Aaron_Kennelly

Our defense has been pretty great. Let's talk about how great it is. We currently rank first in UZR with 14.7; second place is at 9.2. We also rank first in DRS with 13; second place is at 10. http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=fld&lg=all&qual=0&type=1&season=2016&month=0&season1=2016&ind=0&team=0,ts&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&sort=21,d http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=fld&lg=all&qual=0&type=1&season=2016&month=0&season1=2016&ind=0&team=0,ts&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&sort=8,d If you were to look at the major league leaders in UZR across all positions, we have 5 of the top 20 in MLB. (This is a little silly, since we are mixing in all positions, and this stat measures guys against other guys at their position, on a position-by-position basis. It's also an incredibly small sample size, yada yada yada. But, whatever, it shows we've had a bunch of defensive standouts.) http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=fld&lg=all&qual=y&type=1&season=2016&month=0&season1=2016&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&sort=23,d There's no UZR for catcher defense. But, David Ross does rank 6th among catchers in DRS. http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=c&stats=fld&lg=all&qual=0&type=1&season=2016&month=0&season1=2016&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&sort=10,d And, more importantly, according to StatCorner, Montero ranks 2nd in pitch framing and Ross ranks 12th. The Cubs' total 5.1 framing runs above average is best in the majors. http://www.statcorner.com/CatcherReport.php The one downer: Jorge Soler. Boy, is he terrible. I'm starting to dislike him more for his putrid defense than his underwhelming offense, because he is preventing us from featuring an All-Glove lineup. That leads into my question. What's the lineup defensively when Javy inevitably starts taking more ABs from Jorge? It should be Javy at second and Zobrist to left. But, we seem to have made a pact with Zobrist to leave him put. So, now we have to move our studly third baseman out to left and put Javy at third, which Joe has been doing more often. Or we could keep Bryant at third and let Javy start handling the outfield. Either probably works fine, since we get rid of Jorge's glove. But Javy is so dynamic that he pretty much has to play in the infield. And Bryant has been so good defensively at third, that it is tough to lose some of that value by sticking him in a corner outfield spot.

I saw that and forgot to post about it. I knew he had a decent arm and that he's piled up some outfield assists in the past. But maybe I've been sleeping on his arm? I don't remember any glowing reports about it. But he now has 31 outfield assists in 169 games in RF since 2014.

Great post. I agree with you on just about everything. Post more often!

Good for him. He's 36. What is going on? How?

We didn't reach 10 games over .500 until August 2nd last year.

The good thing is that we are good enough that we will have a chance to hit that benchmark at several different intervals this season.

except for the threat of rain off and on through the evening 5 no-hit innings and they call the game. And he will be nice and fresh to get a third consecutive no-no his next start.

And God-mode is going tomorrow to pitch another no-no.

W!

I'm still trying to decide whether or not I have time to take him and Rademacher seriously. Take Young seriously. Do what you want with Rademacher. But take Young seriously. He can play second -- and probably all over as a utility guy. He has speed. And he's been a great contact guy for awhile now. I mean, don't take him as seriously as Kris Bryant or anything, but take him seriously.

Shut 'em down, Hector.

Well, since Rondon can't get any saves, Javy is gonna have to dong here.

Let's go, Javy!

There we go. Let's get those runs back here, too.

Call it!

Ugh

He already is a star. Meh. I love Addy, but at this point he's not there...yet. He's a star to us. Depends on semantics and what you consider to be a star. But, he's a Gold Glove-type defender at short. He's in the top five of all shortstops in BB%, top ten of all shortstops in ISO, and he's corrected his biggest flaw and is now making contact near a league-average rate. He's being dragged down by bad BABIP luck, but he's still playing at about a 5-win pace. He's pretty much a star right now.

Yay! Great base running by Bryant, too.

He already is a star.

Safe. Incredible slide, from a guy that looks like has no idea what he is doing sliding.

If we go Dodgers with the payroll, then I would love to keep him around. I kinda wanted to sign him to an extension early on last year -- even though it would have been silly such a long time before he hit free agency -- because I thought we might be able to get decent value out of it. But, now, he is so horsefeathering good that there is no deal to be had. The man is getting paid. But, also, he is so horsefeathering good that it would be awesome to keep him around, damn the cost. 7 years is so risky, though. I don't know what to think. And I haven't ever been certain with this situation. Pitchers are too weird for me to understand. Either way, I am just going to enjoy him while we have him. And whatever happens from there happens.

Yeah, it's also good that we are 14-5 despite Montero's 66 wRC+. Not even worried. If Montero hits the DL, let Ross handle the load for awhile, call up Federowicz for awhile. No sweat. We'll hardly notice it. What? Hell no! It'll be Wilson Contreras, your table is ready sir. He's an immediate offensive upgrade to Montero. If Montero needs a few weeks off, there is no reason to mess with Contreras's development and start his clock. We are 14-5 with an astronomical run differential. We are the best team in baseball. It's not that big of a deal to miss our second-worst starter for a few weeks.

Yeah, it's also good that we are 14-5 despite Montero's 66 wRC+. Not even worried. If Montero hits the DL, let Ross handle the load for awhile, call up Federowicz for awhile. No sweat. We'll hardly notice it.

We thank him for his time, feel grateful that we got the best seasons of his career at an extremely discounted rate, and let him go on his way. And hopefully we'll have won a World Series together, as well.

they are so far ahead of us in the rebuilding process that they are starting the next rebuild already Houston has a lot more left on the farm than we do. Martes should be a top 25 arm by mid year, Bregman is destroying AA, Reed is starting to recover from a slow start, but unquestionably remains the best 1B prospect in the minors. They'll have their choices of Michael Feliz, Francis Martes and Joe Musgrove for the rotation next year. 2017 and going forward they'll be a vastly improved team. That's neat. They also have Scott Feldman and the ghost of Doug Fister in their horrible rotation right now. And their hitters are striking out more than any other team in the league. That's cute that they have some top-50 prospects, though.