Can't say I like it, but I honestly don't place that in the same category as the original topic, which is Puig's behavior. I'm signing off of this topic, by the way. You can view Puig and others like him how you see fit.
MLB: ***Official 2017 Chicago Cubs Season Thread***
- Thread starter Bret44
- Start date
Can't say I like it, but I honestly don't place that in the same category as the original topic, which is Puig's behavior. I'm signing off of this topic, by the way. You can view Puig and others like him how you see fit.
Puig is any easy scapegoat to hate because of the Cubs struggle. What he is doing annoys me, but than again every little thing annoys me because of the way the Cubs are playing.
Call me crazy but I think we need a real cleanup hitter. Our cleanup hitter all postseason prior to last night tried bunting for a damn hit.
I'd give away 3 starters on this team (Heyward, Schwarber, and Happ/Baez/Russell) and they pick the damn prospect.
Then find another outfielder who can play every day and consistently get on base.
I'd give away 3 starters on this team (Heyward, Schwarber, and Happ/Baez/Russell) and they pick the damn prospect.
Then find another outfielder who can play every day and consistently get on base.
Our entire outfield is platooned. It's never good when you're like "well, let's plug him in and see what's up" with every single outfielder. Should have a minimum of one dude who guarantees a spot in every lineup
You would think when you spend a $180M on a corner OF, you would get an everyday player but alas we got one who hits like a backup SS. We're the first team ever with a defensive specialist who plays corner OF.
The bullpen is a dumpster fire but I think its getting too much attention. We won't win enough games score 1 or 2 runs per game. Here is the offensive output so far this postseason:
3
3
2
0
9
2
1
1
This team has struggled all season against good pitching. And we've seen A LOT of good pitchers this postseason. But still, no one on this team is batting above .230 in the post season with half of the team around the .150 mark. That won't lead to much success. I'm not sure what the solutions is because we have good hitters.
All I know is these games are FRUSTRATING to watch.
3
3
2
0
9
2
1
1
This team has struggled all season against good pitching. And we've seen A LOT of good pitchers this postseason. But still, no one on this team is batting above .230 in the post season with half of the team around the .150 mark. That won't lead to much success. I'm not sure what the solutions is because we have good hitters.
All I know is these games are FRUSTRATING to watch.
You are going to give away Heyward, Schwarber, Happ/Baez/Russell AND a prospect for ONE outfielder? You better be getting Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio back
Well if you include Heyward in the deal, you have to include someone good to offset the negative value Heyward brings. That's a brutal deal to try to unload.
*Three straight NLCS appearances*
"Let's blow this whole thing up, we suck! "
"Let's blow this whole thing up, we suck! "
I will say the one Saving Grace to what is going on right now is I know this cubs run is not over. This would be a harder pill to swallow if you knew that this Cubs team was done after this year.
Hitting coach has to go this off season. Way too many good hitters regressed this year. Piss poor approaches by nearly everyone at the plate all season and especially this post season. If this guy cant fix baez try and bring in someone who can.
I think they took the whole launch angle philosophy too far. It makes for some really bad offensive nights when a pitcher is on and not allowing players to lift the ball. That and they seem to have an entire team of hitters who think they should be hitting 3-5 in the order. They need some high BA players to set the table.
do we though? I mean, obviously Bryant and Rizzo are good hitters that are just struggling right now. Maybe Contreras as well. The rest of them? I think you can make a very good case that we've overrated them, some of them substantially so.
There really aren't any answers on the FA market to fix this offense this offseason and I have a hunch that they'd really rather not add a lot of payroll this offseason so they can throw everything at the 2018 free agents.
Maybe an offseason without everyone telling them how great they are will help some of these young hitters.
Javy Baez can't be fixed, he is what he is. Which by way, is a pretty good baseball player. Elite defensive middle infielders with power don't grow on trees.
The problem is right now, that's what Addison Russell is too. (along with Heyward and Almora, who don't have power but also doesn't whiff as much,)
All four of those guys by themselves are good baseball players, but when that's half your lineup you're in trouble. Throw in a terrible year for Schwarber, a decline from Zobrist due to age and you've got yourself a lineup full of hitters that aren't terribly tough to get out for weeks at a time.
Schwarber and Russell have the tools to be a lot better hitters than they've shown. I'd be in favor of trading Schwarber but I wouldn't sell low either.
So a lot of the Cubs players essentially last night admitted that they are just flat tired from the Nationals series and the plane incident that happened on the way to LA. You've got to wonder how different it would be right now if game 4 of the NLDS was not rained out and the Cubs were able to win that.
It's really been an interesting year. Sure, we made the NLCS, and it was for a third straight year. And that is an accomplishment. But anyone who has watched this team all year knew it was fundamentally flawed. We benefited from a crappy division and an incredibly easy second half schedule. We made our mark beating up on bad teams with bad pitching. We had a few strokes of luck against the Nationals in a 5 game series. This just doesn't feel like an NLCS team in the way 2015's team did.
I'm not suggesting they blow things up, but guys either need to get back to themselves next year or they need to consider making some changes. Hanging our hat on being in the NLCS is shortsighted with the way the year went.
Who regressed during the regular season this year? Baez took a big step forward, postseason not withstanding. Zobrist took a big step back and Russell fell off a little, but Zobrist is old and Russell had off the field issues during the time he struggled.
we are basically stuck with the main guys for next year. A lot of pitchers are gone. Cubs just need to spend money. Budget is rather low considering how well we are doing. Longer offseason then last year should help also.
Needs: Catcher, 2 Starting P, 2-3 Relief P
Needs: Catcher, 2 Starting P, 2-3 Relief P
The division wasn't that bad, nor was the second half schedule that easy. Look at Washington's division and their schedule all year, that's an easy path through a really crappy division.
