2014 Chicago Cubs In-Season Discussion Thread

[Boobaby1]

Edwards and Soler? Who else is injured? The Cubs have way more depth then those two guys.

Is that 40% of their top five prospects? So Baez rolled his ankle and is back.......we hope.

The farm can't take hits like that to top guys. Surround them with talent all you want, but when your studs are in question, that can be problematic.

It isn't as if the Cubs have really good players at the parent level where this can be overlooked. The whole existence of this rebuild lays squarely on the shoulders of the farm.

 

[Boobaby1]

Sure seems like the real world only matters when people are right about their statements. I remember getting shit for suggesting Bonifacio was going to not only win a starting job but be a good player for the cubs. If that's people's jam so be it. And even when some are right I guess I just feel like my man jeffery... Just saying this stuffs supposed to be an enjoyable pastime and some make that very hard to find enjoyment in.

[video=youtube;uQl5aYhkF3E]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQl5aYhkF3E[/video]

His efforts should be applauded as he has played well. I'd like to see him and Valbuena at the top of the order, and I wish the Cubs had traded Schierholtz and Barney away regardless of what the got in return because Nate was coming off of a fluke year. Sell high and go find another alternative who has some legit power.

I wanted Tanaka really bad as you know. He is also doing well. Shit happens and they didn't get him, but unfortunately, it seems to be the case all of the time which also gets old.

 

[Icculus]

I fail to see why supposed cubs fans get off seeing their prospects do bad and feel the need to gloat every time a bad situation comes about...

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Bryant's are fine (in AA but still). However, Baez is supposed to be a top five prospect according to BA and Prospectus.

 

[beckdawg]

His efforts should be applauded as he has played well. I'd like to see him and Valbuena at the top of the order, and I wish the Cubs had traded Schierholtz and Barney away regardless of what the got in return because Nate was coming off of a fluke year. Sell high and go find another alternative who has some legit power.

I wanted Tanaka really bad as you know. He is also doing well. Shit happens and they didn't get him, but unfortunately, it seems to be the case all of the time which also gets old.

Yeah I agree about wishing they'd traded Schierholtz. I thought he could put up another year like last year but he obviously had a potential fluke aspect with him. Barney seems pretty hard to deal for anything more than like cash considerations. I liked tanaka to a point and worried about him over the $23 mil per year price point. If he continues the way he's played I'm probably wrong. I know it doesn't count for much but it does make me feel better they were in on a lot of good pitchers that they ultimately failed to sign. Perhaps that's loser talk but at least the majority of the pitchers they are targeting are turning out well. Baker obviously didn't come back from injury fast enough. Jackson is.... whatever Jackson is. But other than that you're talking about finding Wood, Hammel, Maholm, Feldman...etc who've all been way better than expected.

I really wish they had that sort of success in hitting as sadly the hitters they've gone after has been iffy. Bonifacio obviously has been great but as I argued previously it seemed pretty obvious to me anyways that it was a fit. Dejesus was pretty decent. Schierholtz last season was decent. Other than those guys it's pretty bleak.

 

[theberserkfury]

Now don't think I'm trying to argue that our offense is in any way good/respectable/average... but I was surprised to learn that to date, the Cubs are actually scoring more runs per game than the Cards are...

Cubs: 88 runs through 24 games = 3.67
Cards: 89 runs through 26 games = 3.42

However, they're giving up pretty much 1 less run per 9 than we are (2.76 vs 3.79)... guess that explains why they're 2 over .500 and we're 8 under...

I thought that difference would be coming from the bullpen, but ours is actually performing almost on par with theirs (better in ERA)... I guess it's Jackson and Villanueva who've been destroying our numbers...

 

[MRubio52]

Now don't think I'm trying to argue that our offense is in any way good/respectable/average... but I was surprised to learn that to date, the Cubs are actually scoring more runs per game than the Cards are...

Cubs: 88 runs through 24 games = 3.67
Cards: 89 runs through 26 games = 3.42

However, they're giving up pretty much 1 less run per 9 than we are (2.76 vs 3.79)... guess that explains why they're 2 over .500 and we're 8 under...

I thought that difference would be coming from the bullpen, but ours is actually performing almost on par with theirs (better in ERA)... I guess it's Jackson and Villanueva who've been destroying our numbers...

Early season RS numbers are too volatile as well. It comes down to who do you trust bouncing back more, Cards hitters or Cubs hitters. I think we know that answer.

In terms of starters, Villanueva is clearly stretched as a starter and I wish they'd just use him as a middle reliever who can go 2 innings. Utilize his utility rather than force him into a spot he's not good in. Edwin Jackson is a mess.

The only thing that mattered heading into the season are Castro and Rizzo and they've been good.

 

[theberserkfury]

Oh yeah, I don't expect that to last... just thought that was interesting given how different our records are.

Thank goodness Villanueva's done starting... for now, at least.

 

[MRubio52]

Oh yeah, I don't expect that to last... just thought that was interesting given how different our records are.

Thank goodness Villanueva's done starting... for now, at least.

Honestly when the trades come I think we're going to see some arms come back and perhaps Kyle Hendricks get some starts before RR pulls trigger on Villanueva in the rotation again.

 

[CSF77]

only 6 regular hitters are above .700 OPS.... 2 above .800. Big reason why this team is below .500.

 

[brett05]

 

[zack54attack]

Mike Olt has 6 HR's and 7 singles on the year..

 

[chibears55]

Mike Olt has 6 HR's and 7 singles on the year..

Poster child for all or nothing. ...

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[Boobaby1]

Poster child for all or nothing. ...

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Just posted the all or nothing quote on another thread prior to reading this one. It is what I have seen so far from him.

 

[beckdawg]

Small sample size and all but Olt's hitting better this month that I had realized. In may he's hitting .267/.421/.667 with 15.8%/26.3% walk/k rate. That's probably more what I would expect out of his walk rate though it may be a tad high. It's only over 19 plate appearances. However, considering he hit .164/.212/.377 with a 4.5%/34.8% walk/k rate in april it's encouraging.

 

[CSF77]

#7 now. Tied with Rizzo with 43 less AB's. 1 every 11 AB's now. 17 RBI's 1 behind Rizzo also. Tempting to hit him 4. His HR threat will keep them honest with Rizzo.

 

[zack54attack]

7 HR's, 7 Singles for Olt..

 

[CSF77]

7 HR's, 7 Singles for Olt..

Better than 14 singles.

 

[CSF77]

OPS:

Rizzo .899
Castro .749
Castillo .748
Olt .748
Bonifacio .707

Rest are below .600

In May:
Olt 1.278 OPS 17 AB
Rizzo 1.002 OPS 31 AB
Lake .818 OPS 20 AB
Valbuena .683 OPS
Coghlan .607 OPS
Castillo .577 OPS
Castro .547 OPS

So the #4 hitter has put up a OPS in the .500 in May.
the #5 hitter Schierholtz a robust .450 in May
and a part time player in Olt 1.278 in May. hitting 6-8 because people just like to look at BA.

Wow.

 

[CSF77]

Oh and Barney .182 OPS in May...why is he a ML player?

 

[beckdawg]

So the #4 hitter has put up a OPS in the .500 in May.
the #5 hitter Schierholtz a robust .450 in May
and a part time player in Olt 1.278 in May. hitting 6-8 because people just like to look at BA.

Wow.

I look at it like this, if the cubs get any help out of the minors this team probably is pretty close to a .500 team. They are -11 in run diff which equates to a run every third game or so from being at even. Going forward a bit, they probably will trade Hammel and will need to replace that hopefully with whatever they trade him for. You'll also need to re-sign Bonifacio. They also should have more than enough money to sign at least one pitcher next year given that the $14 mil they paid the yanks for Soriano is off their budget along with the money they didn't spend on Tanaka.

So, I see a team that next year very well could be a .500 or better team without being higher than the $105-110 mil budget they had Theo's first two years here. That's contingent on them working something out finally with Shark but this isn't the 2012 team people want to make it out to be. They were -146 run diff that year which is obviously close to a run a game(.9 to be exact) and beyond that this year's team has potential impact players in the high minors. It's progress albeit slow progress.