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Holliday should not be the #3 hitter.

A couple of times yesterday, the table was set and he pounded into a DP or struckout.

Without assuming any injuries, as they are insanely unpredictable, I'm not sure how anyone can legitimately argue this isn't a 105 win team.

Many reference last year's record, saying the Cubs were a "97" win team. This is woefully inaccurate as the 2nd half version of the team, the one that went 50-25 (good for a 108 win pace), is much closer to the current version of the Cubs. That version saw Russell take over shortstop duties (relieving Castro who is no longer on the team), Schwarber become a starter, and a slew of younger players (still on the team) start to make an impact. In the offseason they retained Fowler, signed Lackey, Heyward, and Zobrist as well as got Warren from the Yankees (while getting rid of that idiot Castro in the process).

When you factor in continued progress from the youngsters, the additions, while also admitting the Cubs were really starting with a 105 win team before those predictions, I don't see how any rational fan could argue this is anything LESS than a 105 win team. Even at their ridiculous pace there are just as many players underachieving as there are overachieving. Guys in the latter category include Fowler (who has made huge strides in strike zone judgment making it likely he will maintain a great season even if/when he falls off), La Stella, Sczcur, Hammel (get ready for a rough 2nd half) and maybe Zobrist (very slight). Meanwhile the underachievers include Soler, Heyward (in a big way), Lackey and pretty much the entire team when they have RISP. Warren is a massive upgrade over whoever else would have had his spot in the pen. Lester looks more comfortable as the results have show, and young players like Russell and Baez are making strides in becoming more disciplined hitters (specifically Russell who will likely hit BETTER as the season continues).

The Cubs have already lost Schwarber for the year and Arrieta's recent control issues are a bit concerning, but minus Arrieta, Lester, or Rizzo/Bryant going down for the year this team is a juggernaut. The playoffs may be a different story as a lot of teams gain some ground with a 3-4 man rotation, but this is a regular season powerhouse with no real holes when healthy. They hit, pitch, field (until lately , and have an amazing amount of depth. They also have a TON of pieces for acquisitions if they feel they need to go that rout.

mlb network just put up a comparison between the mariners and cubs and the cubs have better numbers in virtually every category

Damn [expletive] mimes...

zac wrote:Without assuming any injuries, as they are insanely unpredictable, I'm not sure how anyone can legitimately argue this isn't a 105 win team.

Many reference last year's record, saying the Cubs were a "97" win team. This is woefully inaccurate as the 2nd half version of the team, the one that went 50-25 (good for a 108 win pace), is much closer to the current version of the Cubs. That version saw Russell take over shortstop duties (relieving Castro who is no longer on the team), Schwarber become a starter, and a slew of younger players (still on the team) start to make an impact. In the offseason they retained Fowler, signed Lackey, Heyward, and Zobrist as well as got Warren from the Yankees (while getting rid of that idiot Castro in the process).

When you factor in continued progress from the youngsters, the additions, while also admitting the Cubs were really starting with a 105 win team before those predictions, I don't see how any rational fan could argue this is anything LESS than a 105 win team. Even at their ridiculous pace there are just as many players underachieving as there are overachieving. Guys in the latter category include Fowler (who has made huge strides in strike zone judgment making it likely he will maintain a great season even if/when he falls off), La Stella, Sczcur, Hammel (get ready for a rough 2nd half) and maybe Zobrist (very slight). Meanwhile the underachievers include Soler, Heyward (in a big way), Lackey and pretty much the entire team when they have RISP. Warren is a massive upgrade over whoever else would have had his spot in the pen. Lester looks more comfortable as the results have show, and young players like Russell and Baez are making strides in becoming more disciplined hitters (specifically Russell who will likely hit BETTER as the season continues).

The Cubs have already lost Schwarber for the year and Arrieta's recent control issues are a bit concerning, but minus Arrieta, Lester, or Rizzo/Bryant going down for the year this team is a juggernaut. The playoffs may be a different story as a lot of teams gain some ground with a 3-4 man rotation, but this is a regular season powerhouse with no real holes when healthy. They hit, pitch, field (until lately , and have an amazing amount of depth. They also have a TON of pieces for acquisitions if they feel they need to go that rout.

Spot on summary, zac. And welcome to GRB!

[expletive] the Cubs.

zac wrote:Without assuming any injuries, as they are insanely unpredictable, I'm not sure how anyone can legitimately argue this isn't a 105 win team.

Many reference last year's record, saying the Cubs were a "97" win team. This is woefully inaccurate as the 2nd half version of the team, the one that went 50-25 (good for a 108 win pace), is much closer to the current version of the Cubs. That version saw Russell take over shortstop duties (relieving Castro who is no longer on the team), Schwarber become a starter, and a slew of younger players (still on the team) start to make an impact. In the offseason they retained Fowler, signed Lackey, Heyward, and Zobrist as well as got Warren from the Yankees (while getting rid of that idiot Castro in the process).

When you factor in continued progress from the youngsters, the additions, while also admitting the Cubs were really starting with a 105 win team before those predictions, I don't see how any rational fan could argue this is anything LESS than a 105 win team. Even at their ridiculous pace there are just as many players underachieving as there are overachieving. Guys in the latter category include Fowler (who has made huge strides in strike zone judgment making it likely he will maintain a great season even if/when he falls off), La Stella, Sczcur, Hammel (get ready for a rough 2nd half) and maybe Zobrist (very slight). Meanwhile the underachievers include Soler, Heyward (in a big way), Lackey and pretty much the entire team when they have RISP. Warren is a massive upgrade over whoever else would have had his spot in the pen. Lester looks more comfortable as the results have show, and young players like Russell and Baez are making strides in becoming more disciplined hitters (specifically Russell who will likely hit BETTER as the season continues).

The Cubs have already lost Schwarber for the year and Arrieta's recent control issues are a bit concerning, but minus Arrieta, Lester, or Rizzo/Bryant going down for the year this team is a juggernaut. The playoffs may be a different story as a lot of teams gain some ground with a 3-4 man rotation, but this is a regular season powerhouse with no real holes when healthy. They hit, pitch, field (until lately , and have an amazing amount of depth. They also have a TON of pieces for acquisitions if they feel they need to go that rout.

Good post

The more I think about Matheny's odd lineup decisions....the more I think his hands are tied by baseball's weird rule where aging vets have to be appeased. TLR kept McGwire batting 3rd, Pujols is still batting 4th, Jeter batted 2nd in 2014.

Cheddar Tom wrote:The more I think about Matheny's odd lineup decisions....the more I think his hands are tied by baseball's weird rule where aging vets have to be appeased. TLR kept McGwire batting 3rd, Pujols is still batting 4th, Jeter batted 2nd in 2014.

Or Matheny just doesn't have any 3-4-5 hitters on his roster.

jagtrader wrote:

Cheddar Tom wrote:The more I think about Matheny's odd lineup decisions....the more I think his hands are tied by baseball's weird rule where aging vets have to be appeased. TLR kept McGwire batting 3rd, Pujols is still batting 4th, Jeter batted 2nd in 2014.

Or Matheny just doesn't have any 3-4-5 hitters on his roster.

I think Carpenter and Piscotty would be more than adequate in the middle of the lineup