General Cubs Chit-Chat

[Banedon]

 

I must have brought that up a bajillion times here; outside of casually enjoying the schadenfreude of pro football's slooooooooooooowwwwwwwwww slog into death, I gave up actually following for it, like, two seasons ago. Watching football, especially Bears football, just bums me out.

 

Same. If asked I'd probably still say I'm a Bears fan, but I didn't watch any football last season and I didn't miss it in the slightest.

 

you were actually the one i specifically remembered saying they didn't like baseball anymore in 2011.

 

but, again, ya the morals of it. i get it.

 

Fair point, I did say that...no defense there. I was pretty fed up with the Cubs back then.

 

This is definitely a different thing for me, but I understand any skepticism of that.

[We Got The Whole 9]

I don't get that, other than he throws fast. He has no command/control of the FB and it doesn't seem to have a lot of movement and none of his secondary stuff seems great that he can get guys off the FB. I'm very disappointed in him with the eye test so far, the results speak for themselves, but just watching him pitch his stuff just doesn't inspire much confidence.

I mean he's pitched 4 innings. Sure they were not good at all but they are 4 innings.

 

He had a 12 K9 with Detroit.

And that was only in 40 innings, which is kinda a small sample size with the fungibility of relief pitchers and his historical performance. The previous 4 years he's been in the 9s for K/9 in 3 of those years and 7s for one of those years (though he is/was upward trending) spanning ~250 innings and he's in the 9s overall for his career.

Fair point but as he explained in the recent interview with him he developed his curve this year to help keep hitters off the fastball. It's not a great pitch but if it can disrupt timing then his fastball has a better chance of missing bats and that's what had happened in those 40 innings.

 

So the scales should tip in the other direction soon I hope.

[ConstableRabbit]

It's not just because the Bears have sucked; I actually think the NFL is kinda boring. The announcers and analysts all say the same things (and unlike in baseball, there's not that as much intellectual conversation about the game/tactics), there are too many commercials and other breaks in the action, everything that happens every week feels overhyped by every media outlet, and it seems like every season is defined by who's injured/suspended.

 

I like the game of football: the strategy/schemes, the athleticism, the complexity -- but everything around the NFL has made it so much less fun.

[SouthSideRyan]

Bears fans are also easily the most intolerable group of fans in the city. I met a couple friends for drinks last night and there were multiple lunatics screaming at the TV for a dumbass preseason game. I only care about the NFL as an excuse to go out on Sunday afternoons.

[jersey cubs fan]

It's not just because the Bears have sucked; I actually think the NFL is kinda boring. The announcers and analysts all say the same things (and unlike in baseball, there's not that as much intellectual conversation about the game/tactics), there are too many commercials and other breaks in the action, everything that happens every week feels overhyped by every media outlet, and it seems like every season is defined by who's injured/suspended.

 

I like the game of football: the strategy/schemes, the athleticism, the complexity -- but everything around the NFL has made it so much less fun.

let us harken back to a time when football wasn't boring

 

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[Regular Show]

 

Bingo. It's about 95% "this has become really grotesque to watch" (also due to the NFL's horsefeathers up morality in general, even in the context of pro sports) as opposed to, "Oh, I'm sick of the dumb Bears." Like, the Bears being hapless and doomed to forever suck is the cherry on top, but I really just lost the taste for football in general.

 

Plus going to a football game has become one of the absolute worst things a human being could choose to waste their time on. It's everything that's horrible about sports fandom ramped up by a billion.

 

Yeah, same here. I used to be a big Bears fan like 10 years ago when they were still good and the defense was amazing. I just feel like a hypocrite watching it since I would never let my nephews play it (I don't have any kids) or recommend it that any of my friend's kids play the sport either. I certainly wouldn't play it if I had the size and skill after reading all the terrible brain trauma/CTE articles and research papers, unless I were like a punter or crappy third-string QB lol.

 

The NFL has a serious problem on its hands and they know it and don't care, and maybe that's being too generous. They've probably known about this for a long time, and also know there is no solution to the inherent violence and long-term danger to the player's health at large. The NFL has a looming crisis, and I predict a weird transition happening in the future: kids in cold-water states and Northern states start focusing on other sports more while kids in Texas (where HS Football and Football in general is like a religion) and other southern states continue to play Football even as more and more Doctors and researchers recommend avoiding full-contact sports like Football.

 

I don't know who said it or where I read it, but watching the NFL is like the modern equivalent of watching gladiators fight each other to death in the Colosseum...

[jersey cubs fan]

but watching the NFL is like the modern equivalent of watching gladiators fight each other to death in the Colosseum...

Its weird to me that people say this when MMA and boxing exist, not to mention wrestling.

[Regular Show]

but watching the NFL is like the modern equivalent of watching gladiators fight each other to death in the Colosseum...

Its weird to me that people say this when MMA and boxing exist, not to mention wrestling.

 

Eh, I'm not a fan of those sports either. You're not wrong -- those sports are also terrible for the health of its participants, but everyone knows that. The thing is the public didn't realize just how detrimental playing in the NFL was for the long-term health of its players until recently.

[jersey cubs fan]

but watching the NFL is like the modern equivalent of watching gladiators fight each other to death in the Colosseum...

Its weird to me that people say this when MMA and boxing exist, not to mention wrestling.

 

Eh, I'm not a fan of those sports either. You're not wrong -- those sports are also terrible for the health of its participants, but everyone knows that. The thing is the public didn't realize just how detrimental playing in the NFL was for the long-term health of its players until recently.

well sure, but the topics of football players being crippled youn, dying young and killing themselves with steroids has been a topic of conversation in the open since at least the 80's.

[Aaron_Kennelly]

I think Wilson is going to be just fine. I think he's really good. And he'll be dominant and we'll forget all about this start. I also think his fastball is nasty, even if we haven't been able to pick up on it.

 

As was said earlier, he has the highest whiff% of all lefties with his four-seam this year:

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/pitchfx/leaderboards/index.php?hand=&reportType=pfx&prp=ALL&month=&year=2017&pitch=FA&ds=ws&lim=200

 

It was also 4th highest of all lefties last year:

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/pitchfx/leaderboards/index.php?hand=&reportType=pfx&prp=ALL&month=&year=2016&pitch=FA&ds=ws&lim=200

 

11th highest of all lefties in 2015:

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/pitchfx/leaderboards/index.php?hand=&reportType=pfx&prp=ALL&month=&year=2015&pitch=FA&ds=ws&lim=200

 

8th highest of all lefties in 2014:

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/pitchfx/leaderboards/index.php?hand=&reportType=pfx&prp=ALL&month=&year=2014&pitch=FA&ds=ws&lim=200

 

So, yeah, it's always been pretty nasty. And I'm not so worried about his off-speed stuff. Looking at the two guys that are most similar to him: Sean Doolittle and Jake McGee, he seems like he's even better with his fastball than them. They all throw four-seam fastballs, like, 90% of the time. They're lefties. They have similar stuff on their fastballs. They are all good. But Wilson's fastball is better.

 

For 2017:

Wilson: 11.77 (inches) vertical movement, 5.5 horizontal movement, 96.6 mph avg. velocity

McGee: 9.74 vertical, 6.39 horizontal, 95.55 velo

Doolittle: 11.23 vertical, 4.08 horizontal, 94.99 velo

 

It might be because his movement is coming vertically that we can't tell how nasty it is? This year he has the 3rd-most vertical movement on it:

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/pitchfx/leaderboards/index.php?hand=&reportType=pfx&prp=ALL&month=&year=2017&pitch=FA&ds=vmov&lim=200

 

Of 349 pitchers with 120 inning pitched since the start of 2015, he has had the 7th-most vertical movement, the 57th-most horizontal movement, and the 37th-highest velocity:

http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=pit&lg=all&qual=120&type=12&season=2017&month=0&season1=2015&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0

http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=pit&lg=all&qual=150&type=11&season=2017&month=0&season1=2014&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&page=2_30

http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=pit&lg=all&qual=120&type=10&season=2017&month=0&season1=2015&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&page=2_30

 

Of 384 pitchers that have thrown at least 500 pitches this year, his four-seam spin rate is 34th highest, too:

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/statcast_search?hfPT=FF%7C&hfAB=&hfBBT=&hfPR=&hfZ=&stadium=&hfBBL=&hfNewZones=&hfGT=R%7C&hfC=&hfSea=2017%7C&hfSit=&player_type=pitcher&hfOuts=&opponent=&pitcher_throws=&batter_stands=&hfSA=&game_date_gt=&game_date_lt=&team=&position=&hfRO=&home_road=&hfFlag=&metric_1=&hfInn=&min_pitches=500&min_results=0&group_by=name&sort_col=spin_rate&player_event_sort=h_launch_speed&sort_order=desc&min_abs=0#results

 

It's definitely nasty.

[Aaron_Kennelly]

I'm probably the biggest hypocrite ever, since I help coach high school football, which is probably even worse than the NFL, since they're just kids. But I've definitely been turned off by the NFL. The concussion issue is definitely a huge part of it, but like Sofa said, it's the morality of the league in general. I've just slowly been turned off by all of it -- the concussions, domestic violence, the catering to their lowest common denominator fan base, and on and on.

 

I've never been a huge football fan anyway, though. And I'll still watch a football game if it's on and I have nothing better to do. But I pay no attention to it outside of when the season is going on. I pay very little attention while it's going on. I still think a good game is fun though, because sports are fun. And I don't think too much about all of the players' brains being turned to mush while a game is going on. There was a play last year where a guy got hit really hard and knocked loopy and he started crying. That was incredibly sad to watch.

[CyHawk_Cub]

Echoing previous posts, I also enjoy football the game, but the product we get from the NFL has sucked for a long time, at least for me. No-fun rules, constant commercials, the utter militarization (over the top nationalistic fervor...YMMV, obviously) w/ jet flyovers, etc. & the basic [expletive] overall culture of the league have all contributed to making the NFL unenjoyable.

[Derwood]

I've always liked college football a million times more than the NFL. The double-edged sword of just 1% of college players making the NFL is that on the one hand, they are the elite of the elite, but on the other, they are also usually the most awful people as well

[Sammy Sofa]

Echoing previous posts, I also enjoy football the game, but the product we get from the NFL has sucked for a long time, at least for me. No-fun rules, constant commercials, the utter militarization (over the top nationalistic fervor...YMMV, obviously) w/ jet flyovers, etc. & the basic [expletive] overall culture of the league have all contributed to making the NFL unenjoyable.

 

Ugh, yeah, the bold part is ridiculous. It's showing up somewhat in baseball, too, but it's just at absurd levels with football.

[David]

of COURSE gordo is writing about this

 

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[Aaron_Kennelly]

of COURSE gordo is writing about this

 

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Doesn't Avila have a decent arm? I mean, it's not like Willson's, but it's alright. It'd be a bit different if we were left with Caratini and Miggy.

[Banedon]

I'm probably the biggest hypocrite ever, since I help coach high school football, which is probably even worse than the NFL, since they're just kids. But I've definitely been turned off by the NFL. The concussion issue is definitely a huge part of it, but like Sofa said, it's the morality of the league in general. I've just slowly been turned off by all of it -- the concussions, domestic violence, the catering to their lowest common denominator fan base, and on and on.

 

I've never been a huge football fan anyway, though. And I'll still watch a football game if it's on and I have nothing better to do. But I pay no attention to it outside of when the season is going on. I pay very little attention while it's going on. I still think a good game is fun though, because sports are fun. And I don't think too much about all of the players' brains being turned to mush while a game is going on. There was a play last year where a guy got hit really hard and knocked loopy and he started crying. That was incredibly sad to watch.

 

Right...it's this horsefeathers...

 

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That's not ok for me.

[Bryants Disco Ball]

of COURSE gordo is writing about this

 

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Doesn't Avila have a decent arm? I mean, it's not like Willson's, but it's alright. It'd be a bit different if we were left with Caratini and Miggy.

 

I think Avila is actually throwing out a higher percentage of runners than Willy.

[UMFan83]

of COURSE gordo is writing about this

 

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Doesn't Avila have a decent arm? I mean, it's not like Willson's, but it's alright. It'd be a bit different if we were left with Caratini and Miggy.

 

I think Avila is actually throwing out a higher percentage of runners than Willy.

 

Problem solved Gordo

[weis21]

i am happy stropy has been pitching so well lately. most notably because if helps the cubs, of course. but, i really, really love that guy.

 

i'll often wear my hats with just a SLIGHT tweak to the right in honor of pedro. i can't pull it off to the extreme that he does but i think it's a good look. won't do a flat bill, though.

[weis21]

also, avila has one of the manliest beards i've ever seen. it's like the beard of a lumberjack.

[Aaron_Kennelly]

Brian Duensing has the highest fWAR of any relief pitcher on the team -- fourth-highest of any pitcher.

[Aaron_Kennelly]

Relief pitchers' WAR also incorporates leverage. I'm not sure if they use WPA or what, or how much effect it has. But, it's basically saying Duensing has been our most valuable reliever, despite being used mostly early and in blowouts and losses all the way into June.

[David]

for those who were wondering where all the dongs were and who might've missed it on the broadcast last night, the cubs have the most dongs in baseball in the second half (9th overall iirc)

[Aaron_Kennelly]

for those who were wondering where all the dongs were and who might've missed it on the broadcast last night, the cubs have the most dongs in baseball in the second half (9th overall iirc)

 

And the 5th highest BABIP at .318. 6th highest Hard-hit%. 4th lowest Soft%. The offense has been good, despite tonight's failings.