2015: The Back To The Future Season

[SKO]

Last year Cubs were 0-79 when trailing in 9th. This year, through 8 games, Cubs have 4 wins in their last AB.

They didn't come back in the ninth ALL FUCKING YEAR?  That's actually pretty amazing.  Motherfuckers.

That actually is kind of impressive.

[Eli]

Last year Cubs were 0-79 when trailing in 9th. This year, through 8 games, Cubs have 4 wins in their last AB.

They didn't come back in the ninth ALL FUCKING YEAR?  That's actually pretty amazing.  Motherfuckers.

That actually is kind of impressive.

They were given specific orders to NOT come back in the 9th, probably.

[SKO]

Last year Cubs were 0-79 when trailing in 9th. This year, through 8 games, Cubs have 4 wins in their last AB.

They didn't come back in the ninth ALL FUCKING YEAR?  That's actually pretty amazing.  Motherfuckers.

That actually is kind of impressive.

They were given specific orders to NOT come back in the 9th, probably.

I'm a little surprised someone like Kaplan hasn't jumped on Castro's comment that "if we were down after 7 last year, we quit, now we never quit" and called Starlin a terrible human being for ever quitting because EVERY GAME MATTERZ or whatever.

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

DPD

Know the best bit about this?

OPSes to date:

Bryant 1.194
Castillo .982
Soler .894
Rizzo .870
Castro .856
Coghlan .764
Ross .740 (FYSKO!)
Fowler .728
Montero .711

With the possible exceptions of Bryant and Castillo, nobody there is doing anything that they can't reasonably be expected to maintain, and there might even be room for improvement for a couple of guys.  If Russell can out-hit what Alcantara and Herrera (.303 and .415 respectively) have contributed, so much the better.

In short, there is absolutely no reason for the 2015 Cubs not to keep on keepin' on.  And no reason for my chub ever to diminish.

If David Ross finishes the season with an OPS of .740 or better I will shave Apex's ass and send him running through the park.

I think my point was more that, in his 100 ABs this year, there is a limited amount of damage that Ross can do to the Cubs bandwagon.

And as more guys show up, those OPS numbers will get even gaudier.

.....who are you still expecting, exactly?

Nobody this year, I was thinking more long term, Schwarber for sure next year.

You really expecting Schwarber next season? That seems rushed right? Thought it was 2017 for him as a catcher. It's probably next May or June if we're just talking about his bat.

Pretty sure they're simply not going to be able to justify keeping that bat on the farm a year from now, provided he keeps this up*.

*I have no idea what kind of a start he's off to at AA.

.261/.485/.478/.963   

But he played some pretty poor catcher yesterday.  

Couple of passed balls and 3 stolen bases (if you want to put those on him.)

I think if you think it through logically, there's no need to trade anybody--Castro, Baez, anybody good or potentially good-- right now and there's no need to trade anybody even if Baez comes back, because it seems the thinking is they'd just move Baez or Castro (or Russell I suppose...whatever) to third and Bryant to left.  The thinking then goes that they would then have to make a deal once Schwarber was ready to play LF (moving Bryant back to third and making a deal, again, whatever)...except if Schwarber can somehow actually catch they still wouldn't need to make a trade (not saying they shouldn't, just that they wouldn't necessarily need to).

I have to think Schwarber's going to catch a lot this year to see if he can make it next year at that position with the Cubs.  If he can actually catch--and catch competently-- that'd be amazing.

[Quality Start Machine]

DPD

Know the best bit about this?

OPSes to date:

Bryant 1.194
Castillo .982
Soler .894
Rizzo .870
Castro .856
Coghlan .764
Ross .740 (FYSKO!)
Fowler .728
Montero .711

With the possible exceptions of Bryant and Castillo, nobody there is doing anything that they can't reasonably be expected to maintain, and there might even be room for improvement for a couple of guys.  If Russell can out-hit what Alcantara and Herrera (.303 and .415 respectively) have contributed, so much the better.

In short, there is absolutely no reason for the 2015 Cubs not to keep on keepin' on.  And no reason for my chub ever to diminish.

If David Ross finishes the season with an OPS of .740 or better I will shave Apex's ass and send him running through the park.

I think my point was more that, in his 100 ABs this year, there is a limited amount of damage that Ross can do to the Cubs bandwagon.

And as more guys show up, those OPS numbers will get even gaudier.

.....who are you still expecting, exactly?

Nobody this year, I was thinking more long term, Schwarber for sure next year.

You really expecting Schwarber next season? That seems rushed right? Thought it was 2017 for him as a catcher. It's probably next May or June if we're just talking about his bat.

Pretty sure they're simply not going to be able to justify keeping that bat on the farm a year from now, provided he keeps this up*.

*I have no idea what kind of a start he's off to at AA.

.261/.485/.478/.963   

But he played some pretty poor catcher yesterday.  

Couple of passed balls and 3 stolen bases (if you want to put those on him.)

I think if you think it through logically, there's no need to trade anybody--Castro, Baez, anybody good or potentially good-- right now and there's no need to trade anybody even if Baez comes back, because it seems the thinking is they'd just move Baez or Castro (or Russell I suppose...whatever) to third and Bryant to left.  The thinking then goes that they would then have to make a deal once Schwarber was ready to play LF (moving Bryant back to third and making a deal, again, whatever)...except if Schwarber can somehow actually catch they still wouldn't need to make a trade (not saying they shouldn't, just that they wouldn't necessarily need to).

I have to think Schwarber's going to catch a lot this year to see if he can make it next year at that position with the Cubs.  If he can actually catch--and catch competently-- that'd be amazing.

If he mashes at AA and (presumably) AAA this year, they can bring him up next spring and he can play LF on days when Montero catches. And he can improve his catching under the Godlike hand of Hank White.

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

DPD

Know the best bit about this?

OPSes to date:

Bryant 1.194
Castillo .982
Soler .894
Rizzo .870
Castro .856
Coghlan .764
Ross .740 (FYSKO!)
Fowler .728
Montero .711

With the possible exceptions of Bryant and Castillo, nobody there is doing anything that they can't reasonably be expected to maintain, and there might even be room for improvement for a couple of guys.  If Russell can out-hit what Alcantara and Herrera (.303 and .415 respectively) have contributed, so much the better.

In short, there is absolutely no reason for the 2015 Cubs not to keep on keepin' on.  And no reason for my chub ever to diminish.

If David Ross finishes the season with an OPS of .740 or better I will shave Apex's ass and send him running through the park.

I think my point was more that, in his 100 ABs this year, there is a limited amount of damage that Ross can do to the Cubs bandwagon.

And as more guys show up, those OPS numbers will get even gaudier.

.....who are you still expecting, exactly?

Nobody this year, I was thinking more long term, Schwarber for sure next year.

You really expecting Schwarber next season? That seems rushed right? Thought it was 2017 for him as a catcher. It's probably next May or June if we're just talking about his bat.

Pretty sure they're simply not going to be able to justify keeping that bat on the farm a year from now, provided he keeps this up*.

*I have no idea what kind of a start he's off to at AA.

.261/.485/.478/.963   

But he played some pretty poor catcher yesterday.  

Couple of passed balls and 3 stolen bases (if you want to put those on him.)

I think if you think it through logically, there's no need to trade anybody--Castro, Baez, anybody good or potentially good-- right now and there's no need to trade anybody even if Baez comes back, because it seems the thinking is they'd just move Baez or Castro (or Russell I suppose...whatever) to third and Bryant to left.  The thinking then goes that they would then have to make a deal once Schwarber was ready to play LF (moving Bryant back to third and making a deal, again, whatever)...except if Schwarber can somehow actually catch they still wouldn't need to make a trade (not saying they shouldn't, just that they wouldn't necessarily need to).

I have to think Schwarber's going to catch a lot this year to see if he can make it next year at that position with the Cubs.  If he can actually catch--and catch competently-- that'd be amazing.

If he mashes at AA and (presumably) AAA this year, they can bring him up next spring and he can play LF on days when Montero catches. And he can improve his catching under the Godlike hand of Hank White.

Okay but if he doesn't start the season as the catcher, but his bat demands he be in a big-league lineup, then somebody'll have to go.

[Powdered Toast Man]

DPD

Know the best bit about this?

OPSes to date:

Bryant 1.194
Castillo .982
Soler .894
Rizzo .870
Castro .856
Coghlan .764
Ross .740 (FYSKO!)
Fowler .728
Montero .711

With the possible exceptions of Bryant and Castillo, nobody there is doing anything that they can't reasonably be expected to maintain, and there might even be room for improvement for a couple of guys.  If Russell can out-hit what Alcantara and Herrera (.303 and .415 respectively) have contributed, so much the better.

In short, there is absolutely no reason for the 2015 Cubs not to keep on keepin' on.  And no reason for my chub ever to diminish.

If David Ross finishes the season with an OPS of .740 or better I will shave Apex's ass and send him running through the park.

I think my point was more that, in his 100 ABs this year, there is a limited amount of damage that Ross can do to the Cubs bandwagon.

And as more guys show up, those OPS numbers will get even gaudier.

.....who are you still expecting, exactly?

Nobody this year, I was thinking more long term, Schwarber for sure next year.

You really expecting Schwarber next season? That seems rushed right? Thought it was 2017 for him as a catcher. It's probably next May or June if we're just talking about his bat.

Pretty sure they're simply not going to be able to justify keeping that bat on the farm a year from now, provided he keeps this up*.

*I have no idea what kind of a start he's off to at AA.

.261/.485/.478/.963   

But he played some pretty poor catcher yesterday.  

Couple of passed balls and 3 stolen bases (if you want to put those on him.)

I think if you think it through logically, there's no need to trade anybody--Castro, Baez, anybody good or potentially good-- right now and there's no need to trade anybody even if Baez comes back, because it seems the thinking is they'd just move Baez or Castro (or Russell I suppose...whatever) to third and Bryant to left.  The thinking then goes that they would then have to make a deal once Schwarber was ready to play LF (moving Bryant back to third and making a deal, again, whatever)...except if Schwarber can somehow actually catch they still wouldn't need to make a trade (not saying they shouldn't, just that they wouldn't necessarily need to).

I have to think Schwarber's going to catch a lot this year to see if he can make it next year at that position with the Cubs.  If he can actually catch--and catch competently-- that'd be amazing.

If he mashes at AA and (presumably) AAA this year, they can bring him up next spring and he can play LF on days when Montero catches. And he can improve his catching under the Godlike hand of Hank White.

Okay but if he doesn't start the season as the catcher, but his bat demands he be in a big-league lineup, then somebody'll have to go.

Could it be likely that in 2 or 3 years the NL has the (gasp) DH?

[Slaky]

Isn't Schwarber already 22? I don't see why him coming up late this year or next if he continues to destroy the ball is unrealistic. Dude can hit. If you can hit they'll make room for you.

[PenFoe]

DPD

Know the best bit about this?

OPSes to date:

Bryant 1.194
Castillo .982
Soler .894
Rizzo .870
Castro .856
Coghlan .764
Ross .740 (FYSKO!)
Fowler .728
Montero .711

With the possible exceptions of Bryant and Castillo, nobody there is doing anything that they can't reasonably be expected to maintain, and there might even be room for improvement for a couple of guys.  If Russell can out-hit what Alcantara and Herrera (.303 and .415 respectively) have contributed, so much the better.

In short, there is absolutely no reason for the 2015 Cubs not to keep on keepin' on.  And no reason for my chub ever to diminish.

If David Ross finishes the season with an OPS of .740 or better I will shave Apex's ass and send him running through the park.

I think my point was more that, in his 100 ABs this year, there is a limited amount of damage that Ross can do to the Cubs bandwagon.

And as more guys show up, those OPS numbers will get even gaudier.

.....who are you still expecting, exactly?

Nobody this year, I was thinking more long term, Schwarber for sure next year.

You really expecting Schwarber next season? That seems rushed right? Thought it was 2017 for him as a catcher. It's probably next May or June if we're just talking about his bat.

Pretty sure they're simply not going to be able to justify keeping that bat on the farm a year from now, provided he keeps this up*.

*I have no idea what kind of a start he's off to at AA.

.261/.485/.478/.963   

But he played some pretty poor catcher yesterday.  

Couple of passed balls and 3 stolen bases (if you want to put those on him.)

I think if you think it through logically, there's no need to trade anybody--Castro, Baez, anybody good or potentially good-- right now and there's no need to trade anybody even if Baez comes back, because it seems the thinking is they'd just move Baez or Castro (or Russell I suppose...whatever) to third and Bryant to left.  The thinking then goes that they would then have to make a deal once Schwarber was ready to play LF (moving Bryant back to third and making a deal, again, whatever)...except if Schwarber can somehow actually catch they still wouldn't need to make a trade (not saying they shouldn't, just that they wouldn't necessarily need to).

I have to think Schwarber's going to catch a lot this year to see if he can make it next year at that position with the Cubs.  If he can actually catch--and catch competently-- that'd be amazing.

I think that's how we've been thinking about it the whole time already.

Logically.

[SKO]

DPD

Know the best bit about this?

OPSes to date:

Bryant 1.194
Castillo .982
Soler .894
Rizzo .870
Castro .856
Coghlan .764
Ross .740 (FYSKO!)
Fowler .728
Montero .711

With the possible exceptions of Bryant and Castillo, nobody there is doing anything that they can't reasonably be expected to maintain, and there might even be room for improvement for a couple of guys.  If Russell can out-hit what Alcantara and Herrera (.303 and .415 respectively) have contributed, so much the better.

In short, there is absolutely no reason for the 2015 Cubs not to keep on keepin' on.  And no reason for my chub ever to diminish.

If David Ross finishes the season with an OPS of .740 or better I will shave Apex's ass and send him running through the park.

I think my point was more that, in his 100 ABs this year, there is a limited amount of damage that Ross can do to the Cubs bandwagon.

And as more guys show up, those OPS numbers will get even gaudier.

.....who are you still expecting, exactly?

Nobody this year, I was thinking more long term, Schwarber for sure next year.

You really expecting Schwarber next season? That seems rushed right? Thought it was 2017 for him as a catcher. It's probably next May or June if we're just talking about his bat.

Pretty sure they're simply not going to be able to justify keeping that bat on the farm a year from now, provided he keeps this up*.

*I have no idea what kind of a start he's off to at AA.

.261/.485/.478/.963   

But he played some pretty poor catcher yesterday.  

Couple of passed balls and 3 stolen bases (if you want to put those on him.)

I think if you think it through logically, there's no need to trade anybody--Castro, Baez, anybody good or potentially good-- right now and there's no need to trade anybody even if Baez comes back, because it seems the thinking is they'd just move Baez or Castro (or Russell I suppose...whatever) to third and Bryant to left.  The thinking then goes that they would then have to make a deal once Schwarber was ready to play LF (moving Bryant back to third and making a deal, again, whatever)...except if Schwarber can somehow actually catch they still wouldn't need to make a trade (not saying they shouldn't, just that they wouldn't necessarily need to).

I have to think Schwarber's going to catch a lot this year to see if he can make it next year at that position with the Cubs.  If he can actually catch--and catch competently-- that'd be amazing.

I think that's how we've been thinking about it the whole time already.

Logically.

Yeah I certainly don't want them to start offering up Baez now or anything. Just saying that if Schwarber can't stick at catcher and left field is the only place to put him, Baez is the one most likely to be traded in that event, because I don't see them moving on from Russell or Castro (No, Chuck) and obviously not Bryant, and Schwarber not only is arguably one of the best pure hitters of the group, he's the only guy who bats lefty.

So if one of them does go, I think it's Javy, but that decision can definitely wait till 2016.

[Quality Start Machine]

DPD

Know the best bit about this?

OPSes to date:

Bryant 1.194
Castillo .982
Soler .894
Rizzo .870
Castro .856
Coghlan .764
Ross .740 (FYSKO!)
Fowler .728
Montero .711

With the possible exceptions of Bryant and Castillo, nobody there is doing anything that they can't reasonably be expected to maintain, and there might even be room for improvement for a couple of guys.  If Russell can out-hit what Alcantara and Herrera (.303 and .415 respectively) have contributed, so much the better.

In short, there is absolutely no reason for the 2015 Cubs not to keep on keepin' on.  And no reason for my chub ever to diminish.

If David Ross finishes the season with an OPS of .740 or better I will shave Apex's ass and send him running through the park.

I think my point was more that, in his 100 ABs this year, there is a limited amount of damage that Ross can do to the Cubs bandwagon.

And as more guys show up, those OPS numbers will get even gaudier.

.....who are you still expecting, exactly?

Nobody this year, I was thinking more long term, Schwarber for sure next year.

You really expecting Schwarber next season? That seems rushed right? Thought it was 2017 for him as a catcher. It's probably next May or June if we're just talking about his bat.

Pretty sure they're simply not going to be able to justify keeping that bat on the farm a year from now, provided he keeps this up*.

*I have no idea what kind of a start he's off to at AA.

.261/.485/.478/.963   

But he played some pretty poor catcher yesterday.  

Couple of passed balls and 3 stolen bases (if you want to put those on him.)

I think if you think it through logically, there's no need to trade anybody--Castro, Baez, anybody good or potentially good-- right now and there's no need to trade anybody even if Baez comes back, because it seems the thinking is they'd just move Baez or Castro (or Russell I suppose...whatever) to third and Bryant to left.  The thinking then goes that they would then have to make a deal once Schwarber was ready to play LF (moving Bryant back to third and making a deal, again, whatever)...except if Schwarber can somehow actually catch they still wouldn't need to make a trade (not saying they shouldn't, just that they wouldn't necessarily need to).

I have to think Schwarber's going to catch a lot this year to see if he can make it next year at that position with the Cubs.  If he can actually catch--and catch competently-- that'd be amazing.

I think that's how we've been thinking about it the whole time already.

Logically.

Yeah I certainly don't want them to start offering up Baez now or anything. Just saying that if Schwarber can't stick at catcher and left field is the only place to put him, Baez is the one most likely to be traded in that event, because I don't see them moving on from Russell or Castro (No, Chuck) and obviously not Bryant, and Schwarber not only is arguably one of the best pure hitters of the group, he's the only guy who bats lefty.

So if one of them does go, I think it's Javy, but that decision can definitely wait till 2016.

The Cubs can afford to slow their roll on Javy now that Russell's up...hell, they might even ask him to find out what the world looks like from center field.

[Quality Start Machine]

DPD

Know the best bit about this?

OPSes to date:

Bryant 1.194
Castillo .982
Soler .894
Rizzo .870
Castro .856
Coghlan .764
Ross .740 (FYSKO!)
Fowler .728
Montero .711

With the possible exceptions of Bryant and Castillo, nobody there is doing anything that they can't reasonably be expected to maintain, and there might even be room for improvement for a couple of guys.  If Russell can out-hit what Alcantara and Herrera (.303 and .415 respectively) have contributed, so much the better.

In short, there is absolutely no reason for the 2015 Cubs not to keep on keepin' on.  And no reason for my chub ever to diminish.

If David Ross finishes the season with an OPS of .740 or better I will shave Apex's ass and send him running through the park.

I think my point was more that, in his 100 ABs this year, there is a limited amount of damage that Ross can do to the Cubs bandwagon.

And as more guys show up, those OPS numbers will get even gaudier.

.....who are you still expecting, exactly?

ROCK. SHOULDERS.

And hopefully Baez gets things figured out.

Texas took ROCK SHOULDERS as a Rule 5. What we lost...

[PenFoe]

DPD

Know the best bit about this?

OPSes to date:

Bryant 1.194
Castillo .982
Soler .894
Rizzo .870
Castro .856
Coghlan .764
Ross .740 (FYSKO!)
Fowler .728
Montero .711

With the possible exceptions of Bryant and Castillo, nobody there is doing anything that they can't reasonably be expected to maintain, and there might even be room for improvement for a couple of guys.  If Russell can out-hit what Alcantara and Herrera (.303 and .415 respectively) have contributed, so much the better.

In short, there is absolutely no reason for the 2015 Cubs not to keep on keepin' on.  And no reason for my chub ever to diminish.

If David Ross finishes the season with an OPS of .740 or better I will shave Apex's ass and send him running through the park.

I think my point was more that, in his 100 ABs this year, there is a limited amount of damage that Ross can do to the Cubs bandwagon.

And as more guys show up, those OPS numbers will get even gaudier.

.....who are you still expecting, exactly?

Nobody this year, I was thinking more long term, Schwarber for sure next year.

You really expecting Schwarber next season? That seems rushed right? Thought it was 2017 for him as a catcher. It's probably next May or June if we're just talking about his bat.

Pretty sure they're simply not going to be able to justify keeping that bat on the farm a year from now, provided he keeps this up*.

*I have no idea what kind of a start he's off to at AA.

.261/.485/.478/.963   

But he played some pretty poor catcher yesterday.  

Couple of passed balls and 3 stolen bases (if you want to put those on him.)

I think if you think it through logically, there's no need to trade anybody--Castro, Baez, anybody good or potentially good-- right now and there's no need to trade anybody even if Baez comes back, because it seems the thinking is they'd just move Baez or Castro (or Russell I suppose...whatever) to third and Bryant to left.  The thinking then goes that they would then have to make a deal once Schwarber was ready to play LF (moving Bryant back to third and making a deal, again, whatever)...except if Schwarber can somehow actually catch they still wouldn't need to make a trade (not saying they shouldn't, just that they wouldn't necessarily need to).

I have to think Schwarber's going to catch a lot this year to see if he can make it next year at that position with the Cubs.  If he can actually catch--and catch competently-- that'd be amazing.

I think that's how we've been thinking about it the whole time already.

Logically.

Yeah I certainly don't want them to start offering up Baez now or anything. Just saying that if Schwarber can't stick at catcher and left field is the only place to put him, Baez is the one most likely to be traded in that event, because I don't see them moving on from Russell or Castro (No, Chuck) and obviously not Bryant, and Schwarber not only is arguably one of the best pure hitters of the group, he's the only guy who bats lefty.

So if one of them does go, I think it's Javy, but that decision can definitely wait till 2016.

The Cubs can afford to slow their roll on Javy now that Russell's up...hell, they might even ask him to find out what the world looks like from center field.

I'd actually like to see this.  

One of these guys needs to start eying CF, since Almora will probably never have the bat and McKinney will probably never have the glove.  

I'd be cool if it was Gleybar, as I've mentioned a couple times, but Baez certainly seems athletic enough.

Though, I have a feeling that the list of prospects who switched positions twice in the minors and went on to major league success is pretty short.  

[Tonker]

DPD

Know the best bit about this?

OPSes to date:

Bryant 1.194
Castillo .982
Soler .894
Rizzo .870
Castro .856
Coghlan .764
Ross .740 (FYSKO!)
Fowler .728
Montero .711

With the possible exceptions of Bryant and Castillo, nobody there is doing anything that they can't reasonably be expected to maintain, and there might even be room for improvement for a couple of guys.  If Russell can out-hit what Alcantara and Herrera (.303 and .415 respectively) have contributed, so much the better.

In short, there is absolutely no reason for the 2015 Cubs not to keep on keepin' on.  And no reason for my chub ever to diminish.

If David Ross finishes the season with an OPS of .740 or better I will shave Apex's ass and send him running through the park.

I think my point was more that, in his 100 ABs this year, there is a limited amount of damage that Ross can do to the Cubs bandwagon.

And as more guys show up, those OPS numbers will get even gaudier.

.....who are you still expecting, exactly?

Nobody this year, I was thinking more long term, Schwarber for sure next year.

You really expecting Schwarber next season? That seems rushed right? Thought it was 2017 for him as a catcher. It's probably next May or June if we're just talking about his bat.

Pretty sure they're simply not going to be able to justify keeping that bat on the farm a year from now, provided he keeps this up*.

*I have no idea what kind of a start he's off to at AA.

.261/.485/.478/.963   

But he played some pretty poor catcher yesterday.  

Couple of passed balls and 3 stolen bases (if you want to put those on him.)

I think if you think it through logically, there's no need to blah blah blah

I think that's how we've been thinking about it the whole time already.

Logically.

Yeah I certainly don't want them to blah blah blah...

So if one of them does go, I think it's Javy, but that decision can definitely wait till 2016.

The Cubs can afford to slow their roll on Javy now that Russell's up...hell, they might even ask him to find out what the world looks like from center field.

I'd actually like to see this.  

One of these guys needs to start eying CF, since Almora will probably never have the bat and McKinney will probably never have the glove.  

I'd be cool if it was Gleybar, as I've mentioned a couple times, but Baez certainly seems athletic enough.

Though, I have a feeling that the list of prospects who switched positions twice in the minors and went on to major league success is pretty short.  

At 6'0", 190lb, he might be a little too... er... "athletic" for centre field.  Fowler weighs about the same and is five inches taller.

[Tonker]

Centre field?  He could cover all three fields, standing still: