General Cubs Chit-Chat

[champaignchris]

Yeah, Trueblood was trying to push a similar narrative earlier this week and it doesn't land. On top of what jersey said, since 2015 the Cubs are 3rd in MLB in wins, including more than the Yankees, who were Trueblood's 'consistent excellence' barometer they were failing to meet. The short to medium term outlook isn't as good as it could or should be, and you can blame various proportions of ownership, the front office, and luck for that. But that frustration is creating a desire for some to downplay what they actually achieved.

 

Yeah since 15 third most wins in baseball. Same amount LCS appearances as the Yankees. Actually won a World Series which NY & LA (as of this week) havent won. Nobody has dynastied & won 2 titles during this stretch. Goes to show how important 2016 was. Great organizations like LA, NY, and CLE are still shutout of rings during this stretch.

 

It sucks the waves and waves & dynasty didnt happen but hard to give Theo anything but an A for this stretch of consistent good with a few years of great baseball.

 

Right. What are we measuring against? The Cubs’ history? This was the best multi-year stretch of Cubs baseball since the 1930s at worst. The best of anyone’s lifetimes unless you’re in your 90s, and even then we could argue the point - those 20s/30s Cubs went to 4 WSs, but never won one.

 

Measured against other teams during the same time frame? No one won more World Series. The Dodgers, the gold standard during this time frame still don’t have theirs. The Royals have fallen apart and are rebuilding. The Nats finally got theirs and immediately followed up with a losing season. The Yankees haven’t won with their most recent crop of talent. The Indians are still searching for their first win. The Astros cheated to get their win and had a losing season this year. The Red Sox cheated to get their win and have been awful ever since. The Brewers lucked into a couple playoff appearances, but were never particularly good. The Cardinals seem to be stuck perpetually at above average. Am I forgetting anyone? I’d rather be the Dodgers going forward, but I wouldn’t trade the Cubs’ last 6 seasons for anyone else’s.

[Cubswin11]

The lesson in all this, as always, is Trueblood is a complete horsefeathering moron

[We Got The Whole 9]

This era cannot be called anything but a smashing success. Not only did they win for the first time in anybody we know's lifetimes but they did it with a largely homegrown roster, players that we watched intensively throughout their development, and in which produced a handful of legit All-Stars and a couple superstars. It was more brief than I anticipated, sure. I too had dreams of a longstanding dynasty, and watching the player development stagnate, and falling behind in some of the league-wide trends was surprising. But this was by far the most fun I had watching the team in my lifetime.

[17 Seconds]

i think time will do a lot of good things for theo's cubs legacy

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Unless I've Jerry O'Connelled my way into an alternate universe where Epstein took over the Cubs before the 2015 season, that's not the season to start measuring him by.

[David]

Unless I've Jerry O'Connelled my way into an alternate universe where Epstein took over the Cubs before the 2015 season, that's not the season to start measuring him by.

 

yeah yeah yeah. we get it. we know. go away man.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Unless I've Jerry O'Connelled my way into an alternate universe where Epstein took over the Cubs before the 2015 season, that's not the season to start measuring him by.

 

yeah yeah yeah. we get it. we know. go away man.

 

Damn. I knew Sliders wasn't popular but I didn't think it would be that controversial to reference.

[JudasIscariotTheBird]

Unless I've Jerry O'Connelled my way into an alternate universe where Epstein took over the Cubs before the 2015 season, that's not the season to start measuring him by.

 

yeah yeah yeah. we get it. we know. go away man.

 

Damn. I knew Sliders wasn't popular but I didn't think it would be that controversial to reference.

I'm more of a Gimli guy.

[Bertz]

 

This article is almost comically vague, but a few things stand out

 

- They're not spending a ton of money this winter, it sounds like it may even be a dollar in/dollar out kind of situation

- The team seems to be very confident in the pitching infrastructure. Expect most of the pitching changes to be either from playing waiver wire roulette like last winter or from development of the cache of power arms they now finally have in the minors

- They seem to be setting us up for running back mostly the same horsefeathering offense. Probably see one high profile guy sent out (KB?), and a handful of lower profile names brought in

- The team sees some Tommy Hottovy in Chris Valaika. They're hoping that as a young, smart, recent major leaguer he can work up to doing similar things on the offensive side

[Cubswin11]

This would be a decently big hit, don’t do it Angels.

 

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Jon Lester drinks cat urine.

 

[WrigleyField 22]

Jon Lester drinks cat urine.

 

Jon Lester thanks fans by holding super spreader events throughout the city.

[UMFan83]

Jon Lester drinks cat urine.

 

Jon Lester thanks fans by holding super spreader events throughout the city.

 

Apparently he chose those bars specifically after he confirmed that they are reservation only (thus limiting capacity), and was assured that all mask wearing and social distancing guidelines are strongly enforced. I think I read also only outdoor seating but I could be wrong. Probably not 100% safe but at least he put some effort into ensuring the safety of the people taking him up on the offer and helping to support bars who are likely struggling.

[WrigleyField 22]

Jon Lester drinks cat urine.

 

Jon Lester thanks fans by holding super spreader events throughout the city.

 

Apparently he chose those bars specifically after he confirmed that they are reservation only (thus limiting capacity), and was assured that all mask wearing and social distancing guidelines are strongly enforced. I think I read also only outdoor seating but I could be wrong. Probably not 100% safe but at least he put some effort into ensuring the safety of the people taking him up on the offer and helping to support bars who are likely struggling.

Okay, at least he's trying.

[squally1313]

Yeah I mean, it's a really cool gesture done at a really bad time. Still love him, even though if he knew how Instagram works he would most likely pull a Cutler here in the next few days.

[minnesotacubsfan]

Yeah I mean, it's a really cool gesture done at a really bad time. Still love him, even though if he knew how Instagram works he would most likely pull a Cutler here in the next few days.

 

I get the impression Jon would be FAR less entertaining then Cutler on instagram

[Ding Dong Johnson]

[tweet]

[/tweet]

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Speaking of BDJ

 

[Brian]

4 years

 

[itisallpartoftheplan]

*Ryan Tepera MVP Vote alert*

[soccer10k]

*Ryan Tepera MVP Vote alert*

 

I had a coworker point out that a Cubs reliever got an MVP vote this year and thought for sure it was Jeffress. Nope, it was a dude with an ERA just under 4.

 

And the guy who voted for him is a St Louis writer.

[CoolHandLuke]

*Ryan Tepera MVP Vote alert*

 

I had a coworker point out that a Cubs reliever got an MVP vote this year and thought for sure it was Jeffress. Nope, it was a dude with an ERA just under 4.

 

And the guy who voted for him is a St Louis writer.

 

There was an article explaining that it was a mistake - he was trying to give Trea Turner a vote

[soccer10k]

*Ryan Tepera MVP Vote alert*

 

I had a coworker point out that a Cubs reliever got an MVP vote this year and thought for sure it was Jeffress. Nope, it was a dude with an ERA just under 4.

 

And the guy who voted for him is a St Louis writer.

 

There was an article explaining that it was a mistake - he was trying to give Trea Turner a vote

 

Well that makes a lot more sense. Guess by the end he didn’t bother double checking he put down the right player. It is a 10th place vote so not like he mistakenly voted Tepera 1st.

[Bertz]

 

I actually kind of hope Porter gets the Mets' job. I don't want the new GM to go to be a Theo/Jed retread. Of the names we've heard connected to the job, give me Billy Owens.

[Bertz]

 

I actually kind of hope Porter gets the Mets' job. I don't want the new GM to go to be a Theo/Jed retread. Of the names we've heard connected to the job, give me Billy Owens.

 

Asked and received