4/30 Madrigal is making me feel evil things

[Andy]

To this point my most hated (on the field) Cub is Aaron Miles, and Nick Madrigal is displaying pretty much every trait he did so far.

[Bertz]

I thought it was weird coming into the year that we never affirmatively heard that Hermosillo was a plus CF given his speed.

 

It's starting to seem less weird.

[d_money]

Cubs look horrible. Bad news Bears

[UMFan83]

I pretty much stopped watching the Cubs - Suzuki is hitting under .300 now? Really is another Seiya Fukudome

 

Edit: I’m kidding btw

[CubinNY]

Just tuned in. Down 3 in the second. They are actively trying to kill NSB.

[jersey cubs fan]

Oh boy, that’s an ugly box score. Gonna need 21.

[CubinNY]

Yan just golfed one.

[CubinNY]

I thought it was weird coming into the year that we never affirmatively heard that Hermosillo was a plus CF given his speed.

 

It's starting to seem less weird.

Batting .095

[UMFan83]

Yan just golfed one.

 

A home run? By the Cubs?

[d_money]

Madrigal looks totally overmatched at the plate

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I might be the biggest Madrigal optimist here, but buddy you can't swing through a center cut 94 mph fastball from a lefty

[abuck1220]

6.5 games out on May 1st ain’t great fellas

[UMFan83]

I think Jed legit thought this would be a ~74 win team this year (unless they gutted at the deadline). Is this still going to be a retool if its clearly trending towards a 100+ loss team in July? Then what do you do especially if Davis is still OPSing under .700 in Iowa?

[CubinNY]

A replacement level team playing a MLB team

[jersey cubs fan]

I think Jed legit thought this would be a ~74 win team this year (unless they gutted at the deadline). Is this still going to be a retool if its clearly trending towards a 100+ loss team in July? Then what do you do especially if Davis is still OPSing under .700 in Iowa?

It’s a tank job regardless, there’s no real distinction between retool and rebuild. It’s a bad team by design.

[Bertz]

I think Jed legit thought this would be a ~74 win team this year (unless they gutted at the deadline). Is this still going to be a retool if its clearly trending towards a 100+ loss team in July? Then what do you do especially if Davis is still OPSing under .700 in Iowa?

 

I think it depends on what's going wrong vs. what's going right. Like right now the starting pitching has been a huge disaster but the rest of the roster has, in aggregate, exceeded expectations. If in July the club has 4-5 black holes while otherwise things look good, that's something Jed can turn around in a winter. But if it's just 1-WAR putzes as far as the eye can see, yeah buckle in for a real rebuild.

[UMFan83]

I think Jed legit thought this would be a ~74 win team this year (unless they gutted at the deadline). Is this still going to be a retool if its clearly trending towards a 100+ loss team in July? Then what do you do especially if Davis is still OPSing under .700 in Iowa?

 

I think it depends on what's going wrong vs. what's going right. Like right now the starting pitching has been a huge disaster but the rest of the roster has, in aggregate, exceeded expectations. If in July the club has 4-5 black holes while otherwise things look good, that's something Jed can turn around in a winter. But if it's just 1-WAR putzes as far as the eye can see, yeah buckle in for a real rebuild.

 

Seems like the offense in general is trending downwards big time. .228/.319/.333/.652 slash line during this 2-8 stretch and that's including the 21 run outburst. Yes the sample size is too small to say anything definitive but its trending towards the offense not being great either, unless you are seeing something upon digging deeper.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

It's frustrating that Schwindel turning back into a pumpkin is a bit of a no-win scenario even if you can see it coming. The poor production and opportunity cost of finding someone better/more permanent is obvious, but his age and track record means there wasn't another way that isn't simply trading him for nothing or benching/demoting him(which isn't great for morale/player reputation).

[Bertz]

I think Jed legit thought this would be a ~74 win team this year (unless they gutted at the deadline). Is this still going to be a retool if its clearly trending towards a 100+ loss team in July? Then what do you do especially if Davis is still OPSing under .700 in Iowa?

 

I think it depends on what's going wrong vs. what's going right. Like right now the starting pitching has been a huge disaster but the rest of the roster has, in aggregate, exceeded expectations. If in July the club has 4-5 black holes while otherwise things look good, that's something Jed can turn around in a winter. But if it's just 1-WAR putzes as far as the eye can see, yeah buckle in for a real rebuild.

 

Seems like the offense in general is trending downwards big time. .228/.319/.333/.652 slash line during this 2-8 stretch and that's including the 21 run outburst. Yes the sample size is too small to say anything definitive but its trending towards the offense not being great either, unless you are seeing something upon digging deeper.

 

Pirates aside, some pretty killer pitching during this stretch.

 

I think with the offense it's also a matter of sorting through those 1-WAR guys to see which ones are worth holding onto and pairing with the unequivocally good guys like Seiya, Happ, and Hoerner (are we comfortable locking this one in yet?). At the moment I think we'd give the thumbs up to Wisdom and the thumbs down to Schwindel and Ortega.

[d_money]

Unfortunately, Hermasillo is not long for this world. I had hopes but he looks more lost than anyone else on the roster

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I think with the offense it's also a matter of sorting through those 1-WAR guys to see which ones are worth holding onto and pairing with the unequivocally good guys like Seiya, Happ, and Hoerner (are we comfortable locking this one in yet?). At the moment I think we'd give the thumbs up to Wisdom and the thumbs down to Schwindel and Ortega.

 

I'm also wondering if the opportunity afforded by the May roster cut down might embolden Jed to be more decisive than he otherwise would. Especially in the case of Hermosillo, Schwindel, and Ortega, it's one thing to say 'okay we're gonna play Rivas and Frazier more' and keep them around if they break out of the rut, since who else are you gonna call up, Deichmann? But if you have a one time opportunity afforded by the roster squeeze, maybe you say 'okay that's enough' because you have the chance to give someone external that spot at minimal cost.

[itisallpartoftheplan]

Nicky 3 Strikes

[Irrelevant Dude]

Nicky 3 Strikes

I'm not sure it accomplishes anything to send him down, but does he have any options remaining?

[CubinNY]

Embarrassment.

[Bertz]

I think with the offense it's also a matter of sorting through those 1-WAR guys to see which ones are worth holding onto and pairing with the unequivocally good guys like Seiya, Happ, and Hoerner (are we comfortable locking this one in yet?). At the moment I think we'd give the thumbs up to Wisdom and the thumbs down to Schwindel and Ortega.

 

I'm also wondering if the opportunity afforded by the May roster cut down might embolden Jed to be more decisive than he otherwise would. Especially in the case of Hermosillo, Schwindel, and Ortega, it's one thing to say 'okay we're gonna play Rivas and Frazier more' and keep them around if they break out of the rut, since who else are you gonna call up, Deichmann? But if you have a one time opportunity afforded by the roster squeeze, maybe you say 'okay that's enough' because you have the chance to give someone external that spot at minimal cost.

 

I could also see us swapping one or more out for someone out of the org. Sounds like there's some expectation for trades in the next 48-72 as teams face this roster crunch. Maybe there are guys out there on a similar roster bubble who fit this specific roster better.