Clem Fandango

It was mentioned a while back, but how realistic would Bundy and Gausman for Shark be now?

http://i.imgur.com/w7E0BCG.gif

1963 replicas, they said

I swear to God, if I turn on the TV and it's blue tops I will find you and destroy you. They aren't. I dig 'em

What happened? Something with Bonifacio? He was taken out of the game for Coghlan.

http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/51231442/v33645015/oaklaa-cespedes-makes-great-throw-to-nab-pujols/?query=cespedes

That throw is maybe one of the best throws I've ever seen... but Cespedes completely Soriano'd that ball before the throw. http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/11493214/v33619167/must-c-cannon-cespedes-makes-a-jawdropping-throw

Free chili on all hot dogs with each Kris Bryant home run.

Aren't you the dude who called Samardzija a 3 on a good team? Yup, he's still a #3 on a good team. If he was a #1, teams would be falling all over themselves to get him now. He's not and they're not. http://i.imgur.com/9Ztn0.gif

That's a good crop, and you even have TOR arms like Scherzer and Shields and Iwukama. They're all a little older though and probably wouldn't look for shorter term (3-4 year) deals considering it's probably their last chance to cash in big. I also wouldn't be against a trade and sign of Hammel, assuming they trade him (which was kind of the point of acquiring him in the first place). Haren has been decent this year, too, and been performing well enough to be a solid 4-5 starter, so he'd probably be affordable.

Raisin is posting other teams picks news in the Cubs picks news, so I'm being marginally humorous by pretending they were our picks and now they're signing with other teams.

Fair enough

http://i.imgur.com/rP83eSG.gif

I think it hinges on what the Cubs do this offseason. If they make moves to stay mediocre, then obviously they're gonna be patient with Bryant. If they make moves to attempt to compete, I think Bryant moves to the OF sooner rather than later. But I'm naturally impatient about everything, so there you go.

If Bryant keeps this up I don't see why they don't start trying him out in the OF soon, other than to delay his clock and keep him down to "work on his defense". Obviously you want to make room for Bryant at 3B if he can play it, but he's got a less than average chance at sticking there, but Villanueva's bat is nowhere near ready for MLB pitching so you don't want to call him up for the sake of making a spot for a guy who probably won't stick at 3B. I could see Villanueva being swapped with Olt to get Olt more work on his swing in the minors (with Manny who has helped him before) while giving Villanueva a cup of coffee to see what he can do (basically what Olt is doing now splitting time with Valbuena), and then bringing Bryant up to AAA to start getting reps in the OF. That way you don't sacrifice any of your 3B prospects and make the inevitable move on Bryant to the OF a reality which in turn makes Bryant a starter in 2015 sooner rather than later, which the Cubs could truly use, clock be damned. I don't see Bryant sticking at 3B, but you certainly don't move him off the position even 1% because of Villanueva or Olt. I agree, but my point (which I should've made more clear, admittedly) was more about moving him to fast track him to the majors vs. not wanting to mess with other inferior player development. But it seems obvious they're taking the control and cost route with Bryant. Personally I think they should just Longo him and call him up then buy out his first couple of years of FA on a big team friendly contract after he shows he's the hulk we all hope he is. Granted, that's easier said than done.

TRAITOR!

If Bryant keeps this up I don't see why they don't start trying him out in the OF soon, other than to delay his clock and keep him down to "work on his defense". Obviously you want to make room for Bryant at 3B if he can play it, but he's got a less than average chance at sticking there, but Villanueva's bat is nowhere near ready for MLB pitching so you don't want to call him up for the sake of making a spot for a guy who probably won't stick at 3B. I could see Villanueva being swapped with Olt to get Olt more work on his swing in the minors (with Manny who has helped him before) while giving Villanueva a cup of coffee to see what he can do (basically what Olt is doing now splitting time with Valbuena), and then bringing Bryant up to AAA to start getting reps in the OF. That way you don't sacrifice any of your 3B prospects and make the inevitable move on Bryant to the OF a reality which in turn makes Bryant a starter in 2015 sooner rather than later, which the Cubs could truly use, clock be damned.

Agreed. His FIP is more than a full run lower than his ERA and he is still just 26. I don't see how someone like Cahill will clear waivers given his age and pedigree, regardless of his salary. Also, couldn't a team be a douche and claim him just to block them from moving him to the minors?

An Astros lineup with Singleton, Carter, Springer, and Bryant would hit a [expletive] load of home runs... and strike out probably three times as much

Oakland's run differential this season is currently sitting at +128. The next highest is San Francisco at +65. That's quite a chasm.

Are players who run hard all the time hurting the club? That's the necessary corollary to your statement. Some of them are. Every time someone argues everyone should always hustle, I remember when Aramis Ramirez was shelved because of an ankle injury he got running out a ground ball on which he was out anyway. I also specifically remember a news bit where the front office told him not to worry about hustling out routine grounders to save his legs since they were so fragile, and then when he did exactly that the media lambasted him for being lazy.

They'll probably move Machado back to SS anyways once Hardy is out of town, right? Machado's bat profiles better there.

I know MLB blackout rules are [expletive], but I don't understand why I'm blacked out from this game on MLB.tv when it's in Chicago. I get it when they black me out from Marlins games when they play in Miami, but they're in Chicago. I [expletive] hate MLB blackout rules.

Diamond Johnson, huh? Better than being named Pierce Johnson I suppose.