You were not real clear on your point at first.

Your point is: Prospects are just prospects and Russell would be lucky to be as good Austin Jackson right?

But the thing is prospects have value. Right now, Russell, McKinney and Straily is a better deal than getting Austin Jackson or Franklin

Jeff PassanVerified account ‏@JeffPassan
Sources: Braves RHP Arodys Vizcaino suspended for 80 games for PEDs. Announcement expected sometime soon.

Marked down another W for St Theo.

I wonder if the Cubs will "make this right" and give them someone else.

Huh?

You should wish and pray that Addison Russell is ever as good as Austin Jackson.

I rarely troll.

Since being hired President of the Cubs is 165-246 at the MLB level. Im starting to think there's almost no chance he finishes over .500 by the end of his Cubs tenure. IMO, thats one of the simplest but biggest reasons his plan was extreme and foolish. There's been a ton of talk lately over what the ideal expectations are going forward. Cubs fans are rightfully frustrated because they think they cant win either way. If they are too optimistic and expect a world series win and 90+ wins in 6 out of 8 seasons then they are labeled as kool aid drinking morons. If they temper their expectations then they get reminded that their team just sucked holy balls for 3 years in a row just to get a chance to be as good as they were in the Jim Hendry era. Just remember it was Theo who put you guys in this situation as fans. Us Sox fans just think you guys deserve better after all you've been through.

We'll get to see this up close now.

If you get 20+ HRs and 90+ RBI does it really matter if Russell bats under .260?

Laurence Holmes is a fucking weirdo, a nerd in denial, and a wannabe. Not a very good radio host either.

. And a lot of his hits fell in the right places this season.

I'm sure he'll get his 20 homers, but he's probably not going to get 90 RBI hitting the way he did this year. And he hasn't hit close to .260. He's around .240. With his defense and power, he's not an issue for this team. And a lot of his hits fell in the right places this season.

Nick Ahmed is probably the best shortstop in baseball or just behind Simmons, but he can't hit enough to keep an everyday job. I don't really think that's a problem for Russell, but if he just goes along like he has the last two years, he won't be a darling the way he is now.

Out of 146 qualified hitters last year, his bapip of .277 finished 121 out of 146. I'd consider that a fair amount of bad luck likely to normalize as time goes on.

He's better with the glove than I thought he would be but when you're gettting compared to Barry Larkin I figured he'd hit better than .240. If he learns to use the middle/ right side of the field that should bring his avg up.

Laurence Holmes is a fucking weirdo, a nerd in denial, and a wannabe. Not a very good radio host either.

BABIP is really a pitcher's statistic.The average on balls in play (by a cross-section of batters vs. a pitcher) normalizes around .300. It doesn't necessarily do that for an individual hitter.

Russell doesn't turn 23 until January yet is already playing SS at an elite level. He should continue to reduce his Ks and improve at the plate. I honestly think he's still underrated.

That's something that doesn't usually happen. Baez looks like an exception.

I hadn't looked at Larkin's stats in a while. Holy shit was he good. He gets a steroid era asterick, but its no insult to Russel to say he is no Barry Larkin. His k'ed 9% for his career, he almost had as many extra base hits as K's.

I honestly believe that MLB fucking with the baseballs (along with smaller ballparks) had more to do with the huge offense of the "Steroid Era" than PEDs. I think they gassed the balls up again this season after a couple years where it appeared we were in a modern deadball era. But while power was up, contact really wasn't. Guys strikeout more than ever. That being the case, how much does defense really matter when half the outs are being recorded via the strikeout?

In regards to the defense mattering, I'd point to the Cubs. There defense was terrific and their entire staff benefited. As a baseball fan, I want to see Sale in front of that defense. I think he turns in 2 or 3 no hitter.