9/19 Cardinals (Flaherty) at Cobs (Hendricks) 615 FOX

[Sammy Sofa]

I suppose they deserve credit for the 9th but Kimbrel giving up the bomb just turned that game into a microcosm for the season. I fully expect it to spiral the rest of the way.

 

If they get credit for the 9th then they get knocked for not showing up until the 9th

 

I mean, it was Happ, who is bad, Bote who is bad (and, unfortunately, got paid), and Castellanos, who is good, but an insanely impatient/aggressive hitter. Not an ideal trio of players to pin anything on.

[Cubswin11]

 

Man, I love the PTR meme more than anyone, but I will never believe ever that the FO was suddenly broadsided by out of nowhere financial restrictions by the Ricketts. Yeah, the owners are lame as horsefeathers, but this is largely a repeat of the kind of horsefeathers bad spending Epstein got bogged down by in Boston.

I believe he got the rug pulled on him, no way he spent what he did in the offseason going in to 2018 if he knew it would keep us out of last offseasons market entirely. And weren’t the owners in Boston behind some of those big deals? Crawford I think? They hired like a PR firm to dictate targets that would be popular or something.

 

They maxed out their 2019 budget in 2018 when Yu was still available late in the winter and was cheaper than they expected and knew they’d have a need for a starter so they went for it. At least that’s the party line, but it seems fairly plausible.

 

I think even with the fickle nature of relievers they didn’t anticipate Carl and Strop being completely worthless, Morrow they should have signed and then assumed we’d get nothing from him due to his injury history.

 

In terms of OF, in the 17-18 offseason they were probably expecting Schwarber to be more like 2nd half 17 Schwarber and possibly improve, Happ to improve to a solid regular etc. They took some risks but ultimately felt they filled all their holes for the next 2 years.

 

That’s not to say there weren’t glaring holes in that logic but I’m guessing that was their thinking if they did actually have a payroll restriction. Cubs took a lot of risks and most of them blew up in their face

This certainly seems plausible, it wouldn’t surprise me if it’s true. But it still is deciding to sit out a market with two 26/27 year old type talents that rarely hit FA to do that, which I have my doubts he made that trade off.

[Sammy Sofa]

i seriously can't believe they're letting the brewers do this to them again

 

Hey, TWO division rivals are doing it to them this time! 2 is more than 1, and all for basically the same payroll! Progress, baby!

[Cubswin11]

I believe he got the rug pulled on him, no way he spent what he did in the offseason going in to 2018 if he knew it would keep us out of last offseasons market entirely. And weren’t the owners in Boston behind some of those big deals? Crawford I think? They hired like a PR firm to dictate targets that would be popular or something.

 

They maxed out their 2019 budget in 2018 when Yu was still available late in the winter and was cheaper than they expected and knew they’d have a need for a starter so they went for it. At least that’s the party line, but it seems fairly plausible.

 

I think even with the fickle nature of relievers they didn’t anticipate Carl and Strop being completely worthless, Morrow they should have signed and then assumed we’d get nothing from him due to his injury history.

 

In terms of OF, in the 17-18 offseason they were probably expecting Schwarber to be more like 2nd half 17 Schwarber and possibly improve, Happ to improve to a solid regular etc. They took some risks but ultimately felt they filled all their holes for the next 2 years.

 

That’s not to say there weren’t glaring holes in that logic but I’m guessing that was their thinking if they did actually have a payroll restriction. Cubs took a lot of risks and most of them blew up in their face

 

For me, the Chatwood and Morrow signings are just inexcusably stupid. Darvish makes total sense, and it sucks the first season+ went like it did, but that move makes sense. Shelling out that much for those two mopes if there's ANY inkling that money might be getting harder to come by? Get the horsefeathers out of here.

Well yeah. That’s my point, I don’t think he signs Brandon horsefeathering Morrow or Tyler horsefeathering Chatwood for what he did if it kept him from making a run at Bryce or Manny.

[17 Seconds]

i seriously can't believe they're letting the brewers do this to them again

 

Hey, TWO division rivals are doing it to them this time! 2 is more than 1, and all for basically the same payroll! Progress, baby!

 

the cardinals are whatever. they're at least a decent team. the brewers are legitimately bad. yeah theo is a mess lately, but it's insane that the cubs roster allowed this brewers team to pass them this year. they should not be relevant to the cubs, let alone in front of them. and it happened the same way! they cubs had them dead going into those last 2 series, and failed both times. again.

Edited September 20, 2019 by 17 Seconds

[minnesotacubsfan]

Welll horsefeathers. Im outta beer

[ConstableRabbit]

So, I never thought Kimbrel was going to be great joining so late.

 

But is he going to be fine with a normal season next year or like is he legit not good? I have a hard time believing he's just totally lost it.

Assuming health I think he’ll be fine, not lock down like the past but good enough. He’s still throwing 96+ and has the breaker.

 

Yup. If they had just signed him on a normal horsefeathering schedule he probably would have been fine, even if it was just the version of Kimbrel through most of the 2018 season.

I mean, yeah, but he was asking for an unprecedented contract given historical comps for his age and peer set. He ended up signing for pretty much where he should have.

[UMFan83]

I believe he got the rug pulled on him, no way he spent what he did in the offseason going in to 2018 if he knew it would keep us out of last offseasons market entirely. And weren’t the owners in Boston behind some of those big deals? Crawford I think? They hired like a PR firm to dictate targets that would be popular or something.

 

They maxed out their 2019 budget in 2018 when Yu was still available late in the winter and was cheaper than they expected and knew they’d have a need for a starter so they went for it. At least that’s the party line, but it seems fairly plausible.

 

I think even with the fickle nature of relievers they didn’t anticipate Carl and Strop being completely worthless, Morrow they should have signed and then assumed we’d get nothing from him due to his injury history.

 

In terms of OF, in the 17-18 offseason they were probably expecting Schwarber to be more like 2nd half 17 Schwarber and possibly improve, Happ to improve to a solid regular etc. They took some risks but ultimately felt they filled all their holes for the next 2 years.

 

That’s not to say there weren’t glaring holes in that logic but I’m guessing that was their thinking if they did actually have a payroll restriction. Cubs took a lot of risks and most of them blew up in their face

 

For me, the Chatwood and Morrow signings are just inexcusably stupid. Darvish makes total sense, and it sucks the first season+ went like it did, but that move makes sense. Shelling out that much for those two mopes if there's ANY inkling that money might be getting harder to come by? Get the horsefeathers out of here.

 

That’s a great point because that reminded me of my reaction of the signing which was basically that it was an overpay but it means we have enough money to take risks like that.

 

I really don’t mind the Morrow signing. Even if he was risky I don’t think we could have expected him to have one injury that kept him out for 75% of his contract. But even in the event of injury I felt the Cubs had a deep bullpen that could handle an injury. Cishek, Carl, Strop, Monty, Justin wilson, Duensing who was actually decent the year before. Didn’t expect all of them besides Cishek to suck and then Cishek to eventually get overworked and also suck. But on the upside, if he can stay healthy you get an elite caliber closer at a discount

[Derwood]

Our extra innings record this year has to be brutal.

 

4-9, thanks for asking

[Cubswin11]

I suppose they deserve credit for the 9th but Kimbrel giving up the bomb just turned that game into a microcosm for the season. I fully expect it to spiral the rest of the way.

 

If they get credit for the 9th then they get knocked for not showing up until the 9th

 

I mean, it was Happ, who is bad, Bote who is bad (and, unfortunately, got paid), and Castellanos, who is good, but an insanely impatient/aggressive hitter. Not an ideal trio of players to pin anything on.

He has a 110 wRC+ on the year, 139 in the second half, 213 in August and 149 in Sep/Oct and I can’t remember seeing him do anything good for a long time. I don’t know how he has those numbers.

[bjam12]

Our extra innings record this year has to be brutal.

 

4-9, thanks for asking

 

better than I would have guessed.

[17 Seconds]

seeing the brewers -21 in the standings right next to the cubs +114 might be the most infuriating thing i've ever experienced in sports

[UMFan83]

at least for one shining moment we finally had Rizzo, Bryant, Castellanos, Contreras, Schwarber and Javy in a game at the same time. We did it guys!

[Hairyducked Idiot]

seeing the brewers -21 in the standings right next to the cubs +114 might be the most infuriating thing i've ever experienced in sports

 

right next to slightly above

[Cubswin11]

seeing the brewers -21 in the standings right next to the cubs +114 might be the most infuriating thing i've ever experienced in sports

Going in to today, the RD implied we’ve played 5 wins under where we should be and the Brewers 9 games over where they should be (A FOURTEEN GAME SWING). It’s horsefeathering unreal.

[Sammy Sofa]

I really don’t mind the Morrow signing. Even if he was risky I don’t think we could have expected him to have one injury that kept him out for 75% of his contract. But even in the event of injury I felt the Cubs had a deep bullpen that could handle an injury. Cishek, Carl, Strop, Monty, Justin wilson, Duensing who was actually decent the year before. Didn’t expect all of them besides Cishek to suck and then Cishek to eventually get overworked and also suck. But on the upside, if he can stay healthy you get an elite caliber closer at a discount

 

Well, yeah, that comes back to just how nigh-catastrophically bad they've developed pitching talent. Your bullpen is more likely to blow up if you have to rely overwhelmingly on guys you have to bring on because they didn't even manage to develop some legit horsefeathering relievers.

[Bryants Disco Ball]

Thanks, you [expletive]. Now I'm raging.

 

ETA: Wait. Wasn't there a discussion here that RD is not as useful as we make it out to be?

Edited September 20, 2019 by Bryant's Disco Ball

[17 Seconds]

seeing the brewers -21 in the standings right next to the cubs +114 might be the most infuriating thing i've ever experienced in sports

Going in to today, the RD implied we’ve played 5 wins under where we should be and the Brewers 9 games over where they should be (A FOURTEEN GAME SWING). It’s horsefeathering unreal.

 

the thing that gets me is that it lets brewers fans think they were right about them being good, even though they weren't. that team sucks ass and they're winning games for no real reasons. now we have to spend the whole offseason knowing we'll have a superior roster to them again next year, but they finished ahead of us twice in a row now, so they have these stupid unearned bragging rights.

 

but really the problem here is that i care about another sports team's fanbase.

[Bryants Disco Ball]

seeing the brewers -21 in the standings right next to the cubs +114 might be the most infuriating thing i've ever experienced in sports

Going in to today, the RD implied we’ve played 5 wins under where we should be and the Brewers 9 games over where they should be (A FOURTEEN GAME SWING). It’s horsefeathering unreal.

 

the thing that gets me is that it lets brewers fans think they were right about them being good, even though they weren't. that team sucks ass and they're winning games for no real reasons. now we have to spend the whole offseason knowing we'll have a superior roster to them again next year, but they finished ahead of us twice in a row now, so they have these stupid unearned bragging rights.

 

but really the problem here is that i care about another sports team's fanbase.

 

Thank you for being in this with me. It feels comforting knowing I'm not alone.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I really don’t mind the Morrow signing. Even if he was risky I don’t think we could have expected him to have one injury that kept him out for 75% of his contract. But even in the event of injury I felt the Cubs had a deep bullpen that could handle an injury. Cishek, Carl, Strop, Monty, Justin wilson, Duensing who was actually decent the year before. Didn’t expect all of them besides Cishek to suck and then Cishek to eventually get overworked and also suck. But on the upside, if he can stay healthy you get an elite caliber closer at a discount

 

Well, yeah, that comes back to just how nigh-catastrophically bad they've developed pitching talent. Your bullpen is more likely to blow up if you have to rely overwhelmingly on guys you have to bring on because they didn't even manage to develop some legit horsefeathering relievers.

 

It's truly amazing how they've produced absolutely nothing in the draft and IFA, pitching-wise. Just by accident you'd think some random 14th-rounder would hit a growth spurt or develop a new pitch and give you a couple of decent relief seasons. But just stone nothing.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

seeing the brewers -21 in the standings right next to the cubs +114 might be the most infuriating thing i've ever experienced in sports

Going in to today, the RD implied we’ve played 5 wins under where we should be and the Brewers 9 games over where they should be (A FOURTEEN GAME SWING). It’s horsefeathering unreal.

 

the thing that gets me is that it lets brewers fans think they were right about them being good, even though they weren't. that team sucks ass and they're winning games for no real reasons. now we have to spend the whole offseason knowing we'll have a superior roster to them again next year, but they finished ahead of us twice in a row now, so they have these stupid unearned bragging rights.

 

but really the problem here is that i care about another sports team's fanbase.

 

If it helps, they were right about the Cubs spending money poorly and running into a wall.

[Schwarber Fan]

Kimbrel’s ERA in non-save situations is 12, lol.

[Cubswin11]

I really don’t mind the Morrow signing. Even if he was risky I don’t think we could have expected him to have one injury that kept him out for 75% of his contract. But even in the event of injury I felt the Cubs had a deep bullpen that could handle an injury. Cishek, Carl, Strop, Monty, Justin wilson, Duensing who was actually decent the year before. Didn’t expect all of them besides Cishek to suck and then Cishek to eventually get overworked and also suck. But on the upside, if he can stay healthy you get an elite caliber closer at a discount

 

Well, yeah, that comes back to just how nigh-catastrophically bad they've developed pitching talent. Your bullpen is more likely to blow up if you have to rely overwhelmingly on guys you have to bring on because they didn't even manage to develop some legit horsefeathering relievers.

 

It's truly amazing how they've produced absolutely nothing in the draft and IFA, pitching-wise. Just by accident you'd think some random 14th-rounder would hit a growth spurt or develop a new pitch and give you a couple of decent relief seasons. But just stone nothing.

It’s going to be too late to help the current core but there finally is some pitching in the system and they’ve turned the corner on it, IMO.

[17 Seconds]

Going in to today, the RD implied we’ve played 5 wins under where we should be and the Brewers 9 games over where they should be (A FOURTEEN GAME SWING). It’s horsefeathering unreal.

 

the thing that gets me is that it lets brewers fans think they were right about them being good, even though they weren't. that team sucks ass and they're winning games for no real reasons. now we have to spend the whole offseason knowing we'll have a superior roster to them again next year, but they finished ahead of us twice in a row now, so they have these stupid unearned bragging rights.

 

but really the problem here is that i care about another sports team's fanbase.

 

If it helps, they were right about the Cubs spending money poorly and running into a wall.

 

but the cubs should still be winning 90 games this season even with those screw ups.

 

and also their contention was never with the players the cubs were choosing to sign. they just thought that the cubs spending money at all meant their window would close sooner, even if they weren't bad signings. their argument never made sense.

[TMan92]

 

the thing that gets me is that it lets brewers fans think they were right about them being good, even though they weren't. that team sucks ass and they're winning games for no real reasons. now we have to spend the whole offseason knowing we'll have a superior roster to them again next year, but they finished ahead of us twice in a row now, so they have these stupid unearned bragging rights.

 

but really the problem here is that i care about another sports team's fanbase.

 

If it helps, they were right about the Cubs spending money poorly and running into a wall.

 

but the cubs should still be winning 90 games this season even with those screw ups.

 

and also their contention was never with the players the cubs were choosing to sign. they just thought that the cubs spending money at all meant their window would close sooner, even if they weren't bad signings. their argument never made sense.

 

I am over the Cardinals winning the division. Now just hoping the Brewers trip over their dicks in the last 10 days and we back in to the stupid wildcard.