I admit it...

[Bort]

...I don't think this sweep by the Phillies is the end of the world for this season. It's still gonna hai

Yeah. Maybe it's because I haven't allowed myself to go all in on this team anyway, but I'm not concerned. If they don't make it this year, it won't break my heart, but I'm also not ready to write them off entirely.

[Quality Start Machine]

...I don't think this sweep by the Phillies is the end of the world for this season. It's still gonna hai

Yeah. Maybe it's because I haven't allowed myself to go all in on this team anyway, but I'm not concerned. If they don't make it this year, it won't break my heart, but I'm also not ready to write them off entirely.

Right now they're running at an 85 win pace, which would be a 12 win improvement over last season. If they make a pickup that helps them immediately the pace might bump up some.

But 85 wins for a team that has Jason Motte as their closer and Chris Coughlan as the only starting outfielder with an OPS+ over 100, they're somehow hanging in there. That's pretty damn encouraging.

[Brownie]

But really, I don't even know what the Cubs would sell for at this point. There are redundancies and contingencies at every level of the minor leagues and they're going to start losing some fairly talented guys to Rule 5 for absolutely nothing starting this year. They just don't need any more prospects -- there's literally no room for them.

Absolutely right. I was a bit hyperbolic probably influenced by the lack of anything encouraging this weekend. I simply mean that if they let it ride and see where this team takes them, fine, and if they "sell" a few guys for either useful pieces that will come in handy next year or simply to create payroll flexibility so they can have a club that will be dominant next year, fine. I'm OK with whatever happens the rest of the way out.

[SKO]

Honestly I'm upset about this stretch because I want them to make the playoffs because they haven't in seven years and no one should make fans of a sport feel bad because they want their team that was in a pole position for a playoff spot after 90 games to make the playoffs.

That said, it's not the main goal of this season, which is to get the kids up to speed, so if anything my real aggravation comes from seeing Castro regress at age 25 and stuff like Soler just not at all being as advertised.

Rookies struggle, certainly, but Soler being billed as the one prospect of the group who would make a lot of contact and then him not making contact or hitting for power is bumming me the fuck out. Unlike Addison, he's also not shown progress throughout the year in fixing his K rate, and since he'll never walk like Bryant to make up for the Ks, I'm feeling pretty stressed there. If Jorge isn't the guy I thought he was going to be that's going to make being world beaters from 2016-On a lot fucking harder. There's obviously still a lot of time for him to get it right, he just hasn't really had that one hot streak to make me feel better.

Really I'd be a lot less upset if they were scoring a bunch of runs and losing because Jason Hammel and Motte and Co. regressed to the mean and the fifth starter spot was a tire fire. Losing because Rizzo hasn't hit a damn thing for a month and Castro's literally the worst player in all of baseball and Soler hasn't shown much progress at all is kicking me hard in the junk.

[R-V]

Honestly I'm upset about this stretch because I want them to make the playoffs because they haven't in seven years and no one should make fans of a sport feel bad because they want their team that was in a pole position for a playoff spot after 90 games to make the playoffs.

That said, it's not the main goal of this season, which is to get the kids up to speed, so if anything my real aggravation comes from seeing Castro regress at age 25 and stuff like Soler just not at all being as advertised.

Rookies struggle, certainly, but Soler being billed as the one prospect of the group who would make a lot of contact and then him not making contact or hitting for power is bumming me the fuck out. Unlike Addison, he's also not shown progress throughout the year in fixing his K rate, and since he'll never walk like Bryant to make up for the Ks, I'm feeling pretty stressed there. If Jorge isn't the guy I thought he was going to be that's going to make being world beaters from 2016-On a lot fucking harder. There's obviously still a lot of time for him to get it right, he just hasn't really had that one hot streak to make me feel better.

Really I'd be a lot less upset if they were scoring a bunch of runs and losing because Jason Hammel and Motte and Co. regressed to the mean and the fifth starter spot was a tire fire. Losing because Rizzo hasn't hit a damn thing for a month and Castro's literally the worst player in all of baseball and Soler hasn't shown much progress at all is kicking me hard in the junk.

I endorse this post.

[CBStew]

Honestly I'm upset about this stretch because I want them to make the playoffs because they haven't in seven years and no one should make fans of a sport feel bad because they want their team that was in a pole position for a playoff spot after 90 games to make the playoffs.

That said, it's not the main goal of this season, which is to get the kids up to speed, so if anything my real aggravation comes from seeing Castro regress at age 25 and stuff like Soler just not at all being as advertised.

Rookies struggle, certainly, but Soler being billed as the one prospect of the group who would make a lot of contact and then him not making contact or hitting for power is bumming me the fuck out. Unlike Addison, he's also not shown progress throughout the year in fixing his K rate, and since he'll never walk like Bryant to make up for the Ks, I'm feeling pretty stressed there. If Jorge isn't the guy I thought he was going to be that's going to make being world beaters from 2016-On a lot fucking harder. There's obviously still a lot of time for him to get it right, he just hasn't really had that one hot streak to make me feel better.

Really I'd be a lot less upset if they were scoring a bunch of runs and losing because Jason Hammel and Motte and Co. regressed to the mean and the fifth starter spot was a tire fire. Losing because Rizzo hasn't hit a damn thing for a month and Castro's literally the worst player in all of baseball and Soler hasn't shown much progress at all is kicking me hard in the junk.

I endorse this post.

Has anyone seen any explanations for Castro's "performance" or rather the lack thereof? 

[InternetApex]

Honestly I'm upset about this stretch because I want them to make the playoffs because they haven't in seven years and no one should make fans of a sport feel bad because they want their team that was in a pole position for a playoff spot after 90 games to make the playoffs.

That said, it's not the main goal of this season, which is to get the kids up to speed, so if anything my real aggravation comes from seeing Castro regress at age 25 and stuff like Soler just not at all being as advertised.

Rookies struggle, certainly, but Soler being billed as the one prospect of the group who would make a lot of contact and then him not making contact or hitting for power is bumming me the fuck out. Unlike Addison, he's also not shown progress throughout the year in fixing his K rate, and since he'll never walk like Bryant to make up for the Ks, I'm feeling pretty stressed there. If Jorge isn't the guy I thought he was going to be that's going to make being world beaters from 2016-On a lot fucking harder. There's obviously still a lot of time for him to get it right, he just hasn't really had that one hot streak to make me feel better.

Really I'd be a lot less upset if they were scoring a bunch of runs and losing because Jason Hammel and Motte and Co. regressed to the mean and the fifth starter spot was a tire fire. Losing because Rizzo hasn't hit a damn thing for a month and Castro's literally the worst player in all of baseball and Soler hasn't shown much progress at all is kicking me hard in the junk.

I endorse this post.

Has anyone seen any explanations for Castro's "performance" or rather the lack thereof? 

He's been told exactly what corrections to make in his swing and he hasn't done it. They're mad at him for not making those corrections. As for the why, I doubt if there is one. A guy just keeps making mistakes - not because is not good at the sport physically. It just has to be a mental thing. Maybe he needs a sports psychologist to sort him out. Maybe he has personal problems distracting him.

[Powdered Toast Man]

Honestly I'm upset about this stretch because I want them to make the playoffs because they haven't in seven years and no one should make fans of a sport feel bad because they want their team that was in a pole position for a playoff spot after 90 games to make the playoffs.

That said, it's not the main goal of this season, which is to get the kids up to speed, so if anything my real aggravation comes from seeing Castro regress at age 25 and stuff like Soler just not at all being as advertised.

Rookies struggle, certainly, but Soler being billed as the one prospect of the group who would make a lot of contact and then him not making contact or hitting for power is bumming me the fuck out. Unlike Addison, he's also not shown progress throughout the year in fixing his K rate, and since he'll never walk like Bryant to make up for the Ks, I'm feeling pretty stressed there. If Jorge isn't the guy I thought he was going to be that's going to make being world beaters from 2016-On a lot fucking harder. There's obviously still a lot of time for him to get it right, he just hasn't really had that one hot streak to make me feel better.

Really I'd be a lot less upset if they were scoring a bunch of runs and losing because Jason Hammel and Motte and Co. regressed to the mean and the fifth starter spot was a tire fire. Losing because Rizzo hasn't hit a damn thing for a month and Castro's literally the worst player in all of baseball and Soler hasn't shown much progress at all is kicking me hard in the junk.

Did you not read Andy's post where Soler has had a grand total of 167 minor games played before he joined the MLB Cubs? I think that he's probably going to go through an adjustment period. He swings and misses...so does Bryant. Jorge Soler hits the ball fucking hard. Like, really hard. I think that's a good sign. MLB pitchers are pretty damn smart. They are the top of the food chain in this whole baseball throwing thing and even Mike Trout swings and misses.

I guess what I'm trying to say is calm down. Pole position? You do know that is #1 and not #6, right? The Cubs are one season ahead of schedule in this rebuild. Should we be upset that the Cubs lost to the Phillies in a sweep at home? Of course, it sucks. But that doesn't mean that they're totally fucked for 65 more games.

There's one thing that I agree with you on and that's the offensive adjustments...they need to start showing up. But realistically how often does that happen within the course of a season? We honestly can't expect Bryant, Soler, Russell and Schwarber to SLG .600 right? This is going to take time. We've already had enough patience for these first waves of talent to come crashing ashore, and by God sometimes the weather is just calm and they lap along the beach a few days.

In the moment, this weekend, I was bummed about the sweep and how the Cubs have been hitting since the Break. But I'm not cashing in the season. It's not over. Far from it.

[SKO]

Did you not read Andy's post where Soler has had a grand total of 167 minor games played before he joined the MLB Cubs? I think that he's probably going to go through an adjustment period. He swings and misses...so does Bryant. Jorge Soler hits the ball fucking hard. Like, really hard. I think that's a good sign. MLB pitchers are pretty damn smart. They are the top of the food chain in this whole baseball throwing thing and even Mike Trout swings and misses.

I guess what I'm trying to say is calm down. Pole position? You do know that is #1 and not #6, right? The Cubs are one season ahead of schedule in this rebuild. Should we be upset that the Cubs lost to the Phillies in a sweep at home? Of course, it sucks. But that doesn't mean that they're totally fucked for 65 more games.

There's one thing that I agree with you on and that's the offensive adjustments...they need to start showing up. But realistically how often does that happen within the course of a season? We honestly can't expect Bryant, Soler, Russell and Schwarber to SLG .600 right? This is going to take time. We've already had enough patience for these first waves of talent to come crashing ashore, and by God sometimes the weather is just calm and they lap along the beach a few days.

In the moment, this weekend, I was bummed about the sweep and how the Cubs have been hitting since the Break. But I'm not cashing in the season. It's not over. Far from it.

My problem with using 167 games played by Soler in the minors as an excuse is that it raises the question of why they decided to get him major league ABs last year if he was so raw. I know he needed ABs somewhere because of all the missed time due to injuries, but they could have sent him to winter ball instead of giving him a major league call up that was bound to raise unrealistic expectations if he got off to a hot start. They deemed his bat ML ready, so I'm concerned that the evidence is starting to point to "no, no isn't."

You do realize "wanting to see incremental improvements in approach" from Soler is not actually "want him to slug .600 as a rookie", right? This is not a thing I expected as a sane person? I specifically cited Addison as a contrast to Soler because while his overall stats are still shity, he's cut down the Ks and he's walked more every month that he's been in the majors. You can't always control your results in this game, you can control your approach, Soler doesn't appear to be adjusting his to what people are doing to him.

He swings hard? That's great, so did Wily Mo Pena. As a guy who doesn't walk a lot, he needs to make a heck of a lot more contact than he does to take advantage of that power tool that he has. Also, I'm aware Bryant K's, but I mentioned that Bryant's K's are somewhat negated by the walks he takes. The strikeouts are not the issue, it's that Bryant's set of skills is different than Soler's and far less dependent on making consistent contact. Bryant might K 200 times and walk 100. Soler's not going to walk that much, so he needs to make better contact to keep his OBP and everything else up enough that he's playable. Bryant's Game Power is also more refined at this point than Soler's, because Soler hasn't been able to elevate enough of those balls that he's smoking off of the bat or he'd have more than 5 homers. Raw power does not yet equal game power for Soler, which is another reason he needs to make more frequent contact than Bryant does at this point.

Of course there's plenty of time to fix things and if you think I'm writing any of these kids off, I'm not, but I do not see changes or improvement from Soler. He seems like a guy that the league figured out and started feeding breaking balls to, and he's yet to show over a sizeable period of time that he won't get himself out or take walks if they're offering them to him. It's discouraging, is all.

And that's fine if by your timeline the rebuild is a year ahead of schedule. In my mind if they held a playoff spot all of the way into the middle of July, it's perfectly reasonable to adjust expectations and hope they can actually go ahead and make said playoffs. I'm not saying fire anyone or bench anyone if they don't, I'm just saying they've come this far and it's a bummer if they don't.

[Eli]

The Cubs are one season ahead of schedule in this rebuild.

This is the worst thing people say about the Cubs.

[Chuck to Chuck]

they could have sent him to winter ball instead of giving him a major league call up that was bound to raise unrealistic expectations if he got off to a hot start.

So, the problem isn't that he's young and needs to adjust, or grow, or learn the league.

It's that Theo created unrealistic expectations.

Fucking brilliant.

Of all the SKO's in the world, you're the SKOiest.

[SKO]

they could have sent him to winter ball instead of giving him a major league call up that was bound to raise unrealistic expectations if he got off to a hot start.

So, the problem isn't that he's young and needs to adjust, or grow, or learn the league.

It's that Theo created unrealistic expectations.

Fucking brilliant.

Of all the SKO's in the world, you're the SKOiest.

No, the problem is that he's young, and needs to adjust, but there's a problem with rushing a guy to the majors after 167 games in the minors and then saying "he's young and only played 167 games in the minors!" when he's not playing well in the majors. If he needed more development, he needed more development.

[Chuck to Chuck]

they could have sent him to winter ball instead of giving him a major league call up that was bound to raise unrealistic expectations if he got off to a hot start.

So, the problem isn't that he's young and needs to adjust, or grow, or learn the league.

It's that Theo created unrealistic expectations.

Fucking brilliant.

Of all the SKO's in the world, you're the SKOiest.

No, the problem is that he's young, and needs to adjust, but there's a problem with rushing a guy to the majors after 167 games in the minors and then saying "he's young and only played 167 games in the minors!" when he's not playing well in the majors. If he needed more development, he needed more development.

That's only a problem if you need them to win 127 games right now. Some of us, while hopeful that might happen in 2015, are content to watch and see how it plays out between now and 2021.

[SKO]

they could have sent him to winter ball instead of giving him a major league call up that was bound to raise unrealistic expectations if he got off to a hot start.

So, the problem isn't that he's young and needs to adjust, or grow, or learn the league.

It's that Theo created unrealistic expectations.

Fucking brilliant.

Of all the SKO's in the world, you're the SKOiest.

No, the problem is that he's young, and needs to adjust, but there's a problem with rushing a guy to the majors after 167 games in the minors and then saying "he's young and only played 167 games in the minors!" when he's not playing well in the majors. If he needed more development, he needed more development.

That's only a problem if you need them to win 127 games right now. Some of us, while hopeful that might happen in 2015, are content to watch and see how it plays out between now and 2021.

No, it's a problem because he's not adjusting. Their win-loss record has nothing to do with it. If they had told me the best thing for the plan was Jorge in Iowa in 2015, I'd have been fine with that. I just am concerned that Jorge doesn't appear to be actually learning. He's still striking out in a 3rd of his ABs, he's still not walking, and he's not hitting for power.

At some point I question whether continually struggling vs. major league pitching with no discernible change in approach is really better for him than maybe an extra half season at Iowa might have been. I don't really think sending him back down there now will help anything, I'm just concerned, is all.

[CBStew]

Of all the SKO's in the world, you're the SKOiest.

I mean no disrespect to SKO.  I can't even say that I agree or disagree with the statement.  But taken in the abstract this is really a very funny comment.