Cubs Fans...

[IrishSteelhead]

Cubs Fans...

This clip is amazing, WTF Bob:
http://screengrabber.deadspin.com/h...source=deadspin_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

 

[BobbyMac]

This clip is amazing, WTF Bob:
Holy Shit, Bob Costas

You can take the boy out of St. Louis but...

What an absolute tool.

.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

You can take the boy out of St. Louis but...

What an absolute tool.

.

Costas apologizes. I actually understand where he was coming from. But, man, it came out wrong.

“The tone of it was not what I intended. I intended it as a kind of sarcastic comment about this overall thing where everybody seems to be pointing toward the heavens for every accomplishment, large and small, or even for no accomplishment at all,” Costas told the New York Daily News. “I inadvertently appeared harsh toward Strop. That wasn’t my intention. And so I owe him an apology. And I will apologize to him (Sunday).”

Bob Costas apologizes for harsh comments about Cubs pitcher Pedro Strop | MLB | Sporting News

 

[blueNDgold44]

Wah wah wah, bummer of a series. Cardinals are on an amazing run right now.

It'll be interesting to see how this young team responds to a little adversity. Bats need to get going, especially with runners in scoring position.

 

[IrishSteelhead]

Classy move by the Cubs today to honor crosstown rival Paul Konerko by having their entire team wear #14.

 

[BobbyMac]

If they get swept they should have to cut 'Pualie' into the ivy.

Classy move by the Cubs today to honor crosstown rival Paul Konerko by having their entire team wear #14.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

.

 

[blueNDgold44]

Montero out six weeks

Schwarber up

 

[arrowryan]

Montero out six weeks

Schwarber up

Glad that Schwarber is coming back up. If the pitching can stay the same when the bats wake up again, the Cubs should be looking good if they can hang on to their playoff spot and might even be able to catch to Cards and Bucs for the division

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Montero out six weeks

Schwarber up

Very mixed feelings. The forever optimist in me thinks it'll be great to see Schwarber for longer. The baseball wonk in me thinks that Schwarber behind the plate could be a disaster. Will his bat make up for his defensive issues?

And, actually, how much will he play behind the plate? Maybe a start or two at LF?

 

[BobbyMac]

Dude is a machine. This makes me say Go Cubbies. Enjoy history whilst I gaze upon Carlos Rodon and dream about what could have been.

Tonight's edition of the Schwarber Report:

I never realized how badly he stunk it up in Daytona. A sub 1 OPS??? He better get his head out of his a$$!

<script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgets.sports-reference.com/wg.fcgi?css=1&site=br&url=%2Fminors%2Fplayer.cgi%3Fid%3Dschwar001kyl&div=div_standard_batting"></script>

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Dude is a machine. This makes me say Go Cubbies. Enjoy history whilst I gaze upon Carlos Rodon and dream about what could have been.

Oh, I love the guy.

But he's made 7 errors and has 10 passed balls as a catcher in 52 games this year. He's not great at calling a game and doesn't receive that well yet. And he's only thrown out 15 of 72 base stealers. It's too important a position to have a bad defender there. That gives me pause.

 

[NDdomer2]

Oh, I love the guy.

But he's made 7 errors and has 10 passed balls as a catcher in 52 games this year. He's not great at calling a game and doesn't receive that well yet. And he's only thrown out 15 of 72 base stealers. It's too important a position to have a bad defender there. That gives me pause.

Ross is going to have to catch more than 1 of 5. Going to be nice to have another big bat at their disposal though.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Ross is going to have to catch more than 1 of 5. Going to be nice to have another big bat at their disposal though.

Agreed. Ross will be the regular, but Schwarber will get spot starts at catcher (maybe one or two in left) and will play a handful of innings after pinch hitting, etc.

 

[yankeeND]

Was at the game tonight and got to see the Cubs play for the first time. I am forever hooked! Great win tonight! That was a laser that Soler hit!

 

[NDdomer2]

Agreed. Ross will be the regular, but Schwarber will get spot starts at catcher (maybe one or two in left) and will play a handful of innings after pinch hitting, etc.

Maddon says 3 starts in next 4. We're going to see what he is made of defensively.

Hoping a couple guys find their swing here in the second half. Fowler, preferably.

Ejax gone and Soriano up. Pen is loaded with 1 inning guys.

Should be interesting down the stretch.

 

[blueNDgold44]

How good is Arrieta?

 

[RDU Irish]

Schwarber should help them maintain the league best ERA. All those errors will mean the runs don't count against the pitcher.

Baseball stats are so much fun. 4 of the top 20 in the NL for strikeouts are Cubbies. 1 of the top 40 in batting average (over 150 plate appearances). 3 of top 40 in OBP - hard to score if you don't get on base, or if the guys behind you strike out after you get on.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Maddon says 3 starts in next 4. We're going to see what he is made of defensively.

Hoping a couple guys find their swing here in the second half. Fowler, preferably.

Ejax gone and Soriano up. Pen is loaded with 1 inning guys.

Should be interesting down the stretch.

There's every reason to think that Fowler will get better down the stretch. He's about 60 points below his career OBP leading into the year and has his best career splits numbers in August. Stats tend to regress to the mean and he's well below his career mean on OBP and OPS. He also looks to be seeing the ball well right now.

I'm also optimistic about Castro. He's a mess right now, but he's a career .280 hitter (including this year's .244). I'd guess that he'll find his way to .270 with 65-70 RBIs or so. That's not bad for a SS who hits in the 6 or 7 hole. We've been waiting for him to become a middle of the line up guy. He's not. But his Offensive WAR has always been very good. Now his defense...

 

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

There's every reason to think that Fowler will get better down the stretch. He's about 60 points below his career OBP leading into the year and has his best career splits numbers in August. Stats tend to regress to the mean and he's well below his career mean on OBP and OPS. He also looks to be seeing the ball well right now.

I'm also optimistic about Castro. He's a mess right now, but he's a career .280 hitter (including this year's .244). I'd guess that he'll find his way to .270 with 65-70 RBIs or so. That's not bad for a SS who hits in the 6 or 7 hole. We've been waiting for him to become a middle of the line up guy. He's not. But his Offensive WAR has always been very good. Now his defense...

My spidey sense tells me that Castro's defense is going to get him bumped from SS for Russell once the Cubs have a 2B replacement option (be it Baez, Alcantara or La Stella). It's not exactly selling high but it's probably in Chicago's best interest tomorrow and today to part with Starlin.

EDIT: I should add that I get the sense Starlin is a guy who can play a slightly below average SS but, unlike other SS, his skill set doesn't actually translate that well to other positions. That is, you can move a SS like Russell and he will be a plus second baseman. Castro, OTOH, doesn't have hands enough to excel at third base and doesn't have the feet/mobility to excel at second base. So if he's not going to be your SS he loses quite a bit of his value.

 

[NDdomer2]

Russel has a way to go before he is the cubs everyday SS.

 

[Irishnuke]

Russel has a way to go before he is the cubs everyday SS.

Offensively. He's far better than Castro defensively. Actually right now he's not much worse offensively either.

 

[NDdomer2]

Offensively. He's far better than Castro defensively. Actually right now he's not much worse offensively either.

We looking overall average only?

Castro has most at bats on team, 2nd in hits, 3rd in rbis. Russell 2nd on team with strikeouts (20 more than Castro with 100 less ABs).

Russell also has shown to be about 100 pts worse against lefties.

He has a long ways to go offensively.

So while defensively he is and will be better. I don't see that move coming very soon. I'm not convinced Baez turns into the player everyone thinks he is either.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Yeah, Castro has been pretty bad lately though. Like I said, these things tend to regress toward the mean. That doesn't mean Castro will hit .290, but I'd be surprised if he didn't make a push toward .270 or .275.

Russell could be the every day SS right now defensively. Offensively, he'd be just okay for that position. But he's got nice developing power numbers (doubles mostly) and he's a fast learner. Pretty exciting. He's also developing into a gold glove candidate at 2B and has comparable offensive numbers to Barney the year he won the GG. I don't mind having him there.

2015 Regular Season MLB Baseball 2B Fielding Statistics - Major League Baseball - ESPN

ETA: He's also 21 1/2 years old.

 

[NDdomer2]

Yeah, Castro has been pretty bad lately though. Like I said, these things tend to regress toward the mean. That doesn't mean Castro will hit .290, but I'd be surprised if he didn't make a push toward .270 or .275.

Russell could be the every day SS right now defensively. Offensively, he'd be just okay for that position. But he's got nice developing power numbers (doubles mostly) and he's a fast learner. Pretty exciting. He's also developing into a gold glove candidate at 2B and has comparable offensive numbers to Barney the year he won the GG. I don't mind having him there.

2015 Regular Season MLB Baseball 2B Fielding Statistics - Major League Baseball - ESPN

ETA: He's also 21 1/2 years old.

Yeah, I wasn't trying to "bash" Russell. But there's a lot left to be desired at the plate, which is why we are seeing more Johnny H.

Speaking of 2b, Wish we would have kept DJ LeMaihu (sp?).

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Yeah, I wasn't trying to "bash" Russell. But there's a lot left to be desired at the plate, which is why we are seeing more Johnny H.

Speaking of 2b, Wish we would have kept DJ LeMaihu (sp?).

I didn't think you were bashing him. I just think this Bryant and Russell are going to take huge leaps forward next year because of this year. Bryant will be a legit MVP candidate next year.

This wasn't supposed to be a playoff run year. We're ahead of schedule. So it makes Russell's struggles look worse. But this will pay off.

 

[bobbyok1]

I didn't think you were bashing him. I just think this Bryant and Russell are going to take huge leaps forward next year because of this year. Bryant will be a legit MVP candidate next year.

This wasn't supposed to be a playoff run year. We're ahead of schedule. So it makes Russell's struggles look worse. But this will pay off.

What I am curious about is what Russell's "clutch" numbers would be. I'm not enough of a stat junkie to know if there is any such thing, but I have a MLB TV account and have watched more than half of the Cubs games this year (following 45% of the other ones on Gameday) and it seems like Russell has been a clutch guy offensively. Not to mention he has made a lot of great plays at second.

Anyone know if there is such a stat that ranks how "clutch" a guy is?

 

[NDdomer2]

Batting average with risp is prolly best ur average Joe can find w a simple search. I'm sure someone could find what it is in 7th or later in games decided by 2 or less or something. Just spit balling on what "clutch" could be defined as.

 

[ACamp1900]

Just spit balling on what "clutch" could be defined as.

This season??

Johnny Giavotella

 

[NDdomer2]

This season??

Johnny Giavotella

Get outta here fool!!!