2014 Roster Discussion

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I'm really impressed that they'd send down Parker. I don't have a strong opinion on him either way, but I love seeing that 46 innings don't guarantee a guy a job if they don't think he's one of the best 25.

[MWV]

Rosscup was cut on the 18th. I liked Parker a lot more than Cabrera, but I guess they'd rather stash parker for the time being than expose Cabrera to waivers.

[Guest]

I'm really impressed that they'd send down Parker. I don't have a strong opinion on him either way, but I love seeing that 46 innings don't guarantee a guy a job if they don't think he's one of the best 25.

 

They do and they're trying to lose as many as possible.

 

That's why they're so close to handing the everyday 3B gig to a blind guy.

[Guest]

I guess this thread is as good as any for this. What's left with the big leaguers:

 

Pitchers (18)

Jake Arrieta

Alberto Cabrera

Justin Grimm

Kyuji Fujikawa

Jason Hammel

Edwin Jackson

James McDonald

Neil Ramirez

Hector Rondon

Chris Rusin

James Russell

Jeff Samardzija

Pedro Strop

Jose Veras

Carlos Villanueva

Travis Wood

Tsuyoshi Wada

Wesley Wright

 

Catchers (4)

Welington Castillo

George Kottaras

John Baker

Eli Whiteside

 

Infielders (8)

Darwin Barney

Emilio Bonifacio

Starlin Castro

Donnie Murphy

Mike Olt

Anthony Rizzo

Luis Valbuena

Ryan Roberts

 

Outfielders (7)

Junior Lake

Justin Ruggiano

Nate Schierholtz

Ryan Sweeney

Chris Coghlan

Ryan Kalish

Darnell McDonald

[Guest]

Anyone else a little surprised Neil Ramirez is on that list (given others who aren't)?

[Hairyducked Idiot]

So assuming Fujikawa to the DL, we need to cut six more pitchers.

 

Wada, McDonald, Rusin feel like gimme cuts.

[Guest]

Anyone else a little surprised Neil Ramirez is on that list (given others who aren't)?

Ramirez has been really good this spring.

[imb]

god, that outfield ...

[Hairyducked Idiot]

god, that outfield ...

 

That would be a pretty solid list of candidates for the 5th outfield job on a good team.

[Guest]

@ESPNChiCubs Neil Ramirez sent to Triple-A, roster now at 36..Fujikawa progressing...Live BP for him soon.

[Guest]

Mark Gonzales ‏@MDGonzales 35s

Fujikawa up to 45 pitches, could start throwing live BP later this week.

[davell]

So, the pen is Veras, Strop, Russell, Wright, and either 2 or all 3 of Grimm, Rondon, and Cabrera. Dependent upon whether Rusin or Villanueva gets the 5th starter spot.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Going down through the pitching, extrapolating jobs, I think we're looking at for Opening Day:

 

DL: Fujikawa, Arrieta (I think you can post-date to like 10 days before Opening Day, so he can miss as little as one start)

 

Rotation: Samardzija, Jackson, Hammel, Wood, Villanueva

 

Locked-in: Veras, Strop, Wright, Russell

 

Cut: Wada, McDonald, Rusin

 

On the bubble (for two jobs): Grimm, Rondon, Cabrera

 

 

OK, to be honest, now that I'm starting to see it actually come together, that bullpen kind of sucks. It's one thing to look at 15 interesting guys and hope that a few break out. It's another thing to realize you have to actually pick seven and put them into live MLB games against MLB hitters.

[Guest]

I saw some comments from Bosio recently on how he prefers to keep pitchers on their normal routine and not have them getting extra days...couple that with the early season off days and maybe we don't even see a 5th starter until Arrieta is ready.

[Guest]

It doesn't help that we're sending one of our better options to AAA for reasons unknown. Arrieta's injury damages the depth a bit too. Still, there's a solid back-end with Veras and Strop, and Russell/Wright are a good LH combo. Have one of the RH middle relievers step forward, be it Rondon, Cabrera, Parker, or even Vizcaino; combined with Villanueva returning to the pen with Arrieta's return, and the pen's still a strength, IMO.

[davell]

I still really like the pen. Who makes it at the beginning means very little. Parker is going to contribute, Vizcaino will as well. Ramirez and Rivero can too. It's highly unlikely the original group of 7 wind up being the 7 biggest contributors. The pen will be just fine.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I still really like the pen. Who makes it at the beginning means very little. Parker is going to contribute, Vizcaino will as well. Ramirez and Rivero can too. It's highly unlikely the original group of 7 wind up being the 7 biggest contributors. The pen will be just fine.

 

Well, if that isn't just about every Cubs conversation for three years in a nutshell.

 

"X doesn't look too good."

 

"Yeah, but if you include players who aren't here yet, it's *going* to be good"

[davell]

I still really like the pen. Who makes it at the beginning means very little. Parker is going to contribute, Vizcaino will as well. Ramirez and Rivero can too. It's highly unlikely the original group of 7 wind up being the 7 biggest contributors. The pen will be just fine.

 

Well, if that isn't just about every Cubs conversation for three years in a nutshell.

 

"X doesn't look too good."

 

"Yeah, but if you include players who aren't here yet, it's *going* to be good"

You know it's time for the season when Kyle has his first waffle of the year.

[rawaction]

Is it irrational that I kind of vision the Cubs getting off to a really good start and hanging around in the division/wild card for a while? I think the starting pitching gets off to a good start. I think the bullpen will win the close ones. I think the offense will hit for more power than a lot of the teams they face. Im thinking a lot of 3-2 type wins.

[Post Count Padder]

Wada released

[Guest]

Is it irrational that I kind of vision the Cubs getting off to a really good start and hanging around in the division/wild card for a while? I think the starting pitching gets off to a good start. I think the bullpen will win the close ones. I think the offense will hit for more power than a lot of the teams they face. Im thinking a lot of 3-2 type wins.

 

That sorta should've happened last year but our bullpen was [expletive] terrible.

[CubsWin]

Going down through the pitching, extrapolating jobs, I think we're looking at for Opening Day:

 

DL: Fujikawa, Arrieta (I think you can post-date to like 10 days before Opening Day, so he can miss as little as one start)

 

Rotation: Samardzija, Jackson, Hammel, Wood, Villanueva

 

Locked-in: Veras, Strop, Wright, Russell

 

Cut: Wada, McDonald, Rusin

 

On the bubble (for two jobs): Grimm, Rondon, Cabrera

 

 

OK, to be honest, now that I'm starting to see it actually come together, that bullpen kind of sucks. It's one thing to look at 15 interesting guys and hope that a few break out. It's another thing to realize you have to actually pick seven and put them into live MLB games against MLB hitters.

I'm assuming when you say they cut Rusin, you mean send him down. the other two will definitely be cut, so I wasn't sure...

[Clem Fandango]

Is it irrational that I kind of vision the Cubs getting off to a really good start and hanging around in the division/wild card for a while? I think the starting pitching gets off to a good start. I think the bullpen will win the close ones. I think the offense will hit for more power than a lot of the teams they face. Im thinking a lot of 3-2 type wins.

 

That sorta should've happened last year but our bullpen was [expletive] terrible.

 

It truly, truly was. It was ridiculous how many late inning collapses they had at the beginning of the season last year

[Guest]

I still have nightmares about Marmol in Atlanta.

[Clem Fandango]

I still have nightmares about Marmol in Atlanta.

 

I was at the game :(