Cubs roster 2019

MrTop

EOG Master
cubs /Theo 2019 must get rid of these guys

swarber - 1 at bat 1 strikeout
bote - 2 at bats - 2 strikeouts
hendrix - 1.1 innings 3 hits 1 run 0 strikeouts - soft tosser BIG " L " in a big spot




sad
 

Gabe

Horse racing expert
Batting has been the issue for some time. Unders have been hitting with them.

Too many batters who are an easy out.
 

blueline

EOG Master
David Haugh--
Nothing underscores how prone the Cubs were to offensive ineptitude more than the statistic unearthed by NBC Sports Chicago researcher Christopher Kamka: In 39 regular-season games this season, the Cubs scored one or fewer runs. Only one team experienced futility more frequently — the Orioles, with 40. The Orioles lost 115 games, more than any team in baseball.
 

FairWarning

Bells Beer Connoisseur
I don’t think they will mess with the roster much. They will bank on Bryant’s shoulder returning to health. The Addison Russell situation they will have to address. If you deal him, it’s pennies on the dollar. They need a ace and a closer also. This team reminded me a lot of the last few Nationals teams - built for the regular season.
 

FairWarning

Bells Beer Connoisseur
cubs /Theo 2019 must get rid of these guys

swarber - 1 at bat 1 strikeout
bote - 2 at bats - 2 strikeouts
hendrix - 1.1 innings 3 hits 1 run 0 strikeouts - soft tosser BIG " L " in a big spot




sad
Hendricks is going nowhere. It’s hard to ask SP’s to pitch in relief when you haven’t been asked to do it. That’s what happens when you are in a wild card game vs winning the division.
 

John Kelly

Born Gambler
Staff member
Hendricks is going nowhere. It’s hard to ask SP’s to pitch in relief when you haven’t been asked to do it. That’s what happens when you are in a wild card game vs winning the division.


Hendricks, like Greg Maddux, is more dangerous in the regular season than the postseason.

Hendricks is a thinking man's pitcher, not a power pitcher.

MrTop called Hendricks a "soft tosser."

I like that description.

The change-up is a dangerous pitch in high-leverage postseason spots.

Give me Lester over Hendricks in the postseason just like Smoltz towered over Maddux in October.
 

MrTop

EOG Master
Hendricks is going nowhere. It’s hard to ask SP’s to pitch in relief when you haven’t been asked to do it. That’s what happens when you are in a wild card game vs winning the division.




randy Johnson came out the pen. Cubs need Bumgarner types in rotation & pen. Cubs need more singles hitters too. Sharber and bote have to go bring in singles hitters. Get more men on base. 13 strikeouts says it all about your hitting. No need to worry about hitting into the shift when a team cannot hit at all. Best hitters are not the sluggers but the singles hitters ty cobb, tony gwynn, and the astro 2nd basemen altuve type players. Cubs have too many guys that try to hit HR.
 

FairWarning

Bells Beer Connoisseur
A fastball SP will have a better chance coming out of the pen than Hendricks.

One more thing about the hitting - Bryant was never the same after he got hit in the head with a pitch.
 

Valuist

EOG Master
The Rockies made a ton of mistakes and the Cubs were so bad, they couldn't take advantage of them. On MLB Network on Monday, Jim Memolo said he had talked to longtime Chicago reporter Barry Rozner and Rozner told him the Cubs were a dead team, very fatigued.

I'm trying to figure out what was going thru Joe Maddon's head in the 8th inning. There's two outs, Rizzo had just gotten a base hit. They are trailing 1-0. He decides to pinch run with Gore. He got his best possible outcome: Gore stole second and scored on a double by Baez. Could Rizzo have scored on Baez' double? We will never know, but that wasn't the go ahead run; only the tying run. Now you have a tie game and you have taken out your best hitter and replaced him with a guy with ONE CAREER HIT! You can't make that up. Did Maddon not see that potential outcome? Gore ended up coming to the plate twice, including in the last inning where he struck out on a 3-2 pitch 6 inches off the plate. I'm thinking the only possible way you pinch run for Rizzo in that instance is with a one run lead. Maddon did lots of stupid stuff in 2016 that didn't backfire. It caught up with him..
 

kane

EOG master
The Rockies made a ton of mistakes and the Cubs were so bad, they couldn't take advantage of them. On MLB Network on Monday, Jim Memolo said he had talked to longtime Chicago reporter Barry Rozner and Rozner told him the Cubs were a dead team, very fatigued.

I'm trying to figure out what was going thru Joe Maddon's head in the 8th inning. There's two outs, Rizzo had just gotten a base hit. They are trailing 1-0. He decides to pinch run with Gore. He got his best possible outcome: Gore stole second and scored on a double by Baez. Could Rizzo have scored on Baez' double? We will never know, but that wasn't the go ahead run; only the tying run. Now you have a tie game and you have taken out your best hitter and replaced him with a guy with ONE CAREER HIT! You can't make that up. Did Maddon not see that potential outcome? Gore ended up coming to the plate twice, including in the last inning where he struck out on a 3-2 pitch 6 inches off the plate. I'm thinking the only possible way you pinch run for Rizzo in that instance is with a one run lead. Maddon did lots of stupid stuff in 2016 that didn't backfire. It caught up with him..

Completely disagree with you regarding Maddon taking out Rizzo, like you say we'll never know for sure if Rizzo scores on the Baez hit, but imo he doesn't. If Maddon doesn't pinch run in that spot, there's a very good chance the game never even goes into extra innings. Now had the game been tied, different story, he probably keeps Rizzo in, but trailing by one run in the 8th, and knowing Wade Davis is coming in the 9th, pinch running Gore and having him steal represented their best chance to tie the game, and his strategy worked to perfection. You can't worry about losing Rizzo's bat later in the game since there wouldn't have been any later in the game without the run they scored in the 8th. I criticize Maddon plenty, for example, pinch hitting Heyward with the bases loaded instead of Schwarber I thought was a bad decision, but pinch running Rizzo in that spot was absolutely the correct thing to do imo.
 

Valuist

EOG Master
It was clearly the wrong move. It was right up there with his handling of the pitching staff in 2016. Do you think Dick Williams ever replaced Reggie Jackson with Herb Washington in the 70s? Never happened. This is what happens when guys think they are the smartest guy in the room. They get too cute, it backfires and they shoot themselves in the foot. It's amazing Maddon's dumb moves didn't cost them a WS in 2016. You don't take your best player out and let a track guy decide your fate.
 

kane

EOG master
It was clearly the wrong move. It was right up there with his handling of the pitching staff in 2016. Do you think Dick Williams ever replaced Reggie Jackson with Herb Washington in the 70s? Never happened. This is what happens when guys think they are the smartest guy in the room. They get too cute, it backfires and they shoot themselves in the foot. It's amazing Maddon's dumb moves didn't cost them a WS in 2016.

First off, this isn't the 70's, I don't know what Dick Williams would have done. Second, Maddon's decision worked out, he got the stolen base and the run they needed to tie the game. Had he not pinch run for Rizzo, the game ends 1-0 Rockies, I think the vast majority of managers would have done the same thing in that spot, you can't worry about losing Rizzo's bat since there wouldn't have been any more Rizzo at bats without scoring that tying run, which wouldn't have scored had Rizzo still been at first base. I respect your opinions Val, but this is something we're on opposite ends of and we'll just have to agree to disagree and move on.
 

richsox24

EOG Master
Maddon might be the worst "in game" manager in baseball. Had the Cubs not won the WS in 2016, he may have been fired after 2 years for his mismanagement of Chapman along with other horrible moves.

Buster Olney is now reporting that Maddon could be on the hot seat and that there has been some tension between Theo and Maddon
 

Valuist

EOG Master
You don't know it ends 1-0. Rizzo very well could've scored. You win or lose with your best players. Two other points: if Rizzo was a defensive liability, maybe some case could be made. Secondly, if Rizzo was slumping and the rest of the team was hitting, you could make that case. But anyone who has seen them recently knows that wasn't the case. And in NL games in extra innings where pitchers are likely to have to take a plate appearance, you can't give away a second lineup spot to a track guy who clearly can't hit.

Moving on, let's examine some other questionable decisions by JoMadd. He brings Hamels into the game in extra innings and Hamels looked good. I, along with the ESPN announcers, figured it was Hamels game the rest of the way. Then, after 2 innings, he's removed. If you are going to burn Hamels, you might as well ride him the rest of the way. So he replaces him with Justin Wilson. OK, you maybe can get an inning, maybe even a second out of WIlson. Wilson easily retires the first hitter, then Maddon trots out to remove him to bring in Hendricks. It's fricking extra innings. You've burned so many players, you can't burn a pitcher for 1 hitter in a nobody on base scenario at that point in the game. I don't blame Hendricks for the loss. He gave up 3 weak to modest contact singles in an inning, in a role he isn't accustomed to.

The Rockies overcame their own stupidity; tagging up from first on a fly ball to LF where a normal 3B (Bryant) was playing LF. Dahl had a clear open side of the infield he could've bunted for an easy hit but he wanted to be the hero, especially after making a bonehead play in RF. A catcher's interference helped keep a rally alive for the Cubs.

Brewers will coast in game 1.
 

Valuist

EOG Master
Maddon might be the worst "in game" manager in baseball. Had the Cubs not won the WS in 2016, he may have been fired after 2 years for his mismanagement of Chapman along with other horrible moves.

Buster Olney is now reporting that Maddon could be on the hot seat and that there has been some tension between Theo and Maddon

Very interesting. He makes some incredibly dumb moves. Like you said, they didn't backfire in 2016 so he was just labeled "quirky".
 

blueline

EOG Master
Who knows if Baez gets the same pitches if Rizzo is standing on first....you cant assume the double from Baez
 

Valuist

EOG Master
Who knows if Baez gets the same pitches if Rizzo is standing on first....you cant assume the double from Baez

Maybe Baez goes deep. We won't know. Why was Gore on the roster and Edwards not? Let's play extra innings, 9 against 8. And somebody on the coaching staff should've told Gore to not swing at a single pitch. Oberg was all over the plate in that at bat in the 13th. And he ends up swinging at a pitch he couldn't have hit with a 40 inch bat.

Media won't talk about this either but Colorado double switched Blackmon out of the game. Not quite as bad a move as the Cubs and they still had a couple guys with firepower in Arenado and Story. But a puzzling move, nevertheless.
 

blueline

EOG Master
maybe he does go deep....but it is likely added stress level for the pitcher with Gore standing on 2nd as opposed to rizzo on first.....should have given Gore one of the 1st take signs on 3 and 2 in mlb history
 

Gabe

Horse racing expert
Completely disagree with you regarding Maddon taking out Rizzo, like you say we'll never know for sure if Rizzo scores on the Baez hit, but imo he doesn't. If Maddon doesn't pinch run in that spot, there's a very good chance the game never even goes into extra innings. Now had the game been tied, different story, he probably keeps Rizzo in, but trailing by one run in the 8th, and knowing Wade Davis is coming in the 9th, pinch running Gore and having him steal represented their best chance to tie the game, and his strategy worked to perfection. You can't worry about losing Rizzo's bat later in the game since there wouldn't have been any later in the game without the run they scored in the 8th. I criticize Maddon plenty, for example, pinch hitting Heyward with the bases loaded instead of Schwarber I thought was a bad decision, but pinch running Rizzo in that spot was absolutely the correct thing to do imo.


True in all regards. Both Heyward and Schwarb regress under pressure, probably both guys would have been unsuccessful. Neither are very clutch in pivotal situations.
 

MrTop

EOG Master
i wonder if theo 2nd guessing himself not signing Cain as a free agent .. the guy don't whiff, hits singles, one of the best CF , could of moved him to left with almora in CF as cain ages more.
 

Valuist

EOG Master
i wonder if theo 2nd guessing himself not signing Cain as a free agent .. the guy don't whiff, hits singles, one of the best CF , could of moved him to left with almora in CF as cain ages more.

I don't think Cain was ever on their radar. Pitching was what needed to be addressed and they thought (incorrectly) they addressed it when they signed Darvish.
 

MrTop

EOG Master
theo didn't take cain cause he wanted a long term. If cain wanted 2 year he would of taken the better overall player than any outfielder the cubs have. Yes they needed a star pitcher and darvish flopped . Quintana same . Cubs still have the same problems as last year. Not enough singles and a young ACE. Another bust was chatwood
 
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Valuist

EOG Master
theo didn't take cain cause he wanted a long term. If cain wanted 2 year he would of taken the better overall player than any outfielder the cubs have. Yes they needed a star pitcher and darvish flopped . Quintana same . Cubs still have the same problems as last year. Not enough singles and a young ACE. Another bust was chatwood

There is a finite amount of money. When you dish out $125 million over 6 years to one guy, it does limit other free agent options. The Cain signing will look good this year and next year but will be shaky by the end of that deal. I never heard Cain's name linked to the Cubs.
 

MrTop

EOG Master
cubs looked at him , but got scared of the many years he got from brewers. Time to reload and get rid of some players. Hopefully Bryant can come back.
 

kane

EOG master
Maybe Baez goes deep. We won't know. Why was Gore on the roster and Edwards not? Let's play extra innings, 9 against 8. And somebody on the coaching staff should've told Gore to not swing at a single pitch. Oberg was all over the plate in that at bat in the 13th. And he ends up swinging at a pitch he couldn't have hit with a 40 inch bat.

Media won't talk about this either but Colorado double switched Blackmon out of the game. Not quite as bad a move as the Cubs and they still had a couple guys with firepower in Arenado and Story. But a puzzling move, nevertheless.

To come into the game as a pinch runner in a crucial situation
 

Valuist

EOG Master
To come into the game as a pinch runner in a crucial situation

The 2016 Cubs were good enough to roster a designated runner (they didnt) as were the 2015 Royals. The 2018 Cubs were not.

The only way Rizzo should ever come out of a game is injury. No ifs ands or buts.
 
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