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Post by mikecubs on Oct 4, 2015 17:00:08 GMT -6
Jays lost out on home field advantage today. Kansas City won in Minnesota and the Jays were blown out in Tampa 12-3. Very dumb stunt they tried with trying to get Mark Buehrle 2 innings today to reach 200 innings pitched after they started him only 2 days ago. He gave up 8 runs in the 1st inning. If Kansas City would have lost this would have been huge. Texas is the best team in the AL other than Toronto unless you believe Cueto isn't injured. Bigger than home field is the team with the best record gets to face the wild card winner that will have burned up it's ace in the wild card game. One real good thing for Toronto is Texas had to burn up Cole Hammel today(He went 9 innings and gave up 2 runs) against the Angeles because Texas blew a 4 run lead in the 9th yesterday. I think Texas would have had a good shot if Hammel started game 1 and game 5. Now the Jays will only see him once.
Chicago radio stations are reporting that Mark Buehrle is retiring after this season and won't be on the Jays post season roster.
Playoffs are now set.
Wild card games
Houston at New York Yankees
Chicago Cubs(arrietta) at Pittsburgh(Garret Cole)
NL wild card winner vs. St. Louis
New York Mets vs. LA Dodgers
AL wild card winner vs. Kansas City
Texas vs. Toronto
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Post by jval07 on Oct 4, 2015 20:30:18 GMT -6
Buerhle not on ALDS roster. His 2nd half of season was awful. Glad management made this tough call.
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Post by mikecubs on Oct 5, 2015 1:19:43 GMT -6
Not a surprise at all. Management clearly did the right thing for the playoffs. Pains me to say that because Buehrle was my favorite active player in MLB since I'm a fan of both Chicago teams though I like the Cubs a lot better. The Blue Jays can't afford sentiment given the age of the roster/Price's looming free agency. They must win now. His velocity really dipped in the 2nd half.  |
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Post by Ric O. on Oct 5, 2015 18:55:20 GMT -6
Wow you're weird! Unless your not from Canada eh I don't blame him. I couldn't withstand that type of punishment and I say that as a fan of a team that hasn't won the world series in 107 years and had the Tribune Company as the owner for the vast majority of my life other than the last few years! Maybe I'm nuts but I think the 107 year drought ends this year. |
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Post by mikecubs on Oct 5, 2015 22:50:28 GMT -6
That's crossed my mind. I'm cautiously optimistic. Arrietta isn't even human anymore. Given what Bumgartner did for the Giants last year it makes you think. Things that worry me about the cubs are they are very young(4 rookie starters in the lineup), the number 3-5 starters are adequate but far from great(they need one more stud like Price or Jordan Zimmerman), even though they are good offensively the one blemish is they absolutely suck driving in runners from 3rd base with less than 2 outs. That will kill a team in the post season.
They WILL end the curse soon though even if it isn't this year. Look at what happened since Tom Rickets took over for the Tribune company in 2009.
1. He hired Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer. This was the 1st time the Cubs ever used sabermetrics. They joined the modern baseball world one of the last teams to do so
2. They got approval for a 500M renovation to Wrigley Field. Wrigley is beautiful but many parts were falling apart and the concourses/club houses were a joke. They are going to preserve everything good about it and get rid of the bad.
3. They revamped the minor leagues. Historically the Cubs have been one of the worst teams producing talent. At every level they build a new park or renovated the parks they had. They also built a new academy in the Dominican republic.
Then look at the moves Theo made.
1. Drafted Kris Bryant(rookie of the year), Kyle Schwarber, Javier Baez
2. Traded an injury plagued Andrew Cashner to San Diego for Anthony Rizzo then locked him up through 2021. He won't hit free agency until he is 32.
3. Signed journeyman Scott Fieldman to a 1 year deal then flipped him to Baltimore for Jake Arrietta and main set up man Pedro Strop.
4. Traded an injury plagued Matt Garza to Texas for valuable set up man Justin Grimm and Neil Ramirez plus top Cubs pitching prospect CJ Edwards
5. Traded aging Ryan Dempster to Texas for young Kyle Hendricks who is cheap and an ok 4-5 starter.
6. Signed Jorge Solar from Cuba.
7. Traded free agent to be Jeff Samardzja to Oakland for Addison Russell. Russell was the number 4 prospect in MLB coming into the season and has been excellent on defense and has shown some pop. He's only 22.
8. Got valuable utility guy Chris Coglan for nothing on waivers.
9. Got closer Hector Rondon as a rule 5 pick from Cleveland.
10. Traded set up man Sean Marshall(who got hurt) to Cincinnati for Travis Wood. Wood made an all star team as a starter and has been ok as a left handed reliever
11. Signed Starlin Castro to a cheap deal through 2020
12. Got Fernando Rodney off waivers. He's been awesome for us.
13. Got Miguel Montero for junk.
14. Signed Jason Hammel to a cheap deal
15. Got one of the best managers in baseball in Joe Maddon
16. Signed Jon Lester for 6 years 155M
17. Got Dexter Fowler for Luis Valuenba. Fowler has pop and has done a good job getting on base.
The only bad moves so far have been
1. Signing Edwin Jackson to a big 5 year deal(the cubs cut him)
2. Traded D.J. LeMahieu to Colorado for Ian Stewart. Stewart sucked and was let go after 1 year, LeMahieu became a gold glover and all star. Still there was no space for him in Chicago, he never would have got a chance.
Last 4 years I'd put Theo's/Jeds record against anybodys in baseball. When they took over they had an aging team with maybe one building block(Starlin Castro).
Overall with the young cheap talent the Cubs should be good for a long time. There should be room to add 1 more starter. There is one major negative lurking. Jake Arrietta is a free agent in 2 years and his agent is Scott Boras. Still he was a late bloomer and is getting to free agency at age 32 instead of the normal late 20s/30 so maybe that will hold the price down a hair.
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Post by mikecubs on Oct 5, 2015 23:29:56 GMT -6
Here is a better way of looking at what the Cubs got. Blue Jay fans are invited to jump on the band wagon once you can't take anymore of Rogers/the dome.
Player-age-years under control
C- Miguel Montero(32) Signed 2 more years through 2017
1B- Anthony Rizzo(26) Signed 6 more years through 2021
2B- Starlin Castro(25) Signed 5 more years through 2020(this counts 2020 club option)
SS- Addison Russell(21) Under control 6 more years through 2021. He is a Scott Boras client though.
3B- Kris Bryant(23) Under control 6 more years through 2021. Another Scott Boras client:( He can also play left,right and there is talk of him playing CF part time if Dexter Fowler leaves as a free agent
LF- Kyle Schwarber(22) Under control 6 more years through 2021. Was a catcher in the minor leagues and has played some catcher in the majors. He's raw defensively as a catcher yet.
CF- Dexter Fowler(29) Is a free agent. Cubs will give him the qualifying offer so if he signed with another team they will get a draft pick. Tough decision here. The Cubs have Albert Almora but he won't be ready until 2017 at least. Maybe they resign Austin Jackson and play him part time with Bryant. I hope other teams are scared away from giving up the draft pick and Fowler comes back on a 1 year overpriced deal.
RF- Jorge Solar(23) Under control 5 more years through 2020. Needs to stay healthy.
Bench
IF-OF Chris Coghlan(30) Under control 1 more year through 2016. Maybe I should list him in a platoon with Solar in right
IF- Javier Baez(22) Under control 6 more years through 2021. One of the cubs top prospects. He could play 2nd(if Castro is traded) 3rd(if Bryant moves to left and Schwarber is the catcher)
OF-Austin Jackson(28) Free agent
OF- Chris Denorfia(35) Free Agent
C-David Ross(38) Signed through 2016. Jon Lester's personal catcher
Rotation
1. Jake Arrieta(29) Under control 2 more years through 2017. Scott Boras is the agent:( The biggest fly in the Cubs ointment.
2. Jon Lester(31) Signed 5 more years through 2020
3. Jason Hammel(33) Signed 1 more year though 2016. He's awsome in the 1st half the last 2 years and sucks in the 2nd half other than his last start
4. Kyle Hendricks(25) Under control 5 more years through 2020.
5. Dan Haren(35) Free agent who announced his retirement yesterday after the year
Bullpen
CL-Hector Rondon(27) Under control 3 more years through 2018
RH-Pedro Strop(30) Under control 2 more years through 2017
RH- Justin Grimm(27) Under control 4 more years through 2019
LH- Travis Wood(28) Under control 1 more year through 2016
RH- Fernando Rodney(38) Free agent
RH- Neil Ramirez(26) Under control 5 more years through 2020
LH- Clayton Richard(32) Free agent
RH-CJ Edwards(24) under control 6 more years through 2021. September callup who won't be on playoff roster. He was a starter in the minors. It's undecided if he will be a starter or reliever in the majors. He lacks control.
This is a roster under control for a long time mostly other than Arrieta and Fowler so they will have many shots at it. No guarantee they ever win because the playoffs are a crap shoot for everybody. However they need to sign Arrieta long term and sign 1 more starter to realistically say they are the best team on paper.
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Post by mikecubs on Oct 6, 2015 0:31:18 GMT -6
Best second half records in mlb
CHC ….53-28
PIT ……51-30
TOR ….51-30
NYM …49-32
KC …….47-34
TEX …..47-34
STL ……47-34
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Post by wolfmannick on Oct 6, 2015 14:35:12 GMT -6
^ I;m not sure if this is Chicago's year, (I personally think thE Pirates have the edge in the wild card game) They are looking like they will be a legitimate contender for the next few years. Hope the Jays get it done this year maybe Price will split to the Cubs to get his ring after this season lol.
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Post by mikecubs on Oct 6, 2015 15:02:16 GMT -6
I have my doubts too this is Chicago's year but they definitely have the edge in the wild card game. Vegas favors them. Arrietta has a 0.75 era since the all star break. I can't see Pittsburgh scoring on him. Best hope would be Garrett Cole matches him with 0's and it's decided in the late innings. Pittsburgh's bullpen is the best in the game and a lot better than the Cubs. Cole does have the Cubs number. Only hope I see is Arrieta comes down with nerves. I think they can beat the Cardinals too. Cardinals have a ton of injuries. Mets/Dodgers will be very tough. Toronto in the WS if they get that far would have to be the favorite. I have a very difficult time envisioning Hammel/Hendrick having a chance against the Jays lineup. Arrieta/Lester would have to win every game they pitch.
You are right. Pittsburgh will be a contended for years. They are young, they have just about everyone under control for a while.
My dream offseason for the Cubs is
1. Lock up Arrieta
2. Sign Price as long as it's not too outrageous
3. Sign Dexter Fowler short term. Overpay him VERY badly to do this.
They do this along with more experience for everybody plus having everyone a full season(Bryant, A. Russell, Schwarber spent time in the minors) they will be the favorites next season.
Price would be very smart to sign with the Cubs and sacrifice some money to do so. They would be his best chance to win multiple world series. Jays are a bad organization with an old roster who will be locked into lower 2/3rds revenue a long time(20 years?) thanks to the love of the Dome and 1980's. He may be bring a ring to Chicago though. I do think the Jays have the best chance to win this year. Boston would be a nice choice too. Their farm system is loaded plus they have some young talent on the major league roster. Dodgers would be a good pick too. They have an almost 300M payroll highest of all time. Could you imagine if the Dodgers resigned Grienke plus got Price?
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Post by wolfmannick on Oct 6, 2015 17:39:57 GMT -6
^ Depends on what Price wants after this season. If he wins the World Series with Toronto it will likely be all about the money. In which case he will probably either go to the Yankees or the Dodgers, the two teams who will give him basically whatever amount he wants.
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Post by mikecubs on Oct 6, 2015 22:26:54 GMT -6
Yankees won't give him what they want. Steinbrenner's kid doesn't wants to lower the payroll and avoid the luxury tax plus he's been burnt by free agents(Sabethia/Texeria etc...) and has said he wants to rebuild through the farm. At the trade deadline the Yankees wouldn't give up Greg Bird or Luis Severino for a rental. Dodgers will probably go after him unless they can only afford one of Greinke/Price and they pick Greinke. But it doesn't seem like the Dodgers have any limits at all. They are now the old Yankees.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2015 23:51:58 GMT -6
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Post by Bruinsfan on Oct 8, 2015 16:06:48 GMT -6
price is a choke artist.
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Post by wolfmannick on Oct 8, 2015 16:47:38 GMT -6
Not a good start to the playoffs. Up against another hot pitcher tomorrow this was almost a must-win today
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Post by Ric O. on Oct 8, 2015 18:09:37 GMT -6
Maybe too much pennant partying and clinched too early. I think they lost their edge and mojo. I'm not really pulling for them but I think they're way too good to go down with a wimper.
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