I think the Cubs now have 3 "OBP" guys in the lineup with: LaStella,Coughlin & Fowler.

Baez & Olt & Alcantara can split 3rd base.

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

I disagree. Ive seen way too many players find it in year 2 or 3 to ever write anyone off after half a season.

I dont know what your point is in the bottom paragraph. I know you dont like the prospect ranking world, I disagree. I didnt need to see any good things written other than the guy's numbers. Guys who put up gaudy numbers in the minors have a way higher chance of being good in MLB.

Bryant is going to be at third. Maybe not to start the season though. It's probably worth it to give Olt one more try. If he's going good by the time you're ready to promote Bryant, that's a good problem to have.

_________________
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

La Stella was 25 when he made his major league debut. His OPS in 93 games was .644.

I guess you can say neither is able to hit major league pitching.

Looking at percentages of guys working out is fine. But it seems like most people don't want to look at the negative side. Sure, a guy with Bryant's numbers has a better chance of being a good major leaguer than a guy with Matt Davidson's minor league numbers. But the odds of Bryant being as good as Longoria are extremely low. And I have to think most Cub fans would be disappointed with Bryant being a .270/.350/.500 guy. A lot of people have him hitting .300 with 35 homers as a fucking rookie.

_________________
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 should have said until Bryant gets promoted. Of course the Cubs will have other FA utility guys in Spring Training to see if they can hit and fill a void.

Time to bring in Jeff Keppinger!

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

I don't understand what difference his age makes. That's all part of this fantasy of drafting guys and saying, "YES!!!!!! WE'RE SET AT SECOND AND SHORT FOR THE NEXT TEN YEARS!!!!!!" It just doesn't work that way.

I would bet Baez will never get on base at .328 clip, something LaStella did in his only year. And is LaStella the only Cub in history without the right to improve?

_________________
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

.270/.350/.500 is a guaranteed ROY. Top 20 OPS! Everyone will be ecstatic.

You won't be ecstatic if that's his career though, will you? You do expect more, no?

_________________
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

Nope. If this was late '90s to 00's I'd say yes.

If this trend of depressed offense is real then you have to be very happy for 12-15 years of those numbers.

Jeff Keppinger Update: Eating Out.

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

LaStella can, you're right. But OPS is king. And OPS looks very fondly on the type of power Baez has. At a .169 BA, he won't make it in MLB. But if he raises that to .220 or .230 and can walk here and there, he is a starter on most MLB teams.

I'd be very happy if Kris Bryant is Evan Longoria.

We don't listen to Elmhurst Steve.

edit: Excluding 2014 Evan Longoria. Disappointing year.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

The white pants, pink shirt and gaudy watch would indicate they are best friends.

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

I think that Fowler trade was an excellent move.

I do think it is a major statement about Alcantara and a minor statement about Almora.

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

Fowler is a free agent at the end of the year. It will only be a statement about Almora is they resign him.

It's a one year deal, though. Not sure it's that big of a statement for either. Alcantara will still play a lot.

Bryant needs like 9 games in the minors to secure the extra year (http://www.bleachernation.com/2014/10/2 ... next-year/)

. Olt's not going to change any minds in that short of a time. Plenty of options to fill in at third there for 9 games. May even be Alcantara.

You think they traded for him for one year, a year that, despite outward appearances, management has to know is most likely another dead one? That doesn't seem to be the way they work

If Fowler is here for one season, that is not a very good trade.

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

Qualifying offer nets a pick.

_________________
Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

Yes I do think they traded for him for one year. I also think this trade has very little significance. They needed outfield depth and had infield depth to spare so they traded a guy for a guy. If Almora backs up this year they will go forward with someone better than Dexter Fowler

It's an acceptable trade. If someone offers you up an OBP guy that can stand in CF and has a possibility of warranting a QO in his walk year for your surplus parts, you take it. Those guys are a lot more valuable to the Astro than they would be to the Cub. Personally, I think Fowler is a bit brittle and may need to be moved to left, so he isn't really blocking anyone.

Also, somewhat related: The St Louis Cardinals scoff at your prospect rankings.

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

This is what I have an issue with. And please don't make it into a Cub/Sox thing. It's not. It just doesn't matter how you build a good team. Building it at all is the important thing.

I get the feeling that a lot of fans think it's better to have Almora kicking ass for you than Fowler. As if he's their child or something. And that's exactly the way the people at the Cubs Convention acted. The only advantage to Almora over Fowler is cost control. If you think Almora is really going to get on at a 37% clip, I think you're kidding yourself.

_________________
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

People like homegrown players better. Nothing wrong with that. Means you were right earlier.

I think Cub fans will take whatever they can get.

And Almora might be a different kind of player.

Fowler is a somehwat interesting hitter. He almost never swings at balls outside the zone, and almost always swings at balls in the zone. Pretty consistently "lucky" BABIP and good line drive rates, so he's hitting it hard out there. Decent guy for fantasy, if you're into that kind of thing.

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

I think that's a big part of it- being right. You talked about the odds of guys nmaking it based on their minor league numbers. Fine. But if we're talking about odds, the guy that is proven at the major league level is always a better bet than the guy who isn't. Some guys like Keyser Soze inexplicably prefer the unproven to the proven. Go Beckham!

_________________
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

2017 MVP for the St. Louis Cardinals

_________________
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

Absolutely that's part of it.

Plus I mean when you watch the kids grow it means more. I mean Im sure the Marlins fans enjoyed 97 but Ill bet 03 was better.

seems like a pretty good deal for CUb

_________________
Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

qualifying offer might be accepted and the logic doesn't seem good to give up Straily for a first round pick

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

Not acted. They outright said it as quoted in the sunday newspapers

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