IST: Cubs @ Brewers

[SilenceS]

Wasn't questioning anything

I just simply think Maddon prefers having the ability of using Baez whenever and wherever he wants every day over needing him to start at 3B and Bryant in LF because of Soler struggles.

With Baez on bench most every game, Maddon gets the most out of him..
a bat and a defensive replacement later in games

Which would of been the case had Schwarber not gotten hurt


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Do you have anything of Maddon saying this or is it just a whim of a gut feeling?

 

[SilenceS]

They have scored less than 4 runs in 3 out of the last 10 games. Lets jump off the cliff and trade for players.

They are second in runs scored. There big hitters havent even really performed well. They are second in runs scored with a .260 something batting average. Boston is number one and they have a .297 team batting average. The Cubs havent even hit their stride on offense.

 

[beckdawg]

They have scored less than 4 runs in 3 out of the last 10 games. Lets jump off the cliff and trade for players.

They are second in runs scored. There big hitters havent even really performed well. They are second in runs scored with a .260 something batting average. Boston is number one and they have a .297 team batting average. The Cubs havent even hit their stride on offense.

Trading for a LF doesn't make a ton of sense to me because unless you're dealing Soler and Schwarber or you're getting a 1 year rental what are you doing in 2017? I think Bowden was saying last week the cubs might go after Cargo which never made sense to me. I can understand the idea of going after a pitcher because they can void Hammel's final year or they could just move him to the pen if they upgrade there. Like wise you could also move Hendricks around presuming he's not trade.

 

[Parade_Rain]

I predict a win tonight.

 

[chibears55]

Do you have anything of Maddon saying this or is it just a whim of a gut feeling?

I said it was what I think he prefers...

I look at it this way... If Baez is supposed to be his new Zobrist the "super sub ", then don't you think Maddon would prefer having the option of using him to spot start at 2b 3b SS etc over mainly needing him at 3b, which is where he been starting mostly because of Soler struggle.
Also being able to have him on the bench to be used to PH and come in later in games for defensive purposes.

I think that was Maddon hope to use Baez for before Schwarber got hurt and Soler never getting it going.
I don't think Maddon wanted Baez to be their starting 3Bmen for the most part because they need Bryant to p!ay LF

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[Omeletpants]

What has happened recently is evidence of how they could fall apart in a postseason series. We already knew that but ...........

 

[TC in Mississippi]

I said it was what I think he prefers...

I look at it this way... If Baez is supposed to be his new Zobrist the "super sub ", then don't you think Maddon would prefer having the option of using him to spot start at 2b 3b SS etc over mainly needing him at 3b, which is where he been starting mostly because of Soler struggle.
Also being able to have him on the bench to be used to PH and come in later in games for defensive purposes.

I think that was Maddon hope to use Baez for before Schwarber got hurt and Soler never getting it going.
I don't think Maddon wanted Baez to be their starting 3Bmen for the most part because they need Bryant to p!ay LF

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That's really a lot of mental gymnastics that hurts my head a little. Sure there was a different plan before Schwarber was injured. No question. There was a different plan before Fowler was signed. There's a different plan now that Baez has inserted himself into the everyday lineup conversation. I guess I just don't understand the thought process and why it has to be so complicated. Kris Bryant plays a pretty good LF where you never really hear his name mentioned for a bad play or a spectacular one. He plays boring. Maddon likes boring. Baez plays with greater range than Bryant at 3B and while he isn't boring, he's learning. If you watch baseball for any length of time you realize that if you play well in your opportunities you play somewhere, anywhere but that sorts itself out. Now some managers twist themselves in knots because their lineups aren't what they wanted and stubbornly cling to their original ideas (ahem, Dusty Baker) but even the best of those guys eventually give in and give their teams the best chance to win. Don't overthink it; Baez hit ball, Baez field ball-Baez play game.

 

[TC in Mississippi]

Well I meant barring major injury. You're going to have 15 day DL stints. Also I'd like to clarify I never meant they were going to win 80% of their games going forward. But i'd hardly call what they've been through "regression." My point was always that they were playing like a team that was this good via their expected win loss. As I said, if you think they are more of a 100 win team than 105 or 110 ok but I barely think think that counts as a blip on the radar because if you win 100 games you're generally dominating a league.

Where I take issue is more when people start talking about them winning 55% of the remaining games because I see 0 way that happens unless you have another catastrophic injury and that is my point. To me quibbling between 100, 105, and 110 wins is fairly trivial because ultimately some of that comes down to.... I don't want to say luck.... I guess sequencing is the word I'm looking for. Their still at +2.89 runs against per game right now which AFAIK would still be a record. But you're gonna have some games where you blow teams out like the first 5 pirate games and then a game where they lose 1-0. Ultimately the amount of times you lose 1-0 is what will determine their end win total. But, they are still every bit as worth discussing in a historical light now as they were 2 weeks ago.

I didn't say they were going to play .550 ball, I said they were extremely unlikely to play less than .550 ball. My prediction was based on .600 ball. This is a very, very good team but let's not get caught up in historic this and historic that. I mean get the allure of that, I felt it myself until I realized I needed to rein it in and realize this wasn't the '27 Yankees and recognize that they were bound to fall a bit. They have. That's all I was saying.

 

[chibears55]

They have scored less than 4 runs in 3 out of the last 10 games. Lets jump off the cliff and trade for players.

They are second in runs scored. There big hitters havent even really performed well. They are second in runs scored with a .260 something batting average. Boston is number one and they have a .297 team batting average. The Cubs havent even hit their stride on offense.

Don't know why you think it's cliff jumping because people think they might consider looking into getting a LFer.

Despite where their at or how their doing after 40 games, you should always hope they improve/upgrade .
I've seen plenty of teams over the years get off to great starts only to struggle/fall back later in year.
Lots of them because they chose to stand pat over making improvements in certain areas.

LF because of Schwarber injury and Soler struggle become a position where they can add and improve/upgrade.

I'd rather they get a solid bat like a reddick or Braun to hold down LF and improve lineup, and then be able to leave Bryant at 3B and use Baez whenever and however he wants.
It makes the lineup better and the bench better.

You can improve your offense just like if they went out and added a starter to improve the rotation ..

It's not cliff jumping, its hoping they solidify and upgrade their roster for a world series championship because nothing guarantee, especially 40 games in despite their record.

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[TC in Mississippi]

I predict a win tonight.

I sure hope so. Both the hand wringing folks and the "I'm not going to worry about losses folks" are getting on my nerves. Can't we just have fun without going chicken little or puffy chested? Just a thought.

 

[SilenceS]

What has happened recently is evidence of how they could fall apart in a postseason series. We already knew that but ...........

On the bright side, bear pride won't be around for a week.

 

[Mr. Cub]

We should probably trade Rizzo, Arrieta and Bryant and re-build again.

Sadly, that looks like the direction we need. This team isn't going to go anywhere with those 3 as the main cogs.

 

[chibears55]

That's really a lot of mental gymnastics that hurts my head a little. Sure there was a different plan before Schwarber was injured. No question. There was a different plan before Fowler was signed. There's a different plan now that Baez has inserted himself into the everyday lineup conversation. I guess I just don't understand the thought process and why it has to be so complicated. Kris Bryant plays a pretty good LF where you never really hear his name mentioned for a bad play or a spectacular one. He plays boring. Maddon likes boring. Baez plays with greater range than Bryant at 3B and while he isn't boring, he's learning. If you watch baseball for any length of time you realize that if you play well in your opportunities you play somewhere, anywhere but that sorts itself out. Now some managers twist themselves in knots because their lineups aren't what they wanted and stubbornly cling to their original ideas (ahem, Dusty Baker) but even the best of those guys eventually give in and give their teams the best chance to win. Don't overthink it; Baez hit ball, Baez field ball-Baez play game.

Don't know what you think is complicated.

Just making a guess / assumption, and yes I can be wrong .
that they might consider looking into a LFer over playing Bryant out there and using Baez at 3B, simply because I think Maddon prefer having Baez availability off the bench more so then not over having to have him start most everyday .

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[Omeletpants]

On the bright side, bear pride won't be around for a week.

California is beautiful this time of the year

 

[beckdawg]

I didn't say they were going to play .550 ball, I said they were extremely unlikely to play less than .550 ball. My prediction was based on .600 ball. This is a very, very good team but let's not get caught up in historic this and historic that. I mean get the allure of that, I felt it myself until I realized I needed to rein it in and realize this wasn't the '27 Yankees and recognize that they were bound to fall a bit. They have. That's all I was saying.

How do you know? Thus far in the season they've had a better run differential. I guess where I'm coming from here is that this team unlike teams of the past is worthy of the historic talk. I have no problem with fans getting caught up in blatant homerism because this team is good enough to warrant it. If you just want to suggest never getting too high and never getting too low I can see the logic and all. But I'd also suggest that if you're not willing to go on that limb for this team then you're probably missing some of the fun of baseball and looking at things to scientifically. I get that in your mind you're not really seeing this as a negative. But putting a limit on how good you think this team sorta defeats the point of being a fan in my eyes.

 

[CSF77]

Too early still. Wait for June to start hitting. See if Soler and Baez start heating up.

Teams go through streaks. Up to this point it was a solid OBA and timely hitting. In general if some hitters cool off the run production will slow. Add to it a ump can dictate the run production by giving a wider strike zone or a tighter zone. Too many factors going on here to just say they are this or not.

Trends wise I'm seeing Baez, Hayward and Soler heating up with the weather. The team should still be fine as long as there is someone on base and some hitters driving guys in.


Just looked. Fowler has cooled off. .235 over the last 7 games. He has pretty much carried the team. Jason is heating up. .400 over the last 7 with Zobrist hitting .385. Rest have been cold over the last week.

 

[Diehardfan]

Too early still. Wait for June to start hitting. See if Soler and Baez start heating up.

Teams go through streaks. Up to this point it was a solid OBA and timely hitting. In general if some hitters cool off the run production will slow. Add to it a ump can dictate the run production by giving a wider strike zone or a tighter zone. Too many factors going on here to just say they are this or not.

Trends wise I'm seeing Baez, Hayward and Soler heating up with the weather. The team should still be fine as long as there is someone on base and some hitters driving guys in.

Yeah, I agree. Cubs had a pretty damn good third baseman named Ramirez who started slow almost every year but almost always ended up where he needed to be. Unfortunately, the Cubs didn't have the kind of depth back then that they do now and by the time he got rolling...the season was already lost or in peril.

 

[chibears55]

Seeing a 10 pitch first inning, I've noticed the Cubs have been a little more aggressive the last couple games then what they normally are and not making the starters work early.
I looked back at the box scored and noticed also just 1 walk in each of the two losses.

Be interesting to watch and see if pitchers are more aggressive throwing strikes now knowing this team is very patience.



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[CSF77]

Seeing a 10 pitch first inning, I've noticed the Cubs have been a little more aggressive the last couple games then what they normally are and not making the starters work early.
I looked back at the box scored and noticed also just 1 walk in each of the two losses.

Be interesting to watch and see if pitchers are more aggressive throwing strikes now knowing this team is very patience.



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My edit kinda has shown the trend going on. Fowler going cold has effected the team. Heyward has been heating up so we will see if he fills the void at the top.

What would help the most is getting someone other than Ben Z hot lower in the line up. Bryant, Rizzo and Soler all have been under .200 this week. Russell also is right there. Someone needs to step up.

 

[chibears55]

Why Russell bunting ?
SMH

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