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

[CP1708]

CHICAGO -- Reigning Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta on Wednesday hinted that he's worth more than the $175 million deal given to Stephen Strasburg and said he's not ready to give a hometown discount to stay with the Chicago Cubs.

"I'll let you judge that," Arrieta told reporters Wednesday morning about what he believes his market to be. "Just look at the numbers."

Strasburg, who signed his seven-year extension with the Washington Nationals on Tuesday, has never had a sub-3.00 ERA over a full season of starts, though he's 5-0 with a 2.76 mark right now.

Arrieta, meanwhile, has seen his ERA improve dramatically over his three seasons with the Cubs, going from 3.66 in 2013 to 2.53 in 2014 to 1.77 as he won the National League Cy Young Award last season. That trend has continued so far this season as he's gotten off to a 6-0 record with a 1.13 ERA.

"That's why starting pitching is so valuable," said Arrieta, whose agent is Scott Boras, who also represents Strasburg. "There's not many guys that can pitch at the top of the rotation floating around the league."

Arrieta, whose ERA is a measly 0.92 over his past 27 starts, is making $10.7 million and has one year left of arbitration before he can become a free agent after the 2017 season. The Cubs have won his past 20 regular-season starts.

"The misconception is that Scott wants everyone to go to free agency," Arrieta said of Boras. "I made it clear I like Chicago. I think everyone knows that. If I had it my way, I'd stay here. That's just one side of the story. We'll see."

When asked whether he'd give a hometown discount to the Cubs, Arrieta flatly said "no" while shaking his head.

First baseman Anthony Rizzo signed a team-friendly deal (7 years, $41 million) with the Cubs in 2013, but that came years before he was eligible for free agency.

Arrieta said "aces get 7 years" -- just as Strasburg got -- so think of that as a starting point. And think $200 million as one, as well.

"Financially I'm fine, regardless," Arrieta said. "You want to be paid in respect to how your peers are paid. I don't think that changes with any guy you ask. It happens around baseball every year."

Arrieta's comparables are more likely to be David Price (7 years, $217 million) or Max Scherzer (7 years, $210 million), who is also a Boras client. Both won the Cy Young Award before signing huge free-agent deals with the Boston Red Sox and the Nationals, respectively.

As for the Cubs' opinion of how Strasburg's deal might affect Arrieta's situation, team president Theo Epstein is playing it close to the vest.

"You pay attention to everything that goes on in the game, but it doesn't impact us too much," Epstein said Tuesday afternoon. "Obviously, it will impact markets and we have to operate in markets, but it is what it is."

Arrieta said that he's open to the sides talking, even in-season, but that a deal doesn't seem imminent.

"Most of the focus has to stay on what we're trying to accomplish today," Arrieta said. "If we keep winning, those kinds of things work themselves out in time. If they want to talk, they know where I'm at and we can get something going ...

"In a perfect world, I prefer it be done quickly. Let's get it over with and go play."

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

What a debacle today

Oh well, games like these are bound to happen, it's a long season after all, just gotta hope that they are few and far in between.

As much as I like Jake, I don't like the idea of giving a 30 year old 7/200.
That's the "old" Cubs way of doing things, Theo and Jed are more savvy and looking 3-4 years ahead, so I doubt they make that move. Maybe the settle on 5/125 with club/player options, who knows, but def not 7/200+.

 

[illmatic34]

Soler just isn't doing anything right now. Think we need to send him down.

 

[CP1708]

7/200+ is guaranteed, trust.

Today was pathetic. So many runners left on.

8 losses, 3 of them to the Braves and Padres, at home. :x

Lackey was amazing today.

 

[sportsjunkie]

i hope the cubs can agree on a 5 year deal, but since Strasburg got 7 years. this might be an issue. oh boy.


I cant believe we didn't give Lackey no run support on yesterday. 7 of our loses has come to below .500 teams. LOL

 

[CP1708]

Price got 7, Scherzer got 7, Straus got 7.

Jake getting 7 years. No way around it.

Theo got Lester for 6 and a discount.
Heyward and a discount
Zobrist and a discount
Rizzo and a discount

He's gonna have to pay full price for Jake, and someday Bryant.

 

[sportsjunkie]

That is true @CP1708

 

[CP1708]

View media item 2029286

 

[sportsjunkie]

this will be a tough stretch of games.

 

[CP1708]

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Cubs' front office knew it would take time. It’s why it likened changing over the team's offense to turning an ocean liner around. It’s a slow process, but at least Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer knew what they were looking for: Hitters who got on-base.

It sounds like a simple concept, but the Cubs were anything but an on-base team when the current front office took over before the 2012 season. They were a pretty good home-run-hitting team, but it was on-base percentage which correlated most directly with runs scored. The front office brass knew that from its days in Boston and set out to change the makeup of the Cubs' lineup.

“We always talked about if we were going to improve our on-base skills we had to put our money where our mouth is and acquire guys that grind at-bats and get on-base,” general manager Hoyer said recently.

The front office and manager Joe Maddon both agree that drafting or acquiring guys that were good at getting on was the way to go instead of trying to change players who weren't inclined to take walks. They’ve said as much many times throughout the years. It’s not really a teachable thing.

Free agency wasn’t much of an option at the time, so drafting and trading for on-base guys was the way to go. Kris Bryant fit the description for a power hitter, as did Kyle Schwarber, but so did little-known infielder Tommy La Stella. He’s a great example of the Cubs “putting their money where their mouth was.”

“They wanted to pick up a reliever,” Hoyer said of the Atlanta Braves' mindset in late November 2014. “So we have a quick discussion. This was a chance to acquire a guy with an offensive profile that we like, so we did it.”

At the time, pitcher Arodys Vizcaino was one of those “internet names” people talked about. He had actually been acquired from the Braves a few years earlier but was slow to return from Tommy John surgery, among other complications. When he did finally get back on the mound he was throwing heat, reaching 100 miles per hour on the radar gun in bullpen sessions. He had yet to really break through in the majors, though.

With a possible future closer on their hands, the Cubs' front office pulled the trigger for a 5-foot-11, 180-pound, eighth-round pick. But La Stella could make contact and get on-base, as evidenced by his .404 minor league on-base percentage to go along with 143 walks to just 106 strikeouts in five seasons.

“If you’re going to turn it around it takes one acquisition after another and eventually you end up with a team of guys that do that,” Hoyer said. “Tommy was a good example of that ... Our analytics team was probably the first group that noticed his skills, then we scouted him.”

The irony is the Braves needed Vizcaino because they had traded a pitcher in the deal that sent Jason Heyward to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cubs would get Heyward a year later. Dexter Fowler followed La Stella, also via trade, and then the signings of Ben Zobrist and Heyward occurred. Even Jorge Soler had a “good eye” profile when the Cubs brought him in. Slowly, then quickly, it changed for the Cubs. They were a different offense.

“There wasn’t necessarily an on-base big board, but we had a list of guys we wanted to acquire if it came up and help that profile,” Hoyer said.

And even though the Cubs don’t believe it’s a completely teachable skill, being around guys that are good at being patient at the plate does have a way of rubbing off. That might be what’s happening with shortstop Addison Russell, who has surprisingly increased his walk percentage from 8 percent last year to about 15 percent so far this season.

“He came from an organization (Oakland) that stressed getting on-base, so this wasn’t the first time Addy had heard that,” Hoyer said. “For young players to be around that is very valuable. Guys see that. When you watch our lineup its gratifying for us to see how difficult it is for a pitcher to navigate. It grinds down the opponent.”

The lineup turnaround could not have gone better. No longer does the front office have to scroll all the way down the computer screen to find where the Cubs rank in on-base percentage. In 2012 it was 29th. They moved up one spot to 28th in 2013 and stayed there in 2014. They were 12th in 2015 and now rank first in all of baseball with a .371 on-base percentage entering play Wednesday night.

“We had a low on-base profile when we got here,” Hoyer said. “We set out to change that.”

 

[CP1708]

CP
‏@CP1708
C'mon Addison, make somethin happen here buddy......

Jesse Rogers ‏@ESPNChiCubs 39s40 seconds ago
Russell w a bomb on 3-2 pitch puts Cubs up 3-0 bot 4

 

[sportsjunkie]

It feels good to be up 5-0. Russell with the HR. Hammel looking good. Jake on the mound tomorrow.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Russell
Bryant
Ross
All went yard

C CP1708
We're gonna need you to start tweeting these guys before their at bats more often.

 

[CP1708]

You wouldn't believe me if I told you, but I had my wife over here shaken her head at lunch.

I said before the game, I need a good 7-0, 9-1 type of game. I need to relax. Stressful day at work, I don't want to stress this game too.

You saw the Addison tweet, that became a home run.

What you didn't see was me seeing Fowler hit into the DP and me sayin, alright, Heyward/Bryant/Rizzo next inning, just need Heyward to get on again, maybe Bryant or Rizzo can knock one out.
Heyward singles, I get the "heh" look on my face, weird, and then Bryant, gone. 5-0. I was like holy ****

So then, I went to Twitter, right after the Bryant homer

CP
‏@CP1708
Excellent inning so far. Now keep applying pressure.....

Rizzo double, Zobrist walk, home run David Ross, 8-0.

So, I'm feelin good. But not good enough.....

CP ‏@CP1708 3h3 hours ago
8-2 isn't enough, let's tack on some more.....

Well....

#VoteCubs ‏@Cubs 2h2 hours ago
.@DexterFowler's two-out, hustle double plates @D_Ross3!

#Cubs lead 9-2, bottom 8! http://atmlb.com/1YqHBcb #LetsGo

Some days I ask for stuff, and they do nothing. Then days like today I think it, and it happens.

Some days it be like that.

 

[CP1708]

CUBS OFFENSE KEEPIN' IT 200
The Cubs reached the 200-run mark in their 34th game Friday. That's the quickest any NL team has reached that total since the 2003 Cardinals. The last time the Cubs reached 200 runs in 34 or fewer games was 1954.

 

[CP1708]

Jake sadly gives up 2 runs, so Rizzo immediately follows with a 3-run homer.

 

[CP1708]

Addison Russell

2-run shot, 5-2 in the 6th.

Jake needs one more inning, let the pen handle 8-9.

But try to add MOAR runs.

 

[illmatic34]

Addy's bat has been so good recently

 

[CP1708]

And the Cubs add a run.....

6-2, still batting.

Launch one Heyward, c'mon buddy.....

 

[CP1708]

Jake goes 8 innings, 3 hits, 11 K's.

And his ERA jumps to 1.29

 

[CP1708]

And they add another run, RBI single by Bryant. 7-2.

 

[CP1708]

And they add another run, RBI single Rizzo. 8-2

 

[CP1708]

W.

27-8

Another series win, Lester can go for the sweep tomorrow. Keep grinding.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

W.

27-8

Another series win, Lester can go for the sweep tomorrow. Keep grinding.

 

[champcruthik]

Addy's bat has been so good recently

Pleasure to see. Predicted Russell was primed for a breakout campaign, but he's even exceeded my offensive expectations. 13 RBI in his last seven games.