Murphy's is an Iowa State Bar in Chicago. There is ISU stuff all over inside.
***Official 2023 Chicago Cubs Thread***
- Thread starter BigJCy
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Murphy's is an Iowa State Bar in Chicago. There is ISU stuff all over inside.
I was skeptical when they were trying him out at 3B in spring training but was at an I-Cubs game either this year and was surprised with his defense at 3B. Throws don't always look easy but he has found a way to make it work and plays much better defense there than I expected.
No power profile whatsoever, small, and a below average arm. He makes up for it with balls, instincts, a fantastic ability to charge the ball, and a very quick clove to throwing transition/release. Maybe there are stats on that sort of thing, I don't know, but I bet he's easily in the top 5-10% in glove to throw time in the league. Regardless of position.
The team is just full of guys, particularly in the infield, that play inpactful defense. Sometimes the metrics pick it up, sometimes they don't, but when you watch it it's evident.
The Cubs compensate for their lack of star power with defense and baserunning. The 2016 team was pretty good at those things as well (probably more talented defensively) but this is easily the best baserunning team I've seen in a Cub uniform. That's with roughly 35 years of active memory.
Plus they have 3 more years of team control. He's really the perfect utility guy when Shaw takes over 3B.
Those guys are really tough to find too. You not only need a guy who excels at it but is willing. Kind of like the 3rd liner in hockey that is an amazing penalty killer. The value doesn't always show up in the stat sheet or the box score but when you watch the games it's obvious.
They got nothing for Schwarber, that one still pisses me off.
I said it back after 2019 whe he hit 38 HR it was a good time to trade him but like most guys from that team they eventually traded they waited too long and got less than they could of had they traded them during their peak value. Schwarber then had a poor 2020 and at the time I thought was the right move to non-tender him. Happ is another guy I've said over and over trade him when he's hot because he will eventually cool off. Can't complain much about what we got for the other guys probably, we definitely fleeced NY getting PCA. Regardless I think overall the FO did a good job rebuilding the system and glad we aren't stuck with some underachieving, injured, and expensive deals had we extended those guys. Cubs are in a really good spot going into the offseason to build this thing with a good mix of young guys from within and add some big pieces through free agency or trades to fill in the rest.
I'm not losing sleep over losing a guy that has to hit 40 home runs to just barely get over replacement level.
Schwarber has been worth 2.8 bWAR over the last two years. Happ is at 7.1.
We'd have gotten what the Nationals did. An A-ball lottery ticket that never plays in a major league game.
Taillon = Edwin Jackson v2.0. Cubs are going to have to eat that deal sooner rather than later, he just isn't any good.
Agreed. If he still looks like this by July they're going to have to make some tough and really expensive decisions.
He’s wearing thin on me and I was all over his ass the first half of the season but there is some optimism for Taillon.
He had a really nice stretch from July 8 - August 7 where he didn’t allow more than 3 ER in a game.
Then gave up 8 ER against Toronto, but many of those runs came after **** ups from Wisdom making 2 mistakes at first that actual first basemen don’t make.
Then 2 ER against the Pirates.
Then has a no-no against the Tigers before giving up a couple soft singles and then a grand slam in the 6th.
Really his last 2 outings are the only ones that have me worried about him reverting back to his first half self. I’ve noticed he’s really damn terrible when pitching out of the stretch, which needs to be addressed at some point.
He had a really nice stretch from July 8 - August 7 where he didn’t allow more than 3 ER in a game.
Then gave up 8 ER against Toronto, but many of those runs came after **** ups from Wisdom making 2 mistakes at first that actual first basemen don’t make.
Then 2 ER against the Pirates.
Then has a no-no against the Tigers before giving up a couple soft singles and then a grand slam in the 6th.
Really his last 2 outings are the only ones that have me worried about him reverting back to his first half self. I’ve noticed he’s really damn terrible when pitching out of the stretch, which needs to be addressed at some point.
Seems like 2 is his kryptonite. 2-0 he gives in. 0-2 makes a mistake in the zone.
He's never had a great year era wise but he's never been close to this bad.
I think we're stuck with him for awhile. Best thing that could Happen is they leave him off the playoff roster and he spends the off season working on that not happening again.
Social media made it sound like if the wind was blowing the other way, we might’ve put up double digit runs
Surprised some nobody pitcher mowed us down so well, but he also mowed down the Braves recently while also getting shellacked by the Twins, Mets, and Cardinals.
Surprised some nobody pitcher mowed us down so well, but he also mowed down the Braves recently while also getting shellacked by the Twins, Mets, and Cardinals.
Not going to lose any sleep over that one. Bound to have a bad game every once in awhile. They've still won 7 of their last 10 games just need to keep winning series and the pennant will be within reach.
As for Taillon hoping after they season they reveal he was battling some minor injury all season that at least could explain the big drop off in his performance this season. Either need to figure out how to get him right again in the offseason else he's going to be a very expensive long reliever or hard pill to swallow to release. Would even consider swapping for someone else's bad contract if they could find a match. Lot of young pitching starting to come up through the system that could push him out of the rotation mix if not roster altogether if he can't figure things out.
As for Taillon hoping after they season they reveal he was battling some minor injury all season that at least could explain the big drop off in his performance this season. Either need to figure out how to get him right again in the offseason else he's going to be a very expensive long reliever or hard pill to swallow to release. Would even consider swapping for someone else's bad contract if they could find a match. Lot of young pitching starting to come up through the system that could push him out of the rotation mix if not roster altogether if he can't figure things out.