Cubs (Imanaga) vs Braves (Ritchie): 5/13/26, 6:15pm

[squally1313]

Since the beginning of last year:

Since 4/25/26:

[chibears55]

18 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

 SSS. 

 ...

Edited Thursday at 03:01 PM by chibears55

[chibears55]

1 hour ago, Geographyhater8888 said:

People would rather focus on him striking out with bases loaded than being driven in the fourth from second base on a leadoff double in a 5-4 win. Both contribute to wins. He scores runs.

And truncating a specific 2 week cherry picked sample size to prove he sucks with a 6+ year track record of solid production is even more absurd. We’re not talking about PCA or Busch who may or may not have had outlier seasons in 2025. If the Cubs had a prime Mike trout batting second Im sure he’d fly under the radar more but because he’s one of our best hitters people have these unrealistic expectations of him. I think anyways. 
 

I personally would rather keep Suzuki unless both agree to short term deals but his future is beside the point. 

His future was what the original conversation was about

[chibears55]

10 minutes ago, squally1313 said:

Since the beginning of last year:

Since 4/25/26:

That what the original conversation was about, choosing between the two if one were to be extended.

[Geographyhater8888]

12 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

His future was what the original conversation was about

Your premise for why they shouldn’t resign him is his 225 average over his last 55 at bats. We have a 5+ year sample size as an everyday position player from Happ, plus his excellent start to the season and you choose his last 55 at bats as the reason to discard him? If you’d rather keep Suzuki that’s fine but not for any of those reasons.

Edited Thursday at 03:07 PM by Geographyhater8888

[Jason Ross]

23 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

Funny thing is nobody was actually complaining about him until someone chimed into a conversation about whether he or Suzuki should get extended.

I just simply chose Suzuki and felt Happ as of now hasn't done much to get an extension.

I know everyone has different opinion on Happ, the guy is pretty much an above the norm streaky hitter, and at the end of year he has his numbers, but so far this season,  yes his HRs and walks are good but hes just not getting the hits and the strikeouts are much higher then normal. 

I dont dislike Happ, he is frustrating at time with his cold streaks, but i want him to play well cause that helps my team win more games, it just he just seems more off then usual so far.

 

 

Almost every hitter in baseball is streaky. 

As well, sure, he's striking out more. He's also hitting the ball better than ever. His xwOBA is currently the highest of his career, his wRC+ would be the highest of his career, his ISO is the highest of his career, his barrel% is the highest of his career...

And to be clear, your initial comment was that "Happ hasn't given much of a reason to be extended". Not only has he been 19% better than league average offensively since 2022 (over 2,600 PAs) he's putting up some of his best offensive numbers this year. What exactly does he have to do to "give a reason" to be "extended". 

That's the absurdity of it all. That's why people are getting on you. That's a nonsense comment. If you wanted to say that extending a 32-soon-to-be-33 year old LF'er in the offseason might have concerning things such as a decline in bat speed (hitters have a known decline around this time) I think you'd at least have an argument with a leg to stand on. Instead you've decided to hitch your trailer to "he hasn't given much of a reason to be extended" in the midst of his best offensive season of his career and a player who's had an excellent career prior.

[chibears55]

19 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

That nice chibear. But this is a group forum. So when you say something someone disagrees with, whether is it in response to a different poster or not, another will respond. Since my response, you have continued to put numbers out to defend your belief Happ hasn’t done anything this year and has been bad. In a group forum people will agree and disagree with you even if your original point was just to one poster. Had you just said you would rather extend Seiya then Happ, maybe no one responds. Or maybe makes an argument of wanting Happ over Seiya. Personally, I wouldn’t have responded. That is a fair statement and a preference of yours. As I have said multiple times now, the only issue with your comment to PP was suggesting Happ isn’t very good.  Which is now the point of the discussion. And a point you continue to defend using SSS. 

I dont have a problem with you responding,  my problem is everyone thinking I was shitting on Happ because of what you been saying.

I wasn't shitting on him in the original post, I simply was saying as of now, Happ hasn’t done much overall to get an extension.

Never said anything close to him not being very good, said his overall numbers aren't very good.  Yes his ops is good because of the homeruns and walks, but his hitting is way down and his strikeouts are way up.

And the SSS of his last 55 AB, well it shows that his overall struggles are real, his slugging has gone down,  his OBP has gone down,  OPS is down, his overall hitting has gone way down,  and his strikeouts has increased to over 34% in that span.  This isn't a normal Happ cold spell, especially the strikeouts, he just seems off so far this season with the bat.

So, yes as of now I dont feel he should get an extension, especially if the choice is between him and Suzuki. 

So, hopefully he gets it going again soon because they need him to win games , im not a Happ hater, but yes he's frustrating to me,  especially when he goes cold because they need him hitting. 

[chibears55]

14 minutes ago, Geographyhater8888 said:

Your premise for why they shouldn’t resign him is his 225 average over his last 55 at bats. We have a 5+ year sample size as an everyday position player from Happ, plus his excellent start to the season and you choose his last 55 at bats as the reason to discard him? If you’d rather keep Suzuki that’s fine but not for any of those reasons.

Well no, it's not based off of 55 ABs, that was used as an example of how he has been struggling lately and how his numbers have dipped since his high slash marks.

Yes his current OPS looks good at .825, but it has dropped significantly the last 3 weeks 

His overall hitting has been off all season despite the homeruns and walks, and his strike outs has been high. 

In my view, I dont care to look back at previous years numbers when thinking about extending someone that going to be 32/33 and ignoring what theyre doing in the current season.

Why I said as of now, I wouldn't extend him and chose Suzuki over him if they were going to choose between the two as of now.

[squally1313]

Should we also ignore Suzuki's walks and strikeouts when determining how good he's doing, or is that just a Happ thing?

I get the impression you're feeling piled on, which I'm not trying to do, Suzuki v Happ is a reasonable conversation to have. But this continued insistence that you aren't talking bad about him and then, often in the exact same sentence, criticizing his overall performance for the year, is very weird. 

If you want to ignore past performance, fine, I get it to a certain extent, but we're only 43 games into the year so the sample sizes are still a little wonky. Happ has been a more valuable player this year (as he was last year). If you want to focus on this cherrypicked sample size, in terms of overall performance FG has Suzuki listed at the top but they've both produced 0.4 fWAR. The defense matters, and when you're putting together future rosters/lineups, as long as Ballesteros is around, everyone else is likely going to have to play the field most days. Happ and Suzuki were born 6 days apart, if we're (correctly) worried about age related drop off we need to apply it to everyone, and to all facets of their games. 

[Geographyhater8888]

17 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

Well no, it's not based off of 55 ABs, that was used as an example of how he has been struggling lately and how his numbers have dipped since his high slash marks.

Yes his current OPS looks good at .825, but it has dropped significantly the last 3 weeks 

His overall hitting has been off all season despite the homeruns and walks, and his strike outs has been high. 

In my view, I dont care to look back at previous years numbers when thinking about extending someone that going to be 32/33 and ignoring what theyre doing in the current season.

Why I said as of now, I wouldn't extend him and chose Suzuki over him if they were going to choose between the two as of now.

He has a career 791 OPS. At this stage of his career it’s unlikely he’d sustain his 900+ OPS all the way through September without steroids and hasn’t. His strikeouts are up and his rate stats are up too. That’s means he’s been better on a per PA basis. It’s like saying a quarterback who has the highest passer rating of his career isn’t worth extending because his completion percentage is lower than his career average.
You’re focusing on all the wrong things. I lean Suzuki as well but in no way does it have anything to do with his increase in walks and home runs, which has contributed to better efficiency as a hitter based on his rate stats.

Edited Thursday at 03:51 PM by Geographyhater8888

[chibears55]

23 minutes ago, Jason Ross said:

I think you'd at least have an argument with a leg to stand on. Instead you've decided to hitch your trailer to "he hasn't given much of a reason to be extended" in the midst of his best offensive season of his career and a player who's had an excellent career prior.

I dont know, I guess we have a different view of what a best offensive season of his career looks like.

Yes his current OB and Slg is higher then his career numbers as of now, but his overall hitting is much worse and his strike outs are alot higher now.

225/368/457/825  58 Ks  now

246/344/447/791.   168 Ks career high

Part of why I brought up his current cold streak, was to show those numbers are dipping fast on him, and hes already more than a third of the way to his highest K total.

His best full offensive season overall was probably 2022 IMO.

271/342/440/781 

 

[Rcal10]

5 minutes ago, squally1313 said:

Should we also ignore Suzuki's walks and strikeouts when determining how good he's doing, or is that just a Happ thing?

I get the impression you're feeling piled on, which I'm not trying to do, Suzuki v Happ is a reasonable conversation to have. But this continued insistence that you aren't talking bad about him and then, often in the exact same sentence, criticizing his overall performance for the year, is very weird. 

If you want to ignore past performance, fine, I get it to a certain extent, but we're only 43 games into the year so the sample sizes are still a little wonky. Happ has been a more valuable player this year (as he was last year). If you want to focus on this cherrypicked sample size, in terms of overall performance FG has Suzuki listed at the top but they've both produced 0.4 fWAR. The defense matters, and when you're putting together future rosters/lineups, as long as Ballesteros is around, everyone else is likely going to have to play the field most days. Happ and Suzuki were born 6 days apart, if we're (correctly) worried about age related drop off we need to apply it to everyone, and to all facets of their games. 

Thanks. I agree with this entire post and couldn’t have said it better. 

[Rcal10]

Just now, chibears55 said:

I dont know, I guess we have a different view of what a best offensive season of his career looks like.

Yes his current OB and Slg is higher then his career numbers as of now, but his overall hitting is much worse and his strike outs are alot higher now.

225/368/457/825  58 Ks  now

246/344/447/791.   168 Ks career high

Part of why I brought up his current cold streak, was to show those numbers are dipping fast on him, and hes already more than a third of the way to his highest K total.

His best full offensive season overall was probably 2022 IMO.

271/342/440/781 

 

OBP and slug are more important than BA. He is getting on at a very high level and slugging well. Sure I would like his strike outs to go down some. But if he keeps a 368 OBP and slugs over 450 that is a great season. 

[squally1313]

8 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

I dont know, I guess we have a different view of what a best offensive season of his career looks like.

Yes his current OB and Slg is higher then his career numbers as of now, but his overall hitting is much worse and his strike outs are alot higher now.

225/368/457/825  58 Ks  now

246/344/447/791.   168 Ks career high

Part of why I brought up his current cold streak, was to show those numbers are dipping fast on him, and hes already more than a third of the way to his highest K total.

His best full offensive season overall was probably 2022 IMO.

271/342/440/781 

 

To clarify, are you saying that you wouldn't be happy with a season where he sets career highs in home runs, walks, OBP, and strikeouts? Or are you saying that you think the strikeout rate is sustainable and will continue to be a problem while all the good things he's doing aren't sustainable and will go back closer to career norms?

[PeanutPunch33]

2 hours ago, squally1313 said:

I want someone that can win a silver slugger, not a gold glove. Therefore, I propose we dump the guy on a 34 home run pace (second most LF home runs in baseball this year) (who also wins gold gloves). Other teams love him and do we really want to get into a bidding war with other teams? Instead, we should pivot to someone even better, who other teams, for some reason, would not want to get into a bidding war over. In my 'since 4/24' split, which is a very weird way to split up numbers and was almost assuredly done to make him look as bad as possible, the guy I want to dump has a .733 OPS/.339 wOBA. The guy I want, who makes $14m a year for the next 5 years and would cost entire MILB rosters, over that same stretch, has a .749 OPS/.335 wOBA and has, to use another relevant stat I cited, two non-solo home runs this year. 

The team, overall, is third in offensive fWAR and third in wRC. We are 11th in ERA and 22nd in pitching fWAR. The problems, to the extent a 27-16 team can have serious problems, are glaringly obvious. 

 

so your response to my statement of “I want a guy that wins silver sluggers and not gold gloves” is to endlessly advocate for a guy who has never won one before and frankly will never win one in his entire career because he isn’t a talented enough hitter.  lol.  We know this is a good offense but there is an obvious need for more slug and only a few positions where there isn’t already a long term commitment. 

The guy is a good player, he isn’t a star and folks should stop pretending that he is.  He is serviceable, sometimes very good.  That is it.  Hardly somebody that should have a full no trade clause or someone that can’t be considered for an upgrade.

It doesn’t mean we are dogging on him.  But after 10 years it’s time to have conversations about the future in LF.  

 

[PeanutPunch33]

1 hour ago, chibears55 said:

Funny thing is nobody was actually complaining about him until someone chimed into a conversation about whether he or Suzuki should get extended.

I just simply chose Suzuki and felt Happ as of now hasn't done much to get an extension.

I know everyone has different opinion on Happ, the guy is pretty much an above the norm streaky hitter, and at the end of year he has his numbers, but so far this season,  yes his HRs and walks are good but hes just not getting the hits and the strikeouts are much higher then normal. 

I dont dislike Happ, he is frustrating at time with his cold streaks, but i want him to play well cause that helps my team win more games, it just he just seems more off then usual so far.

 

 

I knew before my first comment about Happ that there is heightened sensitivity around here about him and that I needed to phrase my comments carefully to avoid triggering the mob.  Literally in every comment i’ve reiterated how good I think he is but why I think it’s logical for the Cubs to consider moving on.  

It still didn’t work.  LOL.  He’s the poster child of the fan base.  You can’t say 1 word about that guy around here without sending folks into a frenzy.  

[squally1313]

19 minutes ago, PeanutPunch33 said:

 

so your response to my statement of “I want a guy that wins silver sluggers and not gold gloves” is to endlessly advocate for a guy who has never won one before and frankly will never win one in his entire career because he isn’t a talented enough hitter.  lol.  We know this is a good offense but there is an obvious need for more slug and only a few positions where there isn’t already a long term commitment. 

The guy is a good player, he isn’t a star and folks should stop pretending that he is.  He is serviceable, sometimes very good.  That is it.  Hardly somebody that should have a full no trade clause or someone that can’t be considered for an upgrade.

It doesn’t mean we are dogging on him.  But after 10 years it’s time to have conversations about the future in LF.  

 

First off: sixth in team slugging this year, third in team slugging since the beginning of last year. I don't see the 'obvious need' at all.

There are absolutely ways to have the conversation of 'should we be signing a guy in his mid 30s to a multi year contract'. But if we're going to keep using language like 'serviceable'....let's find someone better then. 

Since the beginning of last year, amongst qualified outfielders, Happ is 17th in fWAR, 25th in slugging. Of the 16 players above him, I'll go ahead and remove the following: Judge/Tatis/Julio/Soto (untouchable), Tucker/Bellinger (expensive, recently signed deals), PCA (already here). Springer will be 37 next year, so assume he's out. Arozarena is a free agent but he's slugged 5 points higher than Happ since last year. 

That leaves Carroll, Buxton, Pages, Rafaela, Wood, Lankford, and Riley Greene as upgrades. With the exception of Buxton (2/$28m after this year), all of them have tons of affordable team control. So what's the plan, use all the farm assets on the offensive side when we might need 3 SPs next year?

I really think, broadly, there's a struggle to accept just how depressed offensive numbers have gotten in the last ten years. As someone in my late 30s, my instinct is still to see a .775 OPS and not be impressed by it. Until you realize just how few players are actually performing at that level. 

[Rcal10]

20 minutes ago, PeanutPunch33 said:

I knew before my first comment about Happ that there is heightened sensitivity around here about him and that I needed to phrase my comments carefully to avoid triggering the mob.  Literally in every comment i’ve reiterated how good I think he is but why I think it’s logical for the Cubs to consider moving on.  

It still didn’t work.  LOL.  He’s the poster child of the fan base.  You can’t say 1 word about that guy around here without sending folks into a frenzy.  

Peanut, I didn’t think what you said was a trigger. I don’t necessary agree with you, but you didn’t cut Happ down. I just don’t see them upgrading offensively from him without severely weakening another part of the team. I found the comment that Happ hasn’t done anything to give the Cubs a reason to sign him as a trigger. He is a very polarizing player for some reason. And he aggravates me too, when playing bad. But facts are facts. He is a guy who post WAR over 3 every year and this year he is trending to be over 5. So suggesting he hasn’t given the Cubs a reason to sign him is blatantly false. 
If they choose to go cheap in left with a minor league bat they will be weaker at that position. And I just don’t see many left fielders who are better overall than Happ. So go cheaper there and spend on Peralta. I am fine with that. But know your production in left will be worse without Happ. 
Also, the reason people defend him so much is because so many posters undervalue him. 

[PeanutPunch33]

1 minute ago, squally1313 said:

First off: sixth in team slugging this year, third in team slugging since the beginning of last year. I don't see the 'obvious need' at all.

There are absolutely ways to have the conversation of 'should we be signing a guy in his mid 30s to a multi year contract'. But if we're going to keep using language like 'serviceable'....let's find someone better then. 

Since the beginning of last year, amongst qualified outfielders, Happ is 17th in fWAR, 25th in slugging. Of the 16 players above him, I'll go ahead and remove the following: Judge/Tatis/Julio/Soto (untouchable), Tucker/Bellinger (expensive, recently signed deals), PCA (already here). Springer will be 37 next year, so assume he's out. Arozarena is a free agent but he's slugged 5 points higher than Happ since last year. 

That leaves Carroll, Buxton, Pages, Rafaela, Wood, Lankford, and Riley Greene as upgrades. With the exception of Buxton (2/$28m after this year), all of them have tons of affordable team control. So what's the plan, use all the farm assets on the offensive side when we might need 3 SPs next year?

I really think, broadly, there's a struggle to accept just how depressed offensive numbers have gotten in the last ten years. As someone in my late 30s, my instinct is still to see a .775 OPS and not be impressed by it. Until you realize just how few players are actually performing at that level. 

Good post.  You are correct.  I probably do underestimate him at times.

My entire conclusion is that the Cubs need more superstar talent on this team.  Frankly I don't care how they do it or even if they keep Happ or not - but it has to be prioritized IMO because I don't see them winning a WS without that top flight guy.

Even the tiny market teams have that guy.  The Rays have Caminero, the Royals have Bobby Witt Jr, the Tigers have Skubal.... so why is it that a team with unlimited resources like the Cubs can't land that guy? 

Let's take a look at every other team that is a serious contender.  They are all built around superstars. 

-The Dodgers and Braves have more superstars than I can count
-The Yanks got Judge and Fried
-The Guardians have Ramirez (albeit slow start this year)
-Even the Athletics have a star lol

Really, the only other team that is playing this brand of baseball is the Padres.  And even they might have a superstar depending on what your opinion is of Tatis Jr. 

It just seems like such a weird, glaring issue.  And I see no way of addressing it unless it comes at the expense of either Happ or Suzuki.  

Idk.  

[Rcal10]

2 minutes ago, PeanutPunch33 said:

Good post.  You are correct.  I probably do underestimate him at times.

My entire conclusion is that the Cubs need more superstar talent on this team.  Frankly I don't care how they do it or even if they keep Happ or not - but it has to be prioritized IMO because I don't see them winning a WS without that top flight guy.

Even the tiny market teams have that guy.  The Rays have Caminero, the Royals have Bobby Witt Jr, the Tigers have Skubal.... so why is it that a team with unlimited resources like the Cubs can't land that guy? 

Let's take a look at every other team that is a serious contender.  They are all built around superstars. 

-The Dodgers and Braves have more superstars than I can count
-The Yanks got Judge and Fried
-The Guardians have Ramirez (albeit slow start this year)
-Even the Athletics have a star lol

Really, the only other team that is playing this brand of baseball is the Padres.  And even they might have a superstar depending on what your opinion is of Tatis Jr. 

It just seems like such a weird, glaring issue.  And I see no way of addressing it unless it comes at the expense of either Happ or Suzuki.  

Idk.  

So trade for Peralta at the TDL. There is the star. Cubs probably have the best 1-9 in baseball. Happ is a part of it. They need to upgrade pitching. 

[PeanutPunch33]

6 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

Peanut, I didn’t think what you said was a trigger. I don’t necessary agree with you, but you didn’t cut Happ down. I just don’t see them upgrading offensively from him without severely weakening another part of the team. I found the comment that Happ hasn’t done anything to give the Cubs a reason to sign him as a trigger. He is a very polarizing player for some reason. And he aggravates me too, when playing bad. But facts are facts. He is a guy who post WAR over 3 every year and this year he is trending to be over 5. So suggesting he hasn’t given the Cubs a reason to sign him is blatantly false. 
If they choose to go cheap in left with a minor league bat they will be weaker at that position. And I just don’t see many left fielders who are better overall than Happ. So go cheaper there and spend on Peralta. I am fine with that. But know your production in left will be worse without Happ. 
Also, the reason people defend him so much is because so many posters undervalue him. 

Thank you for saying that.  I did try very hard not to insult him lol, because honestly I have grown to appreciate Happ quite a bit.  I'll freely admit that in past seasons I wasn't his biggest fan but it's hard not to like him.  He's a true home grown talent. 

And it says a lot about him that the Cubs let many walk out the door over the years (Contreras, Baez, Bryant etc.) but they always prioritized bringing Happ back.  So he's not just a really solid player but a great locker room guy too.  He absolutely deserves every dollar of his next contract 

[PeanutPunch33]

3 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

So trade for Peralta at the TDL. There is the star. Cubs probably have the best 1-9 in baseball. Happ is a part of it. They need to upgrade pitching. 

I'm not sure if I would consider Peralta a star tbh.  Skubal.... now get me that guy 😂

But to your point, the "superstar" can absolutely be found to upgrade the rotation instead of the lineup.  That's why Cade's injury still kills me.  That was probably the 1 guy on this roster that was blossoming into that top flight guy.  

[squally1313]

7 minutes ago, PeanutPunch33 said:

Good post.  You are correct.  I probably do underestimate him at times.

My entire conclusion is that the Cubs need more superstar talent on this team.  Frankly I don't care how they do it or even if they keep Happ or not - but it has to be prioritized IMO because I don't see them winning a WS without that top flight guy.

Even the tiny market teams have that guy.  The Rays have Caminero, the Royals have Bobby Witt Jr, the Tigers have Skubal.... so why is it that a team with unlimited resources like the Cubs can't land that guy? 

Let's take a look at every other team that is a serious contender.  They are all built around superstars. 

-The Dodgers and Braves have more superstars than I can count
-The Yanks got Judge and Fried
-The Guardians have Ramirez (albeit slow start this year)
-Even the Athletics have a star lol

Really, the only other team that is playing this brand of baseball is the Padres.  And even they might have a superstar depending on what your opinion is of Tatis Jr. 

It just seems like such a weird, glaring issue.  And I see no way of addressing it unless it comes at the expense of either Happ or Suzuki.  

Idk.  

Well the first three names you mentioned are homegrown. As is Judge and Ramirez. Dodgers are a unicorn. But I do think some of it is the grass is always greener, and some of it is that, offensively, our top producers tend to accumulate value on both sides of the ball, not by hitting 50 bombs. PCA and Hoerner are top 20 players since the beginning of last year, which is better than all the 'superstars' you can't count on the Dodgers and Braves besides Shohei and Matt Olson.

Thankfully though, as I've mentioned elsewhere, the team collectively hits very well, including slugging. What they currently aren't doing well (if you look beyond a four game stretch) is pitching. Part of that is injuries, part of that is that they weren't really supposed to be all that good at it to begin with. That should be the main focus for this season and for next season. That could definitely mean deciding to reallocate resources away from giving Happ and/or Suzuki long term deals. But isolating it as the spot that needs to be fixed is weird and ignores the bigger problems. 

[BKHoo]

Ian Happ is the quintessential Cub in my opinion.  He is not a superstar but a very above average baseball player on O and D. And when you compare him solely to other right fielders, he stands out. 
 

The Cubs have NOT tried to mix superstars with steady players.  They have tried to assemble a group of above average players, prioritizing depth ahead of total stardom.  Happ fits right there.  I see why people want more from him but I also see why many think he is underrated.  If you just look at WAR, he is. 

[Rcal10]

44 minutes ago, BKHoo said:

Ian Happ is the quintessential Cub in my opinion.  He is not a superstar but a very above average baseball player on O and D. And when you compare him solely to other right fielders, he stands out. 
 

The Cubs have NOT tried to mix superstars with steady players.  They have tried to assemble a group of above average players, prioritizing depth ahead of total stardom.  Happ fits right there.  I see why people want more from him but I also see why many think he is underrated.  If you just look at WAR, he is. 

Happ plays left field. 

Edited Thursday at 07:19 PM by Rcal10