David Ross is awesome and deserves his own thread

[Cubfanintheknow]

Couldn't imagine starting this. Couldn't imagine anyone starting this. But his awesomeness is really growing on me.

 

Love these quotes:

 

"It's nice to have a little fun today after panic set in after we lost two in a row," Ross said with a grin. "Now everybody can relax a little more. We won one. Back on track, on the winning streak. That's why it's so fun to be part of this group."

 

Ross has 12 RBIs already. Last year he had nine all season.

So why is he hitting so well?

"Because I'm awesome," he replied.

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/ct-david-ross-surge-sullivan-cubs-spt-0514-20160513-column.html

 

He's playing very well considering where he is in his career and seems to be a great influence in the clubhouse.

[NOLA]

A mascot better than Herrera, a good defensive backup catcher with some pop, and all the pitchers love him behind the plate? Sure beats Paul Bako.

[Aaron_Kennelly]

He's been an exemplary backup catcher. And this version of him has actually been good, too -- like, actually good. His contact rate is way up. He's been way more discerning at the plate. His power is way up. His peripherals look like David Ross during his prime. And he looked like he was toast at the plate last year. I don't understand it, but I am totally cool with it. He's going out with a bang, a la Jim Edmonds circa 2008. And he's a cool dude that everyone likes and respects. I'm not sure the value of clubhouse chemistry and having leaders in the clubhouse. But it sure doesn't hurt to have a guy like him around. He's essentially another manager, and he can tell guys when they are horsefeathering up and they will listen. With all the young guys, it's great to have a role model like that.

 

And, as for what you ask for from a backup catcher, he's checked all the boxes. He's stepped up strong when the starter went down. He's fantastic defensively, at basically every aspect of catching. He's a terrific framer. He's controlled the running game, even while catching a guy who is seemingly incapable of controlling the running game. He's made a number of big plays in crucial spots, picking guys off or whatever. And he's freaking hitting now. His walk-up music is awesome. All the cool young guys that are studs seem to love him. What more can you ask?

[raw]

I don't hate when he comes up with RISP as much this year. With him playing as well as he has, even in an expanded role, I really think it would be interesting to see the Cubs try to get rid of Montero and let Contreras develop along side Ross. Obviously, no rush to that though.

[Cubswin11]

I don't hate when he comes up with RISP as much this year. With him playing as well as he has, even in an expanded role, I really think it would be interesting to see the Cubs try to get rid of Montero and let Contreras develop along side Ross. Obviously, no rush to that though.

Eh, Ross has been awesome but he's also only player in 70, 50 and 30 games the past 3 years. While he maybe should get a little bit of an expanded role I worry he might really wear down at his age if we say push it and have him play 100+ games. It probably wouldn't be wise to get rid of Montero in case Contreras would fail and then really have to rely on Ross for a prolonged stretch. As Joe alluded to the other day a reason some of these guys may be playing so well is because of regular rest and an expanded role would diminish returns.

[raw]

I don't hate when he comes up with RISP as much this year. With him playing as well as he has, even in an expanded role, I really think it would be interesting to see the Cubs try to get rid of Montero and let Contreras develop along side Ross. Obviously, no rush to that though.

Eh, Ross has been awesome but he's also only player in 70, 50 and 30 games the past 3 years. While he maybe should get a little bit of an expanded role I worry he might really wear down at his age if we say push it and have him play 100+ games. It probably wouldn't be wise to get rid of Montero in case Contreras would fail and then really have to rely on Ross for a prolonged stretch. As Joe alluded to the other day a reason some of these guys may be playing so well is because of regular rest and an expanded role would diminish returns.

 

I guess my thinking is that it doesn't have to be expanded THAT much for Ross. Ross is on pace for 86 games played this year. 50/50 the rest of the probably wouldn't kill him. I don't think there would be many complaints with him continuing to catch Lester and Lackey, while playing matchups for the other starters......with Contreras getting the rest of the ABs. Even if Contreras struggles, there's 7 other bats in the lineup to make his offense not a huge determining factor of this team's success.

[WrigleyField 22]

So go 50/50 with him and Ross; Montero gets used to a split/reserve role and Contreras can share next year. Develop a whole year in AAA.

[Aaron_Kennelly]

But, why?

 

We have two solid catching options as it is. One is gone after this season. One is signed through next season. If you call up Contreras and he sucks, then what do you do next year, when Montero is on a different roster already?

 

It's set up just about perfectly as it is. Let Contreras continue to develop in AAA this year. Keep rolling with our really nice tandem of veteran catchers on our amazing team at the big league level. Call up Contreras near the end of the year to give him a little experience. Then roll with Contreras and Montero next year, as Ross retires.

 

An expanded role for Ross is a pretty bad idea, anyway. The man's 39. Sure, he was able to fill in for Montero for a couple weeks. But, I really don't want to push the envelope for a whole season with him. Also, Montero is good. Why run him off a good team?

[BigSlick]

Yeah let's not get out of control with Ross here. He's 39, and while obviously not totally cooked, we're really testing fate if we squeeze too much out of him. People really underestimate what we have in Montero, who is a top 5 pitch framer and an above average bat back there. He didn't look great early in the season while dealing with discomfort but he should be back to his usual production while healthy.

 

I'm good with this duo this year and for waving Ross into the sunset after this year.

[Bull]

Yeah let's not get out of control with Ross here. He's 39, and while obviously not totally cooked, we're really testing fate if we squeeze too much out of him. People really underestimate what we have in Montero, who is a top 5 pitch framer and an above average bat back there. He didn't look great early in the season while dealing with discomfort but he should be back to his usual production while healthy.

 

I'm good with this duo this year and for waving Ross into the sunset after this year.

Bingo. I somehow missed where raw action non-committedly mused on trading Montero, and I was having trouble understanding why people were even talking about it.

 

You take what you get from Ross and don't expect anything but him making Lester happy.

 

The real question is: what happens to Lester next year? Will he be happy with Contreres? Montero? Schwarber? Do you pick up a defensive specialist in the offseason? Questions for another day, I suppose.

[BigSlick]

Is there anything particularly wrong with Montero that Lester can't deal with? Miguel receives and frames the ball very well, I thought it was more that Lester had come up to the big leagues and felt extra comfortable with Ross, and not that there was anything specifically wrong with Montero at all.

 

But I may be wrong, I don't know. I certainly would be opposed to taking another 25 man roster spot to make Lester feel better if we didn't otherwise have to.

[Cubfanintheknow]

Is there anything particularly wrong with Montero that Lester can't deal with? Miguel receives and frames the ball very well, I thought it was more that Lester had come up to the big leagues and felt extra comfortable with Ross, and not that there was anything specifically wrong with Montero at all.

 

But I may be wrong, I don't know. I certainly would be opposed to taking another 25 man roster spot to make Lester feel better if we didn't otherwise have to.

 

At this point, the way the lineup is mashing, anything Ross brings to the table offensively is gravy. Thick, onion gravy (did I do that right?).

 

It's not like no one else has ever caught Jon Lester. He'll adapt next year with Montero. Or Schwarber. Or Contreras.

[CubInOK]

Is there anything particularly wrong with Montero that Lester can't deal with? Miguel receives and frames the ball very well, I thought it was more that Lester had come up to the big leagues and felt extra comfortable with Ross, and not that there was anything specifically wrong with Montero at all.

 

But I may be wrong, I don't know. I certainly would be opposed to taking another 25 man roster spot to make Lester feel better if we didn't otherwise have to.

 

At this point, the way the lineup is mashing, anything Ross brings to the table offensively is gravy. Thick, onion gravy (did I do that right?).

No. Anything Lackey brings to the table is thick onion gravy.

[David]

Is there anything particularly wrong with Montero that Lester can't deal with? Miguel receives and frames the ball very well, I thought it was more that Lester had come up to the big leagues and felt extra comfortable with Ross, and not that there was anything specifically wrong with Montero at all.

 

But I may be wrong, I don't know. I certainly would be opposed to taking another 25 man roster spot to make Lester feel better if we didn't otherwise have to.

 

David Ross didn't play with Lester until 2013.

[Sammy Sofa]

Is there anything particularly wrong with Montero that Lester can't deal with? Miguel receives and frames the ball very well, I thought it was more that Lester had come up to the big leagues and felt extra comfortable with Ross, and not that there was anything specifically wrong with Montero at all.

 

But I may be wrong, I don't know. I certainly would be opposed to taking another 25 man roster spot to make Lester feel better if we didn't otherwise have to.

 

David Ross didn't play with Lester until 2013.

 

The idea that Lester has spent most, if not all, of his career with Ross as his catcher is bizarrely more common than you'd expect.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Is there anything particularly wrong with Montero that Lester can't deal with? Miguel receives and frames the ball very well, I thought it was more that Lester had come up to the big leagues and felt extra comfortable with Ross, and not that there was anything specifically wrong with Montero at all.

 

But I may be wrong, I don't know. I certainly would be opposed to taking another 25 man roster spot to make Lester feel better if we didn't otherwise have to.

 

David Ross didn't play with Lester until 2013.

 

The idea that Lester has spent most, if not all, of his career with Ross as his catcher is bizarrely more common than you'd expect.

which is baffling as horsefeathers considering the Internet exists

[Sammy Sofa]

 

David Ross didn't play with Lester until 2013.

 

The idea that Lester has spent most, if not all, of his career with Ross as his catcher is bizarrely more common than you'd expect.

which is baffling as [expletive] considering the Internet exists

 

Go figure; even I knew they only spent a couple years playing together.

[JennieGarthAlgar]

Is David Ross the best worst player on a team ever?

[David]

I should add that the pursuit of a glove first catcher, probably but not necessarily a young guy who may also hit or have starting potential, is not really related to Lester. As I understand it the Cubs' preference for C is, far and away, glove first.

 

If that were really the case, I'm not sure they'd bother with Schwarber at C, much less assign him 20% of the starts there this year.

 

More accurate would be to say that glove-first catchers are much easier to come by and they see (underappreciated/underpriced) value in them.

[Aaron_Kennelly]

I should add that the pursuit of a glove first catcher, probably but not necessarily a young guy who may also hit or have starting potential, is not really related to Lester. As I understand it the Cubs' preference for C is, far and away, glove first.

 

If that were really the case, I'm not sure they'd bother with Schwarber at C, much less assign him 20% of the starts there this year.

 

More accurate would be to say that glove-first catchers are much easier to come by and they see (underappreciated/underpriced) value in them.

 

Bingo. They know that people aren't paying for framing numbers. So they can get them for free. Catcher defense is something that is undervalued on the market. That is why they like defensive catchers more. Willson Contreras, however, will be on a rookie contract and will probably give us some value with the bat. So they are probably more willing to overlook his pedestrian defense, with all the surplus value he will give them with his bat.

 

Sorry, Tom, you are getting Willson Contreras and you will like it.

[Aaron_Kennelly]

But, hey, let's throw a bunch of money and/or a trade package at a problem that doesn't exist. That's a great use of our resources to look for a young, glove-first catcher, when we have the horsefeathering best catching prospect in baseball hanging out in Iowa.

[cubfro]

Does anyone know if it would be possible to make Ross a bench coach, and then in the case of an injury to Contreras or Montero. We can activate Ross as a player-coach.

 

I feel like i saw that scenario in a cheesy movie, but I wonder if it's a possibility. In a perfect world Ross could take dave martinez's job after we win it all this year. And he gets a head job some where else.

[Bull]

Does anyone know if it would be possible to make Ross a bench coach, and then in the case of an injury to Contreras or Montero. We can activate Ross as a player-coach.

 

I feel like i saw that scenario in a cheesy movie, but I wonder if it's a possibility. In a perfect world Ross could take dave martinez's job after we win it all this year. And he gets a head job some where else.

 

Unless you are willing to carry 24 for a maybe, no.

 

Aside: Quick glance is that median salaries are lower than I suggested but Cs are still cheaper than the others.

 

He's saying Ross is not on the 25 man roster. Then schwarbers rehab goes bad, and Contreras gets hurt, then you add Ross to the 25 man (and ostensibly the 40 man). I would think that it would take a 60 day dl stint to 2 of Montero, schwarber, and Contreras to make it cross Theos mind. Cubfro should be banned for thinking such perverse thoughts.

[JennieGarthAlgar]

Does anyone know if it would be possible to make Ross a bench coach, and then in the case of an injury to Contreras or Montero. We can activate Ross as a player-coach.

 

I feel like i saw that scenario in a cheesy movie, but I wonder if it's a possibility. In a perfect world Ross could take dave martinez's job after we win it all this year. And he gets a head job some where else.

 

I am positive we would love to keep Ross next year in any capacity, coaching or advisory. Your scenario with Martinez is probably most likely, as I am sure some organization will offer Rossy a coaching job, so hopefully we can do the same in a win-win for everyone.

 

But no, I don't think if that would happen and then we had injuries to our regulars mid year, that he would become active again. Theo and Jed will be able to find a suitable backup catcher out there. Without training in the offseason or spring training, I can't see a 39 year old newly retired coach David Ross getting talked in to getting in his crouch again

[BigbadB]

David Ross' next home run will be the 100th home run of his career.

 

Today would be a great day to greet this milestone.