The Cubs surprised much of the baseball world with their play in recent weeks, which pushed them to add third baseman Jeimer Candelario at the trade deadline rather than deal away rental players like Cody Bellinger and Marcus Stroman. With the focus now firmly on a push toward making the playoffs in 2023, the club appears to be shortening the leash of struggling players.
That includes outfielder Seiya Suzuki, who the Cubs spent nearly $100MM to add to the club’s roster prior to the 2022 campaign between Suzuki’s five-year, $85MM contract and the posting fee owed to the Hiroshima Carp as payment for Suzuki’s services. In 111 games with the Cubs last year, Suzuki played solidly in his rookie season, with a .262/.336/.433 slash line that was good for a wRC+ of 116. Suzuki began the 2023 campaign on the injured list due to an oblique issue, but got off to a fantastic start when he was back in action, slashing .293/.385/.487 with a 12.6% walk rate in 174 trips to the plate through the end of May.
Unfortunately, Suzuki’s offense has cratered since then, as he’s mustered just a .214/.281/.310 slash line in 210 plate appearances since the calendar flipped to June. That’s brought his overall campaign below league average by measure of wRC+ (96) in 2023, and while he’s played excellent defense in right field, Cubs manager David Ross indicated to reporters (including The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma) recently that Suzuki would not be an everyday player going forward until he gets things back on track. “He knows he needs to work on some things,” Ross said of Suzuki, “It’s hard to do that in-game. We’ll give him some time, and he’ll be back in there when we feel like he can help us win games.”
It seems that journeyman outfielder Mike Tauchman, who came to the Cubs on a minor league deal during the offseason but has impressed with a .277/.371/.431 slash line (121 wRC+) in 238 trips to the plate since joining the roster back in May, will receive the lion’s share of playing time in right field, with Suzuki making occasional starts when he or Ian Happ have a day off or when Cody Bellinger moves from center field to first base. The Cubs are 2.5 games back of Milwaukee in the NL Central and 1.0 game back of Cincinnati for the final NL Wild Card spot entering play today.
More from around the NL Central…
- Reds right-handers Justin Dunn and Vladimir Gutierrez both have yet to throw a pitch in the majors this season, spending the entire campaign on the 60-day IL due to a shoulder strain and Tommy John surgery, respectively. Though both righties have been starting pitchers throughout their careers to this point, each figures to come out of the bullpen upon returning to the big leagues, manager David Bell told reporters (including Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer). Gutierrez had a solid rookie season with the Reds in 2021 during which he pitched to a roughly league average ERA of 4.74 (99 ERA+) but struggled badly in 36 2/3 innings of work last year prior to going under the knife in July of last year. Dunn, meanwhile, is a former first-round pick who has yet to find success a starter in the big leagues, with a 4.44 ERA and 6.23 FIP in 133 2/3 career innings of work in the majors.
- Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz looks to be a rising star and one of the most exciting youngsters in the game today, with a 108 wRC+, 13 steals and 19 home runs in 410 trips to the plate so far in his career. The 6’7” shortstop was expected by many to challenge for the 30/30 club in his first full season as a big leaguer in 2023, but was unfortunately sidelined by an ankle injury just days into the 2023 campaign. While he won’t be able to play in his first full major league season until 2024, he could still finish the 2023 campaign in the majors nonetheless, as Pittsburgh GM Ben Cherington told MLBNetwork Radio’s Jim Duquette that Cruz is expected to begin a rehab assignment later this month, with a goal of returning to the majors in September. The Pirates have started a youth movement while Cruz has been on the shelf, and he’ll be greeted by fellow youngsters Henry Davis, Endy Rodriguez, and Quinn Priester upon his return to the big league club.
They’ll need extra hands in an overworked bullpen, but it will probably be too late by then.
Gutierrez will get shelled anyway unless he comes back better from TJ. That rookie year was a whole lot of luck
No such thing as luck.
Suzuki + Fukudome =same garbage bust
You turned Seiya and Kosuke into a single person?
Not really fair to compare them when Fukudome was 4 years older (31) when he joined the MLB. Plus he wasn’t a total bust (102 OPS+)
History seems to dictate I say “wow” or “meh”
Instead I’d rather quote Phil Rizzuto, “holy cow”
History also dictates I posted 2 minutes before the first poster & yet I’m #2. Alls fair in love war, poliitics and sports. I need to find a new hobby and a new site.
New site. If you aren’t liked by the powers that be around here they bump your posts down and I swear they add extra thumbs up to commenters disagreeing with you. All through the comment section you see 4,5 maybe 6 thumbs up and then BAM! The guy disagreeing with you magically has 19 thumbs up next to his reply. It’s bs.
I’d say you just bring it out in people.
Retired and Curly, yeah it’s all one big conspiracy against you. Lord knows they’ve employed a dozen people to make sure that views opposed to yours are given multiple thumbs up and that your posts aren’t the first posts on the hundred or more subjects posted daily. You’ve uncovered yet another vast conspiracy!
BTW, I was one of the two thumbs up for Mr Perkins.
Do you really think MLB trade rumors care about thumbs up?
Fine, bench Suzuki. But now that the Cubs have an actual third baseman in Candelario, Ross needs to stop playing Madrigal so often at the hot corner. The manager’s poor lineup construction has probably cost the team at least four or five wins this season.
“ the manager’s poor lineup construction has probably cost the team four or five wins this season “
The very same can be said of Pirates manager Derek Shelton. He pulls his lineups out of a hat
Bring back beet-faced Clint Hurdle!
You mean he pulls the lineup from where the sun font shine.
Madrigal is one of our hottest hitters for the past month. It makes no sense to bench him right now.
Even with “Try Hard Nicky”‘s recent spate of low-exit-velocity seeing-eye singles, his OPS+ is only 94 as of yesterday, meaning that he’s still 6% worse than the average MLB hitter. His luck will almost certainly run out, and soon. It makes perfect sense to bench him. He’s okay as a first-option pinch hitter when the team needs someone not to strike out in a plate appearance. And that’s about it.
Despite what another dissenting commenter believes about defensive metrics that are very much a work in progress, Madrigal is terrible at third base. There are so many ground balls he can’t get to because he has no range. He compounds that shortcoming with a weak arm that requires him to run at least ten feet toward first base before making the throw.
Nick Madrigal is not a good baseball player. Full stop.
His ops+ is due to a really poor beginning of the season. Defense is a question yeah, but it’s his first season, the only way to get better is by playing.
Now the cubs are in win now mode, so they don’t have the time for development, but who may I ask is doing better than him to justify benching him?
Oh and you don’t get to say candelario because we need to play him at first so that we can have happ, bellinger, and tauchman in the outfield everyday.
As Jake Arrieta once said,
“Whatever helps keep your hope alive, just know, it doesn’t matter.”
You’re not a good baseball player analyzer. Full stop.
The word you’re looking for is analyst, not analyzer.
You’re not a good writer. Full stop.
Do you actually watch the games or no? Madrigal has played his butt off at third and has delivered some timely hitting.
“Do you actually watch the games or no?”
I think you should be asking yourself that question instead of going along with the propaganda coming out of the Cubs’ front office.
Doug’s profound advice: bench the hot hand. Got it
Also, analyzer is not incorrect in that sentence. You may think so since “analyst” is a common job but either word works in that context
My profound advice:
Play your best option at third base, especially if you’ve acquired someone who can actually play the position and has a 137 OPS+ as of yesterday.
I never said the word is incorrect, but a better writer would have used “analyst” instead of “analyzer.”
“One-base hit” isn’t incorrect either, but the word “single” is a heck of a lot better. Ring Lardner would probably agree with me on that one.
So we move Candelario to third, ok. Who goes to first? bellinger? Then who takes over as the third outfielder? Morel? Then who takes over at DH? One of our prospects who are still very much in development, and are always question marks when they come to the majors.
The cubs are in win mode. They don’t need more question marks than they already have right now. So again I ask. Who is doing better than Madrigal to justify benching him
Keep Candelario at third, and play Wisdom at first base. Or play Candelario at first, and put Wisdom at third. Yes, Wisdom is not a very good player, but his OPS+ is 11 points higher than Madrigal’s as of yesterday. In other words, Wisdom is still a better hitter even with all those strikeouts. I believe Wisdom’s defensive metrics have been subpar at third this year, but he still has a much longer track record of playing the position competently than Madrigal does. Or if you want to get more creative, keep in mind that Miguel Amaya has played some first base during his minor league days. Ross could even try him there and keep Candelario at third. I’d rather see him play as the first baseman instead of DHing on days when he isn’t the starting catcher. Amaya can almost certainly play first base better than Madrigal plays third.
This might shock you, but the Cubs are really not a very good team this year. They’re only as competitive as they are right now because they’re in such a weak division. They don’t have a lot of great options from which to choose. If they did, Madrigal wouldn’t get so much playing time. The bottom line is that they do have less worse options than him. If a good option isn’t available, a sensible person always goes with the less-worse one.
Nick Madrigal is on a good run, right now. He has earned his playing time – and I sure haven’t been a big supporter of him, until his recent streak. Im not sold it will continue, but currently to criticize his play – probably says more about your judgement or bias.
Im hoping if he does drop off, that Mervis gets the call, and Candelario plays 3rd.
Sure, keep playing him instead of statistically superior players. Great strategy.
Nick Madrigal is to David Ross as Lenny Harris/Neifi Perez (take your pick) was to Dusty Baker. This deference to the “gritty” players needs to stop.
So again back to the hot bats debate.
Does wisdom have the better season stats? Possibly, depends how you look at it.
Does wisdom have a ops of 592 with the platoon advantage for most of his last 30 games, yes
Does Madrigal have a ops of 824 without the platoon advantage for most of his last 30 games, yes.
So, does Wisdom justify benching Madrigal TODAY? No
In two weeks, if Madrigal goes 0 for 35, does Wisdom deserve a shot? yeah absolutely.
Not possibly. Wisdom DOES have better overall offensive stats this season. Career stats as well.. If you want to be a cheerleader for meatheaded David Ross, that’s your choice.
We cannot bench him… Nick Madrigal is the next 3000 hit member, just ask him how easy it should be.
Sad to say, but some Cubs fans seriously think that.
Nick Madrigal has 6 OAA at third this year while Wisdom has -6. I’d say he’s much better defensively at third. Ride the hot hand.
I see that you’re another small sample size guy. Good for you.
Defensive metrics have a long way to go before they become as reliable as offensive metrics. But even if Lil’ Nicky has somehow become a better third baseman than Wisdom, Ross could put Wisdom at first and let Candelario stay where he’s been a starter the last few seasons. All this desire to accommodate Madrigal is insanity.
Hot hands can get cold really quickly, especially from a player who has yet to play a full season with above-average statistics.
Ok as the guy who started this whole argument
Stop everyone.
We’re all At agree to disagree
Also I never said Madrigal was going to be the next 3000 hit member. All I wanted to say was he is the best solution to one of the number of problems the Cubs have for right now.
We have all the evidence to each of our claims. Let’s all get some sleep and agree to disagree
I’d rather disagree to agree.
You’ve spent 6 hours fighting for your point. I can respect your dedication.
I can’t get behind the “bench the hot guy” concept, but that’s me
You’ve fought for your opinion, I and a lot of other people fought for mine
See you around
We have a pretty big sample on Wisdom and he’s a replacement level player. He’s not good defensively and has been an atrocious hitter for many weeks now.
All I’m saying is the Cubs should give priority to the players who have the least worst stats and best track records. In this particular case, it ain’t “Try Hard Nicky.”
And Lil’ Nicky has been a below-replacement-level player overall since he’s been on the Cubs. Yes, Wisdom is not very good, but he’s still not as bad as Madrigal.
Madrigal is hitting .355 with a 126 OPS+ since the beginning of June. Wisdom is hitting .147 with an 83 OPS+ over the same period.
Madrigal is by far the better hitter since June 1st. Play the hot hand.
You’d rather not look at reality. Madrigal has been better than Wisdom over the past 2 months. Madrigal should start.
Madrigal has .2 fwar | .7 bwar in 2022 and is at 1.0 fwar | 1.2bwar in 2023 with only 199 PAs. Where are you getting that he’s been below replacement since coming to the cubs?
Your argument is just stupid. You want to play other people because they have better career stats, despite them producing worse at this time, which is what matters.
It doesn’t seem like anyone is even trying to argue that Madrigal is actually a good overall player, just the best option. As multiple people have already said, if Madrigal starts to suck, bench him. However, until that point it doesn’t make sense to play someone that is currently producing worse than him.
You’ve mentioned that defensive metrics aren’t very useful for a small sample, this is true…but what are you using to evaluate his defensive work?
If Madrigal needs at bats, DH him period. Candelario belongs at 3rd. Nearly cost us the game yesterday against braves not being able to make a throw from wrd to 1st. Nick has no place on this team, he should have been traded at trade deadline, for a competent LH pitcher. Ross is by far 1 of 5 worst managers in MLB. IM0 his line ups and pitching decisions or leaving a pitcher in to many innings, ” Aka Assad “. Has cost us 10 wins so far this season. He’s trash, but he Homer’s something or other!
Read this:
blogs.fangraphs.com/nick-madrigal-is-better-when-h…
While the author is a lot more enamored with Madrigal than I am, he concedes that Try Hard Nicky has difficulty making the throw to first base without getting a running start before releasing the ball. Yes, this approach has worked so far, but do any third basemen who are considered defensively adept do this? No. There’s a reason for that: the longer you hold onto the ball, the more time you give the runner to get to first or second base. I just don’t think this method is sustainable over the long haul. This is something that a well-managed team can easily exploit, especially in the postseason when every little thing really counts. There are also going to be times when a player has to make a long throw from deep in the third base hole, and Madrigal just doesn’t have the arm to do that on a consistent basis,
From what I can tell, Madrigal’s defensive range factor does grade out as adequate. However, this metric is strongly influenced by who the pitcher is and, let’s face it, luck. I’ve certainly watched many games where a ground ball gets past him and I’ve thought, “Wisdom/Candelario/Morel/anybody else could have gotten to that.” Defensive metrics have a long way to go before they’re accepted to the same degree as offensive metrics. Even the biggest stathead will concede that point. Until there is greater consensus on defensive metrics, I don’t care what the numbers say about Madrigal as a third baseman. My eyes tell me that he’s not good. Watch ten minutes of highlight videos of a third baseman who’s generally regarded as defensively top-notch (e.g. Nolan Arenado), and then watch ten minutes of Lil’ Nicky’s defensive “highlights.” You’ll see what I mean.
I know it won’t make me popular here, but I will continue to get up on my soapbox and advocate for the reduction of Madrigal’s playing time for as long as necessary.
You clearly don’t watch the cubs. Madrigal has been great at 3rd all year and has been hitting well above .320 in the last few weeks. Try again.
Actually, I do watch the Cubs. Quite often, in fact. No, Madrigal has not been great, let alone good, at third base all year. Defensive metrics are still not as well developed as hitting metrics, and they make “Try Hard Nicky” look better at third base than he actually is.
Just because Boog Sciambi is offering you Kool-Aid about Madrigal’s alleged competence at the hot corner doesn’t mean you have to drink it.
There, I tried again.
You’re an idiot and your takes are horrible.
You make ridiculously long posts that highlight the fact you know Jack shhh about baseball. You formulate opinions and die on that hill.
Here’s a fact for you, you don’t know more than defensive metrics. And you want to talk about weak exit velocities? Bellinger suck too? What about Luis Arraez, is he bad too?
I’m by no means a Madrigal homer, but his numbers since being recalled from Iowa on June 9th speak for themselves.
Average-.329
OBP-.415
SLG-.451
wOBA-.383
wRC+ -143
Combine that with quality defense at 3B, and you have a guy you need to keep in your lineup until he shows regression. He’s been 43% better than league average during this span. How do you bench this guy? Were not talking about a slumping Seiya (who I’m still buying over the long haul).
If Madrigal had a track record of posting those kinds of numbers consistently over a full year (he has yet to play more than a half-season at the Major League level), I’d take those hitting statistics a little more seriously. Out of curiosity, what is his BABIP during the span you cited above?
He does not play quality defense at third base. Fielding metrics do not adequately take into account all the ground balls he doesn’t get to nor all the runners who beat his noodle-armed throws to first base.
.351 , so not outrageously high. You gotta remember, his BABIP with the sox before his injuires was in the .340s, so this performance isn’t outside of the realm of expectations in spike years. I believe his true talent level over the course of a season when healthy is more in the 120s range.
120s referring to wRC+ of course. His 140s is something I wouldn’t bank on, unless he hits the weight room or gets on the Bonds diet.
But that’s still a high BABIP. His numbers with the White Sox are pretty small sample sizes, so you probably shouldn’t put too much stock in them.
Believe what you want about Lil’ Nicky, but I’ll quote Jake Arrieta again:
“Whatever helps keep your hope alive, just know, it doesn’t matter.”
350 PA’s isn’t exactly small, and those numbers aren’t much higher then his minors BABIP. He’s one of the players who has been benefitting from the new no shift rules this year.
You can take a wait and see approach. Its definitely a conservative way to look at things. Nothing wrong with that.
But this is a former top prospect with tons of hit tool talent, thats finally healthy after several years. To reiterate, his numbers since being recalled at minimum warrant regular playing time until he starts failing. He’s benefitted from the new no rules, and he’s exactly the type of player who usually has a post hype breakout, and he’s controllable. This is good problem to have my friend.
Again, if Nick Madrigal had at least a couple of full seasons (140+ games played each year) with an OPS of 110+ or more, I’d be more inclined to agree with you. He should have been someone who benefited from the new shift rules immediately. He didn’t, largely because he doesn’t hit the ball hard.
His “hit tool talent” relies entirely on making contact and turning that contact into hits. With his low exit velocities, a lot of the pitches he makes contact with turn into easy groundouts or pop flies. Madrigal’s status as a top prospect doesn’t matter. Most of those guys still don’t become stars or even decent players. Some don’t even make it to the Major Leagues. Madrigal relied entirely on hits for his relatively good OBP numbers with the White Sox. He doesn’t draw walks and has no power. I will give him credit for improving somewhat as a baserunner this year, but that’s about it. His defense is average at best. If he’s not spraying singles around the field, he’s worthless as a hitter. Yes, he’s been doing that lately, but nothing suggests that he’ll be able to sustain this good run over the long haul. I’d love to be wrong, however.
If Nick Madrigal is a good problem to have, I’d hate to know what a bad problem to have is. He’s still a below-average player overall. There are less worse options than him. If the Cubs are serious about the postseason, he’s much more “valuable” as a bench player than as a starter.
So basically you’d bench a hot player who you think is getting lucky just so you can laugh and say “I told you so” when he eventually isn’t tearing the cover off the ball for a stretch? Just because you think he can regress eventually but isn’t. You realize players actually improve and get worse, and you aren’t playing them based on the past? You’d probably play a guy in a 0-35 slump every day just because you think he’s due to get hot over a red hot hitter because he’s “lucky”.
No, I’d play the best available player at third base. His name is Jeimer Candelario. He’s been pretty hot since the Cubs reacquired him in case you haven’t noticed.
There are times when it’s just better to mute morons. Now is one of those times.
who cares if the babip is high? No one is saying you need to pencil him in from now until the end of the season…if his babip drops and his numbers with it, then you can reevaluate and perhaps play someone else.
“He should have been someone who benefited from the new shift rules immediately.”
You’ve already knocked on a 350 PA sample size as being too small, yet here you take a sub 50 PA sample size and claim that’s enough to determine the benefits from a rule change. Got it. I rest my case.
I care.
If Madrigal is the same hitter he was last year, many of those groundouts he had then would be hits this year because the infielders are much more limited where they can position themselves. That isn’t a difficult concept to grasp.
Yeah because all the shifting they did against Nick Madrigal.
You know about as much about baseball as a tee ball coach
So all this arguing is about Suzuki, Wisdom, and Madrigal for one lineup position.
My gripe with Ross is that he refused to move Suzuki down in the order. They can play both offensive and defensive matchups with those three, just please bat whoever of the three plays in the 9 hole unless Barnhart is catching.
Agreed.
This is all a matter of who is least bad: Madrigal, Suzuki, or Wisdom. Based on career offensive and defensive metrics, it’s Wisdom.
You seriously cannot be this dumb. It’s some kind of joke right?
Madrigal’s arm does not play at 3B and Cubs fans should be nervous about that.
Madrigal is 5th best defensive third baseman in baseball in terms of DRS and OAA while playing half the innings… sure does appear to be “playing”
bWAR
Nick Madrigal: 3.6 in 203 career games. 1.2 in 2023 (61 games)
Patrick Wisdom: 3.4 in 358 career games. 0.1 in 2023 (75 games)
Seiya Suzuki: 2.3 in 201 career games. 0.4 in 2023 (90 games)
fWAR
Patrick Wisdom: 4.0 career/0.6 2023
Seiya Suzuki: 2.9 career/0.8 2023
Nick Madrigal: 2.8 career/1.1 2023
Hopefully this helps everyone!
Madrigal’s arm does not play at 3B. At 2B yes. Play the hot hitter? Absolutely.
The guy is obviously just trolling. Time to mute and move along
John aren’t you the Guardians fan on BTV with horrendous trade ideas and overall brutal perspectives on Guardian players? I sincerely hope you’re not calling me a troll when referencing Madrigal’s throwing arm.
You are thinking of someone else. Not a guardian fan and can’t remember the last take I had on their players.
I’m on your side, advising that Doug is a troll to be avoided
Madrigal is averaging 84.5 mph on his throws from third. That’s on par with Arenado and Machados 85 mph average.
Madrigal worked to improve his arm strength and did. Is it elite? No but it’s perfectly average to play the position. And it’s also worth noting that it’s 4.5 mph harder than Calendarios average.
Fact is, baseball teams use a lot of statistical data to make their decisions and not biases.
My bad John.
What is a player’s MPH throwing off a back foot? On the run? A shuffle? A double shuffle? These questions matter. This is not the pitchers mound where everyone throws from the same spot to the same target.
Once again….
Madrigal’s arm does not play at 3B. As the hot hitter, Cubs should play him.
But where? Bench Hoerner and put Lil’ Nicky at second base? Anywhere Madrigal plays means that the infield defense suffers. That Francisco Lindor groundout in the fifth inning of last night’s game was really something. Lil’ Nicky took a half-dozen crow hops before lobbing the ball to Candelario and still bounced it in the dirt. The Cubs got lucky there, not that it mattered with Smyly throwing batting practice pitches all night. I can only imagine what would have happened if Trey Mancini were still on the team and had been playing first base.
This is his average arm based on all plays. It does play you just refuse to either admit you’re wrong or change your bias.
Madrigal has been one of the best defensive third basemen in the league this season. His defense plays, his arm plays
Hey, drasco036. I muted you a long time ago. I know you’re posting in response to my comments, but I can’t see your nonsense. But go ahead, let me keep living in your head rent-free. 🙂
It was a nice pick though, that ball was smashed.
That pick wasn’t anything Candelario or Morel couldn’t have done better.
Don’t you have some baloney sandwiches to make for the next homestand?
I was complimenting the pick, not making any comparisons.
And yes, working on them now in fact.
Of course the mighty Alvin Yellon is a “Try Hard Nicky” fan.
That pick didn’t deserve a compliment. It was a routine play that any competent third baseman could make while also getting the ball across the diamond without bouncing it in the dirt first. It’s interesting how quickly Cubs fans like you have forgotten what good baseball looks like.
Make sure you save a sammich for me when I sit next to you in the bleachers.
Haha, quite a jump to assume I’m a fan. I haven’t provided my opinion of him as a player.
See ya in the bleachers! I’ll have a nice warm sammie saved for ya in my pocket!
A fair assumption to make if you’re giving the “Singles Dwarf” an undeserved compliment.
My entourage and I look forward to meeting you in the bleachers one day. Hopefully, the baloney will not disappoint.
If you muted my comments, you wouldn’t know I was posting, idiot.
“with Suzuki making occasional starts when he (Tauchman) or Ian Happ have a day off”
Why do these guys need a day off in the middle of a playoff race? They should be expected to play every single game unless insured.
Because most guys eventually need a day off every 10-14 days, especially in summer heat. It’s the same reason why the CBA doesn’t let a team go more than 20 days without an off day.
And for all the Lil’ Nicky fans out there:
He was 0 for 4 today with an error in spite of playing his buff off at third.
*butt off 🙂
One bad game isn’t a big enough sample size to write someone off. Madrigal’s number’s since being recalled from Iowa on June 9th:
Average-.329
OBP-.415
SLG-.451
wOBA-.383
wRC+ -143
If he falls off a cliff and performances like today are the norm, then I’m right here with you. Until then, he needs to receive regular playing time.
Performances like today’s are Madrigal’s norm as a Cub.
These are fun talks to have! We’re debating about a guy who has been red hot for almost 2 months, and whose helped the club climb back into the thick of it. Regardless, its nice to be talking about thes3 topics after a series win against the best team in baseball.
Yes, they can be fun talks as long as commenters don’t take things personally. A lot of people on here do, unfortunately. I appreciate the fact that you don’t seem to be one of them.
I will admit that I was ready to stick a fork in the Cubs not very long ago. It’s nice that they’re actually playing decent ball. I do not agree that Nick Madrigal has much to do with that, however. The Cubs Pythagorean W-L was 62-49 before today’s game. The fact that their actual record before today’s game was only 57-54 strongly suggests that David Ross has made a lot of terrible managerial decisions. Playing “Try Hard Nicky” too often is one of them.
Though I think Rossy has the intangibles and leadership skills to be a successful manager, I happen to agree with you that David Ross has made some baffling in game and lineup decisions over the course of the last several seasons. If it was anyone who wasn’t a former beloved player, they wouldn’t have gotten the long leash Ross has had the good fortune of receiving from Jed and a large portion of the fan base.
And he was 2/4 the day before that
Hats off to the Reds for being where they are in the standings this deep in the season ESPECIALLY when they’ve had Luke Weaver in the rotation all year long. The guy is a gamer, but good Lord – only 2 wins all year and an ERA just a whisker under 7.00. Can any Reds fan explain why Bell is still sending him out there every fifth day? He’s basically a right-handed version of Jordan Lyles on a winning team.
Because the ownership is too cheap to get better pitching and the GM too inexperienced. So they’re hoping and praying that their young offense can compensate and in June that worked out wonderfully. Not so much during the last week of July and onward.
Thanks for the insight. I’ve just never seen a team with a winning record in August CHOOSE to leave a pitcher in the rotation whose numbers are unquestionably atrocious. It’s a testament to the offense for sure. The rotation is shaky af. That they didn’t address that problem at the deadline tells the tale about ownership.
I will never understand the unconditional love that my fellow Cubs fans have for undersized, undertalented players such as Nick Madrigal, Ryan Theriot, Tony Campana, or, for that matter, my son Doug.
Have you ever thought about getting psychological help for your imaginary beliefs that you have running around in your empty head?
Project much?
Beliefs themselves are not imaginary, although a person can have beliefs about something that is imaginary (e.g. Nick Madrigal being a good player). If my head were empty, I would not be capable of having any beliefs nor would I have a brain for a therapist to analyze.
For your sake, please think before you write.
I’m looking forward to that first Cruz/DeLaCruz matchup at shortstop. Gonna be a fun one.
Great. A Cubs thread. Madrigal or Canderlario? I’m waiting for Cruz to get back too.
Wanting Cruz to comeback and Not wanting Cruz to come back. with all the set backs and unexpected down right lousy performance at times… I rather have Cruz sit back and relax and not rush things so that we can get better looks at players. We know Cruz is going to be a decent bat.. well.. reasonably sure. Some of these other guys are more iffy and we need to see whats up before 2024 spring.
Oh, Mr. Deeds, will you never learn? “Meanwhile” has to start the sentence. It can’t come in the middle.
Quite a performance there by “Nicky Picked Off” during the Cubs’ half of the fifth inning tonight. But I’m sure some people will say that’s just a bad take and that I don’t know anything about baseball.
But hey, Cubs win! That’s all that matters.