You’d be excused if you missed the biggest free-agent signing of the off-season in Daniel Descalso. Descalso signed a 2 year, $5 million deal, and hit .238/.353/.436 last year. Descalso brings walks to the table (15.1 BB% last year), but let strikeouts get away from himself a little bit (26.0 K% last year). He can play 2B and 3B, but doesn’t really do either all that well – FanGraphs rated him as a net-negative in every season since 2011. He has a long, established history of never being good at any position; last year was the first year he was even league-average with the bat and it brought his career wRC+ to a moribund 85. Descalso is a warm body that will see the field only if Russell ends up being released (and he’ll get some run in the time that Russell is suspended).
It’s my contention that the Cubs have somebody in their system that is already as useful as Descalso. Zack Short had a 15.6% walk rate and a 26.0% strikeout rate in AA last season. The walk rate is the best in his career (though it’s always been good), and the strikeout rate is the highest of his career (though that’s expected as you climb levels). Last season, they sported very similar power numbers (.190 ISO for Short, .198 for Descalso). Clearly, the translation from Tennessee to Chicago means that Zack’s numbers will come up…wanting. How much so is up for some debate. Steamer projects Short to have an 81 wRC+ if he was called up next year. Descalso projects to 94 wRC+ in the same metric. I’m not sure if the 13-point gap can be truly overcome by superior defense (Short figures to be a slightly below-average defensive shortstop or a slightly above-average second baseman), but I’m also not entirely convinced Steamer has the right figures for Short. The reason I say that is because Short is an extreme fly-ball hitter (and I mean extreme – he hits them at a 54% rate, which would be first among all hitters in professional baseball last year). Short is so bizarre a player that you just can’t find comps for him. Extreme fly-ball shortstops are unicorns – Trevor Story had the highest rate among MLB SS and he got there 43% of the time! I don’t know if flyballs are more easily, less easily, or about as translatable as any other batted-ball profile. I just know that it makes Short more interesting than other AA SS types.
Short’s big problem will be seeing if he can last in the majors with a strikeout rate similar to what he brought to AA. If he can do that, I think there’s every chance Short can not only be a major-league player, but a major-league regular. It’ll be interesting to see if Short can hit major-league righties, too: Short’s OPS last season against lefties was .963, and against righties it was .699 (nice). I hope Short gets a nice, long look in spring training. Descalso probably shuts the door on Short playing a lot in 2019, but it’s also not a big hurdle for Short to jump. 2/$5 doesn’t scream “guaranteed spot on the 25-man,” and it obviously shouldn’t. In any case, Russell’s suspension opens the door for Short to get some major-league experience for the first quarter of the season. Put it all together, and Short is certainly one of the more interesting non-roster invites of the 2019 season.
Comments
RynoQuote Reply
RynoQuote Reply
Yes, that Jay Jackson.
RynoQuote Reply
Ryno,
RynoQuote Reply
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/did-the-cubs-miss-their-chance-to-be-a-dynasty/
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
Only if they don’t sign Harper.
RynoQuote Reply
Ryno,
And then figure out the pitching staff next year.
RynoQuote Reply
https://www.bleachernation.com/2019/02/15/addison-russell-addresses-his-domestic-violence-suspension-treatment-victim-and-future/
I’m not sure what to make of that press conference. Feels kind of like a positive first step? I don’t know.
mylesQuote Reply
myles,
Considering where the Cubs are headed in the division and obviously what happened, I see no reason to even keep him on the team. The Cubs aren’t going to win this division and almost certainly won’t win a wild card. Even from a business perspective, that’s about the only reason I can see keeping him on the team and since both of those are probably out of reach, why bother? This shouldn’t just be about business, but I’m not naive enough to think it isn’t always about business either. I guess that’s why this baffles me. What’s the point?
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
What’s the risk of keeping him?
andcountingQuote Reply
andcounting,
From a performance perspective, nothing. Maybe you could have filled the SS position this offseason if you wanted, but the Cubs are broke so that’s unlikely. I do think there is some risk in keeping him in terms of how it looks to the fans and people in general (especially domestic violence groups). If there are rumors of this happening again with Russell, the Cubs are going to have something to answer for at that point and it might even cost some people their jobs (Theo included).
dmick89Quote Reply
this guy takes walks, that’s always good
two positions is by definition more than one, so that’s great
he’s played in every single season since 2011 – maybe the next cal ripken jr??????
long histories are good, implies some sort of stability
moving in the right direction, i like it
he has a career, that’s great, lotta guys can’t say that
obviously a huge advantage, this probably means that he is alive which is great
not sure about you guys but this signing seems like a clear home run
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
dmick89,
i dunno, he’s under team control for 3 years. i see what you’re saying about risk, but i think there’s at least a chance that he brings a solid return in a trade at some point between now and the 2021 trade deadline. people will forget about shit like this if he starts to produce at the plate. dude is only 25. if he can put together one or two good seasons, he will bring back a nice return. i guess i’m with AC, i just don’t see the risk in keeping him. i agree that it makes the cubs look like shit, but they already look like shit – anyone that cares to think about it should realize that the cubs had to know that this was going on. maybe not the specific DV stuff but at least the fact that the guy has some issues.
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
True and it had to be ignored by at least some of his teammates as well.
I think it’s possible the Cubs end up getting a good return for Russell down the line. I agree with that, but I’m not sure I’d have bothered. He hasn’t been very good for awhile now and this just makes the decision (to me) to cut ties that much easier.
dmick89Quote Reply
EnricoPallazzo,
Brett?
GWQuote Reply
GW,
Hahaha I was not going for that but in retrospect yes you are correct
dmick89,
Yeah don’t get me wrong, I lose zero sleep if they cut him
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
I’ll just submit two things for consideration:
1) People who commit domestic violence don’t always show signs of it. I know of one (non-celebrity) guy in particular who seemed like the most mild-mannered, even-tempered person, but he had precisely one person he vented on, and that was his wife. It had gone on for years before even the closest people to him and his wife had any clue. (He did get counseling and they did progress to a much healthier and safer place.) Maybe someone who is an expert in such things could’ve spotted signs, but I don’t think the “someone had to have known” rationale is true. I think that’s one of the reasons domestic violence is so prevalent, it can be hidden so well.
2) Going through shit like this can wreak havoc on a person. Similarly, actually making it through shit like this can make a huge positive difference as well. Knowing full well that controlling his emotions and being aware of his own psychology and behavior have been among Addison’s weakest traits, it’s reasonable to think any effort to improve those traits and eliminate the extreme negativity and stress has the potential to translate to a return to form on the field.
But the risk you point out is completely valid on every level. I hope for everyone’s sake Theo and company do well assessing his emotional progress, but if they don’t it would be extremely bad.
andcountingQuote Reply
andcounting,
Good points. It’s also not like people recognize a serial killer when one lives with him so I shouldn’t have said what I did.
I’m interested to see if Russell getting his shit together off the field (big if in all honesty) would have any positive impact on his play.
dmick89Quote Reply
ok that’s fair, i am fortunate enough that i have exactly zero experience with this type of stuff. so i guess my earlier comment was unwarranted. i just figured it would have been pretty obvious to friends/family/co-workers but in retrospect that was a pretty naive assumption. i wonder what percentage of these cases come as a total shock to those around the abuser…
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
EnricoPallazzo,
Now that I’ve thought about it, my guess is that a majority come as a shock at first, but in hindsight they begin to see evidence they feel they should have seen at the time. Of course that evidence, at the time, could turn out to be nothing and probably would in most situations so I don’t know.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
This probably applies to half the things we think we know (dying laughing). The thing is, it’s scary af that some of the most fucked up aspects of humanity can go undetected. We want there to be obvious warning signs so we can feel safely protected from them. It just doesn’t always work like that.
andcountingQuote Reply
I certainly did not think we’d be this far into spring training with Harper, Machado, and me all unemployed, but here we are.
andcountingQuote Reply
andcounting,
That sucks ac .
SKQuote Reply
“This front office (and this ownership group, despite any political misgivings you may have) has operated in such a way that they have the benefit of the doubt.”
Man, what idiot wrote that?
MylesQuote Reply
Myles,
Well, it’s not as bad as whatever it was that prompted that one guy to say that you wrote “the dumbest thing on all of the internet”
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
EnricoPallazzo,
Don’t remember what that was. Remember the “criticism,” though. Pretty proud of it.
MylesQuote Reply
Alvin never learns…
Is he really so myopic that he can’t see the value Jimenez and Cease could’ve provided for CHC this season without spending one second above AAA.
RynoQuote Reply
RynoQuote Reply
Ryno,
“I don’t have enough information to decide, so I’ll just leave it as is,” may be the only incorrect answer to a question about what to do with plenary powers of the universe.
andcountingQuote Reply
Ryno,
The obvious alternate consideration in this is: would the White Sox reverse the trade right now? Since the answer is obviously “no” (and for myriad equally obvious reasons), we know Q’s trade value has gone down and Eloy’s trade value has gone up. It’s pathetically easy to know the Cubs lost this trade no matter how well Q pitches this year or next. They traded future potential for a chance to win it all TWO years ago which didn’t happen. Given absolute power, Al would not change his idiocy even one iota, which shows great commitment to the maxims of his worthlessness.
andcountingQuote Reply
It really is a shame that Q fell off so quickly, especially since he’s still pretty young. I was a fan of the trade at the time, but it looks a lot worse in hindsight.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Quintana threw a shitload of fastballs last year. I’m curious if he was working through some injury last year that he either hid or that I forget he reported. He lost half a mile per hour on his fastball but the gap in speeds between his pitch mix held firm. I think Quintana is among the best bets on the team to regress positively in 2019, honestly. That said, you’d have to be a world-class idiot to not take that trade back. There’s an outside chance that Dylan Cease is a more valuable starter in 2019 than Jose Quintana is.
MylesQuote Reply
(dying laughing)
MylesQuote Reply
Man, this dude is a pudwhack.
MylesQuote Reply
RynoQuote Reply
RynoQuote Reply
RynoQuote Reply
(dying laughing) (dying laughing) (dying laughing)
MylesQuote Reply
Myles,
My dad’s not a racist and I’m not a billionaire. Sure, you can take a few billion dollars and paint a picture.
andcountingQuote Reply
It really is unbelievable that this person runs a website based on writing. Thank you, Alvin, for two paragraphs that overexplain the headline and subhead.
RynoQuote Reply
Ryno,
Al: prospects are worthless.
andcountingQuote Reply
Myles,
We need to send up a gofundme for the Ricketts family.
RynoQuote Reply
andcounting,
Exhibit A: The difference between 72 and 73 wins in an MLB season is more valuable than prospects.
RynoQuote Reply
Ryno,
But, if those prospects end up producing, on the major league level,, I am free to change my mind about how valuable they are, but, until then, I am, of course, correct.
andcountingQuote Reply
It’s also easy to take those emails and admit that you’re old white father is a racist and you hope it ends with his generation of Ricketts, but despite that you still love him because he’s your father.
dmick89Quote Reply
It’s just a coincidence that a team with a racist owner agrees to host their games on a network that is racist.
dmick89Quote Reply
Regarding Russell. I think AC has made some really good points and this discussion here is much better than what I’ve seen on Twitter (duh).
Anyway, I think the Cubs were kind of in the frying pan right from the outset. The initial charge was a tweet or some such but Melisa didn’t engage. One social media post isn’t enough to fire someone but a year later the details came out. At that point, the Cubs were in the proverbial between a rock and a hard place. Canning Russell just results in accusations of not doing it sooner. Better to at least come up with a treatment plan and an example to help others move forward. If it works, then everyone comes out better in the end. If it fails, then Russell goes. But DV is a big enough problem that if some positive, restorative examples can be developed, that’s a big plus.
I listened to Russell’s interview. It didn’t strike me as particularly unusual compared to lots of his interviews. He’s never been the smoothest speaker and that’s when he’s only talking about something like catching a pop fly or the rare double. I’m sure most everyone will think it was scripted and I don’t doubt that. But I didn’t hear him making excuses for himself or blaming anyone except himself. So that’s good. He was asked if his upbringing may have contributed. I recall that he came from some sort of broken family, but I don’t remember the details. He didn’t take the bait, though that could certainly have been a contributing factor.
I hope he and his exes and kids all find peace, that the Cubs treatment framework succeeds, and he hits 25 HR with a .280 BA and .350 OBP. I’m all about the best case scenario.
BVSQuote Reply
andcounting,
Because he is entitled to change his mind and every post he makes is not immutable for all time.
RynoQuote Reply
dmick89,
I always wonder what the standard of racism is in some people’s minds. It seems to be this: if you’re guilty of racism, that doesn’t make you a racist. You have to be proud of the racism of your views and actions to be considered racist.
Being racist is like being a Spice Girls fan. The 100 million people who bought a Spice Girls album? Not fans. You have to admit in public that you like them to be considered a fan. You have to come out and say, “Listen, racism is where it’s at. Racism is my jam” to be considered a racist.
andcountingQuote Reply
If we can’t believe in the immutability of Al’s word, upon what can we rest our faith?
andcountingQuote Reply
Al doesn’t pretend to know all the answers. Remember that time he had an interview with Ricketts and spent nearly the entire thing on “who owns the Cubs?”
MylesQuote Reply
I think that’s exactly it for most people. Take the average person and give them numerous examples of someone being a racist and they still probably wouldn’t be comfortable calling them a racist. That same person would probably be comfortable saying something like “I don’t mind people being gay, but it creeps me out.” Most people are stupid and shouldn’t be talked to unless you have a job that requires it. In those situations I’d suggest that someone find another job where they don’t have to talk to idiots.
I don’t remember the reporter (there have probably been dozens at this point) who asked Donald Trump “are you a racist” and I’m wondering why we’re even bothering with the question. Just refer to him as a racist and move the fuck on.
Reporter: Mr. Trump, considering the fact that you’re a racist, does it fill you with joy that most of your supporters are also racist?
Let me know when someone asks him a question like that. Until then, our media has failed us.
Asking a person “are you a racist” are like those journalists for 48 Hours Mysteries who sit down with the person convicted of killing his wife and they ask him, “did you kill your wife?” Nobody is going to answer yes to are you a racist or did you kill your wife.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
Reporter: Are you a racist or did you kill your wife?
Convict: Oh, I killed my wife. But I only hated her, not all Koreans.
andcountingQuote Reply
andcounting,
(dying laughing) an answer like that would not surprise me these days.
dmick89Quote Reply
Actually not so easy. Because you still have to deal with the old, racist coot when the cameras aren’t on.
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
Baseball related observation: anyone think Kris Bryant is more likely to sign a $150MM+ extension in light of the current labor situation? With Harper and Machado still unsigned and the high likelihood of a work stoppage right when he hits free agency, I’d probably be trying to lock in nine figures now if I were in his position.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Perkins,
Feel like that one month we kept him down that led to him filing a grievance precludes him re-signing with us before free agency.
MylesQuote Reply
Perkins,
I doubt the Cubs want to give out that kind of offer until they see how KB responds this season. I know I don’t want the Cubs to give him that kind of contract right now and I’d actually be pretty pissed off if they paid him that much considering the kind of injury he’s coming back from. Until he shows he’s back to KB level we expected prior to last season, I’d not offer him more than $75 million, which there’s no way KB would take so it’s not worth insulting him.
dmick89Quote Reply
KB would probably make $75 million going year to year through arbitration so I wouldn’t even offer that. Basically, I’d offer no more than arbitration for one season at this point. Maybe it’s worth thinking about later this season or next offseason, but I’d really hate to give him $150-200 million only to find that he’s not very good because of the injury.
dmick89Quote Reply
You, my friend, have really, quite accurately, mastered the use of the Al-turd comma, to coin a phrase.
BVSQuote Reply
Words to live by
SKQuote Reply
“Ok yeah sure, I killed my wife. But I’m not a wife-killer…come on now, those people are weirdos.”
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
EnricoPallazzo,
(dying laughing)
berseliusQuote Reply
Sounds like Tom Ricketts needs to get on the phone with John Henry
http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/26026923/red-sox-owner-john-henry-says-spending-more-tends-helps-teams-win
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
But there isn’t any more money; also John Henry, like PECOTA, is just a publicity hound.
SKQuote Reply
Alvin: Bryce Harper/Manny Machado != good
RynoQuote Reply
Machado -> Padres
White Sox -> (dying laughing)
MylesQuote Reply
He uses that argument a lot. “What you want doesn’t guarantee a WS.”
Well guess what, Alvin? What you want doesn’t guarantee a WS either!
RynoQuote Reply
Myles,
I guess Machado didn’t want the world to think he wasn’t good.
RynoQuote Reply
Myles,
Just for clarification, CHW is (dying laughing) or you’re (dying laughing) at CHW?
RynoQuote Reply
Why not both?
MylesQuote Reply
It seems like Padres got a good deal for Machado, but I haven’t looked at any numbers to back that up. I would have been glad if the Cubs got him at that price and upset if a rival got him. I am entitled to change my mind though in light of facts though.
WaLiQuote Reply
I still don’t care about payrolls, so the money doesn’t matter to me that much. That said, you can perform some back-of-the-envelope calculations to quickly get an estimate:
If you assume he gives you 45 WAR over the length of the contract (he has provided 24 WAR in the previous 5 years, so if you say he’ll provide 1.9 times that in the next 10 years you get 45.6), and the average win above replacement in the contract is worth $6.5 million dollars (discounted from $7million per win due to the fact that you’re locking in finite $$ and taking into account how impossible it is to guess at the FA in 7-10 years), you get $292.5 million. It seems fair. Additionally, you have to assume this increases your chances at winning a WS by 5% over the next 10 years. If that’s the case, and you value a WS at, say $500 million dollars, that’s an additional $25 million dollars.
MylesQuote Reply
BTW, valuing a World Series at $500 million dollars is equivalent to saying it is worth 5% of all MLB revenues last year.
MylesQuote Reply
Myles,
Isn’t total MLB revenues still a total guess, though?
andcountingQuote Reply
Myles,
Also, is there a statistical representation of the marginal value (forgive my inability to come up with a better term here) of WAR per player? What I mean is, let’s say one WAR is worth $7 million a year on the free agent market. You own an 80-win team and have three open spots on your 25-man roster. You want to become a 90-win team and hope you can improve at the trade deadline after luck smiles on you in the first half of the season. If there’s a player you’d expect could add 6 of those 10 wins that you’d need to get to 10, isn’t 42 million kind of a bargain? Shouldn’t the 4th, 5th, 6th, etc. wins you get from the same roster spot have increasing value? Sorry it’s so wordy expressing that, I just think if Machado produces 4.5 wins per year, $30 million is a small price to pay for that every year.
andcountingQuote Reply
andcounting,
Especially if he were to have a 5-, 6-, or 7-win season at the outset. If he averages 4.5 wins for 10 years, you’d have to expect he’d be in the 5-7 WAR range for the first few years.
andcountingQuote Reply
The number I saw thrown around was 10 bills, but it could be half that or double and I wouldn’t be surprised.
MylesQuote Reply
Yes. If the goal is to get 25 WAR per season from your 13 offensive players, and you can lock in 5 WAR in one person, you only need 20 WAR over the other 12 spots. It’s incrementally easier to find 1.7 WAR players than it is to find 2.0 WAR players, and the more WAR you can get from 1 position, the less you need from the others. It’s more impressive when you have Trout (9 WAR means you need 1.3 WAR per offensive roster spot), but if you consider that player performance is somewhat like a pyramid (where your options expand as you descend the WAR required), it definitely matters.
MylesQuote Reply
Myles,
Thank you. So does Harper sign for more than that?
andcountingQuote Reply
I’d bet he does.
MylesQuote Reply
I think Harper will probably sign for very similar numbers, but with better opt -outs.
MylesQuote Reply
https://twitter.com/ESPNChiCubs/status/1097889354146402305
WaLiQuote Reply
File this next to “best shape of his life” or “LASIK”
MylesQuote Reply
https://twitter.com/ESPNChiCubs/status/1097888960150331392
Pecota: Drops Cubs win total projection to 79
https://legacy.baseballprospectus.com/fantasy/dc/
WaLiQuote Reply
Is there a place to view historical Pecota projections? Considering Vegas has the Cubs at 89+ wins and Pecota is over 10 wins below that, could be a good sign to bet the under.
WaLiQuote Reply
WaLi,
I’m not very high on the Cubs this year, but I really don’t see how a system gets 79 wins. I’m thinking 84-86 with the potential to win 90-92 if the Cubs get good KB and good Darvish.
dmick89Quote Reply
I’m very confident the Cubs hit over on 79. That seems easy to me. This team is a mid-80s squad with more upside then downside.
MylesQuote Reply
Myles,
I think there’s always more downside than upside (injuries can screw the best teams in the league), but I agree with what you’re saying. The team should easily surpass 79 wins. I still think they’re a 3rd place team in the division, which really kind of sucks.
dmick89Quote Reply
Tyler Fucking Chatwood, man.
andcountingQuote Reply
andcounting,
What happened now? It’s too early even for him to start fucking up.
dmick89Quote Reply
SKQuote Reply
Agreed. And there’s no real excuse for it. Shouldn’t have come to this, and it was largely preventable.
Still is.
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
dmick89,
Nothing. He’s just still there. What a mistake.
andcountingQuote Reply
Wouldn’t expect anything different from OV’s resident optimist
WaLiQuote Reply
SK,
“Money, says the proverb, makes money. When you have got a little, it is often easy to get more. The great difficulty is to get that little.”
MylesQuote Reply
SK,
“Nobody ever saw a dog make a fair and deliberate exchange of one bone for another with another dog.”
In this quote, I like to think that the owners are the dogs.
MylesQuote Reply
Getting more eh
https://i.redd.it/8p4sx6bpcvh21.jpg
SKQuote Reply
Congratulations.
RynoQuote Reply
Ryno,
He’s BUFF
WaLiQuote Reply
I kinda want to see some baseball, gentlemen.
MylesQuote Reply
Myles,
I’ve been ready for a few months.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
I just can’t believe Bryce Harper isn’t signed yet. It makes me wonder if the owners fear a work stoppage more than the players do.
andcountingQuote Reply
andcounting,
I don’t know, but it seems like the current system isn’t going to last much longer. I can’t imagine the MLBPA being too happy about what’s happening right now.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
I was already to say anyone who pays money for baseball this year is an idiot, then I saw the ST opener is an hour away and I tried to buy tickets.
andcountingQuote Reply
KRIS BRYANT BEST SHAPE OF HIS LIFE!!!
andcountingQuote Reply
Descalso!
andcountingQuote Reply
The Cubs will never lose again.
Berselius is too lazy to log in on his phoneQuote Reply
Chatwood in midseason form!
MylesQuote Reply
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Myles,
He out pitched Bumgarner, which is probably peak 2019 for Chatwood.
dmick89Quote Reply
Harper –> LAD
RynoQuote Reply
Ryno,
This is the type of post you could see soon, according to reports.
RynoQuote Reply
Ryno,
Isn’t the rumor mill throwing the Phillies around as the potential suitor?
WaLiQuote Reply
That would be crazy. I’d think the Giants would do whatever they could to ensure that never happens. I’m still betting on the Phillies. I can’t believe the Cubs are broke. At least we had a few good years I guess.
dmick89Quote Reply
WaLi,
“The,” but now LAD is “a” suitor.
RynoQuote Reply
Put it on a bracelet.
RynoQuote Reply
Ryno,
They can replace the Believe bracelets.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
Maybe they can embed a QR code or something on the bracelet that links to a GoFundMe page so the Cubs don’t go bankrupt.
WaLiQuote Reply
We went from It’s Gonna Happen to It Already Happened So Go Fuck Yourself
MylesQuote Reply
Ryno,
Some are saying that there is another mystery team in the running as well.
Bott ScorasQuote Reply
Bott Scoras,
CUBS GOING TO SIGN HARPER BABY
WaLiQuote Reply
It’s gotta be the Hanwha Eagles, right?
MylesQuote Reply
Did you see Aaron Hicks’ extension with the Yanks? 7 yr 70M. Buys out last year of arb. He’s 29. If Schwarber would do that, I’d bite right now.
BVSQuote Reply
I would too, I think.
MylesQuote Reply
BVS,
Unless he shows he can hit lefties well enough to play every day I’d probably not do that. I keep hoping the Cubs will just stick him in LF and keep him there every day (occasional off day against a tough lefty, but otherwise he’s in the lineup). The Cubs haven’t really done that yet or when they’ve tried he hasn’t hit them well enough to stick with it.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
Might as well do it this season since it’s a rebuilding year.
andcountingQuote Reply
andcounting,
I agree. The Cubs really should give him the chance to show whether or not he can play every game. It would end up being a very disappointing first round draft pick if he’s just a platoon player.
dmick89Quote Reply
Seems like Schwarber is the perfect Cub to lock up on a longer contract if players are worried about FA markets. Hendricks also. Kyle hits righties pretty well so even as platoon he’s got value. Younger than Hicks. Walks about same as Hicks iirc. Ks more. Defense is improving. Not a clubhouse issue. Maybe $10M/yr aav is a little high, but Hicks’s contract seems like a guide.
Agree it woukd be good to stick him in left and leave him til ASG.
BVSQuote Reply
BVS,
I think 7/70 is a fine deal for Schwarber to be honest. I wouldn’t really want to go that high for a platoon player, even if he’s as good a hitter against righties as Schwarber is, but I wouldn’t complain if the Cubs signed him to that. I think I’d just prefer the Cubs invest that money another way. For what it’s worth, I don’t want to re-sign Hendricks. I’d wait until he’s eligible for free agency and see how he’s done in the most recent season. I’d hate to be locked into any additional years at a much higher salary for a pitcher who is likely to decline rapidly at some point before too long.
dmick89Quote Reply
According to Ken Rosenthal, the Cubs checked in on Harper recently to find out that he still is not willing to play for free.
JKVQuote Reply
Given that mid-career Hendricks has late-career Maddux velocity, I’d also be wary of extending him. I love watching him pitch, but he has a pretty slim margin for error/decline.
And if the Cubs continue to play Heyward every day in RF, I see little reason not to give Schwarber a crack at LF on most days. Kind of wishing they’d traded Happ before last season, though. I don’t think his trade value will be higher than it was then, and I don’t see an obvious place for him to play daily.
PerkinsQuote Reply
JKV,
The Cubs would probably have to move salary to sign him to a league minimum contract.
dmick89Quote Reply
I think there’s a decent chance Hendricks remains good for another 2-3 years, but beyond that I wouldn’t bet much money on him being very good. He’s a free agent after next season so I’d just wait to see how he does over the next 2 years.
dmick89Quote Reply
Rockies extended Arenado for 8/$260. That’s probably the starting point for a Kris Bryant extension (which I doubt he’d sign anyway).
PerkinsQuote Reply
Perkins,
Good for him. Bryant will get a similar deal, and not from the Cubs.
MylesQuote Reply
Apparently Smash Mouth (the band) is reporting that Farhan Zaidi is the logjam between Harper signing with the Giants or not.
It’s 2019. Why the fuck not, I guess.
MylesQuote Reply
Darvish -> left due to wildness
Darvish -> topped out at 96
MylesQuote Reply
Myles,
4 walks, 4 outs. Cool cool cool.
andcountingQuote Reply
I’m not expecting more than 10 starts from Darvish this season.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
That’s probably smart. As far as red flags go, I’d be much more concerned by low velocity than by wildness after a year of barely throwing more than a dozen pitches at a time.
andcountingQuote Reply
https://twitter.com/BruceMiles2112/status/1100512781726474240
(dying laughing) Whatever else Darvish does this year, I’m a fan of his for this alone.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Perkins,
I’m apparently blocked from reading his tweets and I have no clue why. I don’t think I’ve ever tweeted at him. What did Darvish do?
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89,
PerkinsQuote Reply
Perkins,
Cubs:
andcountingQuote Reply
It’s been a long time since I twittered, so scrolling through the search results for “Harper” has been pretty hilarious. Almost every single tweet is angry, no matter who is posting.
andcountingQuote Reply
Perkins,
Thinking from my mouth usually is a bad idea…
BVSQuote Reply
I’m going to stop trying to be right, use the Cubs’ spring training numbers as all the evidence I need, and go on thinking last year was all Chili Davis’s fault.
andcountingQuote Reply
andcounting,
2018 Spring Training w/ Chili: Bryant has 1 hr in 41 AB and Contreras has 4 HR in 39 AB
2019 Spring Training w/o Chili in their diet: Bryant has 1 HR in 3 AB and Contreras has 2 HR in 6 AB.
What more evidence do you need?
WaLiQuote Reply
Maybe I’ve been sheltered or uncouth all these years, but have you ever known a dude to wipe his dick at a urinal?
You sense something new, clearly happening right next to you even though you’re staring straight ahead, every day.
SKQuote Reply
SK,
Could clearly hear the sound of a heavier grade tissue of some kind, being used thoroughly, borderline vigorously, accompanied by commensurate physical motions detected in the extreme periphery of vision, after the guy finished.
This was in a business environment – a busy trade show. The man was wearing a suit.
SKQuote Reply
“Step right up! Guess your weight.”
RynoQuote Reply
This is really tricky, but I’m going to take a stab at it:
If you’re off the base, I’m going to say…you’re off the base.
RynoQuote Reply
SK,
Stop staring at my junk
But where did he get the TP? And where did he put it afterwards..?
WaLiQuote Reply
WaLi,
A pocket? The waste bin? I couldn’t look.
More context: it was a crowded bathroom and he was talking (in German) loudly to his colleagues behind him the whole time.
SKQuote Reply
SK,
Can you quote what he was saying in German? Maybe he was telling his colleagues all about how his penis leaks out the side or how embarrassing it is to change bandages or how inefficient American industrial paper towels are for cleaning up lube. It could go either way.
andcountingQuote Reply
Ryno,
High-res cameras are the academic elitists of the photography industry. Their leftist opinions can’t be trusted.
andcountingQuote Reply
just saw a headline that read “trump is a racist, a conman, a cheat says cohen”. pretty blown away by these revelations you guys.
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
Water is wet. Film at 11.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Perkins,
that’s two incredible news stories in one day!!!!! i’m gonna need to take the rest of the day off of work to process all of this.
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
New Shit
http://www.obstructedview.net/non-roster-invites-dakota-mekkes/
mylesQuote Reply