rawaction

Wright gone. I kinda liked him. Jones would be OK. I really like Justin Anderson as BPA after Harrell, who I don't see as a fit/need.

Yeah, Grant would be ideal. But I don't expect him to be there. Hollis-Jefferson is a beautiful athlete, but I would like more of a shooter.

So..... Who do you guys want to draft? I've been fixated on SGs (Justin Anderson, RJ Hunter, Rashad Vaughn, hoping teams forget Devin Booker exists), but I don't know that I should be. The Bulls could lose Butler, but I doubt that happens. But they do have Butler, Snell, McDermott all at the 2/3. Honestly a backup PG for DRose injury insurance (and keeping Hinrich on the bench) might be a good way to go. Etwaun Moore isn't very good. Also, another big in preparation for Noah's free agent year, or the inevitable Gibson injury, or the upcoming Gasol decline could be a wise pick.

Day game after a night game. 90% of catchers get this day off all the time.

Who has the day off? An injured player and one having a baby? Face it. The Cubs bench is short a man, and they have about 4 players who would be on the bench if they weren't hurt right now (and Alcantara).

Eh. Lineup complaints are overblown. The Cubs go as Rizzo and Bryant go. The other guys in the lineup won't get completely shutdown. But if Rizzo and Bryant don't each get a couple hits, extra base hit, and/or on base a couple times....the Cubs should be able to score 4+ runs. We knew Ross was going to be Lester's catcher before he was even signed, so I don't get the complaining every time he catches him. And the Cubs have been unfortunate enough to have every one of their projected bench players miss most of the year, combine that with a day-to-day injury, and the birth of a baby, a couple struggling/injured prospects, and you have this. But again, Rizzo and Bryant are enough to carry this offense, with the way the Cubs have pitched most of the year.

From my experience, being in NY for half the Bulls run and now with the Blackhawks. NY fans hated the Bulls a hell of a lot more than they hate the Blackhawks (which they do not appear to hate at all). I know jealous Penguins, Boston, Rangers, Devils and Islanders fans but they really respect the Hawks success. Philly fans hate them but they hate everything, including themselves and their own teams. Those Bulls beat a lot of championship caliber Knicks teams. Lot more history with Chi/NY in the same conference in the NBA.

I came into this week hoping for 2-2 split and taking 2 of 3 from the Cardinals. After beating Greinke and Kershaw to start the week, I'd be very disappointed if they don't win this game. Also #freerussell, love him higher up in the lineup. Be nice if he made a couple great plays at SS and never moves from that position again.

Eh. Be better if someone other than the anxious player said he was ready to come back.

What's a way to watch games? I decided to get rid of Directv at least until football season and go with Roku all summer.

First 3 game win streak in a month!!!

I think i read it's his birthday. Gift from Joe?

Bryant's a streaky donger.

Didn't throw a single strike, but he had no chance of hitting it and had no choice but to swing.

he's not in the 9 hole because they think he's not good Yes, because I clearly said that.

Eh. Keep Wood in there.

If Fowler misses any time, it's time to put Addison Russell at the opposite end of the order. 7 BBs his first 106 plate appearances, 8 in 64 since (not counting today).

Schwarber to LF.

And if we win today, the NL Central will have the three best records in the NL. Last week (I believe the 1st Cleveland loss), the Cubs had a chance to be good enough for 1st place or at least tied in the loss column for the lead in every division in baseball, except for being 3rd place in their own.

Wait, what's wrong with Strop? He had 2 bad outings back-to-back in May but has been pretty good other than that. He's been unhittable outside of 4 outings.

True. But I (probably mistakenly) give them a couple more wins (Minnesota, Buffalo) if Trestman didn't stubbornly throw the ball down the field consistently with a struggling QB twice as much as he ran the ball.

Agreed. But I am more optimistic that if this team wins 85 as is, that still having a strong minor league system and plenty of payroll flexibility in the future will help future teams at worst, maintain that level of play for several years. And if Rizzo stays an elite player for a couple more years and remains a good player for the rest of his contract (very reasonable), Bryant improves from an already really good player, and Schwarber is anything close to what he's shown this week, I'll take my chances on the future. Not many teams have 3 players that good, especially when they'll make minimum in salary for the next several years. The one concern I do have is what was talked about earlier in this thread. They were pathetic for 3 years, and aren't like monumentally more talented than the field. That was probably unreasonable for me to expect, but the Astros tanked to a similar extent and may have more young talent to show for it. The Dodgers didn't tank, spent like a team in Chicago should be able to, and did it while not sacrificing young talent. The Cardinals have been where the Cubs want to be for several years now, and don't look like they're going anywhere anytime soon. You must keep in mind, though, that of course they aren't going to be monumentally better than the field the first year. We are being led by players 25 and younger who haven't even come close to being the players they will be but who already are performing at a really high level for their age. I totally expect the Cubs to be monumentally better than almost anybody in the relatively near future. But even before they get there, they are a playoff contender who has to be one of the most entertaining teams in MLB to watch. The scary thing is you mention Rizzo, Bryant and Schwarber and never even got to Russell and perhaps Soler. I meant monumentally more talented overall, not necessarily a better team now.

Agreed. But I am more optimistic that if this team wins 85 as is, that still having a strong minor league system and plenty of payroll flexibility in the future will help future teams at worst, maintain that level of play for several years. And if Rizzo stays an elite player for a couple more years and remains a good player for the rest of his contract (very reasonable), Bryant improves from an already really good player, and Schwarber is anything close to what he's shown this week, I'll take my chances on the future. Not many teams have 3 players that good, especially when they'll make minimum in salary for the next several years. The one concern I do have is what was talked about earlier in this thread. They were pathetic for 3 years, and aren't like monumentally more talented than the field. That was probably unreasonable for me to expect, but the Astros tanked to a similar extent and may have more young talent to show for it. The Dodgers didn't tank, spent like a team in Chicago should be able to, and did it while not sacrificing young talent. The Cardinals have been where the Cubs want to be for several years now, and don't look like they're going anywhere anytime soon.

Yeah, but Fox is definitely a guy that will dictate what he wants those guys to do (at least offensively). I think he and Gase will have a set gameplan and you won't ever see 6 rushing attempts in a game.