09/11 CUBS (Germano) @ Houston (Lyles) 7:05 CDT, WCIU TV

[Fred Hornkohl]

http://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/headshots/mlb/players/full/5971.png&w=350&h=254 Justin Germano (2-6) ERA = 6.16, WHIP = 1.45

 

 

vs.

 

 

http://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/headshots/mlb/players/full/31061.png&w=350&h=254 Jordan Lyles (3-11) ERA = 5.55, WHIP = 1.49

 

 

 

 

Go CUBS !!

[Sammy Sofa]

STREAKSTREAKSTREAK

[Cubswin11]

Lose you bastards

[Sammy Sofa]

Don't listen to that jerk.

 

STREAKSTREAKSTREAK

[Cubswin11]

Don't listen to that jerk.

 

STREAKSTREAKSTREAK

If your draft budget wasn't tied to what draft pick you had, I really wouldn't care all that much if we won out and ended up with the #10 pick. But the difference between the #2 and #3-4 pick budget is a big enough gap to grab an extra overslot guy, I want the #2 pick.

[Guest]

I'll take improved performance and future outlook from the (young) players already on the MLB roster every time over a couple hundred thousand dollars to spend on guys who have the odds stacked against them to even reach the major leagues. Every time.

[Sammy Sofa]

I'll take improved performance and future outlook from the (young) players already on the MLB roster every time over a couple hundred thousand dollars to spend on guys who have the odds stacked against them to even reach the major leagues. Every time.

 

Yuuuuuuuuuup. Winning a few extra games at this point isn't going to do real damage in the draft, so harping every time they don't lose is pretty tedious.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I don't want to fall because the difference between the second-best player and the third- or fourth-best player is historically pretty significant. If we happen to get a little overslot money out of the deal, that's cool too. Not to mention the possibility that the Astros are dumb again and we get the best player in the draft.

 

I posted this over on PSD first:

 

1975 to 2000

Overall pick, percentage who posted at least 10 bWAR in MLB, average bWAR per pick.

 

1, 72%, 31.4

2, 44%, 12.0

3, 36%, 10.2

4, 28%, 9.9

5, 20%, 6.3

27-30, 12%, 3.1

47-50, 10%, 4.7

 

This isn't the NFL draft where there's a smooth incline of high value all the way through the middle rounds. In the baseball draft, there are a few elite talents and then a pile of undifferentiated mediocrity. The "FIRST-ROUND TALENTS!!!!" that you can get by overslotting later aren't really any better than the 2nd round talents. The small differences among the elite players at the top of the draft are more important than getting an earlier shot at your favorite scratch-off ticket outside the top 10.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I'll take improved performance and future outlook from the (young) players already on the MLB roster every time over a couple hundred thousand dollars to spend on guys who have the odds stacked against them to even reach the major leagues. Every time.

 

 

See my above post. If it's the difference between, say, the 2nd overall pick and the 5th overall pick, then I start to get cranky. It'd be even worse if were the No. 1 overall pick at stake.

[Sammy Sofa]

Shut up.

 

STREAKSTREAKSTREAK

[sneakypower]

for the last month, everybody in our starting lineup but Barney has actually been really good, and i'm rooting for that to continue, everything else be damned

[Sammy Sofa]

I'll take improved performance and future outlook from the (young) players already on the MLB roster every time over a couple hundred thousand dollars to spend on guys who have the odds stacked against them to even reach the major leagues. Every time.

 

 

See my above post. If it's the difference between, say, the 2nd overall pick and the 5th overall pick, then I start to get cranky.

 

But it's likely not. So enjoy some [expletive] wins.

[sneakypower]

OBPs for September

Rizzo: .432

Castro: .409

Castillo: .440

 

WINWINWIN

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I'll take improved performance and future outlook from the (young) players already on the MLB roster every time over a couple hundred thousand dollars to spend on guys who have the odds stacked against them to even reach the major leagues. Every time.

 

 

See my above post. If it's the difference between, say, the 2nd overall pick and the 5th overall pick, then I start to get cranky.

 

But it's likely not. So enjoy some [expletive] wins.

 

Never!

[CubInOK]

OBPs for September

Rizzo: .432

Castro: .409

Castillo: .440

 

WINWINWIN

I thought that said OPS at first and was like :(

 

Then I saw that was OBP and was like :eek:

[Cubswin11]

I'll take improved performance and future outlook from the (young) players already on the MLB roster every time over a couple hundred thousand dollars to spend on guys who have the odds stacked against them to even reach the major leagues. Every time.

 

 

See my above post. If it's the difference between, say, the 2nd overall pick and the 5th overall pick, then I start to get cranky.

 

But it's likely not. So enjoy some [expletive] wins.

I am enjoying the wins and the better performances by guys. But there's only a 4 game difference in the L column between us at #2 and the Twins at #5 right now, as Kyle pointed out there's a pretty big difference historically between the overall #2 picks and overall #5 picks. We have 5 games left against the shitty Astros, so I'd say there's a decent chance we slide down a few spots if we keep playing like this given the competition and going all the way to #5 isn't all that unlikely.

[sneakypower]

our #1 right now, is Chris Volstad

 

anything is possible

http://i.usatoday.net/sports/_photos/2008/06/18/garnettx.jpg

[Guest]

I'll take improved performance and future outlook from the (young) players already on the MLB roster every time over a couple hundred thousand dollars to spend on guys who have the odds stacked against them to even reach the major leagues. Every time.

 

 

See my above post. If it's the difference between, say, the 2nd overall pick and the 5th overall pick, then I start to get cranky.

 

But it's likely not. So enjoy some [expletive] wins.

I am enjoying the wins and the better performances by guys. But there's only a 4 game difference in the L column between us at #2 and the Twins at #5 right now, as Kyle pointed out there's a pretty big difference historically between the overall #2 picks and overall #5 picks. We have 5 games left against the [expletive] Astros, so I'd say there's a decent chance we slide down a few spots if we keep playing like this given the competition and going all the way to #5 isn't all that unlikely.

 

A 4 win difference over the average career of a player that is less than 50% to even become an MLB regular is not very much at all.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

A 4 win difference over the average career of a player that is less than 50% to even become an MLB regular is not very much at all.

 

The odds of them becoming a decent MLB player are more important than the average wins, in this case.

 

Besides, how much are your long-term projections on Castro, Rizzo and such going to change based on the next few weeks? Obviously, no one wants to see the team losing because Castro derrickroses his knee or Rizzo forgets how to hit. But if that random collection of Crash Davises we have on our roster right now costs us some draft position? I think that's worth being annoyed over.

[jersey cubs fan]

A 4 win difference over the average career of a player that is less than 50% to even become an MLB regular is not very much at all.

 

The odds of them becoming a decent MLB player are more important than the average wins, in this case.

 

Besides, how much are your long-term projections on Castro, Rizzo and such going to change based on the next few weeks? Obviously, no one wants to see the team losing because Castro derrickroses his knee or Rizzo forgets how to hit. But if that random collection of Crash Davises we have on our roster right now costs us some draft position? I think that's worth being annoyed over.

 

This is what I don't get. Two weeks of progress by these guys will show us nothing. Half the team is destined to be out of baseball within a year or two.

 

How can you be on board with the deliberate tanking of this season, welcome the atrocious play of the team all season long with all of the attention paid to the future, and then pretend it's better to win a couple more games this September than get as close to the top pick as possible?

[sneakypower]

wasn't it reported that we would have taken Almora even at #1 overall?

[Hairyducked Idiot]

wasn't it reported that we would have taken Almora even at #1 overall?

 

Yes. It is entirely up to you whether you believe it or not.

[jersey cubs fan]

wasn't it reported that we would have taken Almora even at #1 overall?

 

I'd imagine most of the top 10 leaks out reports that they wanted their guy #1 overall.

[Guest]

Personally, I've never been on board with "deliberately tanking" the season, unless this is one of those weird binary "great or awful" type of semantic claims.

[jersey cubs fan]

Personally, I've never been on board with "deliberately tanking" the season, unless this is one of those weird binary "great or awful" type of semantic claims.

 

I'm sorry I thought you were one of those people who was okay with what they did.