***Official 2023 Chicago Cubs Thread***
- Thread starter BigJCy
- Start date
I would as well.
I also would rather have received something of value for Schwarber instead of saving $2 million to sign Pederson
The way he's hitting right now what else do they need to see that he's not ready for a chance at the big league?
What could he possibly still need to show at this point? He (and Morel) are both crushing AAA pitching to an absurd degree. There's nothing more they can do in the minors. Either they're ready or they're AAAA players. Either way, it's time to find out which it is.
Morel already had some success last year in the majors when he skipped AAA and wound up playing in 113 MLB games. His average wasn't the greatest at .235 but he still hit 16 HR and 47 RBI along with 4 triples and 19 doubles. Pretty good showing for a kid that wasn't finished with his minor league development yet. He did cool off later in the season, his batting averag in the 1st half was .266 but just .194 in the 2nd half. Kind of expected once teams got some film on him and adjusted how they pitched to him. But between his MLB experience and how he is just killing AAA pitching right now don't see much reason to delay bringing him up at this point as he'd be an upgrade over Rios and his .100 batting average right now. Rios has just 124 games in the big leagues over 5 seasons so take away the 12 he has played so far this year and he and Morel have practically the same MLB experience but Morel is 6 years younger and can play multiple positions.
So does there come a point where people start questioning Ross? I know he inherited a rebuild, but the guy sure hasn't done much that would indicate he's a good manager.
CycloneErik
Well-Known Member
He was definitely a risk hire. I know he’s probably great with the players and everyone likes him, but not sure he’s manager quality.
It's doesn't make sense to me how Maddon was let go after 5 years while winning a World Series and making 3 straight NLCS.
Meanwhile Ross is already on Year 4 with nothing to show for it and they look like he's their man the next 2 or 3 years through this rebuild.
You see. Joe had independent thoughts and wanted to manage his own games without the front office making every decision and we just couldn't have that. Rossy happily writes down whatever the analytics people give to him and makes every single move based solely on what they fed to him.
I'll always love Maddon for winning the World Series, he should be cherished in Chicago like Ditka is. I think with the core group still intact at the time and them greatly underachieving Maddon became the fall guy because it's always easier to replace the manager before replacing the players. I had my criticisms of how he handled his pitching decisions at times too, sometimes had too quick of a hook for some guys then didn't pull other guys soon enough. His management of Chapman nearly cost them the WS too but thankfully that worked out ok.
Eventually the talent will be there where we'll know if Ross is the right guy or not. Still enough of a rebuild going on that he still has a fairly long leash I think.
I was fine with Maddon except his nonsensical lineups where he basically pulled names out of a hat drove me nuts. I'm more of a believer in roles from each spot and guys getting into a routine on where they bat in the lineup.
The problem with Ross is we've already seen 4 years of him now and he hasn't really showed much. The 2020 team is probably more like an 81 win team, they just took advantage of Darvish pitching in a short season.
I guess the jury is still out on Ross but it might end up being 6 or 7 years before we get an idea of how good he is.
I wasn't kidding when I said a few pages back that I don't think it'll take 90+ wins to win this division. It's better than it has been lately, at least from top to bottom, but no team that wins it is a serious WS contender. They just get a puncher's chance by making the playoffs.
Wasting no time to get Mervis into the lineup
- Nico Hoerner, 2B
- Dansby Swanson, SS
- Ian Happ, LF
- Seiya Suzuki, RF
- Cody Bellinger, CF
- Trey Mancini, DH
- Matt Mervis, 1B
- Patrick Wisdom, 3B
- Miguel Amaya, C
He doesn't have a hit in first 2 games, but Amaya has impressed me at bat. Doesn't look overmatched. Would be curious how close to 100% his arm is. Haven't seen him uncork a throw down to 2nd.
Is the plan to send him down to AA or AAA when Gomes comes back? Or is there a chance he sticks?
Is the plan to send him down to AA or AAA when Gomes comes back? Or is there a chance he sticks?
He has had some great swings and is hitting the ball hard. Just needs to hit 'em where they ain't
