Irrelevant Dude

What is "Things that apply to every team ever."

I like that version of Swanson.

That's just for PCA. What about the rest of the lineup?

PCA is an absolute gamechanger.

Taillon is giving up rockets.

Leaving runners on base surely isn't going to come back to hurt the Cubs tonight.

Not exactly. It is a completely hypothetical scenario, but it is made up based on past knowledge of the comfort zone in which Jed (along with Tom) operates. But I wouldn't call that a strawman argument, for whatever that's worth.

I can definitely see the Cubs being in on Santander, and I think it would be a mistake. He will be 30 years old going into next season, and he will be expensive. This is where Jed's mentality will continue to bite him in the ass. The 26 year old elite future Hall of Fame superstar is too expensive, so let's try to maximize "value" by spending a good chunk of that money on the older, less productive option instead. Santander isn't a bad consolation prize, but that doesn't make him the right answer.

The only thing winning 2/3 does is allows them to maintain the illusion they are still in the race. Realistically, they aren't.

I agree. Even when he has been "good", he has been some combination of lucky and inefficient. But I don't mind him in a bullpen/swing man role.

Can we please send Patrick Wisdom to whatever farm in the country that David Bote is living at now?

I'll say it again, and will keep saying it until I'm blue in the face, but with PCA and Amaya showing major signs of life, I am even more convinced that the Cubs should focus on doing whatever it takes to sign Soto. Another catcher is still a need, but the Cubs can probably get away with a quality backup/serviceable starter type rather than a primary offensive everyday starter. The infield and outfield spots are essentially all set already, barring trades. Pay whatever it takes to bring in the one huge bat, and everyone else falls into place around him (with quality Minor League depth as reserves, injury replacements, trade bait for pitching, etc.). The Cubs are setup perfectly to make that move, if only Hoyer were the type to take that "risk".

I know nothing about Chris Williams, but he looks like the type of guy they would have been able to sign off the scrap heap after roster cut downs. Sure, a 6-7 swap isn't much to give up, but why not wait for guys to get released instead of trading draft capital?

I'm disappointed that Amaya homered because I don't get to see PCA run.

Nitpicking here, but that's a different thing (to me at least).

I'm told he is better than this, despite a months-long slump with no signs of improvement.

Javy was the guy who had all the red flags that his game wasn't going to age well. Even with that said, nobody could have expected his downfall to happen this quickly and this severely. I feel bad for the guy.

Maybe don't start the light show while there is still a play to be made at first base.

That makes sense, but the surprising part is that is occurred now when the Cubs still have some faint hope of competing for the Wild Card spot, rather than riding it out for a few more weeks and then making these types of moves in September when/if it is obvious that there is absolutely no chance of making the playoffs.

I'm all for this move as it keeps Neris off the roster next year, but I find it a bit surprising. Obviously Neris is overpaid, but that is a sunk cost. Taking that out of the consideration, are there really 8 better relievers on the roster? Neris isn't a guy I want closing games, but he has been relatively solid for most of the year. I'm not sure how this can be seen as anything but a "make sure the option doesn't vest" move, which is fine from a business standpoint but looks a bit strange on the baseball side with regard to assembling the best bullpen for the remainder of 2024.

And somehow still having a lower payroll than the Cubs.

I am increasingly of the mindset that it is Juan Soto or bust in order to fix this team, and the choice is almost certainly going to be bust. I just can't really see a scenario where the Cubs swap a few expendable pieces around and magically become a legitimate contender. Bellinger could be off the books, that's great. But can they actually find a better non-Soto hitter to replace him? The Cubs have accumulated quality depth at AAA, so now let's USE IT. One thing that depth can do for them is enable them to make a huge financial commitment to Soto, locking up that cornerstone star player, then save money by filling in some of the peripheral roster spots with cheap minor leaguers rather than spending on veteran free agents. Save some money on guys at the end of the bench and use that where it actually matters by signing a true superstar player instead of spreading the money around on decent players and simultaneously blocking all the AAA talent. Yes, I realize there are other ways to go about roster building. Maybe the Cubs will take a completely different approach and make several significant trades in the offseason to compeltely revamp the roster. That is also an acceptable attempt at fixing this mess. What isn't acceptable is simply replacing Bellinger and a few pitchers with comparable players and expecting things to turn out differently, which is exactly what I expect Hoyer to do...

Oh, good. Another appearance for Neris.

Maybe continuing to hit towering pop ups into the wind isn't the answer.

And on top of that, the deciding run could be a home run by a made up player with a sub-600 OPS.