Cubs offseason chit chat...

[Stratos]

2 hours ago, CubinNY said:

I think you are assuming that they are not preparing for the season on their own. They don't need directions. 

No, i'm saying working with the coaching and catchers etc would be to their and the team's benefit.  I assume they aren't on the couch eating cheetos waiting to be signed.

[Stratos]

Bader signed with Mets.

[We Got The Whole 9]

2 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

From a fan perspective,  not even a Cub fan perspective,  this offseason has been awful. My 2 favorite times of the year are mid December to mid January because of free agency and the MLB Draft. This free agency has been the least enjoyable in my memory. We're about a week into January,  75% of the FA are still there, and we're hearing the same recycled things from writers for the last month without any new information. It has gotten to the point where even when the Cubs eventually do something, I'm just not going to particularly care.

It's the new normal

[CubinNY]

18 minutes ago, Stratos said:

No, i'm saying working with the coaching and catchers etc would be to their and the team's benefit.  I assume they aren't on the couch eating cheetos waiting to be signed.

Still not getting it. They aren't doing chemistry. They have six long weeks in ST to date and share recipes. 

[chibears55]

4 hours ago, Derwood said:

Would MLB benefit from having a shorter window for FA signings?

Most definitely,  they hype up the GM meeting in December and not much happens there.

So, I think November should just be about the awards and FA/trades shouldn't start until the GM meetings and end on February 1st.  Trades can still happen.

[CubinNY]

5 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

Most definitely,  they hype up the GM meeting in December and not much happens there.

So, I think November should just be about the awards and FA/trades shouldn't start until the GM meetings and end on February 1st.  Trades can still happen.

Then you are forcing players to take whatever the offer is from the teams. 

[LBiittner]

51 minutes ago, Bertz said:

I wonder if Amed Rosario would play 3B here?  It's probably a no but:

- After his down 2023 and given he is only 28 he's certainly looking for just a one year deal

- He's more or less played himself off SS, but learned 2B basically on the fly with the Dodgers and was very good.  He doesn't have a cannon for an arm but should have plenty for 3B

- Offensively he's basically a less outlier-y Nick Madrigal.  Plus contact, lots of chase, not a ton of slug, but also not a guy with so little power that teams literally play their outfield in

- He's fast and mashes lefties, so even if he's not a starting caliber player he has skills that lend themselves well to a bench role

Now why it may not work:

- He's never actually played 3B.  And while the numbers say he's no longer a shortstop, he might be reticent to actually concede that just yet because it lowers the cap on what kind of money he can make

- While not as extreme as Nick Madrigal, he sort of fits the mold of Nick Madrigal in that he's contact over power.  And we already *know* Madrigal is a whiz at 3B.  This might be mystery box thinking on my part

- He'd ostensibly be the 3rd bat.  And the cost might not make sense for a guy you think probably solves 3B but you're not super sure

Probably better off keeping mastrobono as madrigal backup. We need to either go big time player or keep the fiscally prudent Jed's plan 

[squally1313]

27 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

Then you are forcing players to take whatever the offer is from the teams. 

Well yeah but who cares about them, think of how bored we've been on this thread for the last two months

[JHBulls]

7 hours ago, Stratos said:

If Cubs like Bellinger, Snell, and Hoskins it's going to be a long January.

Bears hibernate all winter, so don’t expect much to happen. Jed knows what he’s doing. 

[LBiittner]

3 minutes ago, JHBulls said:

Jed knows what he’s doing. 

WTF ?

are you getting ready for the Cub Convention? LOL.

[JHBulls]

3 minutes ago, LBiittner said:

WTF ?

are you getting ready for the Cub Convention? LOL.

[LBiittner]

Since I brought up the convention, my memory gets fuzzy, Have the Cubs ever announced a free agent signing or trade during the cubfest? (Not that I'm expecting this sort of thing)

[Tryptamine]

14 minutes ago, JHBulls said:

Bears hibernate all winter, so don’t expect much to happen. Jed knows what he’s doing. 

Does he?

[WhyCantWeWin]

Yeah MLB offseason is too damn boring. Bet Manfred will look into how to make it exciting, his changes shortening game time did wonders, gotta keep the young ones interested in the sport. 

[Rob]

20 minutes ago, LBiittner said:

Since I brought up the convention, my memory gets fuzzy, Have the Cubs ever announced a free agent signing or trade during the cubfest? (Not that I'm expecting this sort of thing)

Kerry Wood's return was announced at the Cubs Convention. Probably some others, but I can't recall those offhand.

https://www.nbcsportschicago.com/mlb/chicago-cubs/nearly-gone-kerry-wood-comes-back-to-cubs/300882/

[LBiittner]

10 minutes ago, Rob said:

Kerry Wood's return was announced at the Cubs Convention. Probably some others, but I can't recall those offhand.

https://www.nbcsportschicago.com/mlb/chicago-cubs/nearly-gone-kerry-wood-comes-back-to-cubs/300882/

That was a feel.good story

[squally1313]

9 minutes ago, WhyCantWeWin said:

Yeah MLB offseason is too damn boring. Bet Manfred will look into how to make it exciting, his changes shortening game time did wonders, gotta keep the young ones interested in the sport. 

I mean....it's one thing to focus on increasing interest in the actual game of baseball (you know, the sport itself, and also the thing people pay money to watch/consume). Do you really think it's possible to turn the MLB offseason into some financial windfall or win over The Youths by like, forcing Jordan Montgomery to sign early? Look around here, it's not exactly a bunch of young people complaining about the lack of moves.

I get that usually ends up being a letdown and has especially been one for Cubs players this year, but, uh, the players don't really owe us anything and all you'd be doing is giving the owners more leverage. That's not the say that Manfred wouldn't want to do that, but I don't think we should be pining for it just to make our workday message board posting more exciting. 

[Tryptamine]

Young people care about the games. All of us old folk care about free agency and the draft, which the vast  majority of young kids couldn't care the slightest about.

[Irrelevant Dude]

Yes, MLB offseason is boring and seems to be moving slower and slower with each passing year, but we are a very small minority of the fanbase that cares about such things.  Most people probably have no idea who their team has signed until they show up on Opening Day.  Making any changes to the offseason schedule simply to appease the fans would be silly.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

16 minutes ago, squally1313 said:

I mean....it's one thing to focus on increasing interest in the actual game of baseball (you know, the sport itself, and also the thing people pay money to watch/consume). Do you really think it's possible to turn the MLB offseason into some financial windfall or win over The Youths by like, forcing Jordan Montgomery to sign early? Look around here, it's not exactly a bunch of young people complaining about the lack of moves.

I get that usually ends up being a letdown and has especially been one for Cubs players this year, but, uh, the players don't really owe us anything and all you'd be doing is giving the owners more leverage. That's not the say that Manfred wouldn't want to do that, but I don't think we should be pining for it just to make our workday message board posting more exciting. 

To play devil's advocate, I think having something that keeps baseball in the news over the winter months similar to the NFL and NBA free agency's Day 1 rush is probably a net positive for interest.  I also am not convinced that adding time urgency is automatically leading to ownership leverage/suppressing salaries.  But ultimately I don't think it's a capital P Problem you spend any effort solving, never mind the backlash that shortening it might inspire from some(particularly the PA).

[JHBulls]

53 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

Does he?

I don’t believe it, I need to explain the joke. I said Bears hibernate in the winter, it’s winter now, Cubs mascot is a Bear, the joke is that Jed is hibernating like the team mascot. 🙂

I can see that it was a horsefeathers joke. 😞

Edited January 4, 2024 by JHBulls

[Rob]

Just now, Transmogrified Tiger said:

To play devil's advocate, I think having something that keeps baseball in the news over the winter months similar to the NFL and NBA free agency's Day 1 rush is probably a net positive for interest.  I also am not convinced that adding time urgency is automatically leading to ownership leverage/suppressing salaries.  But ultimately I don't think it's a capital P Problem you spend any effort solving, never mind the backlash that shortening it might inspire from some(particularly the PA).

I was just posting something similar.

While ownership might like the idea of an early signing deadline because it might decrease salaries a tiny bit, there's about zero chance the MLBPA agrees to something like that without significant considerations elsewhere.

And even if you could get everybody on board, I'm not sure the commissioner's office would want to bother. Like you said, having a months-long media presence is probably a slight boon for interest. If December 31st was some sort of signing deadline, I doubt many of us would post here in January/February.

[WhyCantWeWin]

16 minutes ago, squally1313 said:

I mean....it's one thing to focus on increasing interest in the actual game of baseball (you know, the sport itself, and also the thing people pay money to watch/consume). Do you really think it's possible to turn the MLB offseason into some financial windfall or win over The Youths by like, forcing Jordan Montgomery to sign early? Look around here, it's not exactly a bunch of young people complaining about the lack of moves.

I get that usually ends up being a letdown and has especially been one for Cubs players this year, but, uh, the players don't really owe us anything and all you'd be doing is giving the owners more leverage. That's not the say that Manfred wouldn't want to do that, but I don't think we should be pining for it just to make our workday message board posting more exciting. 

I think anything that generates excitement leads to more revenue, like in season ticket sales and merchandise. The Dodgers crazy spending made news everywhere for instance and that probably got regular people into looking at what was going on there. I think a condensed wild spending spree like that would get people talking. People go crazy for the nba free agency and it basically ends after a day or two.

 

But yeah it is definitely more leverage for the owners, would need a concession like a spending floor without a hard cap. 

[Stratos]

4 hours ago, CubinNY said:

Still not getting it. They aren't doing chemistry. They have six long weeks in ST to date and share recipes. 

Bellinger was working with the Cubs immediately after he signed last year.  Most players don't just show up on the official day pitchers and catchers report to ST, they're there working.

[Stratos]

4 hours ago, Stratos said:

Bader signed with Mets.

Why would they sign Bader if they have Nimmo?  Moving Nimmo to RF/LF?