PeanutPunch33

nico bonds

that was impressive

lol and there it is

A starting pitcher who has pitched 2 scoreless innings, congratu horsefeathers lations. I can say whatever I want about him

what?

Nice job getting out of it but Rea is so bad

That's true, I guess I have to not get so consumed by the last 6 week sample size. The overall body of work against lefties is still pretty good. It's just frustrating to see them completely dominated by LHP recently..

That's true, Shaw is basically a wild card at this point regarding his potential and future. I just am not sure I see him as a key contributor this season and the idea of him getting all the playing time at 3b in a playoff series, honestly frightens me. IMO, the Cubs best path to a championship this year is to double down on their strengths. The Rangers won a WS not too long ago by just out slugging everybody in the playoffs. I don't personally think it's a bad strategy especially when the rumors are that they are looking at a journeyman like Luis Severino, or a 35-year-old Seth Lugo. I personally don't think those guys move the needle that much. I would change my tune if they got a real, real difference maker at SP that's here for a while. Like go out there and get Mackenzie Gore and give up 3-4 prospects and that would shut me up quickly. Regardless of whether they get Suarez or not.

Why don't you use this same logic for Shaw then. I agree that prospects fail and fail often. Shaw would already be on a bus or flight back to Iowa for the 2nd time if the Cubs had anybody else not named Brujan or Berti. He'd be looking at his 3rd stint with the big league team in that scenario after he got the call again. I feel like they are doing this to save face more than anything, and that's what bothers me. They don't want to admit that they might just be wrong about Shaw and that he's not nearly ready to contribute at the big league level. They owe it to the fans to go for it this year and try to put their best foot forward to win a WS. Can you really say they are doing that, by playing a rookie that has one of the lowest exit velo's in the league for his amount of PA and who is dead weight on offense right now. As Theo once said, these opportunities are sacred. Regarding Smith - his value is just going up and up and Shaw's is going down and down. His trade value is undeniably lower today than it would have been before his first call up to the big leagues. You can't say the same thing about Smith.

The offense is good, no doubt, but that number is because of their damage to righties. They are inept vs LHP and for a pretty decent stretch now, 2 months where they are amongst the worst teams in baseball vs southpaws. They will almost certainly face a handful of them in the playoffs. From my perspective, just because they go after a SP at the deadline doesn't mean they shouldn't actively explore other upgrades. Tell me why a guy like Suarez is a bad move when it wouldn't even be that expensive and he's got a near .900 OPS and it's a half season move, similar to when they got Castellanos. A guy like that would slide into this lineup like wheels on ice. He's exactly what the doctor ordered.

It could cost them a deep playoff run.

Shaw will probably end up being a good big leaguer, a la Happ and Nico. But I doubt he will ever end up being a star caliber player, a guy that can carry a lineup. Which is fine, I guess, there are only so many of those guys around. And still a resounding success of a draft pick if he ends up as an every day player. However, I just think that the Cubs need one more of those guys in the lineup, preferably as a right handed masher that can obliterate left handed pitching. And where exactly can they fit someone like that? They have guys locked into every position for the foreseeable future (assuming that they find a way to keep Tuck). I guess, they can find a better platoon for Busch but how many of those guys are out there? And does that even solve the problem? Most 1b platoons are lefties anyway. Like Rowdy Tellez. Maybe Long is an option? Idk. All of the righties on this team are basically guys who get their value from their defense, and are marginally above average as hitters, with the exception of Seiya and maybe Amaya. And the righties on this team are not getting it done vs lefties right now. Hoerner and his 5 home runs/year will not get it done. Swanson way too inconsistent. Shaw, TBD. Happ, average at best as a right handed hitter. The offense is amazing on paper because they destroy right handed hitting, but they look dazed and confused against lefties. They mentioned on the broadcast that they are 29th in average, 27th in slug against lefties in the last 6 weeks. That needs to change, even if it requires a massive trade.

I thought baseball players were supposed to be superstitious.. They pitch two shoutouts in a row wearing the dark blue road uni's and then they go back to the grey

I just don't want to watch Swanson hit cleanup in a key playoff game against a lefty. They need another masher against lefties and the only position they can do it that makes sense is 3b. Suarez being cheap and a half year commitment should hopefully appeal to them

I had such high hopes for Brown and Horton going into the year. One is back in AAA and looks like he might never pan out as a starter, at least not an above average one, and the other... I am still very high on, but not nearly as "MLB ready" as we thought. It pains me to watch the Brewers churn out star after star at the position and we can't even turn highly regarded pitching prospects into key contributors (at least not yet)

Suarez makes too much sense for the Cubs to not strongly strongly consider. At this point I'd consider that as much of a necessity as acquiring some pitching. The Cubs are getting nothing from the position offensively

So much for my prediction that the Cubs would sweep.. never take gambling advice from me guys

That last 3 run bomb really killed... this would actually be a good game otherwise

From a 6.5 game lead to being reduced to rooting for the Rockies to win, in a matter of 2 weeks

Yeah, I don't think the Astros had much interest in Shaw. At least not to the extent that they had in Smith. Maybe if the Cubs threw in a 4th prospect with Shaw it might have gotten done. In any event, Smith looks like he would have been a top 5 prospect if he got another year in the minors. He looks like a star Edit and of course as I'm typing this out, Shaw finally does something productive

Yeah, I never really understood that criticism. Cam played 3b all throughout college and while in the Cubs minor league system, he's not some bum like Morel that can't handle the position.

Too little too late

They can’t even get a couple of horsefeathers runs to make it interesting

Insert almost any left handed bum vs this lineup and it’ll be 6 IP 1 R

Just get him out of the game