I said in a thread in which I predicted the Sox to go below .500, that they would probably later rebound and finish a couple games over .500, but that they were pretenders, not contenders that the dipshit Sox fans were making them out to be. I was correct, except in thinking they might be a bit more mediocre and a bit less lame than they wound up being.

_________________
Go Cubs!!!!

Yeah, so you were wrong but claimed you were right.

_________________
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!

ES crushing Sox fans today.

_________________

Okay, I was correct about how well the Cubs would do, but underestimated how shitty the Sox would be......happy?

_________________
Go Cubs!!!!

Nah...he's probably just huffing paint thinner and trying to find ways to suck off radio hosts.

He just practices his shitty takes here.

_________________

2016

_________________

Hard to argue. Very sad.

_________________
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

Of course he is. He is the face of Cubbie Nation.

_________________
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!

They didn't win it with prospects (other than Bryant). They won it with high-priced free agents.

_________________
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

A handsome face that travels well too!

_________________
Go Cubs!!!!

2/10

I thought for sure you or dolphin would've thought ahead of time to have some clever material ready. Like White Sox nation, I have been let down and know only disappointment.

_________________
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

Fucking gay. I knew it. NTTAWWT.

_________________

You were the one who decided to jump on the pro-Steve bandwagon with leash.

_________________
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!

Keep saying "Wait 'til next year" for 108 seasons and you're bound to be right eventually.

_________________
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

201(6) is already on its way to being a thing

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

We already did the math on this. Free agents contributed to approx. 33% of Cubs' 2016 success. Keep up.

_________________
Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

What was the percentage for the vaunted prospects other than Bryant?

_________________
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

Wrong. Baez was the co- MVP in the NLCS and was great in the NLDS as well as hitting another homer last night. Russell was a huge contributor offensively in spurts and defensively consistently. Contreras was a huge contributor in the first 2 rounds and made some great plays behind the dish stopping the Indians running game. Rizzo and Bryant of course are the biggest stars and neither was obtained as a free agent. Arrieta got 2 of the World Series wins and was obtained in a trade as was Hendrick......do you ever get anything about the Cubs correct??

_________________
Go Cubs!!!!

They won with 2 major free agents, Lester and Zobrist.

Heyward could have NOT been signed and they still would have won. Lackey was a mid-level signing. This idea that they "bought it" is absurd.

Chapman was acquired with prospect bounty. Though I wouldn't expect a Sux fan to know what an actual "prospect" is.

Correct

_________________
Go Cubs!!!!

So the Cubs double their payroll in two years and yet it didn't make much of a difference?

_________________
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!

Joe Orr is just bitter, watching his crappy sox team from Lencionio's in Lynwood.

Doubled up from a bottom 3rd payroll in the league. Which was a cause of the rebuild and the debt encountered from the purchase of the team. Please come back when you have a point.

Ok. The Cubs had close to a top 5 payroll this year if it didn't go to top 5 with in season trades. That didn't make a difference?

It's ok to acknowledge that being a big spending team helped. They won't take the trophy away.

_________________
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've never been there and I'm certainly not bitter. I'm just exposing a false narrative. The 2005 Sox had a false narrative too- that they were some kind of "small ball" team when they hit 200 homers. You don't have to be afraid of the truth. It's no less noble to win with free agents.

_________________
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 narrative is easy:

Great drafting: Bryant, Schwarber
Great trades: Hendricks, Arrieta, Rizzo, Russell
"Great" free agent signings: Zobrist, Heyward (yeah not so much), Fowler, and Lester
Great development: Baez, Contreras

It is really the holy grail. They literally did everything right. And to think Ricketts was perceived as too cash strapped and/or cheap to be able to spend money just a few short years ago. Instead he has spend a boatload of money to improve Wrigley and the surrounding properties and invest in the payroll.

_________________
Hawaii (fuck) You

MANY Cub fans here like to point out how Williams got lucky in 2005. You're ignoring the fact that Arrieta and Hendricks weren't the main targets of those trades and were guys that were accepted after the other teams refused to give up something else. You've gotta have some luck.

_________________
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

And Jim Hendry's prospects as well.

I didn't hear his name mentioned last night though.

_________________

No doubt. Luck plays a part in everything:
-Injuries,
-The way the ball bounces in a game,
-The way a player develops against his potential,
-Etc

Rizzo could have turned into Mike Olt, and Cashner could have hit hit potential. The fact of the matter is the Cubs gave up assets for guys they thought would help. You are judged by the results more than the process.

It is rare in sports where a team is so open about the way they are going about a rebuild, so patient with the timeline, and so spot on with the results. And they did it with all the uncertainty and luck that factor into an unpredictable process. If it were easy, everyone would replicate it. Just getting approval to put up electronic boards at Wrigley was a massive undertaking in city politics, money, and legal fights. They did it all, top to bottom.

_________________
Hawaii (fuck) You

That was the 1st time. Theo went out of his way to mention him after the NLCS.