Outshined_One

Details, details. This team sucks in the second half.

I want to be clear on my PCA comment: I still think he's the top prospect in this system and that he's a Top 20 prospect in MLB. However, his major league stint this season was an abject failure at the plate and on the bases.

The Great News: The rotation. I was extremely skeptical early in the season regarding the Cubs' rotation after 2023, but, Steele, Assad, and Wicks all stepped up in huge ways, and Stroman's first half was excellent. If Taillon doesn't actively crap himself every other game next year, and Stro opts in, this could be the best 1-5 in baseball (assuming health) next year. There's also depth in the system for the first time in forever. The Good: The offense stepped up. There's a good core here, even without Belli. There's room for improvement, and they were subject to some really annoying slumps, but I think they just need one solid bat instead of the five I thought they needed coming into 2023. The Mediocre: Coaching and management. I'm not convinced Ross is the guy to lead this team back to the promised land, but credit where it's due for the development of the pitching staff. The Bad: The fail rate of certain high level hitting prospects coming into the season. PCA, Canario, and Mervis all fell on their faces in the majors, be it because of development/usage or otherwise. Brennen Davis got hurt again and hasn't looked the same. There have been other guys who took steps forward in High A/AA, but Amaya and Morel look like the only guys with a guaranteed spot on the 2024 Opening Day roster. The Ugly: The bullpen. Aside from Alzolay, the pen needs a complete gut rehab this offseason.

It could be a bit of both. Nathan Peterman sure as horsefeathers won't save this coaching staff, but if it turned out the Bears had their own Brock Purdy behind Fields? Granted, the likelihood of that is the same as being struck by lightning during a shark attack in the middle of the Gobi Desert.

Claypool a healthy scratch.

I didn't say the Cubs are incapable of developing those sorts of guys, just that I don't feel really good about their ability to do so. Additionally, Happ had the advantage of getting called up to a team with a manager and coaching staff who regularly gave playing time to young players, even when those players were struggling at the plate or making boneheaded mistakes. With Ross and company, I'm not so sure they're a good fit for the crop of guys who will be banging on the door next year.

I anticipate this being discussed at more length in the main thread once our Top 20s are posted, but one of the factors that weighed heavily on my Top 20 was the notion of what the Cubs are good at developing versus what they historically have issues with developing. I get that the Cubs overhauled their scouting and development team not too long ago, but I feel like there are certain types of hitter who tend to do better in the Cubs' system than others. For example, if a guy like Canario were in the Rays' system, I'd feel very good at him being given every opportunity to hit his ceiling in the majors, along with the appropriate coaching and development he needs to attain that success (even if he ultimately doesn't). However, between how Ross handled him in the majors this season and the Cubs' historic issues with developing guys with big strikeout profiles, I don't feel as good. On the flip side of that coin, however, I feel really good about the Cubs' pitching prospects for the first time in a very, very long time.

It was fun while it lasted.

The Bagent hype train is decidedly nauseating. If you want to tank the season and go 0-17, go nuts and put him out there to die an unceremonious death, but, otherwise, this smacks of the woebegone hype around every other ****** Bears backup QB dating back to at least Henry Burris.

This is what happens when you use bubble gum and duct tape to assemble and keep together a bullpen. This team has had way too many infuriatingly stupid one and two run losses this season. I don't know if it's bad management, bad roster construction, or something else.

It's reminiscent of the early days of advanced baseball stats when most people didn't understand what went into them, what the deficiencies in each stat was, and why those stats were basically the equivalent of the word of Gawd as to whether the player in question was, in fact, elite.

I just don't want this front office and coaching staff getting another crack at a QB if they unilaterally decide to throw Fields under the bus this offseason. Fields likely isn't the answer at QB for this team, even with a better coaching staff, but this team and coaching staff are just bad across the board, and Poles hasn't given anyone a compelling reason for why he should stay onboard if this keeps up.

McCaskeys tearing the copper wiring and piping out of the Soldier Field walls and selling it for scrap.

'04 saw huge trade acquisitions, the best rotation the Cubs have ever seen, and a team coming within a few outs of the World Series the prior season. Coming into this season, a good chunk of people thought this team would be out of contention by the deadline and well under .500 by season's end. 2004 was way, way worse than this.

By all accounts, no.

It's also a two edged sword if criminal liability is a possibility for anyone involved here. On the one hand, any statement providing any specificity or detail could (a) interfere with a pending investigation, and/or (b) open the Bears up to potential civil or criminal liability. You don't need to be under oath for the feds to pursue criminal liability if you lied to them, and public statements could easily contradict private ones made to investigators. On the other hand, silence just begets more questions and frustration. It sucks because this whole situation is completely bizarre and the Bears are terrible with PR and media. But if there is a criminal investigation, then we're not going to hear anything about it unless and until the indictments drop.

This team is completely gassed. Their young pitchers have exceeded previous IP/pitch counts, their bullpen has been a merry-go-round most of the season, and even their position guys seem worn out. It's not effort or desire to win; I just think they're physically spent.

This is the Bears we're talking about.

They also should have known about this in the offseason and taken steps to do something about it then, whether it was trade him, take a QB at #1, and/or even bring in a more competent backup QB than Nathan effing Peterman.

My nightmare scenario involves the Bears unceremoniously parting ways with Fields, only for him to end up on a team that can actually get the most out of him. I'm not saying he's a future MVP with the right coaches, but I feel like he could have a decent career.

Welp. I'm done. Probably for the season.

Claypool...

That was a fun drive.

The fact that Kyle is exercising caution is kinda sobering.

Plus it's worth remembering that Wicks is well past his career high in IP and likely is in uncharted waters in terms of stamina/fatigue, especially given that he's being thrown into high pressure situations. It's going to make for an interesting conversation if the Cubs find themselves in a multi-game playoff series and Stro isn't back to 100%. Also also, seeing Wicks and Assad perform like this has me feeling so, so, so much better about the rotation in 2024.