Executive Approval Poll - Post Trade Deadline 2014

[Sammy Sofa]

He has a weird stretchy face like it was rolled off of a newspaper onto a piece of Silly-Putty.

 

And he destroyed laughter and joy.

[Aaron_Kennelly]

I should say, I'm not in agreement with everything Theo and co. have done. I hated the Jackson signing; I have no idea what they were doing trying to get more cap space for international free agents and then just blowing past the cap anyway; and I wanted more semi-competent guys traded away earlier (Wood, Schierholtz, DeJesus, and Barney, to name a few). But, I also thought the Arrieta and Strop return was uninspiring, even given the fact that Feldman is garbage. And I wasn't a fan of the Feldman or Hammel signings, either. So what the hell do I know?

 

My happiness for Theo is based solely on the fact of where I wanted the organization -- as a whole -- to be at right now, and how this organization measures up to those expectations I had.

 

But, I also think there are a lot of great things Theo has done: 1. The trade for Anthony Rizzo and subsequent early extension. 2. The drafting of Kris Bryant. 3. The trade for Addison Russell. 4. The revelation of Jake Arrieta. I think all of those moves took balls, and they are the type of big moves that could pay off monumentally.

 

I also applaud the "Eff all pitchers" approach and think other smart GM's will eventually see the error of their ways and look to emulate such an approach.

[Sammy Sofa]

The best thing is that when they are good I'll still get to be super excited over it and everyone who put on a happy face during the dark times can go hug a landmine.

[George Hayduke]

Plus I'll hate Theo Epstein forever even if they win a bajillion WS.

Wtf.this is almost as dumb as the Rizzo thing. Theo is the [expletive].

 

How dare he hate the man who has led his favorite baseball team to a .401 win percentage.

 

I find Kyle and Mojo standing together in hand-clasped solidarity a rare yet heartwarming byproduct of this poll.

[CubInOK]

Well, the FO is making the most of a shitty situation. I'd love to hatch some of our eggs right now instead of next year.

[Aaron_Kennelly]

Also, it's shame that Theo had Josh Vitters and Brett Jackson to rely on, rather than an unheralded third-baseman like Josh Donaldson languishing in the minors. Had a guy like Vitters turned into an 8-win player, I bet Theo would have accelerated the timeline. Sometimes [expletive] just doesn't work out.

 

Poor guy, all he had was Starlin Castro, Jeff Samardzija, Matt Garza, Wellington Castillo, Ryan Dempster, Andrew Cashner, Darwin Barney. Not a spec of MLB production or trade value in that bunch.

 

 

That's not what I am saying. I am saying if one of those guys we weren't counting on turned into an 8-win superstar that changed our team makeup from being a 74-win team into an 82-win team -- solely because of the development of one player -- then it probably would have been wise to move the process along a little quicker, so we weren't wasting 8-win players during their prime. We didn't have anyone playing like that and were stuck in 70-75 win Loserville, so he correctly decided to become a terrible team the past two years.

[sneakypower]

I have no idea what they were doing trying to get more cap space for international free agents and then just blowing past the cap anyway

it seems like they probably made a miscalculation, but in the end they still ended up with a monster IFA haul for it, even factoring in the lost class this year

[Guest]

I'm one of Kyle's few tolerators and I think he's [expletive] awful

[Sammy Sofa]

Relatively serious question: if Baez & Soler keep up at the pace they're going, how perturbed will those of you that voted yes be if neither or only one shows up before the end of the year?

[Sammy Sofa]

Plus I'll hate Theo Epstein forever even if they win a bajillion WS.

Wtf.this is almost as dumb as the Rizzo thing. Theo is the [expletive].

 

How dare he hate the man who has led his favorite baseball team to a .401 win percentage.

 

I find Kyle and Mojo standing together in hand-clasped solidarity a rare yet heartwarming byproduct of this poll.

 

I'm giving Hoyer all of the credit when they succeed; he's much more handsome.

[sneakypower]

Relatively serious question: if Baez & Soler keep up at the pace they're going, how perturbed will those of you that voted yes be if neither or only one shows up before the end of the year?

they'll both show up

 

but i already [expletive] hate the CBA that incentivizes this, if that answers your question

[Guest]

Relatively serious question: if Baez & Soler keep up at the pace they're going, how perturbed will those of you that voted yes be if neither or only one shows up before the end of the year?

 

Soler I'll be slightly bummed, but comforted by the fact that there's nothing keeping them from bringing him up ASAP. For Baez I'll be pretty happy, I can wait 2 months to gain a whole year.

[Sammy Sofa]

Relatively serious question: if Baez & Soler keep up at the pace they're going, how perturbed will those of you that voted yes be if neither or only one shows up before the end of the year?

they'll both show up

 

but i already [expletive] hate the CBA that incentivizes this, if that answers your question

 

It does; I have kind of an apathetic disliking and broken spirit right now, but if Baez doesn't show up this season that will mutate into actual rage. I really want to see Soler, too, but I'm more confident in him panning out so if he was stretched out a bit more and just started with the team next year I guess I could livie with it, but I want Baez to be given time to work through his [expletive] ASAP.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I'm one of Kyle's few tolerators and I think he's [expletive] awful

 

I am awful. But so are Theo Epstein's Cubs. A 21:2 vote is a travesty.

[Aaron_Kennelly]

Relatively serious question: if Baez & Soler keep up at the pace they're going, how perturbed will those of you that voted yes be if neither or only one shows up before the end of the year?

they'll both show up

 

but i already [expletive] hate the CBA that incentivizes this, if that answers your question

 

It's such an antiquated idea. But, if you aren't trying to take advantage of it, then you are just stupid. I hate it so much, though.

[treebird]

soler i obviously want up asap, but what is the argument for calling up baez sept 1? is the plan to then leave him in iowa until june next year? if he was going to come up this year, it should have happened already, let alone before roster expansion.

[Cubswin11]

Relatively serious question: if Baez & Soler keep up at the pace they're going, how perturbed will those of you that voted yes be if neither or only one shows up before the end of the year?

I'd be more pissed about Soler not coming up than Baez not coming up, since with Soler's contract there are no games that need to be played to get extra control.

[Sammy Sofa]

soler i obviously want up asap, but what is the argument for calling up baez sept 1? is the plan to then leave him in iowa until june next year? if he was going to come up this year, it should have happened already, let alone before roster expansion.

 

I want him up now; the guy has shown he needs time to adjust and I want him to do it sooner rather than later since it's a given we have to wait for Bryant. Seems like that could significantly improve the team's chances to start the year next year if they launch with Baez and Soler having had some pro time.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Hoyer's already hinting about 2016 being the real target, so I don't think we're going to get any 'call-up to smooth the adjustment before 2015' for Baez.

 

Ugh.

[bukie]

Hoyer's already hinting about 2016 being the real target, so I don't think we're going to get any 'call-up to smooth the adjustment before 2015' for Baez.

 

Ugh.

You take it as sandbagging 2015, I take it as eyeing a specific acquisition that isn't a FA until the 2015 offseason.

[Gilby]

Hoyer's already hinting about 2016 being the real target, so I don't think we're going to get any 'call-up to smooth the adjustment before 2015' for Baez.

 

Ugh.

 

Is this based on the finding pitchers in the next 18-24 months quote? Or did he say something else?

[Andy]

2015 should be the target because we should be trading for Stanton in the off-season. It could be done without cleaning out all our top prospects. I'm honestly not even sure why they wouldn't do it unless Miami's asking price is completely stupid.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Hoyer's already hinting about 2016 being the real target, so I don't think we're going to get any 'call-up to smooth the adjustment before 2015' for Baez.

 

Ugh.

 

Is this based on the finding pitchers in the next 18-24 months quote? Or did he say something else?

 

Yeah, that one. That's a pretty big "we'll take what we can get this offseason, but we're not going to get serious about putting together a real, complete roster" signal, imo.

[Sammy Sofa]

Hoyer's already hinting about 2016 being the real target, so I don't think we're going to get any 'call-up to smooth the adjustment before 2015' for Baez.

 

Ugh.

You take it as sandbagging 2015, I take it as eyeing a specific acquisition that isn't a FA until the 2015 offseason.

 

Oh good; they're laser-sighted in on the one guy they want and if they don't get him then they have this awesome track record of backup plans that worked out (or even existed at all).

[SouthSideRyan]

If we keep Baez and Bryant down until May of next year they aren't attempting to compete and they're prioritizing 2021 over 2015