Beyond Ross's obvious favoritism I'm troubled by the idea no one in the front office apparently has the gumption to tell Ross he has to sit him. Complete dysfunctional mess.
MLB: ***Official 2022 Chicago Cubs Season Thread***
- Thread starter CYdTracked
- Start date
Beyond Ross's obvious favoritism I'm troubled by the idea no one in the front office apparently has the gumption to tell Ross he has to sit him. Complete dysfunctional mess.
I hope the rumors about us signing a stud SS allows Hoerner back to 2nd (& backup SS) making Bote a supper sub.
Heyward has had more than enough regular playing time with Suzuki out that most teams would have DFA by now. In June he's pretty much played every game except for pinch hitting on 6/2 and it has not been pretty:
.170/.228/.283/.511 hitting (9 for 53 AB)
1 HR
3 2B
6 RBI
4 BB
9 SO
He hit .143 in May in 35 AB with 1 extra base hit. Just mind boggling why they continue to keep him around when they have other OF in the organization they could be giving playing time to that surely can't do any worse. Heck the Brewers just DFA Lorenzo Cain who has been just as brutal as Heyward this season: .179 BA 1 HR 9 RBI -0.3 WAR for Cain and .192 1 HR 10 RBI -0.7 WAR for Heyward. Granted the Brewers are in contention for the division and the Cubs are not but should be enough of a reason for the Cubs to cut some deadweight during a lost season.
.170/.228/.283/.511 hitting (9 for 53 AB)
1 HR
3 2B
6 RBI
4 BB
9 SO
He hit .143 in May in 35 AB with 1 extra base hit. Just mind boggling why they continue to keep him around when they have other OF in the organization they could be giving playing time to that surely can't do any worse. Heck the Brewers just DFA Lorenzo Cain who has been just as brutal as Heyward this season: .179 BA 1 HR 9 RBI -0.3 WAR for Cain and .192 1 HR 10 RBI -0.7 WAR for Heyward. Granted the Brewers are in contention for the division and the Cubs are not but should be enough of a reason for the Cubs to cut some deadweight during a lost season.
how confident are we that Ross is the person who determines the lineups? Given how little experience he has and how prominent a role that front offices play in determining lineups for each game I think it's not safe to assume that Ross is the only person to blame for that. He's not blameless, but I can't imagine given how analytically inclined Hoyer is that his office doesn't have a pretty large say in who is in the lineup each day.
In unrelated news Paul Wilson just entered witness protection.
These lineups are coming directly from Jed after they've been run by ownership. Ricketts knows what he's paying Heyward and he'll be damned if he's not on the field every day.
FWIW, on Pardon My Take, Schwindel and Wisdom made it sound like anytime there is a delay, Heyward is the one rallying the fellas and prepping to play.
Entirely possible he’s on the roster for character purposes. Get the young guys an idea for the mindset it takes to win in the league.
Entirely possible he’s on the roster for character purposes. Get the young guys an idea for the mindset it takes to win in the league.
Just speculating, but maybe the Cubs have been playing Heyward to possibly create an iota of trade value prior to the deadline. If Heyward got hot over a 2-3 week span, some playoff team might be willing to give the Cubs an iffy prospect. Getting something is better than nothing.
But I would agree. If Heyward doesn't start hitting, they should let him go after the break. Doesn't matter how good of a clubhouse guy he is. The reality, if the Cubs waive him, some playoff team will pick him up on the cheap. He a good clubhouse guy and defender. They can hope he finds his bat in September. If not, he gets left off their playoff roster.
Cubs aren't getting anything in return for a trade for him if anyone is even remotely interested which I doubt anyone is in the market for a guy that hits into weak contact and double plays anymore. They'd likely have to eat all of his salary to even get a bucket of batting practice balls in return for him. I'm not even that confident if he was DFA that he'd get a big league offer after he clears waivers. That being said he went 2-4 last night so that probably bought him another month's worth of starts to "figure it out."
What you've described is a coach, not an everyday right fielder.
Have him on the roster, whatever. But he's taking ABs from younger guys that deserve them.
Hoyer was on Chicago Sports radio this morning for a half hour. Some good questions asked (3rd link down on this page):
goodkarmabrands.com
Kap & J.Hood - Good Karma Brands
goodkarmabrands.com
What year is this? He hasn't hit in 6 years! That 2015 NLDS form isn't coming back
The last 2 years indicate he is done. He hit .214 in 2021 & .209 this year. But maybe a playoff team is willing to take a risk and hope he gets a hot bat. He is still an above average outfielder who can play CF or RF. This is 2022 where a .250 batting average would be 20 points above the average.
Heyward hit .252 with 21 HRs in 2019 and hit .265 the Covid year. IMO if the Cubs let him go, someone will pick him up. If Heyward doesn't catch lightning in a bottle during September, they just leave him off their playoff roster. The Cubs are going to have to pay his salary- so no real risk to a new team.
