Jason Motte

[TC in Mississippi]

I was going based on how their most likely to start the season
and just like the cubs prospects are question marks going into the season, we have no idea how Rondon will fare against major league hitters...

Sox went out and added a couple good bats to surround Abreu, but like i said the bottom half of lineup is a big question mark.

The cubs improved their rotation but so far their lineup is questionable because we dont know what were going to get from Alcantara, Baez, Soler, and eventually Bryant. ..

Its going to be an interesting season on both side of town

Oh don't get me wrong I actually like what the Cubs have started over the Sox' rebuild on the fly. Doesn't make me any less impressed in their chutzpah though. Chicago deserve competitive baseball on both sides of town.

 

[CSF77]

I understand wanting to be the best team in the city, but it just seems like an older brother/younger brother type deal with the posters on this site.

I just don't get it

Cubs were founded in 1876. They have had many names including the white sox in the early years.

Sox were founded in 1900 with the foundation of the AL. Think the league was called the federal league before the NL/AL. The took one of the Cubs old names as the white sox.

I followed the Sox during the black tops era in the 70's then followed Harry over to the Cubs when he left the sox.

Sox were more fun back then in the old park. Cubs were more traditional baseball.

Each their own.

 

[CSF77]

I would say right now the Sox are a wild card contender as is. If Shark starts getting run support then they could take the division.

Cubs are a .500 team on paper. They need Arreta and Hendricks to repeat. BP should be the teams strong point. I don't see many teams wanting to face it behind in a game. Youth wise I can not see Baez striking out at a 40% clip. If he is over 40% by May 1 I would expect him demoted with La Sortta plugged in at 2B.

I honestly don't think they "need" much going into 2015. They should be adding Bryant in mid Apr. Russell should be close by Aug with Almora. It will get to the point that they will end up having to trade out talent to fix the playing time issue. That doesn't even get into Schwarber following the next year.

 

[JosMin]

I would say right now the Sox are a wild card contender as is. If Shark starts getting run support then they could take the division.

Cubs are a .500 team on paper. They need Arreta and Hendricks to repeat. BP should be the teams strong point. I don't see many teams wanting to face it behind in a game. Youth wise I can not see Baez striking out at a 40% clip. If he is over 40% by May 1 I would expect him demoted with La Sortta plugged in at 2B.

I honestly don't think they "need" much going into 2015. They should be adding Bryant in mid Apr. Russell should be close by Aug with Almora. It will get to the point that they will end up having to trade out talent to fix the playing time issue. That doesn't even get into Schwarber following the next year.

I don't expect either Russell or Almora to get a call-up this year, especially Almora. The only thing that'd translate for him right now his his defense. With Russell having the hamstring problems last year, they're going to want to give him a full rip at AA/AAA to prove he's ready to handle a full slate. Bryant is the only impact guy that should get PT at the MLB level. I'd still prefer Almora to be included in a package to land another starter. Wood, Almora, Vogelbach plus one more B-tier guy for David Price or Cole Hamels. Pleaseeeeeeeee. Please please.

 

[TC in Mississippi]

I would say right now the Sox are a wild card contender as is. If Shark starts getting run support then they could take the division.

Cubs are a .500 team on paper. They need Arreta and Hendricks to repeat. BP should be the teams strong point. I don't see many teams wanting to face it behind in a game. Youth wise I can not see Baez striking out at a 40% clip. If he is over 40% by May 1 I would expect him demoted with La Sortta plugged in at 2B.

I honestly don't think they "need" much going into 2015. They should be adding Bryant in mid Apr. Russell should be close by Aug with Almora. It will get to the point that they will end up having to trade out talent to fix the playing time issue. That doesn't even get into Schwarber following the next year.

I'd agree with both assessments I suppose. Far less ifs on the Sox but a lot of teams in that Wild Card territory. Frankly if Detroit implodes early I think they probably win the division. I did hear something the other day that made me scream at the radio though; someone called into the SCORE and asked Bruce Levine who was the better pitcher Sale or Samardzija and he said they were equal. Sale is one of the best 5 pitchers in the league, Samardzija is a very, very good starting pitcher but he's not that. Somebody needs to tell me why this guy is considered one of the best baseball reporters in Chicago.

Ok, on to the Cubs. Lots and lots of ifs in the lineup. Low end projections of Bryant and Soler regressing only slightly along with Joe Maddon's shifting lineups should have the team in most games. That's not even considering Baez. If I had to put a number I'd say they look like an 83-85 win team with a chance to be better but probably not worse. I think the tale of this team will be told at the deadline. If Arietta is a true #2 I'd like to see them get a solid 3 to bump Hammel to 4 and Hendricks to 5. We'll all see I won't we?

 

[DJMoore_is_fat]

If this works out - our bullpen could be nasty. We have multiple good young, talented arms. Adding Motte for 1-year at $4.5M is a low-risk/high-reward deal. He looked awful last year but he the sample size is small and he just returned from TJ surgery. Plus he brings a winning history with him. Can't help but notice the infusion of winning people brought on board this year --- primarily Maddon and Lester.

I want one more veteran bat with a winning history. Somebody who can play every day, get on base at a good clip, can be show our young guys how to do it.

 

[DJMoore_is_fat]

I would say right now the Sox are a wild card contender as is. If Shark starts getting run support then they could take the division.

Cubs are a .500 team on paper. They need Arreta and Hendricks to repeat. BP should be the teams strong point. I don't see many teams wanting to face it behind in a game. Youth wise I can not see Baez striking out at a 40% clip. If he is over 40% by May 1 I would expect him demoted with La Sortta plugged in at 2B.

I honestly don't think they "need" much going into 2015. They should be adding Bryant in mid Apr. Russell should be close by Aug with Almora. It will get to the point that they will end up having to trade out talent to fix the playing time issue. That doesn't even get into Schwarber following the next year.

My understanding of Theo's thought process behind sustained success is having wave after wave of talent continually come up. It looks like we could have four years of talented guys being called up. Last year it was Alcantara, Baez, and Soler. In 2015 it will be Kris Bryant and Edwards. In 2016 we'll have Addison Russell and Almora. In 2017 we'll have Schwarber -- if not earlier.

As these guys come up and some meet expectations while others bust out -- we can add piece meal with FA and trades to fill in the gaps. So the on paper .500 win total in 2015 would be a nice stepping stone. We could bring in another big piece next winter and be serious about making a deep playoff run in 2016.

It appears like 2015 will be the first year in which we start trending towards the sustained success Theo talks about. If all goes as planned, we could have a six year run between 2016-2022 where we make the playoffs four or five times.

 

[CSF77]

My understanding of Theo's thought process behind sustained success is having wave after wave of talent continually come up. It looks like we could have four years of talented guys being called up. Last year it was Alcantara, Baez, and Soler. In 2015 it will be Kris Bryant and Edwards. In 2016 we'll have Addison Russell and Almora. In 2017 we'll have Schwarber -- if not earlier.

As these guys come up and some meet expectations while others bust out -- we can add piece meal with FA and trades to fill in the gaps. So the on paper .500 win total in 2015 would be a nice stepping stone. We could bring in another big piece next winter and be serious about making a deep playoff run in 2016.

It appears like 2015 will be the first year in which we start trending towards the sustained success Theo talks about. If all goes as planned, we could have a six year run between 2016-2022 where we make the playoffs four or five times.

Russell: 917 minor league AB's: .300/.379/.522 line. 103 BB to 222 SO's. 2:1 ratio which is very good. Around 10% BB to 20% SO's which is what you want.

He is very close right now an looks like a impact talent. IMO he has a better approach to hitting to Castro and would be a upgrade long term.

Almora has been injure prone to this point. I expect him to start in AA but if his hand is 100% I expect him in AAA by summer.

It wouldn't surprise me if Castro is traded out at the dead line to open up SS for Russell. CF I still believe the long term solution is Almora and Alcantara is a place holder. I think he ends up a super sub.

 

[CSF77]

I'd agree with both assessments I suppose. Far less ifs on the Sox but a lot of teams in that Wild Card territory. Frankly if Detroit implodes early I think they probably win the division. I did hear something the other day that made me scream at the radio though; someone called into the SCORE and asked Bruce Levine who was the better pitcher Sale or Samardzija and he said they were equal. Sale is one of the best 5 pitchers in the league, Samardzija is a very, very good starting pitcher but he's not that. Somebody needs to tell me why this guy is considered one of the best baseball reporters in Chicago.

Ok, on to the Cubs. Lots and lots of ifs in the lineup. Low end projections of Bryant and Soler regressing only slightly along with Joe Maddon's shifting lineups should have the team in most games. That's not even considering Baez. If I had to put a number I'd say they look like an 83-85 win team with a chance to be better but probably not worse. I think the tale of this team will be told at the deadline. If Arietta is a true #2 I'd like to see them get a solid 3 to bump Hammel to 4 and Hendricks to 5. We'll all see I won't we?

Shark's BB/9 dropped below a 2. With his SO near 200 per and giving 200 IP per. And with his raw stuff which hits 97 regularly he has ace potential. I think he is just starting to emerge a a force and the sox are going to be pleased. Give him run support and he has 20 wins with his stuff.

 

[CSF77]

Cubs part: What they need is a lead off or hope Alcantara emerges as one. His BB ratio has been around 6% over his career in the minors so he is not a typical top of the order bat. There is reason why they have been looking to trade for one. Coghlan lacks spark. He put up quality AB's but lacks impact at the top.

Neither are ideal.

Rotation I believe Wada repeats. Hendricks is in question. Arrieta not sure. His Fip was in the 2's which is hard to believe that is what he is. But it backs up his ERA which was not the case in Wood and Dempster as they regressed the following years. Meaning FIP is a better stat vs ERA doesn't factor luck or D.

 

[TC in Mississippi]

Shark's BB/9 dropped below a 2. With his SO near 200 per and giving 200 IP per. And with his raw stuff which hits 97 regularly he has ace potential. I think he is just starting to emerge a a force and the sox are going to be pleased. Give him run support and he has 20 wins with his stuff.

No doubt he's a very good pitcher. Sale is a special pitcher. Of the good players on the White Sox he's the only one I really covet.

 

[TL1961]

Remember when this thread was about Jason Motte?

 

[chibears55]

Remember when this thread was about Jason Motte?

Ha.. remember when this was a cubs forum

; ))