the TOR are hurt or actually going to have full bad seasons, they're going to get better. sh*t, even 1/3 of that group pitching like normal moves the margins on the bullpen usage. Then there's the 6 man rotation they'll use a few times this year. Not to mention the bullpen was built for some turnover in season, as its standard for a contender to need/want more bullpen depth. They're not married to a Duensing signing, they paid that guy less than they did Phil Coke. We're already seeing a little of how they plan to manage the bullpen in the first half with Pena and Zastrzny, optionable AAA depth, getting their first callups of the season. Finally, it's just a given that they'll pick up an outside reliever or more because every contender ever does it year in and year out, it's the most generic first division need/want and move before and even after the trade deadline. Anyway, I still don't get the September thing. Also, as dramatic as you're being over Grimm and Strop - two arms I was bored with even before this year - they're not nearly as dramatically bad as you make it seem. They've come out like sh*t this year, not some otherworldly event exclusive to them in the history of baseball to come out scufflIng, but normally they're fine and easily something a good team can work with - particularly since Davis and Edwards are both legit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SenorGato Posted May 7, 2017 Author Share Posted May 7, 2017 Btw they ran circles around the league last year despite the bullpen having only one marquee guy - a mid season add at that - in Chapman. Davis and Edwards make two now and bumped all the guys throwing premium innings for the 2016 champs down a notch. It ain't the bullpen, not in any extraordinarily unique way, and it's still a given that turnover will happen anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJ Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 On 6/7/2016 at 10:22 AM, SenorGato said: Honestly, Grimm's a well above average ML reliever, just not an elite guy. Just saw it tweeted this loser was on a plane back to O'Hare this am - His problem is simple - he cant throw strikes with his breaking pitches - never could and never will consistently. After he's walked a couple he'll throw meat - which fortunately for him sometimes stays in the park and is hit at somebody. He had a good ERA in 2015 while averaging almost 5 walks per 9 inn. Hope he crashes and burns worse this time up so he can go away so he can go away for good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJ Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 7 hours ago, SenorGato said: Btw they ran circles around the league last year despite the bullpen having only one marquee guy - a mid season add at that - in Chapman. Davis and Edwards make two now and bumped all the guys throwing premium innings for the 2016 champs down a notch. It ain't the bullpen, not in any extraordinarily unique way, and it's still a given that turnover will happen anyway. Your statement somewhat defines the problem. Edwards is seldom sitting around with rest to come in when Davis needs a rest and we need a stopper. He's already been used as the highest probability "safe-bet" to come in when the games close to chew up some of the 4 relief innings a game we've been averaging. Joe is very smart to not over work Davis with his forearm issues. If he goes down, we're probably pulling "wait till next year" out of the sayings vault. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SenorGato Posted May 7, 2017 Author Share Posted May 7, 2017 4 hours ago, NJ said: Your statement somewhat defines the problem. Edwards is seldom sitting around with rest to come in when Davis needs a rest and we need a stopper. He's already been used as the highest probability "safe-bet" to come in when the games close to chew up some of the 4 relief innings a game we've been averaging. Joe is very smart to not over work Davis with his forearm issues. If he goes down, we're probably pulling "wait till next year" out of the sayings vault. As dramatic as this all sounds if this team's biggest flaw is that there's only two dominant relievers, they're still going to be better than anyone who isn't surprisingly good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJ Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 16 hours ago, SenorGato said: Also, as dramatic as you're being over Grimm and Strop - two arms I was bored with even before this year - they're not nearly as dramatically bad as you make it seem. Yeah - Grimm isn't bad. He's wonderful. Great addition to any pen so long as winning baseball games isn't a priority. That piece of sh*t is hopefully outta here again after his mastery of the mound just put the game out of reach for the Yanks. so happy he could fly up to schwanse the game for us - again. And don't accuse me of putting Stroup in the same category - I defined him as exactly what he is - a Do You Feel Lucky guy who's only going to hurt you about 30 - 40% of the time and will otherwise get some outs. Around where most clubs lower end of relatively safe arms are at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SenorGato Posted May 8, 2017 Author Share Posted May 8, 2017 5 hours ago, NJ said: Yeah - Grimm isn't bad. He's wonderful. Great addition to any pen so long as winning baseball games isn't a priority. That piece of sh*t is hopefully outta here again after his mastery of the mound just put the game out of reach for the Yanks. so happy he could fly up to schwanse the game for us - again. And don't accuse me of putting Stroup in the same category - I defined him as exactly what he is - a Do You Feel Lucky guy who's only going to hurt you about 30 - 40% of the time and will otherwise get some outs. Around where most clubs lower end of relatively safe arms are at. Yeah again, as dramatic, well reasoned, and as big a deal as 3 May interleague losses are, Grimm was really good in 2015 and good last year. I know the Cubs were only in the NLCS and then WS champs those two years so they weren't *really* trying to win, but yeah it's possible to have a successful team with Justin Grimm on staff. The funny thing is this year they rely less on him than any previous year he's been with the club. He's behind more relievers on the depth chart than ever before, there's more depth behind him than has been previously but it's definitely the biggest of deals that Grimm has had a bad month and 7 days of the season. He'll totally topple the Cubs, what's been built is so fragile that one of their middle relievers sh*tting the bed early can bring it all down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chirorob Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 Not gonna gloat too much. It's just 3 days in May, so it doesn't mean much. But that was a good weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJ Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 1 hour ago, chirorob said: Not gonna gloat too much. It's just 3 days in May, so it doesn't mean much. But that was a good weekend. The Bombers are hitting well, Rob. And had a couple of pretty damn good pitching performances. Looks like their rebuild could be ahead of schedule. Good ball games (cept Saturday) even if we were on the losing end of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chirorob Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 26 minutes ago, NJ said: The Bombers are hitting well, Rob. And had a couple of pretty damn good pitching performances. Looks like their rebuild could be ahead of schedule. Good ball games (cept Saturday) even if we were on the losing end of them. Good Games, both teams didn't quit. Like I said, it's May, not October. You guys need a starter to come out and give you a 7-8 inning game. Your pen pitched great last night, but they threw a lot of innings in the last 2 days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SenorGato Posted May 8, 2017 Author Share Posted May 8, 2017 6 hours ago, chirorob said: Not gonna gloat too much. It's just 3 days in May, so it doesn't mean much. But that was a good weekend. I was irked with not enough Gary Sanchez, but was glad Severino got the SN game. He's legit too. An elite hitting C and SP are a great way to start a rebuild. I'm rooting pretty hard for Severino to become the best home grown SP on a NYC team this decade ever since the Mets broke Syndergaard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chirorob Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 29 minutes ago, SenorGato said: I was irked with not enough Gary Sanchez, but was glad Severino got the SN game. He's legit too. An elite hitting C and SP are a great way to start a rebuild. I'm rooting pretty hard for Severino to become the best home grown SP on a NYC team this decade ever since the Mets broke Syndergaard. Sanchez just got back, so I have no problems with easing him back. They should be getting good production up the middle, with SS, 2B, and Catcher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJ Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 14 hours ago, SenorGato said: Grimm was really good in 2015 and good last year. I know the Cubs were only in the NLCS and then WS champs those two years so they weren't *really* trying to win, but yeah it's possible to have a successful team with Justin Grimm on staff. The funny thing is this year they rely less on him than any previous year he's been with the club. He's behind more relievers on the depth chart than ever before, there's more depth behind him than has been previously but it's definitely the biggest of deals that Grimm has had a bad month and 7 days of the season. He'll totally topple the Cubs, what's been built is so fragile that one of their middle relievers sh*tting the bed early can bring it all down. Really good in 2015? Right-o metrics genius - he was gold. Too bad his great ERA didn't help out his 3-5 record or 50% save % Want to talk ERA? 2016 year he was good? - especially in the WS - his 18.00 ERA was magical. Thank God they only let him throw one inning in the NLCS. His saving grace in your metrics world is they seldom if ever put him in when a save can be awarded or blown. But your silly assertion that I'm stating Justin Grimm is the primary problem of the 2017 Chicago Cubs is .. well .. wrong .. and pretty off track from the topic. All's I'm saying is he's needing to go away sooner than later because the DRAMATIC run differential the Cubs had already started to build by this time last season - isn't being enjoyed - and the potential for its reappearance is unknown. They can ill afford to have a pitcher that's giving games away as part of the staff. You say he's ok and no problem - I say you're wrong. We'll see Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SenorGato Posted May 9, 2017 Author Share Posted May 9, 2017 46 minutes ago, NJ said: Really good in 2015? Right-o metrics genius - he was gold. Too bad his great ERA didn't help out his 3-5 record or 50% save % Want to talk ERA? 2016 year he was good? - especially in the WS - his 18.00 ERA was magical. Thank God they only let him throw one inning in the NLCS. His saving grace in your metrics world is they seldom if ever put him in when a save can be awarded or blown. But your silly assertion that I'm stating Justin Grimm is the primary problem of the 2017 Chicago Cubs is .. well .. wrong .. and pretty off track from the topic. All's I'm saying is he's needing to go away sooner than later because the DRAMATIC run differential the Cubs had already started to build by this time last season - isn't being enjoyed - and the potential for its reappearance is unknown. They can ill afford to have a pitcher that's giving games away as part of the staff. You say he's ok and no problem - I say you're wrong. We'll see Actual silly assertions in this discussion: - That W-L record, save%, and the ERA from 2 innings in one series are totally definitely things. In "my metrics world" citing those would be grounds to be laughed out of the discussion. Most definitely do they qualify for silly. I'm half thinking you're not being serious even bringing those up. - That the Cubs' run differential today not matching last year at this time is something to worry. They were playing at a historic pace at this time last year, matching it isn't necessarily the highest priority. This time last year the Cubs' run differential meant nothing to you, now it's a big deal. - That I said he's either OK and no problem. Clearly, as I've already said, he has had a bad month+ to open the season. This has happened before, alot actually, to players who still aren't nearly as dramatically bad as you like to imagine based on save%, W-L, and not just ERA but ERA after two innings. This is a team with the 7th most runs scored in the league with just Bryant and a couple role players hitting (Jay, Almora, Montero) well. A team that can score runs in it's sleep isn't relying on their bullpen to the point where everyone has to be super amazing awesome all the time. From there, the team was built with turnover in mind for the bullpen. Montgomery is part of the SP depth chart, Duensing was given less money than a guy they cut in April two years ago, they signed an extremely injury prone 5th starter in Anderson, they made several moves for better AAA P depth with the understanding that just between those three roster spots there will be flux. This is not the time to, again, pay a premium for a reliever. It would already be silly to do that two years in a row, to do it with a much more obvious hole(s, even) is outright foolish. Not only is the whole rotation struggling anyway, but the only 2018 rotation locks are Lester and Hendricks. They'll likely buy a SP, probably pick up a reliever in that same trade like several teams have done because there's a billion relievers out there. It's not something to fret about in May unless you buy that almost this entire roster is locked into a down year or something else unrealistic. It's just noise, no difference when it was more fun noise last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJ Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 3 hours ago, SenorGato said: - That W-L record, save%, and the ERA from 2 innings in one series are totally definitely things. In "my metrics world" citing those would be grounds to be laughed out of the discussion. Most definitely do they qualify for silly. I'm half thinking you're not being serious even bringing those up. The W-L, save %, and ERA stated were from his "Real Good" season you liked in 2015. I didn't like him then and don't now. He's not likable. Run differential is important when it correlates directly to your record. Otherwise who gives a sh!t if you're beating teams by 2 runs or 8 runs. My reference to it relating to having a reliever who's likely to contribute strongly to losing a game 75% of the time he takes the mound is: you don't have any games to waste (lose) and you don't have a bunch of runs some pinhead can give up and still have a lead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SenorGato Posted May 9, 2017 Author Share Posted May 9, 2017 23 hours ago, NJ said: The W-L, save %, and ERA stated were from his "Real Good" season you liked in 2015. I didn't like him then and don't now. He's not likable. Run differential is important when it correlates directly to your record. Otherwise who gives a sh!t if you're beating teams by 2 runs or 8 runs. My reference to it relating to having a reliever who's likely to contribute strongly to losing a game 75% of the time he takes the mound is: you don't have any games to waste (lose) and you don't have a bunch of runs some pinhead can give up and still have a lead. The thing is this is even less relevant than W-L record, save%, and two innings worth of ERA. Those are still metrics that would be laughed out of the room, they don't suddenly become more meaningful or telling because they're from 2015. From there, who cares if you like him or not? I don't particularly like him either. It could not possibly matter less, nor does it change that he was good in 2015 and 2016. Your logic doesn't even follow a straight path here - you're arguing that he was terrible then and the team can't win with terrible, but they ******* won with your wide definition of terrible on the roster. I can't be the guy you're mocking for using metrics *and* the guy you feel you have to explain both the date of the bad stats you cited and (poorly) what run differential is. It can't be both. This is silly and clearly some kind of personal thing for you, but yeah - still not nearly as serious as you imagine. If he's still pitching like this deep in the summer AND still a Cub then sure something might be up and the end is near, but May 9th? Meh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Troll Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 So, we kind of suck right now. Good thing the entire division does as well. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJ Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 On 5/9/2017 at 5:02 AM, The Troll said: So, we kind of suck right now. Good thing the entire division does as well. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Almost 40 games in and the inexperience is showing at the plate. Lowest RISP avg in the bigs. Starting pitching is getting better and should continue to. Joe might want to re-think a little of his sparse batting practice policies - many starters looking lost up there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Troll Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 Almost 40 games in and the inexperience is showing at the plate. Lowest RISP avg in the bigs. Starting pitching is getting better and should continue to. Joe might want to re-think a little of his sparse batting practice policies - many starters looking lost up there. I don't know that it's getting better. Arrieta is in the midst of a complete implosion. Hopefully Lackey and Hendricks keep coming around. Pitching was what I was worried about to begin with. Regression was inevitable from last year. We've gotta get this sh*t together. Six division games this week against teams that are FAR inferior on paper. All heads out of asses, please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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