Your thoughts on Heyward so far?

[beckdawg]

It takes a certain kind of GM to give a 32 year old pitcher a six year deal and Andrew Friedman and the Dodger group doesn't seem like they're that kind of team. They wouldn't go six on Grienke, not sure why they'd go six on Arrieta.

I get that but i'd also suggest that you're already paying Kershaw big time money and have one of the better farm systems in baseball(probably the best). Kershaw's 28 and they've yet to break through championship wise. You can't really let him go many more years without making another big push given how great he is. If for example you got say 3 years like the past 2 from Arreita out of a 6-7 year deal from 32-35, you'd have a good shot at being what the dback were with Johnson/Schilling. I'd also say that while in general you shouldn't trust older pitchers, Arreita's game does lend itself to aging well. He's been a high 50's ground ball rate and while he throws 94 it's not like dropping that down say 3 mph would kill him. He'd be less effective sure but a less effective Arrieta is still better than a lot of pitchers.

Ultimately that might be the reason the cubs keep him and all this is posturing. I'm just saying if he goes anywhere, LA makes more sense to me than the Yankees because who do they even have that would be top end talent after they clear their books? Sure they could in theory throw a godfather contract at Harper but if you do that then do the same to Arrieta what else is there? Their farm system isn't any where near as good as LA's and LA's prospects are closer to the majors or are already there.

 

[cubsmann]

-Of course Ariettas family lives in Chicago because he plays here. When he played in Baltimore his family lived in Baltimore. Duh

-Airetta is not winning the Cy Young with Kershaw around. Will never give him back to back with Kershaws stats

I disagree. Last year Arrieta won the Cy Young. His team wins almost every time he starts. The only place Kershaw gets Jake is in K's and that shit doesn't matter as much as opposing BA and ERA. Jake's is like 1.72. And he's 10-1. Will likely win 20 games again. And he's already pitched one ho hitter this year. I could easily see another one especially with like 20 games remaining against the Reds.

But you think it doesn't matter to a guy moving his family all over the country for a job. It nearly cost my father his marriage and he did it like twice. Kids have school and friends plus this team is very close and chemistry is part of the intangibles that matter to a guy deciding where he's going to play.

The Cubs will likely sign him to 5 years at $30M a year. That's $150 fucking million guaranteed. How much does a guy need for Christ's sake?!! Even if they don't the Cubs will be just as dominant without him. But the Cubs have the money to make every guy on the team happy. If they cry poor I say **** you. I pay like $5K a year per seat for nights and weekend games only. Season tickets went up 43% this year but Im happy to pay it because Im going to be at the first World Series played at Wrigley since 1945. And Im one of thousands of season ticket holders. Plus with all the TV revenue and merchandising. If any team can't pay their players i would tell them to find another line of work. There's no salary cap in baseball and likely will never be one as long as the PA exists.

 

[Omeletpants]

Airetta is not going to win the Cy Young award

He already said he is not giving the Cubs a hometown discount

 

[TC in Mississippi]

I disagree. Last year Arrieta won the Cy Young. His team wins almost every time he starts. The only place Kershaw gets Jake is in K's and that shit doesn't matter as much as opposing BA and ERA. Jake's is like 1.72. And he's 10-1. Will likely win 20 games again. And he's already pitched one ho hitter this year. I could easily see another one especially with like 20 games remaining against the Reds.

But you think it doesn't matter to a guy moving his family all over the country for a job. It nearly cost my father his marriage and he did it like twice. Kids have school and friends plus this team is very close and chemistry is part of the intangibles that matter to a guy deciding where he's going to play.

The Cubs will likely sign him to 5 years at $30M a year. That's $150 fucking million guaranteed. How much does a guy need for Christ's sake?!! Even if they don't the Cubs will be just as dominant without him. But the Cubs have the money to make every guy on the team happy. If they cry poor I say **** you. I pay like $5K a year per seat for nights and weekend games only. Season tickets went up 43% this year but Im happy to pay it because Im going to be at the first World Series played at Wrigley since 1945. And Im one of thousands of season ticket holders. Plus with all the TV revenue and merchandising. If any team can't pay their players i would tell them to find another line of work. There's no salary cap in baseball and likely will never be one as long as the PA exists.

Arrieta is asking for, and will likely get, a 6 year $200 plus million contract. I think the Cubs would gladly give him 4 years at $35 mil per but there's no way he takes that and why should he when some team will almost certainly beat that? They will trade for a young starter. Who and when are the questions.

 

[TC in Mississippi]

On the the original purpose of the thread Heyward is slashing a respectable .265/.344/.419 in his last 30 games and an even better .288/.354/.492 in his last 15. With summer kicking in he's likely to continue those trends.

 

[Omeletpants]

On the the original purpose of the thread Heyward is slashing a respectable .265/.244/.419 in his last 30 games and an even better .288/.354/.492 in his last 15. With summer kicking in he's likely to continue those trends.

I just wish he would stop hitting so many ground balls to the second baseman. A lot of his hits have gotten through but you cant count on that.

He should he hitting the ball to LF and how about getting the ball into the air? Isnt lauch angle a huge stratgey of the hitting coaches on the cubs? I have zero confidence that this guy could hit a sacrifice fly if needed to score a run

 

[beckdawg]

On the the original purpose of the thread Heyward is slashing a respectable .265/.244/.419 in his last 30 games and an even better .288/.354/.492 in his last 15. With summer kicking in he's likely to continue those trends.

I'm wondering how much that early season wrist injury sapped his power. The batting average and OBP were always going to fix themselves but I was more curious about his power numbers dropping really low. He is a .339 on the year slugging wise for a guy who's career numbers are .424. So, it's definitely good to see those trending up int he last month or so.

 

[cubsmann]

Im sick of watching every game and when Heyward comes up it seems liks an automatic out. Why the hell does he have to hit second?!!!! With his average he should be hitting 8th or better yet not hitting at all...

 

[TC in Mississippi]

Im sick of watching every game and when Heyward comes up it seems liks an automatic out. Why the hell does he have to hit second?!!!! With his average he should be hitting 8th or better yet not hitting at all...

His OBP is .354 over the last month. That's what you want hitting second.

 

[beckdawg]

His OBP is .354 over the last month. That's what you want hitting second.

Plus he can run. If he gets on base you might end up with a double via the SB or might be able to go first to third.

 

[chibears55]

My thoughts oh Heyward so far

Frustrating because he been so inconsistent
Would love to see him go on a little hit streak of like 10 games , and hopefully that gets him going

Sent from my LG-V495 using Tapatalk

 

[cubsmann]

His OBP is .354 over the last month. That's what you want hitting second.

Man that's bullshit. You do realize that a good part of that OBP is him legging out a potential DP ball that wipes out the lead runner right? Every time the guy comes up he's hitting a ground ball right to the second baseman or popping it up. Did this asshole never learn how to hit the ball to the opposite field?!! No way this guy is hitting second in this lineup had he not been a big free agent signing. I guarantee you Maddon would love to bench his ass in favor of Szczur or Almora Jr or Baez or Soler when he gets back even though Junior looks to be playing everyday now that Fowler in on the DL.

The guy has killed so many rallies it makes me sick. Every time he comes up he's hitting a ground ball to second. Or he's popping up to the right side. Its like he's playing pepper with the second baseman. **** Heyward, overpriced, under producing pile of dog shit.

What I want hitting second is a guy who gets on base all the time and is setting the table for Bryant and Rizzo . Not a guy who the only reason he doesn't hit into a million DP's is that he's so fast. With this lineup we should have 1st and 3rd with no one out most of the games we start. Instead its man on first one out all the damn time and its not because he's hitting to get on. His OBP is so high because he's legging out potential DP balls that would wipe most guys out. This is unacceptable on a team as good as the Cubs...

 

[brett05]

You do realize that a good part of that OBP is him legging out a potential DP ball that wipes out the lead runner right?

A Hannity moment....force plays hurt the on base percentage, not help.

What I want hitting second is a guy who gets on base all the time and is setting the table for Bryant and Rizzo .

So like Heyward who has been on base .354 over the last month.

 

[brett05]

The only place Kershaw gets Jake is in K's and that shit doesn't matter as much as opposing BA and ERA. Jake's is like 1.72. And he's 10-1. Will likely win 20 games again. And he's already pitched one ho hitter this year. I could easily see another one especially with like 20 games remaining against the Reds.

Clayton beats Jake in a ton of categories including ERA.

But you think it doesn't matter to a guy moving his family all over the country for a job. It nearly cost my father his marriage and he did it like twice. Kids have school and friends plus this team is very close and chemistry is part of the intangibles that matter to a guy deciding where he's going to play.

And there are plenty of people that move all over the country with their family that are just fine.

 

[TC in Mississippi]

Listen, I get it. Heyward's start of the season was tough to watch. I really think his wrist discomfort and starting with a new team led to him starting slower than he ever has and he was already a slow starter. However he has really turned it around in the last month with an OPS in the .775 range and his SLG over .400 which is where it should be. He's never going to be quite the hitter you want him to be but he does have a career .775 OPS so you should expect a hot streak in SLG which should get him close to that eventually. In the meantime he's performing and you sure wouldn't want that defense out of the lineup.

 

[Parade_Rain]

Man that's bullshit. You do realize that a good part of that OBP is him legging out a potential DP ball that wipes out the lead runner right?

Fielders Choice goes AGAINST OBP. Learn the game of baseball. Thanks.

 

[Parade_Rain]

Listen, I get it. Heyward's start of the season was tough to watch. I really think his wrist discomfort and starting with a new team led to him starting slower than he ever has and he was already a slow starter. However he has really turned it around in the last month with an OPS in the .775 range and his SLG over .400 which is where it should be. He's never going to be quite the hitter you want him to be but he does have a career .775 OPS so you should expect a hot streak in SLG which should get him close to that eventually. In the meantime he's performing and you sure wouldn't want that defense out of the lineup.

Absolutely. It's been frustrating, and especially for him as the player, but he appears to be coming out of his slumber. This is a big deal to have him hitting, if the Cubs continue to march on after the AS break.

 

[cubsmann]

Fielders Choice goes AGAINST OBP. Learn the game of baseball. Thanks.

Still do you really think an OBP of .364 deserves to be hitting second in this lineup? He's hitting almost 30 points below his career BA and 100 points below his career OPS. This is not a productive player on a team that expects to win a championship and hitting second. The guy should be benched in favor of someone hitting better like Almora Jr, or Szczur, or LaStella (when he gets off the DL), or Soler. **** I'd rather anyone batting second than Heyward. Its sucks that you can't penalize a guy for not hitting up to his potential without shooting yourself in the foot because what's his trade value right now? Try next to nothing because he has an EIGHT YEAR CONTRACT with guaranteed money. To me a guy who is batting 30 points less than his career average is lazy.

 

[Omeletpants]

Still do you really think an OBP of .364 deserves to be hitting second in this lineup? He's hitting almost 30 points below his career BA and 100 points below his career OPS. This is not a productive player on a team that expects to win a championship and hitting second. The guy should be benched in favor of someone hitting better like Almora Jr, or Szczur, or LaStella (when he gets off the DL), or Soler. **** I'd rather anyone batting second than Heyward. Its sucks that you can't penalize a guy for not hitting up to his potential without shooting yourself in the foot because what's his trade value right now? Try next to nothing because he has an EIGHT YEAR CONTRACT with guaranteed money. To me a guy who is batting 30 points less than his career average is lazy.

Lazy? You have a very strange way of phrasing your points. Heyward is anything but lazy. He needs coaching and refocusing on not trying to pull every pitch. He has the ability to hit a ton of line drive to the opposite field but he doesnt. That's not being lazy

 

[cubsmann]

Lazy? You have a very strange way of phrasing your points. Heyward is anything but lazy. He needs coaching and refocusing on not trying to pull every pitch. He has the ability to hit a ton of line drive to the opposite field but he doesnt. That's not being lazy

Or he's choking. Which is worse? They're both equally bad. You're right I don't know the guy but if he does need coaching why isn't he in the batting cage constantly. If it were me I'd be so afraid of failing that I would work until I worked through the problem. And it doesn't take long to fix a problem with your swing assuming its even the problem. It looks like he really doesn't care when he's not really running out those weak ground balls to second base...