raw

Yeah, I'd take Verlander for that deal in a heartbeat. Sure this has been mentioned in this thread, but I wonder if the Cubs could get Verlander and Gausman ala Chapman and Montgomery. Put Gausman in the pen/long role for the rest of the season.

3rd inning and every Brewer has reached based at least once.

This is a quintessential bedwetting.

The thing about Toronto is they are sooo old on their 25-man roster. Both catchers now at least 33 years old. Entire over 30 IF. The mediocre Kevin Pillar and Devon Travis; and the terrible Ryan Goins are their only sub 30-year old offensive players. The Jays could just as soon trade guys like Donaldson, Liriano, Happ, Estrada, and even Tulo before they get to one of their few young actual talents in Stroman. They also could really use some ML ready talent in return. I wonder if they wouldn't be more interested in a package led by Happ, Schwarber or Baez instead of Eloy Jimenez. Not sure the Cubs would trade any of those guys.

Healthy arm...right age, not a FA until 2020...TOR playoff experience at young ages...all his pitches either generate one or more of popups, whiffs, or groundballs...throws strikes...logs innings...his sinker and slider are elite pitches and none of the 5-6 pitches he throws sucks...groundball machine with power stuff...Extremely marketable player...He basically seems to me to be exactly the right pitcher at exactly the right time, both for him and the Cubs. I've said I would do something crazy like drink a large blackberry and mint chip milkshake with 2% for the Cubs to land Stroman and absolutely mean it. Stroman's about as perfect a fit as could be imagined for the Cubs, and vice versa (as you stated). The Cubs need a pitcher this year, that's essentially....much better than Lackey for the stretch run where they need to makeup some games. The Cubs need a pitcher next year to slot high in the rotation after Lester and Hendricks. The Cubs need a pitcher long-term for the TOR that won't be in his mid-to-late 30s and soon to be overpaid. To get all those things in 1 pitcher doesn't get any more ideal. The Cubs could go get a Gausman or Hahn, but who knows how good or healthy they would be down the stretch or where they project to slot in future rotations. And either of these guys would still probably force the Cubs hand in spending on a FA SP again this offseason. The Cubs could go get Verlander, but he'll also be in his mid-to-late 30s and getting paid a ton of money until he retires. And he would still not end (not that it ever really does end) their pursuit for young controllable pitching. Stroman and Archer are the only names that could possibly be out there that check all the boxes. Easily better than Lackey now and potentially part of a playoff rotation. Strong 2nd or really good 3rd starter in 2018. Long-term #1 or #2 starter once Lester starts looking like 2017 Lackey. I love Eloy as a prospect, and those are the only 2 guys I'd give him up for. Stroman to me, is even a better bet than Archer long-term.

Geez, he's not exactly a household name for casual fans but he's been on the radar since the first NCAA title game run at Butler and took the most famous missed halfcourt shot in basketball history i did know who gordon hayward was but have never heard of or seen this shot That's really odd.

Kruger was traded to Vegas today.

teague is pretty good and that's not really a lot of money. he's also 3 years younger than teague and hill, and about as good as hill. I think Rubio's a better player than everyone listed here, except Lowry. And the difference between Rubio and Lowry isn't worth the money difference. I don't think Rubio's a bad fit. A pass first PG to give the ball to Wiggins, Butler and KAT. But I understand they really need the shooting from behind the arc. If that's the case though, I would have gone with George Hill (and his 38% career 3pt, with well over 40% the last 2 years) over Teague. I probably would have tried to find a stretch 4 and a pure wing shooter off the bench though and kept Rubio, who is better than people give him credit for and still only 26.....3 years younger than any other name they considered.

Jordan could never.......make the East finals 8 years in a row. Mainly because he retired in his late prime and had actual competition in most years.

Schwarber went deep.

http://hamptonroadshappyhour.com/sites/default/files/aa_carrotini_3.jpg Looks horsefeathering disgusting.

Never been ready to give up on this team the way all the Twitter meatballs do on a daily basis. But every time I'm on the verge of legit disappointment, I look at this team and remember......they are missing the entire opening day OF (including the reigning WS MVP), the 2016 ERA champ, and today were missing the reigning NL MVP. When this team gets healthy and replace Butler and Lackey with Hendricks and a traded SP next month, they will be as good as anyone else in the NL.

Closer = Fucked!

Not a fan of how the 8th was managed, but it worked out.

Feel like the Cubs have had to use a ton of challenges this year on things that were obviously wrong calls live.

I don't know how to feel about the pitcher hitting 8th and being the last out with runners on base the first 2 time the spot in the lineup comes up. Of course, it's been with 2 outs and the potential alternative is the pitcher leading off the next inning.

He doesn't seem to have any great actual basketball skill. He's basically putting up those numbers by being extremely athletic, with the ability to jump a mile in the air. While that is a great ability to have, it's typically not something that is a sustained way of putting up numbers. And he's not good enough in the halfcourt game to be an efficient enough scorer. Like you said, he is 22, and maybe he can develop his halfcourt game like young Vince Carter did (though Carter was better already by this point). But most likely, he's a guy that will never be more than a 3rd option in the halfcourt and a stud in transition. And this reeks of the days the Bulls were signing/trading for Eddie Robinson and Larry Hughes to be the best player on the team.

Made Kane's line weaker to make Toews' line stronger. Of course, Kane would score with me out there, so I think I'm good with this. I never really got attached to Hjammer, so I'll give that other dude a chance.

That's where I am. Iguodala to go along w/ Josh Jackson and a few other draft picks? OK. Iguodala with Butler, Wade, Rondo? Shoot me.

Why are they afraid to win? You're the best team in baseball, reigning world champions. Stop doing terrible horsefeathers!

That's your fault.

Leadoff hitter extraordinaire. Really wanted him to steal 2nd, 3rd and then score on a wildpitch that didn't leave the home dirt. Oh and then be black and play CF.

I was there today. Hot as horsefeathers out there, and of course I didn't have seats under the shadows of the stands. My son's first major league game, and he got to run the bases afterward. Guys, I saw the Cubs in person as the defending World Series Champs!

Lost 6 straight Won 5 straight Lost 4 straight History shows, Cubs win Games 1-2 of this series, before failing to sweep and losing the opener to the Pirates.

Is it me or does Ian Happ's swing look very similar to Corey Patterson's? Long swing thru the zone. Probably a little more power than Corey. But huge difference with the grasp of the strike zone.