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Just in case anyone thinks this past weekend was some kind of fluke – or that the recent injuries to Baez and Rizzo doomed the Cubs. They have had one foot on the proverbial banana peel for months now.
On June 9th, the Cardinals got swept by the Cubs. Since then:
The #STLCards are 58-35.
The Cubs are 45-47.
— STL Sports Central (@stlsportscntrl) September 23, 2019
I just checked. Whats good about all of this is that Kimbrel has pitched 21 innings for the Cubs this year. That’s enough for him to quality to get a card in Strat-O-Matic.
And with 12 walks and 9 homeruns – so far – in 21 innings his card will be really bad. And I mean REALLY BAD!
The long wait to early February is just about to begin.
r/Esteemed Rat
This is true.
Not having Baez, Rizzo, Hamels, and Russell at full strength hurt them some no doubt but their real problem all year has been the bullpen and that was very evident this past weekend. Their situational hitting against anyone not named Pittsburgh has been spotty too, not to mention their shoddy defense and baserunning. The Cardinals are just more fundamentally sound this year.
Having said all of that the key to the entire series was probably us finding a way to win Thursday night. That really set the tone. If the Cubs come back and win that game in dramatic fashion things could have snowballed in a different direction. Thankfully it went or way and we got into their heads, which is a role reversal.
Not having Russell probably helped the Cubs. He has been awful this year and Nico Hoerner has stepped in nicely.
Agent calls out MLB for inaction after Cubs Kris Bryant injured slipping on wet base in rain https://t.co/9792vI5o4G via @SunTimes
— Gordon Wittenmyer (@GDubMLB) September 23, 2019
Cubs beat writer noting that bad pitching signings last year hurt the Cubs then and this year, too.
Any "reckoning" on the North Side should start at top for a Cubs team that performed as well as its roster was built, @GDubCub writes. https://t.co/S0ypQAoxKE
— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) September 22, 2019
I called him, Chatwood and Morrow "2018" whiffs. Those moves crippled that season and hamstrung the payroll. Got half a season of production from a closer total in '18 from that group (combined negative WAR on other two).
Long-term Darvish's value remains to be seen.
— Gordon Wittenmyer (@GDubMLB) September 23, 2019
No way. Discussing the Cubs meltdown and looming shakeup is about as fun as it gets. I could do this all day.
I find it amusing that they are going to make Maddon the scapegoat. Let’s see if David Ross or Joe Girardi can do any better with that pitching staff. I am assuming they will have to trade some core position players for pitching this winter if they want a chance to reclaim the NLC next year.
It’s no secret that the Cubs are going the way pioneered by Mo’ in hiring a dude they can pay peanuts to. Being qualified is not a concern.
The Cubs are in a tough spot. While they could afford to add more payroll, it would put them in luxury tax prison again and that’s probably not something you do unless you think you have a championship team. Their pitching staff is old and they have little in the minors to replenish it.
Their lineup is still good with a few excellent talents (Bryant, Rizzo and Baez) surrounded by a mish mash of average to above average guys. It’s a little like the MV3 Cardinals, except that team was better built to work around strengths that the team needed rather than this group. They are not good on the bases, not good on defense (look at Castellanos’ defensive numbers…they are in Jose Martinez territory) and playing guys out of position doesn’t help. It is tough to imagine them being in a better position in 2020 unless they make some very shrewd trades.
I find it amusing that they are going to make Maddon the scapegoat.
Far be it from me to defend Maddon, but if you consider the following statements in a vacuum, it is a little funny:
1. Franchise goes 108 years without winning a World Series and has been a long-standing model for coming up short in its best years and a model of futility in its worst years.
2. Franchise hires a new manager.
3. In five seasons under this manager, the franchise goes to three league championship series and wins a World Series.
4. After the fifth season, this manager is relieved of duties for underachieving.I agree Euro. In this case I think Theo’s ego is getting the best of him, but then again, how many FO’s admit their mistakes? Not many.
To gscottar: The Cubs have been officially eliminated and the Cardinals (no matter what happens ahead) will advance farther than the Cubs this season. This is fact, as the vultures circle Wrigley.
Cubs trend
2016 Won World Series
2017 Lost NLDS
2018 Lost Wild Card
2019 Missed playoffsTheo Epstein and Joe Maddon appear headed for a conscious uncoupling as Cubs collapse continues https://t.co/CL8stF7ieW
— Paul Sullivan (@PWSullivan) September 26, 2019
Thanks Brian! I mentioned this in yesterday’s game thread but congrats to everyone in the organization, including the front office, for finally breaking the curse and advancing further than the Cubs.
Watching their little “dynasty” crumble in front of our eyes is a glorious thing to witness!
I will have to admit that I am still not a fan of how our front office is so passive at the trade deadline and at the winter meetings but hey it worked this year so kudos to Mo and company! They stood pat and it worked this time. Now, let’s be a bit more aggressive next time please.
Remember how indignant the Cubs were over their 79 win preseason projection? They currently have 82 wins…wouldn’t it be great if they finished 82-80?
Going forward, they are not in a good place. They are going to have to pay their stars in a couple of years and their service time manipulation of Bryant isn’t going to do them any favors. Rizzo, Baez and Bryant are all going to be free agents after 2021 and with the way their payroll looks I can’t see them affording them all comfortably (you’ve got to figure at least $80M a year for those three). Their system is not good and the rotation and bullpen should only be worse next year. I’d imagine them as a winning team in 2020 but more like this year’s record than anything approaching a division contender.
There may be some rumblings of a rebuild in Chicago which would be fun to see. Hopefully the tank job goes more like Cincinnati’s than the last one Chicago pulled off.
Good post Stlcard25. You make good points about their payroll being waylaid for about 3 or 4 people but what is missing is this: PITCHING – they really have practically nothing in the minors from what I have heard and, as a result, they buy their pitchers………….only the current crop is showing its age and a new crop will soon have to be bought. So, if they continue to buy veterans, add quite a few more million. They took the fast way to the top by spending but they are finding out that staying at the top takes a bit more planning. We shall see.
I would expect them to be a contender as long as they are willing to have $220M payrolls but things certainly haven’t worked out as they planned. They knew all along that they had a 7 year window due to expire at the end of 2021 but they figured they would have 2 or 3 WS titles by then. Wrong.
The massive spending will keep them afloat for awhile but the glaring holes in the pitching staff and the gutting of the farm system are having negative consequences. I would expect them to hit the trade market and free agent market hard this winter, along with a new manager.
They could certainly retool but it’s hard to imagine them getting much better in the process. They’ve got two great trade pieces, in essence (Bryant and Baez) and a couple of OK ones (Schwarber and a guy like Happ or Almora). I’m sure they could get a front line starter for Bryant or Baez, but what do you lose in the lineup then? And I’d argue that we’ve got a lot more trade capital than the Cubs past those two stars.
I know a lot of their fans (like ours) are clamoring for Cole but they’ve got tough money decisions to make if they want to avoid the luxury tax and still sign a $30M+ a year starter. In the lineup, Castellanos carried them for half a year but he’s a FA too and is a bad defender (their OF alignment is so bad with Heyward in CF being the best but still out of position).
This is where their trades of guys like Torres and Jimenez really hurt. They got their WS for Torres but the Piper has come to be paid. Again, I see the Cubs being competitive but not a real contender going forward.
I feel like this fits here considering the Theo discussion and gscottar’s newfound appreciation for Mo.
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