Cubs thread

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  • #210477
    1toughdominican
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    It’s my guess that the Cubbies will win more games than the Brewers in ’23. My reasons for this guess are as follows…They won 12 of their last 15 games of the ’22 season. They also swept the NY, Mets in a 3 game series played in NY last year. That’s no bargain series. However, here’s the kicker, and it may hurt the feelings of Redbird fans…The Cubbies ran the table and swept the Philadelphia, Phillies for the entire ’22 season going 6-0 vs. the team that knocked the Cardinals out of the post-season in the first round. In any event, I think they’ll be competitive in ’23, and that’s always good for Redbird fans. There’s not too many things better than a 4 game Cardinals/Cubs series played under the sunshine at Wrigley Field with a lot riding on the outcome.

    #210909
    gscottar
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    #210910
    gscottar
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    #210925
    Nathan Leopold Jr.
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    At least the Cubs are trying.

    #210975
    Brian Walton
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    Yeah, that is why they didn’t TRY to keep Contreras (or Bryant, or Baez or Rizzo or …).

    We all know if the Cards had signed those same guys, Mancini, Chafin and Moore, you would have called them “slugs”.

    What a laughable post, even from you!

    #211048
    Nathan Leopold Jr.
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    Brian:

    I don’t use the word slugs anymore. You intimated that it was not nice…probably right. My point is the Cubs are trying. They addressed their shortstop need and we didn’t. They addressed other needs and we addressed one. They’re trying to improve their team and the Cardinals are not. But I’m glad I made you laugh. I hope I’m wrong but I think we’ll all need that for 2023.

    #211052
    Brian Walton
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    You’re right. They are trying… to get back to .500! But I don’t think the balanced schedule will be their friend. Fewer games against the Reds and Bucs.

    #211054
    blingboy
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    I will save Nate the trouble of pointing out that the balanced schedule will not be the Cardinals friend either.

    #211056
    Brian Walton
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    Agreed, but the better team is still going to win more games despite the opposition. The Cardinals finished 19 games ahead of the Cubs with a similar schedule. Does anyone really believe the Cubs are closing the gap this offseason? I doubt it.

    #211062
    Jnevel
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    The Cubs will probably be better than last year. And, they likely closed the 19 game gap at least slightly. But they will not be good. They have a solid rotation that should be better than last year. And, they got a little better defensively. But I don’t think their hitting or bullpen is likely to be any better. They lost their best hitter and signed multiple bad hitters plus a perfectly average to slightly better than hitting shortstop. They are really just filling out a roster and hoping they will complete some Hail Mary passes. I doubt they will be a .500 team. I see them finishing in 4th a little ahead of the Reds and a couple games behind the Pirates.

    #211064
    PadsFS
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    Nathan Leopold Jr.
    My point is the Cubs are trying. They addressed their shortstop need and we didn’t. They addressed other needs and we addressed one. They’re trying to improve their team and the Cardinals are not.

    I find it ironic that you think they addressed their shortstop need when SS was their best or second-best position last year. Their other #1 or #2 position? Catcher, which they ‘addressed’ by signing Tucker Barnhart, the guy with a worse OPS than Knizner.

    By position, the Cubs placed here (WAR in parentheses)
    CA: 9th (4.0 WAR) lost Contreras ~ 3.9, add Barnhart ~ 0.0)
    1B: 24th (-0.6) added Hosmer ~ 1.1
    2B: 17th (2.3) moved Hoerner over ~ 4.0
    SS: 11th (3.7) added Swanson ~ 5.7
    3B: 24th (1.7) still have Wisdom
    LF: 5th (3.4) still have Happ
    CF: 22nd (1.5) added Bellinger ~ 1.2
    RF: 20th (1.6) still have Suzuki
    DH: 8th (2.4) added Mancini ~ -0.5
    P: 26th (8.7) added Taillon ~ -0.3

    The addition of Swanson is cancelled out by the loss from Contreras. Maybe Mancini, Taillon, and Bellinger can reclaim their past 2018/19 glory. I wouldn’t call that *trying*. By the way, the Cardinals SS position was the 5th best in baseball last year, they were the best in baseball at 2B (and 1B and 3B).

    #211065
    Oliver
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    Funny with all the “best in baseball” they managed rather quickly to join the Cubs watching the playoffs from the couch. The best 1B and 3B were not good during their two games short playoff run. I know I know the playoffs are a crapshoot but it seems the Cards focus more on he first four letters with they recent performance.

    #211068
    PadsFS
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    If they were us, I would like the Stroman and Swanson deals. Those were both good deals if you are competing. We could have used Stroman last year and would likely need him this year too. Swanson could’ve freed up guys like Donovan and Gorman to be traded for a SP in the Sandoval, Skubal, Lopez range.

    #211075
    gscottar
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    The Cubs will probably be a .500 club in 2023. Better than last year but still not quite ready to be in the playoffs. They are trending upwards but are still a year or two away from being a division contender.

    The thing about them is that they have the financial might to be a real power but they have never had the discipline to build a good farm system that was sustainable and that didn’t involve extreme tanking. Time will tell if they have changed their ways or not.

    #211084
    Brian Walton
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    Like I said at the time, Theo bailing out when he did was not a coincidence.

    #214149
    Jnevel
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    Dansby Swanson is hitting a solid .042 for Chicago with 2 more strikeouts so far today. Bellinger under .200 as well at the moment, but hey, he’s been there for a few years now.

    #214150
    bicyclemike
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    Let’s send DeJong to the Northsiders for Swanson – maybe get the Cubs to pony up a little cash as well. 😀

    #214152
    1toughdominican
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    Although he’s done near nothing against any team for the last 2 or 3 seasons, I seem to recall that Paulie featured some pretty good hitting against the Cubs in the past, so maybe it’s worth a try, Bikemike.

    #214154
    bicyclemike
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    I think the Cubs are trying to improve, but you can’t say the Cardinals are not trying. The Redbirds addressed their number one position player need by signing, ironically, the former Cubs catcher.

    The Cardinals have recently brought in two guys that had MVP caliber years last year, with one guy winning it. The Cardinals have some terrific young players who look to give them a lot of production in the near future.

    So yeah, the Cubs are trying to get back to some relevance. But you cannot seriously say they are trying and St. Louis is not.

    #214155
    1toughdominican
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    I think the Cubs will win more games than the Brewers this season. They showed the definite signs of an improving team in ’22. They swept Philly for the entire season and swept a 3 game series against the Mets in NY. Furthermore, they closed out the end of the ’22 season with a stretch in which they won 11 of 12 games. I’m not picking them to unseat the Astros, but the Cubbies should be a lot better this year.

    #214156
    Jnevel
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    I still think they finish below .500 and I have them in 5th place ahead of the Reds only. I agree they are “trying” but they are doing it in such bad ways.

    #214157
    1toughdominican
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    I’m reasonably certain it’s simply a typo, Jnevel, but 5th place won’t place them ahead of anyone. At any rate, the Cubs finished 14 games below sea level last season, but suffered a 1st half that was not unlike a protracted waterboarding session. They were good during the entire 2nd half and handed several contending teams some trouble. Cincinnati and Pittsburgh each lost 100 games.

    #214163
    bicyclemike
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    Time will tell, but I think they way overpaid on the Swanson signing. He had by far his best year last year, and is entering his age 29 season. Usually player’s production goes downhill after 30, although it is not a given. Goldschmidt had a terrific season last year well into his 30s. Might turn out to be another Jason Heyward type deal though, who somewhat ironically started his career with the Braves as well.

    It could be Dansby will stay at his 2022 level for a few years. But he really was nothing all that special until last year, so they are taking on a lot of risk giving him the deal they did. Plus they had a good shortstop, so it is a bit of an odd decision to give Swanson the big contract.

    #214166
    blingboy
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    Plus they had a good shortstop, so it is a bit of an odd decision to give Swanson the big contract.

    I think what they needed to do was upgrade 2B, and sliding Hoerner over was a good option. Assuming Swanson performs. Having a pair of 1st rounders manning the middle infield looks good on paper if nothing else. (But I bet our pair of mid-round utility guys out WARs them.)

    #214171
    gscottar
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    I would say that at a minimum the Cubs will finish 3rd in the NLC and possibly 2nd. I also wouldn’t put much stock in spring training stats. They don’t always mean much, especially for veterans.

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