The Friendly Confines: The Official Chicago Cubs Thread

[fugazi]

Re: The Friendly Confines: The Official Chicago Cubs Thread

And they still scored 14 runs.

Right?

Good grief...

Well, that is the total from the end of the box score...totalling how many were left by each player...but still...

[Gronk4M13]

Re: The Friendly Confines: The Official Chicago Cubs Thread

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/15165331/kyle-schwarber-chicago-cubs-season-torn-acl

[WaitTilNextYear]

Re: The Friendly Confines: The Official Chicago Cubs Thread

Wow, out for the season? Was not expecting that. I guess a man that big and powerful chugging along like that was not meant to stop that quickly. Makes the Fowler and Heyward signings all the more valuable (although I suppose you could argue it was Fowler who ran into Schwarber's leg..). Hopefully this isn't the start of "here we go again" for the Cubs this season.

[k_mac]

Re: The Friendly Confines: The Official Chicago Cubs Thread

Losing Schwarber really stinks..

Guess it's time for Soler and Baez (when healthy) to step up and fill the hole in the lineup.

[WaitTilNextYear]

Re: The Friendly Confines: The Official Chicago Cubs Thread

Would like to see Joe Maddon explain why he decided to pitch to Cub Killer Paul Goldschmidt with a man on 3rd, 2 outs, and a 1 run lead....

[Jr.]

Re: The Friendly Confines: The Official Chicago Cubs Thread

Would like to see Joe Maddon explain why he decided to pitch to Cub Killer Paul Goldschmidt with a man on 3rd, 2 outs, and a 1 run lead....

It had to be a pitch around situation and Strop just missed over the plate on that 2-2 pitch.

There's no way you pitch to him straight up.

[fugazi]

Re: The Friendly Confines: The Official Chicago Cubs Thread

Why do I have this feeling that the Castro trade is going to prove a poor decision?

It's not just his hot start...

I hope Zobrist and Warren make me eat my words.

[BleacherBum2310]

Re: The Friendly Confines: The Official Chicago Cubs Thread

I mean it's not like Zobrist is off to a slow start.... I love Castro as much as the next guy and you argue Castro is a better hitter though I might disagree. Castro career walk rate is 4.9% while Zobrist is 12.1%... I didn't even mention the versatility having Zobrist and Baez gives Maddon so many options for lineups.

This is just a better fit. I hope Castro crushes it in NY and I'll be rooting for him.

[Sportsforever]

Re: The Friendly Confines: The Official Chicago Cubs Thread

I mean it's not like Zobrist is off to a slow start.... I love Castro as much as the next guy and you argue Castro is a better hitter though I might disagree. Castro career walk rate is 4.9% while Zobrist is 12.1%... I didn't even mention the versatility having Zobrist and Baez gives Maddon so many options for lineups.

This is just a better fit. I hope Castro crushes it in NY and I'll be rooting for him.

You guys (the fan base) were so down on Castro the last year and a half, so I don't know if he'd have been able to bounce back in Chicago, but I don't like moves where you give up a younger/productive player and replace him with a guy who has a year or two left. The Cubs sold low on Castro, and that's fine because they have plenty of other talent, but I don't see this being a deal they look back on fondly.

[k_mac]

Re: The Friendly Confines: The Official Chicago Cubs Thread

You guys (the fan base) were so down on Castro the last year and a half, so I don't know if he'd have been able to bounce back in Chicago, but I don't like moves where you give up a younger/productive player and replace him with a guy who has a year or two left. The Cubs sold low on Castro, and that's fine because they have plenty of other talent, but I don't see this being a deal they look back on fondly.

I wasn't a huge fan of Castro getting traded, but I understand it.

We didn't have time to sit around and wait on Castro to do what he's doing with the Yankees. Theo went out and signed a sure thing with Zobrist. You know exactly what you're going to get with him. Castro, for whatever reason could go from playing great defense and batting ~.300 to stinking the place up and getting benched. Maybe it was mental, maybe it wasn't.

Yes, the front office sold low, but you have to think about it like the Cubs getting Zobrist + Warren by giving up Castro. Because without Zo, Castro doesn't have to move.

That being said I hope Castro continues to mash for the Yankees. He'll always be one of my favorites.

[fugazi]

Re: The Friendly Confines: The Official Chicago Cubs Thread

I hope Rizzo gets on track soon. I don't know how long the team can go with him and Heyward hitting sub-200 at the top of the order.

I'm not suggesting anyone should be freaking out...but it would be nice to see them start turning it on.

Lead-off walk to Zobrist, down by 3, Rizzo and Bryant fly out.
This is kind of what I worry about. Good hitters, but not necessarily situational hitters. When the bats go quiet, they really go quiet. We saw this in the post-season.

Yes, I know it's only April. No, I'm not panicking. Maybe today's solid contact and HR by Rizzo signal the end of his doldrums.

[CBoller1331]

Re: The Friendly Confines: The Official Chicago Cubs Thread

Taking 2 of 3 from the Cards in St. Louis is no small task. I think this is the series that really proves the Cubs are for real. Not that there season up to that point wasn't impressive, but sweeping the Angels in two games and winning series-es (is that the plural of series???) against the Reds, and DBacks aren't really much of a statement.

Love what ive seen out of the starting pitching thus far. I also actually like that we didn't try to build a super rotation with five aces like the Nats and Phillies have in past years. We have an outstanding ace, a very good #2 guy, a very good 3...and so on and so forth. We have guys who are good at their role, and I like that.

[fugazi]

Re: The Friendly Confines: The Official Chicago Cubs Thread

Man...

Man...

Smh.

It's weird to see these kinds of celebrations and behaviors from people in Cubs jerseys.

Unbelievable Arrietta

[fugazi]

Re: The Friendly Confines: The Official Chicago Cubs Thread

I can't be the only one wishing we still had Wellington Castillo, right?

Also...leading the league in Walks by a large margin is AWESOME

How long is Soler's leash? Could we consistently see LaStella at 3B and Bryant in LF? Is Baez earning his way into some of Soler's time?

[Jr.]

Re: The Friendly Confines: The Official Chicago Cubs Thread

I can't be the only one wishing we still had Wellington Castillo, right?

Also...leading the league in Walks by a large margin is AWESOME

How long is Soler's leash? Could we consistently see LaStella at 3B and Bryant in LF? Is Baez earning his way into some of Soler's time?

I liked Wellington a lot, but was okay with moving him once Montero was acquired.

As for Soler, I think he's got a decently long leash. The depth in the lineup gives him more time to get in a groove to see if he can hit consistently. I think Maddon will keep the rotation similar to what it's been lately for the rest of the season. Unless Baez catches fire, he's going to get the most limited number of starts.