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squally1313

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Everything posted by squally1313

  1. squally1313
    I think, ideally, vs RHP I’d like to see it go Zobrist/Bryant/Rizzo/Schwarbs/Javy 1-5. Get all the OBP in front of Javy. Switch Bryant and Rizzo just to break up the lefties, but other than that, works for me.
  2. squally1313
    Bryant and Rizzo each walking about 100 times a year in front of Javy seems to be a pretty good plan for success.
  3. squally1313
    Now let's see if Schwarber stays in, or if Joe really hates him and punts KB to the outfield for Descalso.
  4. squally1313
    Chavez with a chance to give up 60% of the total runs he gave up for the Cubs last year today.
  5. squally1313
    Harper holds the record for a week, Trout only holds it for two weeks?
  6. squally1313
    We'll always have Javy. Everyone else in this wretched organization can Milkshake Duck us, but Javy will still be there.
  7. squally1313
    Almora: 2 PAs, 6 pitches, 6 strikes, 4 swings. Solid lead off hitter.
  8. squally1313
    We know Zobrist is good against lefties. Between him and Almora, that's two outfielders. I think it's a safe bet to assume Descalso or Bote are going to be better against lefties than Schwarber, and either can push KB to a corner spot to fill out the outfield. It's not ideal for him, but I don't think it's in the best interest for the team to give him those ABs to see if he figures it out. Rizzo got the chance to do it because we were a terrible baseball team, and then in 2014 he OPSed 930 against lefties. Baez got 230 ABs in the majors, and then got sent to AAA for most of the next year (and also the other side of the platoon, and also provides way more value elsewhere than Schwarber). Happ is in AAA right now because he hasn't figured it out.
  9. squally1313
    Yeah, it's detrimental to his development and his slim potential to turn into an every day guy who mashes against everybody. But in an non-DH game against a lefty, you can put Bryant in left (Bote and Zobrist at 3B and 2B), and in a few weeks you're going to have Russell and Baez in the middle infield, so you're going to need to move KB or Zobrist to the outfield to create room for Zobrist or Bote. I get the logic, though it all falls apart if it turns out they consider Almora an every day player. They needed Happ to be able to hit LHP to cover Heyward/Schwarber, and he couldn't, so here's create a player from AAA instead, and Descalso or Bote essentially becomes Almora's handcuff.
  10. squally1313
    Schwarber is not a “guy” like Rizzo. Zagunis is not a lefty. Your words are broken. We all wish he was like Rizzo, but so far he hasn't shown it. Personally, I'd still rather see him over Zagunis when facing a mediocre lefty. How else are we going to find out if he can fix his lefty issues like Rizzo did. To the bigger point, Rizzo >>> Schwarber But 2018 vs LHP Rizzo: 169 PAs, .248/.315/.369, 88 wRC Schwarber: 91 PAs, .224/.352/.303, 85 wRC Obviously a one year dip for Rizzo on this, but a 15% walk right against lefties from Schwarber shows there is a chance of something there. Then again...maybe they just don't think it's worth it. Heyward actually did better against lefties than both of them (97 wRC)
  11. squally1313
    Is this going to be the longest game thread of the year? Is this already the longest game thread of the year?
  12. squally1313
    Agreed. Whatever discussions I have about future extensions for Baez, KB, etc, and whether or not they are 'good deals' is solely in the context of our owners being cheap, racist, lying pricks who will gladly use something like the Hendricks extension to justify not fielding a left fielder next year, and so in that regard, given that I prefer our team to be good, I will grudgingly play by these rules. Big picture, I want Hendricks, Lester, and like 8 other guys to get 100% of the gate revenue for the next 4 years.
  13. squally1313
    Brace yourself for the standing ovation he’s getting for his first home AB I don't think so, but not necessarily because I put a ton of faith in the fans. He objectively wasn't good last year, and he's never had the hustle/grit (read: he's not white) or even the high batting average that usually drives that kind of fandom. All of which to say, again, for the 47th time, why did we need to bring this guy back.
  14. squally1313
    There's no reason extending Baez needs to be linked to extending Bryant. Ideally you sign them both to long term contracts, but since Baez is much more likely to sign an extension than Bryant, you extend him when you can. Unless you're in the camp that extending Baez is a bad decision, there's no reason to wait for Bryant to sign an extension first. Agreed. Of course there's a number that makes sense for Baez, I just don't know if 'fresh off his probably fluky best season ever' is the time to start those discussions.
  15. squally1313
    Look, I love Javy as much as anyone, but he finished 16th in baseball in BABIP last year, and 8th in HR/FB%. He was 53rd in line drive percentage, and he was 92nd in hard hit percentage. The last two aren't the flukes.
  16. squally1313
    KB and Baez were the two fastest runners on the team (Baez by 0.8 feet per second, 28.8 to 28, though somehow Statcast has Almora right behind Bryant, so maybe this metric doesn't mean anything). Let's just say they are both very good, if not elite baserunnners, and give Baez the nod for his willingness to steal bases. Bryant is a better hitter than Baez, full stop. In Baez's MVP candidate season, where Bryant had a bum shoulder for around half of his PAs, Baez had a 131 wRC to Bryant's 125. Baez had never been above average in this category until this year. This was Bryant's worst by 11 points. Baez gets the nod in defense, mostly because he plays the premium position...advanced metrics have weirdly never liked him as much as your top flight, or even average shortstops. Maybe that doesn't account for the tagging skills, however you want to quantify that. Of those three, I'm taking hitting, and I think it's the area where they are farthest apart. Then again, both of them should just make all the money and PTR should have to go live on the streets.
  17. squally1313
    Might as well knock out 20 in a row before Russell gets back and watching this team gets even more frustrating than it already will be.
  18. squally1313
    Yeah not really a deal we had to do and he probably doesn’t get much more in FA. But whatever, it’s not that much money that should handcuff us. I think he’ll age fairly well barring an injury. Until proven otherwise, any dollar that comes out of the Ricketts' pockets and goes to one of the increasingly few good guys on this team is not an issue for me in the slightest. When someone can prove that this deal 'costs the Cubs' a good player down the road, sure, whatever. Until then, give everyone from the 2016 team (minus like 4 very important exceptions) whatever they want.
  19. squally1313
    From what I can tell, top 3 finish in 2020 Cy Young guarantees the 2024 option. If he doesn't finish top 3, it becomes a team option. Given that he's about the least flashy pitcher in baseball (like when he put up a 2.13 ERA and still finished behind Lester), I think it's pretty safe it'll just be a team option.
  20. squally1313
    If Contreras' agent had advised him to sign any extension with his value at its low point since arriving in MLB, I would hope he would be fired for malpractice. That assumes that you're trying to extend Contreras as if he's last year's player forever. Sure you might discount some on his 2017 performance, but Willson hasn't made life changing money in MLB yet so there's some benefit to locking in on his end too. Yep. Contreras is going to hit FA as a 30 year old catcher with 800 games under his belt. He won't be done, but he's not getting a long term deal. Meanwhile, if he comes out and repeats the second half of 2018, he might be out of baseball with what...$1.5m made in his career? You don't think he'd consider something like $50m or $60m for 6 years (using Bregman's deal as a starting point)?
  21. squally1313
    I've got a friend of a friend working for Boras, and that's where I heard it from. Mostly Mrs Bryant, but it sounds like she kinda runs the show behind the scenes. Does "not happy" mean they're pissed he's still around, or pissed that he's not getting even more support? The first one. Think Mrs Bryant and Melisa Reidy were/are very close.
  22. squally1313
    where is this from? I remember hearing or reading that too, forget where now. But him and as wife were not happy about it and how it was handled and that he was kept, allegedly. I've got a friend of a friend working for Boras, and that's where I heard it from. Mostly Mrs Bryant, but it sounds like she kinda runs the show behind the scenes.
  23. squally1313
    I don't really remember hearing anything about it until this offseason, and always kinda thought it was (unfortunately) a response to him being called soft/unfriendly/whatever other bad adjectives the media put on him.
  24. squally1313
    Also, Carl's Jr just got ejected. We're playing the Mariners minor league team. So there's that. (Contreras and KB got hit earlier in the game)
  25. squally1313
    Yeah, going through the list I don't see a lot of options. I think you take a shot at Baez assuming his numbers come back down to earth. It's not really in Rizzo's best interest to extend a few more years...he either needs to sign a 'Cub for Life' deal at a relatively friendly price, or he should hit free agency before he gets too far into his 30s. Still have 4 more years of Contreras, which is about all you want. And then Schwarber/Happ/Almora still need to show more to justify going down that road. Eh, starting next year he has 2 team options for $14.5 million. I could see a 5-6 year deal starting next year for ~$18 AAV (so only 3-4 new years) being in everyone's best interest with a few team/vesting/mutual options tacked on. Yeah that sounds about right. He turns 30 in August...I assume he wants a contract that will get him into his late 30s. It's tough because he already took the 'discount' deal (albeit for very different reasons). This deal will give him $70m assuming we pick up his option. Throw another $60m-80m after that, and while he'll have been very underpaid for his career (has been worth $195m so far according to FG), certainly not a bad career.
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