General Cubs Chit-Chat

[The_Achiever]

Russell being that low is kind of surprised. Had some big games in 2016....

[jersey cubs fan]

This is random but I was just looking at the postseason OPS of most of the Cubs that have played multiple postseasons with the team during this run and its amazing that we'd had a moderate level of postseason success including a championship and 6 series wins.

 

Schwarber 1.016

Ross .858

Bryant .743

Contreras .716

Rizzo .690

Baez .662

Russell .596

Zobrist .589

Almora .508

Happ .476

Montero .428

Heyward .323

LaStella .071

well, the mets series probably had a lot to do with that. They were also shut out multiple times vs the Dodgers and Indians in 2016, and did very little against the Dodgers in 2017. You face a slew of great pitchers in the post season, so it's not that unexpected.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

You missed Fowler at .755, which helps a small bit.

[Thed Hoyerstein]

[tweet]

[/tweet]

 

I'll always love Z but goodness was he a hot head. For as annoying as this season has been, at least they (sans Russell) aren't dislikable like the 2004 Cubs.

[jersey cubs fan]

[tweet]

[/tweet]

 

I'll always love Z but goodness was he a hot head. For as annoying as this season has been, at least they (sans Russell) aren't dislikable like the 2004 Cubs.

I watched those shenanigans from a restaurant in Little Italy.

[squally1313]

LOL at both those calls from the Edmonds strikeout, and then Zambrano still being in the 8th inning of a game we were losing 5-3. Different game.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Did you catch young Albert Pujols in that video? He was probably only about 34 then.

[Cubswin11]

[tweet]

[/tweet]

[17 Seconds]

is there anywhere to see 2003-2004 regular season cubs highlights? i remember they used to have them going back to 2004 on mlb.com but they removed them a long time ago.

[NotSoSober]

[tweet]

[/tweet]

 

I'll always love Z but goodness was he a hot head. For as annoying as this season has been, at least they (sans Russell) aren't dislikable like the 2004 Cubs.

I watched those shenanigans from a restaurant in Little Italy.

I liked Z but this was a bitch move. You wanna do something like that then throw down, don't just walk off into the clubhouse immediately

Edit: Especially if you're more than content to punch your catcher instead of Jim Edmonds

[itisallpartoftheplan]

is there anywhere to see 2003-2004 regular season cubs highlights? i remember they used to have them going back to 2004 on mlb.com but they removed them a long time ago.

 

There is a decent amount of full Cubs games from 03-04 on you tube.

[UMFan83]

Random question RE: Lee Smith. His tenue with the Cubs was a few years before I started actively following the team so I don't know a ton about him other than the basics. In the video tribute WGN showed in the pre-game yesterday, they mentioned that the Cubs traded him to Boston in 1987 per his request. Does anyone know the circumstances behind him asking to be traded?

[squally1313]

Random question RE: Lee Smith. His tenue with the Cubs was a few years before I started actively following the team so I don't know a ton about him other than the basics. In the video tribute WGN showed in the pre-game yesterday, they mentioned that the Cubs traded him to Boston in 1987 per his request. Does anyone know the circumstances behind him asking to be traded?

 

I definitely wasn't following the team back then (on account of being born two months before the trade), but based on the two links below, he was getting either internal or media criticism about being too heavy and it having an adverse impact on his knees. There's a quote in there about just requesting to be traded, not necessarily to Boston.

 

http://archive.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2004/06/19/close_up_with_the_ultimate_closer/

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20070105194455/http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=Lee_Smith_1957

[squally1313]

Edwards down, maybe Wick up? His season has been handled wonderfully so far.

[David]

This is random but I was just looking at the postseason OPS of most of the Cubs that have played multiple postseasons with the team during this run and its amazing that we'd had a moderate level of postseason success including a championship and 6 series wins.

 

Schwarber 1.016

Ross .858

Bryant .743

Contreras .716

Rizzo .690

Baez .662

Russell .596

Zobrist .589

Almora .508

Happ .476

Montero .428

Heyward .323

LaStella .071

 

is "moderate" being said tongue in cheek here?

[Banedon]

Edwards down, maybe Wick up? His season has been handled wonderfully so far.

 

They must be getting pretty fed up with Carl. Back for one bad outing and he's out.

[ConstableRabbit]

Edwards down, maybe Wick up? His season has been handled wonderfully so far.

I mean, he’s been all over the place all season. If he can’t be trusted to come into a high leverage situation without major control issues, he’s going to be treated like just another guy.

[We Got The Whole 9]

Edwards down, maybe Wick up? His season has been handled wonderfully so far.

I mean, he’s been all over the place all season. If he can’t be trusted to come into a high leverage situation without major control issues, he’s going to be treated like just another guy.

For his career he has a 5.27 FIP in high leverage. It's actually amazing that Joe keeps pushing that square peg in where he doesnt fit. Several stats take a severe nosedive in HLS with Carl. Just a quick example

 

L/M/H

 

KBB - 3.03/2.40/1.59

HR/9 - .71/.53/1.48

K% - 34/35.4/26.7

LOB% - 93.0/73.8/35.9

FIP - 2.86/3.0/5.27

 

And of course he needed to be bailed out by Montgomery in G7. Couldnt even be trusted to get Michael Martinez out.

[champaignchris]

Random question RE: Lee Smith. His tenue with the Cubs was a few years before I started actively following the team so I don't know a ton about him other than the basics. In the video tribute WGN showed in the pre-game yesterday, they mentioned that the Cubs traded him to Boston in 1987 per his request. Does anyone know the circumstances behind him asking to be traded?

 

I definitely wasn't following the team back then (on account of being born two months before the trade), but based on the two links below, he was getting either internal or media criticism about being too heavy and it having an adverse impact on his knees. There's a quote in there about just requesting to be traded, not necessarily to Boston.

 

http://archive.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2004/06/19/close_up_with_the_ultimate_closer/

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20070105194455/http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=Lee_Smith_1957

 

I was only thirteen at the time, but my recollection was that it was a, “If you don’t like me, trade me,” more than any particular desire to be away from the Cubs.

 

That was a spectacularly bad trade by the way. Neither pitcher acquired by the Cubs was still on the team by the end of 1989. The Cubs got Luis Salazar for Schiraldi. So I supposed that’s something.

 

The Cubs had already traded away future HoF closer Dennis Eckersley away for nothing. They signed Goose Gossage to close in 1988. He was over the hill and awful. They traded away Jamie Moyer AND Rafael Palmeiro for Mitch Williams in 1989. He was pretty good in 1989 and then completely lost his horsefeathers in 1990 and was traded for table scraps. They signed Dave Smith to close in 1991. He was awful, posted a 6.00 ERA and lost his job before the year was half over. They went closer by committee in 1992, with predictable results. Finally, they signed Randy Myers to close in 1993 and he was ok for a few years.

 

In those five seasons between the trade and signing Myers, fat Lee Smith with the bad knees pitched 385 innings with a 2.76 ERA and got 175 saves.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

[Cubswin11]

[OleMissCub]

I’m all aboard the Jomboy train. Love this guy.

 

[The Other One]

Random question RE: Lee Smith. His tenue with the Cubs was a few years before I started actively following the team so I don't know a ton about him other than the basics. In the video tribute WGN showed in the pre-game yesterday, they mentioned that the Cubs traded him to Boston in 1987 per his request. Does anyone know the circumstances behind him asking to be traded?

 

I definitely wasn't following the team back then (on account of being born two months before the trade), but based on the two links below, he was getting either internal or media criticism about being too heavy and it having an adverse impact on his knees. There's a quote in there about just requesting to be traded, not necessarily to Boston.

 

http://archive.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2004/06/19/close_up_with_the_ultimate_closer/

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20070105194455/http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=Lee_Smith_1957

 

I was only thirteen at the time, but my recollection was that it was a, “If you don’t like me, trade me,” more than any particular desire to be away from the Cubs.

 

That was a spectacularly bad trade by the way. Neither pitcher acquired by the Cubs was still on the team by the end of 1989. The Cubs got Luis Salazar for Schiraldi. So I supposed that’s something.

 

The Cubs had already traded away future HoF closer Dennis Eckersley away for nothing. They signed Goose Gossage to close in 1988. He was over the hill and awful. They traded away Jamie Moyer AND Rafael Palmeiro for Mitch Williams in 1989. He was pretty good in 1989 and then completely lost his horsefeathers in 1990 and was traded for table scraps. They signed Dave Smith to close in 1991. He was awful, posted a 6.00 ERA and lost his job before the year was half over. They went closer by committee in 1992, with predictable results. Finally, they signed Randy Myers to close in 1993 and he was ok for a few years.

 

In those five seasons between the trade and signing Myers, fat Lee Smith with the bad knees pitched 385 innings with a 2.76 ERA and got 175 saves.

 

 

Jim Frey managed the Cubs, led them to a spectacular 1984 season, and was fired in 1986. He hung around the booth and then was named GM in 1987 after Dallas Green was fired. He quickly named Zimmer manager and almost as quickly sent Smith to Boston. It really felt like old school GM and Manager setting the clubhouse with players they liked. There was no logical explanation for the trade except for something that bugged them or happened in the clubhouse that was never going to hit the news. Same when he traded Palmiero the next year (escapades that became rumor fodder several years later). Eckersley was traded by Green prior to Frey, but he was rumored to really enjoy the bar scene after the games and had to be traded to a less tempting spot.

 

On that topic, in the 80's it was pretty easy to find neighborhood joints that housed Cub players well after the game ended. One of my favorite memories was sitting in a bar on Berteau and St. Louis telling Rick Sutcliffe about my fantasy league where I traded Fernando Valenzuela (who was having a monster year) for him (who was not). He told me that was probably a bad trade...

 

There were a lot of rumors about infidelity and late nights so we painted every questionable move with an understanding that something no one would be proud of probably happened behind the scenes.

Edited July 23, 2019 by The Other One

[JudasIscariotTheBird]

I’m all aboard the Jomboy train. Love this guy.

 

When did that guy lose his Austrailian accent...and excitement....and humor?

[champaignchris]

Jim Frey managed the Cubs, led them to a spectacular 1984 season, and was fired in 1986. He hung around the booth and then was named GM in 1987 after Dallas Green was fired. He quickly named Zimmer manager and almost as quickly sent Smith to Boston. It really felt like old school GM and Manager setting the clubhouse with players they liked. There was no logical explanation for the trade except for something that bugged them or happened in the clubhouse that was never going to hit the news. Same when he traded Palmiero the next year (escapades that became rumor fodder several years later). Eckersley was traded by Green prior to Frey, but he was rumored to really enjoy the bar scene after the games and had to be traded to a less tempting spot.

 

On that topic, in the 80's it was pretty easy to find neighborhood joints that housed Cub players well after the game ended. One of my favorite memories was sitting in a bar on Berteau and St. Louis telling Rick Sutcliffe about my fantasy league where I traded Fernando Valenzuela (who was having a monster year) for him (who was not). He told me that was probably a bad trade...

 

There were a lot of rumors about fidelity and late nights so we painted every questionable move with an understanding that something no one would be proud of probably happened behind the scenes.

 

By his own admission, Eck was a straight up drunk during most of his tenure with the Cubs. After the 86 season, he went to rehab and told Green he was now sober, but Green had already decided to dump him. The rest is, as they say, history.

 

And those 80s Cubs had a real reputation for partying. I remember the ladies wearing their “I’d trade my hubby for a Cubbie” t-shirts. I think both some of the ladies and some of the players took those shirts literally.

 

It sort of makes you wonder about the “food poisoning” epidemic that hit the team in 85. What was really going on?