IST: Braves vs Cubs

[anotheridiot]

Will we ever figure out what Maddon is trying to do with the leadoff spot? A once a week guy gets leadoff today?

They are teasing Schwarber again, Baez did OK til he came up with the bases loaded, but the miserable **** wont take a walk. I understand shying away from Almora against the righty, but maybe Albert made a point today.

 

[anotheridiot]

I agree...

Hell id consider trading him at the deadline if Alzolay looks ready to go then

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you definitely need to trade him than wait and not pick up an option, but with Darvish coming back tomorrow, we just need to hold our breath for a while, now that Q will be up in the 3 spot for a run maybe.

 

[CSF77]

I’m starting to question some here. They traded a top 10 and a top 75 and every one here now believes that he should be tossed for pennies on the dollar?

First of all: Theo owns control over him. So not keeping that is plain stupid.

Trading: you trade players when their value is peaking and it makes sense to do so.

Making sense:

garbage season and you reload the season with short term. Nope. Control counters this.

Off season trades. These can be for any reason. Again not a reason.

So they are not going to trade him. They may resign and deal out but it makes sense to correct him so his value is peaking again.


Normally you trade guys that it hurts to do so. That is when you get a quality return. No one pays quality for garbage.

 

[CSF77]

In theory:

Alozay goes off and they have to choose to promote.

1 instance could happen: Q goes to the pen and they cut Butler. That is a upgrade.

But that is if Alozay just flat out dominates AAA.

 

[chibears55]

Ohhhhh
For the longball here

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[TL1961]

What a gift.

Happ at 0-2 had zero chance.

 

[chibears55]

Figures....

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[Ari Bear]

Quintana is a bigger disappointment to me than Darvish.

I expected more from Quintana.

You can't throw the ball right down the middle of the plate at 91mph and expect good things. I knew since the first inning that Quintana was gonna give up a lot of runs.

 

[fatbeard]

I’m starting to question some here. They traded a top 10 and a top 75 and every one here now believes that he should be tossed for pennies on the dollar?

First of all: Theo owns control over him. So not keeping that is plain stupid.

Trading: you trade players when their value is peaking and it makes sense to do so.

Making sense:

garbage season and you reload the season with short term. Nope. Control counters this.

Off season trades. These can be for any reason. Again not a reason.

So they are not going to trade him. They may resign and deal out but it makes sense to correct him so his value is peaking again.


Normally you trade guys that it hurts to do so. That is when you get a quality return. No one pays quality for garbage.

There's been an awful lot of baseball stupid around here lately.

 

[chibears55]

1/4 of the season in the books
Who had any of these 5 teams going to the playoffs

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[CSF77]

1/4 of the season in the books
Who had any of these 5 teams going to the playoffs

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Phil’s were close before F/A. Not shocking.

Braves not sold yet.

Stl...no

Mil...no

D.backs. Maybe


Shocking is Dodgers tanking early. Not expected.

Cubs hovering was. Last year it was the ASG when they took off. All they have to do is keep in striking distance.

Eventually the league will figure it out where Joe keeps his regulars on regular rest and when the dog days kick in and teams start to get sluggish the Cubs are still fresh from their depth.

It is not just a weird thing going on. There is a logical reason why the Cubs are stronger in the 2nd half.

 

[chibears55]

Phil’s were close before F/A. Not shocking.

Braves not sold yet.

Stl...no

Mil...no

D.backs. Maybe


Shocking is Dodgers tanking early. Not expected.

Cubs hovering was. Last year it was the ASG when they took off. All they have to do is keep in striking distance.

Eventually the league will figure it out where Joe keeps his regulars on regular rest and when the dog days kick in and teams start to get sluggish the Cubs are still fresh from their depth.

It is not just a weird thing going on. There is a logical reason why the Cubs are stronger in the 2nd half.

And because they had to go all out to win those games in the 2nd half to make up for a lackluster 1st half..
They were gassed in the playoffs

Why I cringe when i hear that Maddon resting guys for 2nd half and that April and May dont matter cause it early..

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[CSF77]

And because they had to go all out to win those games in the 2nd half to make up for a lackluster 1st half..
They were gassed in the playoffs

Why I cringe when i hear that Maddon resting guys for 2nd half and that April and May dont matter cause it early..

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3 strait trips trumps your cards

 

[chibears55]

3 strait trips trumps your cards

Not really...

He didn't rest guys in first half of 2015
5 of his regulars played in 148 games or more, Russell played in 142 games.
2nd half was also given a lift by a new kid named Schwarber that came up in July...
Arrieta was pitching out of his mind..

So strike 2015 from that rest in 1st half for a 2nd half surge...


2016, he had 6 regulars play 142 games or more plus 3 Rizzo Russell and Bryant over 150...
That team went 57 and 24 in first half
He didn't rest guys for a 2nd half run
They took a strangle hold from day 1 and never let loose..

2017.. yes he rested guys a whole lot in first half and it almost cost them as they came out of the gate flat...
They had a surge in 2nd half but were gassed in playoffs because of it...


So again, my point stands






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[CSF77]

Not really...

He didn't rest guys in first half of 2015
5 of his regulars played in 148 games or more, Russell played in 142 games.
2nd half was also given a lift by a new kid named Schwarber that came up in July...
Arrieta was pitching out of his mind..

So strike 2015 from that rest in 1st half for a 2nd half surge...


2016, he had 6 regulars play 142 games or more plus 3 Rizzo Russell and Bryant over 150...
That team went 57 and 24 in first half
He didn't rest guys for a 2nd half run
They took a strangle hold from day 1 and never let loose..

2017.. yes he rested guys a whole lot in first half and it almost cost them as they came out of the gate flat...
They had a surge in 2nd half but were gassed in playoffs because of it...


So again, my point stands






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2015:
LF platoon Denorifia/Coghland
CF: Folwer 156 games
RF: Soler (when healthy)
3B Bryant (they ran him for sure)
SS: Castro then Russell
2B Russell then Castro
1B Rizzo
C: Montero and Ross platooned.

Baez only played 28 games that year. That team was ugly. The 3 guys that they leaned on were Fowler, Rizzo and Bryant. Rest of the team was in disarray.

2016:

Fowler was injured for a chunk of it. ended up with 126 games.
Baez had his first full season. He was the main guy that moved around and gave guys days off.

Bryant 155 games
Rizzo 155 games
Russell 151 games
Zobrist 147 games

That includes the 1 AB games. As far as starts? Who knows.

That team was good but it was because of the starting pitching more than anything. Sure they had those 8 run blow ups but they had plenty of no show's also. The starters lead the league in ERA for the most part and that is a big difference over right now.

As far as a rotation they had Szczur to fill in the OF. Soler was off and on. Think Contreras played a stint in LF at the beginning of his career while Soler was out on the DL. Eventually they went Contreras to catcher and Zobrist to LF and it stuck.

2017 for the most part the team adjusted to injury. Zo out then Russell out. Baez moved around to fill needs . Heyward went on the DL. Schwarber to AAA. Happ was promoted and stuck and gave that flex that Joe loves.



2018:
Runs allowed per game: 3.95 #8 Hou and Ari lead league.
Defensive efficiency: #3 .712 Only Hou and Ari better.
Errors: Cubs at the bottom half with 29. Again Hou and Ari leading the league. Honestly this is a area that needs improvement.

So I'm on board with Almora every day. Lets face it those 2 teams are where they are because they are better at making outs stick.

But you look at runs scored per:

Cubs 5.41 21-17
Hou: 4.81 26-16
Ari: 4.10 24-16

If you really look at it it lies in run prevent than scoring the most runs.

They just have to score enough as we are seeing with Ari. Stable D good pitching and score enough to win games. Not have to depend on avg 5-6 per game just to stay over .500. That is not a winning formula.

 

[CSF77]

Now on Alzolay promoting: 4.2 IP 5 ER 9 hits given up. I really think we need to step back from this guy for now. He is clearly not ready and shouldn't be a topic yet.

Looking at the 5 SP at Iowa:

Tseng: 1-4, 4.72 ERA 1.80 WHIP
Mills: 1-4 4.72 ERA 1.43 WHIP
Underwood 2-3 2.62 ERA 0.99 WHIP
Roth 1-2 3.03 ERA 1.42 WHIP
Alzolay 2-2 4.10 ERA 1.25 WHIP

So looking at the early returns: Underwood has been a silent assassin. I noticed him last year making a comeback after he added a cutter. This year he has clearly taken another step in his development. I believe that he is the most major league ready right now. He is not lacking stuff like Tseng or a quality 3rd pitch like Alzolay.

 

[Parade_Rain]

And because they had to go all out to win those games in the 2nd half to make up for a lackluster 1st half..
They were gassed in the playoffs

Why I cringe when i hear that Maddon resting guys for 2nd half and that April and May dont matter cause it early..

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Everybody is gassed in the playoffs. It's October and they reported to camp in February. It isn't just a Cubs thing. 3 straight Final Fours and 1 WS Championship and you cringe? Yikes.

 

[fatbeard]

Now on Alzolay promoting: 4.2 IP 5 ER 9 hits given up. I really think we need to step back from this guy for now. He is clearly not ready and shouldn't be a topic yet..

No, no, our resident World Series-winning Forum GM already has a trade in place for Quintana. Don't get cold feet now!

 

[CSF77]

No, no, our resident World Series-winning Forum GM already has a trade in place for Quintana. Don't get cold feet now!

Lol

Honestly I would focus on D at this point. Baez at 3B and Zo at 2B until Heyward returns. Bryant has 6 errors at 3B and Baez has 3 at SS and 5 at 2B. So he has been a little off up the middle this year.

Now Joe loves mixing it up but he really needs to chill out. I like LaStella at 2B today. I believe it makes a nice combo with Zobrist to keep Zo on a rotation at 2B. Both are capable lead offs.

After Heyward returns I think it is forgone that they need the stable D over anything else right now. So having Almora/Russell/Heyward pretty much every day pays off on run prevent. Rizzo has been waking up while Zo/Baez/Bryant/Schwarber have been carrying the load.

I would pretty much run out:
Vs R

Zo/LaStella 2B
Bryant RF
Rizzo 1B
Contreras C
Schwarber LF
Baez 3B
Almora CF
Russell SS

VS LH

Almora CF
Zobrist 2B
Bryant RF
Rizzo 1B
Contreras C
Baez 3B
Russell SS
Happ LF

When Heyward returns it only affects RH starters.

Zo/LaStella 2B
Bryant 3B
Rizzo 1B
Contreras C
Schwarber LF
Almora CF
Heyward RF
Russell SS

With Baez rotating the IF in general giving days off. But 2B vs lefties every game with Zo in RF as we have seen.