2020 roster

[ConstableRabbit]

Contreras is a master vaguetweeter(or instagrammer), truly world class

Especially when he told a porn star that he was a big fan of hers. What does it all mean?!?

[UMFan83]

thats not what im referring to. I'm saying the position we were in circa 2015 with all the prospects and financial flexibility and this is where we're at now with a mediocre farm and no payroll space and a roster whose best players are 2 years from FA.

 

The in between was amazing and the rebuild has been a success by every measure.

 

aka 324 regular season baseball games over two ML seasons including two playoffs that will end with a champion series apiece

 

How is this treated as bad, something to run away from, and not something that was always going to happen that everyone knew about going in?

 

It's not bad, its just another example of resources deteriorating in value as they get closer to FA.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

-3 years of outright forfeit

-4 years of success

-4+ years of rebuilding, roster restoration

-??

 

WS is undeniably great but we also need to accept that ownership is content to ride that goodwill as far as possible

 

Trading good players and continuing to compete are not mutually exclusive ideas. That's doubly true in the case of someone like Contreras whose exact level of contributions are more debatable than say an outfielder.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Contreras is a master vaguetweeter(or instagrammer), truly world class

Especially when he told a porn star that he was a big fan of hers. What does it all mean?!?

 

There were generic smilies involved, he's still a man of mystery

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Reminder that playoffs are crapshoots and that winning a WS is incredibly important to how much fun we had but irrelevant to measuring the quality of the front office’s performance.

[sneakypower]

-3 years of outright forfeit

-4 years of success

-4+ years of rebuilding, roster restoration

-??

 

WS is undeniably great but we also need to accept that ownership is content to ride that goodwill as far as possible

 

Trading good players and continuing to compete are not mutually exclusive ideas. That's doubly true in the case of someone like Contreras whose exact level of contributions are more debatable than say an outfielder.

in these circumstances, they basically are though

 

like if you trade Bryant for some hot prospects and use the savings toward Rendon or whatever, sure, but we're just inevitably setting sail 5 wins in hopes that one day we'll get some return as Cristian Pache develops into a nice, affordably cheap, Chris B. Young

[UMFan83]

It's not bad, its just another example of resources deteriorating in value as they get closer to FA.

 

This sounds bad and as mean/evil as anything the owners might say (resources? assets? deteriorating in value? Jeebus, are sports training people to be bizness evil? We're talking about 27-28 year old people! People who are really good or better at their jobs! What more can be asked!?)

 

thats a bizarre tangent to take this discussion but ok.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

-3 years of outright forfeit

-4 years of success

-4+ years of rebuilding, roster restoration

-??

 

WS is undeniably great but we also need to accept that ownership is content to ride that goodwill as far as possible

 

Trading good players and continuing to compete are not mutually exclusive ideas. That's doubly true in the case of someone like Contreras whose exact level of contributions are more debatable than say an outfielder.

in these circumstances, they basically are though

 

like if you trade Bryant for some hot prospects and use the savings toward Rendon or whatever, sure, but we're just inevitably setting sail 5 wins in hopes that one day we'll get some return as Cristian Pache develops into a nice affordably cheap Chris B. Young

 

Bryant yes, because he's a 5+ win star. I indulged the idea yesterday(partially as a defense mechanism and partially because I do enjoy rosterbation), but to be clear my real thoughts are here: viewtopic.php?p=384016#p384016

 

Bryant trades that:

 

Make the Cubs better in the short term: almost literally impossible

Make the Cubs better in the long term but worse in the short term: incredibly stupid given the roster, functionally punts the season

Make the Cubs better in the long term and comparable in the short term: basically impossible given how his salary and team control limit suitors/willingness to give a mega package

 

 

Contreras(and Schwarber and anyone lower on the roster) don't have as high a bar to clear, and it also depends on what you get. We're seeing the right prospects adapt to MLB quicker than ever, and when you're dealing with pitching the variance goes in both directions.

[David]

Reminder that playoffs are crapshoots and that winning a WS is incredibly important to how much fun we had but irrelevant to measuring the quality of the front office’s performance.

 

categorizing 2015, 16, 17, and 18 all as "mission accomplished" doesn't exactly make things look a whole lot worse.

 

and the WS isn't entirely irrelevant insofar as it was ostensibly (at least partially) a result of being good enough to make it in over and over...even if it was in year 2 of that stretch.

Edited December 9, 2019 by David

[David]

-3 years of outright forfeit

-4 years of success

-4+ years of rebuilding, roster restoration

-??

 

WS is undeniably great but we also need to accept that ownership is content to ride that goodwill as far as possible

 

oh PTR definitely sucks ass.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Reminder that playoffs are crapshoots and that winning a WS is incredibly important to how much fun we had but irrelevant to measuring the quality of the front office’s performance.

 

categorizing 2015, 16, 17, and 18 all as "mission accomplished" doesn't exactly make things look a whole lot worse.

 

and the WS isn't entirely irrelevant insofar as it was ostensibly (at least partially) a result of being good enough to make it in over and over...even if it was in year 2 of that stretch.

 

Three years of tanking, four years of making it, back to mediocrity.

 

With their payroll advantages, that’s like a C+

[CubinNY]

-3 years of outright forfeit

-4 years of success

-4+ years of rebuilding, roster restoration

-??

 

WS is undeniably great but we also need to accept that ownership is content to ride that goodwill as far as possible

 

oh PTR definitely sucks ass.

I love that the owners are able to create an artificial spending ceiling, but that's capitalism. PTR and the baseball geniuses are about two years away from making the Cubs intentionally bad again and lowering the payroll. Perhaps sooner if they deal Bryant. If I'm Rizzo or any of the "core" and they deal Bryant to clear payroll and get a prospect(s), I'm not signing a contract with them.

[champaignchris]

I love that the owners are able to create an artificial spending ceiling, but that's capitalism...

 

Uhm... That's not capitalism. That's the opposite of capitalism. That's why baseball needs the Federal anti-trust exemption in order to get away with it. When Tech companies - Apple, Google, Intel and others - got together and tried to suppress wages, they got sued by the Federal government and later settled a class action lawsuit with $435MM in damages to the companies' employees.

[Gmoney23]

Reminder that playoffs are crapshoots and that winning a WS is incredibly important to how much fun we had but irrelevant to measuring the quality of the front office’s performance.

 

categorizing 2015, 16, 17, and 18 all as "mission accomplished" doesn't exactly make things look a whole lot worse.

 

and the WS isn't entirely irrelevant insofar as it was ostensibly (at least partially) a result of being good enough to make it in over and over...even if it was in year 2 of that stretch.

 

Three years of tanking, four years of making it, back to mediocrity.

 

With their payroll advantages, that’s like a C+

 

5 years of 94 win baseball, 4 years in the crapshoot and winning the crapshoot is a C+?

 

Im extemely happy with the last 5 years... where ill be pissed is if they cant resign most or the core after their rookie deals. The tank and the years of cost-controlled assets were supposedly savings designed to allow us to flex our muscle when it came time to pay these guys.

[Tim]

Honest question: as rosters stand today, who would you guys favor to win the division?

[David]

Honest question: as rosters stand today, who would you guys favor to win the division?

 

today? the cubs

 

how about after they do a bunch of dumb crap to get under $208M in payroll?

[Cubswin11]

Honest question: as rosters stand today, who would you guys favor to win the division?

Cubs today and if they can spend to the 228-240 number. If they have to get under 208, Reds or Cardinals.

Edited December 9, 2019 by Cubswin11

[abohnhoff]

Honest question: as rosters stand today, who would you guys favor to win the division?

Cubs today and if they can spend to the 228-240 number, if they have to get under 208. Reds or Cardinals.

 

Very confused by the comma and period placement in this comment.

[Cubswin11]

Honest question: as rosters stand today, who would you guys favor to win the division?

Cubs today and if they can spend to the 228-240 number, if they have to get under 208. Reds or Cardinals.

 

Very confused by the comma and period placement in this comment.

Fixed.

[UK]

Is it wrong Im leaning towards blowing this team up rather than half-ass trying to improve it?

[Cubswin11]

Is it wrong Im leaning towards blowing this team up rather than half-ass trying to improve it?

Same, assuming we can’t spend to even 240. I’d rather have death by be-heading than death by paper cuts with the be-heading at least maybe giving us some prospects for 1-3 years from now.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

5 years of 94 win baseball, 4 years in the crapshoot and winning the crapshoot is a C+?

 

Im extemely happy with the last 5 years... where ill be pissed is if they cant resign most or the core after their rookie deals. The tank and the years of cost-controlled assets were supposedly savings designed to allow us to flex our muscle when it came time to pay these guys.

 

They've been in charge more than 5 years.

 

Their actual average is 84-win baseball. Which, given their financial advantages, I think a C+ is plenty generous.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Is it wrong Im leaning towards blowing this team up rather than half-ass trying to improve it?

 

Yes. This team can win the world series next year. They should try to do that.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Honest question: as rosters stand today, who would you guys favor to win the division?

 

The field

[Derwood]

Is it wrong Im leaning towards blowing this team up rather than half-ass trying to improve it?

 

Yes, because a blow-up means 2-3 years of gross baseball and I'm getting too old for that horsefeathers