Score some fucking runs thread

[SKO]

Jesus fucking Christ, people. What a bunch of pollyanna bullshit. When did we all become Al?

Understanding that this team is starting 3 rookies, one of who is the youngest in the league, all three of whom are struggling to some level right now (and probably will at various points all year) and not being upset about Chris Coghlan is not being "Al."

If a Cubs team with Damian Miller and Alex Gonzalez can almost win a pennant, I'll worry nothing about Coghlan if Soler, Bryant and Russell all OPS+ 120 or better.  That's where the smart fan's focus is: Soler (107), Bryant (123) and Russell (64).

Not Chris Coghlan (86).

Oh this is some wonderful bullshit. Yes, because I think "maybe try another left fielder other than Coghlan" I'm somehow not focused on the rookies? Notice how the rookies have been spared from any ire?

Saying "this is all you should expect out of Coghlan" is exactly why there's no reason not to try Denorfia or Seizure or Lake even for a couple of games. Over the long run you'll probably end up giving Coghlan the majority of starts in LF and hopefully he snaps out of his funk but the fact is, in the short term, while you are trying to work around the growing pains of your rookies there's no reason NOT to try to find a short-term hot hand to play in left field if Coghlan continues to slump.

You are all making my point. Coghlan sucks, was probably gonna suck, and he means nothing to the long term future of the team, so why not try some other scrubs and see if one of THEM gets hot for a few days, helps you win some ballgames, and then go back to Coghlan later if needed.

I don't think you need to be shouted down as some kind of heretic of The Plan for saying "hey maybe throw some shit at the wall" in left instead of throwing the shit that is Coghlan out there for a week.

[SKO]

Like, seriously, would anyone object to the statement "maybe try using Germen instead of Schlitter for a few days to see if German can do better" with "YEAH BUT CJ EDWARDS IS COMING SOON WHO CAREZ?"

It's baseball. Of course there's a long term and a short term, in the short term, why not move around the flotsam on the roster to see if some of them will stink less for a couple days?

[Eli]

I'm genuinely baffled that people aren't interested in a hypothetical discussion about how the Cubs could improve a clear weakness. Their window of competition or how old his fellow starters are or Damian Miller's previous existence shouldn't have much to do with it.

[Tonker]

Jesus fucking Christ, people. What a bunch of pollyanna bullshit. When did we all become Al?

Understanding that this team is starting 3 rookies, one of who is the youngest in the league, all three of whom are struggling to some level right now (and probably will at various points all year) and not being upset about Chris Coghlan is not being "Al."

If a Cubs team with Damian Miller and Alex Gonzalez can almost win a pennant, I'll worry nothing about Coghlan if Soler, Bryant and Russell all OPS+ 120 or better.  That's where the smart fan's focus is: Soler (107), Bryant (123) and Russell (64).

Not Chris Coghlan (86).

Oh this is some wonderful bullshit. Yes, because I think "maybe try another left fielder other than Coghlan" I'm somehow not focused on the rookies? Notice how the rookies have been spared from any ire?

Saying "this is all you should expect out of Coghlan" is exactly why there's no reason not to try Denorfia or Seizure or Lake even for a couple of games. Over the long run you'll probably end up giving Coghlan the majority of starts in LF and hopefully he snaps out of his funk but the fact is, in the short term, while you are trying to work around the growing pains of your rookies there's no reason NOT to try to find a short-term hot hand to play in left field if Coghlan continues to slump.

You are all making my point. Coghlan sucks, was probably gonna suck, and he means nothing to the long term future of the team, so why not try some other scrubs and see if one of THEM gets hot for a few days, helps you win some ballgames, and then go back to Coghlan later if needed.

I don't think you need to be shouted down as some kind of heretic of The Plan for saying "hey maybe throw some shit at the wall" in left instead of throwing the shit that is Coghlan out there for a week.

Mate, you really need to calm down a bit.  I don't know what's gone wrong in your life to make you so angry all the time, but whatever it is, the Cubs won't fix it for you, even with Michael Brantley in Left Field.

[Tonker]

I'm genuinely baffled that people aren't interested in a hypothetical discussion about how the Cubs could improve a clear weakness. Their window of competition or how old his fellow starters are or Damian Miller's previous existence shouldn't have much to do with it.

I'm always interested in a discussion.  What I find wearing is SKO's constant ANGER.

[SKO]

Jesus fucking Christ, people. What a bunch of pollyanna bullshit. When did we all become Al?

Understanding that this team is starting 3 rookies, one of who is the youngest in the league, all three of whom are struggling to some level right now (and probably will at various points all year) and not being upset about Chris Coghlan is not being "Al."

If a Cubs team with Damian Miller and Alex Gonzalez can almost win a pennant, I'll worry nothing about Coghlan if Soler, Bryant and Russell all OPS+ 120 or better.  That's where the smart fan's focus is: Soler (107), Bryant (123) and Russell (64).

Not Chris Coghlan (86).

Oh this is some wonderful bullshit. Yes, because I think "maybe try another left fielder other than Coghlan" I'm somehow not focused on the rookies? Notice how the rookies have been spared from any ire?

Saying "this is all you should expect out of Coghlan" is exactly why there's no reason not to try Denorfia or Seizure or Lake even for a couple of games. Over the long run you'll probably end up giving Coghlan the majority of starts in LF and hopefully he snaps out of his funk but the fact is, in the short term, while you are trying to work around the growing pains of your rookies there's no reason NOT to try to find a short-term hot hand to play in left field if Coghlan continues to slump.

You are all making my point. Coghlan sucks, was probably gonna suck, and he means nothing to the long term future of the team, so why not try some other scrubs and see if one of THEM gets hot for a few days, helps you win some ballgames, and then go back to Coghlan later if needed.

I don't think you need to be shouted down as some kind of heretic of The Plan for saying "hey maybe throw some shit at the wall" in left instead of throwing the shit that is Coghlan out there for a week.

Mate, you really need to calm down a bit.  I don't know what's gone wrong in your life to make you so angry all the time, but whatever it is, the Cubs won't fix it for you, even with Michael Brantley in Left Field.

I use hyperbole on the internet because it's the internet but really, what Eli said.

Chris Coghlan is bad, and he means nothing to this franchise, so if he is sucking and maybe someone else might suck less, even for one mid-May series in St. Louis, you should try that.

It's not heretical or short-sighted to complain that they should try to slap together some quick fixes on this team wherever ones may be available, while understanding that we just have to ride out the growing pains of Bryant/Soler/Russell.

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

I'm enjoying this "discussion" if only because it beats nothing to pore over.

[SKO]

Hell, since we wanna use Damian Miller or whatever as an example, here's something similar:

In 2008 the Cubs had a team ready to contend, and they had a young center fielder in Felix Pie ready to take over, and they had some other veteran stopgaps trying to get production there as well. When Pie was struggling and clearly needed more seasoning in the minors (and ended up just being bad) and Johnson was only useful vs. lefties, they went out and got Edmonds and managed to get good production from that spot for the rest of the year at basically no cost to the franchise or it's long term plan.

What I'm sayings is if this team is gonna be floating around the wildcard spot all year, marginal wins are extremely important (and windows be damned, this team should absolutely be trying to make the playoffs this year at the cost of anything but sacrificing their long-term future), and guys like Chris Coghlan can cost you some of those, so try things if you can to find your Jim Edmonds or whatever.

But saying there's no point in bitching about guys like Coghlan or Ross or Schlitter or whoever because someday they'll be replaced by bright shiny new toys (who also might suck), is so missing the point of watching sports that it's ridiculous.

Sure, I overreact, but man, if we're gonna stifle all bitching for years because of The Plan, we might as well shutter this place.

[Chuck to Chuck]

Saying "this is all you should expect out of Coghlan" is exactly why there's no reason not to try Denorfia or Seizure or Lake even for a couple of games.

Why not Rafael Furcal?  I'm down for that.

FYI, Al was itching for the Cubs to sign Furcal 2 years ago over promoting Lake

[SKO]

Saying "this is all you should expect out of Coghlan" is exactly why there's no reason not to try Denorfia or Seizure or Lake even for a couple of games.

Why not Rafael Furcal?  I'm down for that.

Uh..okay? I mean I'd rather they just try throwing Lake out there for a few days. If that guy really has figured out anything resembling plate discipline he offers a heck of a lot more than Chris Coghlan does in terms of skillset, not the least of which is that he presumably plays left field in a less Glenallen-y fashion.

[Eli]

What I'm sayings is if this team is gonna be floating around the wildcard spot all year, marginal wins are extremely important ...

This. They're projected as an 86-win team right now, which seems about right. An extra win or two can be hugely important when you're that kind of team.

[SKO]

What I'm sayings is if this team is gonna be floating around the wildcard spot all year, marginal wins are extremely important ...

This. They're projected as an 86-win team right now, which seems about right. An extra win or two can be hugely important when you're that kind of team.

Yep, and I don't want to hear "this is just year one of the window!" in that case because if Kris Bryant goes out and breaks his kneecap sliding into the sidewall in Busch Stadium on April 20th next year that window gets smaller. Try to make the playoffs when you can, however you can, so long as you're not giving up long term assets. If one of those methods is "try someone who isn't Chris Coghlan for a couple days", try it. That's all I'm asking.

That, and don't tell me not to want guys like Chris Coghlan and Brian Schlitter shot into the sun. This is America, after all.

[Chuck to Chuck]

What I'm sayings is if this team is gonna be floating around the wildcard spot all year, marginal wins are extremely important ...

This. They're projected as an 86-win team right now, which seems about right. An extra win or two can be hugely important when you're that kind of team.

So, who is the guy the Cubs have/can get who is +2.0 WACC?

[SKO]

What I'm sayings is if this team is gonna be floating around the wildcard spot all year, marginal wins are extremely important ...

This. They're projected as an 86-win team right now, which seems about right. An extra win or two can be hugely important when you're that kind of team.

So, who is the guy the Cubs have/can get who is +2.0 WACC?

Your mistake is thinking of wins solely in terms of player production. In the short term, wins can be total flukes caused by one guy having an abnormal hot streak, or one shitty reliever having the best week of his life.

In Joe Maddon's case, understanding that Russell/Soler/Bryant/Rizzo/Castro have to be out there every day and you have to weather their ups and downs, it doesn't hurt to try and move around the Coghlans and Denorfias and Castillos of the world till you find one that might help you win a ballgame or two right in the here and now.

[Eli]

To answer Chuck's question, I think one possible fit could be Zobrist. He obviously has a much better history than Coghlan despite his struggles so far this year. Even if he doesn't hit much, his defense alone in left field is probably almost enough to be 2 wins ahead of Coghlan for the year.

Plus, the trade cost of, say, 90-100 games of Zobrist isn't going to mortgage the Cubs' future. Given his history with Maddon, I think it makes a lot of sense if the A's are still scuffling along in a month or so.

Edit: Just saw he has a knee procedure and will miss a few weeks. Even better! He'll be cheaper now.