Official 2023 Chicago Cubs Season Thread Vol: (17-17)

[Lake Shore Drive]

Rizzo is 24, everyone will be up inside 1-2 years. That's 26 bright guy.

It was sarcasm, "bright guy", implying the Cubs suck and will continue to suck for a long time if their magic "farm plan" doesn't plan out. But I thank you for the math lesson. 

C'mon Meyer there's no need for that.
This whole threads is basically dedicated to the growth of our farm system and all the talent were stockpiling. We still discuss the games, but we all know that this season is a wash.

Besides there really ain't that many of us to go at each other.

In other Cubs news.....we got spanked yesterday! Jackson got hurt, and now it's going to be practically impossible to move him.

 

[meyer23]

Seriously, it was all in good fun (I thought). Just poking fun at the Cubs as I've done for years. If you're a Cubs fan and can't laugh at them then I'm sorry. Then CP trying to come at me like he's somebody. I love the Cubs, always have but if you don't have a sense of humor about this team, then you're going to have rough, countless years coming. I'm a realistic Cubs fan, not a typical yuppie Cubs fan. My apologizes for offending anyone. 

 

 

[CP1708]

Love the Cubs, always have, but never seen you in a Cubs thread before, then you pull thru with Jeter jokes and Cubs suck jokes.

K.

 

[CP1708]

Addison Russell with a 3 run homer today, Baez with #17 last night.

And Neil Ramirez ERA update, 0.96 after today.


*Edit*
Make that TWO home runs for Addison Russell today.

 

[CP1708]

I can't imbed the video, but here's the link to see it. Watch this play by Russell, and then consider the fact he's hit 2 home runs tonight, and hit 2 a couple nights ago as well, and we might be seeing Starlin move to second base in the near future.

http://www.bleachernation.com/2014/...bomb-addison-russell-makes-a-ridiculous-play/

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

^^
@ that moon shot by Baez!
Did y'all hear the commentator "He powered that B!+ch"

Russell with that cannon!

Cubs beat the scumbag Cards today, Travis Wood smacked a hr to help his own cause

 

[meyer23]

Love the Cubs, always have, but never seen you in a Cubs thread before, then you pull thru with Jeter jokes and Cubs suck jokes.

K.

They do, man. But I'm saying they suck "lightly" if that makes sense, hence the, 

. And the Jeter joke was in reference too how old/good Jeter is vs how young/good Rizzo is. Sorry if you didn't see where I was going with that. At some point, for me anyway, you gotta laugh at these guys. I don't necessarily buy into what Theo is doing with this farm system but we'll see, now. 

They have some great young players so I AM looking forward to the future but you know damn well if his plan doesn't work, it's going to be an absolute mess. Anyways, it was just a joke that apparently you took the wrong way; but it's all good, moving on 

 

[CP1708]

How come you don't buy into the farm system, to this point?

Cuz Theo's track record in Boston is well spoken for. And as Cubs fans, we damn sure seen how trying to build thru free agency only has worked. We've never, ever had a farm system like this. Never.

AND he's cleared the payroll down to nothin. So once the kids startin comin in the next 12 months, he has tons of money to fill in the rest. (Likely Starting pitchers).

 

[champcruthik]

How come you don't buy into the farm system, to this point?

Cuz Theo's track record in Boston is well spoken for. And as Cubs fans, we damn sure seen how trying to build thru free agency only has worked. We've never, ever had a farm system like this. Never.

AND he's cleared the payroll down to nothin. So once the kids startin comin in the next 12 months, he has tons of money to fill in the rest. (Likely Starting pitchers).

Theo is forcing baseball fans to buy in. His credibility has long been established and he's turned Chicago's pieces into valuable future assets. The only area of concern or improvement is more arms.

 

[meyer23]

I remember reading an article a while back about how something like 70% of baseball prospects don't amount to anything. This was a while ago (maybe around mid 2000's as I was in the military when I read it) so maybe things have changed but at this point, the Cubs have no other options. I agree with clearing cap space but the Cubs have one of the lower caps in baseball so it was a good move. I mean if half their prospects amount to anything to get them a pennant, then great but they'd need A LOT of help from the farm. I guess I'm a pessimist in a way and maybe this farm system will get them where they need be but after all these years, cleaning house seems to be the only option left. So in a sense, yeah, they are forcing fans to buy into because what else can they do?

 

[CP1708]

Well, the game has changed A TON. Yes, many guys drop thru the cracks, absolutely. That's why power in numbers is what's important.

If just HALF our guys make it, we still have a loaded farm. Just half.

But you also have to view track record. Theo already proved he can do it, he built the system that won Boston 3 world series. You can argue he was only there for 2, but his guys were there for #3. Either way, he built them.

He brought in Rizzo. He brought in Arrieta. He brought in Neil Ramirez. Shark improved under his watch. Hammel came in, and was great for us. Point is, the coaches he's hired, the scouts, the whole group is on the same page. They have prospects galore, young talent in the majors already, a ton of money they can increase spending with, and they have CRUSHED the last two drafts, plus figure to have another top 3-4 pick next June.

Point is, he has us in position to be long term viable within 1-2 years. Everyone in baseball is raving over our system, and if you read thru this thread, those players ARE producing at high levels. Alcantara already called up, Bryant, Baez, Soler, Russell, Almora, Schwarber has been raking since he was drafted, I mean, just HALF of them join Rizzo and Castro........

All he needs next is to add 1-2 pitchers thru FA. Draft one top 3-4 in June, develop 1-2 more, keep Arrieta, and we're set by 2016. At that point he can spend to fill holes. A catcher, another outfielder, bench, closer, whatever we still need.

 

[CP1708]

Another sound move, Neil Ramirez sent to Triple A to rest.

 

[CP1708]

Chicago Cubs ‏@Cubs 6m
The #Cubs have traded INF Darwin Barney to the #Dodgers for a player to be named later. Barney was designated for assignment July 22.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

I swear I was just kidding when I said Aris would take Darwin's spot
Tough weekend losses to the scumbag Cards, only bright spot was those powder blue retro unis

 

[CP1708]

Longest game in Cubs history, 6 and a half hours, Cubs win 4-3 in 16 innings over the Rockies.

Catcher Jeff Baker gets the win ( ) and scores the winning run on a Starlin Castro sac fly.

 

[sportsjunkie]

Trade deadline coming up fellas. Do we see another trade soon?

 

[CP1708]

We just picked up a LHP from Boston for PTBNL

And Bonifacio is rumored to being dealt soon.

Also, I think we got our PTBNL from LA, but not sure yet. I'm on my phone.

 

[CP1708]

It is true, Jonathan Martinez who is 20, comes to us for Darwin Barney.

LHP Felix Doubront also joins us from Boston. Not sure of his age yet. (On phone)

So couple extra arms to work with/develop. Team should be stronger by 2016-17, they could be trade chips, relievers, or if we get lucky maybe they turn into something. Low risk, high reward pulls. We'll see.

 

[sportsjunkie]

It is true, Jonathan Martinez who is 20, comes to us for Darwin Barney.

LHP Felix Doubront also joins us from Boston. Not sure of his age yet. (On phone)

So couple extra arms to work with/develop. Team should be stronger by 2016-17, they could be trade chips, relievers, or if we get lucky maybe they turn into something. Low risk, high reward pulls. We'll see.

We gotta make a few moves today.

 

[CP1708]

One of the nice things about having InstaGraphs is that there are some transactions that are maybe worth mentioning in passing, but probably aren’t worth full length write-ups. Now that we have a section dedicated to shorter, quick-hit type pieces, we can justify writing about things like the Cubs trading for Felix Doubront.

On the one hand, there are some things to like about Felix Doubront. He’s 26, left-handed, and has a career FIP- and xFIP- of 103, which are essentially league average for a starting pitcher. He’s also under team control through 2017, so unlike a lot of guys getting moved today, he’s not going to be a free agent for a while.

Of course, there are a lot of things to not like about Doubront as well. His career ERA- is 116, as he’s never been able to get his results to match his peripherals. And even those underlying numbers have gone the wrong way this year, as both his K% and GB% have gotten much worse. His 2014 xFIP- is 127, so for the last 60 innings or so, Doubront has been basically a replacement level arm. And while he’s under control for three more years, those are his arbitration years, so he’s going to cost some really money, especially if the Red Sox figure out how to him.

In some ways, Doubront is not that different from what Jake Arrieta was when the Cubs got him from the Orioles last year. The Cubs struck gold with Arrieta, and it’s understandable that they’d want to take another shot at grabbing a young pitcher from the scrap heap and seeing if they can turn him into something useful.

It probably doesn’t hurt that Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer, and Jason McLeod were all part of the Red Sox when Doubront was acquired and developed, so they all saw him as the promising young pitcher he once looked like, rather than the going-the-wrong-way guy headed for a non-tender this off-season.

Not every Jake Arrieta works out, though, and Doubront probably won’t. For every 10 of these guys you throw at a wall, maybe one or two stick. But if you’re the Cubs, there’s little harm in trying.

 

[CP1708]

Baez, Soler, Almora all homered last night. Bryant and Schwarber had a couple hits, and I believe Russell did as well but can't find where I saw that. I might be thinkin of Tuesday night.

 

[CP1708]

Cubs trade Bonifacio and Russell to the Braves for a Catcher. Switch hitter, 2nd rd pick last year, was Braves 7th rated prospect.

Gotta get his name, gimme a sec...... Victor Caratini

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

^
Just heard the name Russell and had to do a quick check to make sure it was James and not Addison

Not sure how I feel about this trade.....I mean Bonifacio wasn't a difference maker but I thought he would have more value than a single A catcher whose number aren't that impressive.
But I gotta stick with Theo and Jed on this one, they know what they're doing.

 

[CP1708]

Since the start of the year, the Cubs have dealt Shark, Hammell, Barney, Bonifacio, Russell, and a PTBNL

The Cubs have added SS Addison Russell (20), OF Billy McKinney (20), RHP Dan Straily (25), RHP Jonathan Martinez (20), C Victor Caratini (20), LHP Felix Duubront (26) and drafted C/OF Kyle Schwarber (21)

They’ve added some pieces to their pitching staff to work with, a couple Catchers (our weakest spot in the organization) an Outfielder who is just 20 for depth behind any of our other OFers who don’t make it, and one of the 3-4 best prospects in all of baseball in Addison Russell.

And to top all that off, we’re very much looking at a top 3-4 pick next June as well.

And on top of that as well, Rizzo and Starlin made comebacks, Arrieta and Neil Ramirez were outstanding, and Alcantarra has played well so far after being promoted.

Then you have Bryant, Baez, Soler, Almora, and Vogelbach all progressing quite nicely.

Believe it or not, 2014 will turn out to be a very good year for us, considering.

 

[CP1708]

Not sure how I feel about this trade.....I mean Bonifacio wasn't a difference maker but I thought he would have more value than a single A catcher whose number aren't that impressive.

He's known as a defensive catcher first and foremost, and on top of that, it's a strength in numbers play, where the Cubs have been trying to load up on lower level Catching prospects to see who comes out on top.

Offensively, he's a switch hitter, who draws a fair share of walks and hits line drives. Considering all the power we already have in the minors, it's good to get a couple guys that get on base any way possible. And if he's a good defender, and handles the pitching staff well, for a utility player and a middle reliever on a last place team?

Yeah, I'm ok with it. I would have LOVED to have gotten more, of course, but considering everything we pulled in this year, I won't complain at all.

Look what the Rays got for Price, vs what we got for Shark and Hammel. Theo is lookin real good right now.