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       #Post#: 359678--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Cubs in '19
       By: CUBluejays Date: October 3, 2018, 1:36 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       139 games at 37.  The guy just wakes up and hits.  The fact that
       he could play second would make it easier with Russell likely
       done.
       #Post#: 359681--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Cubs in '19
       By: brjones Date: October 3, 2018, 1:47 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       He only started 108 of those 139 games, though. He had most of a
       day off once every 3 games this year, and that will likely
       happen more frequently next year.
       I don't think they should count on Zobrist for more than 400-450
       PA next year. I'd like for the Cubs to have a guy at the top of
       the lineup that can be expected to play far more than that.
       #Post#: 359685--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Cubs in '19
       By: Bennett Date: October 3, 2018, 1:58 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       If only Terrance Gore could hit somewhere north of .200
       With the versatility of many of the current players, I hope they
       could find a roster spot for him.
       #Post#: 359687--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Cubs in '19
       By: CUBluejays Date: October 3, 2018, 2:42 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [quote author=brjones link=topic=523.msg359681#msg359681
       date=1538592460]
       I don't think they should count on Zobrist for more than 400-450
       PA next year. I'd like for the Cubs to have a guy at the top of
       the lineup that can be expected to play far more than that.
       [/quote]
       The problem is who and where do they play.
       Whitfield is the only really interesting guy I've seen mentioned
       and for the Royals to trade him it would be expensive.
       Just looking at the middle infielder, OF leaderboards on
       Fangraphs and guys that are FA for OBP
       2B Jed Lowrie
       2B Logan Forsythe
       OF Andrew McCutchen
       OF Nick Markakis
       * Marwin Gonzalez if you believe 2017 was real
       That isn't a great group to chose from.
       For trades it is guys like Whitfield, Cesar Hernandez, Pham and
       Mallex Smith.  None of them maybe available and the Rays are
       rumored to not want to trade with Cubs.  Get enough good hitters
       and the leadoff guy doesn't matter.
       The Red Sox hit Mookie Betts as their main leadoff hitter, so
       I'm not convinced hitting Rizzo or Bryant there is a bad idea
       either.
       #Post#: 359694--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Cubs in '19
       By: Robb Date: October 3, 2018, 3:00 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       I like Whitfield, although this year was his best and he won't
       be cheap.
       #Post#: 359695--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Cubs in '19
       By: brjones Date: October 3, 2018, 3:02 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       This probably won't impact the Cubs because I doubt he'll still
       be in the organization by next spring, by just FYI...
       Jesse Rogers @ESPNChiCubs
       Should have breaking news on Addison Russell’s situation
       momentarily. Suspension forthcoming. Somewhere in the
       neighborhood of 25-40 games.
       #Post#: 359697--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Cubs in '19
       By: ben Date: October 3, 2018, 3:15 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       As we look into 2019, one glaring item is how our front office
       has prioritized "older" pitchers and young every-day players
       (except Grandpa Zobrist) and that formula has worked pretty
       well.  So far.
       Is that prioritization of older pitchers more out of necessity
       or does our brain trust place greater value than other teams on
       pitchers who are in their 30s and have "learned how to pitch" at
       the top level?
       If we sign Hamels for next season, our starters will be:
       * 35 - Hamels and Lester
       * 32/33 - Darvish (turns 33 in August)
       * 30 - Quintana
       * 29 - Hendricks
       Our non-starting pitchers aren't exactly young by MLB standards
       either:
       * 34/35 - Morrow (35 in July)
       * 33/34 - Strop (34 in June)
       * 35/36 - Chavez (36 in August)
       * 32/33 - Cishek (33 in June)
       * 31/32 - Wilson (32 in August)
       * 29/30 - Monty (30 on July 1)
       * 27/28 - Edwards (28 in Sept)
       No doubt our brain trust will try to bring in some good young
       pitching, too, tho' it tends to be so costly and at least
       somewhat unpredictable.
       Despite 4 consecutive playoff years, most of our core players
       are still quite young:
       * 29 - Rizzo and Heyward (both turned 29 in August)
       * 26 - Bryant and Contreras
       * 25 - Baez (will turn 26 in December), Schwarber (will turn 26
       in March)
       * 24 - Almora and Happ (who turned only 24 in April and August,
       respectively)
       Bote turned 25 in April and Russell played the entire season at
       age 24.
       As for Russell, if Cubs are rather convinced he did the very bad
       stuff he's accused of, I'd guess he's gone pretty quickly...if
       they aren't convinced, they may still wish to move him after he
       gets at least somewhat hot.  After all, before his personal
       problems surfaced, in '16 he hit 21 HRs (95 RBIs) with 49
       extra-base hits at the age of 22 (some in the biggest moments)!
       Some of the young Cub hitters will likely make significant
       improvements next season. One could well imagine Bryant coming
       back with a great season in '19 and some of Contreras,
       Schwarber, Almora, Happ and Russell could have much better
       seasons, too, due to expected improvement as they move toward
       their peak years.
       Of course, some will get hurt and/or regress for one reason or
       another.  It will be interesting to see if we do make a run at
       Machado or Harper or some other big FA.
       #Post#: 359698--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Cubs in '19
       By: ben Date: October 3, 2018, 3:21 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Just seeing Rogers' suggestion that, following MLB's
       investigation, Russell will get 25+ game suspension.
       I'd guess Theo will conclude MLB did a thorough
       investigation...and Russell is as good as gone.  And he should
       be...no room on the team for such guys!
       #Post#: 359699--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Cubs in '19
       By: mO Date: October 3, 2018, 3:22 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       40 games, retro to 9/21
       #Post#: 359701--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Cubs in '19
       By: JR Date: October 3, 2018, 3:38 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [quote author=brjones link=topic=523.msg359695#msg359695
       date=1538596967]
       This probably won't impact the Cubs because I doubt he'll still
       be in the organization by next spring, by just FYI...
       Jesse Rogers @ESPNChiCubs
       Should have breaking news on Addison Russell’s situation
       momentarily. Suspension forthcoming. Somewhere in the
       neighborhood of 25-40 games.
       [/quote]
       Yeah that might need to be moved to Cubs History before long.
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