Cubs 2017 Let's Win Two!

[SKO]

https://firejerryangelo.org/2016/11/03/awake-from-my-eight-year-coma/

Actually this is somehow worse than pretending he never gave up on them

I read about 15 minutes later there was a rain delay. I was watching an NBA game on ESPN. On the ticker, it said that the game would resume at 11:15. I decided that I was finally going to turn the channel to the game. For the first time in eight years, I am going to watch baseball. I am a very superstitious person, but I felt that I couldn't keep checking the scores. It was time to come back for this night.

I tuned in and a runner is on first with Bryant up. And let me say this: I have little or no idea who any of these guys are. I just have heard about some of them through the news. But, the Cubs score twice (they should have scored more, but who the fuck cares?!). Onto the bottom of the inning.

The first two outs come and I still told myself that they could still fuck this up (as I heard they did earlier in the night). I don't know who this Carl Edwards Jr. guy is, but he sounds like a NASCAR driver. Fuck. He gives up a walk and a run. In comes this Montgomery dude. Two pitches later, a ground ball goes to Bryant and during that, I am thinking they will fuck this up, too. I couldn't be any happier to be wrong.

I cannot believe the Cubs have just won the World Series. I was jumping up and down screaming "oh my God" countless times. It was insane. Eight years ago, I was telling all of you that there is no God because of what we have endured. Tonight, I was reassured of that. I was raised a Muslim and still am (proudly), but some days, I was having my doubts because I thought this day would never come. Good thing I didn't tell my mom that I was having my doubts. She was raised on the South Side, so when there were times I disagreed with her, I would get torn a new asshole. But, enough with that. Back to the topic on hand.

There is so much more on my mind, but I cannot end this without mentioning how happy I am right now. I am not going to sit here and say "I'm back to watch baseball like I use to", but I suffered for the first 22 years of my existence. I am 30 now. I qualify as a real fan.

Wow he's so superstitious his gut told him he "had" to watch the inning where the Cubs led by 2 runs with a chance to win the world series. Good gut, that one.

Also I'm willing to allow most people back on the bandwagon but I think the one exception might be a dude who apparently spent all of 2016 telling people he wasn't gonna watch cuz they were going to blow it only to show up when they were up in the 10th inning of game 7. Eat shit.

[Saul Goodman]

It's good that yesterday's rainout made sure they're well-rested for the next asskicking!

I don't mean to insult you by making the comparison, but your post did remind me that I never found how Fro reacted to the Cubs finally winning the world series. Does anyone know? Did he try to pretend that he never jumped ship and gave up on them forever?

I'm just trying to laugh at it because the correction is going to be awesome. Tremble and weep, National League.

[Quality Start Machine]

https://firejerryangelo.org/2016/11/03/awake-from-my-eight-year-coma/

Actually this is somehow worse than pretending he never gave up on them

I read about 15 minutes later there was a rain delay. I was watching an NBA game on ESPN. On the ticker, it said that the game would resume at 11:15. I decided that I was finally going to turn the channel to the game. For the first time in eight years, I am going to watch baseball. I am a very superstitious person, but I felt that I couldn't keep checking the scores. It was time to come back for this night.

I tuned in and a runner is on first with Bryant up. And let me say this: I have little or no idea who any of these guys are. I just have heard about some of them through the news. But, the Cubs score twice (they should have scored more, but who the fuck cares?!). Onto the bottom of the inning.

The first two outs come and I still told myself that they could still fuck this up (as I heard they did earlier in the night). I don't know who this Carl Edwards Jr. guy is, but he sounds like a NASCAR driver. Fuck. He gives up a walk and a run. In comes this Montgomery dude. Two pitches later, a ground ball goes to Bryant and during that, I am thinking they will fuck this up, too. I couldn't be any happier to be wrong.

I cannot believe the Cubs have just won the World Series. I was jumping up and down screaming "oh my God" countless times. It was insane. Eight years ago, I was telling all of you that there is no God because of what we have endured. Tonight, I was reassured of that. I was raised a Muslim and still am (proudly), but some days, I was having my doubts because I thought this day would never come. Good thing I didn't tell my mom that I was having my doubts. She was raised on the South Side, so when there were times I disagreed with her, I would get torn a new asshole. But, enough with that. Back to the topic on hand.

There is so much more on my mind, but I cannot end this without mentioning how happy I am right now. I am not going to sit here and say "I'm back to watch baseball like I use to", but I suffered for the first 22 years of my existence. I am 30 now. I qualify as a real fan.

Wow he's so superstitious his gut told him he "had" to watch the inning where the Cubs led by 2 runs with a chance to win the world series. Good gut, that one.

Also I'm willing to allow most people back on the bandwagon but I think the one exception might be a dude who apparently spent all of 2016 telling people he wasn't gonna watch cuz they were going to blow it only to show up when they were up in the 10th inning of game 7. Eat shit.

It's been well established that Fro is the worst.

[SKO]

https://firejerryangelo.org/2016/11/03/awake-from-my-eight-year-coma/

Actually this is somehow worse than pretending he never gave up on them

I read about 15 minutes later there was a rain delay. I was watching an NBA game on ESPN. On the ticker, it said that the game would resume at 11:15. I decided that I was finally going to turn the channel to the game. For the first time in eight years, I am going to watch baseball. I am a very superstitious person, but I felt that I couldn't keep checking the scores. It was time to come back for this night.

I tuned in and a runner is on first with Bryant up. And let me say this: I have little or no idea who any of these guys are. I just have heard about some of them through the news. But, the Cubs score twice (they should have scored more, but who the fuck cares?!). Onto the bottom of the inning.

The first two outs come and I still told myself that they could still fuck this up (as I heard they did earlier in the night). I don't know who this Carl Edwards Jr. guy is, but he sounds like a NASCAR driver. Fuck. He gives up a walk and a run. In comes this Montgomery dude. Two pitches later, a ground ball goes to Bryant and during that, I am thinking they will fuck this up, too. I couldn't be any happier to be wrong.

I cannot believe the Cubs have just won the World Series. I was jumping up and down screaming "oh my God" countless times. It was insane. Eight years ago, I was telling all of you that there is no God because of what we have endured. Tonight, I was reassured of that. I was raised a Muslim and still am (proudly), but some days, I was having my doubts because I thought this day would never come. Good thing I didn't tell my mom that I was having my doubts. She was raised on the South Side, so when there were times I disagreed with her, I would get torn a new asshole. But, enough with that. Back to the topic on hand.

There is so much more on my mind, but I cannot end this without mentioning how happy I am right now. I am not going to sit here and say "I'm back to watch baseball like I use to", but I suffered for the first 22 years of my existence. I am 30 now. I qualify as a real fan.

Wow he's so superstitious his gut told him he "had" to watch the inning where the Cubs led by 2 runs with a chance to win the world series. Good gut, that one.

Also I'm willing to allow most people back on the bandwagon but I think the one exception might be a dude who apparently spent all of 2016 telling people he wasn't gonna watch cuz they were going to blow it only to show up when they were up in the 10th inning of game 7. Eat shit.

It's been well established that Fro is the worst.

I just love that "I was a fan who suffered for 22 of my 30 years, I'm a REAL FAN, I DESERVE TO ENJOY THIS" line, because he knows. He knows it isn't his.

[Wheezer]

I feel like basically no part of the team has been consistently good outside of Kris Bryant, Wade Davis, and Carl Edwards, and they're still over .500. Unless you just think Arrieta, Schwarber, Contreras, Russell, and Zobrist all suck now and aren't just in prolonged slumps you'd think a positive run is coming. I don't know. It's always amplified when it is the beginning of the season and you have no other sample to compare it to but this feels like a lot hand-wringing in the media and from people over a 16-15 stretch, when basically every team in baseball will have a 16-15 stretch at some point.

There is a huge correction coming.

I think you misunderstand "regression to the mean."

[Tinker to Evers to Chance]

https://firejerryangelo.org/2016/11/03/awake-from-my-eight-year-coma/

Actually this is somehow worse than pretending he never gave up on them

I read about 15 minutes later there was a rain delay. I was watching an NBA game on ESPN. On the ticker, it said that the game would resume at 11:15. I decided that I was finally going to turn the channel to the game. For the first time in eight years, I am going to watch baseball. I am a very superstitious person, but I felt that I couldn't keep checking the scores. It was time to come back for this night.

I tuned in and a runner is on first with Bryant up. And let me say this: I have little or no idea who any of these guys are. I just have heard about some of them through the news. But, the Cubs score twice (they should have scored more, but who the fuck cares?!). Onto the bottom of the inning.

The first two outs come and I still told myself that they could still fuck this up (as I heard they did earlier in the night). I don't know who this Carl Edwards Jr. guy is, but he sounds like a NASCAR driver. Fuck. He gives up a walk and a run. In comes this Montgomery dude. Two pitches later, a ground ball goes to Bryant and during that, I am thinking they will fuck this up, too. I couldn't be any happier to be wrong.

I cannot believe the Cubs have just won the World Series. I was jumping up and down screaming "oh my God" countless times. It was insane. Eight years ago, I was telling all of you that there is no God because of what we have endured. Tonight, I was reassured of that. I was raised a Muslim and still am (proudly), but some days, I was having my doubts because I thought this day would never come. Good thing I didn't tell my mom that I was having my doubts. She was raised on the South Side, so when there were times I disagreed with her, I would get torn a new asshole. But, enough with that. Back to the topic on hand.

There is so much more on my mind, but I cannot end this without mentioning how happy I am right now. I am not going to sit here and say "I'm back to watch baseball like I use to", but I suffered for the first 22 years of my existence. I am 30 now. I qualify as a real fan.

Wow he's so superstitious his gut told him he "had" to watch the inning where the Cubs led by 2 runs with a chance to win the world series. Good gut, that one.

Also I'm willing to allow most people back on the bandwagon but I think the one exception might be a dude who apparently spent all of 2016 telling people he wasn't gonna watch cuz they were going to blow it only to show up when they were up in the 10th inning of game 7. Eat shit.

It's been well established that Fro is the worst.

I just love that "I was a fan who suffered for 22 of my 30 years, I'm a REAL FAN, I DESERVE TO ENJOY THIS" line, because he knows. He knows it isn't his.

He just tolerates less bullshit than the rest of us.  We should aspire to tolerate as little bullshit as he does.

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

I'm concerned about their pitching. We knew there were gaps to fill at the end of the season with Arrieta, Lackey, Anderson all headed for free agency but the rotation's performances are down across the board. It's fair to wonder if that will change given all the extra work and remarkable run of good health they've enjoyed since 2015.

I don't think it's that big a deal. They can always go the rental route this summer, and then when Jake, Lackey, Jay and Montero all roll off this winter, they can throw money around like Charlie Sheen at a valley titty bar.

Jake is probably due some positive regression, his FIP is considerably higher than his ERA and he's actually K'ing more and walking fewer guys than he did last year. His biggest issue right now is his slider is a lot more hittable than it has been in the past, but I think he'll probably be a dependable 3/4 most of the year. Same with Kyle. He's on a hot streak but if he can't get his fastball above 85 his margin for error is even slimmer than usual and he's probably more 2014/2015 back-of-the-rotation Hendricks than last year's surprise ace. The Cubs can absolutely make the playoffs with Lester being Lester, Jake and Kyle being middle of the road starters, and Lackey eating innings as an OK five, but they probably can't win many postseason series with that, so yeah I'd expect them to push for a guy like Cueto or Darvish.

Stipulated: Pitching is good enough.

Not worried about the pitching as I think they will add pitching.

Very worried about hitting. Baez, Schwarber and Contreras all scare me. Willson is a career .776 minor league OPS. He was .845 as a rookie in the majors. Love to believe that's sustainable, but I dunno.

I believe Baez is far more like the 2014 Baez than the 2016 Baez, who was still a 97 OPS+ last year.

And Schwarber is still a rookie. He's only played 103 games. He got off to a hot start hitting .311/.407/.613/1.021 over his first 36 games. Since then: .183/.310/.358/.668.  Now, maybe he gets back to what he did in the minors. Maybe he doesn't.  Yes, it's year 3 of him, but it really isn't. Schwarber is still more unknown than known.

If those three guys are all below what they were in 2016, it's the offense that is the major concern.

Citing Willson's career minor league OPS is dumb. The adjustments/changes he made before 2015 are well documented. What he did as a rookie is well in line with what he did in the high minors.

Saying Javy is more 2014 than 2016 while he has started off 2017 as more or less the same guy he was last year is very very Chuck though.

I thought "Dumb, Provocative Chuck" had been gone for while, to the point where I wondered if he'd ever return. 

Glad to see all is right with the world.

[SKO]

I'm concerned about their pitching. We knew there were gaps to fill at the end of the season with Arrieta, Lackey, Anderson all headed for free agency but the rotation's performances are down across the board. It's fair to wonder if that will change given all the extra work and remarkable run of good health they've enjoyed since 2015.

I don't think it's that big a deal. They can always go the rental route this summer, and then when Jake, Lackey, Jay and Montero all roll off this winter, they can throw money around like Charlie Sheen at a valley titty bar.

Jake is probably due some positive regression, his FIP is considerably higher than his ERA and he's actually K'ing more and walking fewer guys than he did last year. His biggest issue right now is his slider is a lot more hittable than it has been in the past, but I think he'll probably be a dependable 3/4 most of the year. Same with Kyle. He's on a hot streak but if he can't get his fastball above 85 his margin for error is even slimmer than usual and he's probably more 2014/2015 back-of-the-rotation Hendricks than last year's surprise ace. The Cubs can absolutely make the playoffs with Lester being Lester, Jake and Kyle being middle of the road starters, and Lackey eating innings as an OK five, but they probably can't win many postseason series with that, so yeah I'd expect them to push for a guy like Cueto or Darvish.

Stipulated: Pitching is good enough.

Not worried about the pitching as I think they will add pitching.

Very worried about hitting. Baez, Schwarber and Contreras all scare me. Willson is a career .776 minor league OPS. He was .845 as a rookie in the majors. Love to believe that's sustainable, but I dunno.

I believe Baez is far more like the 2014 Baez than the 2016 Baez, who was still a 97 OPS+ last year.

And Schwarber is still a rookie. He's only played 103 games. He got off to a hot start hitting .311/.407/.613/1.021 over his first 36 games. Since then: .183/.310/.358/.668.  Now, maybe he gets back to what he did in the minors. Maybe he doesn't.  Yes, it's year 3 of him, but it really isn't. Schwarber is still more unknown than known.

If those three guys are all below what they were in 2016, it's the offense that is the major concern.

Citing Willson's career minor league OPS is dumb. The adjustments/changes he made before 2015 are well documented. What he did as a rookie is well in line with what he did in the high minors.

Saying Javy is more 2014 than 2016 while he has started off 2017 as more or less the same guy he was last year is very very Chuck though.

I thought "Dumb, Provocative Chuck" had been gone for while, to the point where I wondered if he'd ever return. 

Glad to see all is right with the world.

*Javy is striking out even less and walking even more than he did last year, which was already a major, unprecedented improvement from 2014, and his swing is almost entirely unrecognizable from when he first came up*

CHUCK: clearly the 2014 Javy is the *real* Javy.

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

I'm concerned about their pitching. We knew there were gaps to fill at the end of the season with Arrieta, Lackey, Anderson all headed for free agency but the rotation's performances are down across the board. It's fair to wonder if that will change given all the extra work and remarkable run of good health they've enjoyed since 2015.

I don't think it's that big a deal. They can always go the rental route this summer, and then when Jake, Lackey, Jay and Montero all roll off this winter, they can throw money around like Charlie Sheen at a valley titty bar.

Jake is probably due some positive regression, his FIP is considerably higher than his ERA and he's actually K'ing more and walking fewer guys than he did last year. His biggest issue right now is his slider is a lot more hittable than it has been in the past, but I think he'll probably be a dependable 3/4 most of the year. Same with Kyle. He's on a hot streak but if he can't get his fastball above 85 his margin for error is even slimmer than usual and he's probably more 2014/2015 back-of-the-rotation Hendricks than last year's surprise ace. The Cubs can absolutely make the playoffs with Lester being Lester, Jake and Kyle being middle of the road starters, and Lackey eating innings as an OK five, but they probably can't win many postseason series with that, so yeah I'd expect them to push for a guy like Cueto or Darvish.

Stipulated: Pitching is good enough.

Not worried about the pitching as I think they will add pitching.

Very worried about hitting. Baez, Schwarber and Contreras all scare me. Willson is a career .776 minor league OPS. He was .845 as a rookie in the majors. Love to believe that's sustainable, but I dunno.

I believe Baez is far more like the 2014 Baez than the 2016 Baez, who was still a 97 OPS+ last year.

And Schwarber is still a rookie. He's only played 103 games. He got off to a hot start hitting .311/.407/.613/1.021 over his first 36 games. Since then: .183/.310/.358/.668.  Now, maybe he gets back to what he did in the minors. Maybe he doesn't.  Yes, it's year 3 of him, but it really isn't. Schwarber is still more unknown than known.

If those three guys are all below what they were in 2016, it's the offense that is the major concern.

Citing Willson's career minor league OPS is dumb. The adjustments/changes he made before 2015 are well documented. What he did as a rookie is well in line with what he did in the high minors.

Saying Javy is more 2014 than 2016 while he has started off 2017 as more or less the same guy he was last year is very very Chuck though.

I thought "Dumb, Provocative Chuck" had been gone for while, to the point where I wondered if he'd ever return. 

Glad to see all is right with the world.

*Javy is striking out even less and walking even more than he did last year, which was already a major, unprecedented improvement from 2014, and his swing is almost entirely unrecognizable from when he first came up*

CHUCK: clearly the 2014 Javy is the *real* Javy.

"far more like 2014 Baez" has enough fuel to keep me laughing all weekend.  Typical Chuckperbole.

[SKO]

I'm concerned about their pitching. We knew there were gaps to fill at the end of the season with Arrieta, Lackey, Anderson all headed for free agency but the rotation's performances are down across the board. It's fair to wonder if that will change given all the extra work and remarkable run of good health they've enjoyed since 2015.

I don't think it's that big a deal. They can always go the rental route this summer, and then when Jake, Lackey, Jay and Montero all roll off this winter, they can throw money around like Charlie Sheen at a valley titty bar.

Jake is probably due some positive regression, his FIP is considerably higher than his ERA and he's actually K'ing more and walking fewer guys than he did last year. His biggest issue right now is his slider is a lot more hittable than it has been in the past, but I think he'll probably be a dependable 3/4 most of the year. Same with Kyle. He's on a hot streak but if he can't get his fastball above 85 his margin for error is even slimmer than usual and he's probably more 2014/2015 back-of-the-rotation Hendricks than last year's surprise ace. The Cubs can absolutely make the playoffs with Lester being Lester, Jake and Kyle being middle of the road starters, and Lackey eating innings as an OK five, but they probably can't win many postseason series with that, so yeah I'd expect them to push for a guy like Cueto or Darvish.

Stipulated: Pitching is good enough.

Not worried about the pitching as I think they will add pitching.

Very worried about hitting. Baez, Schwarber and Contreras all scare me. Willson is a career .776 minor league OPS. He was .845 as a rookie in the majors. Love to believe that's sustainable, but I dunno.

I believe Baez is far more like the 2014 Baez than the 2016 Baez, who was still a 97 OPS+ last year.

And Schwarber is still a rookie. He's only played 103 games. He got off to a hot start hitting .311/.407/.613/1.021 over his first 36 games. Since then: .183/.310/.358/.668.  Now, maybe he gets back to what he did in the minors. Maybe he doesn't.  Yes, it's year 3 of him, but it really isn't. Schwarber is still more unknown than known.

If those three guys are all below what they were in 2016, it's the offense that is the major concern.

Citing Willson's career minor league OPS is dumb. The adjustments/changes he made before 2015 are well documented. What he did as a rookie is well in line with what he did in the high minors.

Saying Javy is more 2014 than 2016 while he has started off 2017 as more or less the same guy he was last year is very very Chuck though.

I thought "Dumb, Provocative Chuck" had been gone for while, to the point where I wondered if he'd ever return. 

Glad to see all is right with the world.

*Javy is striking out even less and walking even more than he did last year, which was already a major, unprecedented improvement from 2014, and his swing is almost entirely unrecognizable from when he first came up*

CHUCK: clearly the 2014 Javy is the *real* Javy.

"far more like 2014 Baez" has enough fuel to keep me laughing all weekend.  Typical Chuckperbole.

I also enjoyed his shot at Baez "only" having a 97 wRC+ last year. Combined with his defense he was either a 2.7 fWAR or 3.4 bWAR player in just around 400 plate appearances. Javy doesn't need to hit that much to be an very good player, and he has the talent to hit enough to be a fucking unicorn.

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

I'm concerned about their pitching. We knew there were gaps to fill at the end of the season with Arrieta, Lackey, Anderson all headed for free agency but the rotation's performances are down across the board. It's fair to wonder if that will change given all the extra work and remarkable run of good health they've enjoyed since 2015.

I don't think it's that big a deal. They can always go the rental route this summer, and then when Jake, Lackey, Jay and Montero all roll off this winter, they can throw money around like Charlie Sheen at a valley titty bar.

Jake is probably due some positive regression, his FIP is considerably higher than his ERA and he's actually K'ing more and walking fewer guys than he did last year. His biggest issue right now is his slider is a lot more hittable than it has been in the past, but I think he'll probably be a dependable 3/4 most of the year. Same with Kyle. He's on a hot streak but if he can't get his fastball above 85 his margin for error is even slimmer than usual and he's probably more 2014/2015 back-of-the-rotation Hendricks than last year's surprise ace. The Cubs can absolutely make the playoffs with Lester being Lester, Jake and Kyle being middle of the road starters, and Lackey eating innings as an OK five, but they probably can't win many postseason series with that, so yeah I'd expect them to push for a guy like Cueto or Darvish.

Stipulated: Pitching is good enough.

Not worried about the pitching as I think they will add pitching.

Very worried about hitting. Baez, Schwarber and Contreras all scare me. Willson is a career .776 minor league OPS. He was .845 as a rookie in the majors. Love to believe that's sustainable, but I dunno.

I believe Baez is far more like the 2014 Baez than the 2016 Baez, who was still a 97 OPS+ last year.

And Schwarber is still a rookie. He's only played 103 games. He got off to a hot start hitting .311/.407/.613/1.021 over his first 36 games. Since then: .183/.310/.358/.668.  Now, maybe he gets back to what he did in the minors. Maybe he doesn't.  Yes, it's year 3 of him, but it really isn't. Schwarber is still more unknown than known.

If those three guys are all below what they were in 2016, it's the offense that is the major concern.

Citing Willson's career minor league OPS is dumb. The adjustments/changes he made before 2015 are well documented. What he did as a rookie is well in line with what he did in the high minors.

Saying Javy is more 2014 than 2016 while he has started off 2017 as more or less the same guy he was last year is very very Chuck though.

I thought "Dumb, Provocative Chuck" had been gone for while, to the point where I wondered if he'd ever return.  

Glad to see all is right with the world.

*Javy is striking out even less and walking even more than he did last year, which was already a major, unprecedented improvement from 2014, and his swing is almost entirely unrecognizable from when he first came up*

CHUCK: clearly the 2014 Javy is the *real* Javy.

"far more like 2014 Baez" has enough fuel to keep me laughing all weekend.  Typical Chuckperbole.

I also enjoyed his shot at Baez "only" having a 97 wRC+ last year. Combined with his defense he was either a 2.7 fWAR or 3.4 bWAR player in just around 400 plate appearances. Javy doesn't need to hit that much to be an very good player, and he has the talent to hit enough to be a fucking unicorn.

Ha.  

I would also like to lend a definition to my neologism:  A Chuckperbole is not only a wild exaggeration, but one that the original observation on which the wild exaggeration is based is not even remotely true.  

To wit:  

Saying "Baez is more like 2014 Baez" is wrong, but not hyperbolically wrong.  
Also, saying "Baez is FAR more like 2016 Baez" may actually be correct but does qualify as hyperbole.  
Saying "Baez is far more like 2014 Baez" is not only incorrect but also hyperbole, hence "Chuckperbole"

I'm proud of this coining.  Thanks for reading.

[Oleg]

So, DOOM?

[Quality Start Machine]

So, DOOM?

Yep. 1 year down, 107 to go.

[Saul Goodman]

Well Eddie Butler's off to a good start.

[SKO]

I mean if they want to stop sucking I'm not gonna complain