Stratos
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Everything posted by Stratos
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He was rocking a small pot belly last year wasn't he? Agree wouldn't hurt if he came into camp in better shape this year.
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If the Cubs are 3rd in revenue (not including the neighborhood investments) and Tom chooses to only spend where the Cubs only rank 9th or 10th in LT payroll then he has 2 choices in interviews: tell the truth or lie and make excuses. Since telling the truth would be bad for PR, he chooses to lie and make excuses. Since lying and making excuses is also bad for PR then you're right, he needs to stop doing interviews because there's nothing he can say that can justify his actions to fans. If he actually just straight up told the truth at least i could respect him for being honest and transparent with his customers. But the owner saying "my main priority is maximizing my profit, which means being just good enough to keep hope alive to fill seats" is going to lose them some customers.
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Some notes from this article about a recent Jesse Rogers interview: https://www.bleachernation.com/cubs/2025/01/17/cubs-free-agent-plans/ - "Rogers feels very confident that the Cubs will sign (more likely) or trade for (less likely) an established back-end reliever before Opening Day. “(I) truly believe they will sign a back-end closer. I guess there’s a chance at a trade. But one way or another, this team will have one of the back-end relievers on the market.” ...Rogers continued on to say that “The Cubs have basically checked in on all of (the free agent relievers, including Tanner Scott).” And that he thinks “they’re saving whatever dollars they have left for a back-end guy, a closer.” - Says they're likely to add another bat, likely an FA 3B. 3B market has been a little slow because of Bregman. - Speculation but: "...the Cubs are likely slow-playing both of these pursuits (closer and third base). According to Rogers, if the market craters for certain guys and one-year deals really do make it to the table, the Cubs will have the flexibility to go there: “A month from now, if Jack Flaherty, Pete Alonso, and Alex Bregman haven’t signed, all bets are off. And that’s why I think the Cubs are probably waiting it out a bit. The Cubs are flexible enough to give them $25 or $30M for a one-year deal.”
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Believe it when I see it.
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Post cool links or just chat about the convention here.
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The other 29 owners are coming to kick the Dodgers' arse in the next CBA
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Anybody want to become a Dodgers fan with me? Sounds fun
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When prices go up winners reduce payroll.
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Leaving 1-2 WAR on the table for a borderline playoff team is pretty dumb. Unless as an owner/ business your goal is only to fill seats in the regular season.
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Maybe the Japanese players love playing in domes with turf. Reminds them of home.
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Hoyer's specific quote: “Mostly focused right now on bench and bullpen, just trying to supplement the roster as much as we can. I feel good about our team but there’s obviously ways to improve,” Hoyer said. He later added that the “bullpen’s been probably the area we’ve been focused on most in free agency. I feel like we’re trying to make sure we upgrade our bench. Adding a veteran presence to our bench would be good.” https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/01/cubs-pursuing-bullpen-bench-acquisitions.html I guess Rea was likely the last of the SP. They have a modest stable who can compete for the 4/5 spots and fill in for injuries. We have 3 extra SP by my count, plus the guys in AAA plus some scraps like Poteet. Sounds to me like they aren't getting close to the LT line. How frustrating.
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I was sort starting to get used to the Wrigleyville uniforms for some reason, which were indeed ugly, this looks better.
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Note that the mention of a 3 year deal sounded like total speculation. Possible the Cubs try to snipe a deal like this on some player as they wait out the offseason and find good value somewhere. Cubs are going to check in on everybody id imagine so I don't really see this as news. And yeah could be Boras-bait. A Bellinger-style deal seems less likely to me for Bregman because he's older and lacks the uncertainty Bellinger had.
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Cubs Meeting With Japanese Ace Roki Sasaki
Stratos replied to Brock Beauchamp's topic in Chicago Cubs Talk
Agree with this. It's a simple math problem. Every team produces a certain amount of total WAR. Ours is mediocre. For the payroll we spend we get meh results. We either need to spend more total payroll or spend more efficiently. Bryant, Baez, Contreras etc putting up good WAR and not making much money was very efficient. -
Cubs Meeting With Japanese Ace Roki Sasaki
Stratos replied to Brock Beauchamp's topic in Chicago Cubs Talk
They need a Japanese draft. To hell with this west coast garbage -
Cubs Meeting With Japanese Ace Roki Sasaki
Stratos replied to Brock Beauchamp's topic in Chicago Cubs Talk
ĤGGGKKJGDXB. NJGFDFHKN. Cggdsnmm -
Some mlb insider guy on Twitter said his sources say the Cubs are out on Sasaki. I'm too lazy to post it Edit: it's that Mike guy
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I like Robertson for us. His velo has been trending up in recent seasons, he's been durable both before and after TJS, and he's been money pretty much his entire career. We could really use a reliable closer, as long as he doesn't fall off the table from oldness.
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We don't really know what's going on in Jed's head. Assuming worst case doesn't seem productive. Assuming anything because of Colin Rea or this or that bargain bin reliever isn't wise. The Cubs and the overall market may be held up with the Sasaki signing. If Jed has to trade for or sign another quality SP if they miss on Sasaki then it changes the budget for 3B/bench, the pen etc. They can't even guarantee a starting spot to any FA SP either if they don't know if Sasaki is signing. Rea is below-average so he probably just wants a job. As a SP i'd sign here for the strong defense that will bump my numbers (we spank the Dodgers/Padres here) and the good pitching infrastructure. So we have a solid shot at Sasaki at least.
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A couple guys in the rotation could be on the IL at any given time, and a few guys from your list as well. Let's say as an example Horton/Brown/Wicks are hurt again, and a couple guys in rotation need replacing, we'll need more than Kilian/Noland/Poteet. Smyly and Wesneski are gone so Rea is a replacement. We can say Boyd replaces Hendricks. I don't think this signing means much other than depth. They have money and would be wise to get another quality SP. I don't think Sasaki would affect any lower tier signing, they can always prepare for the worst and dump/trade one of the guys on your list if Sasaki signs.
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I just thought of the possibility of them maybe piggybacking the #5 starter. Boyd isn't the type to go deep yet while still building back from TJS, so they need innings. Assad wasn't going very deep either. A swing guy and multi-innings reliever can be valuable these days. Signings like Boyd and Rea sound like they want enough options to get through all innings they'll need.
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On the bright side he didn't cost 16.5m like Hendricks last yr.
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Its possible they trade one of Assad/Wicks in a package for someone. Either that or they're hedging for injuries? Not all of their best 13 pitchers are going to be healthy on OD, and Iowa pitching isn't the strongest
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I agree. Rea could be a swing man like Assad (or Smyly and Wesneski), and more depth. If he's the last rotation piece then holy moly I don't know what they're saving all their cash for unless its going back into RIcketts' bank account. To paint a rosy picture on this, for 5m and 1 year that's not bad at all. That's hard to pass up so maybe they just pulled the trigger on it because of the price. He kinda replaces Wesneski and/or Smyly but seems like a better deal than Smyly was. There's a possibility they don't like the SP on the FA market this year terms of talent vs dollars they want? A lot of guys are either older and a bit expensive or younger but have had injuries or red flags.
