***Official*** 2019 Spring Training Thread

[chibears55]

I would put the pen at:

Lock:
Chatwood, Montgomery. Swing arms

Kintzler: Groundball spec. (5M says so and he doesn't suck right now.)

Cishek Pretty much 8-9 inning with Brach. I don't see too much drama here.

Edwards has been solid so far and should be in the late inning mix.

Bubble guys:

Duesing. He is being hit. .286. His only saving grace is 1. He is a lefty. 2. His competition (Ryan .341) (Rosario .379) are not making it interesting. Kinda default to paycheck here.

Maples: He is on the 40 and is really looking the part. I would be shocked if they push him to Iowa.

The rest are NRI and none have impressed more than Maples to date. Tazawa has history. 32 YO and a 4.50-5.00 ERA history... Webster same thing. Little younger but lacks the track record of success to justify a 40 man adjustment.

Barnette really hasn't shown much. Alozay hasn't pitched with the major league team. Mills injured. Norwood not much action. Underwood .308 BAA. only seen 3 games. Wick .273 BAA. Again not really doing anything to justify a spot.

Right now I would be hard pressed to leave Maples off the 25 man.

Bullpen going to suck this year

 

[CSF77]

Bullpen going to suck this year

That is one possible outcome.

It really comes down to if what they have performs or not.

I think that it will end up a mid league pen. It won't be top 10 or bottom 10. And that would be a successful season with this group.

 

[chibears55]

That is one possible outcome.

It really comes down to if what they have performs or not.

I think that it will end up a mid league pen. It won't be top 10 or bottom 10. And that would be a successful season with this group.

That type of success will be determined alot by how much they get out of the starters..

If their constantly getting just 5-6 inn from each starter every time through the order that gonna take a huge toll on a average/below average pen

 

[CSF77]

That type of success will be determined alot by how much they get out of the starters..

If their constantly getting just 5-6 inn from each starter every time through the order that gonna take a huge toll on a average/below average pen

If I can get 5 then 2 from Montgomery on the "A" and 5 then 2 from Chatwood on the "B" day we are doing ok.

I see this as game management. If I'm needing a piggy back game it really comes down to the fresher arm between Chatwood and Montgomery. You have to trust both and the results are what they are.

If the game is lost then you have a tough decision on who to lose for 3+ days. At that point you might want to demote and promote Underwood for a 2 inning arm.

Kintzler would be a double play only scenerio. He has a heavy sinker and gets a high clip of grounders. Putting him into scenerios that do not play into his strengths is bound for failure.

Duesing IMO is a bubble arm. He has been good and bad. Let that ride out.

 

[chibears55]

If I can get 5 then 2 from Montgomery on the "A" and 5 then 2 from Chatwood on the "B" day we are doing ok.

I see this as game management. If I'm needing a piggy back game it really comes down to the fresher arm between Chatwood and Montgomery. You have to trust both and the results are what they are.

If the game is lost then you have a tough decision on who to lose for 3+ days. At that point you might want to demote and promote Underwood for a 2 inning arm.

Kintzler would be a double play only scenerio. He has a heavy sinker and gets a high clip of grounders. Putting him into scenerios that do not play into his strengths is bound for failure.

Duesing IMO is a bubble arm. He has been good and bad. Let that ride out.

Yeah but it never reallly works out that way on a consistent basis over 162 games..

What about C day D day and E day and days when B has to cover for A because he couldn't get an out, etc etc etc..

 

[CSF77]

Yeah but it never reallly works out that way on a consistent basis over 162 games..

What about C day D day and E day and days when B has to cover for A because he couldn't get an out, etc etc etc..

That is extreme. Which is why I'm fine with Maples getting the 8th spot. He has options where Mills or Underwood can promote. This is nothing new and honestly a common tactict that Jed has utilized with the 40 man. With the rule change next year I would expect a more solid solution with the 26th man. I expect a floating spot where they can promote and demote.

Add to it Happ has options and I really don't see him making a case for starting in CF. I see his spot available for roster change also.

 

[Castor76]

Not that I think it's going to happen this year, but remember last Spring when Happ tore the cover off the ball and didn't do that well in the regular season. What if he does the opposite this season? Just something to ponder.

Edit: Just noticed that this is my Austin post, Bottom Line, I said so.

 

[beckdawg]

Almora's having one hell of a spring. He's hitting .385/.385/.667 after his first inning HR. Walks are still no existent but the average and the power are there.

 

[chibears55]

That is extreme. Which is why I'm fine with Maples getting the 8th spot. He has options where Mills or Underwood can promote. This is nothing new and honestly a common tactict that Jed has utilized with the 40 man. With the rule change next year I would expect a more solid solution with the 26th man. I expect a floating spot where they can promote and demote.

Add to it Happ has options and I really don't see him making a case for starting in CF. I see his spot available for roster change also.

So basically juggle guys up and down all year .

Which makes my point that the bullpen will probably struggle and suck..lol

 

[CSF77]

So basically juggle guys up and down all year .

Which makes my point that the bullpen will probably struggle and suck..lol

That happens in baseball much less than the Cubs.

I see it as:

2 innings or longer: Mills Underwood and Alozay.

1 inning: really any guy with options and that includes Edwards.

Now performance will play into it but I expect the pen to be Chatwood, Montgomery as 2 inning guys. Kintzler in for ground ball specific. Duesing is garbage inning scenerio. Then Maples and Edwards leading into Clishek and Brach.

That is 8 guys and a fair assessment to this point.

As far as going forward well injury typically shakes it's ugly head and they end up keeping it rotation.

But say Edwards and Maples just dominate April. Strop returns but Maples has come into his own and Edwards has become this knock out high leverage arm that you can move around...what do you do? Well short stick is based off of payroll commitment and performance

Possible outcome if no injuries. Almora runs with CF. Happ looks like crap and they have Descenso in that roll with Bote filling as back up SS. He is expendable then. So demote him and reinstate Strop. Let that play out. Say Strop fits better helping in the 7/8 and Maples is flat dominate in the 9th. Russell and Morrow return. What to do? Well Bote demotes and you are in a bind in the pen. At that point I'm looking at Duesing's 3.5 mil and his performance to date and Kintzler and his 5 mil. They might be expendable at that point.

So there are a few options going on but the thing is we have to let the games play out and it normally works itself out

 

[chibears55]

That happens in baseball much less than the Cubs.

I see it as:

2 innings or longer: Mills Underwood and Alozay.

1 inning: really any guy with options and that includes Edwards.

Now performance will play into it but I expect the pen to be Chatwood, Montgomery as 2 inning guys. Kintzler in for ground ball specific. Duesing is garbage inning scenerio. Then Maples and Edwards leading into Clishek and Brach.

That is 8 guys and a fair assessment to this point.

As far as going forward well injury typically shakes it's ugly head and they end up keeping it rotation.

But say Edwards and Maples just dominate April. Strop returns but Maples has come into his own and Edwards has become this knock out high leverage arm that you can move around...what do you do? Well short stick is based off of payroll commitment and performance

Possible outcome if no injuries. Almora runs with CF. Happ looks like crap and they have Descenso in that roll with Bote filling as back up SS. He is expendable then. So demote him and reinstate Strop. Let that play out. Say Strop fits better helping in the 7/8 and Maples is flat dominate in the 9th. Russell and Morrow return. What to do? Well Bote demotes and you are in a bind in the pen. At that point I'm looking at Duesing's 3.5 mil and his performance to date and Kintzler and his 5 mil. They might be expendable at that point.

So there are a few options going on but the thing is we have to let the games play out and it normally works itself out

You got them using 15 different relievers in first month lol

 

[CSF77]

You got them using 15 different relievers in first month lol

You are looking for definite answers in a variable environment.

I see it being flexible but performance could end up locking in those spots

There are extreme scenerios for sure good and bad.

 

[chibears55]

You are looking for definite answers in a variable environment.

I see it being flexible but performance could end up locking in those spots

There are extreme scenerios for sure good and bad.

Youre the one suggesting they use pitcher A B and C and send guys down and call guys up every other game, etc etc. etc.


I wasn't looking for any answers..lol
I simply said the bullpen gonna suck.
Their best hope to save this bullpen at least in beginning of season is if the rotation able to eat up innings, otherwise yeah it will be a revolving door between Iowa and Chicago for fresh bullpen arms starting as early as May

 

[CSF77]

Like I said the games have to play out.

But I just see it as Maples as the 8th man and Happ as the last man on the diamond and they will adjust as the season dictates.

Could it go south fast? Yes.
Could it stay effect neutral? Yes
Could everything go great where you are forced into tough and unfair decisions based off of player options? Absolutely.

It could end up a bag of all. One minuet you have too much next none around. It happens every year and writing a fixed 25 man is folly

 

[chibears55]

Kimbrel close to signing with Brewers
One of best pen about to get better

 

[chibears55]

Like I said the games have to play out.

But I just see it as Maples as the 8th man and Happ as the last man on the diamond and they will adjust as the season dictates.

Could it go south fast? Yes.
Could it stay effect neutral? Yes
Could everything go great where you are forced into tough and unfair decisions based off of player options? Absolutely.

It could end up a bag of all. One minuet you have too much next none around. It happens every year and writing a fixed 25 man is folly

You went round n round with different scenarios and ended with pretty much what i said but in a different way..lol
Their bullpen gonna suck

 

[CSF77]

You went round n round with different scenarios and ended with pretty much what i said but in a different way..lol
Their bullpen gonna suck

Don't say that to Edwards

Edwards sends message

A day after being ejected from Tuesday's 6-4 win over the Mariners by home-plate umpire Alfonso Marquez, Cubs reliever Carl Edwards Jr. admitted that he hit Austin Nola with a pitch intentionally in the sixth inning. Edwards said he was retaliating for Willson Contreras and Kris Bryant both being hit with pitches earlier in the game.

"Yeah, I did," Edwards said Wednesday. "You get to a point where you're kind of tired of the guys getting hit. I mean, those are our big guys. That's 25-man roster. Those are guys that are going to help us win championships, help us win ballgames. And, you know, all due respect, but it's the nature of the game."

Entering Wednesday, the Cubs had been hit by a pitch 16 times (third most in the Majors), with Bryant and Contreras having been hit three times each.

Maddon said he plans on speaking with Edwards about the incident.

"I'm kind of surprised. I'll research that further," said the manager. "It was a Triple-A team we were playing and I didn't think that their pitchers were necessarily being mean-spirited. So, I don't know what was going on with that. But, at the time that it happened, that's not the message I got [from Edwards]."

.

 

[CSF77]

MESA, Ariz. -- The blister that developed on Yu Darvish's right hand is in an unusual location and the problem arose on a slider for the first time in the pitcher's career. That creates a certain level of unknowns as the Cubs work on what they hope is a swift return.

The good news right now is that Darvish played catch Wednesday with no issues. The next test for Darvish, who exited Tuesday's start against the Mariners after the blister impacted the inside of his right ring finger in the fifth inning, will be a bullpen session Friday. After that Chicago will have a better gauge as to whether the starter will need more healing time.


"He said he's ready to rock and roll," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said before Wednesday's 4-4 tie with the Dodgers. "So, we'll just play it the proverbial one day at a time. But, he felt good today and he threw."

As things are currently scheduled, Darvish's next day to pitch falls on Sunday, when the Cubs face the Padres in Peoria, Ariz. It is possible that Chicago will have the pitcher stay at the team's Mesa headquarters to get his work in a more controlled Minor League setting. Maddon said that has not been decided.

Maddon also has not announced the starters for March 30-31 at Texas, leaving some flexibility for the team to move things around if necessary. Darvish projects as the No. 2 starter behind Opening Day lefty Jon Lester, but that is subject to change, especially in light of the blister.

"We just have to make sure that when he goes out and pitches that there's no real chance to open it up again," Maddon said. "You don't want that to happen. He's been throwing a ball great. He's feeling wonderful. I don't want it to be impacted by a blister. So, we've got to be very careful."

 

[CSF77]

Cubs Release Junichi Tazawa

Per Chris Cotillo of Masslive.com, the Cubs have released reliever Junichi Tazawa. Tazawa had a strong spring for Chicago, striking …

www.mlbtraderumors.com

 

[beckdawg]

Cubs apparently are sending Happ down to AAA. I'm sort of ok with this. He was having a rough spring and clearly is still working on some stuff. Not entirely sure what it means if anything long term.