2012 Chicago Cubs

[CT III]

Internet Chuck dropping truth bombs (sic)

https://twitter.com/#!/ivychat/status/191592707339198465

Even by Internet Chuck's standards, that's plumbing new depths of wrong.

If you think Theo and Jed aren't increasingly likely to trade this guy, you haven't been paying attention.

DING!

[Eli]

Internet Chuck dropping truth bombs (sic)

https://twitter.com/#!/ivychat/status/191592707339198465

This doesn't make sense in any conceivable or inconceivable way.

[Brownie]

Last week, Chuck and I were guests of thehawk at Tuesday's Brewers win over the Cubs. On the way to Wrigley Field, Chuck suggested that Epstein and Hoyer have not decided that they're going to build the team around Starlin Castro like so many people have assumed. I agree. If Castro can fetch a nice haul on the trade market and Hoyer/Epstein feel that his ceiling is only so high, it wouldn't be the worst thing either have done.

This suggestion wasn't that Epstein/Hoyer are working the phones right now to see what they can get for Castro RIGHT NOW, but that if in the offseason this year or next year (or a trade deadline), we could be saying goodbye to Castro.

Chuck has not updated his blog since Jay Cutler's wrist was intact and the Bears were destined for the playoffs. Perhaps a Grand Reopening of Ivy Chat is due so Chuck's theories that aren't half-baked can be explained more thoroughly than one can in 140 characters.

[Internet Apex]

Last week, Chuck and I were guests of thehawk at Tuesday's Brewers win over the Cubs. On the way to Wrigley Field, Chuck suggested that Epstein and Hoyer have not decided that they're going to build the team around Starlin Castro like so many people have assumed. I agree. If Castro can fetch a nice haul on the trade market and Hoyer/Epstein feel that his ceiling is only so high, it wouldn't be the worst thing either have done.

This suggestion wasn't that Epstein/Hoyer are working the phones right now to see what they can get for Castro RIGHT NOW, but that if in the offseason this year or next year (or a trade deadline), we could be saying goodbye to Castro.

Chuck has not updated his blog since Jay Cutler's wrist was intact and the Bears were destined for the playoffs. Perhaps a Grand Reopening of Ivy Chat is due so Chuck's theories that aren't half-baked can be explained more thoroughly than one can in 140 characters.

Nah, we're good.

[J. Walter Weatherman]

Chuck has not updated his blog since Jay Cutler's wrist was intact and the Bears were destined for the playoffs. Perhaps a Grand Reopening of Ivy Chat is due so Chuck's theories that aren't half-baked can be explained more thoroughly than one can in 140 characters.

Talk about your classic wheat-vs-chaff situation.

[Tonker]

Johnson
DeWitt
Castro
Baker
Stewart
Mather
Soto
Byrd
Maholm

These scrubs scored three runs last night - one of which was on a wild pitch, and one on a groundout.  Byrd got on base once - on an error - and then promptly got picked off first.  Maholm is now 2 for 2 in giving up six runs over four innings.  So, my question is, when was the last time the Cubs - top to bottom - had such a fucking hopeless lineup so early in a season?

I'm going for this April 2006 game, where the Cubs started with:

Pierre
Cedeno
Walker
Ramirez
Murton
Jones
Hairston
Blanco
Rusch

Mabry, Neifi and Bynum also got into the game; Rusch, Aardsma, Ohman and Brown Spot Bob gave up sixteen runs between them; and Doug F. Davis gave up just five hits and one run over 6.1 innings for the Brewers win.

Man, fuck the Cubs.

[PANK!]

Man, fuck the Cubs.

Easy, killer.  Long haul.  We'll get through this and it'll be glorious.  Try following the Hawks for a little while. 

[Tonker]

Man, fuck the Cubs.

Easy, killer.  Long haul.  We'll get through this and it'll be glorious.  Try following the Hawks for a little while. 

Yeah, I take your point, Mike.  To be fair, I've already gone on record this year as knowing the Cubs are going to be terrible, and being okay with that.  There's a difference, though, between believing in what Epstink and Hoyer are doing now, and being fine with it, and being really fucking pissed off with the mess the Trib and Hendry got the Cubs into in order for it to be necessary at all.  Know what I mean?

[Richard Chuggar]

Man, fuck the Cubs.

Easy, killer.  Long haul.  We'll get through this and it'll be glorious.  Try following the Hawks for a little while. 

Certainly not the shitty Bulls.

[SKO]

Man, fuck the Cubs.

Easy, killer.  Long haul.  We'll get through this and it'll be glorious.  Try following the Hawks for a little while. 

Certainly not the shitty Bulls.

Last night I tried watching the game against the Pistons, because it was supposedly on WGN, but apparently it wasn't on WGN AMERICA, just local WGN, because they insisted that I watch eight year old episodes of one of the shitty Law and Orders. WGN sucks.

[PANK!]

Man, fuck the Cubs.

Easy, killer.  Long haul.  We'll get through this and it'll be glorious.  Try following the Hawks for a little while. 

Yeah, I take your point, Mike.  To be fair, I've already gone on record this year as knowing the Cubs are going to be terrible, and being okay with that.  There's a difference, though, between believing in what Epstink and Hoyer are doing now, and being fine with it, and being really fucking pissed off with the mess the Trib and Hendry got the Cubs into in order for it to be necessary at all.  Know what I mean?

Indeed I do.  And don't get me wrong--there are plenty of players that already disgust me (Paul Maholm, for one, can poag mahone), but a resolute faith in this regime is guiding me through for the long haul.

[Eli]

If Castro can fetch a nice haul on the trade market

But what sort of haul is he going to fetch that makes a trade worth it? Unless they're trading him for Bryce Harper or an already-established MLB superstar still in his prime, it doesn't make any sense. Trading a 22-year-old stud with several years of affordable team control remaining for prospects is -- as you put it -- half-baked. If that.

Honestly, I'm struggling to think of more than a handful of guys in all of baseball with more value than Starlin Castro. The only thing accomplished by trading him is setting back the rebuilding process another 2-3 years.

[Yeti]

Johnson
DeWitt
Castro
Baker
Stewart
Mather
Soto
Byrd
Maholm

These scrubs scored three runs last night - one of which was on a wild pitch, and one on a groundout.  Byrd got on base once - on an error - and then promptly got picked off first.  Maholm is now 2 for 2 in giving up six runs over four innings.  So, my question is, when was the last time the Cubs - top to bottom - had such a fucking hopeless lineup so early in a season?

I'm going for this April 2006 game, where the Cubs started with:

Pierre
Cedeno
Walker
Ramirez
Murton
Jones
Hairston
Blanco
Rusch

Mabry, Neifi and Bynum also got into the game; Rusch, Aardsma, Ohman and Brown Spot Bob gave up sixteen runs between them; and Doug F. Davis gave up just five hits and one run over 6.1 innings for the Brewers win.

Man, fuck the Cubs.

I went to yesterdays fun. It was not fun to watch. The Busch scoreboard shows the lineup with only batting averages. Only Stewart and Castro were above .250. It was one of the shittiest lineups I have seen

[Slaky]

If Castro can fetch a nice haul on the trade market

But what sort of haul is he going to fetch that makes a trade worth it? Unless they're trading him for Bryce Harper or an already-established MLB superstar still in his prime, it doesn't make any sense. Trading a 22-year-old stud with several years of affordable team control remaining for prospects is -- as you put it -- half-baked. If that.

Honestly, I'm struggling to think of more than a handful of guys in all of baseball with more value than Starlin Castro. The only thing accomplished by trading him is setting back the rebuilding process another 2-3 years.

According to Steve Stone on the Score this morning, David Eckstein is the kind of shortstop that wins championships because he makes all the simple plays. So maybe the Cubs should just sign him and then trade Castro for other winner types. Ask Steve Stone who the other winners are. He seems to know.

[Brownie]

Johnson
DeWitt
Castro
Baker
Stewart
Mather
Soto
Byrd
Maholm

These scrubs scored three runs last night - one of which was on a wild pitch, and one on a groundout.  Byrd got on base once - on an error - and then promptly got picked off first.  Maholm is now 2 for 2 in giving up six runs over four innings.  So, my question is, when was the last time the Cubs - top to bottom - had such a fucking hopeless lineup so early in a season?

I'm going for this April 2006 game, where the Cubs started with:

Pierre
Cedeno
Walker
Ramirez
Murton
Jones
Hairston
Blanco
Rusch

Mabry, Neifi and Bynum also got into the game; Rusch, Aardsma, Ohman and Brown Spot Bob gave up sixteen runs between them; and Doug F. Davis gave up just five hits and one run over 6.1 innings for the Brewers win.

Man, fuck the Cubs.

Hmm, I think we're on the right track, Tonk, but that 2006 lineup still had Aramis Ramirez, a much bigger run producer than Starlin Castro is at this point. I think we're going to have to go further back in the wayback machine...

How about April 18, 1981 at Veterans Stadium? Joey Amalfitano sent this group (season ending avg/obp/ops in parenthesis) up against Steve Carlton:

1) Ivan Dejesus, ss (.194/.276/.509)
2) Bill Buckner, 1b  (.311/.349/.829)
3) Jerry Morales, cf  (.286/.343/.682)
4) Steve Henderson, lf (.293/.382/.793)
5) Hector Cruz, rf  (.229/.331/.799)
6) Ken Reitz, 3b   (.215/.261/.541)
7) Barry Foote, c  (.000/.115/.115)
8) Mike Tyson, 2b  (.185/.248/.519)
9) Mike Krukow, p  (.180/.180/.400)


Of course, this team also scored 3 runs. Morales singled, Henderson walked, Hector Cruz doubled, Reitz and Foote each hit sac flies, and the Cubs took a 3-2 lead on Steve Carlton. Carlton, however, went 10 innings against this sad sack group, a Steve Henderson error helped the Phillies tie it, and Manny Trillo homered off Lee Smith in the 10th to win it.

That was a fucking miserable team. Thank God for the strike.