This is the thread where we talk of anything cubs related from tinkers to evers to chance to williams climbing the ivy to the Greatest 2nd baseman ever Ryne Sandberg to Chicago finally flying the World Series pennant that has taken 100+ years to acheive. Also this is the place to make fun of those mouth breathers from St. Louis.
To Get us on the right track.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9IlS9fiyd8
Giancarlo Stanton will most likely be on the trade block. IMO the cubs should do anything possible to land him.
I guess someone always has to say it before the season starts and the Cubs eventually collapse.....Quote:
Originally Posted by Mormon Red Death
you are a buzzkill. Its spring!!! Hope is eternal!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by IdahoUteTroutHead
I just want baseball to start. I will be at spring training games in AZ tomorrow. How is that for a buzzkill?
FREEDOM!!!!!!!
I wish I was there. Alas I will have to settle for going to Vegas for the Pac12 tourney.Quote:
Originally Posted by IdahoUteTroutHead
That works too.
Sent from my BlackBerry 9930 using Tapatalk
So what are expectations for this season? It looks like most places have the over/under for wins this year at around 72. Maybe I am just a starry eyed optimist, but I would put it at around 75. I would be pretty satisfied that they are moving in the right direction with anything above 78 or 80, but it would take a .500 season to make me happy.
The Cubs have so little of value that I doubt they could put together a viable offer for Stanton without completely gutting what they do have. But I could always be wrong.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mormon Red Death
Similar to Utah basketball, this is a rebuild that is going to take several years and a lot of patience. I like the approach so far, but it is always interesting to see if they have the patience to stick with it or if seats start to feel warm a couple years in causing them to panic and change the plan.
Wins and losses didn't concern me much last year, I was usually just watching to see what the youngsters like Castro were doing. I suspect this year will be more of the same.
I was digging the rumors that the Yankees might be interested in taking Soriano off our hands over the weekend to help fill in for Granderson, but it doesn't seem like that is happening now. :(
I would love for the cubs to be rid of Soriano. As for Stanton he is 23 and will be/almost is a super star perrrenial all star. When a player of this caliber is available you go for it.Quote:
Originally Posted by UBlender
Quote:
So Giancarlo finished with 37 bombs. Through age 22 season, Stanton how has 93 home runs. His stats look something like this:
Season 1: 22 home runs in 359 at bats = home run every 16.3 at bats
Season 2: 34 home runs in 516 at bats = home run every 15.7 at bats
Season 3: 37 home runs in 449 at bats = home run every 12.1 at bats
Over a 600 at bat season, that equates to 37, 38, and 47 home runs. He is 22 years old. In 2001, Barry Bonds averaged a home run every 6.5 at bats (!!!) because he walks nearly 200 times. In 1998, Mark McGwire averaged a home run every 7.2 plate appearances. So Stanton has a ways to go, but I think will get there.
Stanton missed 40 games in 2012. If he had stayed healthy, the 22 year old prodigy would have almost certainly lead the NL in homers (Braun lead with 41, just 4 more than Giancarlo). If Stanton had maintain his home runs per at bat number, he would have need 165 at bats in those 40 games to reach 50 home runs. A stretch, but possible. Has there ever been a 22 year old who was a legitimate 50 home run challenger? McGwire hit 37 in the first half of 1986, when he was 23. But he finished with only 49.
If Giancarlo can play 150 games next year, he will get 550 + at bats. If he does that, he will be a solid chance at 50 homers in a season. And he will only be 23. He is the best young slugger since McGwire himself. Remember the animal Ryan Howard was his first few years? He was also a 26 year old rookie. His 58 home runs came in his age 27 season. Giancarlo reminds me of him, but 6 years younger and more potential. It's scary to think this guy is a realistic 50 homer guy...and he is probably 2/3s of the way to his potential.
Soriano is done and done, he never did do much for them.
The cubs roster got much worse, and they lost 102 games last year.... yikes. Not happy times in Chi town
Cubs Starting Rotation Projections
Jeff Samardizdja
Matt Garza
Edwin Jackson
Carlos Villanueva
Scott Baker
If the cubs had any offensive power I would say that would be good enough to win the central.
I got to 6-10 tiger games a year. I can't however leave my Chicago cubs! Cause I'm a cub fan....and a bud man!Quote:
Originally Posted by sancho
location means nothing to cubbies fans. In our mind's eye, we live around the corner from Wrigley and are there for every home game and at Harry Caray's for every away game.Quote:
Originally Posted by sancho
how about you just accept that for those who claim it, regardless of where they grew up or how they became cubs fans.Quote:
Originally Posted by sancho
I grew up in a location that doesn't have a major league team. Under the accepted rules of sports fandom I became a cubs fan in 1984.Quote:
Originally Posted by sancho
Quote:
Loyalties
18. If you live in a city that has fielded a professional team since your formative years, you have to root for that team. None of this, "The Bengals weren't very good when I was growing up in Cincy, so I became a Cowboys fan" crap.Also, you can't start rooting for a team, back off when they're in a down cycle, then renew the relationship once the team starts winning again. All those Cowboys fans who jumped off the bandwagon in the late-'80s, jumped back on during the Emmitt/Aikman Era, then jumped back off in the late-'90s ... you know who you are. You shouldn't even be allowed out in public.
19. Once you choose a team, you're stuck with that team for the rest of your life ... unless one of the following conditions applies:(There's nothing worse than a Bandwagon Jumper. If sports were a prison and sports fans made up all the prisoners, the Bandwagon Jumpers would be like the child molesters -- everyone else would pick on them, take turns beating them up and force them to toss more salads than Emeril Lagasse.)
Your team moves to another city. All bets are off when that happens. In fact, if you decided to turn off that sport entirely, nobody would blame you.
You grew up in a city that didn't field a team for a specific sport -- so you picked a random team -- and then either a.) your city landed a team, or b.) you moved to a city that fielded a team for that specific sport. For instance, one of my Connecticut buddies rooted for the Sixers during the Doctor J Era, then happened to be living in Orlando when the Magic came to town. Now he's a Magic fan. That's acceptable.
One of your immediate family members either plays professionally or takes a relevant management/coaching/front office position with a pro team.
You follow your favorite college star (and this has to be a once-in-a-generation favorite college star) to the pros and root for his team du jour ... like if you were a UNC fan for the past 20 years, and you rooted for the Bulls (because of MJ) and then the Raptors (because of Vince). Only works if there isn't a pro team in your area.
I grew up in Chicago, but welcome Pellegrino, MRD, and any others to the Cubs family. Unless they are also White Sox fans.
Rule 19 states:Quote:
Originally Posted by sancho
Hey the tigers are fine. If they do well like they did this last year I am happy for them. As I previously mentioned I go to 6-10 games a year. My son even likes the Tigers. I am however a cubs fan. I don't follow the tigers like I do the cubs. I try to plan vacations that coincide with the Cubs playing in whatever city (I have seen them in Detroit, LA, cincy, pittsburgh, san fran and of course Chicago). That fandom cannot be replaced by being in Detroit.Quote:
19. Once you choose a team, you're stuck with that team for the rest of your life ... unless one of the following conditions applies:(There's nothing worse than a Bandwagon Jumper. If sports were a prison and sports fans made up all the prisoners, the Bandwagon Jumpers would be like the child molesters -- everyone else would pick on them, take turns beating them up and force them to toss more salads than Emeril Lagasse.)
lame. my dad and his older brothers became cubs fans in the 40s (when they were pretty good), despite living in a different time zone (a local boy was drafted by them) they kept following over the years waxing and waning, and then when WGN started broadcasting on cable in hte late 70s, they (my dad especially) picked up their fandom again, perhaps out of nostalgia and not having any other MLB team nearby to cheer for (most Utahns were fans of California teams) so I grew up a cubs fan, this too coincided with the rise of Mark Grace, Ryne Sandberg, Andre Dawson, etc. It stuck, I didn't have much say in the matter, but I didn't care either because it was time spent with Dad.Quote:
Originally Posted by sancho
If you ever get to Michigan let me know... I would be glad to take you to a game.Quote:
Originally Posted by sancho
I didnt pick them... they picked me.Quote:
Originally Posted by sancho
preach it, brother!Quote:
Originally Posted by Mormon Red Death
Yep, summer afternoons of my youth with Harry Caray and Steve Stone. Andre Dawson, Ryne Sandberg, Rick Sutcliffe, Jerome Walton (!), Mark Grace....win or lose it always felt like everybody was having fun.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mormon Red Death
Another win for the cubs!!! The first series win of the season. At this pace they will win a 100 games. :D
What could the cubs get for Marmol? an iffy minor leaguer?
Time to stop trying to get something for him because it ain't happening. Just make him go away. Trade him for some fresh air and peace of mind.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mormon Red Death