Person A: That thing doesnt work

Person B: That thing HAS worked

Person A: Irrelevant

Person C: nobody knows for sure, but it don't look good so far.

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

Fair enough.

I think Chris Sale could lead the league in home runs while being the best pitcher in baseball.

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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!

Its kinda like saying "there's a reason QB's dont run a lot" and then me saying, it HAS worked though.

Its not a comparison of the players, it's a comparison of the style of play


Let's move on, this is silly. We all know nobody thinks Baez is Sheffield.

Are you trying to say that a guy who played 10 years ago is as relevant as something that happened 80 years ago?

I disagree, but if that's your opinion, cool.

Yeah, but there are a lot of examples there. That is the point. If half the teams in MLB had a player who was successful swinging like Baez I'd understand. One guy, who was pretty special, and is far removed from the game really doesn't have the same level of proof.

Anyways, if you think Baez can be successful swinging as hard as he does now then call me wrong and we'll see.

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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!

He can be, doesnt mean he will be.

I believe he has to learn to lay off bad pitches. If he does that, the swing will be fine.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-l ... 29693.html

The Chicago Cubs may send one of their more talented players to the minors to start the season. No, not Kris Bryant. In this case, we're talking about infielder Javier Baez.

New manager Joe Maddon told MLB.com's Carrie Muskat that Baez was "no lock" to make the opening day roster.

“Of course, there’s a chance he doesn’t make the team,” Maddon said Thursday. “There’s no lock in regard to that. The entitlement program doesn’t exist — everything has to be earned.”
If true, that would come as a bit of a surprise. It was assumed Baez would begin the season as the team's starter at second base, but it's not as if he's done anything to deserve that honor just yet.



The 22-year-old Baez came into last season as a consensus top-10 prospect in the game, but experienced some major struggles upon reaching the majors. While he flashed his upside, clobbering nine home runs, Baez hit just .169/.227/.324 over 213 at-bats. He also struck out in an astounding 41.5 percent of his plate appearances.


View photo
.(USA TODAY Sports)
(USA TODAY Sports)
Though it's far too early to give up on Baez, his inability to make consistent contact in the majors last year has dimmed his star a bit. While his upside remains immense, the Cubs are one of the few teams that can justify sending a player with his promise back to the minors for more seasoning.
That's because the team can plug super-sub Arismendy Alcantara in at the position until Baez proves he can make adjustments at the plate. Alcantara didn't exactly light the world on fire last year, hitting just .205 over 278 at-bats, but he has a higher floor than Baez right now.

The club could also go with Tommy La Stella at the position, but he may be tied up at third while Bryant begins the season in the minors.

Keeping in mind the caveat that spring stats are generally useless, it's not as if Baez has helped himself this month. He's hitting just .116, with seven strikeouts, in 26 at-bats. More importantly, the scouting reports on Baez for this spring seem to suggest that he still has trouble making adjustments at the plate. That could be enough of a reason for the Cubs to ship him to the minors for a couple weeks.

The difference between Bryant and Baez is that there are still things Baez can improve on in the minors. Bryant has been so dominant on his way up that it doesn't make sense for him to feast on minor-league pitching for another couple of weeks. Baez could use some work on his approach, and could do that more easily against Triple-A pitching.

Much of the debate this spring has focused on Bryant, and perhaps that's fair given his situation. But Baez's development could be just as important to the Cubs' future. They realize this, of course, and need to do whatever is necessary to put him in a position to succeed.

If that leads to another trip to the minors, that might be for the best.

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

good

when did the nomenclature for a utility player change to super sub? I would think someone is a super sub only after he has shown himself to be great while playing many positions, not simply holding a place.

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

Warning bells sounding on this one. Baez definitely taking on water.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

New manager Joe Maddon told MLB.com's Carrie Muskat that Baez was "no lock" to make the opening day roster.

“Of course, there’s a chance he doesn’t make the team,” Maddon said Thursday. “There’s no lock in regard to that. The entitlement program doesn’t exist — everything has to be earned.”



I hope he can figure it out but its starting to seem like he wont.

I think good dolphin had this first.

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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!

Unless Im mistaken, I believe dolphin has repeatedly said he has made no judgments on Baez because it's too early?

He went on record in April 2012 saying that Baez would dash the hopes of Cubs fans.

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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!

Oh, well Im sure JORR said it too. There are many who subscribe to "cubs suck and everything they do sucks" and then there is the "every prospect sucks" faction.


If Baez busts....then they're all right

Actually, Baez's struggles have improved my hopes.

Position players in the Top 10 Prospects have a 62.7% chance of being successful major leaguers, and 40% of being "superior." The Cubs had Baez, Bryant, and Russell over the last two years.

62.7% is close to two thirds. So Baez is the bust, and Bryant and Russell are the successes. With Bryant being the one that ends up "Superior."

If Baez was successful, I'd more afraid Bryant or Russell would bust.

Championship!

http://www.royalsreview.com/2011/2/14/1 ... -prospects

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

Hopefully Bryant and Russell suck too because then pretty much every other Cubs prospect will be a hall of famer!

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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'm worried that the Cubs players may have to share duplicate numbers around 2030 and onward. So many jersey numbers will need to be retired after the coming 15 years ends.

13, 44, 49, 34, 7, 3, 19...

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

I am sure Bernsie wil let us know on the show that Baez was a Hendry guy. Nothing to see here. Its almost as if you can't hear that sound of his bat anymore.

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Elections have consequences.

Maddon: “Of course, there’s a chance he doesn’t make the team,” Maddon said Thursday. “There’s no lock in regard to that. The entitlement program doesn’t exist — everything has to be earned.”

So is Lester (ERA 6.48) in danger of not making the team?

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Mark me down as officially 'somewhat concerned' trending to 'very concerned'

There's no ceiling on this guy, but it's certainly appearing like it would have been wise to move him last year.

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Team Cutler.

Well then GD had a really dumb post, because most Cub fans have hopes that Baez will become a significant player, but are truly depending on guys like Kris Bryant and Addison Russell. I have higher hopes for Albert Almora actually. Baez is a high risk guy. He could work out really well, but there is plenty of reason to think that he will not be a cornerstone. But at least he gives Sox fans someone to pick on right now.

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Go Cubs!!!!

So in 2012 Cubs fans had high hopes for a guy who was with the A's organization and another guy who was in high school?

I'm really excited about this 1st baseman who is in sixth grade right now that is part of the Sox plan!

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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!

Steve speaks only for himself.

No wonder Bryant was a high school All USA team member in 2012 he was 20 years old.

WRONG again brick

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Sounds like he was pretty dumb.

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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!

Since Bryant is 23 now and was playing at San Diego 2 years ago, you can't be talking about him. But he was the NCAA's most outstanding player in 2013. Russell was indeed in the A's organization and doing real well there. So exactly who the hell was in high school that is being discussed here?

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Go Cubs!!!!

Bryant was in college. My mistake.

Still, not with the Cubs. I was confused because I knew Bryant was drafted out of high school. It just wasn't the Cubs that did it.

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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!

Nope. I was hopeful Baez would be good but never thought the world of him and not surprised he ended up being a bust.