Not crying at all, just pointing out the facts.

Javy is going to want more money and Babe has no position outside of DH. Sounds like you were talking to some REALLY.SMART.PEOPLE., Chris.

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Again, the Cubs are World Series favorites that might have a 6-man starting rotation in 2017. That isn't possible without some depth.

Furthermore, the Cubs before the 2015 season were not considered to have a good starting rotation.

Theo and Jed have a clear design on obtaining MLB hitters early in the draft and through international signings. While they've been drafting high school arms in the middle rounds, they understand the risks associated with pitchers in the draft and therefore employ a VASTLY SUPERIOR plan when it comes to obtaining top flight MLB pitching talent and depth.

The 2016 Cubs had one of the best MLB pitching staffs in the last few decades, the second season after an off-season with nothing but question marks in the rotation. There is no reason to believe, with the Cubs' available resources, that the 2018 and 2019 Cubs rotations cannot be similarly equipped.

Tangent...

White Sox fans...you have been wrong about Theo's Cubs from the very start. Why are you so confident you know what is going to happen now?

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

No, the facts are that the Cubs traded Scott Feldman, at the time an average at best 30 year old SP, for Arrieta and Strop. If the Sox were really that sold on Arrieta there were probably 20 guys in the White Sox organization at that time with more value than Feldman.

They Sox weren't smart enough to get the guy.


Waaaaaah.

Well again, a bunch of teams "might" have 6 man rotations because any organization can call anything they want a starting pitcher.

Mike Montgomery at this time is not someone that has established themselves as a man in a rotation. Well at least not on a team with designs of winning a WS. Brett Anderson at this time is not someone that has established themselves as a man in a rotation. Well at least not a team with designs of winning a WS.

I "might" have 600 bucks in my wallet because I have 6 bills in there. Then again, I might only have 352 bucks...

Let's get you to stop dicking around and say what you want to say.

Do you think the Cubs cannot win the division and go to compete for a World Series if they go a period of time this year with a 6 man rotation, with the currently constructed roster?

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

If Lester or Arrieta is out for an extended period they may have some problems, but they can still probably win the division. The problems with the rotation are more likely to come in 2018.

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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

Javy is going to want more money but he really cant do anything about it for 5 more years. That's fine by me.


As for Kyle I'll take him in left field. He blew it in the NLCS and made some really bad plays. So did everyone on the team though.

The jury is still out on in him in LF as he hasnt even had half a season in left field.

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Barring injury the Cubs are fine for 2017. Lester, Arrieta, and Hendricks are rock solid 1-2-3 guys. Lackey at this point at a 180 IP 4.00 ERA guy is fine as a 4th starter with this offense. The fifth starter is negligible with this offense.

That isn't what we have been talking about though. We are talking about positional depth in the organization. Frank, or someone pointed out correctly that the Cubs aren't very deep in the SP department, especially when viewing the horizon beyond 9 months. He's right.

At any point in the next 3 years give or take, the Cubs could suffer an injury at basically any position other than catcher, and even multiple injuries, and really not break stride. If they have more than one SP injury this year it gets dicey, and after November, barring any major roster moves or big improvements from heretofor unreliable and unimpressive SPs, the SP is going to be a weakness.

That's what the original discussion was about. Organization depth at a position, right now it's thin in the SP department for the Cubs, and scary thin on a longer term horizon.

That's not true. The Cubs control him for 5 years but if he's the player you want him to be he's gonna get paid in 2019.

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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

If he does blow up he'll get paid but quite a bit less than what he probably should be getting paid. Hell Arrieta is proof of that the last two years.

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or at the plate

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

oh oh oh
2-100.00
3-50.00
1-2.00

his story checks out!

One Post is a Cubs fan but is being treated with hostility for having even the slightest bit of negativity.

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

I was also told in 2014 that the Cubs would not have a rotation that allowed them to compete, even if the Cubs' hitting prospects worked out...which was also told to me to be unlikely.

So you could say I'm confident.



How do you determine this, considering his last two seasons averaged 31 starts, 203 IP and a 3.03 ERA.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

By who?

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We'll see what happens. I saw a guy in the paper yesterday advocating an extension for Lackey. I wouldn't be that confident if I'm worried about locking up Lackey for another season.

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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

By whom?

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

Because he looked like garbage at the end of the year and in the playoffs.

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Nothing is more hilarious than the tears of butt hurt Sox fans, enjoy your 62 win team

It's gonna be nice to have Caller Bob around this year.

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Leash, you have to admit the inferiority complex is hilarious. But in their defense, the rug really has been pulled out from them with the Cubs winning the World Series. 2005 was just as much about throwing the Cubs futility barbs at the North Side as it was their team ACTUALLY WINNING THE WORLD SERIES! They lived and died on the fact that the Cubs hadn't won a WS in a 100+ years(which was really bizarre considering they were in a similar futility boat before 2005).

They obsess over the Cubs day to day operations more than a good majority of Cub's fans. Prospect 'A' will be a bust, when he actually becomes an accomplished major leaguer then 'Young player A will leave free agency. Their attempts to decipher new age baseball analytics are fucking hilarious. They shit themselves when they even try. They are better off just sticking to 'TWTW'. Watching their impatience as the White Sox try to mimic the Cubs rebuild will be ten fucking shades of hilarious. They are the only fan base cries to the FO about product on the field and they don't even fucking show up to games to begin with! Then when the FO actually attempts a real plan, they bitch about that too. If I was Sox ownership I'd look to trade the entire fan base for a few thousand Taliban refugees.

At some point, you hope Sox fan's thoughts are pure trolling, because if they actually believed have the shit they wrote, my fucking god, you would find better baseball analysis on "The View"

What I find funny is that I don't even view it as negative.

I don't think any fan of any team would be excited to know that for the 2018 they only have 2 proven SPs under contract.

Can the Cubs rectify this situation? Of course. Do they have a lot of resources do to so, namely prospects and dollars? Sure.

But that doesn't change the fact that right now they have a really good dependable rotation, certainly 1-4, and with this offense their 5 is probably dependable enough.

Can they sustain a few injuries to the rotation? I don't want to find out. Does their current depth bode well for the same type of rotation in 2018? No.

You m'fer.

It is going to be fun.

It is a glorious time of year.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

I have a 9 year old lab that has diabetes and blind. She gets really ornery at times if she doesn't get her way. She will bark really loud at you and show her teeth. Now I know it's all a show, she would never bite, but it does scare people, so at times, I have to kick her in the hind leg, to get her back in fucking line.

That's how you handle dopes like Frank Costanzo trolling these parts. A good shot and the blind will go running back to their corner.

2005.

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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 dunno, just spitballing. His last two years of FIP were 3.57 and 3.84 and he broke down at the end of 2016. He's entering his age 38 season.

If he throws 180 IP with a 4.00 ERA he probably wins 15 games on this team. If he pitches 200+ IP with a mid 3's ERA this team probably wins 100+ again.

Went to a Sox game on a gorgeous Saturday night in August with the wife and her co workers. Chris Sale was on the mound agaisnt Oakland. Beautiful weather,decent ballpark,plenty of parking to tailgate and enjoy the atmosphere,good food,cheap tickets,easy access to the stadium. If there was 20k in the stadium that night I would be shocked. They dont show up for their team but god damn if they all don't know what's up with the Cubs.

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The big problem is that in your minds Sox Fan + Something involving the Cubs = Trolling be mad Sox fans.

It happened to me in this very thread. My posts were easily defensible even if you disagreed and yet everyone acts like I said "The Cubs should be stripped of the title for all the cheating they did leading up to the win".

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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!

Like pouring gasoline on a fire.