Author Topic: Cubs in '19  (Read 72255 times)

Reb

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Re: Cubs in '19
« Reply #1395 on: January 08, 2019, 05:56:19 pm »
Even with a lot more money to work with, there is no reason for Theo to want to disrupt the position player lineup as “dysfunctional.”

Even if you had the top offense in MLB, you’d be interested in Harper. Who wouldn’t want him?

Where else?

Russell is not really a baseball issue. It’s something else. Absent that problem, would there be any urgency to change anything up with the infield?

Ditto Contreras at catcher. Just hit better. Get a backup—-perhaps will still do that.

Schwarber in LF they still seem to like a lot for 2019. Never any desire to upgrade. Heyward in RF is not a salary any club can just dump. Sure, if you sign Harper, move Heyward to CF but.....

CF is really only position I see that, on the merits, you would want to make a big move. Maybe a leadoff guy like Fowler-in-2016. As noted, Heyward there if had money for Harper in RF.

It’s a one-position upgrade, plus the non-baseball issue with Russell. And, not really a lock Harper signs here even if Cubs could afford him.
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CUBluejays

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Re: Cubs in '19
« Reply #1396 on: January 08, 2019, 05:58:26 pm »
Rizzo Hirt his back at the start of the year and was horrible. Bryant was hurt shortly after Rizzo got healthy. Despite that in the first half the Cubs were still elite on offense. Then in the second half the offense broke and Theo’s quote was ALWAYS about the second half offense.


Cubs 1st Half
.276/.357/.444 ISO .161 (11th), wRC+ 116 (1st)

Cubs 2nd Half
.256/.324/.402 ISO .146 (27th), wRC+ 95 (23rd)

The Cubs OBP was still 14th in the second half and the walks dropped some. Things where fine in July, turned bad in August and went to crap in Sept/Oct.


« Last Edit: January 08, 2019, 07:10:02 pm by CUBluejays »

craig

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Re: Cubs in '19
« Reply #1397 on: January 08, 2019, 07:54:31 pm »
Even with a lot more money to work with, there is no reason for Theo to want to disrupt the position player lineup ...

Russell is not really a baseball issue. It’s something else. Absent that problem, would there be any urgency to change anything up with the infield?...

Russell's .340 slugging, with only a .317 OBP, and a 74 OPS+, was a baseball problem.  He was a huge liability offensively.   

As a former top prospect, there's lots of ways to be optimistic. 
1.  It was an anti-career year.  He should naturally return nearer to his median (87 OPS+)
2.  He's young, and young guys normally improve.
3.  He was playing hurt, so he should naturally improve.
4.  He was Chili'd, and it seemed counterproductive in his case.  With a new coach, he might naturally improve.
5.  He was distracted by his abuse.  Now that he's getting help, he should naturally be better able to focus on baseball and naturally improve. 

So, lots of scenarios in which he is less of a liability on offense, and perhaps might blossom into an average hitter, perhaps even someday into a somewhat good one!   

There's a chance it won't get better, or not much.
1.  The abuse stuff may remain a distraction. 
2.  If a guy can't figure things out in four years, maybe he's not going to?
3.  After years of failure, confidence can deteriorate?
4.  With the Cubs constantly changing coaching input, might his head get too confused with different ideas to ever get simple and instinctive again? 
5.   Pitchers have a common knowledge on how to beat him now.  He hasn't found a workaround; maybe he never will? 
6.  Sometimes adjustments attempted to provide a workaround for one problem (unsuccessfully thus far) will introduce new vulnerabilities, and just make things worse? 

If you put his off-field issues aside, I think there's a really interesting and unpredictable baseball question, where he's going to go as a hitter!  I have no idea how that's going to go.       

CUBluejays

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Re: Cubs in '19
« Reply #1398 on: January 08, 2019, 08:06:59 pm »
7.) Shoulder and Hand injuries have tanked his offensive value two years in a row.

ben

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Re: Cubs in '19
« Reply #1399 on: January 08, 2019, 08:14:26 pm »
Who knows how Russell will hit in 2019 and thereafter?   He's a major wild card, if for no reason other than whether or not he can overcome the sad personal issues he brought upon himself and his family. 

Those are MAJOR issues that he will have to deal with EVERY day, including in front of thousands of people at each away game (and maybe home games) who will vocally wish him nothing but the worst!

Russell proved he CAN hit with power (20+ HR, 90+ RBI) at an age (22) suggesting there's quite possibly more!

Of course, that was before his personal problems (and, maybe, the league) caught up with him!  He may continue his downward spiral OR start digging himself out and up. 

Who knows what will happen with him?  MLB and human behavior are both extremely hard to predict!


Deeg

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Re: Cubs in '19
« Reply #1400 on: January 08, 2019, 08:17:03 pm »
Russell should have to deal with those issues.  He brought them on himself with his despicable behavior.


Setting aside the larger question of whether the Cubs should have released him under the circumstances, if indeed the financial constraints are as draconian as is now almost universally being reported guaranteeing Russell's contract makes even less sense.

guest61

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Re: Cubs in '19
« Reply #1401 on: January 08, 2019, 08:22:32 pm »
Lol

After all these years I never knew we had a predominantly female group here.
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Reb

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Re: Cubs in '19
« Reply #1402 on: January 08, 2019, 09:48:43 pm »
I’m talking baseball here for the moment, not Russell’s personal problems.

Russell has 12 career bWAR in four seasons, three of which were shortened because of injuries and a late call-up.

He’s still 24 for a couple more weeks.

Absent the personal issues, don’t think much chance Cubs would be contemplating replacing him for baseball reasons.

Russell might still hit, as we’ve seen him hit at times. At 24, as a baseball matter and aside from his personal issues, think would be exciting to see what he can do for Cubs in 2019.

Baseball is not just baseball for his kind of personal issues. Get that. But, my point in earlier post is that not much to break apart in this group of position players for 2019. Not a matter of disfunction but rather players who are capable of being a lot better than post-Break 2018 performance.

Bennett

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Re: Cubs in '19
« Reply #1403 on: January 10, 2019, 12:28:06 pm »
In December it was announced that SafeCo Park in Seattle will now be known as T-Mobile Park.

Now we learn that AT&T Park in San Francisco is becoming Oracle Park.

How huge a fee could the Cubs get by selling the naming rights to Wrigley Field?  I want to say they'll never even consider it but I can't.

wmljohn

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Re: Cubs in '19
« Reply #1404 on: January 10, 2019, 02:17:57 pm »
Change it from Wrigley?  Would that be one of the original corporate names attached to a park/field?

CUBluejays

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Re: Cubs in '19
« Reply #1405 on: January 10, 2019, 02:43:20 pm »
They got >$7.5 million to put Toyota on the bottom of the marquee.

A local hospital is paying $1 million a year to name the arena in Omaha.

guest61

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Re: Cubs in '19
« Reply #1406 on: January 10, 2019, 04:01:21 pm »
The Cubs would love a shot at Harper, though ownership approval continues to appear unlikely, sources say. --Rosenthal

Bennett

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Re: Cubs in '19
« Reply #1407 on: January 10, 2019, 04:47:40 pm »
As regards Happ, if he's got an inkling he's going anywhere he's a better actor than Theo - he just teased some kind of "big news" at the Cubs convention a couple days ago.

That gathering is going to be very interesting.  Won't be the lovefest it's been the past few years.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1083476160145690629

Jes Beard

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Re: Cubs in '19
« Reply #1408 on: January 10, 2019, 05:29:33 pm »
Have the Cubs signed Harper yet?

Ron

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