Baez impresses Baez

[Bull]

Watching the Willson gifs until all three swings fell into alignment was WAY better than the eclipse.

[Banedon]

lol @ Javy bopping Soler with the wiffle bat.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

lol @ Javy bopping Soler with the wiffle bat.

that’s what broke that beautiful bastard

 

¡vive el mago!

[We Got The Whole 9]

Love how he made sure that the camera would catch it first

[Derwood]

How are the dumb voters going to justify giving someone else the gold glove this season?

[Sammy Sofa]

Defensive metrics make me an even bigger idiot than normal, but FG seems to be showing it wouldn't that crazy at all for someone else to get it (unless 2B SS defensive numbers are down across the board).

[Cubswin11]

How are the dumb voters going to justify giving someone else the gold glove this season?

I think there's better options going off of metrics, on top of he's not going to log nearly as many innings at SS/2B as other guys. Really there should be a utility/multi-positional gold glove award and just name it after Javy.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Baez looks like an underdog to get to 80 games at any position, and he has a -10 UZR at SS and +4 at 2B. He's not going to come close to winning hardware, and frankly that's not really incorrect(unlike last year). He's given away a lot of outs and extra bases and until recently hadn't been making too many spectacular plays(also unlike last year).

[Derwood]

Baez looks like an underdog to get to 80 games at any position, and he has a -10 UZR at SS and +4 at 2B. He's not going to come close to winning hardware, and frankly that's not really incorrect(unlike last year). He's given away a lot of outs and extra bases and until recently hadn't been making too many spectacular plays(also unlike last year).

 

Fair enough

[davell]

[tweet]

[/tweet]

[Bryants Disco Ball]

Apologize if this is a stupid question, but was it a blessing of sorts that Addy got hurt and allowed Javy to start every single day no matter the matchup? Did it help him emerge even more?

[Cubswin11]

Apologize if this is a stupid question, but was it a blessing of sorts that Addy got hurt and allowed Javy to start every single day no matter the matchup? Did it help him emerge even more?

With Schwarber, Zobrist and Heyward all going through periods of suckage/injuries I think he would've found nearly as much playing time if Russell stayed healthy.

[JudasIscariotTheBird]

Apologize if this is a stupid question, but was it a blessing of sorts that Addy got hurt and allowed Javy to start every single day no matter the matchup? Did it help him emerge even more?

This already happened back in the 2015 in the playoffs. Baez pwned the Cards (and Horseteeth specifically), and I've never wavered in my belief in his pwnage.

[Regular Show]

Apologize if this is a stupid question, but was it a blessing of sorts that Addy got hurt and allowed Javy to start every single day no matter the matchup? Did it help him emerge even more?

 

It's not a stupid question. I think Baez is doing better with more regular playing time, but Baez still fluctuates in his approach. Maddon would bench him after a poor day at the plate when he displayed zero discipline/took huge hacks, but he can't afford to do that right now. He's slowly maturing and displaying more plate discipline (maybe it's just a fluke) right now, but we have so many struggling players I'm sure Baez would've gotten a lot of playing time even if A. Russell were healthy.

 

Personally, I think we should make Baez the starting SS next year and explore trading Russell in the offseason for a strong "T. Turner + J. Ross" type package. If no strong trade proposals emerge then keep him and hope he improves his approach at the plate and remains healthier next year, along with fewer off-field distractions. A. Russell is still super valuable because of his defense and power so maybe the Cubs FO is still really high on him.

[Cubswin11]

Apologize if this is a stupid question, but was it a blessing of sorts that Addy got hurt and allowed Javy to start every single day no matter the matchup? Did it help him emerge even more?

 

Personally, I think we should make Baez the starting SS next year and explore trading Russell in the offseason for a strong "T. Turner + J. Ross" type package. If no strong trade proposals emerge then keep him and hope he improves his approach at the plate and remains healthier next year, along with fewer off-field distractions. A. Russell is still super valuable because of his defense and power so maybe the Cubs FO is still really high on him.

He's also still our best SS and it would be stupid to trade him

[javy knows my name]

Apologize if this is a stupid question, but was it a blessing of sorts that Addy got hurt and allowed Javy to start every single day no matter the matchup? Did it help him emerge even more?

 

Personally, I think we should make Baez the starting SS next year and explore trading Russell in the offseason for a strong "T. Turner + J. Ross" type package. If no strong trade proposals emerge then keep him and hope he improves his approach at the plate and remains healthier next year, along with fewer off-field distractions. A. Russell is still super valuable because of his defense and power so maybe the Cubs FO is still really high on him.

He's also still our best SS and it would be stupid to trade him

 

Not sure it would be all that stupid if you had Trea Turner headlining the deal

[Cubswin11]

 

Personally, I think we should make Baez the starting SS next year and explore trading Russell in the offseason for a strong "T. Turner + J. Ross" type package. If no strong trade proposals emerge then keep him and hope he improves his approach at the plate and remains healthier next year, along with fewer off-field distractions. A. Russell is still super valuable because of his defense and power so maybe the Cubs FO is still really high on him.

He's also still our best SS and it would be stupid to trade him

 

Not sure it would be all that stupid if you had Trea Turner headlining the deal

Why would we trade our 23 year old SS who already has 8 career WAR for a SS prospect?

[KingCubsFan]

He's also still our best SS and it would be stupid to trade him

 

Not sure it would be all that stupid if you had Trea Turner headlining the deal

Why would we trade our 23 year old SS who already has 8 career WAR for a SS prospect?

Prospect? He's put up 5.1 WAR in less than a full season. The real question is why would the Nats do that deal?

[David]

even though i'm fully aware of how super young russell was when he came up and still pretty much is, i was still a little shocked to see that he's about half a year younger than turner.

[Cubswin11]

 

Not sure it would be all that stupid if you had Trea Turner headlining the deal

Why would we trade our 23 year old SS who already has 8 career WAR for a SS prospect?

Prospect? He's put up 5.1 WAR in less than a full season. The real question is why would the Nats do that deal?

I don't think the literal Trea Turner is being discussed here, it's a figurative similar deal the Nats/Padres did. Which in that case (and which I assumed) yes he is a prospect

[Bobson Dugnutt]

 

Not sure it would be all that stupid if you had Trea Turner headlining the deal

Why would we trade our 23 year old SS who already has 8 career WAR for a SS prospect?

Prospect? He's put up 5.1 WAR in less than a full season. The real question is why would the Nats do that deal?

 

no one is talking about trading Russell for actual Joe Ross and actual Trea Turner. R. Show's idea is to trade him for a package similar to the Turner-Ross package the Nats got from San Diego when they traded Souza a few years ago.

[KingCubsFan]

Why would we trade our 23 year old SS who already has 8 career WAR for a SS prospect?

Prospect? He's put up 5.1 WAR in less than a full season. The real question is why would the Nats do that deal?

 

no one is talking about trading Russell for actual Joe Ross and actual Trea Turner. R. Show's idea is to trade him for a package similar to the Turner-Ross package the Nats got from San Diego when they traded Souza a few years ago.

Yep. Didn't scroll all the way up. My bad.

[Tim]

 

Not sure it would be all that stupid if you had Trea Turner headlining the deal

Why would we trade our 23 year old SS who already has 8 career WAR for a SS prospect?

Prospect? He's put up 5.1 WAR in less than a full season. The real question is why would the Nats do that deal?

This was great - one guy went overly literal. The next guy said, "You think you took it too literally? Ha!"

[Regular Show]

Apologize if this is a stupid question, but was it a blessing of sorts that Addy got hurt and allowed Javy to start every single day no matter the matchup? Did it help him emerge even more?

 

Personally, I think we should make Baez the starting SS next year and explore trading Russell in the offseason for a strong "T. Turner + J. Ross" type package. If no strong trade proposals emerge then keep him and hope he improves his approach at the plate and remains healthier next year, along with fewer off-field distractions. A. Russell is still super valuable because of his defense and power so maybe the Cubs FO is still really high on him.

He's also still our best SS and it would be stupid to trade him

 

I don't believe he is our best SS going forward. At least not in terms of offensive upside. I believe J. Baez can be just as good as A. Russell on defense if he cleans up a few things. He has unquestionably the strongest arm on the team. He makes plays no one else can make, including A. Russell. J. Baez is improving and getting better...

 

I can't say the same thing for A. Russell. I really haven't seen any improvements from A. Russell at the plate or in his approach. I really doubt he improves much beyond hitting for more power. He should be getting better, but I'm almost positive his scouting report says "Don't throw him a fastball in the zone" and "really struggles to hit good breaking pitches inside and outside the zone". I mean the same thing can be said for Baez too. Baez is showing some improvement, but occasionally regresses and goes back into his bad habits.

 

Look, I'm fine with keeping him (Russell). I said he's still super valuable because of his defense and power at SS, but I think Baez is better and has better chance of reaching his ceiling now. No harm in exploring trades for this kind of talent.

 

I never said T. Turner for A. Russell...I said for a "T. Turner + J. Ross" type package. Personally, I do like T. Turner more than A. Russell as well, but I doubt Washington would even consider doing a Turner for Russell 1-for-1 swap. T. Turner is the better player and has a much higher upside IMO. I have no problem trading Russell for prospects, but they would have to be excellent consensus Top 100 prospects.

[treebird]

 

Personally, I think we should make Baez the starting SS next year and explore trading Russell in the offseason for a strong "T. Turner + J. Ross" type package. If no strong trade proposals emerge then keep him and hope he improves his approach at the plate and remains healthier next year, along with fewer off-field distractions. A. Russell is still super valuable because of his defense and power so maybe the Cubs FO is still really high on him.

He's also still our best SS and it would be stupid to trade him

 

I don't believe he is our best SS going forward. At least not in terms of offensive upside. I believe J. Baez can be just as good as A. Russell on defense if he cleans up a few things. He has unquestionably the strongest arm on the team. He makes plays no one else can make, including A. Russell. J. Baez is improving and getting better...

 

I can't say the same thing for A. Russell. I really haven't seen any improvements from A. Russell at the plate or in his approach. I really doubt he improves much beyond hitting for more power. He should be getting better, but I'm almost positive his scouting report says "Don't throw him a fastball in the zone" and "really struggles to hit good breaking pitches inside and outside the zone". I mean the same thing can be said for Baez too. Baez is showing some improvement, but occasionally regresses and goes back into his bad habits.

 

Look, I'm fine with keeping him (Russell). I said he's still super valuable because of his defense and power at SS, but I think Baez is better and has better chance of reaching his ceiling now. No harm in exploring trades for this kind of talent.

 

I never said T. Turner for A. Russell...I said for a "T. Turner + J. Ross" type package. Personally, I do like T. Turner more than A. Russell as well, but I doubt Washington would even consider doing a Turner for Russell 1-for-1 swap. T. Turner is the better player and has a much higher upside IMO. I have no problem trading Russell for prospects, but they would have to be excellent consensus Top 100 prospects.

 

you accidentally called a. russell by just his last name a couple times, please consider editing