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Outshined_One

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Everything posted by Outshined_One

  1. Knowing Hawk, it just would have been 9 innings of complete silence during each game.
  2. This was supposed to be Steele's start, but he was scratched due to elbow soreness. The doctors are evaluating him today/tomorrow and we'll see what comes of it. The Cubs have been really sensitive to elbow/forearm matters this season, so it may just be precautionary. I'm guessing Kyle got the call because he was available and the Cubs would need medicals to come back before doing any sort of roster move. Still, this sucks.
  3. Dusty Baker's kid debuted today? I'm horsefeathers old.
  4. Herz always struck me as a change of scenery type, as in, whatever the Cubs did with him wasn't really sticking and he needed to go somewhere else with a different approach to succeed. It's clearly worked out for him so far, because I don't think he'd be doing this with the Cubs if they hadn't traded him.
  5. You get the feeling Crews two years from now would have destroyed that pitch he fouled back.
  6. My hope for Wicks for the rest of the season is he lays a firm claim to a rotation slot going into 2025. Granted, I get the feeling the Cubs end up acquiring a SP and trading Wicks or Assad for a bat in the offseason, but I'd rather not have the Cubs in a position of desperation to shore up that last rotation spot.
  7. The Cubs are in such a weird spot with SP next season. Steele and Imanaga are pretty much locks for the 1-2 spot, Taillon and Assad are serviceable back end types, and then you have a whole bunch of question marks. Ideally, Brown comes back healthy and you ride him until he breaks again, but Wicks and Horton should also presumably be healthy and ready to go come Spring Training 2025. Kilian and Wesneski are kinda sorta there and might put *something* together. Birdsell is also intriguing, but he doesn't quite have the apparent ceiling everyone else does. I think a trade makes the most sense to clear the decks and lock down the #3 spot, but it obviously depends on who's available.
  8. NLROY is going to come down to Merrill vs Skenes, but man, PCA is making a really fun late charge at the award.
  9. And that's totally fair! If Shaw and Triantos are Happ and Hoerner 2.0, that would be really good outcomes for both. Ideally, a competitive roster will have a bunch of guys who give solid production for cheap, and a good farm system should churn those sorts of guys out on a regular basis. Where my reservations come in is, I'm currently not sold on the realistic ceilings and/or likelihood to reach realistic ceilings of the top hitters. On the flip side, I feel like a healthy Horton is a potential ace. It's also difficult because, if Horton wasn't fully recovered and they rushed him back, that injury could cascade into something worse.
  10. The Cubs' pitching injuries this season have been admittedly strange. It's one thing if you have a guy with persistent shoulder issues or who's gone under the knife under multiple occasions, but an annoyingly nagging lat injury and a nebulous neck injury can be viewed differently. I'm not willing to slap the "injury-prone" label on Horton for that reason, but that's just me. Additionally, for me, the top hitters in the system all blend together into an amorphous blob of "good, but how good?" guys. I like what they bring to the table, but I feel like I'm watching the next generation of Ian Happs and Jeimer Candelarios come up, instead of, say, the next generation of Kris Bryants and Javier Baezes. I'll be thrilled if I'm wrong about the hitters, but Horton feels like one of the few special guys in the system to me.
  11. As memory serves post-draft, Smith had two swings in college, one last season that put his power to use and caused a huge spike in Ks, and one that he employed this season that cut down on the strikeouts and was effective, but basically caused a power outage. There was some discussion around the forum about getting him to use both as A/B hacks depending on the situation, rather than try to overhaul his swing altogether. I'm curious to see if that's the case.
  12. Welp, horsefeathers. Shows what I know about draftnosticating.
  13. I love that we've gone from calling for PCA to get demoted to AAA and traded in the offseason to holy horsefeathers he might actually be amazing in the span of a few weeks.
  14. Each series is pretty much make or break from here on out insofar as the Cubs' playoff hopes go.
  15. Moises Ballesteros is the best and closest catching prospect they have, but he's a catcher in much the same way Schwarber was a catcher.
  16. I believe it was Matt Spiegel on the Score. He has connections within the Cubs, but not to the point where I'd take his word as gospel. Alcantara has a history of adjustment periods, to the point where I think this outcome is bound to happen to him regardless of when he comes up, and with what team. I also don't know if the Cubs would give him the playing time or have the patience to let him develop in the majors while trying to compete for a playoff spot, be it this season or next.
  17. In fairness, this team won a handful of games they had no business winning against earlier in the season (a handful of games against St. Louis come to mind), and they've had a few low scoring affairs that actually went their way. This team has had its share of bad luck, but the difference has been a first half with a trash bullpen and the offense pretty much slumping all at the same time. It sucks, because it seems like they're getting their horsefeathers together too late to make a meaningful difference.
  18. Considering Chicago was named as DNC host in April 2023 and the MLB schedule was released in July 2023, it boggles my mind that MLB would have the Cubs have home games during this week. I expect most people will be on good behavior, but there's a strong likelihood of tomfoolery happening over the next few days.
  19. Neris is the quantum pitcher; he's good when no one's watching, but the moment an observer gets involved, his wave function collapses and he turns into trash.
  20. Is Amaya actually turning a corner? He OPS'd .872 in July and is OPSing .730 for August. Not saying he should be handed the starter role next season on a silver platter, but if he can get and keep his horsefeathers together, this team suddenly looks a heck of a lot better going into the offseason.
  21. It's a bit troubling, but the Cubs have also shown improvement in making swing and approach adjustments to their power hitters compared to the Hendry era. I wouldn't read too much into it, particularly considering Myrtle Beach had the extended hurricane layoff and he just finished playing a full college season. If this keeps up next season, then it will undeniably be cause for concern.
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