Tim

Can't wait for the Pittsburgh portion of my family to be all high and mighty about Cleveland having a sexual abuser as a quarterback.

I'm very happy with this signing.

He sucked in Texas in 2019-20...but that's Texas. Only 33 IP last year. I'm a little surprised he wasn't able to leverage last year to a guaranteed deal, but not shocked or anything.

No I don’t think its close to a hard no these days, historically duh. It was almost standard esp in the back of the 2010s for a top HS player to come in, handle Rk ball after the draft then open in a full season league during their first full year with an org. Pretty much every HS first rounder from 2020 jumped straight to A ball and, as a whole, they did awesome. Top players, the ones you see in the first round esp, tend to have played against the best players in their age group on a national level for years and years before the HS draft let alone college I’d also say college ball is on par with at least A ball if not a little better. Top prospects at that level during the last CBA even a little bit of the 2000s often opened up their first full season in High A OTOH I do talk out of my ass I don't think they're quite there. The best players routinely destroy HS baseball. They may have really good stats in rookie ball, but few put up the ludicrous numbers they do in HS. Same with college players and A ball.

I’m tired of waiting. Why haven’t we signed anyone yet?

this doesn't really save money though It doesn't save much money this year, but does in the future, correct?

Does anyone know if: 1) Draft pick compensation was officially axed 2) That takes effect this year?

All I want is Correa, Freeman, Conforto and Rodon. And Suzuki. Maybe a couple more relievers. Heck, just bring back Tepera and Chafin. That's not too much to ask, is it?

I just want to say...Hell Yeah! Baseball!

That's a rough loss for Wisconsin for multiple reasons :flythew:

You're also not already a couple of dozen times over millionaire, I assume. Context is everything. Order of magnitude difference. My comment stands

If the Saudi's offer me $230M to work over there for a few years, I'm taking it. I can be bought. Just sayin'. I don't blame anyone for taking that kind of money.

Jobu needs a refill?

Too lazy to look up the gif, so just imagine Jean-Luc saying, "Make it so"

That timeframe is a little bit cherry picked given the crash in 2002. I'm sure he'd be able to cherry pick time frames where his statement is true.

I might make Conforto my #1 request if that's the case.

Because I'm pretty much assuming Wisdom will fail, Villar slides over to 3B and Hoerner plays the most SS. That defense would still be terrible, imo. I’d be more inclined to punt offense at SS and sign a Simmons or Iglesias and go with defense and lean in to the strengths with the pitching we have and shift Nico to 2B and try Madrigal in the OF. This is of course assuming we aren’t getting Correa or Story. If you're going to go to Simmons, you might as well just play Alcantara.

Because I'm pretty much assuming Wisdom will fail, Villar slides over to 3B and Hoerner plays the most SS.

I find myself trying to avoid doing more actual work this evening, so, here is offseason plan #54: Assumption #1: Try to be at least a fringe playoff team in 2022 Assumption #2: Avoid the QO if at all possible Assumption #3: Try to spend "smart" in FA Assumption #4: Roughly $50M to spend, leaving $10M for veteran relievers Assumption #5: Universal DH starts in 2022 Let's assume we need to fill the following spots: SS, OF, RP, 3B, 1B/DH, SP Depth Top FA not tied to QO (MLBTR rankings with estimated contracts): #4: Kris Bryant (6/$160) #15: Kyle Schwarber (4/$70) #18: Carlos Rodon (1/$25) #20: Seiya Suzuki (5/$55) #21: Anthony Rizzo (3/$45) #25: Jorge Soler (3/$36) -- as an aside, most of the players on the list to this point are recent Cubs #29: Kenley Jansen (2/$26) #34: Yusei Kikuchi (2/$20) #41: Eddie Rosario (2/$15) #43: Jonathan Villar (2/$14) #45: Ryan Tepera (2/$12) #47: Nelson Cruz (1/$12) #48: Danny Duffy (1/$10) Ideally, I'm looking for around four position players to create a really deep roster, but three players would probably suffice. I'd really like to bring Schwarber home to provide a bit of lefty thump in the lineup. Add on Seiya Suzuki at $11M and Villar at $7M. That's around $36M of my $50M budget. Given the remaining budget, I'd seriously look to add Kikuchi to the rotation. I'll assume the Cubs do their usual excellent job finding arms for the bullpen at a reasonable cost. That gives something like: SP: Stroman SP: Hendricks SP: Miley SP: Kikuchi SP: Alzolay / Steele / Mills / Thompson 2B: Madrigal SS: Villar 1B: Schwindel DH: Schwarber OF: Suzuki OF: Happ C: Contreras 3B: Wisdom OF: Ortega / Frazier Bench: Hoerner, Hermosillo, Ramirez, Bote, Gomes That provides a kinda deep lineup with some solid thump...if Schwindel can provide better than league average production at 1B. If he doesn't, it's probably the cheapest position to fill at the deadline if they're in contention. Also, Rivas can probably come in and provide at least a decent OBP and defense at first base in the short term if Frank tanks. Assuming Wisdom turns back into a pumpkin, then Hoerner becomes a full-time starter on the IF and Alcantara comes back as a backup. Sometime this summer, Davis probably takes over CF and replaces the Ortega/Frazier platoon. That team...won't even compete in a fairly weak NL Central. The rotation should keep them in most games and has depth available with the various options at the fifth spot plus Kilian later in the year. I even have my doubts about that, though, after Hendrick's meltdown and the Kyle Davies experience last year. The older rookies from last year are probably the most likely gaps in the lineup. If the budget is available, maybe add Brad Miller as insurance in case Wisdom completely craps the bed. Assuming things don't work, then Miley, Kikuchi and Villar would all be pieces to move at the deadline to get a return.

apparently playing with a concussion

I don't think I'd give up either of those guys for Santander.

Yet there's Bears fans out there that still defend Pace. Makes no sense. He only had 7 years. You have to give him a chance, man

I think I found an issue where I'm actually on the owner's side: https://www.bleachernation.com/cubs/2022/01/31/mlb-draft-lottery-details-what-exactly-each-side-is-proposing/ In short, the players want to give all kinds of bonus picks and higher seeding in the draft to "small market" teams like the bloody Cardinals.

A-Bear-Plus bah! Just kidding, of course. I find that this hire does not make me feel much of anything whatsoever. Best hire an awesome OC, though.

I'll make up my mind on this hire after I learn whether it is pronounced as Eh-berflus or Ee-berflus