2K24: Chicago Cubs

[mjl]

Oh, Ross is on family medical leave. I assumed he would be catching if Montero was resting, but I guess that explains it.

[mjl]

Schwarber up to 19 games at C after a few midgame substitutions.

[mjl]

Cubs sign Eddy Julio Martinez, $3M bonus.

[madducks]

Joe Maddon wins the NL Manager of the Year Award and has now won the award in both leagues after being a two time winner in Tampa Bay. Mike Matheny of the Cardinals finished second in the voting and Terry Collins of the Mets finished third.

[Hornsby]

Man, you Cubbie fans have gotten jaded WAY to quickly. Your team makes a nice signing with Lackey, and takes him away from a competitor in the division, and crickets. You fellas need to learn to appreciate what you have...don't forget the past 100+ years.

[Gregg]

Man, you Cubbie fans have gotten jaded WAY to quickly. Your team makes a nice signing with Lackey, and takes him away from a competitor in the division, and crickets. You fellas need to learn to appreciate what you have...don't forget the past 100+ years.

This is not the big pitching splash the Theo talked about preseason 2105. The emergence of a competitive team and Arrieta becoming the Ace has made them rethink the spending. This is disappointing to Cubs fans that want the deck stacked in our favor going into 2016.

I myself like the Lackey signing. Not the big splash that I had hoped for but should help next year. I still want them to sign Heyward and trade for a pitcher.

[YourPalChrisMal]

I think the Lackey signing was a really, really great one for the Cubbies. I'm surprised fans aren't ecstatic about it, honestly.

Totally agree. Any time you can get a plus-plus starter for just 2 years, I think teams are better off than the huge risk of committing gazillions for 6-7 years.

[BuckyBuckner]

I'm not saying either of you (eldiablo or YourPal...) are wrong but I find it interesting that giving Price a six year contract that will take him until he is 37 is bad (and I'm not arguing it is good) but giving Lackey, who is 37, a two year deal is good. I guess the difference is that you know how Lackey performed at an advanced age and ultimately it's just two years. But interesting all the same.

[YourPalChrisMal]

I'm not saying either of you (eldiablo or YourPal...) are wrong but I find it interesting that giving Price a six year contract that will take him until he is 37 is bad (and I'm not arguing it is good) but giving Lackey, who is 37, a two year deal is good. I guess the difference is that you know how Lackey performed at an advanced age and ultimately it's just two years. But interesting all the same.

Ha...Yes, that's a good observation, indeed. For me it's just mitigating risk, and regardless of a pitcher's age, the longer the contract the bigger the risk that his arm will have fallen off before the contract is up. I worry about huge long term deals for pitchers even if they are signed in their 20's. I see why teams do it because if a guy like Price is the difference between play-offs (and then anything can happen from there) and not making the play-offs for the first couple years of the deal if all goes well, then it's probably worth it to eat that dead contract in the back end of the deal. Just a personal opinion, but 2 years of Lackey seems like a smarter deal for the Cubs than if they had invested $200+ in a Price or Grienke.

[BuckyBuckner]

Ha...Yes, that's a good observation, indeed. For me it's just mitigating risk, and regardless of a pitcher's age, the longer the contract the bigger the risk that his arm will have fallen off before the contract is up. I worry about huge long term deals for pitchers even if they are signed in their 20's. I see why teams do it because if a guy like Price is the difference between play-offs (and then anything can happen from there) and not making the play-offs for the first couple years of the deal if all goes well, then it's probably worth it to eat that dead contract in the back end of the deal. Just a personal opinion, but 2 years of Lackey seems like a smarter deal for the Cubs than if they had invested $200+ in a Price or Grienke.

I certainly can't disagree with any of that.

[Gregg]

Ha...Yes, that's a good observation, indeed. For me it's just mitigating risk, and regardless of a pitcher's age, the longer the contract the bigger the risk that his arm will have fallen off before the contract is up. I worry about huge long term deals for pitchers even if they are signed in their 20's. I see why teams do it because if a guy like Price is the difference between play-offs (and then anything can happen from there) and not making the play-offs for the first couple years of the deal if all goes well, then it's probably worth it to eat that dead contract in the back end of the deal. Just a personal opinion, but 2 years of Lackey seems like a smarter deal for the Cubs than if they had invested $200+ in a Price or Grienke.

If Arrieta had pitched like a solid #2 the Cubs would have signed Price. From a free agent signing perspective, Cubs fans are a victim of their teams success. Having a Cy Young winner means they do not have to sign another Cy Young contender. Would it be nice, yes. But not necessary.

One of the reasons that Lackey is a good sign is that he has shown he can pitch at a very high level as an old man (by baseball standards).

Big market teams owe it to their fans to spend like big market teams.

[Sharky]

Big market teams owe it to their fans to spend like big market teams.

This Mets fan agrees with you. Though some big market teams are less "big market" because of their older TV deals. The Cubs might be one of them.

[DMT]

They re-signed Cahill...I like that move, he looked great albeit in a very small sample.

[Ryno84MVP]

It sounds like Schwarber will be able to retain catch eligibility for 2017

The development of Kyle Schwarber as a catcher took a big step Wednesday when manager Joe Maddon hinted that his prized second-year player would handle Jason Hammel’s starts.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports...317-story.html

[chancellor]

What did Hammel do to piss off Maddon?