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Chicago Cubs Thread - Playoff Push Pending

Still think Yu can turn it around, but man, its tough to think his contract stopped us from getting Bryce or Manny.

Can you imagine if the Cubs had actually just move JHey to CF, signed Bryce and traded almora and/or Happ for relief help? Oh well.
 
DaDeacs said:
Ooh, forgot, the Candelario deal also included Paredes who is a top 100 guy for 2019. Too bad Justin Wilson was hot garbage. Candelario was likely stuck with Bryant on 3rd, but I could have seen him play the Bote role - Candelario just put up a 2.5 WAR year with the Tigers, if his bat comes around as expected, that was a tough loss.

This is one of the major problem - the only position we could really use an upgrade in outside of pitcher is, what, CF? LF maybe? I guess you could say MIF now with Addy being a piece of shit. That role was supposed to be Happ's who could cover all those positions, but he lost his ability to hit pitches in the zone. But, with Baez and Addy both being locked in until 2022 - were you going to move Torres to 3rd? or Baez? Then Bryant to LF, then trade Schwarbs? I mean, I guess, not sure that gets you where you want. And I am 100% sure Eloy's is going to be great - but the team thought Schwarbs was the better bet.
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I think the team thought Schwarbs was ML ready while they were / are in a clear window to win. I don't think they necessarily thought he'd be better over his career. We can't evaluate trades without acknowledging the position the team finds themselves in when they make the trade. Today would they trade Eloy for Q? Probably not bc now he's just about ML ready.
 
DaDeacs said:
Still think Yu can turn it around, but man, its tough to think his contract stopped us from getting Bryce or Manny.

Can you imagine if the Cubs had actually just move JHey to CF, signed Bryce and traded almora and/or Happ for relief help? Oh well.
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It would still be a $$$$ issue. They have some hard choices to make relative to the current roster over the next couple of years. Hard to envision getting Bryce or Manny on top of those choices. There's only so much $$. But yes, it would have been awesome IF they money worked.
 
I mean that's not true. They just dont want to spend it, they could have easily signed him - they would pass the Red Sox for the highest salary, but only by like $10 million, and this is with $50 million coming off the books next year, at a minimum.
 
Hey guys, cubs are 3-2 over their last 5 games. Think we got this - we'll just ignore the 1-6 start, pretend it never happened. Lets make sure we play the Pirates for the remainder of our games this year.
 
Hamels follows up with a gem too. Bats looking good, Contreras with 2 jacks, Rizzo and Bote add one each.

Losing Caratini could hurt, he was having a great start, and we saw what happened last year when Willy was overplayed. I didn't check the transactions, but assuming Taylor Davis is coming up as the backup until Cartini comes back. Also, Caratini hit the double last night with a broken hamate bone - boss.
 
Tough break for Caratini. He had a great start to the season, showing he could be a valued contributor. Davis was activated today. Maddon expressed confidence in Davis, that he is well liked and is respected for his abilities as a receiver. He also confirmed other options may be explored.
 
DaDeacs said:
I mean that's not true. They just dont want to spend it, they could have easily signed him - they would pass the Red Sox for the highest salary, but only by like $10 million, and this is with $50 million coming off the books next year, at a minimum.
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And then what do they do with Bryant, Baez, Contreras, etc., etc., etc. They aren't making these decisions in a financial vacuum is the point I'm making. Just a pet peeve of mine when well meaning fans will note that their team can just spend over the odds to no end every single year. Not saying you are a big offender of this, but we all see it all the time. For instance it is great money is coming off the books, but they are going to have to sign pitching somewhere with Lester and Hamels ending their runs and Q only being on the books one more year. You know the management has all that charted out.
 
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DeacMan said:
And then what do they do with Bryant, Baez, Contreras, etc., etc., etc. They aren't making these decisions in a financial vacuum is the point I'm making. Just a pet peeve of mine when well meaning fans will note that their team can just spend over the odds to no end every single year. Not saying you are a big offender of this, but we all see it all the time. For instance it is great money is coming off the books, but they are going to have to sign pitching somewhere with Lester and Hamels ending their runs and Q only being on the books one more year. You know the management has all that charted out.
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You are wrong here, but ok. Cubs ownership is not hurting for cash, they could have a $300 million payroll if they wanted and still make money. Blowing out over the luxury tax is super costly, but for teams like the Yankees, Sawx, Cubs and Dodgers - the limit is more or less what they set it to themselves.
 
Encouraging start for Darvish in yesterday's win against the Marlins. Not dominating, but he limited the Marlins to 2 ER in 5.2 IP with 8 Ks. Also 4 walks.
 
Buttermaker said:
Encouraging start for Darvish in yesterday's win against the Marlins. Not dominating, but he limited the Marlins to 2 ER in 5.2 IP with 8 Ks. Also 4 walks.
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And threw his two-seam fastball for the first time all season - at 98 MPH at that.

And Q with another solid outing tonight.

I know, I know, it's Miami. But you have to start somewhere.
 
Willson Contreras WAR for 2018 season - 0.9
Willson Contreras WAR for 2019 season so far - 0.9

Getting some big time offense from Willy, Javy, JHey, Descalso and Bote. As said, don't want to get super pumped about a few wins over the Marlins, but need the pen to get some confidence - they had almost 20 innings with no earned runs broken on Saturday.

It is great to see Q with back to back great outings after the turd he dropped against the Brewers. And the Yu dickochet was pretty funny.
 
Rizzo and Bryant still struggling at the plate, even with some weak pitching the last few games. Gotta assume they will break out soon - Theo says kris is fully healthy.

CJ doesn't look to be back any time soon. Monty had a great minor league rehab game, would be nice to get another solid lefty back in the pen. Addy starts his minor league rehab assignment next week - not sure what to think about that one.

Cubs likely best pitching prospect, Brailyn Marquez, has thrown 2 games for South Bend, they are keeping him on a pitch count - but has 13 Ks in 7 2/3 innings, only runs given up a 2 run homer in his last start. Looks like he has real stuff - likely 2-3 years, but still - probably the highest upside pitcher we have until we see if Alzolay comes back healthy.
 
Schwarber and Almora are struggling at the plate as well. Everyone else is doing as or better than expected. Edwards has lost some velocity on his fastball, Hope he can find it.
 
Starters have made the bullpen issue easier to deal with the last 7 games. 3 straight 7 inning, no run production - Yu looked halfway decent and was throwing 99 mph.
 
Watching Hendricks today was great - the movement he has on his fastball and change up is amazing. Hopefully this is the start of him getting back into his groove.

 
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