Regular Show

Good game last night. LaVine is a keeper -- I have no doubts about signing him this offseason. I think building around him and Lauri and hopefully the high draft pick is a great start to this rebuild. I'm not sure about Kris Dunn long-term. You really need an elite PG to win in the NBA right now, and I'm not sure Dunn ever gets there. He's an amazing defender and maybe we include him in a package to get A. Davis or Giannis down the road. A man can dream...

Yeah, I wanted a 5 year deal but it seems like they had to go 6 years to get it done. Just need to change his sequencing and hope he pitches better in the postseason. He's gonna be awesome during the regular season. Finally, good bye Jake. You were amazing during this run with the Cubs. I hope you get what you're looking for, but I doubt it...

This site ranks the top 50 prospects for each team? Hmm... I'm a little skeptical about going 50 deep for every MLB team lol.

Yeah, I like the idea of using A. Cashner as a swingman who goes multiple innings out of the bullpen. I believe Keith Law proposed this idea a couple years ago since it seems like he can never remain healthy/effective as a starter. I'd be down for this as long as Cashner fully buys into the idea. I mean it shouldn't be that hard to convince him. Top relief pitchers are being paid on par with starting pitchers now. It seems like M. Montgomery is itching to be a SP again so maybe we move Montgomery to the SR, and sign Cashner to fill his spot. I'd rather sign Darvish, but Cashner could be really effective out of the bullpen.

I'm starting to read up on 2018 MLB draft prospects and watch video of them when possible. One pitcher that caught my attention immediately was Kentucky RHP - Sean Hjelle (pronounced "Jelly") who is 6'11"!!! He's crazy tall and lanky, and seems like a good athlete. The weird thing is how consistent and smooth his mechanics are for a pitcher this tall. I'm really impressed with his delivery and overall command. He doesn't have overpowering stuff, but he has room to fill out and hopefully get stronger. He's only ~215 lbs. right now so I think he could add another 20-25 lbs. when he fills out. I'll be curious to see where Fangraphs and Baseball America have him leading up to the draft. Right now he should be available in the late first round/early second round area, but he could rise as we get closer to the draft. Here is a video from last year: [bbvideo=853,480] [/bbvideo] Another video from MLB.com: [bbvideo=560,315]https://www.mlb.com/video/2018-draft-sean-hjelle-rhp/c-1868836083[/bbvideo] Seems like a good kid with great makeup too. I really like this pitcher and hope the Cubs scout him extensively.

I'm going to be pissed if the Brewers end up signing Yu Darvish. The Cubs better top that offer or maybe take Yu Darvish on a tour of downtown Milwaukee lol.

I'm liking the tank job so far. Reducing the minutes for vets, and maybe giving LaVine some games off here and there will help the effort. I think we have a good chance of getting a top-3 pick now, and hopefully NO misses the playoffs so we have two lottery picks in next year's draft. There are some players I like in the 10-15 range.

Lol. Well, some Cardinals fans are going to be pissed...

Good. I really wonder why they couldn't settle somewhere in the middle. Theo is 1-0 now in arbitration cases since taking over the Cubs lol.

Yup. I think some posters actually enjoy making new posts here just to disappoint people looking for legit Yu Darvish news. At this rate, this thread goes strong all the way up to spring training and maybe beyond...

I blame the hard cap in hockey in maybe prematurely ending this Blackhawks dynasty... It also sucks that the Blackhawks play in the hardest division in the NHL. This stupid playoff format also hurts them with no easy matchup in the first round. I can't believe I'm saying this, but losing M. Hossa also really hurt.

I know he had a bad year (like a really bad year) but why didn't we offer a minor-league deal and spring invite to former Cubs pitcher Travis Wood? I'm sure he'd love to come back. Maybe he could get back on track pitching in low-leverage situations? You know Maddon would love to have him on the roster and use him in weird non-traditional ways. I mean if he sucks in spring training you release him, or have him pitch in AAA and call him up in case of emergencies.

That dude is an athletic freak of nature. It was a super exciting play, but I was worried at the same time. We don't need another great player tearing their ACL...

Also, Doncic is either going to be a PG or a SF in the NBA. He's not a good enough shooter to play SG, and not big enough to play PF/C. You think he can keep up with all the elite PGs in the NBA right now? R. Westbrook, D. Lillard, K. Irving, J. Wall, K. Lowry, and on and on it goes. You think Doncic can guard J. Butler, Lebron, Durant, K. Leonard, etc. at SF? Are you serious??? Every scout has questions about his defense at the next level. I didn't say anything about Doncic's defense. Bagley may have the physical tools to be OK defensively, but you're projecting a lot before he hits adequate. Also, if you're still hung up on NBA positions you're knocking one guy for being a tweener while propping up another tweener. Again, you don't know what you're talking about... Bagley doesn't just have the physical tools to be OK defensively -- he has the tools to be an above-average defender if he actually turns those tools into refined skills. Same as when you're discussing tools while talking about MLB prospects. Tools do not equal skills. Bagley isn't really a tweener either. His listed height is 6'11" and he currently weighs 234 lbs. He's not listed as a pure PF because he plays more like a C who plays near the hoop. Most PFs have to be able to shoot all the way out to the 3-pt line, and he is capable of that. His 3-pt percentage in college is 35.4% and his shooting mechanics are fine. I think he's perfectly capable of playing PF in the NBA. It will take him awhile to learn how to guard better and bigger players in the NBA, but that's true of most young players entering the league. Read this article (ESPN Insider) and you'll be better informed: http://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/21704960/will-marvin-bagley-college-superstardom-translate-nba-2018-draft

Well, that's why we need to horsefeathers over Wild Card teams as much as possible.

It's funny to not trust Doncic's defense but then want Bagley. Also, Doncic is either going to be a PG or a SF in the NBA. He's not a good enough shooter to play SG, and not big enough to play PF/C. You think he can keep up with all the elite PGs in the NBA right now? R. Westbrook, D. Lillard, K. Irving, J. Wall, K. Lowry, and on and on it goes. You think Doncic can guard J. Butler, Lebron, Durant, K. Leonard, etc. at SF? Are you serious??? Every scout has questions about his defense at the next level.

It's funny to not trust Doncic's defense but then want Bagley. Uh, Bagley is a great athlete and has the potential to be a very good defender in time. He's not super long and doesn't possess a huge wingspan, but no one questions his athleticism. He's not big enough to play C right now, but he can guard PFs just fine and I think that's his position long-term in the NBA. Can he guard A. Davis and J. Embiid and slow them down? Probably not, but not many people can...

I'm very pleased with how "Operation Tanking: Bad for Bagley" is progressing lol. Bulls are slowing rising in the reverse-standings and getting closer to being in the top 5. I need to watch more video and read more scouting reports, but I'm really not sold on L. Doncic. He's an amazing playmaker, but he isn't a great athlete or an incredible shooter. I don't even know what position he plays in the NBA. I like him and think he can be a good player, but he will struggle playing defense at the next level. I'm still all-in on M. Bagley and think he'll be a star if he can become a consistent 3-pt shooter. All big men have to be decent shooters now in this era. He's already great at driving to the hoop and finishing. His basketball IQ is also very good. I'm pretty sure the Bulls like him too since they love Duke players so much.

Actually, I disagree that they are that similar. Both are examples of curveballs, but I would say the one thrown by Carrasco is better. The one Lange throws actually has a "hump" to it -- ball traveling up before breaking down -- which sometimes tips off the pitch to the batter and allows them to adjust to it. The one thrown by Carrasco is a downer-curveball that is thrown very hard (88 mph) and breaks straight down. More of a slider than a true curveball. Reminds me of Mark Prior's curveball from back in the day. I would say Carrasco's CB is superior to Lange's for the two CBs shown here. Lange does have a great CB and will be really effective when he can command it. I’m just saying mechanics wise, not stuff or projection wise Oh okay. Yeah, the mechanics are very similar. They don't have the prettiest deliveries lol. Hopefully, Lange can avoid injuries with that delivery.

I really hate how much the Player's Union and agents are bitching about "collusion" and the lack of activity this offseason. We KNOW most of these FAs have gotten offers worth millions of dollars at high AAVs... It seems like the holdup is how many years teams want to give to these FAs, and that a market correction is happening. Teams are still willing to pay top dollar, but they don't want to pay for those declining years when the player is less valuable. That's not collusion -- that's being smart. Every team seems to be reluctant about giving long-term deals to Darvish, Arrieta and Cobb.

Actually, I disagree that they are that similar. Both are examples of curveballs, but I would say the one thrown by Carrasco is better. The one Lange throws actually has a "hump" to it -- ball traveling up before breaking down -- which sometimes tips off the pitch to the batter and allows them to adjust to it. The one thrown by Carrasco is a downer-curveball that is thrown very hard (88 mph) and breaks straight down. More of a slider than a true curveball. Reminds me of Mark Prior's curveball from back in the day. I would say Carrasco's CB is superior to Lange's for the two CBs shown here. Lange does have a great CB and will be really effective when he can command it.

Wouldn't that just be more incentive to tank/spend less? Not necessarily. The Rays were never serious about re-signing A. Cobb whether they got compensated with a pick after the 4th round or a pick immediately after the 1st round. I think most small market teams rarely ever try to seriously re-sign their FAs (who receive a QO) once they reach FA. Many teams try to trade those players before they even reach FA now, like Mark Melancon and JD Martinez. I do think the MLB draft needs some reform to lessen the incentive to tank for teams at the very bottom of the standings. There are multiple things you can do to avoid outright tanking, but if a team is comprised of a bunch of scrubs and okay prospects they're going to suck regardless. You can't force a team to spend money on FAs when it won't really help their long-term rebuild.

Agree with most of this though I’d think small market teams would have major push back on shortening control. Another big thing that should be changed is tying draft position to spending, teams should be able to spend what they want and the current set up really incentivized losing since finishing a few spots lower increases spending ability rather significantly Small market teams can suck it. Their owners are rich too. If they truly can't afford the cost of business of owning an MLB team, they should sell their team. I agree with the sentiment, but I don't begrudge small market teams and their plight. You're right about the owners of small market teams being rich enough to spend more during a team's competitive window. I would be angry if I were a Pirates fan about their lack of spending these last few years. Still, it is harder to compete in small markets when there is a big market team in the same division that is run efficiently like the Cubs. I think small market teams should get more compensation in the form of draft picks/larger draft pools when they lose key free agents. I'm not sure about lowering the threshold for days on the big league roster for 1 year of service time. If they reduce the # of days needed on the big league roster teams will just keep prospects down even longer, and never call them up when September rolls around. I mean some teams are already doing this -- I have no idea why the Rays didn't call up B. Honeywell last season outside of delaying his FA.

Wait what!?! I thought he was in prison? Didn't he get arrested multiple times for DV? I'm glad our FO does a lot of background research on players and really stresses makeup before acquiring/drafting any player. They still make mistakes, but the mistakes at least aren't assholes like M. Bradley...

what's really wild to me is how inconsequential The Ringer is Man, I miss Grantland so much and The Ringer is just some weak imitation at this point. The articles written by R. Jazayerli on the Cubs for Grantland are some of my favorite articles of all-time. He continued writing for The Ringer, but I haven't seen an article from him in a long time. Simmons has really fallen off as well. His mailbag used to be somewhat funny and enjoyable. I have no idea what happened to him...