Pitchers and Catchers to report on...

[jersey cubs fan]

How cute, Schwarber thinks he's still a catcher.

What am I missing here?

pitchers and catchers report earlier than position players, yada yada yada, the bisque was good.

[Banedon]

How cute, Schwarber thinks he's still a catcher.

What am I missing here?

pitchers and catchers report earlier than position players, yada yada yada, the bisque was good.

 

Right, nevermind that plenty of other players are reporting early. I don't think Rizzo thinks he's a catcher, but he's there.

[UMFan83]

I cant find the tweet with the photo but on the outside of Sloan Park they have banners up of the Cubs players, and there is one with Schwarber and it says "Catcher" for position.

 

Edit: Found the tweet

 

 

And those aren't old banners since the Bryant and Zobrist ones mention their MVP. Not saying it means anything just an interesting decision to call Schwarber a catcher on his banner

Edited February 14, 2017 by UMFan83

[Sammy Sofa]

 

He's got Batman's magical healing knee brace!

[Cubswin11]

How cute, Schwarber thinks he's still a catcher.

Pretty sure he's been in Arizona for a good chunk of the offseason for rehab/working out/training

[Banedon]

 

He's got Batman's magical healing knee brace!

 

Apparently he told reporters today that he'll wear the brace all season.

[Banedon]

Also says he still has a passion for catching, but said at this point he's probably a LF first and then a catcher.

[Sammy Sofa]

 

He's got Batman's magical healing knee brace!

 

Apparently he told reporters today that he'll wear the brace all season.

 

He also declared that he's now a scientist, too.

[Banedon]

[Sammy Sofa]

GROSS.

[Banedon]

GROSS.

 

He said he's gonna cut it, but yeah.

[jersey cubs fan]

Also says he still has a passion for catching, but said at this point he's probably a LF first and then a catcher.

Yeah, they use like 15 catchers in spring training, so Schwarber being among that group is a non-story.

[Cubswin11]

 

He's got Batman's magical healing knee brace!

 

Apparently he told reporters today that he'll wear the brace all season.

I don't think that it's uncommon to have to wear a brace after his injury pretty much forever. I've had two friends who blew out their knees (1 multiple times) in HS basketball and college basketball and we play in a men's league 3-8 years later and they still wear a brace every time they play. Not apples to apples by any means but I don't think it's anything crazy or a red flag that Schwarber is going to wear a brace moving forward.

Edited February 14, 2017 by Cubswin11

[Sammy Sofa]

GROSS.

 

He said he's gonna cut it, but yeah.

 

A man cursed with tinyface must always keep his hair short and tight; anything too long just increases the tinyface-osity.

[David]

What am I missing here?

pitchers and catchers report earlier than position players, yada yada yada, the bisque was good.

 

Right, nevermind that plenty of other players are reporting early. I don't think Rizzo thinks he's a catcher, but he's there.

 

totally went over my head because schwarber has been there for so long already that it didn't even cross my mind

 

i thought he was mistaking the knee brace for catcher's gear or something

[Gmoney08]

I actually predict Schwarber gets a lot of backup Catcher starts in 2018.

[David]

I actually predict Schwarber gets a lot of backup Catcher starts in 2018.

 

i don't see it.

 

they're going to want to be cautious with him. and on top of that, they have contreras and miggy...and miggy really started to come on at the plate once he made some adjustments late in the year. i could actually see him playing himself into a little more playing time than we expect (both because he's good and because it'll keep willson fresher).

 

if there's an injury, maybe he works his way into the mix if his knee feels good enough, but idk otherwise.

[David]

Also says he still has a passion for catching, but said at this point he's probably a LF first and then a catcher.

 

yeah...he was directly asked about it a little while back and he basically sounded like somebody who had been told he wouldn't be catching this year (made it a point to talk about how little playing time there would be there with two very talented catchers on the roster).

[Banedon]

Yeah, I don't see a lot to be gained by having Schwarber catch, unless it's just the freedom to be able to use another catcher to pinch hit late knowing that Schwarber is there in case of emergency.

[Cubswin11]

Some tweets coming in relevant to the current discussions here...

 

[tweet]

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[tweet]

[/tweet]

[tweet]

[/tweet]

[tweet]

[/tweet]

[David]

yeah, montero catching lester would be a disaster (it probably wouldn't be as bad as i'm picturing but it's funny to think about)

[Cubswin11]

yeah, montero catching lester would be a disaster (it probably wouldn't be as bad as i'm picturing but it's funny to think about)

Yeah, short of injury to Contreras there's no reason for Montero to ever catch Lester. I think it would be nearly as bad as you and us all could imagine. With his pitch framing and Kyle's pick off move/quickness to the plate I think Montero should essentially be Hendrick's personal catcher this year outside of some LHP matchups they'd run in to. Then just play matchups with Montero every other start outside of Lester starts.

[philosophizer75]

Wow. I'm on my phone so I can't like it, but if your proposed plan is how the Cubs handle our backstops this year I will be thrilled.

 

Contreras really made it easy to like him last year, didn't he? My favorite regular season moment was him hitting his debut homerun, then having to run out and catch the bullpen right after.

 

Edit: And I'm also super excited to see Willson-->Baez plays at second all season. Two absolute lightning rod type players on defense.

Edited February 14, 2017 by philosophizer75

[mul21]

I actually predict Schwarber gets a lot of backup Catcher starts in 2018.

 

i don't see it.

 

they're going to want to be cautious with him. and on top of that, they have contreras and miggy...and miggy really started to come on at the plate once he made some adjustments late in the year. i could actually see him playing himself into a little more playing time than we expect (both because he's good and because it'll keep willson fresher).

 

if there's an injury, maybe he works his way into the mix if his knee feels good enough, but idk otherwise.

 

He said 2018. As in when Miggy isn't around anymore.

[David]

I actually predict Schwarber gets a lot of backup Catcher starts in 2018.

 

i don't see it.

 

they're going to want to be cautious with him. and on top of that, they have contreras and miggy...and miggy really started to come on at the plate once he made some adjustments late in the year. i could actually see him playing himself into a little more playing time than we expect (both because he's good and because it'll keep willson fresher).

 

if there's an injury, maybe he works his way into the mix if his knee feels good enough, but idk otherwise.

 

He said 2018. As in when Miggy isn't around anymore.

 

the older i get the less i have any idea of what year it currently is

 

and i have to do math when people ask me my age...it really doesn't look good when i'm being carded somewhere.