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Author Topic: Cubs in '18  (Read 75720 times)

Bennett

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Re: Cubs in '18
« Reply #1410 on: January 13, 2018, 05:29:56 pm »
Quote from: Dave23 on January 13, 2018, 04:19:19 pm
Willson dominated Q&A today...especially on the topic of Lester/Pham.

Can someone link the video here? I saw it on Twitter a few minutes ago...

https://twitter.com/kg_holler/status/952264656894251008/video/1
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Ron

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Re: Cubs in '18
« Reply #1411 on: January 13, 2018, 05:58:25 pm »
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Dave23

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Re: Cubs in '18
« Reply #1412 on: January 13, 2018, 06:06:47 pm »
Thanks...
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guest61

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Re: Cubs in '18
« Reply #1413 on: January 13, 2018, 06:12:24 pm »
Willson said "to hell with the young ears in the crowd".

We're raising a soft generation anyway.

They'll hear worse.
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Jes Beard

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Re: Cubs in '18
« Reply #1414 on: January 13, 2018, 09:17:25 pm »
Quote from: Playtwo on January 13, 2018, 08:03:24 am
The Cubs have this marvelous window of opportunity over the next few years and they simply must augment their pitching with one more high end starter.  Trading for one is not realistic, so that leaves Jake or Yu.  I don't have strong feelings about which of them they get, but getting one of them is imperative.  Sure, they would be an excellent team with the addition of a lesser pitcher but, as others have said, this would leave them at a serious disadvantage come playoff time.

I'm confident that we will land Jake or Yu and I'm pulling for Jake on a reasonable 4 (or even 5) year deal.

I am not a big fan of resigning Arrieta.  I am afraid not just that he best days are behind him and that his trendline is not good, but that what we saw from Arrieta in 2017 is better than we will ever see again from him.
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Jes Beard

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Re: Cubs in '18
« Reply #1415 on: January 13, 2018, 09:26:24 pm »
Quote from: craig on January 13, 2018, 10:10:07 am

“right now, we’re very well protected on the position-player side. But there’s legitimate risk for injury or underperformance to our pitching staff that we’re going to be scrambling midseason. You don’t want to be scrambling.

“So we need to continue to add quality and depth and try to mitigate as many of the risks as we can. You never eliminate all the risks, otherwise you’d win it all every year. But eliminating as many of those risks as you can is our job.”

Thoughts:
1.  The focus is on pitching, of course.  But I think the underlined statement about position-players is really relevant.  Cubs have 10 non-catcher position guys, with people like Happ, Zobrist, La Stella, Almora, and Heyward at the back end of that group.  Much flexibility, so I agree with Theo that they are well protected there.  But, behind those ten guys are what, David Bote and Mark Zagunis? 


My point here is that they don't have a position surplus.  If you need to trade two of those ten guys, even one of them, the depth and contingency coverage could VERY quickly erode.  Thus I think Theo should be *very* reluctant to trade Happ or Happ/Almora from that pool.

I suspect Theo looks at it much the same way.
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Bennett

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Re: Cubs in '18
« Reply #1416 on: January 14, 2018, 08:37:40 am »
Update on all the work being done during the offseason at Wrigley

Quote
The dugouts are being moved roughly 28 feet up the line, which will align them better with the new batting tunnels that are being put in. The new protective netting will extend all the way to the far end of the new dugouts, so it’s going to be a really considerably expansion.

http://www.bleachernation.com/2018/01/13/from-the-cubs-business-side-wrigley-field-updates-hotel-tv-deal/
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craig

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Re: Cubs in '18
« Reply #1417 on: January 16, 2018, 11:00:01 am »
http://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/cubs/why-kyle-hendricks-excited-have-tyler-chatwood-cubs-starting-rotation-pitcher-hot-stove-free-agent-mlb-trade-rumors-jake-arrieta

"Chatwood, I think, is going to be really big for us," Hendricks said. "We grew up in the same area, so I played summer baseball with him senior year, and he wasn't even pitching then, he was a shortstop, great hitter. But he's just a baseball guy, baseball mind, and that's kind of what this team's about. It's a bunch of guys who love playing the game, love being together. I think he's going to fit in great, personality-wise.

"And the stuff he has, I know it's going to play really well. He's only had a couple starts at Wrigley, but he's obviously pitched well there. That's going to bode well for him in the future. And being able to pick guys' brains, like Lester and these older guys that have been around. I think they're going to help him like they've helped me."
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Deeg

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Re: Cubs in '18
« Reply #1418 on: January 16, 2018, 12:09:49 pm »
I agree with Kyle, I think Chatwood had a chance to be really good.  There's bust potential there but a lot of upside.
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brjones

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Re: Cubs in '18
« Reply #1419 on: January 17, 2018, 08:46:19 am »
Cubs add a lefty:

Jon Heyman @JonHeyman
Sources: cubs have deal to bring back Brian Duensing. $7M for 2 years.
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brjones

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Re: Cubs in '18
« Reply #1420 on: January 17, 2018, 08:47:06 am »
Jon Heyman @JonHeyman
Duensing had deals for significantly more money elsewhere but liked the cubs experience so much he wanted to return. Can’t blame him. Chicago’s the best (in the summer)
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Robb

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Re: Cubs in '18
« Reply #1421 on: January 17, 2018, 09:00:35 am »
That's good news and a fair deal.
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craig

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Re: Cubs in '18
« Reply #1422 on: January 17, 2018, 09:20:22 am »
Thanks for update.  Not surprised. 

Wraps up the lefty spot we knew they'd sign. 

Could perhaps just leave the rotation guy. 

Once they sign their rotation guy, that will still leave the Grimm+competition spot in the pen.  I wonder if they'll just go with that, or if they'll still add a guaranteed contract guy to replace Grimm?  Or will add some interesting rehab guy or additional non-roster competition to compete with Grimm and perhaps Maples? 

I'm quite curious whether Maples might be kinda good, and might emerge as a guy we like to use.  But at this point I think that even if he was to look excellent in camp, it would still make best roster-sense to send him to Iowa, just so that you've got somebody with yo-yo capacity, of hopefully useful quality rather than the Florio/Frankoff level we had last year. 
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Robb

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Re: Cubs in '18
« Reply #1423 on: January 17, 2018, 09:28:35 am »
At this point I think the market is playing into the Cub's hands. Who is left to offer the big contract to the big three free agents? Even if all go off the board Lance Lynn isn't a terrible fallback on a club friendly deal. His peripherals suggest he was lucky last year, but he was in his first year after Tommy John, has always seemed to perform better than his numbers suggest, and would be a nice number 4 on most teams.
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JeffH

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Re: Cubs in '18
« Reply #1424 on: January 17, 2018, 09:30:40 am »
We're a little over $30 million below the luxury tax threshold with only one starting rotation slot and the backup catcher position to fill.
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