Pirates have pieces that will fit right in. Alvarez wasn't even that good. Did they lose guys like Cole and Cutch?

You're factually correct in that the 25 man roster won't be the same exact names. That's about it.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

The names will not be the same, nor the level of talent, nor the win total. The Pirates won't make the playoffs in 2016.

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Go Cubs!!!!

They may not be Cubs-like HOF'ers but the Pirates have kids to call up starting in May.

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Elections have consequences.

Josh Bell will be a BIG improvement at !B for the Buccos... and they have righties Tyler Glasnow and a healthy Jameson Taillon in the wings.... Pittsburgh isn't going away.

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Alvarez sucks, they couldn't give that buster away... Burnett is nothing special, he's Samardizaesque .. I wouldn't want him on my team.. The Pirates are a good team, they are one starter away from winning the N.L.

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I will take pleasure in referring back to this thread as the season plays out and I am proven correct.

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Go Cubs!!!!

The Aryan Brotherhood, also known as the Brand...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aryan_Brotherhood

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Neil Walker

Pirates will be good again.

I didn't say they would be bad. They will finish ahead of the Reds and Brewers and maybe even the Cardinals. They will have a winning record. But not good enough to make the playoffs in the tough National League.

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Go Cubs!!!!

Steve buying hope by the truckload!

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I didn't realize that Walker had been traded to the Mets. Makes sense with Kung emerging and Josh Harrison coming back from injury.

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"When people want their version of the truth, they go find it, no matter how baseless their beliefs." -- Ken Rosenthal

Walker was gonna cost more than he's worth.

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Elections have consequences.

If it was 5 years ago the Cubs would've missed the playoffs. The Pirates were better than the Cubs last year. The play-in where King Meme-man shut them down (but got run into the ground by his alcoholic manager) doesn't change the fact that Pittsburgh was a better team than the Cubs and probably still is.

Kang is every bit as good as Bryant.
SS is a wash because Addison Russell strikes out in about 1/3 of his AB's.
Once upon a time Zobrist could claim to be better than Josh Harrison. That time came, and now it is gone.
Cubs are better at 1B.
Pirates are better at C.

I'll take McCutchen, Polanco and Marte over the two basketcases on the corners and Heyward. In fact, individually I wouldn't trade a single one of Pittsburgh's OF for any 2 of Soler (sucks), Schwarber (DH) and Heyward (playing the wrong position). Would I accept all 3 for Polanco? Sure but one of Soler/Schwarber is gonna be flipping hamburgers in 5 years. I wouldn't risk getting the shitty one.

The Cubs rotation is old, used-up from playoff runs and mishandled by Merlot Joe. A team cant win a World Series with a 37 year old John Lackey as a #3. Rather have Niese (but the Pirates have Glasnow and Taillon so Niese will be more like a 5). Pirates have a better bullpen.

I know this year's Exciting Young Cubs Team® (brought to you by Wintrust and Budweiser) #WeAreGood has developed an invincibility here in Chicago, but the rest of baseball doesn't care. A bunch of strikeout prone children who cant play defense isn't going to be better than a team with Andrew McCutcheon, Josh Harrison, Starling Marte and Jung Ho Kang.

This team will lose to either the Mets or Diamondbacks in the first or second round of the playoffs each of the next five years.

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I had the Royals winning the WS, but wasn't sure about the NL. I sure as hell wouldn't have picked the Mets.

The Nats in 2016....I'm hoping we get to see them fall short simply for the fact that Dusty Baker is their manager. The world will be a miserable place if we have to start hearing about the "positive impact Dusty has brought to the Nationals".

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Or they win 91 games and miss the playoffs because both Wild Cards are not coming out of the central next year

But hey, ticket prices will only increase by 8% in 2017!

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someone's cranky they didn't have breakfast this morning.

Nah, just cranky because he knows the team he hates will be great for an extended period of time, while the team he roots for will be mediocre and languish in obscurity. People all over the country will celebrate the Cubs winning. The Nationals may well win more games than either the Diamondbacks or Mets this season. The Cubs will win the Central this season, so where the wild cards go is not so important. I see the Nationals winning the East, The Cubs the Central, the Dodgers the West, with Arizona and either the Mets or Cardinals getting the wild cards.

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Go Cubs!!!!

Why does this matter to you? Why is it important to Cubs fans that some mouthbreathers in suburban Dallas who've never been north of the Nashville TN may have a extra round because "the Cubbies finally did it"?

Is it part of the inferiority complex where accomplishments need to be admired nationwide to matter? Like how people are are proud of corruption and murder because HEY AT LEAST THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT US TAKE THAT NEW YORK. This is why, barring the average Cubs fans virulent hatred/fear of the blacks/hispanics that make up the White Sox fanbase, the Cubs seem to draw more flak from Sox fans than the other way around. For lack of a better word the aura around Cubs fandom is just really gay.

It's just a fact that the Cubs are a nationally loved team. Not just transplanted Chicagoans, but people who grew up watching WGN and got hooked on the team. Now, because of the exceptional manner in which they built this team, they will have more people following the team than ever. It's a team built to win consistently for an extended period of time. There is no reason to feel anything but joy and great anticipation where this Cubs team is concerned and with guys like Albert Almora, Wilson Contreras and Glyber Torres on the way, the future is brighter still.

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Go Cubs!!!!

If you wish hard enough your dreams may come true. But I doubt it.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

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Kenny Williams fell for the banana in the tailpipe

2005

Grinder Rule #2005: There is NOTHING lovable about losing.

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Hop aboard the Cubbie train anytime Frankie poo. Losing will be yours for many years to come if you do not. Or go beat the fuck out of coaches and umpires.

That was no dream!

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

With the awful performances the Sux have given you in losing at a prolific rate the past few years, you should know. The Cubs won 97 regular season games, beat the Pirates in the Wild Card, beat the Cardinals in the NLDS and after losing in the NLCS, they Improved the team. The future is bright for the Cubs.

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Go Cubs!!!!