Off of minor league pitching.

_________________

Betting the Cubs to win the WS at 12/1 is throwing your money away. It might be the biggest sucker bet that I have ever seen. There are only six teams (Boston, Detroit, Angels, Dodgers, St. Louis, Washington) with shorter odds.

_________________
Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

In the PCL, which is a hitters league.

_________________
Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

FWIW Bryant is my early pick for NL ROY

_________________
1926-1931-1934-1942-1944-1946-1964-1967-1982-2006-2011

Great. Mine is for a Cardinal nobody has ever heard of.

_________________
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

I kinda think it's bad form to pick a guy on your own team... too myopic, or something like that

_________________
1926-1931-1934-1942-1944-1946-1964-1967-1982-2006-2011

The Tigers seem like a bad bet right now as well.

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Good article about the Cubs chances and the fact that over the last 3 seasons,the Cubs did have good to dominant starting pitching but no hitting. They might have better hitting going in to this year,just not sure if it's enough.

http://www.csnchicago.com/cubs/another- ... ement-cubs

_________________
favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

I wouldn't bet on them with your money. I was just listing the teams with shorter odds. The team with the 7th highest win total last year, was the Royals, with 89. If the Cubs' season win over/under is in the upper 80's, I will be hammering the under.

_________________
Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

Also an avid TSN reader in the 70's/80's.

Shocked they are still in business and agree they picked the Cubs solely to sell magazines.

As for Bryant being a .300 hitter, doubtful. As long as he bashes and hits in the clutch, .260/.340 OBP is fine for me.

Cubs should win 85 or so games and if they get in the dance, anyone can win, so there's that...

Cubs World Series 2015 and /or 2016 bandwagon is getting full.

_________________
Kenny Williams fell for the banana in the tailpipe

Even Giordano's goes all in for the Cubs Convention this weekend...

http://www.csnchicago.com/cubs/giordano ... dish-pizza

_________________
"This is Chicago, my friend. Anything can happen."

Theo just traded that for two Domino's pineapple/bacon pizzas.

_________________
favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

And even though they aren't cooked yet Elmhurst Steve just nominated them for three Michelin Stars.

_________________
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

Thank goodness the Michelin Man is white ... which now that I type that, that makes no sense ... tires aren't white ... I guess nobody was going to buy tires in the 50s from a big black guy though, cartoon mascot or not ... plus he'd have a bigger valve stem, which would've just given Gladys the Housewife inappropriate ideas ......

_________________
Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

While I understand the interest in the Cubs and the expectation that they will be a better club, most of their younger hitters are no in the majors yet, and all of them have to prove they are capable of being impact hitters. The pitching staff has been good under Bosio, and I assume we will see that trend continue with Lester no onboard, but I don't see the Cubs being more than a .500 type club.

Perfect...they can bring in founder John Apostolou to explain why the Cubs shouldn't have to pay taxes.

_________________
“Mr. Trump is unfit for our nation’s highest office.”- JD Vance
“My god, what an !diot.”- JD Vance tweet on Trump
“I’m a ‘Never Trump’ guy”- JD Vance

I know a lot about Bryant and how much scouts see him as one of the best prospects in the past decade. I know how well he has hit at every level he's been at and how disciplined a hitter he is. I made a bold prediction because I believe in it. Saying he would hit .280 with 20-25 homers and over 80 RBI would be a safer pick. But I think .300, 30 and 100 will be ECLIPSED. The batting average is probably the riskiest prediction, but if it winds up being .290 and the power numbers are great, so be it. The guy is going to make the lineup considerably better as soon as he is brought up. If he begins the season with the club, of course it makes those numbers a lot easier to attain. If they make him wait till May, he'll still do it.

_________________
Go Cubs!!!!

You know how to read the Internet. Congratulations, Steve!

He isn't going to hit .290 either.

_________________
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

The Cubs will be embarking on a period of sustained success that will include Championships in the near future, with guys including Bryant leading the way. You might as well get used to the idea. I know it is going to cause you great discomfort. Perhaps it will all be too much for you and you will quit posting here, as your negative posts about the Cubs and their productive farm system that allows for that sustained success, look more and more sad and foolish. Accept it now and it may be less painful in the future.

_________________
Go Cubs!!!!

No. You're old enough to have heard such bullshit countless times. Do you know the definition of insanity?

_________________
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

If they were using the same model to create this team as has been used by previous management teams, that might make sense. But rather than building the team through only trades and free agency, this team will have been built with young players that were drafted and developed by the team. Sure, guys like Soler, Hamels and Lester among others are added through free agency and guys like Addison Russell were traded for. But significant pieces will have been home-grown. This is something not seen from Chicago Baseball since the Dallas Green era....which was cut too short. It's gonna be fun!

_________________
Go Cubs!!!!

Did you know that almost all players were drafted and developed by somebody?

_________________
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

The Cubs are at best 3 years away from even sniffing a wild card. It took the Royals, who had more talent in their farm system, 4 years to even sneak into the wild card.

Which would be fine except people like Elmhurst Steve belive the TIME IS NOW and the window is just peeping open. It's not. And him and the many, many Cubs fans lilike him will start jumping ship after the Cubs fail this year followed by a mass exodus after the 2016 season. It may take another year for Ricketts to fire Theo, another season after everyone gives up probably, but his empty corporate monument needs to be making money.

fun fact:

From 1912, tires took on a black appearance because carbon was added as a preservative and strengthener to the base rubber material. Before then, they were a gray-white or light, translucent beige colour. Bibendum's appearance also changed. Though briefly featured in several print ads, Michelin quickly changed back his appearance, citing printing and aesthetic issues for the change, and not racial concerns as commonly believed.[3]

_________________
favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

Typing while wearing a Guy Fawkes mask can cause a lack of blood flow to the brain. I suggest a handful of sleeping pills before you go dumpster diving at Trader Joe's.

_________________
Kenny Williams fell for the banana in the tailpipe

Elmhurst Steve doesn't jump ship. I said in the initial post of this thread, that Sporting News has predicted the Cubs will win the 2015 World Series. I did not. I expect they will be above .500 in 2015 and compete for a wild card at least. But I expect Bryant and Addison Russell to be stars and major building blocks that help the team to Championships in the near future, as in 2016. But make no mistake, I will not be jumping ship. I like and believe in the plan.

_________________
Go Cubs!!!!

I had forgotten they snagged that La Stella guy from the Braves. Valbuena and him will make a pretty nice infield bench.

Pretty sure La Stella is your starter at second. But what would I know? I'm just a dumb Sox fan.

_________________
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

_________________
Proud to be UNVERIFIED.