IST: Cubs vs. Cards

[SilenceS]

Probably?

Here's what it actually was: another fuckin double play, with a man on 3rd.

He is leading baseball in DPS and griund ball outs.

At this point, he doesn't even have trade value.

For sale: poor defender batting .250. order now and we'll throw in his daily mental lapses.

You never put emotion in your post. Never ever.

 

[CRM 114]

It gets old losing to this team over and over again.

Good night everyone.

 

[SilenceS]

It gets old losing to this team over and over again.

Good night everyone.

They are the better team. They are beating everyone.

 

[Parade_Rain]

Probably?

Here's what it actually was: another fuckin double play, with a man on 3rd.

He is leading baseball in DPS and griund ball outs.

At this point, he doesn't even have trade value.

For sale: poor defender batting .250. order now and we'll throw in his daily mental lapses.

This BS gets old. Seriously, give Wong credit for an awesome play and move on. Just another ridiculous post.

 

[TL1961]

.221 in May
.245 in June
.235 in July

Batting in the middle of the order.

Baez with a broken hand would be a plus.

 

[SilenceS]

.221 in May
.245 in June
.235 in July

Batting in the middle of the order.

Baez with a broken hand would be a plus.

Lol

 

[tony053087]

Why the hell is jackson still on this team taking a roster spot.

 

[Diehardfan]

.221 in May
.245 in June
.235 in July

Batting in the middle of the order.

Baez with a broken hand would be a plus.

Montero, Russell and Fowler are at .230 or less yet the guy you want gone is Castro?

The guy you should be bitching about is Jackson. He takes up a slot that could be filled by almost any pitcher in the organization. He's only used when the game is decided because no one trusts him. He's used so rarely that they could actually replace him with a postion player. This guy needs to be DFA'd.

 

[CRM 114]

They are the better team. They are beating everyone.

Still doesn't make it any less miserable.

 

[Boobaby1]

.221 in May
.245 in June
.235 in July

Batting in the middle of the order.

Baez with a broken hand would be a plus.

Actually, I am looking forward to Baez. I think this is the last year for Castro in a Cubs uniform.

If Baez can hit .230, I would gladly take that because he has the chance to go yard with every swing.

My opinion is the infield next year will be Bryant 3B, Russell SS, Baez 2B, Rizzo 1B, and Montero behind the plate.

Would also like to see Schwarber in LF, Span in CF, and Soler in RF.

That would be a good line-up.

 

[beckdawg]

I don't want to put words in anyones mouth but it sure feels like some bought too hard into the early season. I was entirely expecting a month long period where the young hitters just didn't hit. Now, I didn't expect Castro to be in a 2013 like funk but he's not exactly a grizzled old dude either. We're talking about every player in the starting line up except Cogs(30), Fowler(29), and Montero(almost 32) being at 25 or under. And what's more the bench largely due to injuries to Olt and La Stella is a joke.

The cubs are currently 7th in OBP(probably not including tonights stats) in the NL. They are 13th in batting average. I don't feel like doing a deep dive statistically right now but it certain seems like the issue is the swing in miss in their game. Montero, Russell, Soler and Bryant are all striking out at a very high rate. Montero is only in the 24% range which isn't abysmal but it's significantly below average. The other 3 are above 29% Combine that with Castro and Fowler not hitting like expected and you're talking about a pretty significant issue with driving in runs. They are second in the NL in walks so clearly they are getting on but not doing much with guys on. Unsurprisingly the cubs lead the NL in K's at 739. St Louis is 10th at 624. That's over 100 outs where there was 0 positive such as advancing runners.

It being near the break they need to get Castro going right. I also believe Fowler was playing significantly better prior to his foot injury but I'd have to check on that as he may have been sliding some prior to that. Also, a lot of the recent struggle happened with Soler out of the line up so him being back should help. But ultimately until the young hitters adjust back to the league similar to what Rizzo has done this year there likely will be long periods of issue. They don't have 2-3 vets they can lean on until everyone else figures it out. If both Rizzo and Castro were playing like 2014 it would definitely take some pressure off the young guys but it largely seems like the Rizzo and Bryant show these days.

 

[brett05]

Do you guys think Rizzo or Bryant would have more value now on the trade market?

I know they will be cornerstones for the Cubs over the next 10 years, just curious.

Bryant. And it's not even remotely close in value. Rizzo is so good, but so are quite a few first base guys. Bryant plays at a premium position and has a longer controlled value. Love them both, but Rizzo is in rarefied air.

 

[CSF77]

I don't want to put words in anyones mouth but it sure feels like some bought too hard into the early season. I was entirely expecting a month long period where the young hitters just didn't hit. Now, I didn't expect Castro to be in a 2013 like funk but he's not exactly a grizzled old dude either. We're talking about every player in the starting line up except Cogs(30), Fowler(29), and Montero(almost 32) being at 25 or under. And what's more the bench largely due to injuries to Olt and La Stella is a joke.

The cubs are currently 7th in OBP(probably not including tonights stats) in the NL. They are 13th in batting average. I don't feel like doing a deep dive statistically right now but it certain seems like the issue is the swing in miss in their game. Montero, Russell, Soler and Bryant are all striking out at a very high rate. Montero is only in the 24% range which isn't abysmal but it's significantly below average. The other 3 are above 29% Combine that with Castro and Fowler not hitting like expected and you're talking about a pretty significant issue with driving in runs. They are second in the NL in walks so clearly they are getting on but not doing much with guys on. Unsurprisingly the cubs lead the NL in K's at 739. St Louis is 10th at 624. That's over 100 outs where there was 0 positive such as advancing runners.

It being near the break they need to get Castro going right. I also believe Fowler was playing significantly better prior to his foot injury but I'd have to check on that as he may have been sliding some prior to that. Also, a lot of the recent struggle happened with Soler out of the line up so him being back should help. But ultimately until the young hitters adjust back to the league similar to what Rizzo has done this year there likely will be long periods of issue. They don't have 2-3 vets they can lean on until everyone else figures it out. If both Rizzo and Castro were playing like 2014 it would definitely take some pressure off the young guys but it largely seems like the Rizzo and Bryant show these days.

They need to add more contact hitters around the core.
Fowler: LH hitter: .210 RH hitter: .340 Day and night. Their was a real reason why Cogs lead off last night. Wil Venable: .258 vs RH pitching. F/A after the year so I see a match going on here. He becomes a pretty good option in CF.

Coghlan just needs to work on getting hits. I thionk he got out of wack with trying to hit home runs early year which caused his early slump. Apr: .228, May: .220, June: .317 July: .167. He had a strong June. Key to me was 15 BB/13 SO. Every other month that was flipped. This month 6 BB/3 SO so I'm guessing if that continues he should end up with a strong month.

Castro: BABIP: Apr: .368, May: .270, June: .261, Jul: .200. He is a contact hitter. He is not having much luck. 2B are down so he is not hitting line drives like he used to . He is not the same player he was earlier in his career. Mostly due to too many peeps tinkering with his mechanics. Should left it alone IMO. Swaping out a hitting coach every year will play havoc with a young kid. I think he needs to just go back to being aggressive at the plate and try to push the ball to RF more. Stop trying to be something else.

So Adding Will would help a lot. It would not cost much to acquire him. I'll bet if they offered Carlos Pimentel it would be a done deal.

 

[CSF77]

Montero, Russell and Fowler are at .230 or less yet the guy you want gone is Castro.

The guy you should be bitching about is Jackson. He takes up a slot that could be filled by almost any pitcher in the organization. He's only used when the game is decided because no one trusts him. He's used so rarely that they could actually replace him with a postion player. This guy needs to be DFA'd.

I agree. But he has 11 mil plus what is owed this year. I can see him axed later on. Him giving up 4 runs did not help with the O generating 0 runs though. Is 2-0 better than 6-0? It was John Frikin Lackey pitching. Not a ace. But for some reason the Cubs can not figure the guy out.

 

[Diehardfan]

I agree. But he has 11 mil plus what is owed this year. I can see him axed later on. Him giving up 4 runs did not help with the O generating 0 runs though. Is 2-0 better than 6-0? It was John Frikin Lackey pitching. Not a ace. But for some reason the Cubs can not figure the guy out.

This has very little to do with Jackson's latest embarassment. With very few exceptions, he pitches only in lost causes....any pitcher the Cubs have on any level can do that. It's a wasted pitching slot that you could replace with a position player. As far as the money goes.....you gotta pay his worthless ass whether he's collecting dust in the bullpen or panhandling for jobs on the open market. That money is gone either way. The only reason I suspect they've held onto him this long is that they are praying some other team will be desperate enough for pitching to actually offer something for him at the deadline. If that's the case, fine....hold onto him a bit longer but if he's still here after the deadline then they have completely lost their minds.

 

[Diehardfan]

Actually, I am looking forward to Baez. I think this is the last year for Castro in a Cubs uniform.

If Baez can hit .230, I would gladly take that because he has the chance to go yard with every swing.

My opinion is the infield next year will be Bryant 3B, Russell SS, Baez 2B, Rizzo 1B, and Montero behind the plate.

Would also like to see Schwarber in LF, Span in CF, and Soler in RF.

That would be a good line-up.

No way I would ever move Russell away from second. He's taken to second base like he was born there. The only guy I've ever seen move from one infield spot to another and make it look so natural was a guy named Sandberg.

 

[CSF77]

This has very little to do with Jackson's latest embarassment. With very few exceptions, he pitches only in lost causes....any pitcher the Cubs have on any level can do that. It's a wasted pitching slot that you could replace with a position player. As far as the money goes.....you gotta pay his worthless ass whether he's collecting dust in the bullpen or panhandling for jobs on the open market. That money is gone either way. The only reason I suspect they've held onto him this long is that they are praying some other team will be desperate enough for pitching to actually offer something for him at the deadline. If that's the case, fine....hold onto a bit longer but if he's still here after the deadline then they have completely lost their minds.

I get that but who is going to replace him? Maybe when Soriano gets up up axe Jackson.

End of the day he is around due to the investment. He was making 5 mil per he would be axed.

It was a bad contract. Bottom line

 

[beckdawg]

I get that but who is going to replace him? Maybe when Soriano gets up up axe Jackson.

End of the day he is around due to the investment. He was making 5 mil per he would be axed.

It was a bad contract. Bottom line

Hopefully they can deal him with cash as a wavier trade for someone looking for a cheap rental starter for next season.

 

[brett05]

Hopefully they can deal him with cash as a wavier trade for someone looking for a cheap rental starter for next season.

Can't imagine any team doesn't have that today in AA/AAA

 

[beckdawg]

Can't imagine any team doesn't have that today in AA/AAA

Well is he really any different than the cubs picking up Maholm and others off the scrap heap? I mean at $11 mil next year he is different but if the cubs are willing to eat say $6 mil of that I'm sure someone is going to need a depth starter and Jackson at least seems to always be healthy. I'm thinking a team like Philly could make sense as they seem to be years away from competition. Then again their GM doesn't think normally. If Milwalkee sells off hard they could be another team. I could also see him doing well in a Safeco/Petco type park with an athletic defense behind him. I don't think this includes last night but fangraphs has him at 3.30/2.91 ERA/FIP on the season. You could honestly do far worse in FA especially for someone who is as durable as he is.

To be perfectly honest, if they didn't already have Wood who I think is a better pitcher as well as being younger I honestly wouldn't hate him in the long relief role. You're paying him either way and it's not exactly like you're expecting good things if you're bringing in your long relief guy anyways.