What's your wish list for the trade deadline?

[Clem Fandango]

Where Chapman bests Kimrbrel:

 

- Size - I mean even on a basic level, we're talking 5'11" vs. 6'4" from a pitcher

- Velocity

- Strikeouts

- Whiff rates

- Handedness - as a LH he already has a natural and massive advantage in same hand matchups that will help through the whole age/decline phases whenever they come up

 

Both have plenty of name recognition, this isn't about that. Kimbrel will cost less to acquire because he is, in the end, a less rare and exceptional talent. He still comes with a significant contract for a reliever, and if the Cubs want to hang huge contracts on relievers - go with one that is on track to basically rewrite the record books.

 

That's all fine and dandy, but it's comparing apples to apples, IMO. Chapman may have the better peripherals, but Kimbrel's peripherals still make him part of the closer elite. It's like having to choose between a filet and a porterhouse. You're gonna satisfied with either one, except one is gonna be a bit more expensive than the other.

[davell]

@Ken_Rosenthal: #Cubs, seeking another starter, among clubs that could wait for prices to drop 7/31. #Padres’ Kennedy, others still could be in play then.

 

That's kind of what I suspect we'll do. If the prices are unreasonable on the controllable guys, it makes some sense. Even if its not exciting whatsoever.

 

I'm losing hope on the elite guys for sure.

[BrockLanders]

The White Sox and the Phillies are the only teams with a lower wRC+ than us. We're tied with the Mets.

 

Meanwhile we're 4th in the majors in FIP.

 

The rational part of me thinks there's a good chance guys like Fowler, Castro and Soler play closer to their projections down the stretch. The fan part of me wants to do whatever possible to acquire bats before the deadline to displace these disappointments.

[sontensei]

The pitching down the strech isnt deep enough to keep up the performance up till now.

 

Hammel is starting to show his usual "2nd half self" and the 5th spot in the rotation is a mix of bums.

[ctcf]

Good news, SCS!

 

[tweet]

[/tweet]

[Clem Fandango]

I wouldn't mind Gyorko, but I wouldn't give up much for him. He's lost a lot of his shine, but he does still have some good upside that might be more reachable outside of Petco. He's going blow for blow with Castro for worst MI in the NL at the moment, so... yeah, not sure what they expect to get for him.

 

EDIT: Scratch that, just checked FG, Castro has gotten much much worse.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Good news, SCS!

 

[tweet]

[/tweet]

 

Hardly in love with the guy. Just figured that flipping him for Olt would be...I don't know. A thing that could happen.

[imb]

like two monkeys throwing turds at each other

[Smack]

Good news, SCS!

 

[tweet]

[/tweet]

 

Hardly in love with the guy. Just figured that flipping him for Olt would be...I don't know. A thing that could happen.

 

Except Olt is playing for league minimum right?

[ARCubsFan]

Gyorko's contract is awful, Padres would have to eat most or all of that contract for it to be somewhat of a good deal

[squally1313]

The pitching down the strech isnt deep enough to keep up the performance up till now.

 

Hammel is starting to show his usual "2nd half self" and the 5th spot in the rotation is a mix of bums.

 

Please give me any statistic split outside of 'just the start yesterday' that shows Hammel's decline.

 

The pitching is fine. Make a big splash with Gomez if you want, or find some solution for the middle infield (hope Castro turns it around, trade Castro, hope Baez isn't broken).

[ctcf]

Good news, SCS!

 

[tweet]

[/tweet]

 

Hardly in love with the guy. Just figured that flipping him for Olt would be...I don't know. A thing that could happen.

 

Just didn't want you to remain worried about how highly the Padres might valuing a guy who hasn't hit in a year and a half and is signed to a long term contract.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Anyone been tracking Carlos Gonzalez lately? Past 30: .327/.360/.692. Past 15: .421/.459/.930.

 

I know this would be the very definition of buying high. But maybe we should look into buying high.

[rawaction]

Anyone been tracking Carlos Gonzalez lately? Past 30: .327/.360/.692. Past 15: .421/.459/.930.

 

I know this would be the very definition of buying high. But maybe we should look into buying high.

 

On my fantasy team. So, yeah I've been all over that. Colorado would have to eat a lot of money though.

[Clem Fandango]

Gyorko's contract is awful

 

The only reason the contract is awful is because he's awful. Even if he had regressed to like a .700 OPS after his .745 OPS rookie season he'd probably still be fulfilling the contract right now. The problem is he's regressed to like a .600 OPS.

 

A 6 year, $35.5 million contract for a guy putting up league average numbers isn't a terrible contract. He's only making $2 million this year. That's less than Chris Denorfia. And if Gyorko had stayed the course and been a 20 homer, .240-.250 type of guy he'd be a bargain. Instead he's been so bad that even at $2 million he's a sunk cost. The contract was sound at the time, he's just been a disaster ever since.

[sontensei]

The pitching down the strech isnt deep enough to keep up the performance up till now.

 

Hammel is starting to show his usual "2nd half self" and the 5th spot in the rotation is a mix of bums.

 

Please give me any statistic split outside of 'just the start yesterday' that shows Hammel's decline.

 

The pitching is fine. Make a big splash with Gomez if you want, or find some solution for the middle infield (hope Castro turns it around, trade Castro, hope Baez isn't broken).

 

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/stats/_/id/6480/jason-hammel

Hammel is a decent pitcher, but not a #3 on a contender he is a good #4/5 tho

 

Look at his game logs since June, only 3 quality starts out of 10 appearances.

Look over his history he has always been stronger in the first half than 2nd half and most IP he ever had was 176.

[Clem Fandango]

Yeah, like 3 of those starts got shortened and/or affected due to rain. Hammel is a tremendous #3 pitcher. Prior to his last start he had an ERA under 3.00, a WHIP under 1.00, and he still has a K:BB ratio that would make Greg Maddux blush.

 

Hammel has been a monster in that rotation slot, and a Top 20 pitcher in the NL

[Clem Fandango]

It's time for a fun game of "Which would you prefer"

 

Pitcher A:

125.1 IP 8.33 K/9 2.23 BB/9 3.16 ERA 3.69 FIP 3.50 xFIP 1.8 fWAR

 

Pitcher B:

119.1 IP 9.13 K/9 3.62 BB/9 2.34 ERA 3.41 FIP 3.25 xFIP 1.7 fWAR

 

Pitcher C:

131.0 IP 9.00 K/9 1.79 BB/9 3.16 ERA 3.19 FIP 3.23 xFIP 2.5 fWAR

 

Pitcher D:

112.1 IP 8.97 K/9 1.76 BB/9 3.20 ERA 3.16 FIP 3.26 xFIP 2.2 fWAR

 

Pitcher E:

118.1 IP 7.53 K/9 2.21 BB/9 3.27 ERA 3.30 FIP 3.48 xFIP 2.1 fWAR

 

Pitcher F:

122.2 IP 6.60 K/9 1.54 BB/9 3.30 ERA 3.16 FIP 3.85 xFIP 2.5 fWAR

 

Pitcher G:

128.2 IP 9.58 K/9 2.73 BB/9 3.64 ERA 3.20 FIP 3.15 xFIP 2.7 fWAR

 

3 of these guys are top young arms that many teams would covet having on their roster. 3 others are premiere name pitchers. And the 7th is Jason Hammel. This isn't so much a test to see which one you think is Hammel (it's probably pretty obvious if you've been paying attention to his numbers) as much as it is for you to see that if you squint you might mistake Hammel for a premiere pitcher. That's the point... Hammel is easily a #2 on a lot of teams, so the fact that he's our #3 is pretty [expletive] awesome. And the fact that Kyle Hendricks, our #4, has put up an identical fWAR to Hammel this season is even more kick ass.

 

 

Pitcher A: Matt Harvey

Pitcher B: Carlos Martinez

Pitcher C: Madison Bumgarner

Pitcher D: Jason Hammel

Pitcher E: Michael Wacha

Pitcher F: Jordan Zimmermann

pitcher G: Cole Hamels

 

[Hairyducked Idiot]

The lesson from that list shouldn't be "Hammel is a No. 2." It's "statline scouting pitchers for half a season isn't a good predictor."

[Clem Fandango]

The lesson from that list shouldn't be "Hammel is a No. 2." It's "statline scouting pitchers for half a season isn't a good predictor."

 

I was trying to prove that Hammel is a perfectly fine, if not great, #3 starter to have on a contending team instead of just "a decent pitcher, but not a #3 on a contender he is a good #4/5 tho"

[Guest]

sontensei actually does bring up a valid point or two in terms of looking at the risk for Hammel in the second half. Unfortunately, it gets lost in the hyperbole and general mania.

[ceres]

The lesson from that list shouldn't be "Hammel is a No. 2." It's "statline scouting pitchers for half a season isn't a good predictor."

 

I was trying to prove that Hammel is a perfectly fine, if not great, #3 starter to have on a contending team instead of just "a decent pitcher, but not a #3 on a contender he is a good #4/5 tho"

 

You are talking to sontensei. Why waste your time?

[Hairyducked Idiot]

The lesson from that list shouldn't be "Hammel is a No. 2." It's "statline scouting pitchers for half a season isn't a good predictor."

 

I was trying to prove that Hammel is a perfectly fine, if not great, #3 starter to have on a contending team instead of just "a decent pitcher, but not a #3 on a contender he is a good #4/5 tho"

 

If he pitches like he did in the first half of the season in perpetuity, then absolutely. I don't know if that's something you can count on.

 

In 2012, he put up a great 118 innings for the Orioles, then fell apart in 2013. In 2014, he put up a great 108 innings for the Cubs, then fell apart in 2013. So we've gotten 115 or whatever good innings from him in 2015, and that's awesome, but I'm not exactly excited about his second half.

[jersey cubs fan]

In 2012, he put up a great 118 innings for the Orioles, then fell apart in 2013. In 2014, he put up a great 108 innings for the Cubs, then fell apart in 2013.

Is this like some sort of Memento/Groundhog Day combo situation going on?

[davell]

John, I too am hearing from my sources that Cubs are looking to address 2B for now and the future, and the name I heard was Jason Kipnis from Cleveland. I heard the Cubs FO is prepared to move Javier Baez, Kyle Hendricks and another significant prospect (not top 10 necessarily) for Cleveland's all star 2B.

 

I was scrolling thru comments and noticed this from old time NSBBer Hoopscubs, sent to Arguello.

 

Slow ass news day.