Ah, the old secret GM signal which indicates that the Cubs maybe might possibly be willing to consider selling if they continue to lose and aren't in the playoff race and the right deal presents itself.
I have no idea where to rate Illinois going into the season. The talent is there, but there are a lot of questions about how an almost entirely brand new roster will mesh together. They could be anywhere from a Top 15ish team that competes for the Big 10 Title to a bubble team that misses the NCAA tournament.
I can't argue with that. That's why I prefaced my post with being tired of hearing the bad luck angle. If you ALWAYS have bad luck, it probably isn't luck at all.
I know everyone is tired of hearing it, but there was some bad luck (and defense) in there again too. Hendricks certainly wasn't great and he gave up a rocket of a grand slam, but it never should have got to that.
Please, no. Leave Busch alone at 1B. It's fine if he needs to fill in at 2B/3B in a pinch, but let him primarily focus on hitting and playing ONE defensive position.
Whose fault is it then when a big ticket free agent signing doesn't pan out? Neris being bad is absolutely on Hoyer. Did anyone think he would be THIS bad? No, almost certainly not, but his signing was a bit of a head scratcher from the start.
When near 7 ERA Kyle Hendricks at 100+ pitches would have been a better option in the 8th inning than the first guy out of the bullpen, what does that say about the bullpen?
There is being overmatched, and then there's looking like you have absolutely no concept of how to approach an at bat. Unfortunately. PCA falls into the latter category.