6/22 Cubs (Shark) @ DBacks (Saunders), 8:40, WGN

[Sammy Sofa]

Is it bad that Soriano has a higher OBP than Castro despite having a BA that's 35 points lower?

 

castro's lack of offensive progress this year has been disheartening.

 

Even if he ends up a .300 ish high .700s OPS guy, he'll be a valuable part of the team going forward, especially at SS. Personally, I've always seen him as a 2 hitter. Assuming Rizzo is the real deal, Jackson and Vitters pan out as solid bats for the 5-7 spots, sprinkle in another middle of the order type bat, and we're in business. Easier said then done, but that's why we bought a FO dream team instead of high priced free agents last fall.

 

Come on, think about what you're posting; the odds of a successful Cubs team made up of internal players in every spot except 1, 4 and 8 aren't very good when you're including guys like Vitters.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Is it bad that Soriano has a higher OBP than Castro despite having a BA that's 35 points lower?

 

castro's lack of offensive progress this year has been disheartening.

 

Even if he ends up a .300 ish high .700s OPS guy, he'll be a valuable part of the team going forward, especially at SS. Personally, I've always seen him as a 2 hitter. Assuming Rizzo is the real deal, Jackson and Vitters pan out as solid bats for the 5-7 spots, sprinkle in another middle of the order type bat, and we're in business. Easier said then done, but that's why we bought a FO dream team instead of high priced free agents last fall.

 

Come on, think about what you're posting; the odds of a successful Cubs team made up of internal players in every spot except 1, 4 and 8 aren't very good when you're including guys like Vitters.

 

Assuming Castro's 2, Rizzo 4, and Jackson and Vitters between 5-7, or even Brett as 1 assuming he can get on base enough. I think they could then fill in the blanks. Maybe Barney at 8.

[Sammy Sofa]

Vitters is a huge "if," and even Jackson is pretty questionable. Slow down.

[sneakypower]

Jackson, Castillo, and to a much, much lesser extent Vitters are only exciting because they might allow us the flexibility to sign a star like David Wright or BJ Upton, but neither should by any means be considered a building block (barring significant development)

 

think of them like you would Barney, basically

[davell]

Since we're probably tanking next year, I honestly want to see Castillo, Rizzo, Brett, and Vitters all get a full season starting. Let them work through their rough patches and see where they're at by season's end.

[sneakypower]

Since we're probably tanking next year, I honestly want to see Castillo, Rizzo, Brett, and Vitters all get a full season starting. Let them work through their rough patches and see where they're at by season's end.

this is mostly baseless speculation, right?

[davell]

Since we're probably tanking next year, I honestly want to see Castillo, Rizzo, Brett, and Vitters all get a full season starting. Let them work through their rough patches and see where they're at by season's end.

this is mostly baseless speculation, right?

 

Is it? Theo's kind of said we won't be spending on major free agents until we have enough pieces around them and has said he knew this would take a while to fix the right way. I guess it's me speculating, but I also kind of think the writing's on the wall somewhat.

[Sammy Sofa]

That's a perpetually self-defeating plan.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

That's a perpetually self-defeating plan.

 

The burnout from Boston will wear off in a few years and he'll be ready to accept the pressure of winning again.

 

Everyone read this, right?

 

http://www.boston.com/yourtown/newton/articles/2012/06/14/q__a_with_theo_epstein_on_red_sox_and_cubs/

 

It may well be worth it in the long run, but unless he's playing an epic bluff, we're not getting any major free agents and a push for winning anytime soon.

[Sammy Sofa]

OK, let's wait until our internally developed players are good to sign good FA's.

 

Whoops, crappy FA market!

 

Well, can't really justify paying big contracts to our internally developed players...the timing isn't just right...

 

DO-OVER!

[davell]

I at least see the point where you don't go signing guys to longterm deals until you know you have at least more than Castro in place though. Maybe Garza. Maybe Shark. Nothing else, even Rizzo, is anything close to being definite. If we suck next year, but Castllo, Brett, Rizzo, and Vitters look like they can all be starters, you've got what's currently in your system already and two more drafts of really high picks, plus 2 high dollar IFA periods as well, to really turn the system into a monster. My guess is we start spending in 2014 honestly.

[Sammy Sofa]

Yeah, you wanna pick your spots, but the talk where people are hemming and hawing about hypothetical FA signings like, "oh, LORD, if they sign so-and-so then they'll waste A YEAR!" or [expletive] like that is ridiculous. It's rare when everything falls into place like that, and this is a big market team; they can take the hits of a wasted year. If you're waiting for everything to line up you're just going to end up waiting 9 times out of 10.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Since we're probably tanking next year, I honestly want to see Castillo, Rizzo, Brett, and Vitters all get a full season starting. Let them work through their rough patches and see where they're at by season's end.

this is mostly baseless speculation, right?

 

Is it? Theo's kind of said we won't be spending on major free agents until we have enough pieces around them and has said he knew this would take a while to fix the right way. I guess it's me speculating, but I also kind of think the writing's on the wall somewhat.

 

Sveum also said something along the lines of he knows that we have a lot of holes to fill, and ,most can't be filled from within and something along the lines of evaluating the free agents to be. I don't expect a Hendry-esque off season, but at the right price I could certainly see them in on guys like Upton, Ethier, McCarthy, and Sanchez at the right price. Hopefully Hamels as well, though I expect the Yankees, Red Sox, and Dodgers to be all over him as well.

 

And yes, I think that Jackson and Vitters both could be building blocks, but not corner stones.

[davell]

I think quite a bit still hinges on what we do with Garza. If he's here, I could see a deal or two that's more than a stopgap. If he's not, and I'm thinking we deal him, at this point, then I see us trotting out a very young squad next year to take their lumps and see who doesn't sink.

[Have a seat, Neifi]

Since we're probably tanking next year, I honestly want to see Castillo, Rizzo, Brett, and Vitters all get a full season starting. Let them work through their rough patches and see where they're at by season's end.

this is mostly baseless speculation, right?

 

Is it? Theo's kind of said we won't be spending on major free agents until we have enough pieces around them and has said he knew this would take a while to fix the right way. I guess it's me speculating, but I also kind of think the writing's on the wall somewhat.

 

Sveum also said something along the lines of he knows that we have a lot of holes to fill, and ,most can't be filled from within and something along the lines of evaluating the free agents to be. I don't expect a Hendry-esque off season, but at the right price I could certainly see them in on guys like Upton, Ethier, McCarthy, and Sanchez at the right price. Hopefully Hamels as well, though I expect the Yankees, Red Sox, and Dodgers to be all over him as well.

 

And yes, I think that Jackson and Vitters both could be building blocks, but not corner stones.

Ethier just signed an $85 million extension.