Official 2023 Chicago Cubs Season Thread Vol: (17-17)

[JLD1523]

Are the Cubs no longer wearing the blue hat with the red brim anymore? Haven't seen them wear it all year and it doesn't seem to be readily available online anymore either.

 

[dmxfury]

Bucs and Cubbies going to battle it out all year I think, real question is will the Cards fall back at all??

In laws going to Wrigley this week, it's almost done, correct?

 

[JLD1523]

Just found it online that they stopped wearing them in 2008. I guess I never noticed.

 

[JLD1523]

Bucs and Cubbies going to battle it out all year I think, real question is will the Cards fall back at all??

In laws going to Wrigley this week, it's almost done, correct?

Still finishing up the right field bleachers. Outside the stadium is still a mess and a long ways from being finished. Both scoreboards are up.

 

[CP1708]

Bucs and Cubbies going to battle it out all year I think, real question is will the Cards fall back at all??

In laws going to Wrigley this week, it's almost done, correct?

RF should be done after this road trip, I think. Week or two, max.

 

[dmxfury]

Cool well I thought it was this week they are there but maybe next. So whenever they get back home, gong to do Chi then up to Milwuakee

 

[CP1708]

Rob Neyer last night saying the Cubs could trade Anthony Rizzo to make room for Kyle Schwarber.

......


So Cubs Twitter basically soaked him in gas and threw matches at him, then threw pitchforks at him.

 

[sportsjunkie]

Rob Neyer last night saying the Cubs could trade Anthony Rizzo to make room for Kyle Schwarber.

......


So Cubs Twitter basically soaked him in gas and threw matches at him, then threw pitchforks at him.

Sigh!!!!!!! Kyle Schwarber will be playing LF.

 

[sportsjunkie]

I am going to the Cubs-Nats game on Friday. I hope my boys don't disappoint me.

btw last night Hammel was dealing. Did anyone see the way Castro Crushed that Home Run. He was all over that. Lets sweep the Marlins boys!!!!

 

[johnnyredstorm]

Rob Neyer last night saying the Cubs could trade Anthony Rizzo to make room for Kyle Schwarber.

......


So Cubs Twitter basically soaked him in gas and threw matches at him, then threw pitchforks at him.

some people are so ******* stupid. Rizzo is the 2nd or 3rd best hitter in the NL behind Goldy and Bryce.

 

[Sonny Corinthos]

Is Rizzo the dude that stands over the plate like he has a death wish ? I've only seen 2 Cubs games

 

[CP1708]

Is Rizzo the dude that stands over the plate like he has a death wish ? I've only seen 2 Cubs games

Yep, that's him. Been hit like a dozen times already.

 

[CP1708]

Maybe, after all, this just isn’t the Chicago Cubs’ season. They’re well behind the Cardinals in the Central, and their negative run differential hardly bodes well for the future; a more sophisticated methodology has the Cubs finishing a couple of games behind the Pirates and missing the playoffs by just one game.

Then again, maybe this is the Cubs’ season. One game’s hardly even a trifle. Which means the Cubs can’t really afford to throw away any games.

No, I’m not talking about Kris Bryant. Those eight games without him are gone, and anyway the Cubs lost only three of them (one of which was particularly close).

I’m talking about left field.

Last year, most of the Cubs’ left-field innings went to an approximately replacement-level player.

Hey, these things happen. Especially with rebuilding teams.

This year, though? Most of those left-field innings are going to that self-same (approximately, and with all due respect) replacement-level player.

Is left field the Cubs’ only real weakness?

Actually, yeah. At least if you believe Starlin Castro will hit again someday.

So what might management do about this? Well, here’s an idea (and see if you can spot the interesting name here) ...


Schwarber? Yeah. Schwarber.

You know about Kyle Schwarber?

You probably know about Schwarber. For the rest of you, though, a quick summary:

- Schwarber was the fourth pick in last year’s draft.

- Schwarber has been destroying baseballs for every moment of his short pro career.

- Schwarber was a catcher in college, but nobody who’s seen him seems to think he can actually catch.

Oh, except for the Chicago Cubs. And probably Schwarber.

Toward the end of spring training, I became intrigued with Schwarber.

First, there’s that name: Schwarber. Can you imagine Mickey Mantle being Mickey Schwarber? Joe DiMaggio as Joe Schwarber? Ted Schwarber?

Great baseball players aren’t named Scwharber. Until one is.

Then there’s the catching thing. I happened to run into MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo a few months ago. Quote: “Nobody who’s seen Kyle Schwarber catch believes he possesses any of the skills necessary to catch in the major leagues.”

Well, then.

But then I talked to Jason McLeod, the Cubs’ senior vice president, scouting & player development. A year ago, the Cubs drafted Schwarber. According to McLeod, “There’s no question with anyone in the organization that he’s going to catch.”

Why do the Cubs, in the face of most publicly available evidence, seem to think Schwarber can catch? Because of his determination, it seems. Because, as McLeod told me, Schwarber is “so ferociously committed not just to doing it, but to doing it really well.”

Before they drafted Schwarber, the Cubs – McLeod and Theo Epstein – met with him, and asked him about catching, and the critics. “He looked straight at us, and not in a cocky way, but he just said, ‘You know it really ******* pisses me off when people say I can’t catch.’ “

So the Cubs drafted him. Fourth. Which was seen in many quarters as an “overdraft”; whether they really believed he was the fourth-best player in the draft or they were looking to save a little money to spend on later picks, who knows. Maybe a little of both.

Anyway, after signing, Schwarber caught some, played left field some. And hit. Hit a lot. While essentially relearning how to catch (apparently he didn’t pick up many of the finer points while toiling for the Hoosiers). After the season, he spent a lot of time with minor-league field coordinator Tim Cossins; during spring training, he spent a lot of time with major-league catching coach Mike Borzello.

I’m not any sort of scout. I saw Schwarber catch a couple of innings in the middle of March. There were four or five pitches in the dirt, one of which did get past him. There was a successful tag play, and Schwarber looked athletic enough.

The next day I talked to him about all this. It was after morning batting practice and we both were walking and my notes aren’t looking so hot now. But I don’t know that I’ve talked to anyone who seemed so confident – not cocky; confident – and determined to do something people say he can’t do. “It bugs me,” Schwarber said. “I take it personally.”

He did admit that he needs to get better at blocking those balls in the dirt. And pitch-framing … “That’s what catching’s all about now,” Schwarber said. “It’s kind of the big subject in baseball numbers.”

He wants to catch, though. “I’ve been a catcher all my life. Ever since T-ball. I love the analytical part of the game. When I played football, I was middle linebacker.”

This season in Double-A, he’s hitting again. A lot. He’s also playing some left field and doing some catching. Which isn’t going so well.

Not all of it, anyway. There are some good signs! A message from Tennessee Smokies broadcaster Mick Gillispie:

Kyle has done an amazing job framing pitches. He is one of the best I've seen this season in the league. The other very good trait for him is pitch calling. He has split time with Willson Contreras behind the plate, getting 3 of every 5 games. Receiving still needs development, along with his footwork and positioning when throwing out runners. However, he brings confidence to the pitcher and works well with the umps.

So that’s all good.

Then again, in 30 games behind the plate, Schwarber has six passed balls and has given up 43 steals. Not that the steals are all his fault, but in 20 games, Contreras has only two passed balls and 15 steals allowed.

And suddenly I’m reminded of Mike Piazza, who actually did some of the little things well but struggled with the obvious ones. But hit a lot, in fact hit so much that he’ll soon be in the Hall of Fame.

Is that Schwarber’s path? I sorta doubt it.

When Piazza was obviously ready to hit in the majors, the Dodgers made him their catcher. I don’t see the Cubs doing that, considering Miguel Montero’s signed through 2017 and still seems at the top of his game.

Will the Cubs leave Schwarber in the minors long enough to significantly improve his throwing and stop letting pitches get past him?

I sorta doubt it. He’s hitting too much. Right now, Schwarber’s at the same age and same level as Kris Bryant just one year ago. Schwarber’s not hitting quite as much as Bryant did. But he’s not far off, and one imagines he might hit even better if he didn’t have to spend so much energy learning to catch.

Getting back to the original issue, though! Would the Cubs be better right now if Schwarber just skipped Triple-A and took over in left field for the big club?

Well, that’s hard to say, isn’t it? Schwarber’s probably a better hitter than Chris Coghlan right now, but he’s surely a worse fielder. This is just something we assume about a sometime catcher who’s listed as 6 feet – I didn’t have the presence of mind to compare my height to his when I could have – and 235 pounds. My guess is the Cubs will eventually tolerate his defense in left field, then either move him to first base when Anthony Rizzo gets expensive or trade him to the Red Sox.

Now, though? Arismendy Alcantara and Javier Baez, both of whom were exiled to Iowa earlier this spring, have thrived in the Hawkeye State. Relative to their Land of Lincoln performances, anyway. Between Alcantara and Baez and whomever else is hanging around, somebody should be able to cobble together an above-average batting line and make most of the plays in left field.

Schwarber’s something, for sure. I just don’t think he’s the Cubs’ missing piece this summer.

Dept. of Corrections: As a reader points out, Schwarber hasn't actually played any left field at all this season. In 45 games, he's DH'd in 11 and caught in 30. Which obviously makes it even less likely that the big club would just toss him into their lineup as an everyday left fielder. For the moment, it's probably catcher or designated hitter or bust. And they still make the pitchers hit in the Cubs' league.

Department of Clarifications: As Bleed Cubbie Blue's Al Yellon points out, Anthony Rizzo's signed to a team-friendly long-term contract and won't be "expensive" for a long, long while. Which doesn't necessarily mean Schwarber can't take over at first base, but that seems possible only if Rizzo suffers some sort of terrible injury or (more likely) Rizzo's traded. Bottom line, it's just hard to find a place for Schwarber to play on this team, as currently composed.

at saying Schwarber has played LF, then later adding that he has not played LF, at all.

That's almost as funny as saying the Cubs should/could trade Rizzo any time soon.

 

[johnnyredstorm]

I would never trade Rizzo ever.

 

[CP1708]

Addison Russell finally batting up in the order. (6th)

 

[CP1708]

Ash Marshall @AshMarshallMLB
Iowa manager Marty Pevey says Javy Baez has taken grounders at 3B during infield this week, could play games there in coming weeks. #Cubs

 

[CP1708]

Jorge Soler to the DL. |I


And now Lester is having troouble with the bottom of the Marlins order.


The one pitch, ONE pitch that killed us last night was after Hendricks got into that bases loaded, nobody out jam, with the 3-4-5 hitters coming up, and he gets the first two out, including Stanton, and then he somehow grooves a fastball to the #5 hitter and he clears the bases. Little mistakes like that, to a struggling Miami team, and now Lester compounding it, is why 2015 isn't the year the Cubs truly make their run.

Theo still has work to do. Starts next week with the #9 pick, then the offseason with adding one more elite SP, then retooling the pen, and then adding Schwarber, Baez, Almora, Alcantara, and hopefully this 9th pick sometime soon to the lineup and getting deeper both in the every day lineup, and on the bench.

THEN, we're ready. Everything right now is learning curve, and gravy.

 

[johnnyredstorm]

Hope Soler recovers well. Maybe they'll call up Baez and move Crush to left while Soler is hurt?

 

[CP1708]

That's my thinking.

This is the 3rd series we've done this ****. The Brewers, the D-Backs, and now the Marlins. Every time we face a better portion of our schedule and can go on a run, we do this ****.

Lester vs a bottom feeder team, and he's getting blown out. ****

 

[johnnyredstorm]

plus side is haren's lousy so coming back is possible.

 

[CP1708]

Arrieta better throw a gem today. He and Lester have not been what they were last year, and that's holding us back right now.

 

[CP1708]

With the draft on our doorstep and with draft talk appearing almost daily, this seems like a good time to look past the draft a little to the beginning of the International Free Agent signing season in early July. We already knew the Cubs were set to spend a small fortune this summer, but it now looks very likely that the Cubs could be willing to invest a second fortune in an effort to land the best player in the class. And they might make a play for two of the top three.

Indeed, the Cubs are reportedly serious about MLB Pipeline’s top IFA prospect, Cuban Eddy Julio Martinez:

That doesn’t mean the Cubs will sign him, but if they do, in addition to the rest of their 2015 class, they may well wind up with the best group of prospects to be signed this summer.

The scouting grades MLB Pipeline place on Martinez, an outfielder, are verging on the territory of video game ridiculous. They grant him 60s across the board, with the exception of Run. That’s a 70. The comparison they make is to Andruw Jones, but if those grades are legitimate you could be forgiven for dreaming on a future as an almost-but-not-quite Mike Trout. What those scouting grades do ensure, however, is that Martinez is going to be handsomely paid very soon.

Martinez, 20, is eligible to sign right now, but the fact that he hasn’t with the 2014-2015 signing period closing in mid-June is significant. That implies, strongly, that he is at least seriously considering (or has quietly agreed to) an offer from a team that is locked out now but won’t be in July. The top candidates to be that team? Cubs and Dodgers. And while the Dodgers have been winning the Battles of the Moneybags lately, I suspect the Cubs have the reserves to put up a fiscal fight for a player they really want.

And they might have another fight, too, on the number three prospect, Lucius Fox.

If the Cubs land Fox, this class becomes incredibly good. Like Martinez, there are a lot of team involved on Fox, but unlike Martinez, Fox cannot sign until July 2. Given that he arrived on the scene a little late, any team that does not want to blow the spending limits may already be promised to enough other players that they won’t have the room for Fox. That puts the deep pocketed teams who are committed to blowing past the limits in the drivers’ seat, and that means it may well be the Cubs and Dodgers fighting for the wheel.

In short, the Cubs are in a position to add two of the top three prospects to a group that already contains seven highly ranked players, including, by some rankings, four of the top twenty. That would be a huge influx of talent to a farm system that is already full to bursting with prospects at the low levels, and it would come on top of the June draft in which we can reasonably expect the Cubs to do fairly well.

Things are likely to stay dynamic for both Martinez and Fox over the next few weeks, so stay tuned.

If Theo pulls this off...............

 

[CP1708]

I forgot to post this a few days ago, but CJ Edwards called up to Triple A, to work out of the pen.

And Neil Ramirez should be getting close to coming back within a few weeks. And Rafael Soriano is a possibility. We could be overhauling the bullpen pretty soon and trying to save a few of these wins we've let go. Not anything drastic, but having a better pen is never a bad thing, and can be done relatively cheap.

 

[CP1708]

Rizz.

 

[CP1708]

Rizzo last night with 2 homers, and a 3rd one caught at the top of the fence in Center. Inches away from a 3 homer day.

Those were homers 10 and 11 for Rizzo on the year, who raised his slash line to .325/.445/.602. He’s got a .444 wOBA and a 182 wRC+, the latter of which ties him with Adrian Gonzalez for the second best by a first baseman in the NL (notable, given how far and away ahead of everyone Gonzalez was just a few weeks ago).

If that doesn’t sound impressive, let me put it this way: that’s the third best wRC+ in baseball. Only Bryce Harper and Paul Goldschmidt are higher. By wOBA, Rizzo is alone in third behind those two guys.

In other words, Rizzo is having an elite-elite-elite offensive season right now. He’s walking (12.7%) more often than he strikes out (10.6%), and that latter figure is almost impossibly low. It’s the 11th lowest strikeout rate among ALL regulars in baseball this year. For a guy who can hit the ball as hard and far as Rizzo, that’s insane.

Speaking of hitting the ball hard and far: Home Run Tracker says the first homer was hit harder than the second (109.2 mph off the bat versus 106.1 mph), but the second homer went farther (432 feet versus 402 feet). But, yeah, look at those numbers: those were both crushed.

MVP-esque.