Irrelevant Dude

I must have misread that somewhere, or more likely heard it on The Score and took it as fact. So he is out of option YEARS, but can still be recalled and sent back to Iowa (within the limit) for the remainder of 2024.

Canario is out of options. If they call him up for a short stint as a replacement, they put themselves in a situation where they have to keep him on the roster or risk losing him (or having to trade him for less than what he is worth). For Davis, I imagine they would rather have him keep getting at bats instead of coming up to mostly sit on the bench. I wouldn't mind seeing him, but I can't really argue with leaving him in AAA for now. And yes, they are also both hurt 😄

All is right with the world again. Mastrobuoni is back!!!

Of course MLB is going to screw this up... What was the problem with the full ABS system? Why not do it right rather than implement another stupid challenge system? https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10125274-mlb-memo-all-triple-a-games-will-use-abs-challenge-system-starting-on-june-25?ref=upstract.com

Any explanation for why Demidov is listed 3 inches under his measured height?

That is the "problem" with the farm system. While very deep and highly rated, which prospect actually projects as a superstar hitter? There are a lot of potential supplemental roster pieces and likely some solid Major League starters. Those are very nice to have, but I still don't see where the top end talent comes from. MAYBE Caissie ends up being one of those guys if he continues to progress, but I just dont' see any other true impact bats. On the other hand, there aren't many Soto's or Ohtani's around. IF Soto does hit the free agent market this offseason, the aggressive non-Jed thing to do would be to go all out and pay him whatever it takes to bring him to Chicago. The Cubs minor league depth is a significant asset that grants them the ability to work around a massive contract, should they choose to go that direction. Outside of trade possibilities, they can hopefully count on two or more of the group of Caissie, Shaw, Alcantra, Triantos, Ballasteros, etc. as cost-controlled Major League starters in the near future, joining other guys on the roster like Busch and Morel. They have the ability to fill several positions cheaply so that they can spend big at one position to get a true superstar bat. Do I think that type of move is on Jed's radar? Not at all. He is unlikely to go anywhere near Soto's price tag, and will instead spread that money around to multiple guys that are only marginally better (if at all) than the Cubs' cheaper internal options.

That would be an all-time dick move by Hoyer, firing the GM to take the fall for his own mistakes. Short of something going on behind the scenes with Hawkins that we don't know about, that isn't going to happen.

I'm not buying that. The Cubs have double the payroll of 3 of the teams in their division, with only the Cardinals being remotely close (and still about $35M away). Yes, there are other bad teams in MLB with high payrolls, some even higher than the Cubs, but that doesn't absolve Jed of his poor roster construction. We all understand that the Cubs could and should spend more money, BUT they are still spending in the Top 10 of MLB and that should be enough to put a consistently competitive team on the field. If you are given $220ish Million to spend, there is more than one way to get there. So far, Jed's way (spending everything on second-tier, average to good but not great, players) hasn't worked and doesn't show any signs that it is going to work in the near future.

It is interesting to consider that this pending negotiation could impact the direction of the team at the trade deadline. If the Cubs are in serious contention, they will buy. In the unlikely event they are completely out of contention, they will sell. It is the gray area in the middle that could be influenced by what is happening with Marquee/Comcast. In a case where they are on the deep fringes of playoff contention and should be a seller, might they try to force the issue in an effort to maintain enough fan interest to support their negotiations even though making the playoffs is extremely unlikely? I would hope that their trade decisions will made purely from a baseball standpoint, but it wouldn't surprise me at all to have ownership/Crane Kenney pushing for Hoyer to add at the deadline largely for business reasons.

The general consensus has been that Jed isn't on the hot seat at all, that he is exactly what the Ricketts family wants in a GM and is playing the exact role that he is expected to play. But as the Cubs continue their downward spiral, is Jed's job still safe? The Ricketts family has to care about winning at SOME level, even if only as it impacts their pocket books (attendance, cable negotiations, etc). Jed has been given plenty of resources and has built a remarkably inefficient Major League team. In addition, he is only under contract through next season. Can the Cubs justify having a lame duck team president next season under these circumstances? They could give him an extension to avoid that problem, but that certainly isn't deserved and the optics certainly wouldn't be great. Maybe Jed is a Point A to Point B guy. He initiated the rebuild and built up the Minor League system, but now the team needs someone with the ability to use those resources to assemble a winning MLB roster. Barring a significant turnaround over the next few months, maybe this coming off-season it's the right time to make that change.

How many times will we get to hear how the Cubs are "catching the Mets at the wrong time"?

His initial statement came across like that, but I think he realized what he was saying in real time and gave himself an out as he continued on.

9 games out of first place. 10 in the loss column.

That is absolutely right. Looking back at it, it is incredible how much went right for 2015/2016 to happen

Exhibit A for what happens to the rebuild plan when the newly formed "core" kinda sucks.

Does is still count as a June swoon when they were already swooning in May?

What the hell is that???

I think I'd rather have David Ross at this point.

I mean, it was a 3-2 count. That guy probably ends up getting on base anyway even without the catchers interference. And Amaya didn't walk the next better and give up the home run.

Neris is a bum. JED's bum!

I don't know what to do with the catcher position, but this can't be it.

You've gotta be kidding me. My son yells for me to go upstairs and tuck him in, just on time for me to miss the home run.

I still expect to see Bruce Bochy stumbling out of the Giants dugout for the pitching change.

What was the XBA on that one?

You don't even have to choose. You get both!