I would have liked to keep Dex, but I'm fine with it. What else?

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Also, anyone know of any updates on renovations/changes being made around the park this offseason?

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NO NEED for Fowler. Alomar now ready to play every day after winning World Series. Waves of prospects on the way! Where do we put Jinimez and Happ??? We should bat fifteen like Little League!!!!

BUT just in case we weren"t good enough we got the best closer in baseball.

JOOR and dolphin are turning green!

It's been very staid, steady, and quiet ... as it should be.

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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

I heard there was some nuanced real estate deals going on that were very favorable to the Cubs. Anyone hear anything?

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Racist.

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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

#1 farm system in baseball. Sox have the waves of prospects now.

I do enjoy that Barry is already tabbing Happ as an MLB definite player. It defines Cub fandom to be anticipating prospects above living in the present in a year they won the world series

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

Jimenez is probably more likely to ascend to the majors in 2017 and be an elite player. Haap is a nice spray hitter, but doesn't have much power, as in less than Heyward even. But he can steal some bases and play well in the outfield. Quite frankly, I think Haap will be trade bait. But they do like guys who are high OBP guys and play good defense, so maybe not.

I think the change in closers is a plus and while Dexter was a legit leadoff man, I am excited to see Almora play CF regularly. He will be the best CF in team history and win multiple gold gloves. He hit a point higher than Fowler last season too. If he can hit .270 or better, he will be a great asset.

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Go Cubs!!!!

2016

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2017

I think that a RH bat off the bench (1st BM/OF type) would be nice,other than that a couple of 5th starters for depth/injury would be my #1 concern

Jay/Almora battle (or platoon) in CF will be a thing.

Sorting out the bullpen will be interesting. They picked up a few LH guys to throw in the mix with the loss of Wood.

Baez and Zobrist might be swapping positions with Zobrist the FT LF.


So we are looking at this lineup Opening Day:

Jay CF
Zobrist LF
Rizzo 1st
Bryant 3rd
Contreras C
Baez 2nd
Russell ss
Heyward rf

Where does Schwarber go??

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

Lineups are going to be crazy this year. Schwarber is going to play LF. Zobrist will play 2B, LF and RF. Jay isn't playing every day. When he sits, Heyward will be in CF and they will juggle the rest around. Baez will play a different position every day

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All prospects fail! White Sox fans think all their prospects are future HOF'ers. See how this shit works??

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Proud to be UNVERIFIED.

Schwarber-LF
Bryant-3b
Rizzo-1b
Zobrist-2b
Contreras-C
Russell-SS
Heyward-RF
Almora-CF

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Fuck it. put Heyward in CF and Ben in RF.

I do. I was mocking you and your brethren.

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

This is WRONG!
Jay is an insurance policy. Almora should be the regular CF.
Schwarber will be the LF most days, while spelling Rizzo perhaps a few times a year at 1B and now and again catching, if his knee is up to it.
The most intriguing story will be whether or not Baez or Zobrist is the regular at 2B, with the other being the super utility guy. It is unfortunate they signed Heyward, as with all the other outfielders they have and Haap and Jimenez on the way, there was no good reason to blow big money on an outfielder. Money poorly spent.

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Go Cubs!!!!

to dairy queen after every victory?

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2016-17

You have the Bryant-Rizzo-Zobrist order correct ... Bryant's not going to bat 4th ffs.

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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

I will need to hear what Dan thinks.

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Sex isn't dirty, sex isn't a crime. It's a loving act between two or more consenting adults.

-Hank Kingsley

I need to keep from arguing with idiots on Facebook who don't remember that Jake struggled with control for quite a bit of last season.

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Basically the whole year.

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Honest question here: is there a potential pitching headache down the road with Arrieta being erratic and getting older, and Lester entering his mid 30s?

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Successful calls:

Kyrie Irving will never win anything as a team's alpha: check
T.rubisky is a bust: check
Ben Simmons is a liability: check
The Fields Cult is dumb: double check

2013 CSFMB ROY

He started right where he left off in 2015....but yes, after a month or two, he sucked. How many times did he walk 4/5/6/7 guys and not make it to the sixth inning? It was a lot.

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Of course.

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Of course. Lester should be fine, and Hendricks should at least maintain so they have a solid 1-2. After that, it's hard to tell. Lackey is 100, Arrieta could become a train wreck at any moment.

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Even that first couple months, his accuracy was off, though, including the no-hitter.

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I think there have not been near enough Cubs fans jumping into the Chicago River during this offseason.

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That's one way of turning Cubby Blue.

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