Clem Fandango

Wait... are you telling me someone in the Chicago media kind of understands what's happening right now?

I really hope they work out a long term deal with Bryant over the offseason so he can start the season with the team. Maybe Russell, too. Then if Alcantara comes up this year, that would give them 4 guys (those 3 plus Soler) who wouldn't have service time concerns. Scott Boras is Bryant's agent. You know he won't allow his clients to get lowballed like that. I would think immediate financial security outweighs striking while the iron is hot in 6 years when you're an unproven commodity.

Quite a few posters got pretty excited when the Cubs started playing better and winning some games. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while

The Cubs shook up the farm and then made dogs fly? Shook up the MLB team... and they're reeeeeaaaalllly mad now. According to people

Metaphorical representation of the Chicago Cubs:

http://i.imgur.com/ng2CT.gif

I think there's enough people here where if you got them to commit one article every week or one every two weeks, you'd get enough content to keep people coming back.

I don't know, but it irks me that he represents a Cubs "authority" to people. There are at least a couple dozen people here who could drunkenly crap out more informative, better written article than that in under an hour. Then they need to band together and start writing articles for the NSBB front page! All the other Cubs sites are mostly news and rumors. NSBB could be the site for Cubs analysis and intelligent information. Seriously. I know Tim has tried in the past but it kind of dies out, and I know this place is here mostly for this board, but I don't see why a handful of guys from here couldn't put together some articles each week. This should probably go in the Site Suggestions forum

Real hard hitting stuff on Hammel there

http://m.mlb.com/video/v34335559/toroak-samardzija-arrives-in-oakland-meets-media/?query=jeff+samardzija

His OBP is like .274 though. Yeah, but it's a really sexy .274

Joe Buck should be kicked in the face with a golf shoe.

The fact that Baez is batting 6th in that scenario because that's where he fits naturally in that lineup... http://i.imgur.com/smeZ3.gif

A part of me will, too... but then the other part will still see what we have without him and be like http://i.imgur.com/vVa7kIz.png?1

Did you mean Bryant there?

But we don't not need Stanton either. They will be fine without him, but I think the timeline remains 2016 as the year they get 100% competitive and a playoff favorite. Adding Stanton makes them contenders immediately, and the FO has said they wouldn't make any bold moves for star players unless it made sense for them. Stanton makes sense. But like you said, they're fine without him... but they'd be a whole hell of a lot better with him.* *if he agrees to an extension as part of the trade

.860 SLG?!!?!? Is he the Kris Bryant of NPB?

I think it's a Johan Santana type situation where a trade doesn't get agreed upon unless the acquiring team agrees to an extension before hand. If Stanton refuses outright and insists on testing free agency, then both teams are [expletive] on Stanton. That is something I did not consider in that rambling. Are you kidding? Stanton is exactly what we need. I'd give up that package in a heartbeat for Stanton. That gives us not only a strong foundation of proven young stars in Stanton, Castro, and Rizzo, but with Bryant, Baez or Russell, Schwarber, Alcantara, and McKinney, our farm is still just as strong as it was going into the season. I don't think Theo & Co. give up a big package of prospects like that without knowing whether or not Stanton will be a Cub beyond 2015. I think they make the offer, negotiate the extension, and agree to it when it all comes into place. If he won't do an extension, they make a lesser offer, and even then their "lesser offer" is still probably better than anyone else can give them.

And if you think about it, the Cubs could give him a good deal that gives him an opt out at his age 31 season when he could make another big FA splash. I know that sounds like a silly idea because the Cubs would let him go, but it would be after the 2019 season when that happens and the Cubs should, theoretically, be... http://i.imgur.com/jwcXrYs.gif

I think it's a Johan Santana type situation where a trade doesn't get agreed upon unless the acquiring team agrees to an extension before hand. If Stanton refuses outright and insists on testing free agency, then both teams are fucked on Stanton. That is something I did not consider in that rambling. That said, it should lower the asking cost considerably, and the Cubs could conceivably acquire him for a year and try to extend him, and if not, trade him for even more prospects if he continues to insist on FA at the deadline...

First time in the history of mankind someone has cursed moving from the Deep South to San Diego in the heart of summer. Your Cub fandom is strong. Hahahaha. Don't get me wrong I'm excited about the move, but recent Cubs related events make this a real problem for me, lol

Forgive me if this sounds like rambling, I'm kinda typing from the heels here (and I know I'm gonna sound like a broken record, but I don't care). Here's the dilemma with Stanton, in my opinion (which I'll admit probably has some flaws in it I haven't considered). Obviously he's super valuable and demands a crazy package to acquire him. The thing that works in favor of teams like the Cubs is that Miami is damned if they do and damned if they don't. Stanton is not going to extend with the Marlins, so the Marlins best bet is to trade him in the offseason. Stanton, right now is maybe the 2nd most valuable commodity behind Mike Trout, IMO. Whcih means it would take a ludicrous package to pry him away when you look at its face value. The problem is not many teams have what it takes in prospects to do that. The Cubs do, though. So the Marlins will have to move him this offseason to maximize his return. Otherwise he becomes a half season rental (and yields a weaker return) or a compensation pick. Is Stanton worth both Baez and Russell? Probably. But I don't see them demanding two of the top prospects in baseball, along with a couple other Top 100's, because there's literally no other team that can offer that without severely hurting the organization in the process. But I don't think that's what it would take to get him because Miami is not in a position to demand the moon for him because a) he's gone in a year b) he's not coming back c) The Cubs hold the bargaining chips they would probably desire most and d) Miami is probably not gonna contend for the WS so they have to move him or else they are [expletive] themselves. And unless a team offers a prime, cheap, controllable MLB player in a package to get Stanton (I can't think of many of those players to begin with that wouldn't be a lateral move), it's almost gonna have to be prospect heavy, and the Cubs are the only team with a system that can offer up the best prospects and not deplete their system for him. If they ask for a MLB player then he's probably gotta be top tier and in that situation, they'll get less back in prospects on top of him and it also means they'll need to compete sooner rather than later because the clock is ticking on that player. I don't see the Marlins wanting to make a lateral move, and if a team offers up an elite MLB'er, chances are he's already under a contract the Marlins don't want to pay for. It almost has to be a prospect heavy/only package to get Stanton. I've said it before, but I honestly think Russell/Baez, Almora, and Soler can get Stanton back. Throw in one of Edwards or Johnson if you have to. That's one elite SS prospect, one high end center fielder, and one power hitting Cuban right fielder they can plug in nearly immediately to replace Stanton that they'll have controlled cheaply for several years, and can market to their fan base because of his heritage (since the Marlins are greedy, exploitative buttholes). And that package is more than fair for a guy like Stanton. In fact that's a damn good package. And after that trade it still leaves the Cubs with one of Baez/Russell, Bryant, Schwarber, Alcantara, and McKinney which is still an AMAZING crop of position prospects to have in your system. And on top of all this the Cubs can offer an extension to Stanton and still afford a FA pitcher for 2015 if they wanted. What other teams can and would match anything the Cubs can offer? The Cubs have the most need for Stanton, and they have the best crop of players to offer for him. Unless they intend to stick with what they have and just get pitching (which I'm not against, I'd be very happy if they kept all the prospects they have right now), there's no reason the Cubs shouldn't and couldn't acquire Giancarlo Stanton this offseason. The only thing that could prevent it is if Miami decides they want to make a run for it and keep him, but I don't see that happening.

Eh, nah, just looked at screencaps of his stance this season. It's normal. Just seems closer for some reason in this game.

Rizzo seems to be standing a lot closer to the plate. Has he always been standing that close? Looks like he's right up on the chalk with his back leg

Damnit... I'm supposed to be moving to San Diego at the end of the month, but Iowa is going to be in New Orleans at the end of July and Tennessee will be in Mobile the first week of August. I may need to come up with an excuse to stick around an extra week.