General Cubs Chit-Chat

[Clem Fandango]

Last active in September 2016. Always enjoyed his insights and contributions when he was more active.

[cl smooth]

kb just rolled his ankle on the first base bag. helped off the field by rizzo and the trainer.

 

just take the entire team out back and put them out of their misery.

 

**************

 

really, why the horsefeathers am i watching this right now?

[Hairyducked Idiot]

just take the entire team out back and put them out of their misery.

 

That's pretty much exactly what the Cardinals have done.

[Clem Fandango]

I want the Cubs to lose out every remaining game just so Baseball Prospectus can use a REAL smug "I told you so" quote/factoid on the cover of their next year's predictions, along with Cubs players and officials who scoffed at it.

[Irrelevant Dude]

https://chicago.suntimes.com/cubs/2019/9/21/20877470/any-reckoning-should-start-at-top-for-a-cubs-team-that-performed-as-well-as-its-roster-was-built

I agree with this. Maddon has some fault, but this mess isn't his doing. Anything less than Theo taking primary responsibility will be unacceptable. The only thing I want to hear him address in his end of season press conference is the mistakes he has made and what he plans to do to fix them. Maddon is almost certainly gone, but it is largely due to the mistakes that have been made above him. That partially includes ownership, but mostly lies square on the shoulders of Theo. I don't want to hear him place blame on anyone else.

 

The players have proven they are who they are, and it is Theo who bought into them being better than that. I hope Tom Ricketts is furious, and he has every right to be. But does he really care, or is he counting his money and waiting for the new network to launch (which will very likely not even be carried by some of the major content distributors, Dish Network for example)?

[Hawk4Hall]

I hope the Ricketts fall into several manholes. Disgusting people who deserve the worst.

 

horsefeathers them.

[Cubfanintheknow]

https://chicago.suntimes.com/cubs/2019/9/21/20877470/any-reckoning-should-start-at-top-for-a-cubs-team-that-performed-as-well-as-its-roster-was-built

I agree with this. Maddon has some fault, but this mess isn't his doing. Anything less than Theo taking primary responsibility will be unacceptable. The only thing I want to hear him address in his end of season press conference is the mistakes he has made and what he plans to do to fix them. Maddon is almost certainly gone, but it is largely due to the mistakes that have been made above him. That partially includes ownership, but mostly lies square on the shoulders of Theo. I don't want to hear him place blame on anyone else.

 

The players have proven they are who they are, and it is Theo who bought into them being better than that. I hope Tom Ricketts is furious, and he has every right to be. But does he really care, or is he counting his money and waiting for the new network to launch (which will very likely not even be carried by some of the major content distributors, Dish Network for example)?

 

Theo does deserve a lot of the blame for holding on to so many of his "prized prospects," many of whom have little trade value right now. Unfortunately, he'll take a lot of the blame away from Tom Ricketts and company, who are running the cubs like a Kwik-E Mart.

[Backtobanks]

https://chicago.suntimes.com/cubs/2019/9/21/20877470/any-reckoning-should-start-at-top-for-a-cubs-team-that-performed-as-well-as-its-roster-was-built

I agree with this. Maddon has some fault, but this mess isn't his doing. Anything less than Theo taking primary responsibility will be unacceptable. The only thing I want to hear him address in his end of season press conference is the mistakes he has made and what he plans to do to fix them. Maddon is almost certainly gone, but it is largely due to the mistakes that have been made above him. That partially includes ownership, but mostly lies square on the shoulders of Theo. I don't want to hear him place blame on anyone else.

 

The players have proven they are who they are, and it is Theo who bought into them being better than that. I hope Tom Ricketts is furious, and he has every right to be. But does he really care, or is he counting his money and waiting for the new network to launch (which will very likely not even be carried by some of the major content distributors, Dish Network for example)?

 

I'm certainly not defending Ricketts, but the payroll is 35% higher than the Cardinals and 80% higher than the Brewers. Theo is not spending the money wisely when building a roster in addition to holding on to his drast picks too long. There have been batting and pitching coach changes every year without any improvement in the young hitters and no development of young pitchers.

[CyHawk_Cub]

Ricketts is probably just fine with things. Revenue is streaming in, and will continue to do so as excitement over a young core transitions to mature nostalgia for 2016, when fans can cry "flags fly forever" to their hearts' content while throwing money at the Cubs. I assume the Cubs will continue to be among the tallest midgets by being a top 5 payroll team, under limits set by ownership. I just don't feel great about whether that is enough to address all this team's issues, but I'm also super pessimistic right now, and maybe my outlook changes as we get into the off-season.

[d_money]

https://chicago.suntimes.com/cubs/2019/9/21/20877470/any-reckoning-should-start-at-top-for-a-cubs-team-that-performed-as-well-as-its-roster-was-built

I agree with this. Maddon has some fault, but this mess isn't his doing. Anything less than Theo taking primary responsibility will be unacceptable. The only thing I want to hear him address in his end of season press conference is the mistakes he has made and what he plans to do to fix them. Maddon is almost certainly gone, but it is largely due to the mistakes that have been made above him. That partially includes ownership, but mostly lies square on the shoulders of Theo. I don't want to hear him place blame on anyone else.

 

The players have proven they are who they are, and it is Theo who bought into them being better than that. I hope Tom Ricketts is furious, and he has every right to be. But does he really care, or is he counting his money and waiting for the new network to launch (which will very likely not even be carried by some of the major content distributors, Dish Network for example)?

 

I'm certainly not defending Ricketts, but the payroll is 35% higher than the Cardinals and 80% higher than the Brewers. Theo is not spending the money wisely when building a roster in addition to holding on to his drast picks too long. There have been batting and pitching coach changes every year without any improvement in the young hitters and no development of young pitchers.

 

Theo with the check book is not a good idea. Save for the Lester signing, there's a long list of underperforming FA's who made bank thanks to Theo.

[jersey cubs fan]

https://chicago.suntimes.com/cubs/2019/9/21/20877470/any-reckoning-should-start-at-top-for-a-cubs-team-that-performed-as-well-as-its-roster-was-built

I agree with this. Maddon has some fault, but this mess isn't his doing. Anything less than Theo taking primary responsibility will be unacceptable. The only thing I want to hear him address in his end of season press conference is the mistakes he has made and what he plans to do to fix them. Maddon is almost certainly gone, but it is largely due to the mistakes that have been made above him. That partially includes ownership, but mostly lies square on the shoulders of Theo. I don't want to hear him place blame on anyone else.

 

The players have proven they are who they are, and it is Theo who bought into them being better than that. I hope Tom Ricketts is furious, and he has every right to be. But does he really care, or is he counting his money and waiting for the new network to launch (which will very likely not even be carried by some of the major content distributors, Dish Network for example)?

Theo listing off his mistakes in a press conference seems like an unproductive occasion.

[jersey cubs fan]

The Ricketts pulled back on the reins last winter, that was a big problem. Yes, the budget is very high, but the rate of growth and expected rate of growth matter when you make decisions. There was a course correction last winter that had a negative effect. The Ricketts got their taxes reduced and did not pour that money back into the economy (the rich never do that)

[UMFan83]

This is awful but I just convinced myself that since the Nationals have 8 games in 7 days, all against winning teams and the final 3 against another team desperately trying to fight for the playoffs too (Cleveland), and the Cubs have 3 against hapless Pittsburgh and 3 against possibly nothing to play for St. Louis that we still have a small shot at winning WC2.

 

Nats would have to go 1-7 or 2-6 while the Cubs go 5-1 or 6-0 but hey I'd give this a 9% chance of happening, which is what the Cubs playoff odds are according to Fangraphs.

 

Nats go 0-8, Cubs have to go 4-2 to win, 3-3 to tie

Nats go 1-7, Cubs have to go 5-1 to win, 4-2 to tie

Nats go 2-6, Cubs have to go 6-0 to win, 5-1 to tie

Nats go 3-5, Cubs have to go 6-0 to tie.

 

lol....

[Bote McBoteface]

I dont even want wc2 cuz it doesnt reek enough of failure, and this team deserves a reek of failure.

[mul21]

https://chicago.suntimes.com/cubs/2019/9/21/20877470/any-reckoning-should-start-at-top-for-a-cubs-team-that-performed-as-well-as-its-roster-was-built

I agree with this. Maddon has some fault, but this mess isn't his doing. Anything less than Theo taking primary responsibility will be unacceptable. The only thing I want to hear him address in his end of season press conference is the mistakes he has made and what he plans to do to fix them. Maddon is almost certainly gone, but it is largely due to the mistakes that have been made above him. That partially includes ownership, but mostly lies square on the shoulders of Theo. I don't want to hear him place blame on anyone else.

 

The players have proven they are who they are, and it is Theo who bought into them being better than that. I hope Tom Ricketts is furious, and he has every right to be. But does he really care, or is he counting his money and waiting for the new network to launch (which will very likely not even be carried by some of the major content distributors, Dish Network for example)?

 

I generally agree with this, but the pen has been a huge issue and while part of that was Morrow related, I'm not sure who would have predicted that all three of Edwards, Strop, and Monty would completely forget how to pitch and be utterly useless all season.

[SouthSideRyan]

This is awful but I just convinced myself that since the Nationals have 8 games in 7 days, all against winning teams and the final 3 against another team desperately trying to fight for the playoffs too (Cleveland), and the Cubs have 3 against hapless Pittsburgh and 3 against possibly nothing to play for St. Louis that we still have a small shot at winning WC2.

 

Nats would have to go 1-7 or 2-6 while the Cubs go 5-1 or 6-0 but hey I'd give this a 9% chance of happening, which is what the Cubs playoff odds are according to Fangraphs.

 

Nats go 0-8, Cubs have to go 4-2 to win, 3-3 to tie

Nats go 1-7, Cubs have to go 5-1 to win, 4-2 to tie

Nats go 2-6, Cubs have to go 6-0 to win, 5-1 to tie

Nats go 3-5, Cubs have to go 6-0 to tie.

 

lol....

 

Nats will go 2-6, we'll go 5-1, and the Mets will go 7-0 to take it solo.

[Sammy Sofa]

https://chicago.suntimes.com/cubs/2019/9/21/20877470/any-reckoning-should-start-at-top-for-a-cubs-team-that-performed-as-well-as-its-roster-was-built

I agree with this. Maddon has some fault, but this mess isn't his doing. Anything less than Theo taking primary responsibility will be unacceptable. The only thing I want to hear him address in his end of season press conference is the mistakes he has made and what he plans to do to fix them. Maddon is almost certainly gone, but it is largely due to the mistakes that have been made above him. That partially includes ownership, but mostly lies square on the shoulders of Theo. I don't want to hear him place blame on anyone else.

 

The players have proven they are who they are, and it is Theo who bought into them being better than that. I hope Tom Ricketts is furious, and he has every right to be. But does he really care, or is he counting his money and waiting for the new network to launch (which will very likely not even be carried by some of the major content distributors, Dish Network for example)?

 

I generally agree with this, but the pen has been a huge issue and while part of that was Morrow related, I'm not sure who would have predicted that all three of Edwards, Strop, and Monty would completely forget how to pitch and be utterly useless all season.

 

No, but you can predict pretty confidently that there are going to be pitching problems, especially in the bullpen, when the only pitcher of note you have developed in YEARS was Carl Edwards Jr..

[soccer10k]

This is awful but I just convinced myself that since the Nationals have 8 games in 7 days, all against winning teams and the final 3 against another team desperately trying to fight for the playoffs too (Cleveland), and the Cubs have 3 against hapless Pittsburgh and 3 against possibly nothing to play for St. Louis that we still have a small shot at winning WC2.

 

Nats would have to go 1-7 or 2-6 while the Cubs go 5-1 or 6-0 but hey I'd give this a 9% chance of happening, which is what the Cubs playoff odds are according to Fangraphs.

 

Nats go 0-8, Cubs have to go 4-2 to win, 3-3 to tie

Nats go 1-7, Cubs have to go 5-1 to win, 4-2 to tie

Nats go 2-6, Cubs have to go 6-0 to win, 5-1 to tie

Nats go 3-5, Cubs have to go 6-0 to tie.

 

lol....

 

Fangraphs and 538 give us a 2% chance to make the playoffs.

[UMFan83]

This is awful but I just convinced myself that since the Nationals have 8 games in 7 days, all against winning teams and the final 3 against another team desperately trying to fight for the playoffs too (Cleveland), and the Cubs have 3 against hapless Pittsburgh and 3 against possibly nothing to play for St. Louis that we still have a small shot at winning WC2.

 

Nats would have to go 1-7 or 2-6 while the Cubs go 5-1 or 6-0 but hey I'd give this a 9% chance of happening, which is what the Cubs playoff odds are according to Fangraphs.

 

Nats go 0-8, Cubs have to go 4-2 to win, 3-3 to tie

Nats go 1-7, Cubs have to go 5-1 to win, 4-2 to tie

Nats go 2-6, Cubs have to go 6-0 to win, 5-1 to tie

Nats go 3-5, Cubs have to go 6-0 to tie.

 

lol....

 

Fangraphs and 538 give us a 2% chance to make the playoffs.

 

I swear I saw 9% but maybe the tweet was from after Saturday's games.

 

Edit: Ahh yeah 2.2%

 

 

Damn, dropped like 74% in 6 days.

[UMFan83]

https://www.si.com/mlb/2019/09/23/cubs-season-ends-joe-maddon-kris-bryant?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&xid=socialflow_twitter_si&utm_campaign=si-mlb

 

In an era where teams do everything they can to put the ball in the air, the Cubs have the fifth-highest ground-ball rate in the majors. They swing and miss more than anyone but the Tigers and White Sox and have the worst contact rate. Their pitchers have the second lowest average fastball velocity in the bigs, throw the fewest sliders and rank 12th in the NL in swing-and-miss rate.

 

That’s not to say that, because the Cubs rank poorly in all those categories, they’re behind the curve. But the game’s most successful teams are the ones throwing hard and avoiding strikeouts, or ramping up slider usage, or at least preaching those tenets in the minors. It’s likely the Cubs are doing that, as this report from The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma on McLeod’s promotion suggests. But it is notable that, at the major league level, Chicago is failing in those areas in which teams like Houston, Los Angeles and New York are excelling.

[muntjack]

While I'm certain there are multiple, fixable issues that would help this team win more baseball games, variance is a horsefeathers. Five 1-run-losses in a row go the other way and the narrative becomes "a resilient team that was always more talented than the rest of the division, who is peaking at the right time!" Again, fire Maddon and all that but baseball is stupid.

[ConstableRabbit]

Imagine what would have happened if the 650 PAs that went to Almora, Russell, and Descalso went to someone who didn’t subtract value offensively.

 

If anyone’s curious, you won’t want to look up the wRC+ numbers of those guys.

 

 

ETA: let's make it 725 PAs and add in Tony Kemp. Brutal.

[champaignchris]

Imagine what would have happened if the 650 PAs that went to Almora, Russell, and Descalso went to someone who didn’t subtract value offensively.

 

If anyone’s curious, you won’t want to look up the wRC+ numbers of those guys.

 

 

ETA: let's make it 725 PAs and add in Tony Kemp. Brutal.

 

Zobrist and Happ having lost years certainly hurt in this regard. Although you can certainly point out that the way Happ has been handled has been ridiculous and that the Cubs shouldn’t have been counting so much on a 38 year old middle infielder in the first place.

 

We can go to the off-season threads and see plenty of people posting about the need for a center fielder and some middle infield depth. Descalso was supposed to the be the latter, and the Cubs basically ignored the need for the former.

 

Overall, it shows that while the top end of the Cubs roster is as good as anyone’s the bottom end has eroded and can’t provide eniugh value over a 162 game schedule.

[Cubswin11]

Imagine what would have happened if the 650 PAs that went to Almora, Russell, and Descalso went to someone who didn’t subtract value offensively.

 

If anyone’s curious, you won’t want to look up the wRC+ numbers of those guys.

 

 

ETA: let's make it 725 PAs and add in Tony Kemp. Brutal.

 

Zobrist and Happ having lost years certainly hurt in this regard. Although you can certainly point out that the way Happ has been handled has been ridiculous and that the Cubs shouldn’t have been counting so much on a 38 year old middle infielder in the first place.

 

We can go to the off-season threads and see plenty of people posting about the need for a center fielder and some middle infield depth. Descalso was supposed to the be the latter, and the Cubs basically ignored the need for the former.

 

Overall, it shows that while the top end of the Cubs roster is as good as anyone’s the bottom end has eroded and can’t provide eniugh value over a 162 game schedule.

Yup and at least should be a fixable solution. We’re talking about finding some .5-1.5 players to round out the offense, the core/baseline value is fine. With 20-30 mil to spend and some trade off of the margins it’s not a insurmountable task at hand.

[Clem Fandango]

I want the Cubs to lose out every remaining game just so Baseball Prospectus can use a REAL smug "I told you so" quote/factoid on the cover of their next year's predictions, along with Cubs players and officials who scoffed at it.

 

Don't have a subscription so I can't read it, but BP wrote something about the Cubs' woes...

 

https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/article/53628/prospectus-notebook-fear-and-loathing-in-wrigleyville/