Cubs fans hated this period. I went to a lot less games. It is simply a product of a burnt down building being repaired slowly in an effort to prevent the same mistakes from happening again. Jed and Theo inherited a mess on every level. Instead of rebuilding the team in the mold of the prior group, they took a different design path. Hopefully this pain will be worth the wait. A lot of folks act as if there is only one way to build a baseball team, and it is a guaranteed outcome. It does them no good to spend $125M to win 85 games.

Thanks for caring so much.

_________________
Hawaii (fuck) You

This has been rebutted over the years ad nauseum.

They could have signed really good players to 3-4 years contracts in year 1, competed at the MLB level and still rebuilt the farm system. Those contracts would now have finished their term providing all the necessary room for the minor leaguers. Sure they may not have had Bryant but if you trust the system as much as you do, they certainly would have found great players in the draft.

We were left to hear about the poor Cubs and big contracts that had to be consumed over the last three years. Meanwhile, the market value has more than doubled in the short time they have owned and they are proposing $500 in capital improvements.

There is a very large trough of bullshit that you have swallowed with this management.

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

Why do you fear the truth. Even if you believe in The(o) Plan, there isn't much here you can contradict.

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

and yet, that is exactly what you do

The Cubs have wasted a lot of great pitching in the past few years, playoff caliber pitching, due to Theo not caring to put together a competitive lineup in the off season.

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

I don't have a problem with purposely losing for a short period of time. The bigger issue is the need to follow up two years of losing with three years of intentional losing.

I'd be pissed if the Sox decided at the end of last season they were going to tank for 3 more years so they could compete later on.

_________________
You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I thought the goal was to win the World Series? You would have been ok if they just competed, so what are we talking about 85 wins?

_________________
Hawaii (fuck) You

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

How many times have we heard that the playoffs are a crap shoot? 85 wins can and has put teams in the playoffs, even moreso in the expanded version

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

Twice in the history of baseball teams with 85 wins or lower have made it to the World Series.

JORR and GD thanks for the serious replies.

I do not like the concept of tanking at all. My biggest problem is that MLB and the slotting system rewards tanking. By tying in how much you can spend with how bad you are. It really encourages teams to tank. I know slotting was put ion to control costs and both bog and small market teams supported it but it makes no sense to me.

_________________

Florida High School SS Brendan Rodgers crushed a home run in his first game of the season last night. Rodgers is a possible 1-1 and my top player in the draft.

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/108247032 ... chool-game

Are they playing HS baseball in FL already?

_________________
Elections have consequences.

Yep. That's why players in the south have such an advantage over players in the north. Those guys have been practicing outside for weeks and started playing games while guys here are still practicing indoors and their high school season doesn't start for a month and a half.

Wow I knew they went early but Feb!

_________________
Elections have consequences.

College baseball starts in 10 days and it's not a minute too soon. It's been a loooooong off season.

+1

_________________
2018
#ExtendLafleur
10 More Wins

With the San Diego Padres signing James Shields and surrendering the 13th pick the draft order is (finally) set:

First Round

1. Arizona Diamondbacks
2. Houston Astros (Brady Aiken - unsigned)
3. Colorado Rockies
4. Texas Rangers
5. Houston Astros
6. Minnesota Twins
7. Boston Red Sox
8. Chicago White Sox
9. Chicago Cubs
10. Philadelphia Phillies
11. Cincinnati Reds
12. Miami Marlins
13. Tampa Bay Rays
14. Atlanta Braves
15. Milwaukee Brewers
16. New York Yankees
17. Cleveland Indians
18. San Francisco Giants
19. Pittsburgh Pirates
20. Oakland Athletics
21. Kansas City Royals
22. Detroit Tigers
23. St. Louis Cardinals
24. Los Angeles Dodgers
25. Baltimore Orioles
26. Los Angeles Angels

Compensation Picks

27. Colorado Rockies (Michael Cuddyer)
28. Atlanta Braves (Ervin Santana)
29. Toronto Blue Jays (Melky Cabrera)
30. New York Yankees (David Robertson)
31. San Francisco Giants (Pablo Sandoval)
32. Pittsburgh Pirates (Russell Martin)
33. Kansas City Royals (James Shields)
34. Detroit Tigers (Max Scherzer)
35. Los Angeles Dodgers ( Hanley Ramirez)
36. Baltimore Orioles (Nelson Cruz)

Such crap the Cardinals get a "competitive balance" pick given they have had a payroll in the top-half of the league for a few years now.

When you lose a pick after signing a restricted free agent, do you retain the money slotted to that pick or does that go as well. Conversely, does the team gaining the pick also get extra money?

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

lose pick - lose money
gain pick - gain money

Thankfully Kirkwood is here to explain these things to you

That's why the Sox only have $5.54M to spend. They lost the money for their 2nd (Robertson) and 3rd round (Melky) picks. Houston could do some serious damage in this draft if they didn't have an idiot running it.

The Funk Man was rockin and rollin is his debut against Alabama St. Funk sat 91-94 and topped at 95. He also featured his 83-85 wipeout slider. Funk gave up a walk and a hit in the 1st then retired 20 straight hitters. 7 IP 1 H 0 ER 1 BB 12 K's

Virginia LHP Nathan Kirby had a solid debut against East Carolina. 7 IP 3 H 0 ER 2 BB5 K's

Vandy RHP Carson Fulmer sat 92-95 and topped at 96 in a nice outing against Santa Clara. 5 IP 2 H 0 ER 3 BB 7 K's

LSU SS Alex Bregman got off to a slow start going 2-12 with 0 extra base hits and 1 rbi over the weekend

Cincinnati 2B Ian Happ was 7-16 with 2 doubles 2 home runs and 4 rbi

Vandy SS/2B Dansby Swanson 6-14 with 2 doubles a triple and 2 rbi

Florida St OF DJ Stewart was 5-9 with a double 5 runs scored 1 rbi and 6 BB's

The Funk Man got slapped around today against Arkansas St though it was 38 degrees at game time with snow flurries. He still sat 91-94 and topped out at 95. 4.2 IP 7 H 7 R 4 ER 3 BB 7 K's

UCLA RHP James Kaprelian was good in his start against North Carolina. He sat 88-90 topping at 91 and had his wipeout 12/6 curveball working. 6 IP 7 H 3 ER 0 BB 7 K's.

Duke RHP Mike Matuella was scratched from his start with forearm soreness. The move was precautionary and not considered serious.

@kileymcd: Buzz growing on Dillon Tate. Flashed good CH, holding 95. Its early but he's in top 5 picks right now, esp w/Matuella & Aiken durability ?'s

Tate is a hot name right now. He's a converted closer with a huge arm. We'll see if he can hold his stuff all season as a starter. If he can I agree he could go top 5 but it's way too early to say Aiken and Matuella have durability questions, Kiley.

LHP Brady Aiken has enrolled at IMG Academy.

Good. Someone finally talked sense into him (or more likely his agent). I heard he was just going to throw bullpens until the draft. Now guys will be able to see how strong his elbow is in game situations.

The Funk Man was good in a ND against Boston College. He sat 92-95 and topped at 96. 7 IP 3 H 2 ER 4 BB 6 K

Carson Fulmer was roughed up by Arkansas. He sat 93-95 topping at 96 and his wipeout slider was 83-85. 6 IP 5 H 5 ER 2 BB 7 K

Dillon Tate was brilliant in a win against Wichita St. He sat 94-96 and topped at 97. 8 IP 4 H 1 ER 0 BB 6 K

Mike Matuella was on a 40 pitch count and was real good against Georgia Tech. 4 IP 3 H 0 ER 0 BB 4 K