morrisjon

Have we extended anyone of real significance since Happ & Nico 3 years ago? Not being able to sign top tier FA's and not being able to extend our core young players is not a great combination.

They take with them bags of 'due diligence'. 🙂

I definitely agree that Hoyer knows how to put together a bullpen on a budget. However there is a major drawback that I think gets overlooked and it's the fact that it usually takes a month or so to really get the bullpen set. You basically end up with a few guys producing significant negative WAR in April/May while things are getting ironed out. You are always going to have bullpen arms battling out for spots, having to deal with injuries but it's a nice luxury to have only a limited number of spots up grabs instead of piecemealing the entire thing. On the offensive side, we have Cassie, Ballesteros, and Alcantara that need to either play or be dealt. Maybe you move one before the season starts? I think the young players give you some flexibility on the offensive side to wait until the trade deadline to address any needs instead of being forced to do it in Free Agency. I would like to see a big upgrade with the bench, especially in the "Justin Turner" role. On the pitching side, we should have plenty of money/assets to acquire 2 TOR type pitchers and a couple of established arms that aren't a Hoyer "project". But like every year recently, it seems to come down to how much the Ricketts family is willing to actually open up the wallet.

Well the thought was that Smith was 2-3 years away from helping the ML team. If he's ready now, and more importantly, if he is a better player than Shaw right now, then that is a unbelievably huge mistake from our front office.

I would really like to see Assad show up in shape this year.

I think they can keep it close enough to the CBT to make the accounting work. Hypothetically, we could be in the pennant race in July and still unload some salary. I could envision a scenario where we trade some higher priced pitching because we have the depth and have it not hurt us too much. I'm also not concerned with trading Nico right now. If Shaw can hit, he's going to play. Shaw will likely start the year as the starting 2b and should get at bats vs. every opposing LHP. He can give everyone a rest in the infield plus you could slide Nico to SS when Swanson goes through one of his cold streaks.

To be fair, that's kind of what he has to say publicly. Behind the scenes you can try to sign Soto or make a big trade. However when the reality is that Soto is likely is resign with the Yankees and the that big trade won't come to fruition, you can't exactly make promises that will just end up disappointing the fanbase.

It's fun to watch. I think there is value there also that doesn't show up in the stats. JD mentioned it about infielders having to shift towards the base on every false start that he makes, which makes them out of ideal position for balls put in play. There are more passed balls, more wild pitches and the hitter at the plate is going to see more fastballs when PCA gets on base.

Hendricks would be an interesting experiment for a team that opens the game with a reliever and then has the following pitcher go 4-5 innings; thus avoiding going through the heart of the lineup a 3rd time. Also, scoring runs is fun!

I like this. Hitters are always taught that if the ball is close with 2 strikes, you have to swing at it to take it out of the umpire's hands. Guys that really know the strike zone wouldn't have to do this anymore. I know that Suzuki's numbers would look a lot better with automated balls and strikes. I've never seen a Cubs player have so many borderline pitches go against him.

We're the Cubs. We wouldn't know what to do with ourselves if we had clean 9th innings. 🙂

I only watched the condensed game but I heard the Pirates announcer say that the runner was half way since the ball was not hit very deep. My understanding is that he was not on the base to tag. That throw by Madrigal in the first was brutal. I wonder how many reps Mastrobuoni and Madrigal get together turning double plays. Are there defensive metrics that takes into account the leverage of the situation? It might just be selective memory but it really feels like Suzuki and also Swanson make mistakes in the field at the most inopportune time. I'd be curious if there was a 'defensive clutchyness' type stat.

There is a weird thing happening where a significant amount of people are more excited about the gambling/fantasy aspect of the sport rather than the sport itself. Professional athletes are routinely criticized for not making the spread or messing up a fantasy team. It's a way for other companies to profit off the product and I don't like it either.

Zips is not a fan of JD Martinez, they have him at .7 FWAR this season. Can someone explain to me how Martinez had a -1.3 dWAR in 2022 when it appears he was only used as a DH?

Wisdom has great numbers as a replacement/pinch hitter which isn't easy to do. He's obviously useful in certain situations but as the team around him gets better, those situations are going to be fewer and farther between. It's not a question of if he can do some things well, it's if he is going to be utilized enough to be worth the roster spot or if that spot could be better served by giving it to another player.