General Cubs Chit-Chat

[Backtobanks]

screw off you pessimists and you doom boners

 

it's spring and the world is showing signs of not being a complete disaster within a relatively short time frame. now is the time for optimism.

 

KB, Javy, Rizzo and Willy are going to carry this team in the infield. they are all very good, so hopefully they can all be very good (and healthy) together again...which, yeah, it's been a while. nico will at least field his position really well and hopefully has some improvement in him at the plate. happ is going to continue to take off as a hitter, pederson is going to hit a bunch of dongs and field reasonably well, and heyward may or may not be a negative, but at least "may not" is realistically in play for once.

 

the starting pitching is going to be better than expected and the infield defense is going to be a big reason why. hendricks is hendricks. davies, jake, and williams will do a cromulent job of eating innings and keeping us in games. that dork mills is fine for a 5th starter too i guess.

 

alzolay and his new slider might sneak up on us and become awesome. i'm really excited to see if he can build on what he had going late last year.

 

we'll see about the bullpen but there were some good signs from kimbrel and overall there is some good and bad. hopefully it'll shake out to something competent.

 

at the very least, beating up on the pirates will be fun, but yeah let's go out and win 90+ in a crap division.

 

plus i want to see boog have at least one good season with this group of guys before everything inevitably goes to horsefeathers.

 

As I've posted before, they could have a very good year and win 90 games, if they were only playing Central Division games like last year. Unfortunately, MLB is making us play real ML teams this year.

[David]

screw off you pessimists and you doom boners

 

it's spring and the world is showing signs of not being a complete disaster within a relatively short time frame. now is the time for optimism.

 

KB, Javy, Rizzo and Willy are going to carry this team in the infield. they are all very good, so hopefully they can all be very good (and healthy) together again...which, yeah, it's been a while. nico will at least field his position really well and hopefully has some improvement in him at the plate. happ is going to continue to take off as a hitter, pederson is going to hit a bunch of dongs and field reasonably well, and heyward may or may not be a negative, but at least "may not" is realistically in play for once.

 

the starting pitching is going to be better than expected and the infield defense is going to be a big reason why. hendricks is hendricks. davies, jake, and williams will do a cromulent job of eating innings and keeping us in games. that dork mills is fine for a 5th starter too i guess.

 

alzolay and his new slider might sneak up on us and become awesome. i'm really excited to see if he can build on what he had going late last year.

 

we'll see about the bullpen but there were some good signs from kimbrel and overall there is some good and bad. hopefully it'll shake out to something competent.

 

at the very least, beating up on the pirates will be fun, but yeah let's go out and win 90+ in a crap division.

 

plus i want to see boog have at least one good season with this group of guys before everything inevitably goes to horsefeathers.

 

As I've posted before, they could have a very good year and win 90 games, if they were only playing Central Division games like last year. Unfortunately, MLB is making us play real ML teams this year.

 

yes i was aware that you tried that joke 3 separate times

[Cubswin11]

screw off you pessimists and you doom boners

 

it's spring and the world is showing signs of not being a complete disaster within a relatively short time frame. now is the time for optimism.

 

KB, Javy, Rizzo and Willy are going to carry this team in the infield. they are all very good, so hopefully they can all be very good (and healthy) together again...which, yeah, it's been a while. nico will at least field his position really well and hopefully has some improvement in him at the plate. happ is going to continue to take off as a hitter, pederson is going to hit a bunch of dongs and field reasonably well, and heyward may or may not be a negative, but at least "may not" is realistically in play for once.

 

the starting pitching is going to be better than expected and the infield defense is going to be a big reason why. hendricks is hendricks. davies, jake, and williams will do a cromulent job of eating innings and keeping us in games. that dork mills is fine for a 5th starter too i guess.

 

alzolay and his new slider might sneak up on us and become awesome. i'm really excited to see if he can build on what he had going late last year.

 

we'll see about the bullpen but there were some good signs from kimbrel and overall there is some good and bad. hopefully it'll shake out to something competent.

 

at the very least, beating up on the pirates will be fun, but yeah let's go out and win 90+ in a crap division.

 

plus i want to see boog have at least one good season with this group of guys before everything inevitably goes to horsefeathers.

 

As I've posted before, they could have a very good year and win 90 games, if they were only playing Central Division games like last year. Unfortunately, MLB is making us play real ML teams this year.

The majority of the games are still vs the NL and AL Central (AL Central is inter league matchup this year). And it’s not like the rest of the NL is overly loaded. There’s still the Marlins, Phillies, Rockies, Giants, and D’backs and even the Nats. Plus it’s baseball not like you can’t go win 2 of 3 or 3 of 4 vs the Padres or Dodgers on a random weekend. Someone in the NL Central is getting to 90+ wins and it could easily be us since all the none Pirates teams are about the same.

[imb]

screw off you pessimists and you doom boners

 

it's spring and the world is showing signs of not being a complete disaster within a relatively short time frame. now is the time for optimism.

 

KB, Javy, Rizzo and Willy are going to carry this team in the infield. they are all very good, so hopefully they can all be very good (and healthy) together again...which, yeah, it's been a while. nico will at least field his position really well and hopefully has some improvement in him at the plate. happ is going to continue to take off as a hitter, pederson is going to hit a bunch of dongs and field reasonably well, and heyward may or may not be a negative, but at least "may not" is realistically in play for once.

 

the starting pitching is going to be better than expected and the infield defense is going to be a big reason why. hendricks is hendricks. davies, jake, and williams will do a cromulent job of eating innings and keeping us in games. that dork mills is fine for a 5th starter too i guess.

 

alzolay and his new slider might sneak up on us and become awesome. i'm really excited to see if he can build on what he had going late last year.

 

we'll see about the bullpen but there were some good signs from kimbrel and overall there is some good and bad. hopefully it'll shake out to something competent.

 

at the very least, beating up on the pirates will be fun, but yeah let's go out and win 90+ in a crap division.

 

plus i want to see boog have at least one good season with this group of guys before everything inevitably goes to horsefeathers.

 

As I've posted before, they could have a very good year and win 90 games, if they were only playing Central Division games like last year. Unfortunately, MLB is making us play real ML teams this year.

 

yes i was aware that you tried that joke 3 separate times

 

its a 3-team joke

[WrigleyField 22]

What is there to be excited about this year?

 

Ownership is saving on baseball ops expenses, so that has me super pumped, being the fan of financial statements that I am.

Can't wait to dig into the statement of cash flows this year.

[jersey cubs fan]

The lost Ervin???

 

 

[Omar]

What is there to be excited about this year?

 

25% stadium capacity = little/no traffic after the game

[Bear Cub]

Screw the doom and gloom. It's Cubs baseball, enjoy the ride!

[Backtobanks]

The majority of the games are still vs the NL and AL Central (AL Central is inter league matchup this year). And it’s not like the rest of the NL is overly loaded. There’s still the Marlins, Phillies, Rockies, Giants, and D’backs and even the Nats. Plus it’s baseball not like you can’t go win 2 of 3 or 3 of 4 vs the Padres or Dodgers on a random weekend. Someone in the NL Central is getting to 90+ wins and it could easily be us since all the none Pirates teams are about the same.

 

They're picking us at about 78 wins, so 90+ wins seems a little excessive. I'm not sure anyone else in the NL Central will get to 90+ wins either.

[Bull]

The majority of the games are still vs the NL and AL Central (AL Central is inter league matchup this year). And it’s not like the rest of the NL is overly loaded. There’s still the Marlins, Phillies, Rockies, Giants, and D’backs and even the Nats. Plus it’s baseball not like you can’t go win 2 of 3 or 3 of 4 vs the Padres or Dodgers on a random weekend. Someone in the NL Central is getting to 90+ wins and it could easily be us since all the none Pirates teams are about the same.

 

They're picking us at about 78 wins, so 90+ wins seems a little excessive. I'm not sure anyone else in the NL Central will get to 90+ wins either.

What happens to bets on these numbers if there are games unplayed due to outbreaks?

[jersey cubs fan]

The majority of the games are still vs the NL and AL Central (AL Central is inter league matchup this year). And it’s not like the rest of the NL is overly loaded. There’s still the Marlins, Phillies, Rockies, Giants, and D’backs and even the Nats. Plus it’s baseball not like you can’t go win 2 of 3 or 3 of 4 vs the Padres or Dodgers on a random weekend. Someone in the NL Central is getting to 90+ wins and it could easily be us since all the none Pirates teams are about the same.

 

They're picking us at about 78 wins, so 90+ wins seems a little excessive. I'm not sure anyone else in the NL Central will get to 90+ wins either.

What happens to bets on these numbers if there are games unplayed due to outbreaks?

got to play 160 unless not playing won’t affect outcome of bet

[Rob]

The majority of the games are still vs the NL and AL Central (AL Central is inter league matchup this year). And it’s not like the rest of the NL is overly loaded. There’s still the Marlins, Phillies, Rockies, Giants, and D’backs and even the Nats. Plus it’s baseball not like you can’t go win 2 of 3 or 3 of 4 vs the Padres or Dodgers on a random weekend. Someone in the NL Central is getting to 90+ wins and it could easily be us since all the none Pirates teams are about the same.

 

They're picking us at about 78 wins, so 90+ wins seems a little excessive. I'm not sure anyone else in the NL Central will get to 90+ wins either.

 

I think it's certainly possible. Standard variance combined with the fact that basically any NL Central team that starts slow will quickly transition to seller mode.

[Backtobanks]

The majority of the games are still vs the NL and AL Central (AL Central is inter league matchup this year). And it’s not like the rest of the NL is overly loaded. There’s still the Marlins, Phillies, Rockies, Giants, and D’backs and even the Nats. Plus it’s baseball not like you can’t go win 2 of 3 or 3 of 4 vs the Padres or Dodgers on a random weekend. Someone in the NL Central is getting to 90+ wins and it could easily be us since all the none Pirates teams are about the same.

 

They're picking us at about 78 wins, so 90+ wins seems a little excessive. I'm not sure anyone else in the NL Central will get to 90+ wins either.

 

I think it's certainly possible. Standard variance combined with the fact that basically any NL Central team that starts slow will quickly transition to seller mode.

 

After the Marlins made the playoffs in a COVID-shortened season last year, anything is possible, but not likely. I can't see any NL Central team worried about a slow start because they realize that their competition is not that great and there probably is no reason to panic because of the full schedule.

[UMFan83]

The majority of the games are still vs the NL and AL Central (AL Central is inter league matchup this year). And it’s not like the rest of the NL is overly loaded. There’s still the Marlins, Phillies, Rockies, Giants, and D’backs and even the Nats. Plus it’s baseball not like you can’t go win 2 of 3 or 3 of 4 vs the Padres or Dodgers on a random weekend. Someone in the NL Central is getting to 90+ wins and it could easily be us since all the none Pirates teams are about the same.

 

They're picking us at about 78 wins, so 90+ wins seems a little excessive. I'm not sure anyone else in the NL Central will get to 90+ wins either.

 

I think it's certainly possible. Standard variance combined with the fact that basically any NL Central team that starts slow will quickly transition to seller mode.

 

I think its almost as likely that any team in the Central except for the Pirates could be sitting there at 45-50 and 1.5 games out of 1st or something and with fans (hopefully) back in the stands decide to buy. That team could be the Cubs too of course, #PTR jokes aside.

[Cubswin11]

[Sammy Sofa]

Well, when you work for Tom Ricketts that's about all you can afford to clothe yourself.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

[jersey cubs fan]

Castillo, Valbuena, Barney.

 

I’d kill for those bats this season.

[WrigleyField 22]

Castillo, Valbuena, Barney.

 

I’d kill for those bats this season.

Too soon.

[David]

Castillo, Valbuena, Barney.

 

I’d kill for those bats this season.

 

aww man a classic valbuena bat flip on a non dong

[Bull]

Castillo, Valbuena, Barney.

 

I’d kill for those bats this season.

I’d settle for Travis Wood’s bat.

[Bertz]

I was looking at the FG depth chart projections, and they're really down on the defense:

 

https://www.fangraphs.com/depthcharts.aspx?position=ALL&teamid=17

 

- Javy is an average shortstop

- Nico is an average 2B

- Marisnick is an average CF

- Willson is a bad C

- KB is a kind of bad 3B

 

Those latter two are somewhat defensible, they were very untrue in 2020 but were pretty accurate in '18 and '19. But I think if you're looking for reasons to bump the Cubs up a few wins that don't make you a huge homer or put a crazy amount of faith in Tommy Hottovy, this would be the place to look. (I do kind of have a crazy amount of faith in Hottovy though)

[champaignchris]

I was looking at the FG depth chart projections, and they're really down on the defense:

 

https://www.fangraphs.com/depthcharts.aspx?position=ALL&teamid=17

 

- Javy is an average shortstop

- Nico is an average 2B

- Marisnick is an average CF

- Willson is a bad C

- KB is a kind of bad 3B

 

Those latter two are somewhat defensible, they were very untrue in 2020 but were pretty accurate in '18 and '19. But I think if you're looking for reasons to bump the Cubs up a few wins that don't make you a huge homer or put a crazy amount of faith in Tommy Hottovy, this would be the place to look. (I do kind of have a crazy amount of faith in Hottovy though)

 

FG also projects Hendricks to post an ERA over a run above his career average and Davies nearly a run above his career average. If both pitchers are relatively healthy and have performances near their career norms, the Cubs starting pitching will be far better than FG projects.

[Cubswin11]

If it’s true they’re really deadening the ball a bit that should really benefit our entire staff and the pitcher projections could be extra off. A deader ball benefits our staff more than about any team in the league, imo. Throw in I’d expect the defense outperforms the projections above plus have faith in Hottovy, I think we’ll get a few over performers on the pitching side this year. Edited February 24, 2021 by Cubswin11

[Sammy Sofa]

If it’s true they’re really deadening the ball a bit that should really benefit our entire staff and the pitcher projections could be extra off. A deader ball benefits our staff more than about any in the league, imo. Throw in I’d expect the defense outperforms the projections above plus have faith in Hottovy, I think we’ll get a few over performers on the pitching side this year.

 

So lots of 1-0, 2-1 losses then.