Cubs offseason chit chat...

[Hairyducked Idiot]

3 hours ago, BobbyD3 said:

I have no words.  You live in your world, I will live in mine.  That seems like the American thing to do.

tbf his theory kinda predicts that

[WhyCantWeWin]

57 minutes ago, SABR Gamer said:

I'll happily risk a ban to say that this kind of stuff has to be some sort of mental illness. 

Yeah no offense to Bobby but idk how all trump supporters seem to say the dumbest horsefeathers after they are presented with facts. 

[CubinNY]

1 hour ago, Rob said:

As a man with no defensive home and a good but not great bat, Morel is just an incredibly frustrating guy to plan around.

If he walked more / struck out less, he'd be easy to pencil in as a great DH. But most teams without great DH options simply use the DH to rest regulars and rehab minor injuries. So using him there full time feels subpar. If his physical tools translated to some defensive skills, he'd be easier to plan around. But for whatever reason, they just don't.

For a lot of people, I think myself included, it's easier to just assume other teams see his prodigious physical tools and somebody out there thinks they can fix him, and would value him accordingly. So we're content to rest on the easy idea that he should be on the trade block. It's harder to imagine the Cubs player development fixing those issues for him at the major league level, but I'd be thrilled if that's the case.

I was watching some Roberto Clemente highlights today. I think that’s who Morel reminds me of at the pate. 

Edited January 28, 2024 by CubinNY

[Cuzi]

5 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

I was watching some Roberto Clemente highlights today. I think that’s who Morel reminds me of at the pate. 

I would be eager to find out how one comes to that conclusion. Care to elaborate?

[Backtobanks]

8 minutes ago, Cuzi said:

I would be eager to find out how one comes to that conclusion. Care to elaborate?

Morel certainly has more swing and miss since Clemente only averaged 12% strikeout rate over his plate appearances.  Obviously Clemente also was a .300 hitter.  As for power, they may be similar.

[BobbyD3]

1 hour ago, WhyCantWeWin said:

Yeah no offense to Bobby but idk how all trump supporters seem to say the dumbest horsefeathers after they are presented with facts. 

No offense taken, WCWW.  You have your facts, I have mine.  You watch your news shows, I watch mine.  You voted for your guy, I voted for mine.  Rob calls the opposition stupid, I call the other side steadfast.  I know I will not change you, and I will not try; and you will most definitely not change me.  That's what makes America good (notice I didn't say "great again").  I enjoy the Cubs banter on this site, and I especially love the insight of 1908 and other baseball-savvy posters.  I don't care who you vote for, but I do think that insulting a group of people based upon who they vote for seems incredibly unwarranted.  I'll be a conservative, you you be a liberal, and perhaps we can root for the same team together.     

[CubinNY]

38 minutes ago, Cuzi said:

I would be eager to find out how one comes to that conclusion. Care to elaborate?

Similar stance and swing. The way they run. The joy with which they play. Obviously Clemente was a world class outfielder and all time great. I’m just talking about their stance and swing and personality. 

[Rob]

39 minutes ago, BobbyD3 said:

I do think that insulting a group of people based upon who they vote for seems incredibly unwarranted.  I'll be a conservative, you you be a liberal, and perhaps we can root for the same team together.     

If you were actually a conservative, you'd hate Trump and the Republican party. There is nothing classically conservative about either.

Party of fiscal responsibility? They spend every bit as much as the democrats, but refuse to pay the bill. Instead they cut taxes and watch the national debt balloon.

Party of personal responsibility? No, we better ban books because we don't trust parents to handle that themselves.

Party of family values? Only if supporting a demagogue who was banging porn stars instead of his pregnant wife is now what we call family values.

Party of common sense? Let's watch the planet burn around us and pretend we don't see what's happening.

I was a conservative and a registered Republican for a very long time. What's happened to the party and it's base is a damn abomination. And I'm not going to pretend otherwise so that you can feel welcomed here.

[LBiittner]

 

On 1/26/2024 at 8:02 PM, Rob said:

 

How-a-bout dem CUBS !!!

[BobbyD3]

1 minute ago, Rob said:

If you were actually a conservative, you'd hate Trump and the Republican party. There is nothing classically conservative about either.

Party of fiscal responsibility? They spend every bit as much as the democrats, but refuse to pay the bill. Instead they cut taxes and watch the national debt balloon.

Party of personal responsibility? No, we better ban books because we don't trust parents to handle that themselves.

Party of family values? Only if supporting a demagogue who was banging porn stars instead of his pregnant wife is now what we call family values.

Party of common sense? Let's watch the planet burn around us and pretend we don't see what's happening.

I was a conservative and a registered Republican for a very long time. What's happened to the party and it's base is a damn abomination. And I'm not going to pretend otherwise so that you can feel welcomed here.

Rob, you can certainly believe what you want, and I know you will.  That's great.  In fact, isn't that what our country encourages us to do?  We exist together with our differing beliefs and attempt to respect each other, despite our differing views.  We sit on opposite sides politically, and I am certainly not going to try and change you.  That old saying truly applies... "you do you".  I'm here for baseball talk; not politics, and the only reason that I responded as I did earlier is because I thought that your comment was a harsh blanket statement cast on the right-wingers.  I'm not upset,  It seems that you are, and I really wish you were not.  In fact, I have many friends that are liberals and we are still great friends.  We talk sports, not Biden, not Trump, not political issues.  It works really well.  We don't have to be friends, but I hope we can be fellow Cubs fans.      

[UMFan83]

7 hours ago, Stratos said:

Ok so post Neris are we now in the 6th or 7th inning of our offseason?

So far we've gotten a starter with an elevated HR rate, a 1B who has never hit in the majors and a reliever with a sky high walk rate and a velo drop last year.  I'd say our WS contender is just about built.

[LBiittner]

in the misty moonlight. By the flickering firelight. Any place is alright as long as I'm with you

[Post Count Padder]

That's all a really polite way of saying "You can believe in FACTS and SCIENCE and TREATING OTHERS WELL but people on my tv said fascism is actually good and that's fine with me so why are you mad?"

All that aside, I like our pen in general now. Another lefty might be nice but I don't know that I'd do much else.

[Rob]

3 minutes ago, Post Count Padder said:

That's all a really polite way of saying "You can believe in FACTS and SCIENCE and TREATING OTHERS WELL but people on my tv said fascism is actually good and that's fine with me so why are you mad?"

All that aside, I like our pen in general now. Another lefty might be nice but I don't know that I'd do much else.

"I'm happily empowering a wannabe tinpot dictator. Can't we just ignore that when I want to enjoy something?"

I'm ambivalent about the pen, but feel good about one or more prospects stepping up. Smart money is on Brown.

[LBiittner]

Now that we are discussing or dissing politics, how about religion?

[Dfan25]

I think that in real life Morel doesn’t have as much value as people on this board thinks . He can’t field at any position except 2B perhaps ?

He hits the ball hard and has power , but the contact issues and k numbers are real . As he has gotten more AB the bat has gone south . I am not sure he will give them that much value even as a full time DH . 
 

in terms of the off-season if what they do is sign Bellinger and nothing else , Hoyer failed the offseason . While adding Busch was interesting , it isn’t enough . Asking him to be  important part of the offense right away is risky   I already gave my thoughts on Morel . Not sure he is the answer to anything.

Neris was a necessary add , but they still need one more proven reliever . Guys like Merryweather and Leiter were good stories, but they don’t have track records of success .  Almonte is another you don’t know what you are going to get guy. After that is a bunch of guys with good arms but command issues .

In the rotation they replace Stroman with another unknown in Imanaga . I am not sure the team they will run on opening day is that much better than the one they had on opening day 2023 . 
 

if they go over the LT perhaps they can do enough to change the outlook for me , but wouldn’t surprise me if they stay under. If they do stay under , staying under last year makes no sense now whatsoever . They should have more money available but there are close to 20 million in the payroll that will go to Mancini / Barnhart and Smily this year .Think about that .

.

[LBiittner]

I want an old fashion trade. One of them my guy for your guy type of trades. One of those that fills both teams' immediate needs. 

[Rob]

16 minutes ago, LBiittner said:

I want an old fashion trade. One of them my guy for your guy type of trades. One of those that fills both teams' immediate needs. 

If it helps, you can think of our last trade as Busch for Ferris and Almonte for Hope. That's probably pretty close to how they were valued.

[LBiittner]

3 minutes ago, Rob said:

If it helps, you can think of our last trade as Busch for Ferris and Almonte for Hope. That's probably pretty close to how they were valued.

I got that. But I want a ken Holtzman for Rick Monday type of deal. A quasi controversial trade where equal value is debatable by both sides of the coin

[Thusly Boned]

39 minutes ago, TomtheBombadil said:

Yeah, I’m quietly rooting hard for Clase. He’s tippy top, 25, and on a great deal but being RP will make it controversial 

I'm a little wary of what the cost might be there, given his age and contract status. I'd love to have him, but I'd be surprised if whoever trades for him doesn't overpay.

[Radar3454]

Price for Clase is waay 2 high - Dealing for Bieber/Naylor is intriguing if they are high on Morel

[chibears55]

Just saw that Bellinger hasn't recieved any offers from any teams yet, this could set up a return to the cubs for a deal with early opt outs.

[Stratos]

1 hour ago, Dfan25 said:

in terms of the off-season if what they do is sign Bellinger and nothing else , Hoyer failed the offseason . While adding Busch was interesting , it isn’t enough . Asking him to be  important part of the offense right away is risky   I already gave my thoughts on Morel . Not sure he is the answer to anything.

If the offseason is a failure its Ricketts' fault.  There's only so much you can do when one of your best SP and your best hitter become FA, you have a mediocre bullpen, and you only have about 50m to replace them + make the team better. There was no path to improve this team significantly this offseason compared to last year's team if they stay under the LT unless they possibly started trading away a bunch of their best prospects.  Given he also signed Counsell, Hoyer's done well this offseason with the budget limits he seems to have been given from ownership.

Edited January 29, 2024 by Stratos

[Stratos]

9 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

Just saw that Bellinger hasn't recieved any offers from any teams yet, this could set up a return to the cubs for a deal with early opt outs.

Source?  That seems odd.

[Stratos]

4 hours ago, CubinNY said:

I was watching some Roberto Clemente highlights today. I think that’s who Morel reminds me of at the pate. 

Morel can be a really good hitter if he stops trying to aggressively pull every pitch 450ft down the LF line.  That should help him with the sliders and slower stuff away.  Canario has similar issues, they both pull off pitches significantly IMO.  These young strong guys that fall in love with their power won't reach their potential if they don't change their approach.

Edited January 29, 2024 by Stratos