Author Topic: Cubs in '20  (Read 49214 times)

Deeg

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #2655 on: August 02, 2020, 09:51:08 am »
Good luck with that.

Marquez is the guy I’d like to see get a shot. With his heater he has a chance to successful immediately out of the bullpen, and it’s probably better for his development either way to get some competitive pitching in.

Bennett

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #2656 on: August 02, 2020, 10:03:24 am »
To make room for Justin Steele, will Craig Kimbrel be diagnosed with some heretofore unknown ailment?

Jack Birdbath

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #2657 on: August 02, 2020, 10:04:23 am »
To make room for Justin Steele, will Craig Kimbrel be diagnosed with some heretofore unknown ailment?

How about ending the Maples experiment?

Bennett

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #2658 on: August 02, 2020, 10:06:24 am »
How about ending the Maples experiment?

Chicago Cubs  @Cubs  22m
The #Cubs today recalled RHP Colin Rea from the club’s South Bend Alternate Site. RHP Dillon Maples was optioned to the South Bend Alternate Site.

CurtOne

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #2659 on: August 02, 2020, 10:33:40 am »
Good luck with that.

Marquez is the guy I’d like to see get a shot. With his heater he has a chance to successful immediately out of the bullpen, and it’s probably better for his development either way to get some competitive pitching in.
  Heard Lee Smith was in town.  Had hopes for a bit.

brjones

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #2660 on: August 02, 2020, 10:38:36 am »
Norwood to the IL with shoulder inflammation.

craig

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #2661 on: August 03, 2020, 11:14:13 am »
I thought the callup of Steele was interesting.  If there is concern with relievers who can't hit the target with their fastball, I'm not real confident that Steele will be much more accurate than Brothers?

The surprise to me, though, is Steele as opposed to Hultzen.  Last year I thought that Hultzen looked pretty good, both his minor league results, the scouting reports, and his small sample with the Cubs.   I know he's an intelligent guy.  And I know he had arm issues galore and mechanical issues, too.  I wonder if perhaps he hasn't really been "all in", so perhaps hasn't been fully committed to baseball amidst Covid?  Perhaps he's too intelligent for that?  So perhaps he wasn't doing as much throwing and coming to summer camp as tuned up as Steele?  Or perhaps he's just not healthy, and isn't really 100%? 

Or perhaps it's just about roster status?  He's a non-roster guy, so if they call him up yesterday, then if they try to send him out when rosters need to get reduced, they lose control?  Whereas Steele they could call him up, and then send him back down no problem?  I assume that's perhaps the logic? 

May also be that perhaps Steele has just been throwing it pretty well and hitting the target semi-often for South Bend?  His stuff is plenty good.  So *IF* nerves and adrenaline weren't making him extra wild, perhaps he'd be ready to function?  He's never going to be a command artist, I don't imagine. 

davep

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #2662 on: August 03, 2020, 12:07:13 pm »
It is a shame that there is so little information coming out of South Bend.  I realize that performance in practice sessions are usually meaningless, but it would be nice to at least have something to dream on.

If nothing else, they could tell us who is doing best in the practice sessions.  I would love to hear how Carroway is doing, in the opinion of the coaches who are working with him.

dallen7908

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #2663 on: August 03, 2020, 06:04:12 pm »
You know one of the reasons we are feeling fairly good about the Cubs midseason top 30 is that we've add 5 players without the status of other players diminishing due to their 2020 performance.  In any given year more prospects fail than succeed.

Reminds me of ~2 years ago when Arizona Phil raved about the prospects for upcoming Cubs SS-A season based on their performance in split squad games.  I was pretty excited given their youth. Once the season started none of them hit and over time they were demoted and replaced with 22/23 year olds.

So, it'd be great to get beaming reports or any reports out of South Bend.

Sorry about the rambling - the Cardinal news is hitting me hard.


CUBluejays

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #2664 on: August 03, 2020, 07:30:45 pm »
Steele, from what I’ve read, can throw strikes but his issue is command inside the strike zone.  Last year he was coming off TJS and he walk more guys, but in 2018 he was doing 5-8% walk percentages at various levels.

He has high spin and throws 92-95 as a starter so the velocity might tick up some too. The prospects guy for Bleacher Nation tweeted that he added a 2700-3000 rpm slider to his curve as well.

CUBluejays

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #2665 on: August 03, 2020, 08:53:52 pm »
It is a shame that there is so little information coming out of South Bend.  I realize that performance in practice sessions are usually meaningless, but it would be nice to at least have something to dream on.

If nothing else, they could tell us who is doing best in the practice sessions.  I would love to hear how Carroway is doing, in the opinion of the coaches who are working with him.

Something interesting that I came across is that minor league stadiums have to have their Trackman systems calibrated every year and most teams didn’t have that happen before the shutdown. The company that owns Trackman won’t send out techs to do this so most teams have no data on their alternative sites coming in.
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Playtwo

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #2666 on: August 04, 2020, 11:07:19 am »
"Through 10 games this season, @Cubs starting pitchers have held their opponents to a .156 batting average.

That's the lowest batting average allowed by any team's starting pitchers through 10 games of a season in the live-ball era (since 1920)."

Wow!

BearHit

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #2667 on: August 04, 2020, 11:28:38 am »
We knew Joe Maddon was holding them back

Ron

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #2668 on: August 04, 2020, 01:58:40 pm »
Who knew David Ross was God?


Playtwo

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #2669 on: August 04, 2020, 02:59:34 pm »
MLB is impressed with the Cubs' COVID protocols:

https://www.bleachernation.com/cubs/2020/08/04/kaplan-mlb-reached-out-to-cubs-to-discuss-covid-19-protocols-because-of-how-seriously-theyve-taken-it/

I would have thought that a Ricketts owned team would be ordered NOT to wear masks.