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2016 Cubs catch-all thread


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QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 26, 2016 -> 08:09 AM)
Ricketts came across horrible on the radio today when talking about Chapman.

 

Nobody is going to sound good on the acquisition. The only thing that will make this tolerable is winning the World Series. The Cubs just need to bite their tongues and move on

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QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 26, 2016 -> 08:09 AM)
Ricketts came across horrible on the radio today when talking about Chapman.

I can't remember the last time an organization sounded good talking about a signing of this type. Blackhawks showed their behinds in the Kane scandal, Bears sounded like idiots in the McDonald thing, Cubs sound dumb as soup talking about Chapman.

 

The only correct answer to any question about players and past issues is "We believe this move will help us win more baseball games"

 

In this case, the real answer is "We needed a big time closer and the risk of having Chapman in a different NL contender is a risk we were unwilling to take"

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QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jul 25, 2016 -> 04:08 PM)
Because with the lead after the 7th inning the Cubs have been extremely good.

 

 

QUOTE (shipps @ Jul 25, 2016 -> 04:13 PM)
You ask any Cub fan, expert or the like who follow this team (besides fathom) the biggest worry for them is their pen. There really arent any other teams that I would say definitely has a stronger rotation for a playoff series than the Cubs. Hey, I hope they made the wrong move but to me this s*** is what puts them over the top more than any other move they could have made. I admit if I were a Cub fan I would have rather gotten a guy like Miller rather than a rental but for this year Chapman is going to be what you need in the playoffs.

I can't find double positional splits for relievers any more but a quick check finds that the Cubs have the 7th best bullpen ERA in the NL and the 6th best in close and late situations. That's not terrible but it's worse than any of the NL playoff contenders except San Fran.

 

What adding a Chapman might do even if it doesn't change their overall performance with the lead and late is it lets them shift Rondon and others into 8th inning roles. Now if its tied in the 8th or 7th, or they're behind by 1, they have a better chance to hold the game. For example, the Cubs lost a game in the 9th inning yesterday in the 9th inning on the road after tying the game up in the top of the 9th. They went to Montgomery, a lefty, rather than their closer, because they were on the road and had the game gone on they still could have needed someone in the official closer's role.

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QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ Jul 25, 2016 -> 05:00 PM)
Anyone think Maddon is going to recreate the wheel here and use Chapman at random times throughout the game and not necessarily just to close.

 

There's another manager that has a patent on that.

 

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It's his swing.

 

http://www.si.com/mlb/2016/07/06/jason-hey...n-kershaw-stats

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/instagraphs...ing-is-glaring/

 

It’s like a completely different hitter. Yeah, he’s doing more damage up in the zone than he used to, but the point here is that Heyward was once a good hitter, and he was so because he thrived low in the zone. Now, he’s no longer thriving in that area, and everything’s fallen apart.

 

In 2015, Heyward hit like his usual self, and in 2015, Heyward slugged .376 on pitches in the upper-half of the zone and beyond, and slugged .462 in the lower-half. This year, his lower-half slugging percentage is just .299, which represents both one of the lowest overall marks in baseball, and also the second-largest decline of any hitter with at least 150 lower-half swings in each of the last two years.

 

Heyward’s making less contact low in the zone. He’s doing less damage low in the zone. For whatever reason, he’s not been able to tap into what always made him a good hitter, and the result hasn’t been pleasant. For Jason Heyward to get back to star-caliber performance, he’ll need to start hitting, and for Heyward to start hitting, he’ll need to get back to his strengths.

 

Heyward’s problem is that over the years he has become a “dip-and-dive” hitter. He not only sinks deeply into his legs and drops his head, but he also leans out toward then plate as he does so. It takes longer for him to bring the bat around, and he locks himself up with a closed front side. He simply doesn’t leave room or time to get the barrel out in front to hit inside pitches with any velocity, and the league knows it.

 

Heyward gets pitched to like an opposing pitcher or a slap hitter. Through Monday, no hitter in baseball had seen more fastballs than Heyward (66%). Among those heaters, 128 of them were clocked at 95 mph or greater. Against those 128 pitches with elite velocity—85 of which have been strikes—​Heyward had only seven hits.

 

The most interesting aspect of pitching to Heyward is that teams can get him out the same way over and over: pitching him inside to exploit his swing mechanics.

 

Heyward knows he’s getting pounded inside, and infield defenses overshift against him because they know their pitchers are pounding him inside. The result is that Heyward tries to cheat to get his barrel out in front, resulting in more and more ground-ball outs to the right side.

 

If you think Heyward simply has been hitting in bad luck and is due for a turnaround, StatCast metrics suggest otherwise. He simply is not hitting the baseball nearly as hard as he did last year.
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QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 26, 2016 -> 03:26 PM)
This is hilarious. Yesterday the Cubs were bragging about this epic talk they had with Chapman before agreeing to the trade

 

https://mobile.twitter.com/CSNMooney/status...034207767617536

 

Sleepyhead. With this and him saying he'd love to resign with the Yanks in the offseason, his Cubs tenure is off to a pretty funny start.

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QUOTE (ChiliIrishHammock24 @ Jul 27, 2016 -> 01:51 AM)
For as bad as Heyward has been....he would have the 2nd best WAR in the line-up behind Eaton.... yikes.

 

It's the salary not necessarily the production.

 

They do not concern themselves with salary and as such it is not a concern for them.

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QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jul 27, 2016 -> 09:15 AM)
Isn't most of Heywards value based on his defense right now? 184 million bucks for good defense....

 

Yeah, a big part of their projection for him was that he would bring another 25-30 HR's and 100 rbi's. That aint happening.

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