2015 Spring Training Thread

[chibears55]

Sad battery the Cubs have going for them tonight. .
A pitcher who sucks at pitching and a Catcher who sucks at hitting

 

[chibears55]

Thought catchers weren't supposed to block plate without ball...

Jackson only goes 2 innings. .. looked decent, maybe there a trade for him and team just wanted to see him not get lit up..

 

[chibears55]

Travis wood is probably the Cubs best PH on that bench..lol
Tons of power, id go to him over both Sweeney and Ross

 

[CSF77]

Thought catchers weren't supposed to block plate without ball...

Jackson only goes 2 innings. .. looked decent, maybe there a trade for him and team just wanted to see him not get lit up..

Jackson is in the pen now. The were not going to run him 5 innings and not have him availaible in the pen. Maddon sounded like it was really close between him and Wood. My opinion is the rotation was righty heavy so Wood won because he was a lefty.

 

[chibears55]

Jackson is in the pen now. The were not going to run him 5 innings and not have him availaible in the pen. Maddon sounded like it was really close between him and Wood. My opinion is the rotation was righty heavy so Wood won because he was a lefty.

If he were able to go 5 innings that would be a first. ..

He could've gone 3 or 4 innings and still been available for an inning on Sunday if needed...
Their off Monday, so throwing 60-70 pitches tonight wouldn't of effected his availability out of the pen....
Im sure he the last guy Maddon will go to in the pen....

 

[TL1961]

Sad battery the Cubs have going for them tonight. .
A pitcher who sucks at pitching and a Catcher who sucks at hitting

The catcher is one of the few who have a hit. The pitcher homered for our only run.

See, people keep sayin Ross shouldn't play because we can't have two easy outs in the lineup. But if he catches when Wood pitches, it's a trade off.

 

[TL1961]

Jackson is in the pen now. The were not going to run him 5 innings and not have him availaible in the pen. Maddon sounded like it was really close between him and Wood. My opinion is the rotation was righty heavy so Wood won because he was a lefty.

Reading it was close between Jackson and Wood makes me a lot less comfortable with Wood as my #5 than I was 3 minutes ago.

 

[chibears55]

Reading it was close between Jackson and Wood makes me a lot less comfortable with Wood as my #5 than I was 3 minutes ago.

Jackson made it close cause of his last start...

We dont know what were gonna get out of wood, if it will be closer to 2013 version or 2014...

We know jackson would of sucked..


All i look for out of a 4th and 5th starter is if they can keep the team in the game for 5 or 6 innings, anything more is a plus..

 

[chibears55]

The catcher is one of the few who have a hit. The pitcher homered for our only run.

See, people keep sayin Ross shouldn't play because we can't have two easy outs in the lineup. But if he catches when Wood pitches, it's a trade off.

Yea tonight game is boring...

Cubs hitters look like their ready to head to chicago. .
Im sure their not thrilled to have a game tomorrow too

 

[chibears55]

@TheCCO: #Cubs vs. #DBacks, Nuno (4/4):
Hannemann RF
Russell SS
Schwarber C
Baez 2B
Lake LF
Almora CF
Candelario 3B
Baxter 1B
Wood P

Get to watch the Iowa Cubs today minus kris bryant

 

[SilenceS]

Yea, Baez and Schwarber got some bad luck in the first. Goldschmidt made a nice play on Schwarber with a back hand. Baez smoked a ball straight at the left fielder. I see them scoring some run today.

 

[Bear Pride]

Schwarber's arm looked pretty good to me on that throwout. :yep:

 

[Bear Pride]

Then there's Javi, swinging so hard it hurt to watch, only to see him watch the 3rd strike after that. :smh: WTF doesn't this kid get about just taking a controlled swing for a while. :dunno:

 

[CSF77]

Wood is a serviceable #5. I would not want him on a play off rotation.

I felt it would have been more interesting this spring but both Wada and Turner came up injured. Turner is the guy to watch. I'm predicting he becomes this years Arrieta. His Fastball picked up into the mid 90's. We could end up with a steal getting him.

 

[chibears55]

@PWSullivan: Congrats to @JorgeSoler68 on hitting the Jumbotron already.

Hope they put some protective screen in front of it, that board wont make it to July

 

[SilenceS]

Watching Schwarber behind the plate was interesting. He is very choppy looking. Not very fluid. His arm is strong and was accurate. Didnt see him do much with blocking. Would have to see more from him there. I will say he does move well for a big man as far as running. He picks them up and puts them down once he gets started. He wont clog the base paths.

 

[TC in Mississippi]

Watching Schwarber behind the plate was interesting. He is very choppy looking. Not very fluid. His arm is strong and was accurate. Didnt see him do much with blocking. Would have to see more from him there. I will say he does move well for a big man as far as running. He picks them up and puts them down once he gets started. He wont clog the base paths.

Blocking is probably his biggest weakness. I was listening to MLB radio and they were interviewing a former scouting director (for who,escapes me) who mentioned his strong arm but blocking doesn't come naturally and his movements aren't fluid enough to make him a great pitch framer, which in 2015 has become the number one attribute in a catcher. Outside of his drive and determination, which are impressive, there's not much that says this is kid is the kind of catcher Theo and Jed want. Still they are giving him a chance. I'm going to see him play next Sunday against Mississippi Braves, I'm excited to see him for the first time.

I also think that this new PR push from Maddon, Epstein and Hoyer the last few days insisting that Bryant is their third baseman going forward has a lot to do with Schwarber not showing much thus far. Things change though.

 

[CSF77]

Blocking is probably his biggest weakness. I was listening to MLB radio and they were interviewing a former scouting director (for who,escapes me) who mentioned his strong arm but blocking doesn't come naturally and his movements aren't fluid enough to make him a great pitch framer, which in 2015 has become the number one attribute in a catcher. Outside of his drive and determination, which are impressive, there's not much that says this is kid is the kind of catcher Theo and Jed want. Still they are giving him a chance. I'm going to see him play next Sunday against Mississippi Braves, I'm excited to see him for the first time.

I also think that this new PR push from Maddon, Epstein and Hoyer the last few days insisting that Bryant is their third baseman going forward has a lot to do with Schwarber not showing much thus far. Things change though.

I would rather them keep Montero and then keep drafting and developing D first catching prospects. Schwarber would be fine in LF. His bat projects anywhere.

 

[chibears55]

I would rather them keep Montero and then keep drafting and developing D first catching prospects. Schwarber would be fine in LF. His bat projects anywhere.

I can actually see Schwarber traded by next year ...

I just dont see him being agile enough for LF, and if he not what they want in a Catcher, then there no place to put him with Rizzo at 1B and no DH...

Hitting aside, i see him as another Vogelbach type in their system. ..

 

[Chief Walking Stick]

Time to close this thread!!!!