2015 Cubs Offseason: Building a Winner Around David Ross

[Tonker]

There were 40,000 scouts all groaning as he was flailing at grounders.

If he can handle a ground ball at 3B, he can probably handle a ground ball at 1B. And he got two chances in that game and handled them both, so I'm skeptical that 40,000 people were groaning about it.

+1

Fork saw him play, dammit, and he was the worst defensive first baseman he'd seen since Jimbo Dumbledick managed to throw a ball into left field on a play where they had the runner dead to rights on a pickoff at second back in '68. Fork remembers because he was wearing an onion on his belt that day, which was the style at the time.

He missed a couple fairly easy grounders that didn't go in as chances. But sure, if he gets some reps in during Spring Training he can at least be better than McStiff ever was, so I guess that's OK for spot duty. Zobrist has 17 games in his career there as well. Did not attend any of those.

He played 6 innings at first base in that game, and in those 6 innings Kyle Hendricks gave up 2 hits, one of which was a GB through the SS/2B hole, one of which was a double past second base. Will you just admit you're full of shit?

I saw him dive and miss a ball, and he just didn't have a handle on getting over to the bag. I'm full of shit about a bunch of stuff, just not this.

No, you didn't, this has been conclusively proven. There were 2 hits and no errors while Kris Bryant was at first. That means there were TWO balls put in play that were not fielded cleanly. We know FROM THE BOX SCORE that neither of those two balls were near first base. Maybe he dove at the double that the box score listed as being a "double to 2B" but the very fact that they listed it as a "double to 2B" would indicate that he was far enough away from it that no box scorer would have reasonably expected ANY first baseman to make a play, let alone a dude making his first ever start there.

You are absolutely full of shit about this.

Also, let's concede that you are right and Bryant fucked up one ball (but actually I am not conceding this at all because you are 100% decidedly, absolutely, conclusively wrong), you're still rendering a judgment about an above-average defensive third baseman's ability to play a competent first base based on one play (that did not fucking happen, we must not lose sight of this) in his FIRST EVER career start at first base. This is as dumb as lying about seeing Kris Bryant fuck up a play at first base and not backing down when proven conclusively wrong.

You make it all so easy.

No, you don't get to do this. You were not trolling. You made up some scout Fork bullshit, you got called on it, you dug in, and once decisively proven to be wrong you do not get to go I WAS JUZ JOKEIN JEEZ .

If I really have nothing better to do this evening, I'm going to look up that game on mlb.tv and watch six half-innings of Cubs baseball.

[Quality Start Machine]

There were 40,000 scouts all groaning as he was flailing at grounders.

If he can handle a ground ball at 3B, he can probably handle a ground ball at 1B. And he got two chances in that game and handled them both, so I'm skeptical that 40,000 people were groaning about it.

+1

Fork saw him play, dammit, and he was the worst defensive first baseman he'd seen since Jimbo Dumbledick managed to throw a ball into left field on a play where they had the runner dead to rights on a pickoff at second back in '68. Fork remembers because he was wearing an onion on his belt that day, which was the style at the time.

He missed a couple fairly easy grounders that didn't go in as chances. But sure, if he gets some reps in during Spring Training he can at least be better than McStiff ever was, so I guess that's OK for spot duty. Zobrist has 17 games in his career there as well. Did not attend any of those.

He played 6 innings at first base in that game, and in those 6 innings Kyle Hendricks gave up 2 hits, one of which was a GB through the SS/2B hole, one of which was a double past second base. Will you just admit you're full of shit?

I saw him dive and miss a ball, and he just didn't have a handle on getting over to the bag. I'm full of shit about a bunch of stuff, just not this.

No, you didn't, this has been conclusively proven. There were 2 hits and no errors while Kris Bryant was at first. That means there were TWO balls put in play that were not fielded cleanly. We know FROM THE BOX SCORE that neither of those two balls were near first base. Maybe he dove at the double that the box score listed as being a "double to 2B" but the very fact that they listed it as a "double to 2B" would indicate that he was far enough away from it that no box scorer would have reasonably expected ANY first baseman to make a play, let alone a dude making his first ever start there.

You are absolutely full of shit about this.

Also, let's concede that you are right and Bryant fucked up one ball (but actually I am not conceding this at all because you are 100% decidedly, absolutely, conclusively wrong), you're still rendering a judgment about an above-average defensive third baseman's ability to play a competent first base based on one play (that did not fucking happen, we must not lose sight of this) in his FIRST EVER career start at first base. This is as dumb as lying about seeing Kris Bryant fuck up a play at first base and not backing down when proven conclusively wrong.

You make it all so easy.

No, you don't get to do this. You were not trolling. You made up some scout Fork bullshit, you got called on it, you dug in, and once decisively proven to be wrong you do not get to go I WAS JUZ JOKEIN JEEZ .

If I really have nothing better to do this evening, I'm going to look up that game on mlb.tv and watch six half-innings of Cubs baseball.

(non-SKOpoke)Watch the whole thing. It was a helluva game.

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

I've been doing this all fall. The LaStella/Zobrist thing was even a called shot.

I don't understand this.  What does LaStaella have to do with it?

Fork gonna Fork

[Tonker]

Top 1st, Bryant routinely takes a routine toss from second for the third out.  He is otherwise uninvolved in the inning.
Top 2nd, Bryant is entirely uninvolved in the inning.

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

Top 1st, Bryant routinely takes a routine toss from second for the third out.  He is otherwise uninvolved in the inning.
Top 2nd, Bryant is entirely uninvolved in the inning.

Bless your heart.

*pulls up chair, grabs popcorn*

[Tonker]

Top 3rd, Bryant routinely takes a routine toss from second for the first out.  He is otherwise uninvolved in the inning.

[SKO]

Top 3rd, Bryant routinely takes a routine toss from second for the first out.  He is otherwise uninvolved in the inning.

I appreciate that you're doing this but Fork is going hardcore on pretending he never meant anything he said anyway, so this will prove nothing.

[CT III]

Top 3rd, Bryant routinely takes a routine toss from second for the first out.  He is otherwise uninvolved in the inning.

I appreciate that you're doing this but Fork is going hardcore on pretending he never meant anything he said anyway, so this will prove nothing.

Pipe down, I want to see how this plays out.

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

Top 3rd, Bryant routinely takes a routine toss from second for the first out.  He is otherwise uninvolved in the inning.

I appreciate that you're doing this but Fork is going hardcore on pretending he never meant anything he said anyway, so this will prove nothing.

Pipe down, I want to see how this plays out.

CT IS RIGHT

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

Top 3rd, Bryant routinely takes a routine toss from second for the first out.  He is otherwise uninvolved in the inning.

I appreciate that you're doing this but Fork is going hardcore on pretending he never meant anything he said anyway, so this will prove nothing.

Thanks a lot, asshole.  He stopped doing it.

[SKO]

Top 3rd, Bryant routinely takes a routine toss from second for the first out.  He is otherwise uninvolved in the inning.

I appreciate that you're doing this but Fork is going hardcore on pretending he never meant anything he said anyway, so this will prove nothing.

Thanks a lot, asshole.  He stopped doing it.

My bad. GIVE US THE BIG FINISH, TONK.

[Tonker]

Hmm... top of the fourth, Moustakis pulls a sharp line drive over the corner of the bag.  Bryant is fairly tight to the line, and leaves his feet to meet the ball a foot or two into foul territory, but can't glove it and the ball ricochets off into the KC bullpen.  Ruled a hit...

EDIT: For the third out, he fields a bouncing grounder and tosses to Hendricks for the out.  He is otherwise uninvolved in the inning.

[SKO]

Hmm... top of the fourth, Moustakis pulls a sharp line drive over the corner of the bag.  Bryant is fairly tight to the line, and leaves his feet to meet the ball a foot or two into foul territory, but can't glove it and the ball ricochets off into the KC bullpen.  Ruled a hit...

EDIT: For the third out, he fields a bouncing grounder and tosses to Hendricks for the out.  He is otherwise uninvolved in the inning.

That's odd..the box score calls that a double to second base. Either way, doesn't sound like an abysmal play by Bryant by any stretch.

[Tonker]

Top of the fifth: homing in on a towering pop-up into the stands beyond the visitors' dug-out, Bryant steps up on to the tarp and catches the ball a good three feet into the seats, before falling into the fans.  Because he caught the ball before leaving the tarp, though, it's ruled an out.

Just kidding.  Hendricks catches a sharp comebacker and strikes out two in a 1-2-3 inning.  Bryant is completely uninvolved.

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

Hmm... top of the fourth, Moustakis pulls a sharp line drive over the corner of the bag.  Bryant is fairly tight to the line, and leaves his feet to meet the ball a foot or two into foul territory, but can't glove it and the ball ricochets off into the KC bullpen.  Ruled a hit...

EDIT: For the third out, he fields a bouncing grounder and tosses to Hendricks for the out.  He is otherwise uninvolved in the inning.

That's odd..the box score calls that a double to second base. Either way, doesn't sound like an abysmal play by Bryant by any stretch.

Tonker has left out the audio evidence of 40k fans collectively groaning tho.