MLB: Cubs problems
- Thread starter hurdleisu24
- Start date
I am most worried about the bullpen. The offense will improve as they get healthy. Soto is still not 100% obviously seeing as the DBacks stole like 12 bases on him.
The bullpen is an issue of just not being good enough. Marmol should get better as long as he's not really hurt and I think Samardzja will improve. Heilman and Gregg are just not that good. Cotts is attrocious and should not be on the team. I understand they want to keep Patton on the team so as not to lose their rule 5 draft pick, but he is not ready for the majors and is hurting the club. I have been encouraged by Guzman but more consistency would be nice.
I think every move that Hendy made this off season was a trainwreck. If we could get a new GM that would be great.
The starters overall haven't been that bad. They have had 13 quality starts, but have only won six of those games.
The bullpen is an issue of just not being good enough. Marmol should get better as long as he's not really hurt and I think Samardzja will improve. Heilman and Gregg are just not that good. Cotts is attrocious and should not be on the team. I understand they want to keep Patton on the team so as not to lose their rule 5 draft pick, but he is not ready for the majors and is hurting the club. I have been encouraged by Guzman but more consistency would be nice.
I think every move that Hendy made this off season was a trainwreck. If we could get a new GM that would be great.
The starters overall haven't been that bad. They have had 13 quality starts, but have only won six of those games.
DLee's problems are all fundamentals - if you look back he only had one TRUE power year, and 2 or 3 other good solid HR years... otherwise, he's always been a hit for ave guy. That's what made him so dangerous. The problem now is that he's opening up too fast, pulling off the ball and and trying to pull the ball every time - which is resulting in ground balls to the SS consistently. He needs to keep that front shoulder down and in and get back to hitting to right-center. When pitchers know they can't go inside OR outside on him again, he'll be back to normal. But, I do think this is not going to get fixed, unfortunately.
As for the other problems - this team, as everyone has said, is just not healthy. And Lilly and Dempster haven't been sharp consistently yet. The bullpen is a crap shoot, never knowing what kind of performance you're going to get.
Hopefully it all comes together sooner than later. You don't want to be 7 games back at the All Star Break...
As for the other problems - this team, as everyone has said, is just not healthy. And Lilly and Dempster haven't been sharp consistently yet. The bullpen is a crap shoot, never knowing what kind of performance you're going to get.
Hopefully it all comes together sooner than later. You don't want to be 7 games back at the All Star Break...
The Cardinals have a ton of depth and athletic ability.
Their starting pitching is pretty decent and will be really good if Carpenter gets back.
The Cardinal minor league system is really starting to produce
Their starting pitching is pretty decent and will be really good if Carpenter gets back.
The Cardinal minor league system is really starting to produce
People really need to stop thinking that Lee is ever going to repeat his 2005 season. That was a career year and it will never happen again. If he can hit 20-25 homers a year and drive in 90-100 runs while batting .280 I will be happy. People just expect too much of him. He is getting older and players usually lose power once they get into their 30's.
I read something recently that said it was his neck that people didn't realize. I heard this is just the biggest problem for him...
I disagree. Hoffpauir hasn't been giving a true chance to break out. The way he is playing, he SHOULD be given the chance to start for a long period of time.
Good point. I did not think about the No Trade Clause. I have no clue how many years he has left. I wonder if they benched him for long enough if he would waive the NTC to get a fresh start elsewhere.
This is probably a good reason why:
Lee: $13,250,000 12 years expirience
Hoffpauier: $407,500 and not even 1 full season of expirience yet
I'm tired of Lee getting a pass too. He should have been dropped down in the lineup even last year instead of hitting 3rd. How many guys hitting 3rd hit less than Lee's 17 homers last year? I know he's one of the top fielding 1B but he's starting to show his age and Hoffpauier is definitely showing he can hit the ball better and with more power so even to bench Lee a couple times in a week would please me.
As for the Cubs problem, its mostly the bullpen. The rotation has been solid. When your #3-5 starters are leading the team in ERA right now it's definitely not the rotation. When your setup man and closer have ERAs of 6.00 and 5.59 and your lone lefty in the pen 5.40 that pretty much tells you where your problems are.
And as impressive as David Patton was in spring training I wonder just how much longer they'll give him because he has a 9.35 ERA in 6 appearances with 6 walks in 8 2/3 innings. At some point he has to prove he deserves a roster spot else there are several guys in AAA right now such as Jose Ascanio, Chad Fox, and Randy Wells that could be helping out the bullpen situation right now. Speaking of AAA, Jake Fox is hitting .429 with 12 Homers and 31 RBI in 20 games right now which is another good reason Lee could go and let him and Hoffpauier battle it out for 1B. Fox plays a little OF too I believe.
My take on the season thus far is that they're just off to a slow start. Injuries from key players and slow starts for D Lee, Bradley, and Soto. This recent losing trend started when Ramirez went down. The bullpen has been shaky, but I think if the offense gets going, they can make the bullpen unneccessary. It is just a matter of time. With how poorly they have played thus far, I am happy to still be so close to .500...
Fully agree with everything you said. I also wonder how much of the early season woes are a hangover from the dismal playoff performance last year.
Jake is hitting the cover off the ball and playing decent 1B. Don't tell any potential trade partners, but I have heard that he is a defensive liability and is only passable at first. His Major League future is probably most likely as a DH. I am not sure what AL teams out there have something to offer for him and need a DH.
A number of yrs ago Deace was doing an early morning sports radio show and had a roundtable to discuss the state of baseball.
They all pontificated ad nauseum about the pros and cons of this team and that and how this team had no chance, you get the picture. We were 10 games into the season, media idiocy, filling time, exhaling bad breath.
Quit hyperventilating after one month. As a cardinal fan i do not believe they are as good as their April record and the cubs are certainly not as bad as their April has been.
They all pontificated ad nauseum about the pros and cons of this team and that and how this team had no chance, you get the picture. We were 10 games into the season, media idiocy, filling time, exhaling bad breath.
Quit hyperventilating after one month. As a cardinal fan i do not believe they are as good as their April record and the cubs are certainly not as bad as their April has been.
