The only way Rondon is off the 25-man is if he is DFA'd, and that isn't happening. Grimm is the man, sans someone going to the DL.
MLB: ***Official 2017 Chicago Cubs Season Thread***
- Thread starter Bret44
- Start date
Yea, Rondon hasn't been too bad other than the utter dumpster fire in the 8th inning last week.
Caratini needed to go back to AAA to get regular playing time and develop more so getting Avila solves that problem along with needed a veteran C behind Contreras. Not sure what Caratini's long term future with the Cubs will be as Contreras looks like one of the cornerstone players on the roster right now along with Bryant and Rizzo. Caratini looks like a guy that at least offensively will eventually be an everyday MLB player so guessing he may be used in a trade down the line at some point. Contreras has really taken a giant step forward this year and could be an elite catcher for several years if he continues to play like he has lately.
Glad the Cubbies were able to get a backup. Avila isn't that great but I like Caratini being able to play a few more games a week in Iowa. I would've not been happy if we landed a reliever for those two guys but the addition of a veteran backup, even though he isn't that great, makes me happier.
Will be interesting to see what the Cubs end up doing with their relievers. Honestly could see just about any of them sans Strop and Davis leaving, because even though they've all been alright this year, they've all put up nearly identical stats.
CycloneErik
Well-Known Member
Bullpen planning is one area where I know I can't even pretend I could work in a front office.
I love what we have in general, but I know that bullpen guys seem to change radically from year to year. I don't have any clue how to project bullpen success from one year to the next.
Tooting my own horn from 07/19/2017.
https://cyclonefanatic.com/forum/th...bs-season-thread.227989/page-104#post-5760208
Rondon does good when he comes in at the start of a fresh inning. Throw him into dirty situations (like Edwards loading bases), and he is horrible.
Maybe I'm just looking in the wrong place, but I'm surprised there hasn't been any chatter about Bartman getting a WS ring. Personally, I love it. He has taken the high road at every turn in this saga, routinely turning down opportunities to be in the spotlight or make money off of the incident and his story. What Cubs fans did to him was despicable (I rewatched Catching Hell tonight, and it's honestly hard for me to watch without tearing up out of shame), and if any fan in the history of baseball deserved a ring, it's Steve Bartman. And even in accepting the ring today, he was extremely gracious but still eager to avoid the spotlight.
His statement yesterday irritated the hell out of me. He talked about how he hoped this could be the healing he needed and how he felt like he was welcomed back to the Cubs family. Ricketts, Theo, and company have made multiple attempts to reach out to him and do something for him, which he's turned down at each point. Its only now that he's received a ring with quite a bit of value that he feels the healing process has begun? What happened to him was ****** but its been +13 years. Get on with it. I hope I dont have to hear about him again after this. Like I said, his statement yesterday really rubbed me the wrong way.
CycloneErik
Well-Known Member
And this is why it's good we gave him a ring to close out the chapter.
You're really taking this hard. Maybe a couple naps or something will help.
This was just a classy gesture all the way around. Everyone can move on. Life is good.
The only issue I have with the whole Bartman saga is people saying everyone would have done the same thing. No, they wouldn't have but it really doesn't matter. The guy shouldn't have had his life ruined over a mistake he made at a freaking baseball game. If it takes a million dollar ring to make it right, so be it.
Maybe not everyone, but I think a vast majority of people would of done the same thing. Hell, pretty much every person around Bartman was going for that ball.
I call BS. It wasn't classy since the Cubs insisted on making it about them and leaking it to the press. If the Cubs wanted to, they could have done this without any press which would likely have been Bartman's preference.
Ahhhhhhh....the Cubs didn't "leak" it to the press, they released the story to the press. Also, Bartman was quoted in that release, and Im pretty sure the Cubs didnt make his quotes up, which means he was fully on board with this going to the press.
CycloneErik
Well-Known Member
In some circles, that's setting an example, a nice way for the Cubs to let everyone know that it's (past) time to move on.
You've got to want to have a problem with this to have a problem with this.
