KJTchoup

Counsell has very little patience with underperforming relief pitchers. Maton will be released soon, they already use the fake injury once.

The writer must be under forty. In no world, no universe, is Ben Zobrist ranked above the Hawk in ANYTHING. The Zobrist signing had nowhere near the impact for the franchise that the Dawson signing did

This is a fair article. It drives me bananas when Cubs fans state that the ownership does not spend at all. They do spend, however they just don't spend to the level of what fans expectation may be for the amount that they bring in in revenue. It is just that simple. Ownership does put a competitive team on the field, however they are just never going to spend to the level of a couple big revenue teams. I do not get worked up over it, and I don't understand why other fans do. The Ricketts family simply runs their team as a business, not a public service for Cubs fans and they want to make profit off of it, that is their prerogative, who am I to tell them differently. I am not that entitled

The man will give you two good seasons of prodigious power and is adequate at third base defensively. Plus, he seems to do very well at Wrigley. This is an easy "yes" for me

The Cubs offense needs an upgrade, and this is the obvious spot you look to do something. The team is going to go into the season with either Caissie or Ballesteros getting regular reps, so that is a clear downgrade from what Tucker provided. Now, both are much better hitters than Shaw, but they will have empty moments. Shaw would be far better suited in a super sub role than your regular guy at third base. Bring in a productive bat at third, Shae can be your infield backup at all positions, and you take pressure off the two rookies

Finally, someone sensible. Cub fans need to know nothing more than Shaw, the prized rookie who played all season, batted ninth while super green fellow rookies Ballesteros and Caissie batted in the middle of the lineup when they were given starting opportunities Shaw proved himself defensively, but his bat remains significantly Triple Aish. His inability to generate any middle right power and his almost last in the MLB exit velocity and hard hit balls percentage remain very concerning While he showed second half improvement, he disappeared the last month and the playoffs which makes one wonder if opposing pitching figured out how to negate the adjustments he nade

A fairly "radical" choice to bench Shaw and play Castro? Shaw is hitting .000 for the playoffs!

Have done "amicable" jobs? Uhm...okay

Making a decision? I didn't suggest they release him, I would just advocate they get a major league hitter at the position for the duration of this season. The only reason he still is in the lineup is he was a high draft pick. If he was a twenty three year old that had little fanfare and had the lowest exit velocity in the majors leagues, in the bottom two percent of hard hit percentage, and was hitting .106 against four seam fastballs he would have been jettisoned out weeks ago He may come around, I do not disagree, but there are thousands of minor leaguers itching for their opportunity. Life is tough. Baseball is tough. When you get your shot, you better make it count or next guy up Use Gage Workman as an example. He killed it in camp but was pushed aside for Shaw once the season began. When Shaw faltered early, Workman was given an opportunity to take the job from him and he failed. Now he's back exiled in Detroit's farm system. It was an incredibly small window of opportunity, but it's more than some get. How big of a window do you want to give Shaw? One season, two seasons? Had to say, but I grow weary of the Shaw excuse machine that fans turn on. But his defense? Really? He is below average in range metrics and arm strength. He has shown nice hands, credit to him there, but he's not elite. We could have kept Nicky Lopez in there to do the same thing The last thing you wrote was "there is a decent shot hrs average". Cubs are chasing a pennant. They should be looking for more than mediocrity

I will be surprised if they don't do something. Every other player on this roster has been held accountable for poor performance, some with very short leashes. I know they really want him to be their guy, given they appear to have traded the wrong young third baseman, but he simply isn't ready yet. Getting offensive production out of the third base position down the stretch will be a huge boost to the team

So, Berti brings the value of speed but Brujan does not? The article loses all credibility with this comment, given Brujan is faster than Berti To call him a complete zero seems harsh. I won't argue and say he has been productive, but there are very few players who would find much success when they rarely get an at bat. The same goes for Gage Workman, an intriguing young player who earned a job with a tremendous camp The Cubs insistence on force feeding Matt Shaw, the worst hitter in the major leagues, into the lineup has prevented meaningful at bats for these bench players you criticize. You can upgrade to a different fringe player all you want, but it won't matter because Counsell rides his starting eight hard, so the bench rarely plays. The only guy who sits is, inexplicably, Michael Busch. Why Busch gets put down and Shaw does not is baffling

Spot on. All Cub fans are rooting for this kid, but we need to root for the team first. It's a win now season, and there is nothing that suggests he is ready to contribute offensively. Eugenio Suarez may come available, imagine that in the middle of the lineup

Tucker in a slump and hard hit numbers are lagging is a concern, but we are not worried at all about Shaw and his MLB leading poor hit metrics?