How Many Wins For The Cubs In 2014?

[JosMin]

You're a moron. You're forgetting to account for one game being cancelled and not made up this year. 161-0.

 

[HurricaneDij39]

lol.. whatever.. you feel 55 wins I say 70.. come Sept. we shall see who closer. .

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The Cubs would have to be historically bad to win just 55. That would mean 107 losses, and I don't believe the Cubs have ever lost that many games in a season. Usually teams that bad are devoid of pitching, and the Cubs have too much capable pitching to be that bad.

 

[Boobaby1]

The Cubs would have to be historically bad to win just 55. That would mean 107 losses, and I don't believe the Cubs have ever lost that many games in a season. Usually teams that bad are devoid of pitching, and the Cubs have too much capable pitching to be that bad.

They can be that bad if they start off really slow, and then trade Shark and Hammel off before the deadline.

Am I going that low? No!

A lot will be predicated on their ability to drive in runs. If they can't do that, then pitching isn't going to matter much.

Anything can happen and yes, this is the Cubs.

 

[DewsSox79]

The Cubs would have to be historically bad to win just 55. That would mean 107 losses, and I don't believe the Cubs have ever lost that many games in a season. Usually teams that bad are devoid of pitching, and the Cubs have too much capable pitching to be that bad.

1) so glad you can figure out the losses with a 55 win team. congrats.

2) what is this "too much capable pitching" you speak of?




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[beckdawg]

They can be that bad if they start off really slow, and then trade Shark and Hammel off before the deadline.

Am I going that low? No!

A lot will be predicated on their ability to drive in runs. If they can't do that, then pitching isn't going to matter much.

Anything can happen and yes, this is the Cubs.

I don't see the cubs trading Hammel without getting an Arrieta/Wood type back because they really don't have much pitching depth in AAA especially if they also deal Shark. You don't want to put Rusin and Hendricks into the rotation with next to nothing in terms of back up in case of injury. You really have to get back someone who's either ready for the MLB or already in it.

 

[HurricaneDij39]

The Cubs have made major upgrades to their bullpen and have a servicable front four in Samardzija/Wood/Jackson/Hammel. Take the Astros, for instance when they went 55-107 in their final season in the N.L. No offense to White Sox fans, but their ace that year was Lucas Harrell.

 

[patg006]

I don't see the cubs trading Hammel without getting an Arrieta/Wood type back because they really don't have much pitching depth in AAA especially if they also deal Shark. You don't want to put Rusin and Hendricks into the rotation with next to nothing in terms of back up in case of injury. You really have to get back someone who's either ready for the MLB or already in it.

Let's see if Hammel is even healthy come May.

Here reported had a drop in velocity last year in addition to forearm tightness.

Hello Tommy John anyone??

Better keep James Andrews on speed dial.

 

[patg006]

The Cubs have made major upgrades to their bullpen and have a servicable front four in Samardzija/Wood/Jackson/Hammel.

They did not make major upgrades to their bullpen.

The Cubs first two are serviceable. The last three suck. There might not be a worse #3 starter in all of baseball than Jackson.

Take the Astros, for instance when they went 55-107 in their final season in the N.L. No offense to White Sox fans, but their ace that year was Lucas Harrell.

The Astros won 51 games last year with Bud Norris as their ace until he got traded.

He is as good as any starter on the Cubs.

How many of the everyday 8 on the Cubs is an upgrade over what the Astros have?? One? Starlin Castro?

 

[beckdawg]

Let's see if Hammel is even healthy come May.

Here reported had a drop in velocity last year in addition to forearm tightness.

Hello Tommy John anyone??

Better keep James Andrews on speed dial.

Well either way they don't have a ton of pitching depth at AAA unless someone like Macdonald isn't terrible which I personally don't have a done of faith in. If they trade shark and hammel in july and don't get MLB ready pitchers or if they have injuries to those 2 I worry their second half staff will look 2012 bad having only 3 viable pitchers. You could actually say it would be worse since Wood, Jackson and Arrieta/5th starter aren't as good as Dempster and Garza were.

I said it before FA started but I really hoped they would have gone after someone like Haren who has been proven to be a durable starter. They could have gotten him as well as the rest of the pitching they picked up. I'm not all that sold with Arrieta just being given the 5th slot. He pitched well with the cubs and has the tools to be a halfway decent pitcher but his BABIP was absurdly good with the cubs and given his past history it's not difficult to see him having short spurts of really good play and then being flat out terrible. I'm optimistic they have a clue what they are doing because Wood had a similar back story but it worries me.

 

[patg006]

If they trade shark and hammel in july and don't get MLB ready pitchers or if they have injuries to those 2 I worry their second half staff will look 2012 bad having only 3 viable pitchers. You could actually say it would be worse since Wood, Jackson and Arrieta/5th starter aren't as good as Dempster and Garza were.

Even if Hammel were healthy come July and pitching like he did in 2012, it is still very unlikely you will get major league ready pitching in return for him because the team he would be getting dealt to would obviously be looking for major league ready pitching, not having a surplus of it.

The second half of this season could get very, very, very ugly.

I would have to put it at about a 75% chance that Shark gets traded seeing as he hasn't signed an extension yet and as you already pointed out, there is much less talent on this team then there was in 2012.

 

[beckdawg]

Even if Hammel were healthy come July and pitching like he did in 2012, it is still very unlikely you will get major league ready pitching in return for him because the team he would be getting dealt to would obviously be looking for major league ready pitching, not having a surplus of it.

Well what I mean is more of a failed prospect in the mold of a Wood or Arrieta rather than say a Bradley/Walker type or perhaps a non-elite AAA guy that is mildly interesting.

 

[Boobaby1]

I don't see the cubs trading Hammel without getting an Arrieta/Wood type back because they really don't have much pitching depth in AAA especially if they also deal Shark. You don't want to put Rusin and Hendricks into the rotation with next to nothing in terms of back up in case of injury. You really have to get back someone who's either ready for the MLB or already in it.

It depends on how well Hammel is pitching. Same goes with Shark. I actually want them to pitch well because it opens up more possibilities.

As far as putting Rusin or Hendricks into the rotation, why should I care? They have done this the past two years when trading off starters, and not once have they received ready made pitching in return.

It's been about beefing up the farm, so why should it change this year?

They would have E-Jax, Arrieta, Wood, Villanueva, Rusin, McDonald, Grimm, and a host of others to finish out the year.

The deadline will be about the Cubs trading off assets, not trying to salvage a few more wins.

 

[beckdawg]

As far as putting Rusin or Hendricks into the rotation, why should I care?

Not saying you should care. However, if they deal both you're looking at Villanueva, Grimm and McDonald being your only depth.At the moment I wouldn't expect anything out of McDonald. Grimm and Villanueva would give you 2 options which if you get an injury suddenly makes for a very worrisome situation. I feel they need at least another Wood/Arrieta/Grimm type player back or else they run the risk of having 2-3 guys getting hurt and having to pull out people from way deep in the minors.

 

[Boobaby1]

Not saying you should care. However, if they deal both you're looking at Villanueva, Grimm and McDonald being your only depth.At the moment I wouldn't expect anything out of McDonald. Grimm and Villanueva would give you 2 options which if you get an injury suddenly makes for a very worrisome situation. I feel they need at least another Wood/Arrieta/Grimm type player back or else they run the risk of having 2-3 guys getting hurt and having to pull out people from way deep in the minors.

The organization has been about "punting" if they are not in the race. I fully expect them to NOT be in the race. Therefore, they will once again trade off assets.

What would be the point of keeping any assets or replacing them with people who can throw now?

If the Cubs are 25 games under .500, does anyone really care who is on the mound? I don't. Might as well go for the #1 pick in the draft. That seems to be more of the focus anyways from the FO, and in many forums, it seems to be acceptable.

I'd rather see what Rusin, Hendricks and any other kids do anyways. Let them get their feet wet in a meaningless season. At least they will be put in game situations with real professionals in a play-off run.

I am more anxious to see Baez, Alcantara, Viscaino, Hendricks, and Olt then I am Barney, Valbuena, and Schierholz.

Frankly, I have seen what they bring to the table and UI's and borderline starters just doesn't excite me. Never has, never will.

 

[Jntg4]

The organization has been about "punting" if they are not in the race. I fully expect them to NOT be in the race. Therefore, they will once again trade off assets.

What would be the point of keeping any assets or replacing them with people who can throw now?

If the Cubs are 25 games under .500, does anyone really care who is on the mound? I don't. Might as well go for the #1 pick in the draft. That seems to be more of the focus anyways from the FO, and in many forums, it seems to be acceptable.

I'd rather see what Rusin, Hendricks and any other kids do anyways. Let them get their feet wet in a meaningless season. At least they will be put in game situations with real professionals in a play-off run.

I am more anxious to see Baez, Alcantara, Viscaino, Hendricks, and Olt then I am Barney, Valbuena, and Schierholz.

Frankly, I have seen what they bring to the table and UI's and borderline starters just doesn't excite me. Never has, never will.

*Vizcaino *Schierholtz

 

[CSF77]

BP projection: (all goes well LOL never happens)

CL: Jose Veras
SU: Pedro Strop
SU: Arodys Vizcaino
LH: Jeff Russell
LH: Wesley Wright
Long relief: James McDonald
Long relief: Carlos Villanueva

Depth:

LH: Zac Rosscup

Long Relief: Justin Grimm

RH: Hector Rondon, Blake Parker, Alberto Cabrera.

DL projected back in June: Kyuji Fujikawa.

It is honesty a good pen. Plenty of vets with injury depth. Should be a strong point.

 

[HurricaneDij39]

They did not make major upgrades to their bullpen.

I'll take Veras/Strop/Parker/Wright any day over Marm/Camp/Fujikawa/Russell.

 

[HurricaneDij39]

They did not make major upgrades to their bullpen.

The Cubs first two are serviceable. The last three suck. There might not be a worse #3 starter in all of baseball than Jackson.



The Astros won 51 games last year with Bud Norris as their ace until he got traded.

He is as good as any starter on the Cubs.

How many of the everyday 8 on the Cubs is an upgrade over what the Astros have?? One? Starlin Castro?

Right, how could we possibly compete with the greatness of L.J. Hoes???

And Bud Norris? Really? Look, I like him as a back-end starter with K-per-inning stuff, but in no way is he as good as Shark or Wood. Even Jackson in an average season is better than Norris.

 

[Boobaby1]

*Vizcaino *Schierholtz

Really? LOL.

I probably should have just typed in names"scar shoulder" and "can't hit lefties to save my ass" instead. Of course, most around here would have gotten the latter one mixed up with Rizzo.

 

[CSF77]

Really? LOL.

I probably should have just typed in names"scar shoulder" and "can't hit lefties to save my ass" instead. Of course, most around here would have gotten the latter one mixed up with Rizzo.

Sense when has Tommy John surgery been performed on shoulders?