Nationals (Corbin) vs Cubs (Assad): 9/19/24, 6:40pm

[Chicago Al]

8 minutes ago, 00prescott said:

I gotta ask an honest question; what the hell is it with this team?  Two years in a row they are almost God mode in the summer and then in September they fade out faster than a cheesy B movie ending.  Tell me because I do not get it.

Late April through early July when the offense was a joke has a big part to do with where they’re at.

[muntjack]

The hell is with the Suzuki talk?  He is the best hitter in the NL central.  

[17 Seconds]

32 minutes ago, muntjack said:

The hell is with the Suzuki talk?  He is the best hitter in the NL central.  

that's sad

Edited September 20, 2024 by 17 Seconds

[00prescott]

1 hour ago, Chicago Al said:

Late April through early July when the offense was a joke has a big part to do with where they’re at.

I agree with the slow start being a problem, but what is with the September fade?  Ever since we won it all, it's like this team falls asleep in October and now September.  What's the remedy?

[Rcal10]

35 minutes ago, muntjack said:

The hell is with the Suzuki talk?  He is the best hitter in the NL central.  

Yep. I don’t get it. There are just some posters that stick to a theme and don’t really care if what they believe has little merit. Happened with Happ earlier this year. Happened with Busch several times this year and now Suzuki. I highly doubt Happ or Suzuki is traded. But I am sure it will continue to be discussed, for some reason. 

[Cuzi]

2 hours ago, chibears55 said:

It either Suzuki or Happ that going to be moved if Bellinger returns and....

A. They plan on bringing in a plus bat

B. If Caissie is expected to join them next season 

Unless of course Hoyer just returns everyone and hopes for the best again. 

 

We talk about how they need to add a plus bat or two to the lineup but balk at moving guys to make room for them.

 

 

So if Bellinger returns we are going to trade one of two guys that have full NTCs instead of the guy that returned with no trade protections and is a worse player? Interesting theory.

Edited September 20, 2024 by Cuzi

[00prescott]

40 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

Yep. I don’t get it. There are just some posters that stick to a theme and don’t really care if what they believe has little merit. Happened with Happ earlier this year. Happened with Busch several times this year and now Suzuki. I highly doubt Happ or Suzuki is traded. But I am sure it will continue to be discussed, for some reason. 

It's a weird discussion for sure.  Suzuki isn't the problem.  Neither is Happ... Aren't we tired of trading our best players for magic beans that never give us a golden goose?

Aside from the worrying part of the late season fades, we need a; real closer, a replacement for Hendricks, and a real 30-40 HR hitter.  

I don't believe cutting Cody, Seiya, Dansby, Ian, or anyone else is gonna fix things.  If anything, Counsell was supposed to fix the problems, but he seems to have the same problems Ross had.  Maybe it's a management issue?

[00prescott]

Oh, I'd like to go on record as saying I think we should hold on to Tauchman.  He seems like a rabbit's foot.

[17 Seconds]

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Edited September 20, 2024 by 17 Seconds

[17 Seconds]

7 hours ago, Rcal10 said:

Yep. I don’t get it. There are just some posters that stick to a theme and don’t really care if what they believe has little merit. Happened with Happ earlier this year. Happened with Busch several times this year and now Suzuki. I highly doubt Happ or Suzuki is traded. But I am sure it will continue to be discussed, for some reason. 

we need elite talent, and since we aren't going to sign it in free agency, we have to think about turning some of these good players into 1 or 2 great players. i'm not saying i want to trade seiya, but i get the idea or moving things around

Edited September 20, 2024 by 17 Seconds

[CubinNY]

9 hours ago, chibears55 said:

It either Suzuki or Happ that going to be moved if Bellinger returns and....

A. They plan on bringing in a plus bat

B. If Caissie is expected to join them next season 

Unless of course Hoyer just returns everyone and hopes for the best again. 

 

We talk about how they need to add a plus bat or two to the lineup but balk at moving guys to make room for them.

 

 

I'll bet you 500 fake dollars that neither one is traded if Bellinger returns. 

[Rcal10]

14 minutes ago, 17 Seconds said:

we need elite talent, and since we aren't going to sign it in free agency, we have to think about turning some of these good players into 1 or 2 great players. i'm not saying i want to trade seiya, but i get the idea or moving things around

You don’t trade either of your two best hitters to get better offensively. On top of that, both have NTC in their contract. I also believe trading Suzuki would hurt any goodwill the Cubs have in Japan. Right now they are a preferred destination to those the Dodgers don’t want. I think that may change if they went to Suzuki to ask him to forfeit his NTC so they can trade him after he had such a good season with them and has been a very good ballplayer and teammate since coming over. Maybe I am wrong about that. But I would hate to find out I am not. 

[Rcal10]

4 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

I'll bet you 500 fake dollars that neither one is traded if Bellinger returns. 

I tend to agree with you in this. But if it is anyone, I would guess it is Bellinger. It’s not going to be Happ or Suzuki. I am fairly certain about that. 10% or less chance they actually trade Bellinger. I think a likelier scenerio is Busch, tbh. He is cheaper and will bring back more. Next possibility is Nico. I am not sure of either of them being traded, as well. I’m just saying IMO from most likely to least it would be NO ONE TRADED, Busch, Nico then Bellinger. . 

[17 Seconds]

4 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

You don’t trade either of your two best hitters to get better offensively. On top of that, both have NTC in their contract. I also believe trading Suzuki would hurt any goodwill the Cubs have in Japan.

you do if it somehow leads to a better hitter/player. seiya is a nice player and that's it. the fact that he's the best hitter on the team says more about the weak roster than anything else. we need elite talent desperately, and again, they aren't going to buy it in free agency.

but yeah, the ntc makes it unlikely. 

 

 

[Rcal10]

7 minutes ago, 17 Seconds said:

you do if it somehow leads to a better hitter/player. seiya is a nice player and that's it. the fact that he's the best hitter on the team says more about the weak roster than anything else. we need elite talent desperately, and again, they aren't going to buy it in free agency.

but yeah, the ntc makes it unlikely. 

 

 

Seiya is more than a “nice player”. He is 18th in all of baseball in OPS. He is a middle of the line up hitter. You don’t trade him to open a spot for someone who might be marginally better. You add to him. 

[17 Seconds]

Just now, Rcal10 said:

Seiya is more than a “nice player”. He is 18th in all of baseball in OPS. He is a middle of the line up hitter. You don’t trade him to open a spot for someone who might be marginally better. You add to him. 

i said he's a nice player, not hitter. he's a 3-4 win player. that's a "nice player" to me. defense matters.

i don't even want to trade him, i just don't agree with the idea that he's borderline untouchable or something. we have a logjam of outfielders and if bellinger doesn't opt out, it COULD make sense to move him if things line up.

[Rcal10]

33 minutes ago, 17 Seconds said:

i said he's a nice player, not hitter. he's a 3-4 win player. that's a "nice player" to me. defense matters.

i don't even want to trade him, i just don't agree with the idea that he's borderline untouchable or something. we have a logjam of outfielders and if bellinger doesn't opt out, it COULD make sense to move him if things line up.

Guess so. But then the NTC comes in. So not really an option.

[mul21]

There are 16 players in all of MLB with an OPS of .850 or better.  As has been mentioned, Seiya is 18th at .845 as of today.  I have no idea what people are expecting out of the guy but taking him out of the lineup, even if he's replaced with Soto, doesn't solve any problems, it just rearranges the deck chairs on the Titanic.

[squally1313]

51 minutes ago, 17 Seconds said:

i said he's a nice player, not hitter. he's a 3-4 win player. that's a "nice player" to me. defense matters.

i don't even want to trade him, i just don't agree with the idea that he's borderline untouchable or something. we have a logjam of outfielders and if bellinger doesn't opt out, it COULD make sense to move him if things line up.

I generally tend to agree with you that overall production matters more than a specific facet of the game but pretty much every offensive roster idea thrown about so far has focused specifically on offensive production (because we have enough glove heavy guys) and picking Seiya as the guy to be replaced means your incremental offensive improvement is minimized. 

I like Bellinger as a person and he's going to end up having a decent year. But if I'm Hoyer and I don't mind being an horsefeathers, I'm doing everything I can broadcast to people that we are going to be heavily in the market for a big RF bat this year, and that Seiya is our DH, PCA is our CF, and Busch is our first baseman*, and let Bellinger see the writing on the wall. 

*: There are arguments for bringing back Bellinger as a right/center fielder. There are, in my opinion, no legitimate arguments to bringing him back as the primary first baseman making 30x what Busch does to hit and maybe field worse.

[LBiittner]

52 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

Seiya is more than a “nice player”. He is 18th in all of baseball in OPS. He is a middle of the line up hitter. You don’t trade him to open a spot for someone who might be marginally better. You add to him. 

He's been very good even despite the unique seiya balls/strike zone.

 

[chibears55]

I wasn't thinking of the NTC but it not like players with NTC hasn't waived it and agreed to being traded. 

All I'm saying is there's a chance that an outfielder can be traded this offseason and IMO I think it could be Suzuki or Happ despite the NTC. 

Bellinger 27 mil and his opt out after 2025 will likely lessen any real good return for him in a deal, especially if they're looking for pitching. 

 

They're not gonna trade Busch, who has improved and is 26 and under team control the next 5 seasons. 

Nico, they can but I doubt Hoyer will move him and his team friendly contract.

Parades is an option

Suzuki has 2 years left on his deal when he will be 31, I doubt they look to extend him. Same with Happ. If Hoyer can get them to agree to waive, he will make that deal. This is the only way they'll consider bringing in that big bat that needed in the lineup. 

 

[Rcal10]

1 hour ago, chibears55 said:

I wasn't thinking of the NTC but it not like players with NTC hasn't waived it and agreed to being traded. 

All I'm saying is there's a chance that an outfielder can be traded this offseason and IMO I think it could be Suzuki or Happ despite the NTC. 

Bellinger 27 mil and his opt out after 2025 will likely lessen any real good return for him in a deal, especially if they're looking for pitching. 

 

They're not gonna trade Busch, who has improved and is 26 and under team control the next 5 seasons. 

Nico, they can but I doubt Hoyer will move him and his team friendly contract.

Parades is an option

Suzuki has 2 years left on his deal when he will be 31, I doubt they look to extend him. Same with Happ. If Hoyer can get them to agree to waive, he will make that deal. This is the only way they'll consider bringing in that big bat that needed in the lineup. 

 

But you are minimizing the offensive gain if you trade a guy who is 18th in all of baseball in OPS and replace him with someone who might be better. Suzuki isn’t being traded. It would be a very stupid thing to do. Who do you think they could get to improve the offense over what Suzuki brings? 

[chibears55]

44 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

But you are minimizing the offensive gain if you trade a guy who is 18th in all of baseball in OPS and replace him with someone who might be better. Suzuki isn’t being traded. It would be a very stupid thing to do. Who do you think they could get to improve the offense over what Suzuki brings? 

Couple things here..

I didn't say I wanted him traded or he definitely will be, my OP was in response to a poster not liking him in the 4 hole and I just said that he could be the odd man out if Bellinger returns. As in, it may not be a situation next season. 

I just feel that if Hoyer wants to add a significant top line bat and does make a trade with an everyday regular to get something of value in return like a SP or a plus reliever,  it'll likely be one of Happ or Suzuki, whomever would be willing to waive their NTC.

Another thing, I don't care for it, but I personally feel Hoyer going to return everyone from the regulars we have seen playing everyday the last 2 months and any new additions to the offense will be to the bench.  

His main focus or at least we hope so will be on the bullpen and SP/depth

[Cuzi]

Happ and Suzuki arent going anywhere. I don't know why it keeps getting brought up.

There's only 2 position players in the lineup with the possibility of being traded to shake things up (not counting Bellinger), Hoerner and Paredes.

[Rcal10]

1 hour ago, Cuzi said:

Happ and Suzuki arent going anywhere. I don't know why it keeps getting brought up.

There's only 2 position players in the lineup with the possibility of being traded to shake things up (not counting Bellinger), Hoerner and Paredes.

I think Busch is also an option. If they wanted to make a big trade to bring in Vlad, I can see Busch dealt. He probably has the most value.