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#Post#: 440452--------------------------------------------------
Re: Cubs in '22
DIR By: Reb
Date: October 5, 2021, 3:15 pm
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--- Quote from: CUBluejays link ---
>
>
> If I’m Jed a Hoyer I’m trying to get Jon Gray and Noah
Synderguard on a 1 year prove it deal with a high AAV. The
pitching class just isn’t that good. Synderguard, Hendricks,
Gray, Mills/Steele/Thompson/free agent flawed guys could be a
fun rotation. Pixie Dust the bullpen and add a hitter or 2 and
you have a team that could be not awful or have some decent
trade chips at deadline….
>
>
--- End Quote ---
Syndergaard and Gray are expected to get QOs.
There was a market for Gray at trade deadline and Rockies held
on to him with expectation that draft pick more attractive than
the offers received. Would make no sense if no QO followed.
# of reports say expectation is that Syndergaard gets a QO too.
Mets love the guy.
So, makes no sense for Cubs to sign those guys for one year and
have to give up high draft picks. Extremely unlikely to happen.
#Post#: 440455--------------------------------------------------
Re: Cubs in '22
DIR By: Ron
Date: October 5, 2021, 3:50 pm
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[quote author=JR link=topic=585.msg440442#msg440442
date=1633458527]
Well I officially reached the top of the season ticket wait list
after many years of waiting. Of course, I'll be heading
straight back to the wait list after this.
[/quo
My "appointment" is set for November 3rd. I was part of a season
ticket group that had quite good seats for some years, but
bailed on that 2-3 years ago.
Simply out of curiosity I will probably sign in to see what the
options are, available seats and prices, though I would be
surprised if I am actually tempted to purchase anything. Still,
it is possible this will be a rare opportunity.
#Post#: 440456--------------------------------------------------
Re: Cubs in '22
DIR By: CUBluejays
Date: October 5, 2021, 3:53 pm
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The QO is going to be due before a CBA is in place. Teams won't
have an idea what the CBT is going to look like.
Will the Mets give a QO to Syndergaard and Conforto? If they do
that brings their payroll to $170 million-ish. Throw in
arbitration for Diaz, Alonso, Smith, Nimmo, Davis and McNeil and
you are already pushing $200 million in payroll with 2 rotation
spots open and issues with your lineup. Unless Cohen is going
to really increase payroll, and he easily could, I wouldn't
count on QO. Especially since he was only averaging 94 on his
fastball in his 2 1 inning starts.
I personally never predict anything the Rockies will do, they
are such a weird organization.
If those guys aren't available then go after some of the vets
with a high AAV like Greinke, Verlander, Scherzer (doubtful),
Cueto (if his option is declined). Rodon or Ray if they can't
get a multiyear deal. There are a bunch of options.
You could target Heaney for the back end. Non-tenders, salary
dumps. The Cubs have a ton of options for adding guys in the
offseason. Money and playing time are a nice to have. I don't
expect the team they assemble to be great, but it should be
significantly better than the second half Cubs team.
#Post#: 440459--------------------------------------------------
Re: Cubs in '22
DIR By: Reb
Date: October 5, 2021, 4:29 pm
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It’s a given that Cubs are going to bring in SP. We know that.
Highly unlikely that will include QO guys.
If you read the reports about Syndegaard, the expectation is he
is either re-signed shortly or likely gets a QO. Not a matter of
“counting on” that but rather the likely expectation. It’s the
off-season. You can’t assume anything for certain.
I don’t buy into the notion that only short-termers are in the
Cubs sights. Stroman is a non-QO guy, will get a multi-year
deal, and guessing Cubs will be in on him. If he was a QO guy,
they would not.
#Post#: 440482--------------------------------------------------
Re: Cubs in '22
DIR By: craig
Date: October 6, 2021, 10:28 am
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HTML https://theathletic.com/2870647/2021/10/05/sources-cubs-hitting-coach-anthony-iapoce-wont-return-with-more-changes-possible/?source=dailyemail&campaign=601983
Athletic article about Iapoce.
I'm OK with the move. By all accounts he's a really good guy
with an encouraging, supportive personality. But I never got
the sense that he was especially brilliant with mechanics or
analytics details or adjustments. I recall he and Hottovy were
both hired the same offseason. I was kind of stunned by how
thoughtful, detailed, analytical, and impressive Hottovy's first
interviews were; versus how vague and unimpressive Iapoce's
were. My recall of his original spin was basically that he'd
worked with Almora/Schwarber/Bryant/Baez on their way up, and
that they needed to swing free and do what got them here; let
their natural talent flow and do what made them 1st-round picks
in the first place, and not overthink it or let some
unsuccessful AB's get them into a mental slump. Some really
wise philosophical stuff in a game where for sure it's got to be
easy for hitters to devolve into a destructive cycle of
frustration. But he just didn't really seem to ever have much
to say about actual steps to getting better, whether steps big
or small. Perhaps he was the supportive philosopher, and it was
for assistant hitting coaches to get into the details?
By contrast the assistant hitting coach Chris Valaika impressed
me much more like Hottovy, very detailed, analytical, and
mechanics-oriented. The Athletic had interviews with each of
them this spring; I was shocked how much more impressed I was
with Valaika's answers than Iapoce's. Obviously how my mind
works is probably totally different from how it works for Baez
or Schwarber or Almora or Happ, so my impression is probably
meaningless. But the two guys just seemed to answer questions
so very differently.
I'm guessing that Valaika will get the job. And that with the
Cubs recent interest in development and pitch lab and hit lab,
that they may be a little more appreciative of Hottovy/Valaika
type coaches at this point.
#Post#: 440491--------------------------------------------------
Re: Cubs in '22
DIR By: CUBluejays
Date: October 6, 2021, 1:48 pm
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Borzello won't return as well.
I agree with Craig said about what they are looking for in
coaches.
#Post#: 440494--------------------------------------------------
Re: Cubs in '22
DIR By: Dihard
Date: October 6, 2021, 4:56 pm
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Cubs apparently attempting to extend Ross.
#Post#: 440495--------------------------------------------------
Re: Cubs in '22
DIR By: Ron
Date: October 6, 2021, 6:32 pm
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I watched Jed Hoyer's post-season interview today. Much of it
was pretty humdrum, as one would expect. But one thing that
struck me was how very positive he was about a few specific
players, including some guys about whom there have been doubts
raised regarding their value going forward.
It's no surprise that Hoyer thinks highly of Nico Horner, but he
seemed even more so that I might have expected. He was asked
about Horner’s injuries and uncertainty about what position(s)
he may be playing. He said they have discussed how to address
his oblique injuries, and whether his dramatic improvement in
his strength over the winter could have contributed, saying they
are trying to figure out what his best “physique, weight and
strength” is to balance the strength and avoid injuries. He
considers Horner to be a “really impactful player” whether he
plays primarily one position or moves around. aHe noted that
both Baez and Bryant demonstrated that moving around does not
diminish the player’s value, and in fact may enhance it.
Asked about Ian Happ’s very poor offense for much of the season
and his excellent offense later, Hoyer was very effusive about
Happ as an offensive force. He believes that while Happ needs to
“smooth out his performance a bit” (be more consistent), he can
be an elite offensive player. He thinks figuring out how to
shorten slumps comes with experience and he expects Happ to do
that. He also believes Happ is “perfectly capable of batting
leadoff,” because he has “great command of the strike zone and
makes really good decisions at the plate.”
He had high praise for Patrick Wisdom (his power and his
defense) and while acknowledging the problem of his 40% strike
out rate is high and you’d wish it was better, “the impact of is
real, his power is real” and that he “is a really valuable
defender” who is “really good at third and can move around the
diamond.” He said “there’s a lot of value he provides” and
stressed that “it’s important to focus on what players do well.”
He said you want to “chip away” at the strikeouts, “but you
don’t want to do that at the expense of the things he does at a
pretty elite level, and he does a lot of things that way.” I
was a bit surprised that he doesn’t seem all that worried about
Wisdom’s strikeouts, even though he would like to see fewer of
them. There seems little question about Hoyer seeing Wisdom
being a key player next season.
Other items: Hoyer mentioned favorably two other teams, the
Giants and the Rays, specifically in the mistake of focusing on
“winning the off-season” vs. winning the season, but also in how
their teams were constructed. He did not rule out signing a “big
ticket, top of the market” free agent, so long as the Cubs are
getting the value for the money they are spending and not
hindering themselves going forward. He noted that the Cubs
definitely need to bring in some power pitching for the
rotation. The failure to miss more bats was a significant reason
for the poor performance in the rotation. Asked about Alec
Mills, Hoyer was pretty complementary, saying that Mills is best
when he starts but would not commit to him being in the rotation
for the season.
#Post#: 440496--------------------------------------------------
Re: Cubs in '22
DIR By: Deeg
Date: October 6, 2021, 6:43 pm
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--- Quote from: Dihard link ---
>
> Cubs apparently attempting to extend Ross.
>
--- End Quote ---
Not sure why. Don't think he's proved anything - let him earn
an extension and keep your options open.
#Post#: 440498--------------------------------------------------
Re: Cubs in '22
DIR By: Playtwo
Date: October 6, 2021, 6:48 pm
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I think that a short term contract extension would be
reasonable. Unless there is a specific individual available
that would be clearly better.
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