Stratos
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Everything posted by Stratos
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In the MLB Happ has played 185 innings at 3B and 61 innings at 1B. He only played 2B in the infield in the minors. He'd probably do ok but would say putting a back-to-back gold glove LF in the infield is probably not wise. Morel would probably be at least average at any position they wanted if they left him at one darn position and just let him play.
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Kind of weird for Preller to make any comment at all
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I guess the Ross firing tells us the Cubs actually wanted Hendricks back @ 16.5m and loyalty wasn't any kind of deciding factor. Which is good they have faith in him as a pitcher....more than I. I hope he has a good year and stays healthy. Prefer 1 year a little overpriced than a 2-year deal.
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I can't remember where I read it, but some folks (maybe MLB execs?) speculated the Cubs would make a go at Ohtani but ultimately be outbid, that seems accurate for me. Hoyer doesn't seem like a BS type of guy, I don't see him getting into serious talks agents unless he has genuine interest, unless it maybe comes from Ricketts to "make a show" for PR I dunno.
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I'm pretty unsure and skeptical of everything until we start getting those reports that such-and-such a deal is close. Hot stove is fun to pass the time but I don't know why we do this to ourselves every year haha. Big part of me thinks it would be a lot easier to just check in a couple of times a month in the offseason and see what moves have been made.
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Bruce kinda seems like he speculates a lot. We get these kinds of comments from him but is this just his "feeling" or does he have anything, or maybe pieced together from different tid bits he hears? It rarely sounds like anything solid from him. I don't even know if "50-60m" is still under or over the cap with Stroman opting out.
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Video: Owen Caissie Isn't Getting Enough Attention
Stratos replied to Jeremy Nygaard's topic in Cubs Minor League Talk
Agree that Caissie had a better offensive year than Ballesteros, and it's really not even close. -
Sorry, Sonny Gray
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I think Morel ending up at 1B longterm is a waste. Just trade the guy if he can't play 3B. Doesn't hurt to play him at 1B a bit just to see, but learning yet another new position for him is also not ideal. Better than DH though I guess.
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I would have to think the MLB teams have some leverage. They can donate some cash or pull their players from the league etc.
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Sonny Gray is probably going to regress. By a far a career low in HR/FB last year, his K's have been down a bit the last 2 years. His xFIP the last 2 years haven't changed from career norms but his ERA has been down. I think he's more of a 3.50 ERA guy than the 3.00 ERA guy he has put up the last 2 seasons, so I wouldn't overypay. I'd target someone younger.
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Video: Owen Caissie Isn't Getting Enough Attention
Stratos replied to Jeremy Nygaard's topic in Cubs Minor League Talk
Will be interesting to see how Schwarber-y he turns out to be. -
Have a link? Bad bullpens also turn close leads into losses. We saw it directly last year in April, May, and Sept. Relievers are used based on the score and leverage, so overall pen ERA isn't as relevant as how well your top 4 or so pen arms can hold leads. Winning by 4-3 or 8-3 is irrelevant, just like losing by 8-6 or 8-1.
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The Brewers had the best ERA in the MLB, and had good defense. Their bullpen was ridiculous. It had three sub-2 ERA guys, plus the ERA equivalents of 2 Alzolay's and a Merryweather. If you can convert virtually every lead after 5 IP into a win you're going to outperform your WAR and run differential.
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Our pen couldn't hold down leads for 3 out of the 6 months out of the season. I didn't like some of Ross's pen decisions in April and May, and a few in Sept, but it's not Ross' fault guys got hurt and the FO didn't give him much late-inning pen options or depth or even a clear closer option, or much pen help at the deadline. Anyways, I do think manager decisions matter over the course of 162 and especially in close games, I think it can absolutely be the difference in a handful of games. It's possible Ross cost them a few games but I don't think he's responsible for the 9-win gap with the Brewers. The Brewers had a fantastic pen to turn tight leads into wins, they didn't need to blow teams out.
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I think the Counsell hiring shows us the Cubs are still able to surprise us and our assumed expectations. Above all they're a corporate business and rely on the data, so if the numbers make sense they will pursue someone. I'm mostly satisfied that the Cubs won't do anything stupid longterm, they've been careful, so if they get someone it will probably be good for the team longterm. I won't be convinced until someone is signed. Ohtani would make them a lot of money in merch and ratings especially in Japan so he pays for some of his contract that way. Ohtani would be smart to sign in a huge market that can market him properly. Chicago can tell him he'll be the next Michael Jordan LOL.
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I enjoy pro sports teams manipulating me and insulting my intelligence.
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I think I said this before but I could see them making a real splash this winter, one of Ohtani/Soto, plus Yamamoto and/or Alfonso are not out of the question if they're willing to go over the cap for a couple years. If they want to add big contracts then they should wait and add the most elite player(s). Clearly Soto & Ohtani are elite and Yamamoto might be also. Guys like Bogaerts are very good players but if i'm paying multiple hundreds of millions on a contract I'd want the best in baseball. I can see them pursuing Soto and/or Yamamoto based on their ages, and they could make an exception on age for Ohtani.
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Yeah Boras can want and ask for whatever he wants, he only gets what teams are willing to offer.
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Shout-out to Bleacher Nation for stealing our Justin Turner takes. https://www.bleachernation.com/cubs/2023/11/07/justin-turner-cubs/
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I also would liked to have seen Little used more. But the late inning guys wore down through the summer, there wasn't really other guys to count on in close games then. Alzolay and Leiter were toast by star of Sept
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Cubs.com says Counsell was raised in Wisconsin, so location may have played a part in this, along with the money. https://www.mlb.com/cubs/news/craig-counsell-new-cubs-manager Also of note: both Brandon Woodruff and Corbin Burnes are FA's next offseason.
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Obviously some of the collapse was injuries and pen fatigure, but in the end of season presser Hoyer mentioned the uncharacteristic play of many players making defensive mistakes and lacking of hitting in high leverage/RISP, which they had excelled at during the summer push. The pen troubles are on Hoyer based on clear lack of depth, and its hard to blame defensive miscues on Ross for even Gold Glove caliber guys making bad plays. They probably were just trying too hard, but fatigue could also have been an issue which was on Ross. When Ross had clear roles defined in the pen I thought his pen handling was fine. Some of his moves when the pen struggled, like continuing to rely on Fulmer after some blown saves, were odd, but I guess also somewhat I thought his lineups were pretty good most of the time. The bunts were often weird though. He ran the running game well. The Cubs seemed to have a well functioning coaching staff and positive dugout vibe. I dont think Ross deserved to get fired but it's hard not to think it's an upgrade. Maybe the Cubs thought he wasn't the ideal guy to break in the young position guys coming up in the years ahead, I really don't know, I didn't have a huge problem with his approach, but maybe they butt heads . We'll never know.
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As a RHB option at 1B it's not the worst idea, as a back up/platoon for Mervis. A year older at 39 he might end up not being much of an upgrade over Wisdom though, if we assume Turner regresses at least a bit from last year. The Cubs seem to put a lot of emphasis on acquiring position guys still in their prime years, age 32 and under, he doesn't seem like their type. Fangraphs has Candelario projected for 1.8 WAR and 103 wRC+ next year per Steamer, That seems a bit low, but it's probably because of the bad year he had last year. I wonder if Candelario could be had on a 3 year deal. I wouldn't do 4 on him, especially with Matt Shaw in the wings. Candelario could always be traded down the line. If they're interested in giving Mervis and Morel a shot at 1B/3B next year then someone like him who can play both corners would be valuable as backup. I'd support them investing in a better player than types like Mancini/Villar.
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He could still DH, but he becomes much more expendable, it would make sense if he's put in a deal. I don't believe the Mets have any top prospects at 1B unless there's some young guy on the MLB club I'm forgetting.
