Damn, I was on some Caller Bob shit right there.

Anyway, I don't necessarily believe that.

I'm not sure what to expect from Russell or Schwarber but I'm pretty sure what to expect from most others.

Zobrist and Rizzo are starting to hit better...and Heyward is significantly better than last season. Bryant is Bryant.

Even the starters seem to be getting back to themselves, outside of Lackey.

This team isn't as good as 2016, no doubt. But they are now a normal playoff contender instead of a powerhouse.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

Zobrist was FAR superior to Castro last season.

So far in 2017, Castro has been FAR superior. However, he is having what appears to be a career year.

Castro has been great this year.

But let's not forget prob 90% of Cub fans here were ready to pack his bags and send him anywhere during his last couple of years in Chicago.

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

Would you trade last year's WS victory for the guarantee (even though there really isn't such a thing) that the Cubs would make the playoffs the next five years?

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I mean....I'm pretty sure the Cubs are already going to make the playoffs for let's say four of those with very few changes to the current roster. So no? But your question isn't outlandish. I would consider trading one World Series for five chances at the World Series, considering the Cubs would be one of the better playoff teams each year, as they were last year.

I don't think my view has ever changed. One championship is not enough when you're set up to be a dynasty. I did not sell my continued fandom for one World Series. That isn't what I signed up for. You don't get to pass on competing in 2017 because your offseason was a month shorter. Boohoo.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

You should stop advertising yourself as the smartest baseball fan now.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

"Oh man. Let's ostracize the guy that is a fan of a dominant team for actually wanting that dominant team to continue winning. Get him, boys!"

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

Lol wut

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Poor IMU. Darkside giving him the treatment.

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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!

Starlin starts out every year hot. Then starts to tank mid-May. Sucks through June and July, then heats up in August and September. I wouldn't look to much into his numbers so far this season considering they are so far out of whack with his career numbers.

I don't know if it has already been done but IMU deserves a nomination in the best of the board thread

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

You should bet on this.

We went thru this already. The 2017 Cubs outfield, bullpen, rotation, and bench is different from the 2016 roster. Some of the "main" guys have stayed, but there will be MANY changes to the roster over the next 2-4 years.

"I would trade the Royal Flush that I hold in my hand right now for five more hands of poker where anything can happen." This is beyond moronic.

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He's definitely dethroned you for title of Oracle of Baseball Stupidity.

Propose one. I'll consider it.


Yeah...minimal changes. The 2017 rotation is identical to the playoff rotation, and Hammel isn't some 'best 5th starter in the history of baseball.' The bullpen is improved. The Cubs lost a fantastic leadoff hitter but average at best CF. They now have Ian Happ, a top prospect who has done exceptionally well since coming up. Heyward is the same and improved. The backup outfielders are upgrades. If the weak OF spot is Schwarber / Zobrist in LF I'm not going to stomp my feet. The bench is the same? Almora, Montero, LaStella, whoever doesn't start out of the Zobrist/Schwarber/Baez grouping, and Jay...a probable upgrade over Szczur. Where are these regressions you want to keep referring to? Please show me.


Do you want to win one hand, or do you want to walk away from the table with money?

The Cubs have won one hand out of the last 109, and three in the last 111. Gotta do better.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

No one is ostracizing you.

I'm simply pointing out that you seem to have a much rosier view of how easy it is to win a World Series than what reality tells us. More "bites at the apple" is good, but five playoff appearances is by no means a guarantee of even 1 WS. So you must understand that it sounds somewhat ridiculous when you're willing to trade the only one we've gotten in well over 100 years for five more chances.

There's nothing wrong with wanting the Cubs to win moving forward, but you're insane if you'd trade that World Series for any potential future success. Potential future success is just that - potential.

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It pains me to say, but Frank is right on the money here.

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If changes are so minimal, why did you need to type an entire paragraph about said changes? And then you claim "Heyward is the same and improved." Which is it? Is he better or the same. These are very Elmhurstian things to say.

You can debate all you want about the bench, outfield, or bullpen being better or worse. All I said is that the roster is different. Which, judging by that drawn out post of yours above, is something you agree with me about.

The regressions I am referring to so far this season? 2 games over .500 and 3rd place compared to last year and most of 2015 speaks for itself.


edit- Shit, did I dolphin up that quote

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I wonder if jim Kelly would trade 2 additional Superbowl appearances for the one against the giants to go the other way?

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Are you fucking dense? Man, I take back my advice for you. Stay in whatever job requires you to do the least and think the least.

Heyward is the same right fielder as last year, and is performing better.

Did you truly not understand that? Fucking hell...

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

The better way to say it would have been, "The RF is the same guy as last year, and that guy is performing much better so far."

You are the one who sounds dense in this thread. Now you get all upset and start cursing like one of RFDC's daughter's friends when somebody gets the better of you.

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I'm to the point where there is nothing you can say to me that will detract from the enjoyment of this relationship we have begun.

It's like Rickles calling someone a hockey puck.

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

some guys like to split 10

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

Cold day in hell when you get the best of me.

I'm not responsible for your mistakes. It was phrased just fine.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

The devil put on his parka and winter hat a couple hours ago.

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You have to work on learning to take compliments

This turned into a tremendous thread

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

So, this kid is actually pretty good, eh? Wish one of us would have realized it before it was too late...

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

This year, 60 games into the season, he has been good. The last two seasons he was a very mediocre player. I don't think Cubs fans should be worried long term about having traded this guy.

Except Zobrist sucks and the Cubs need a capable middle infielder.

Theo and Maddon stuck with the wrong guy.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

This year is proof that trading Castro was a good idea.

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