Donzo

We'll see. Some people are like Swarber and can get in shape and some just wont do it. I don't see how he can play any other position. He certainly won't be able to play LF and he just too slow and short for 1B. Just think how many high throws Busch caught that would go over Ballesteros's head. Then there's all the balls that would get by him. If he's gonna be a position player it's catcher or bust.

Yep, he's either a catcher or a full time DH.

Well, you said you saw the game logs, so I don't see how you could have missed that he was the starting catcher to start the season before his injury. I was just going by memory and knew he was the starting catcher. Anyway, we'll just use your comp. That means Ballesteros will be a major league starting catcher next April and one of the best defensive catchers in the majors in 2027.

It's a message board, it's not difficult to stop a conversation. You just don't post on the coversation anymore, like I did when you made stuff up about Kirk, but you're entitled to your rant. Kirk has proven to be a good catcher at his size, Ballesteros has proven to be a bad catcher at his size = awful comp.

I've looked at his last two seasons. LIS, I have no problem not wanting to spend $300M on him... A few factors involved with that.

Doubling down on the Kirk comp is awful. Other than being overweight Ballesteros is an awful defensive comp. How does Ballesteros look "weird"?

Not for Tucker. I can't blame them for that.

Yep... He's either playing for the Cubs or the Cubs need to trade him like the Dodgers did with Busch. A 3rd year in AAA is not an option.

I always like it when you post your placements.

You can hate Javy all you want, but the man is still standing and playing well in the playoffs. He was also an excellent Cub and has been nothing but great to Cub fans. So, myself, I'm not gonna hate that.

For pitching, the schedule with three off days between games one and five, gives Counsell a lot of options. Boyd had less than sixty pitches in game one, so he can go two or three innings on Saturday; so can Rea. Then Counsell can juggle them for games four and five anyway he likes. He can also pitch the heck out of the bullpen. All the relievers can pitch four games with no problems.

All said and done it appears you're right. We'll see what happens in spring, but Wiggins looks to be on the same path as Horton. Needing five or so good AAA starts to be ready for the Cubs. You never know, Wiggins is ending the season healthy where Horton was injured. If Wiggins dominates in spring he could earn a spot, but his clear projection is to begin 2026 at Iowa.

Well, will Ballesteros get to cath today? I'm thinking the Cubs want McGuire to get at bats today to keep him ready when needed. If Tucker could play RF then McGuire could DH, but that's not probable. I'm thinkin' Ballesteros gets in the last few innings... We'll see.

I liked that they let him work out of trouble in the 4th.

It appears Palencia didn't have an injury. He probably had some type of strain causing pain. We'll see what he does this week with the Cubs and what he can do in the playoffs.