hrubes20 Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 On 2/25/2018 at 12:09 PM, RaykwonDaChef said: Seeing as I am a teacher now, pretty excited for those 10 weeks where I will get a lot of baseball in! I know I don't have the patience to be a teacher, but man, every summer I kind of wish I had chosen that career path. 15 hours ago, Lions017 said: I feel like I'll always be hopeful that Heyward can get back to his old self. Something like his career average (.262/.344/412) would be fine in the leadoff spot, and if you believe in lineup protection, he would probably draw quite a few walks hitting in from of KB. If only... Alas, that ship has almost surely sailed. He can be traded after this season though, and it wouldn't shock me to see it done to open up some more cash for Bryce (along with RF). They would have to deal a legit prospect or two along with him, and still pick up some of the salary, but it could be done. His plummet into mediocrity has been absolutely mind-boggling to me. It's like he just completely forgot who he was offensively after signing with the Cubs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blazer026 Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 Lester announced as opening day starter, no surprise there. Happ hit another homer today too. Just can't wait for the regular season to start already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrubes20 Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 11 hours ago, Blazer026 said: Lester announced as opening day starter, no surprise there. Happ hit another homer today too. Just can't wait for the regular season to start already. He's been smoking the ball in the 2 games I've seen. It's still just spring, but better than him starting out cold. Definitely looks like a platoon at leadoff and CF between Happ and Almora to start the season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lions017 Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 It'll be interesting to see how the outfield rotation works out. If you think about it, no one is really a "lock," despite the team having some really good options there. Schwarber had half of a good season and half of a bad one last year. Heyward is Heyward - who knows if he will ever get back to where he was. Almora and Happ are both young and talented, and if Happ keeps hitting you won't want to keep his bat out of the lineup. Then you still have Zobrist to work in there somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrubes20 Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 6 hours ago, Lions017 said: It'll be interesting to see how the outfield rotation works out. If you think about it, no one is really a "lock," despite the team having some really good options there. Schwarber had half of a good season and half of a bad one last year. Heyward is Heyward - who knows if he will ever get back to where he was. Almora and Happ are both young and talented, and if Happ keeps hitting you won't want to keep his bat out of the lineup. Then you still have Zobrist to work in there somewhere. Very true on all of it. Gonna be a lot of "playing the hot hand" and platooning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaykwonDaChef Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Happ still Crushing it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blazer026 Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 I've seen some people on MLB network predict we land Greg Holland. Do any of you guys actually think that happens? I haven't seen any actual rumors on it though and I honestly forgot he was still a free agent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrubes20 Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 11 hours ago, Blazer026 said: I've seen some people on MLB network predict we land Greg Holland. Do any of you guys actually think that happens? I haven't seen any actual rumors on it though and I honestly forgot he was still a free agent. I don't, unless Strop's calf injury ends up much more serious than initially thought. The FO likes to keep money available for potential midseason acquisitions, and Holland wouldn't allow them much room at all under the luxury tax, and they absolutely will not be going over that this year. People are also forgetting that the Cubs essentially added Justin Wilson this offseason, since he was so terrible after the trade last year. This is a guy that was really good the 2.5 years leading up to the trade, has closing experience, and even mentioned in not so many words that the midseason trade messed with him a bit. I expect to see the guy from the prior 2.5 years, and he's looked strong in his 2 ST outings so far. Cishek is likewise getting underestimated. His numbers after going to TB last year were terrific. And guess who his pitching coach is this year in Chicago? That's a really deep pen of Morrow/Edwards/Wilson/Strop/Cishek/Duensing/Montgomery and then whoever actually steps up and takes the 8th bullpen spot. For as long as at least 5 of those guys are healthy, I have no concerns about the pen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blazer026 Posted March 8, 2018 Share Posted March 8, 2018 On 3/7/2018 at 11:06 AM, hrubes20 said: I don't, unless Strop's calf injury ends up much more serious than initially thought. The FO likes to keep money available for potential midseason acquisitions, and Holland wouldn't allow them much room at all under the luxury tax, and they absolutely will not be going over that this year. People are also forgetting that the Cubs essentially added Justin Wilson this offseason, since he was so terrible after the trade last year. This is a guy that was really good the 2.5 years leading up to the trade, has closing experience, and even mentioned in not so many words that the midseason trade messed with him a bit. I expect to see the guy from the prior 2.5 years, and he's looked strong in his 2 ST outings so far. Cishek is likewise getting underestimated. His numbers after going to TB last year were terrific. And guess who his pitching coach is this year in Chicago? That's a really deep pen of Morrow/Edwards/Wilson/Strop/Cishek/Duensing/Montgomery and then whoever actually steps up and takes the 8th bullpen spot. For as long as at least 5 of those guys are healthy, I have no concerns about the pen. Do you know how much room we have to work with? Can't find it anywhere. But I agree, I think our pen is pretty solid and think we'd be fine without Holland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrubes20 Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 5 hours ago, Blazer026 said: Do you know how much room we have to work with? Can't find it anywhere. But I agree, I think our pen is pretty solid and think we'd be fine without Holland. It’s estimated around 10-12 million. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malak1 Posted March 10, 2018 Share Posted March 10, 2018 Eloy just hit a homer against us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blazer026 Posted March 10, 2018 Share Posted March 10, 2018 29 minutes ago, malak1 said: Eloy just hit a homer against us. Sucks that he's gone, but I still like the trade. Still got 3 more years of Q for fairly cheap. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lions017 Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 Apparently Arrieta is going to sign soon, with the Phillies being the leading candidate. That would be ideal. The Cubs would get their draft pick, Arrieta would be on an up-and-coming team, and he would be out of the NL Central. I would really hate to see him on the Brewers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrubes20 Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 On 3/10/2018 at 3:58 PM, malak1 said: Eloy just hit a homer against us. On 3/10/2018 at 4:28 PM, Blazer026 said: Sucks that he's gone, but I still like the trade. Still got 3 more years of Q for fairly cheap. Yeah, Eloy is gonna mash in the bigs. But I hadn't realized just how bad his body has gotten already. He's gonna be a DH at the age of 25. As for the trade, it absolutely was a necessary evil. I don't want to imagine the position this team would have been in this year, had they not been able to have Quintana on such a team-friendly deal. Even Theo said as much when Darvish signed. No Quintana, no Darvish. So we would likely be looking at Lester/Hendricks/Cobb/Chatwood/Montgomery. 21 hours ago, Lions017 said: Apparently Arrieta is going to sign soon, with the Phillies being the leading candidate. That would be ideal. The Cubs would get their draft pick, Arrieta would be on an up-and-coming team, and he would be out of the NL Central. I would really hate to see him on the Brewers. Yeah, it worked out fairly well. Got the draft pick, Arrieta got solid money, and Arrieta didn't go to a division or likely playoff rival. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrubes20 Posted March 19, 2018 Share Posted March 19, 2018 (edited) Grimm released. Saves a couple million more for a potential midseason acquisition. With Strop still with a huring calf muscle, 2 of the other bullpen candidates may start the season with on the 25 man. It sounds like Justin Hancock is really making the most of his opportunities. He's been pumping high-90's heat and more importantly, throwing strikes. Maddon is a big fan, apparently. Edit: Forgot to mention that unfortunately, Dillon Maples has crapped the bed this spring. He's looked pretty terrible. Edited March 19, 2018 by hrubes20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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