Theo Speak

[Sammy Sofa]

Huh; I guess developing absolutely no pitching and minimal offensive assets is one way to look at as being "setting up a new window."

 

I mean they started building the WS winner some 4-5 years before it happened, they all mostly arrived together towards the end, and that worked out fine. This time the media's not walking us through it and telling us it will be special and awesome when everyone arrives, but things went about as well as they could have this year below the ML team and it's one primed to make leaps over the next year probably two for a SP

 

Dude, come on; there was definitely some prolonged stumbling. It wasn't simply a matter of they emptied out the farm via promotions and trades.

[Cubswin11]

Huh; I guess developing absolutely no pitching and minimal offensive assets is one way to look at as being "setting up a new window."

 

I mean they started building the WS winner some 4-5 years before it happened, they all mostly arrived together towards the end, and that worked out fine. This time the media's not walking us through it and telling us it will be special and awesome when everyone arrives, but things went about as well as they could have this year below the ML team and it's one primed to make leaps over the next year probably two for a SP

 

Dude, come on; there was definitely some prolonged stumbling. It wasn't simply a matter of they emptied out the farm via promotions and trades.

The system bottoming out a bit was definitely likely with all the graduations, FA signings (losing picks/money), and trades. But they definitely stumbled with pitching at the same time, I don’t know how one can argue otherwise. But they do appear to be back on track with it. With the pitching lab, different profile of pitchers drafted this year, guys emerging, admitting the development side is getting new people

[Regular Show]

Sure sounds like Willson isn't going anywhere.

Really? That sounded like a sales pitch to the 29 other teams, to me. He’s gone, imo.

 

"Shame on us if we can't develop a player like that at the major league level."

 

That sounded like he's staying to me.

 

Yeah, I don't know what people here are talking about?

 

We've listened long enough to Theo interviews to know what he means, and how transparent and honest he is. He doesn't talk up a player to try to build up trade value... He genuinely regards Contreras as legit one of the most talented catchers in MLB. I've thought this for a while too that Contreras is one of the most tooled-up, athletic catchers with an MVP upside if he puts it all together and improves his receiving/framing.

 

I'm not saying he couldn't be traded this offseason if the right deal comes along, but it really sounds like Theo wants to keep him and hopes he keeps improving.

 

It should be noted Theo and this FO tried to sign him to an extension and failed. They want to keep him and I'm pretty sure they still want to extend him. I think it would be a mistake trading him.

[Cubswin11]

[Cubswin11]

Really? That sounded like a sales pitch to the 29 other teams, to me. He’s gone, imo.

 

"Shame on us if we can't develop a player like that at the major league level."

 

That sounded like he's staying to me.

 

Yeah, I don't know what people here are talking about?

 

We've listened long enough to Theo interviews to know what he means, and how transparent and honest he is. He doesn't talk up a player to try to build up trade value... He genuinely regards Contreras as legit one of the most talented catchers in MLB. I've thought this for a while too that Contreras is one of the most tooled-up, athletic catchers with an MVP upside if he puts it all together and improves his receiving/framing.

 

I'm not saying he couldn't be traded this offseason if the right deal comes along, but it really sounds like Theo wants to keep him and hopes he keeps improving.

 

It should be noted Theo and this FO tried to sign him to an extension and failed. They want to keep him and I'm pretty sure they still want to extend him. I think it would be a mistake trading him.

I have a lot of the same sentiments regarding Willson. I’d prefer to keep him too. But in an offseason where change is coming and they want to still try and win but change things up and add to the system or get different players in I think he makes a ton of sense to trade. Theo always talks glowingly of his guys, horsefeathers he talked up Descalso today. Maybe he wasn’t talking Willson up to build value (I think he was a bit) but he also talked about him like he talks about a lot of players with a glowing review. Could be nothing and could be something, I just think it’s far more likely he’s gone than back next year.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Really? That sounded like a sales pitch to the 29 other teams, to me. He’s gone, imo.

 

"Shame on us if we can't develop a player like that at the major league level."

 

That sounded like he's staying to me.

 

Yeah, I don't know what people here are talking about?

 

We've listened long enough to Theo interviews to know what he means, and how transparent and honest he is. He doesn't talk up a player to try to build up trade value... He genuinely regards Contreras as legit one of the most talented catchers in MLB. I've thought this for a while too that Contreras is one of the most tooled-up, athletic catchers with an MVP upside if he puts it all together and improves his receiving/framing.

 

I'm not saying he couldn't be traded this offseason if the right deal comes along, but it really sounds like Theo wants to keep him and hopes he keeps improving.

 

It should be noted Theo and this FO tried to sign him to an extension and failed. They want to keep him and I'm pretty sure they still want to extend him. I think it would be a mistake trading him.

 

Here's my thesis, which is a combination of taking what Theo said at face value and reading between the lines:

 

They know they aren't on the cutting edge when it comes to developing pitchers, and they know that Willson in particular is not very good at framing or particularly gifted at calling a game. Partially related: he's also had consistent trouble staying healthy. They've seen how their stuff like the pitch lab has paid some small dividends already(e.g. Wick, Ryan) and hiring a director of pitching should lead to more of that in the future. They admit that they've had a winner's curse of seeing the best in their positional core, and relied on youth taking a step forward that hasn't happened. I would hope that all of this can be universally agreed upon.

 

My interpretation of those facts is that they see a huge potential for improvement across the pitching staff by improving catcher defense, and Contreras, who is likely to never be better defensively than he is now, has nagging injury concerns, and is easier to replace with a strong framer/game caller than trading a different asset, makes for a logical player to trade. He also makes sense in the fact that he should still have substantial trade value, and since the team doesn't have buckets of money to spend he offers the ability to get significant talent that is cost controlled in return. I don't think they're planning a one way offseason that involves Contreras being dealt, but I'm increasingly convinced that it's Plan A.

[Regular Show]

 

"Shame on us if we can't develop a player like that at the major league level."

 

That sounded like he's staying to me.

 

Yeah, I don't know what people here are talking about?

 

We've listened long enough to Theo interviews to know what he means, and how transparent and honest he is. He doesn't talk up a player to try to build up trade value... He genuinely regards Contreras as legit one of the most talented catchers in MLB. I've thought this for a while too that Contreras is one of the most tooled-up, athletic catchers with an MVP upside if he puts it all together and improves his receiving/framing.

 

I'm not saying he couldn't be traded this offseason if the right deal comes along, but it really sounds like Theo wants to keep him and hopes he keeps improving.

 

It should be noted Theo and this FO tried to sign him to an extension and failed. They want to keep him and I'm pretty sure they still want to extend him. I think it would be a mistake trading him.

 

Here's my thesis, which is a combination of taking what Theo said at face value and reading between the lines:

 

They know they aren't on the cutting edge when it comes to developing pitchers, and they know that Willson in particular is not very good at framing or particularly gifted at calling a game. Partially related: he's also had consistent trouble staying healthy. They've seen how their stuff like the pitch lab has paid some small dividends already(e.g. Wick, Ryan) and hiring a director of pitching should lead to more of that in the future. They admit that they've had a winner's curse of seeing the best in their positional core, and relied on youth taking a step forward that hasn't happened. I would hope that all of this can be universally agreed upon.

 

My interpretation of those facts is that they see a huge potential for improvement across the pitching staff by improving catcher defense, and Contreras, who is likely to never be better defensively than he is now, has nagging injury concerns, and is easier to replace with a strong framer/game caller than trading a different asset, makes for a logical player to trade. He also makes sense in the fact that he should still have substantial trade value, and since the team doesn't have buckets of money to spend he offers the ability to get significant talent that is cost controlled in return. I don't think they're planning a one way offseason that involves Contreras being dealt, but I'm increasingly convinced that it's Plan A.

 

That's fine and reasonable in logic, but just listening to Theo I don't think he was talking about trading him. He legitimately thinks highly of Contreras and was effusive in his praise. I think he believes Contreras can improve his framing/presentation with a better setup behind the plate that he is more comfortable with like he was saying. The injury concerns are true, and I worry about the hamstring issues he's had too.

 

Still, he's really talented and his upside is right there with Bryant and Baez. Will he ever reach that considerable upside is debatable for sure. I think it'd be a mistake to trade him unless we got a really crazy package back (and modern FOs are very risk averse so those are becoming more rare). Honestly, I think it's more likely that Caratini gets traded this offseason.

[jersey cubs fan]

I don't see Willy's upside at Bryant and Baez levels. Those guys are quite good defensively. Willy is bad, and you don't get better with defense as you age.

[Brian]

I don't see Willy's upside at Bryant and Baez levels. Those guys are quite good defensively. Willy is bad, and you don't get better with defense as you age.

 

and leg injuries 2 years in a row doesn't seem great for a catcher's future.

 

I love Willson but If they right move is there it has to be made.

[Cubswin11]

Honestly, I think it's more likely that Caratini gets traded this offseason.

I think it’s almost a lock Vic or willy is moved. It makes too much sense. They’re two starting caliber catchers (one who is elite). It helps build out the team/get prospects, it’s not overly hard to replace the value we got from C this year in FA by adding someone like Castro to Vic or Willy and Amaya is within 2 years of being ready. It’s the easiest way to add and still try and win.

[Regular Show]

Literally, Theo said "the best version of Willson Contreras is an MVP candidate, difference-making catcher who also makes your pitching staff better" and I don't think he was spouting BS.

 

So yes, if Theo thinks his upside is an MVP candidate then his upside is right there with Bryant and Baez. You can question if he'll reach that upside, but no one questions how high it is with his tools and athleticism and batspeed. Scouts all recognize how special he is or could be, but wonder if he'll ever reach it.

[Bertz]

We're thinking this new Director of Pitching position is what Kyle Boddy interviewed for, right? Have we heard about anyone tied to the Hitting Director role?

[Cubswin11]

We're thinking this new Director of Pitching position is what Kyle Boddy interviewed for, right? Have we heard about anyone tied to the Hitting Director role?

Yes on Boddy and hopefully they get him. Haven’t heard a thing about the hitting director. Though Driveline does hitting work too, maybe they have a guy Boddy would bring to do that?

[d_money]

Literally, Theo said "the best version of Willson Contreras is an MVP candidate, difference-making catcher who also makes your pitching staff better" and I don't think he was spouting BS.

 

So yes, if Theo thinks his upside is an MVP candidate then his upside is right there with Bryant and Baez. You can question if he'll reach that upside, but no one questions how high it is with his tools and athleticism and batspeed. Scouts all recognize how special he is or could be, but wonder if he'll ever reach it.

Staying healthy would be key.

[JudasIscariotTheBird]

Green said the Cubs president asked the Valentinos to refund the final two weeks of rent due to the scorpion infestation, but that the landlords refused. The Valentinos also refused to refund their $5,000 security and pet deposit.

 

https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/landlord-claims-chicago-cubs-president-left-dog-urine-in-arizona-house-11373956

[Sammy Sofa]

Folks, I cannot emphasize enough how much you all need to read that entire article. Holy horsefeathers.

[ConstableRabbit]

In addition to urine stains, the Epsteins also allegedly left the home with drywall holes, broken cabinet handles, a torn shower curtain, a ripped grill cover, and other damages.

 

This is a little dramatic. Like, $100 in damage for a place with a $5,000 security deposit? There's no way in hell that was $51k of damage, even if they had to redo every floor in the house from the dog's acid piss.

[Brian]

the scorpion stuff is horrifying, why would anyone willingly live in Arizona?

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Folks, I cannot emphasize enough how much you all need to read that entire article. Holy horsefeathers.

 

When they started talking about scorpions my thought was 'oh they probably saw a couple in the house and maybe a poisonous one in the yard', then I keep reading and it's 'no here's an inspection report about the mature colony of super poisonous scorpions in the yard'. Arizona, not even once.

[jersey cubs fan]

Folks, I cannot emphasize enough how much you all need to read that entire article. Holy horsefeathers.

 

When they started talking about scorpions my thought was 'oh they probably saw a couple in the house and maybe a poisonous one in the yard', then I keep reading and it's 'no here's an inspection report about the mature colony of super poisonous scorpions in the yard'. Arizona, not even once.

 

scorpions are fun, but the columbo moment at the end is what sold the story

[champaignchris]

My grandparents lived in Arizona my entire childhood until they passed while I was in college. We visited them every summer and often on X-Mas break. We went hiking all the time. My grandpa’s property backed up to a big stretch of state park and we’d go quartz hunting. He eventually had a whole garden lined with quartz.

 

That entire time, I never once saw a scorpion. Maybe we were just in the wrong part of the state.

 

And I have a ton of experience with real estate disputes. I absolutely guarantee that the landlord’s complaints are trumped up so that he doesn’t have to pay the security deposit back. That’s pretty much SOP for some (scummy) landlords - don’t return the deposit, if anyone complains, counter with an exaggerated list of damage to the property.

[Sammy Sofa]

Folks, I cannot emphasize enough how much you all need to read that entire article. Holy horsefeathers.

 

When they started talking about scorpions my thought was 'oh they probably saw a couple in the house and maybe a poisonous one in the yard', then I keep reading and it's 'no here's an inspection report about the mature colony of super poisonous scorpions in the yard'. Arizona, not even once.

 

scorpions are fun, but the columbo moment at the end is what sold the story

 

YES.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

[minnesotacubsfan]

which part was surprising? I mean, its horsefeathering arizona

[NOLA]

"This frivolous lawsuit would have you believe a 10-pound rescue puppy transformed into a nightmarish Levitán from the 1984 Alice Cooper horror movie and went on a rampage in a rental property,"

Hahaha