Chicago Cubs baseball!!!

bbiggs

bflynn1 said:

I played against Smyly throughout high school and American Legion. 

Damn! Pretty cool. Did you hit him? 

darwinstheory

No link necessary: if you're a Cubs fan, you've already heard. I don't like the idea of it at all. Curious that this was released during Harper's free agency.

In Theo I trust.

HesCalledDyer

Jesse Chavez to the Rangers.  So much for "Cubs or retirement."  Sucks because as disappointing as last year was, he was one of the few bright spots.

darwinstheory

I agree! Not mad at him for taking the 8 million and going elsewhere. But I thought he was a phenomenal piece added to our bullpen. Jesse Chavez glasses > Pedro Strop hat

HesCalledDyer

My only wonder is, he's historically not very good. But he definitely was a great addition to our pen and I'm sure Hickey was part of that development.  With him gone, maybe Jed didn't see it as crucial to try to keep Chavez around.  He is 35 after all.  I don't know, just thinking out loud (or in print, rather).  Glad we have Cishek for at least another year but we're definitely gonna need another bullpen arm to replace Chavez' role.  I'm sure we'll pick up some guy with a 5.43 lifetime ERA like we've done the past two off-seasons and be told about "his numbers away from his old team's stadium."

bbiggs

^ If we don’t bolster our bullpen, we’ll be going nowhere in 2019.  They have to address it as a weakness. 

HesCalledDyer

And now we get rid of La Stella.  I gotta say, I really wanted to get rid of him when he pulled his little stunt in 2016, but he more than made up for it the past two seasons.  Ended up being a great guy to have on the bench.  Broke the franchise record for pinch hits in a season this year.

bbiggs

^ 100% agree. Disliked him in ‘16. Really enjoyed having him on the team since. Bummer. 

bbiggs

Cubs announced a new cable station they own that will air the games. No more WGN. It’s all about the dough. 

darwinstheory

Knew this was going to happen. The extra money they will get from this is why I thought they might gamble on a Machado or Harper.

Wobbie

your ricketts guy is a real gem

HesCalledDyer

Wobbie said:

your ricketts guy is a real gem

I assume you mean Joe Ricketts. He has nothing to do with the team. Tom isn’t exactly a angel himself, but people need to stop associating Joe with the Cubs. 

Wobbie

HesCalledDyer said:

Wobbie said:

your ricketts guy is a real gem

I assume you mean Joe Ricketts. He has nothing to do with the team. Tom isn’t exactly a angel himself, but people need to stop associating Joe with the Cubs. 

sounds a little like “this has nothing to do with the president.”

HesCalledDyer

Wobbie said:

HesCalledDyer said:

Wobbie said:

your ricketts guy is a real gem

I assume you mean Joe Ricketts. He has nothing to do with the team. Tom isn’t exactly a angel himself, but people need to stop associating Joe with the Cubs. 

sounds a little like “this has nothing to do with the president.”

While [Joe] Ricketts is not directly involved in the team's operations, his son, Tom Ricketts, is Cubs chairman and his three other children (Pete, Laura and Todd) are on the board of directors

HesCalledDyer

And don't get me wrong, in no way am I defending Joe Ricketts or his comments.  He's an old, racist piece of shit.

darwinstheory

Don't feed the troll Dyer. He's hungry but that doesn't mean he needs to be fed.

Wobbie

trolls gonna troll, right?

HesCalledDyer

Nah, more like Wobbies gonna Wob. You’re one of the greatest people on the board, dude! :plus_one:

HesCalledDyer

Kyle Hendricks 4 year extension with option for 5th.  $63M with incentives to earn up to $79.8M.  Glad we go this guy on board for a few more years!  Time to get Rizzo, Bryant, & Baez done as well.

bbiggs

HesCalledDyer said:

Kyle Hendricks 4 year extension with option for 5th.  $63M with incentives to earn up to $79.8M.  Glad we go this guy on board for a few more years!  Time to get Rizzo, Bryant, & Baez done as well.

I was ecstatic to see this signing. Maybe our most valuable rotation asset, given his age.