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Chicago Cubs Thread - Playoff Push Pending

Elder pitched like you'd expect Roll Tide Willie would. I'll say this about the Braves. They are a tough out. They keep coming no matter the score.

Cubs should be a game out on the Reds (losing late to DC) and no worse than 3 back of the Crew after today.
 
Good win against a good team. This is the first I've seen the Braves this year and they are impressive.

Add on runs were the winning element this afternoon. All too often the Cubs open up a big lead early then the bats go silent. The three runs scored later in the game were the margin today. That's been the case since the all star game and the result is more wins than losses.
 
Win against the Braves this afternoon gives the Cubs a 5-2 record on the homestand and a 16-7 record since the All-Star game. Team is playing well in all facets of the game.

On the road for three against the Mets and three versus the Blue Jays. The Mets have a history of ending Cub momentum regardless of their record. These three in New York are important.
 
BlackjackMc said:
Win against the Braves this afternoon gives the Cubs a 5-2 record on the homestand and a 16-7 record since the All-Star game. Team is playing well in all facets of the game.

On the road for three against the Mets and three versus the Blue Jays. The Mets have a history of ending Cub momentum regardless of their record. These three in New York are important.
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What has changed? Right now the Cubs are hitting their way to victory. Baseball is so weird. The talented teams of 2018 and 2019 were so sluggish and listless later in those seasons; these guys (not as proven on the field) feel light as a feather. Coming back to win the series against the Braves after that first game showed a lot of "it" factor. Go Cubs Go.
 
WokeandBroke said:
What has changed? Right now the Cubs are hitting their way to victory. Baseball is so weird. The talented teams of 2018 and 2019 were so sluggish and listless later in those seasons; these guys (not as proven on the field) feel light as a feather. Coming back to win the series against the Braves after that first game showed a lot of "it" factor. Go Cubs Go.
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The focus on defense has paid big dividends. Success came quickly for a group of young players in 2016. It seems like they quit growing and improving as a group and individually. Situational hitting was never very good. Everyone was trying for the big hit rather than keeping the line moving. Everyone on this team is trying to contribute what is needed at the moment. Fundamentals are much improved and the offense has a greater variety of strengths. Every starter on the team has had good performance during periods of time. The bullpen has been developed because Ross and Hotovy have shown patience and have promoted the staff from their performance. A no ego, how can I contribute attitude runs through this team. Fun to watch.
 
Always interesting to look back on decisions made during rebuilds and see how it played out. And while the Cubs work is not done, there is no doubt they are playoff competitive again.

Kris Bryant - Traded for Alexander Canario and Caleb Kilian. Bryant eventually signed with Colorado. He’s posting a negative WAR this season. Canario has been out with a nasty injury. Insane raw power and considered a Top 10-15 prospect in the Cubs system. Kilian has had a few spot starts in MLB. He was just called up again and may get himself a bullpen role.

Anthony Rizzo - Traded basically for Kevin Alcantara. Rizzo has been hurt this year. He has been solid for the Yankees but is no longer an elite OBP guy (which was always a big part of his value). He’s posted 0.2 WAR this year. Alcantara is now a Top 100 prospect in all of baseball and has elite upside (note I said upside).

Javy Baez - I hated to see him go. I should have celebrated it. He’s been meh for Detroit since signing a big FA contract. He was traded to the Mets for Pete Crow-Armstrong. PCA is now at AAA, is considered an 80 grade CF prospect and is rated the #7 prospect in all of baseball.

Willson Contreras - The Cubs tried to trade him and received no compelling offers. They let him go to the Cardinals in FA. He has not had as bad a year offensively as people want to suggest. And he is throwing out runners at a great clip. But he has taken a TON of criticism in StL bc, well, it’s fucking StL where they believe no one can follow up Yadi. He’s posted about +2 WAR so far this season. I can’t say the Cubs have really missed him given the three guys who are doing a great job out there.

Kyle Schwarber - Cut by the Cubs for poor performance. He’s been really and up and down story since leaving. He’s posting a -1.0 WAR this season.

Yu Darvish - Performed well for the Padres although he’s been just so-so this year. He netted four prospects the most celebrated of whom has been hurt a lot. But he also netted Owen Cassie who is 4+ years young to AA average and is likely going to be a Top 100 prospect in all of baseball the next time MLB pipeline re-ranks them.

Others - Craig Kimbrel was turned into Codi Heuer (hurt but effective early) and Nick Madrigal (having a good year and looks like a utility piece going forward). Chafin was turned into Daniel Palencia (wicked arm but still raw). Robertston was turned into Ben Brown (who looks like a rotation piece going forward as soon as next season).

One interesting note is how the Cubs farm used to be absolutely littered with hitters. It is now more balanced and has a lot of promising pitchers including among others Jordan Wicks, Ben Brown, Ben Horton, Jackson Ferris, Drew Grey and a suddenly resurgent Kohl Franklin. I think it is going to be a Top 5 type system when MLB Pipe re-rates.

Baseball is fun again on the Northside and looks like it may stay that way for a while.
 
Kris Bryant has been on the decline for years. He's still only 31. In addition to lack of performance when he does play, he can't stay healthy.
 
All in all the front office took a ton of heat from the most vocal of the twitter critics in the fan based for ripping it all down. In retrospect it looks like it was a wise choice. They never could have been certain which trades would work. So no half measures was warranted given we’re now in 2023 with a legit shot at the playoffs right now and a farm system with a lot of depth built and guys already on the roster all built in part on trades -

Cassie
PCA
Kilian
Palencia
Madrigal
Brown
Alcantara

Some of the above still won’t work out. But they are already getting contributions and a few of the above on the farm hold a lot of promise.
 
Some of the frustration centers around the need to rip it all down at all. You don't have to have an 6-7 year rebuild after winning a World Series when you are in a top 3 US media market with wealthy owners and a ballpark fans love. But I agree that most of the trades look good now in terms of productivity post-trade. The next step is keeping the team competitive for a division title year after year (with the occasional inevitable disappointing year due to injury, etc,), which is possible with the Cubs' resources.
 
The only thing I'm upset about with regards to the rebound was the Astros owner vetoing their trade for Contreras - could have gotten some good pieces from them
 
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