2013 Cubs catch all thread

caulfield12 · July 12, 2013

QUOTE (hammerhead johnson @ Jul 12, 2013 -> 03:15 PM)

That's great, but he's just not particularly talented. His stuff is very mediocre.

He's not cut out to be a long term starter. At least not a good one.

WHAT IN GOD'S NAME QUALIFIES YOU TO MAKE THAT OBSERVATION?

You might want to compare Mr. Samardzija (who Phil Rogers preferred to Chris Sale 6 weeks ago as a future ace and star of the city) to Hector Santiago and see who has the better stats and then adjust for the weakness of the National League overall.

And why is Mr. Notre Dame/Mullet Dude cut out to be a long-term starter and not a short reliever?

Edited July 12, 2013 by caulfield12

Balta1701 · July 12, 2013

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 12, 2013 -> 05:18 PM)

WHAT IN GOD'S NAME QUALIFIES YOU TO MAKE THAT OBSERVATION?

You might want to compare Mr. Samardzija (who Phil Rogers preferred to Chris Sale 6 weeks ago as a future ace and star of the city) to Hector Santiago and see who has the better stats and then adjust for the weakness of the National League overall.

And why is Mr. Notre Dame/Mullet Dude cut out to be a long-term starter and not a short reliever?

He's successfully made me agree with Puig#1fan. That has to take some effort.

Buehrle>Wood · July 12, 2013

Is Josh Vitters still a prospect? I remember this board s***ting their pants in fear of the day he hit the majors, lol.

Edited July 12, 2013 by Buehrle>Wood

caulfield12 · July 12, 2013

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Jul 12, 2013 -> 03:21 PM)

Is Josh Vitters still a prospect? I remember this board s***ting their pants in fear of the day he hit the majors, lol.

Jon Ratliff - Twenty-Fourth Overall - 1993

Another right-handed pitcher, Ratliff spent six seasons bouncing around the Cubs' minor leagues before eventually going to the Atlanta Braves, Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays, and Florida Marlins. He only pitched in one major-league game and that came with the Athletics in 2000.

Mark Prior - Second Overall - 2001

Believe it or not, Prior is actually one of the Cubs' best first-round draft picks, which is depressing considering Prior hasn't had (to this point) much of a career after his early success. In that regard, there are plenty of players who could be on this list before Prior. Prior makes it because of the disparity between where he started and where he ultimately ended up.

In just his second season (the ill-fated 2003 campaign), Prior went 18-6 with a dominant 2.43 ERA. He would only start 21 games for the Cubs the next season (6-4, 4.02 ERA). Despite nagging injuries, Prior managed to put together a decent 2005 season -- 11-7, 3.67 ERA in 27 starts. However, he would only start nine more games in the majors going 1-6 with a 7.21 ERA. He is currently in the Cincinnati Reds' minor leagues and has not pitched in the majors since 2006.

Ty Griffin - Ninth Overall - 1988

After representing the United States in the 1988 Olympics, Griffin, a second baseman, was drafted by the Cubs. He began his professional career by playing with the Peoria Chiefs -- a Single-A team that was in the Cubs' organization at the time; they are now part of the St. Louis Cardinals' organization -- in 1989. Griffin was in the Cubs' system until he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in 1991. He would eventually play in the independent Northern League before coming back and playing in the Cardinals' minor leagues. He never reached the majors with any team.

Josh Vitters - Third Overall - 2007

Like Prior, putting Vitters on this list is a little bit unfair -- the Cubs have several other first-rounders who never made it to the majors and are more bust-worthy -- but based on the hype surrounding him and his lacking performance, Vitters makes the list.

Unlike Prior, Vitters still has an opportunity to be a major contributor for the Cubs. But now into his seventh season in the minors (and a shaky debut with the Cubs in 2012), you really have to wonder if Vitters is ever going to figure things out. With the Cubs in need of a long-term answer at third base, Vitters has the opportunity. If he doesn't turn things around, he'll be right at home with the majority of the Cubs' first-round draft picks: A total bust.

Don't forget Lance Dickson!!!

Waits for Hammerhead to actually do some research and cringes inwardly.

Edited July 12, 2013 by caulfield12

Balta1701 · July 12, 2013

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Jul 12, 2013 -> 05:21 PM)

Is Josh Vitters still a prospect? I remember this board s***ting their pants in fear of the day he hit the majors, lol.

Vitters missed most of Spring Training with a left quad injury. He was then limited to just one pinch-hit appearance to start the season before being placed on the disabled list with back spasms.

Vitters missed three-straight games earlier this week with a right quad injury.

He struggled at AA for 2 years but has put up decent numbers at AAA.

caulfield12 · July 12, 2013

Blame Wrigley? No way

By Adam Parkhouse

Home Cookin'

Published: Sunday, March 17, 2013 5:06 PM CDT

Every now and then, something ridiculous hits the internet.

More accurately, it happens a lot, I suppose. But this week in particular, I saw a piece on ESPN.com by the formerly great Rick Reilly with the headline, “Why haven’t the Cubs won a World Series? Blame Wrigley Field.”

It took me three days to click on the link, because I knew what was contained in the column would only infuriate me.

As a Cubs fan, we hear this sentiment often, that Wrigley is the cause of, not the solution to, all the North Siders’ problems.

* Reilly insists that Wrigley is costing the Cubs money and goes on to throw strands of spaghetti against the wall, hoping they stick. Among other things, the Cubs don’t get a large enough split from rooftop owners, which keeps the on-field roster stuck in the mud.

I’ll save you any more of Reilly’s convoluted logic. If you want to subect yourself to this misery, you know where to find it.

But I want to say, unequivocally, that if you think a stadium with ivy-covered walls is to blame for the Cubs’ woes, then you probably also believe in the college football bowl system. In that case, there’s nothing I can do for you.

Look, the Cubs haven’t won a World Series since 1908 for many reasons. I can’t necessarily speak to the first 70 years or so of that streak, but over the last 25 or 30, I can tell you that the address of the park has nothing to do with it.

Mismanagement and a woefully underperforming farm system are by far the biggest culprits. For a while now, the Cubs have had among the highest payrolls in baseball, but terrible decisions from those in charge of personnel have resulted in large chunks of that cash being given to Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Zambrano and many others.

So, misspent money is part of it. But the Cubs farm system is a bigger joke than The Aristocrats.

Time and time again in my life, so-called “can’t miss” prospects have flopped, over and over and over. Recent legends like Ryne Sandberg and Sammy Sosa were brought up elsewhere, and Mark Grace and Greg Maddux are hardly enough to cover for the massive failings I’m about to present to you.

Consider the following names: Earl Cunningham, Lance Dickson, Derek Wallace, Jay Peterson, Todd Noel, Ben Christensen, Luis Montanez, Bobby Brownlie, Ryan Harvey and Mark Pawelek.

Know who any of them are? Probably not. Yet, they were all drafted in the first round ranging from 1989 to 2005. Their Major League impact for the Cubs or anyone else? Nil.

OK, so how about some other guys who did make it to the majors? Remember Gary Scott? The slick-fielding third baseman was supposed to lock down the hot corner for 10-15 years. He flamed out after a season or two.

How about Felix Pie or Corey Patterson? They were the center fielders of the future, remember? Patterson flamed out with the Cubs and had very brief success with the Orioles. Pie is still trying to get people to pronounce his name right.

Brant Brown? Derrick May? Mike Harkey? Geovany Soto? Brooks Kieschnick? They may have had two-month spurts of good play, or in Soto’s case one season, but none of them dramatically impacted a winner.

Jerome Walton won the 1989 Rookie of the Year award, not far ahead of teammate Dwight Smith. What happened to those guys afterward? Not much.

Kevin Orie? Bobby Hill? Jake Fox? Hee Seop Choi? They were “can’t miss” as well, but they all missed. Badly.

All these names and I haven’t even gotten to Mark Prior. And I won’t, either, because the mere mention of his name makes my stomach contents stir.

I don’t know what all this means for the current crop of Cubs prospects. Guys like Josh Vitters and Brett Jackson already appear to be on the verge of flame-out, and who knows about Jorge Soler, Javy Baez or Albert Almora just yet.

But make no mistake about it, the best teams get players from their own systems, and the Cubs have always failed there.

But yeah, blame it on the rooftops and the ancient scoreboard if it makes you feel better.

http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2013/0...91794948092.txt

witesoxfan · July 12, 2013

Quintana's stuff is perfectly fine and he has great command of his stuff. Nothing to see here.

caulfield12 · July 12, 2013

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jul 12, 2013 -> 03:34 PM)

Quintana's stuff is perfectly fine and he has great command of his stuff. Nothing to see here.

Good command.

witesoxfan · July 12, 2013

Good, great, grand, wonderful, who gives a s***. Quintana is a very good pitcher. He's increased his velocity this year, and he's allowing fewer hits, striking out more, and walking fewer.

Balta1701 · July 12, 2013

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jul 12, 2013 -> 05:39 PM)

Good, great, grand, wonderful, who gives a s***. Quintana is a very good pitcher. He's increased his velocity this year, and he's allowing fewer hits, striking out more, and walking fewer.

And he's also becoming much more effective with his offspeed stuff. And he's also building up stamina he didn't have previously (which probably also hurt him a little this year, getting hurt badly at around 85 pitches several times coming out of spring training).

Rowand44 · July 12, 2013

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jul 12, 2013 -> 04:39 PM)

Good, great, grand, wonderful, who gives a s***. Quintana is a very good pitcher. He's increased his velocity this year, and he's allowing fewer hits, striking out more, and walking fewer.

Quintana's stuff is severely underrated.

Jake · July 12, 2013

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Jul 12, 2013 -> 04:44 PM)

Quintana's stuff is severely underrated.

The Buehrle comparisons were asinine.

The increase in velocity is kind of strange though; Hector threw harder than reported when he came up too.

Balta1701 · July 12, 2013

QUOTE (Jake @ Jul 12, 2013 -> 06:03 PM)

The Buehrle comparisons were asinine.

The increase in velocity is kind of strange though; Hector threw harder than reported when he came up too.

It's not really that strange to see a guy throw harder on big league guns than minor league guns, minor league guns are notoriously inaccurate. I'd say most actual scouts bring their own gun they know the details of for that reason.

Quintana last year was in the middle of a big innings boost. That almost certainly impacted his velocity last year, went from 102 innings in 2011 to 185 last year (threw 48 innings in the minors before coming up). By June he'd thrown more innings than the previous year.

southsider2k5 · July 12, 2013

QUOTE (hammerhead johnson @ Jul 12, 2013 -> 04:16 PM)

Guys, don't comment on pitching anymore, haha.

You should take your own advice. The only hang up with Hector is his efficiency. If he gets past that, he could be really, really good. Better than anything on the northside, either in Chicago or imaginary.

southsider2k5 · July 12, 2013

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 12, 2013 -> 04:30 PM)