Author Topic: Cubs in '20  (Read 49267 times)


CurtOne

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #451 on: October 24, 2019, 12:29:33 pm »
So we can rag on him now?

Reb

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #452 on: October 24, 2019, 01:11:57 pm »
Sharma:

“They [Cubs] won’t be in the Gerrit Cole sweepstakes”

Dihard

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #453 on: October 24, 2019, 01:54:16 pm »
My worry with Ross (above and beyond his ability to be a manager to his pals and the fact that this seems like a desperation ploy to recapture a lost moment in time) is whether he’s actually all that knowledgeable a baseball guy.  One doesn’t get much of a sense that he is from his TV work (not that it would be a definitive indication).  The hipster view is to disparage the actual game management part of being a manager, but it still matters a whole lot.

Ross seems to have the soft skills part, but what about the analytical and strategic part?  Is he all intuitive/feel or is he hiding that side of himself so far?  Obviously the guy was a catcher for over a decade and he knows baseball in the broad sense, but it would be nice to have a manager who really understands the strategic side of the game and has an appreciation for advanced statistics (without a slavish dependence on them).  Maybe Ross does - I hope so.  I just don’t see much indication of it so far.
This is exactly how I feel. Hope we’re wrong!


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Playtwo

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #454 on: October 24, 2019, 02:03:50 pm »
I'm reasonably confident the Ross has the necessary strategic and analytic skills for the job.  I just hope that his established friendships with the core players don't get in the way.

Deeg

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #455 on: October 24, 2019, 04:25:23 pm »
I'm reasonably confident the Ross has the necessary strategic and analytic skills for the job.  I just hope that his established friendships with the core players don't get in the way.

Why? Where does this confidence come from? 

Reb

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #456 on: October 24, 2019, 04:29:17 pm »
....it would be nice to have a manager who really understands the strategic side of the game and has an appreciation for advanced statistics (without a slavish dependence on them).  Maybe Ross does - I hope so.  I just don’t see much indication of it so far.

Where does the skepticism about Ross come from?

CurtOne

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #457 on: October 24, 2019, 04:43:17 pm »
Where does the skepticism about Ross come from?
He was chosen by the Cubs.

Playtwo

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #458 on: October 24, 2019, 05:22:33 pm »
From the little I have read about things he has said in the past, Ross seems to have a decent grasp of the nuts and bolts of in-game managing.

CurtOne

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #459 on: October 24, 2019, 05:51:28 pm »
Oh good, cuz he's gonna have plenty of nuts and dolts.

CUBluejays

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #460 on: October 24, 2019, 05:58:45 pm »
Sharma:

“They [Cubs] won’t be in the Gerrit Cole sweepstakes”

If the Cubs roll out a top four of Darvish, Hendricks, Quintana and Lester they might as well just tear it down.
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Ron

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #461 on: October 24, 2019, 06:10:45 pm »
I'm thinking that there are probably other ways to improve the starting four than besides signing Cole.
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CurtOne

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #462 on: October 24, 2019, 06:16:12 pm »
Like trading for Jason Vargas?

Deeg

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #463 on: October 24, 2019, 07:36:53 pm »
From the little I have read about things he has said in the past, Ross seems to have a decent grasp of the nuts and bolts of in-game managing.

I hope so - I just don’t really see any evidence either way.  Absence of evidence is not proof of absence of course, but I think the jury is still very much out.

But hey - we know he can do the speech to the team, no problem.

CUBluejays

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Re: Cubs in '20
« Reply #464 on: October 24, 2019, 07:38:57 pm »
I'm thinking that there are probably other ways to improve the starting four than besides signing Cole.

Certainly possible  I don’t think the Cubs are going to be able to trade for an ace though. If Cole is out, Stausberg is likely out of the Cubs price range. Then you dealing with free agents like Zach Wheeler or trade possibilities. I really don’t want to trade any of the Cubs top minor leaguers for a non-ace. Trading from the core offense is just going to open up holes that will be filled with lesser players at a higher price.   So Cole is the easiest and best upgrade. Trading Happ for a pitcher is just rearranging deck chairs on the titanic.  Maybe there best hope is to get Lester and Quintana on a weighted ball program to get their fastballs back.