Author Topic: Cubs in '20  (Read 49227 times)

brjones

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #60 on: October 01, 2019, 08:50:40 am »
After his season, I bet Strop has trouble finding a job in this market. I wouldn't be surprised to see him coming back for something like Brach's contract late in the offseason.

CUBluejays

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #61 on: October 01, 2019, 09:24:41 am »
I think the Cubs would be fine with living with low contact rates of Baez and Contreras if they had six other regulars with good (reasonably hard) contact rates in the lineup. Rizzo and (hopefully) Hoerner are a start. Maybe Heyward and Schwarber would count?  I look for the Cubs to try hard to get a CF (and if they trade Bryant a 3B), and maybe a transitional 2B who fits that bill.

If you look at MLB players with 400 PA, Baez was the 6th worst contact percentage and Contreras was 21.  Eloy is 17 and Soler is 23 incase you where wondering. 
The Astros only had 1 player sub 70% in Chirinos.  The Dodgers are closer to what the Cubs can be.  The only sub 70% guys where Negron, Garlick and Buehler.  It is going to be hard to be a better contact team with both Baez and Contreras getting that much playing time, unless you are going to start fielding a team of Rizzos. 

craig

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #62 on: October 01, 2019, 09:31:30 am »
Theo was very positive about Kimbrel going forward.  Basically hoped that with full off-season to get right physically, combined with a normal spring training, Theo is ready to count on him for next season.  I can totally see how a proud competitor would be really ashamed of how awful he was, and be ultra motivated to try to be good again.  Whether the "best version of himself" at this point can actually be any good, time will tell; hopefully he can be variably useful.   

Re Kimbrel, and with Baez and Bryant, Theo said that none of them need surgery, and that actually there isn't anybody on the roster who will need surgery, to his knowledge. 

craig

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #63 on: October 01, 2019, 09:37:55 am »
I wonder with new manager and with those contact issues, whether that won't mean the annual change in batting coach. 

Last year, Chili was supposed to be better for situational and opposite-field and not so all-or-nothing.  Were the contact rates equally bad last year as this? 

I recall being surprised when Iapoce came over, that his comments didn't talk a lot about mechanical stuff.  He seemed more of a cheer up, don't think too much, swing free;  you were a first round pick and a top prospect for a reason, just relax and let your talent play out.  That was in his comments in the one or two interviews that I read. To some degree seemed pretty consistent with Maddon's relax, don't practice too much, don't stress too much, have fun psychology.  Which obviously has a ton of merit. 

JR

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #64 on: October 01, 2019, 09:44:46 am »
Brandon Morrow is a free agent now....<strains elbow>

Fixed that for ya, dev.

craig

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #65 on: October 01, 2019, 09:50:23 am »
I'm an eternal optimist, but I'm hopeful that Schwarber's 2nd half and season overall will not be too much fluke.  I've always thought he'd have a chance to put together a .250 season, and if he ever did that HR's and numbers would follow.  I think it's possible that he might hit .250 again before his control finishes, and with it the kind of slugging that accompanies it for him. 

I think over his career, he's been making a variety of adjustments.  How much to crouch or not; I think he made some adjustment to stand a little straighter.  Obviously going opposite has been an emphasis; I think for a hunk of this year that was to the extreme.  Seemed like he was very committed to popping to left; some of that got enough lift to carry out, lots were easy flyouts.  But my perception was that he was so left-field oriented that he was NOT using the whole field and was so weight-shift committed to aiming for left field that then pitchers would work inside, or hang breaking balls that he should drive to right, that he wasn't using the pull side or taking advantage very consistently. 

Seems to me that during the strong finish, his balance and weight-shift was better, so that he was effectively pulling the ball in addition to going opposite.  So I'm hopeful that he's kind of settled into a stance and a weight transfer balance that is better for him, and that he'll be able to stick with.  Obviously he's going to be a hot-and-cold guy, good pitchers are going to blitz him, lefties locating their stuff are going to blitz him, and fastballs above the belt are going to blow through his swing.  So I'm not anticipating some .275-average guy with a .950-OPS or anything to be sustainable.  But his composite .250-average .871OPS from this year, I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't repeat that again, during a year in which he stays healthy. 

craig

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #66 on: October 01, 2019, 09:58:32 am »
One of the "contact" questions is what the ball will be like.  This year, the ball was so juiced that anybody who could make contact could hit HR's.  (Tommy LaStella, etc..) 

But I wonder if that won't immediately be corrected?  Such that what you want in the offense might shift somewhat?  And perhaps what works for a hitter might also shift some?  Castellanos hit 27 HRs; will de-juiced ball make that 15, and a lot of his HR's will be deep flyouts, and a lot of his doubles won't get over or through the OF?  Schwarber hit lots of high launch-angle flies to left that just carried out?  Will a bunch of those be routine outs next year? 

Hard to guess what the game will be once they make their annual correction on the ball.... 

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CurtOne

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #67 on: October 01, 2019, 10:16:19 am »
Are you sure the powers that be will want to change the ball?  Owners connect offense to attendance.  Chicks love the long ball.  Even the change in pitching rules (a reliever must face 3 hitters) is a double intentioned rule...shortens game time and may result in more offense.  They're toying with moving the rubber back...why?  To improve the pitching advantage?  (Which they may be doing unintentionally since pitches that break nastiest are in the last 3 feet.)

Ron

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #68 on: October 01, 2019, 11:47:58 am »
"What Theo Epstein is searching for in the next Cubs manager (Hint: It’s David Ross)"

I'm hoping that Patrick Mooney did not come up with that headline for his article on Theo's comments on the managerial search during his press conference.  While the article spends a lot of time discussing Ross, it does not support the headline.

https://theathletic.com/1256607/2019/10/01/what-theo-epstein-is-searching-for-in-the-next-cubs-manager-hint-its-david-ross/

Bennett

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #69 on: October 01, 2019, 12:55:13 pm »
Are you sure the powers that be will want to change the ball?  Owners connect offense to attendance.  Chicks love the long ball.  Even the change in pitching rules (a reliever must face 3 hitters) is a double intentioned rule...shortens game time and may result in more offense.  They're toying with moving the rubber back...why?  To improve the pitching advantage?  (Which they may be doing unintentionally since pitches that break nastiest are in the last 3 feet.)
Why not have three designated hitters instead of one?

CurtOne

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #70 on: October 01, 2019, 01:01:20 pm »
Or 9?

Ron

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #71 on: October 01, 2019, 01:19:08 pm »
I had forgotten that Schwarber becomes a free agent after the 2021 season also. I suppose the lack of an extension with Schwarber would make him more likely to be actively shopped as well. 

CUBluejays

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #72 on: October 01, 2019, 01:24:29 pm »
"What Theo Epstein is searching for in the next Cubs manager (Hint: It’s David Ross)"

I'm hoping that Patrick Mooney did not come up with that headline for his article on Theo's comments on the managerial search during his press conference.  While the article spends a lot of time discussing Ross, it does not support the headline.

https://theathletic.com/1256607/2019/10/01/what-theo-epstein-is-searching-for-in-the-next-cubs-manager-hint-its-david-ross/

On their podcast with Brett Taylor on the Athletic both Sharma and Mooney are convinced that Ross is the choice.

CurtOne

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #73 on: October 01, 2019, 02:03:00 pm »
Would that to placate the players who loved Maddon?

CUBluejays

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #74 on: October 01, 2019, 02:35:17 pm »
They think following Maddon is going to be exceptionally difficult and it will take a big personality.  They also think the relationships will help, but he was also the guy to go after people when they made a mistake in 2015/16.