Why on earth does it seem like I see their name in on every free agent? Playing for the Marlins is like playing for the Raiders or Timberwolves, it's basically MLB hell.
MLB: Chicago Cubs Offseason Hot Stove
- Thread starter enisthemenace
- Start date
Because they have a ridiculous amount of money but don't know how to spend it, as seen with that ridiculous stadium and silly contract to Stanton.
That stadium truly is ridiculous. Hard to even watch a game on TV that's broadcast from that thing
Seriously...I haven't been this excited for a baseball season since 2009's collapse. I kind of gave up hope with Hendry after that. Now that this new regime is in place...if we land Shields, we have a top 5 rotation in the league, 3 potential All-Star infields (not including Baez yet, but including Bryant)
Our only weakness in my eyes is our outfield, and even that is a positive. Solers numbers were right up there with the best outfielders in the game last year, Fowler can be amazing at times, and Chris Coghlan put up his best numbers since being named Rookie of the Year.
Our only weakness in my eyes is our outfield, and even that is a positive. Solers numbers were right up there with the best outfielders in the game last year, Fowler can be amazing at times, and Chris Coghlan put up his best numbers since being named Rookie of the Year.
If we land Shields, that would make us a legitimate contender in the division this year. I'm not holding my breath (really looking like SD will get him), so I'm expecting somewhere around 85 wins this year. Maybe more if we get lucky and all the rookies play well.
I'm going to be cautious with my expectations this year as there is a lot of questions still on what kind of team offensively the Cubs will be. There is a lot of young talent there but remember how Rizzo and Castro struggled in their first full season before they broke out last year so I expect a lot of the same with Soler and Baez and while I think Bryant may have some ups and downs too he's shown in the minors that he can make adjustments quickly so not as worried with him. OF still is not stellar but there is help on the way in the minors hopefully and don't forget that Bryant could eventually move to the OF too.
The rotation should be the strength this year but even in the past few years you have to remember that even when they got good starts from their pitchers the offense struggled to score runs. I think if everything falls in place and guys at least meet expectations for this year this roster could contend for a wild card spot but I think they'll let this team develop and see what they have and if they are in it go ahead and make some trades at the deadline but I think they'll fill in the biggest needs next offseason and make a strong effort to be contenders in 2016.
The rotation should be the strength this year but even in the past few years you have to remember that even when they got good starts from their pitchers the offense struggled to score runs. I think if everything falls in place and guys at least meet expectations for this year this roster could contend for a wild card spot but I think they'll let this team develop and see what they have and if they are in it go ahead and make some trades at the deadline but I think they'll fill in the biggest needs next offseason and make a strong effort to be contenders in 2016.
Agree with the last two posts.
My post was strictly about excitement, not expectations. I think this is the first year we will finally see the true "team of the future," as it will hopefully be the last year I look up stats for our minor leaguers more often than I do for our Major Leaguers
My post was strictly about excitement, not expectations. I think this is the first year we will finally see the true "team of the future," as it will hopefully be the last year I look up stats for our minor leaguers more often than I do for our Major Leaguers
Shields to the Padres. 4 years/75 million. Cubs wouldn't go more than three years, which ultimately hurt him.
Would I have liked Shields? Definitely. Am I mad we didn't get him? Definitely not. We have a ton of money for 2016, and are just two pitchers short of having perhaps the best rotation in baseball.
2016 Notable Free Agent Pitchers
David Price
Jordan Zimmerman
Ian Kennedy
Yovani Gallardo
Johnny Cueto
Jhoulys Chacin - Likely cheap because he's injury prone
Trevor Cahill - Bad last couple years
Chad Billingsley
Brett Anderson - Likely cheap because he's injury prone
I truly think we can get Price and Zimmerman. Zimmerman is one of the best pitchers in the league but in one of the least popular markets in the MLB in Washington, which has hurt his popularity. I think he's a better pitcher than Shields, but will take less money than Shields because he doesn't have the Shields name.
Would I have liked Shields? Definitely. Am I mad we didn't get him? Definitely not. We have a ton of money for 2016, and are just two pitchers short of having perhaps the best rotation in baseball.
2016 Notable Free Agent Pitchers
David Price
Jordan Zimmerman
Ian Kennedy
Yovani Gallardo
Johnny Cueto
Jhoulys Chacin - Likely cheap because he's injury prone
Trevor Cahill - Bad last couple years
Chad Billingsley
Brett Anderson - Likely cheap because he's injury prone
I truly think we can get Price and Zimmerman. Zimmerman is one of the best pitchers in the league but in one of the least popular markets in the MLB in Washington, which has hurt his popularity. I think he's a better pitcher than Shields, but will take less money than Shields because he doesn't have the Shields name.
Also, I hope we get Denard Span. Another National...good speed, center fielder, and a very charismatic player.
Basically he made the assumption (probably correct) that he wouldn't get 15 mil a year in year 4 on the open market
I'm hoping for Price/Cueto and Zimmerman/Gallardo/Kennedy. Pair two of those guys with Lester, Arrieta and Hendricks, and you've definitely got one of the best rotations in baseball (the best if you get Zimmerman, since that takes away from Washington's rotation).
I'd like to see how Fowler pans out before looking for another centerfielder, though. I think he's a pretty good fit for us.
Ks aren't necessarily worse than other outs at the MLB level because defenders are so good. There are very few errors, and double plays cancel out some or all of the value of productive outs.
I've seen some numbers (can't find them right now) that suggest changing one's approach with two strikes hurts hitters than tend to K a lot. Essentially, they are better off striking out more because it's better than sacrificing power or line drive rate.
Losing out on Shields is not a big deal. He's been good the past several seasons but he's also 33 so hard to justify giving him a 4 year deal because by the end of that I doubt he'll be worth $15 mil a season at age 37. I'm sure the Cubs are a little bit gun-shy with big pitching contracts after giving Edwin Jackson a 4 year deal that turned out to be a disaster. Lester is an elite pitcher, that was a good signing to make but Shields is not on the same level that Lester is plus he's 2 years younger so it wasn't like signing him was a must.
Glad to see the Cubs didn't overpay for Shields, I'd rather hold out and go after Price or one of the other big name FA's this year. I'm still holding out a little hope that Jacob Turner has a breakout year this year after working with Bosio.
Baseball Prospectus came out with a new ranking list (Top 101)
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=25538
I've always been a fan of Baseball Prospectus but this list is different from most.
Cubs have 7 top 101 prospects
Russell is ahead of Bryant
Almora is a top 40 prospect, a surprise after last season. Not sure he's top 100 in some reports.
No CJ Edwards, but Pierce Johnson makes an appearance.
Billy McKinney makes the list.
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=25538
I've always been a fan of Baseball Prospectus but this list is different from most.
Cubs have 7 top 101 prospects
Russell is ahead of Bryant
Almora is a top 40 prospect, a surprise after last season. Not sure he's top 100 in some reports.
No CJ Edwards, but Pierce Johnson makes an appearance.
Billy McKinney makes the list.
I'm impressed at how much our players our WANTING to improve. Sounds like a lot of our players have been at the facility weeks before they had to report.
I'm especially surprised with Castro. Had a great year last year and I could easily see him saying that's good enough and just hanging back. But it sounds like he's been putting in some serious work to get better.
I'm especially surprised with Castro. Had a great year last year and I could easily see him saying that's good enough and just hanging back. But it sounds like he's been putting in some serious work to get better.
