PeanutPunch33
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Everything posted by PeanutPunch33
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I do think it's pretty damn telling that in my hypothetical, folks would be willing to pass on arguably one of the best left handed hitters of all time, in his prime, just because there is a need at SP. Yes, even if they have a chance to acquire a stud pitcher with control, I'm still picking Alvarez. (And yes I know this is a wild hypothetical with almost no prospects of becoming reality - my whole point is that if the Astros did make him available, the Cubs should be aggressively pursuing him). He'd instantly be the best player this team has had in like 25 years. Given how much the Cubs seem to love former Astros players it would be weird if they hypothetically made no effort to get the guy who has a .1070 OPS. There are good free agent starting pitchers every single year. Whereas a guy like Alvarez almost never makes it to free agency and the Cubs sure as hell aren't good enough at drafting to find a guy like that organically.
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If the goal is to make the playoffs this year by any means necessary I agree with you. But if the goal is to create a contending window for the next 5 years, and a real shot to win a WS, a half season of Peralta doesn’t do it. Adding one of the best hitters in baseball would. That’s why I think the Cubs need to be open minded on how to improve this ball club. Unless there’s a pitcher with multiple years of control somewhere that they could turn into Jake Arrieta or Cade Horton. I just don’t see it.
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Interesting. I'm done talking now. Lol. .😂 But seriously, that 2nd half offense last year was brutal. Thank god for PCA and Busch for at least making this lineup watchable.
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That's a sensible take, no doubt that they need more pitching in both the rotation and bullpen. Would your opinion change if a guy like Yordan Alvarez or CJ Abrams become available? This seems like a weird deadline where a couple of really good hitters could get moved. I'd be really disappointed if the Cubs weren't in on a move like that, if there was any chance it could happen. They can always buy more pitching in FA and they should have a healthy Steele back next year too
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Fair points. So is your position that the Cubs don't need to add any more major pieces on offense? I hate to pull the "eye test" card but I would disagree with that completely, even if I can't explain it away with numbers. It seems like something is missing or even broken with this offense and it's been like that for a while.
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What about RBI groundouts? Base hits in those spots. Home runs in those spots. It's not just about the sacrifice.
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You bring up good points but it's hard for me to understand why guys like Nico are so good in those spots and people like Swanson is not. The skill is making contact, shortening your swing, having good baseball acumen. I'd say even being unselfish is a skill in baseball. Some guys like Javy always swung for the fences in those spots. Other guys like Zobrist got it done due to his approach and bat-to-ball skills.
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I definitely think it's a skill as a hitter to bring in a guy who's on 3rd base when there are 0 or 1 outs in an inning. 2 outs I can give you - and the scenario above, I can give you - but go back and watch the 1st inning from yesterday's game and tell me it isn't a problem. The Cubs were also not great against RISP in 2025. It's not like this is some fluke event lol. 2 years in a row is cause for concern.
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True, they do get people on base at an elite rate. But after a near half season sample size, it doesn't seem to matter much given that they can't bring them home. That's actually why I think adding even just 1 more high end bat (however you want to define that, let's say an .850 ops guy) would make all the difference. Bench Swanson, move Nico to short and get CJ Abrams and you have an offense that can compete.
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Everyone knows the Cubs need more pitching. The question is why are some so reluctant to admit the offense also needs better players. I mean, they are a near .500 ball club that's currently getting dominated by the Rockies pitching staff. That isn't all on the pitching. Shota had a great game the other night and it took a 9th inning rally to win. 9 guys will never all play to their expectations due to the variance of the game. They need better hitters so that someone's "worst year" is still better than Dansby Swanson or Nico Hoerner's best year.
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The Cubs have 2 players leading the league in a very unfavorable offensive stat - you don't think it's worth bringing up?
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It can both be true that the Cubs have respectable hitters in their lineup, but also in need of a major revamp on offense. These guys have redundant skillsets. Too many guys that try to do the same things. This is like a Moneyball lineup where every guy (outside of 1-2) is just trying to get on base. They need more dudes that can put the ball over the fence or in the gaps. Even if Nico plays like Nico again and Bregman plays like Bregman again, I don't think it solves the underlying issue. As much as I love PCA, a 24 year old shouldn't be the best hitter on the team. If you are the Royals, sure. But not when your team can outspend basically every other team except 2 or 3.
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Exactly. It's a philosophy issue and that starts with the front office. You don't hand out 100+million to players just because they can play defense, lol.
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I feel like there's been a lot of back-and-forth on me having to define what a "superstar" is - the truth is the Cubs just need better hitters, period. You and I don't have to agree on what the definition of superstar is to agree to that.
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To his credit, he did do wonders with Horton and Brown. But I wouldn't be opposed to some new voices in the clubhouse.
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I never was a big fan of Cabrera but Shota, one of my favorite players, to see his struggles since last season hurts. I bet he goes to Tampa Bay next season and they turn him into a stud... lol
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They can't catch a break on the injuries
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Cabrera reminds me of a bit of former Chicago Bear Chase Claypool. Guy looks like a monster and has all the talent in the world, but once he steps onto the field he's a bit of a fairy.
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Castro is a good player. He wasn't great on the Cubs but I always liked his game.
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PCA is on another planet right now. I mean, if he's a .900 OPS guy with that defense, he should win MVP. horsefeathers Ohtani
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Fair points by all of you. The Cubs can certainly do a lot worse than Jed. But I do also think it's fair to be extremely disappointed with the current state of the Cubs. I mean, take away even one of those 10 game winning streaks (let's assume they went 6-4 instead of 10-0) and you're looking at a sub-500 team, and the worst team in the division. It just seems like this team is hanging on by a thread right now, and are closer to being a last place team in the division than competing for the pennant. I'm sure that's not what you guys had in mind for year 6 of Jed Hoyer. I thought they turned a corner last year and then they added Bregman to the mix. Things should be different.
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The context matters here - Jed clearly attempted to compete pretty much right away by handing out contracts to Taillon, Swanson, Suzuki, and so on. So he has to be measured as a GM who's tried to build a contender for 5 seasons. If he came out like Theo did and said that we'd have a couple of difficult seasons to build up the farm, the analysis would be different. Why should he get the benefit of the doubt when he's handed out bad contract after bad contract? The moment he signed Swanson, Suzuki, Taillon etc. the message was clear: we are trying to win. I just think they made these moves too soon with where the org was at the time.
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But why did they have to answer this question in 2022? They were nowhere close to competing for a title. Clearly, paying for an expensive SS (or even 2B) would not have made them this suddenly great team. Sometimes the best moves you make are the ones you don't make. I personally would have spend 3 seasons tanking until there was a legit prospect at nearly every position, like They did. The 2B/SS question wasn't one they needed to answer 1 year into (what should have been) a rebuild.
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That's fair, but if they traded Contreras when he had 1.5 years of control (especially when he could still play Catcher) it would have netted them 3 or 4 legit prospects. They did get the comp pick and Wiggins but at the time, it was a really bad non-move. If I recall, the Marlins got a haul for JT Realmuto under similar circumstances. I just hate that they didn't go through the tried and tested method that Theo put forward - punt a couple of seasons to eventually have studs around the diamond and controlled young talent. I don't think anyone cares anymore that the White Sox lost what, 121 games in 2024. Now they have the #1 pick while also being on their way to the playoffs. It seems like this GM wanted to bring the Cubs back to relevancy as soon as possible (which is admirable) but the strategy has not worked. They are perfectly mediocre.
