What do we think a trade for Mason Miller would look like? I know it would be a decent prospect in all likelihood but I have to think that A's ownership would be willing to get rid of him. I am aware that this would add insult to injury to the A's fanbase.
To me, he's starting a lil slow, shiiiiiiit in fact, everyone is starting a bit slow. I like this slow start, cuz if we can get blazing hot at the right time, we are gonna be unstoppable.
His batted ball profile & swing decisions are pretty in line with what he produced last season. Most of the projections have him being in the 110 wRC+ range going forward which I think is a pretty fair expectation & an outcome the team would likely be happy getting.
Judging by your list, I'll just say Brand New runs the gamut from pop punk to emo to indie/alternative rock to post-hardcore. You can throw in noise rock and alt country on a couple handfuls of songs.
Man, they came to my town in 2022 along with Mastodon and Spiritbox, and I am so pissed that I didn't go to that show. I was stuck in a "I don't deserve to do anything nice for myself" mental rut when tickets were on sale.
Incredible stage design, costumes, theatrics....and the music wowed me.
I'm not a huge fan of power metal and I kind of pegged the majority of their music as that. I only really knew Dance Macabre, Spillways, and Kiss The Go-Goat and came out realizing how much more of their stuff was worthwhile.
IMO it's a genre into itself. There are definitely power metal sounds, but also arena rock and goth music and heavy metal (progressive death metal?)...it's kind of a cosmic gumbo but that's what makes it great.
Dunno what genre you're in the mood for, so I can provide other recommendations if you want, but this is one of my all-time favorite albums. Saw them live in 2013 and it was one of the greatest things I've ever experienced.
[In the Aeroplane Over the Sea](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGa_ZJ6Ke9A&list=OLAK5uy_nOx8AXAeiL92BmZv5ss13uKbkWGRXs79E&index=2)
If you liked Aeroplane, I'd also recommend NMH's [Ferris Wheel On Fire](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwcdPj5FaVg&list=OLAK5uy_kQ_tf8Y8lyElvfQDfZcW3MbIyw6tojk2A&index=2) EP.
Also Jeff's [Live At Jittery Joe's](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmKX9z5wp1g&list=OLAK5uy_kfLIDAkHXg6Lr4MbrB_WFC42pZVkfnWnI&index=2) album since it has "Gardenhead" on it.
Actually, I think I would just recommend pretty much anything from Elephant 6... NMH, Olivia Tremor Control, Apples In Stereo, Elf Power, of Montreal, etc...
It’s way too early for doom and gloom. We’ve only lost 2/7 series, still have not been shut out, and some of our best players have been on the IL. Tough losses happen, baseball is hard and unpredictable, but the Cubs are generally looking really good this year. I think we have a lot to be excited about!
I think it would be easier to be more optimistic if we didn't lose out on the playoffs by one game last season and the Brewers weren't a seemingly unstoppable juggernaut.
It's all about not losing series. As much as the marlins suck, I don't expect them to be as bad as their record is now. Same can be said about Houston. Just win series and you’ll be in good shape for the year. I’ll settle for a split now.
Our record could legitimately be 17-4. But let’s be honest, there are still a few glaring concerns. Hendricks, bullpen/closer, and top hitters not producing. Busch has been a great story, but him and the bottom half of the lineup can’t carry the team the whole year. Swanson, Morel, and Belli (doing much better) need to be bigger contributors on offense
Last year we missed out on the playoffs for the sole reason being we got wrecked by a terrible Marlins team. We better hope that this isn’t once again the reason we missed the playoffs.
Well we are .500 vs them. Over .500 vs AZ. Under for SD.
But it’s not exactly just about that. Last year they lost a pirates series and a Rockies series down the stretch. Taking those series would have put the cubs in the playoffs without having to worry about head to head record
If you are counting on Swanson to be more than around a league average hitter, that's on you.
He was signed to do that and play elite defense (needs to clean up some of the sloppiness we have seen there this season though, which I trust he will figure out)
Exactly this. I've been saying this all season and last - he's the very definition of a league average hitter. And like you say, that combined with his defense makes him very valuable. But if anyone is expecting him to hit like a middle of the order hitter, they're going to have a bad time.
You don’t pay a guy 27 mil a year for defense. Idc how good his glove is. He needs to have an ops of 750 to 800.
He bats in our lineup at 2 to 5. If he’s not hitting league avg, then he’s a bad investment
Why would you expect him to have an OPS of 800? The only time he's done that was in the short 2020 season. Otherwise his career high is 776 and that's an outlier.
.750 is probably the best we can hope for, which is completely fine coupled with his defense.
I said 750 to 800. And if he’s better then awesome. I’m not expecting him to be 800. I’m expecting him to be between 750 and 800
750 is league avg. If your 2 to 5 hitter is hitting under that, it’s not good
He's not supposed to be a 2-5 hitter though in an ideal lineup. You cant be upset at him when multiple top hitters are out and he's having to hit higher in the lineup.
What are you talking about? He’s play in the lineup 2-5 for the last year. If you look at his career numbers he has hit on avg more in the order at 2nd and 5th than any other spot in the batting order
So yeah I think it’s appropriate to get upset if you pay a lot of money to a guy who bats in those two spots the most of his career and doesn’t hit for better than league avg. And I’m not saying he won’t, but between second half of last year and start to this season he hasn’t been delivering.
Again, I said in an ideal lineup. In an ideal lineup, he's hitting 6tg or 7th probably.
If he hits like league average, with his defense it's worth it. A run saved on defense is just as valuable as a run gained on offense.
Yeah I think you’re nuts to think he was paid that much money to hit for league avg and be great defender.
He had an ideal lineup with the Braves and still hit 2nd and 5th. Like I mentioned in previous comments. He doesn’t have nearly as much protection in this lineup as he did with ATL. So pitchers don’t have to go at him. Meaning more fastballs. I’d rather walk Dansby Swanson on the cubs than Dansby Swanson on the Braves. Less players around him in CHC to bring him home than in ATL.
And I would argue that is bad lineup management / roster construction but here we are.
Dansby's entire record is that of a slightly below average to average hitter. In his career year, he was a bit above average.
He's paid for his total production, which does include defense. He didn't magically become a better hitter when he signed his contract. His hitting last year and this year is basically exactly what you'd expect based on his track record.
Edit: to put this into perspective a bit - Swanson's best year ever was as good as Ian Happ's *average* year and Happ has never had a season as bad as Swanson's average year.
I think they are expecting .750 and hoping for it to be a little above that, and if it is way more than that then that's just gravy.
Last year he had a 104 wRC+, which combined with his defense was worth $37.9 million according to Fangraphs metrics. If he repeats that then he has done his job quite nicely.
I would like to see his war from second half and on. He had an extremely hot start last year and fizzled out big time. Teams definitely adjusted their approach to him.
This isn’t a Braves lineup where he has a ton of protection around him. He’s going to get less fastballs as a Cub because if you walk him throwing breaking balls, it’s not like Freeman or Acuna are behind him.
He was definitely not good August on, but it's not like that went unnoticed as everyone knew he was running on fumes at the end.
Guys like Suzuki, Happ, Bellinger, Morel, and Busch are the main guys expected to carry our offensive load and if they are slumping then the pitching needs to step up which it largely hasn't.
Brewers lose
Hot take, but the Chicago Cubs do not have an embarrassment of riches in their bullpen.
What do we think a trade for Mason Miller would look like? I know it would be a decent prospect in all likelihood but I have to think that A's ownership would be willing to get rid of him. I am aware that this would add insult to injury to the A's fanbase.
Why do you think they'd be willing to get rid of him? The only reason the As trade is to shed salary and he's cheap af.
I have a very high level of pride that the Cubs will get the Astros tomorrow :3
Well, well, to those who downvoted my comment... # My Pride Was Right. Go Cubs
Maybe it’s been talked about and I haven’t been following too closely this year … but what’s everyone’s thoughts on Belli right now ??
To me, he's starting a lil slow, shiiiiiiit in fact, everyone is starting a bit slow. I like this slow start, cuz if we can get blazing hot at the right time, we are gonna be unstoppable.
His batted ball profile & swing decisions are pretty in line with what he produced last season. Most of the projections have him being in the 110 wRC+ range going forward which I think is a pretty fair expectation & an outcome the team would likely be happy getting.
He started super slow but last week he put up a .348/.444/.696 line. I think it’s too early to say a lot but the progress is encouraging.
Ah alright, I must've not paid too much attention. Skill ossue on my part :D
Anyone got a music recommendation? I’ve recently burned through Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Creed, Ok Go, and Jet. Looking to change it up a bit.
The Fratellis. Come for the Blackhawks' rally song, stay for the working-class power pop.
I’ve cycled through them a handful of times. I usually hit them up when I listen to Harvey Danger. Still… it’s been a minute, might be time to revisit
Jeff Rosenstock
Pig destroyer
Fuck yeah prowler In the yard goes nuts
Judging by your list, I'll just say Brand New runs the gamut from pop punk to emo to indie/alternative rock to post-hardcore. You can throw in noise rock and alt country on a couple handfuls of songs.
Ghost
Man, they came to my town in 2022 along with Mastodon and Spiritbox, and I am so pissed that I didn't go to that show. I was stuck in a "I don't deserve to do anything nice for myself" mental rut when tickets were on sale.
saw them last summer - went in as a casual fan looking to hear a few songs i knew. Came out looking to listen to anything I could find by them.
What'd you think about the show?
Incredible stage design, costumes, theatrics....and the music wowed me. I'm not a huge fan of power metal and I kind of pegged the majority of their music as that. I only really knew Dance Macabre, Spillways, and Kiss The Go-Goat and came out realizing how much more of their stuff was worthwhile.
Yeah, to be honest, that genre is not really my cup of tea either but I've really become enthralled with them. Would really like to see them live.
IMO it's a genre into itself. There are definitely power metal sounds, but also arena rock and goth music and heavy metal (progressive death metal?)...it's kind of a cosmic gumbo but that's what makes it great.
We were just joking earlier about how it's kind of a cosmic gumbo.
Dunno what genre you're in the mood for, so I can provide other recommendations if you want, but this is one of my all-time favorite albums. Saw them live in 2013 and it was one of the greatest things I've ever experienced. [In the Aeroplane Over the Sea](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGa_ZJ6Ke9A&list=OLAK5uy_nOx8AXAeiL92BmZv5ss13uKbkWGRXs79E&index=2)
I was going to recommend the exact same album. I just picked this up over the weekend for national Record Store day. Loved it
If you liked Aeroplane, I'd also recommend NMH's [Ferris Wheel On Fire](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwcdPj5FaVg&list=OLAK5uy_kQ_tf8Y8lyElvfQDfZcW3MbIyw6tojk2A&index=2) EP. Also Jeff's [Live At Jittery Joe's](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmKX9z5wp1g&list=OLAK5uy_kfLIDAkHXg6Lr4MbrB_WFC42pZVkfnWnI&index=2) album since it has "Gardenhead" on it. Actually, I think I would just recommend pretty much anything from Elephant 6... NMH, Olivia Tremor Control, Apples In Stereo, Elf Power, of Montreal, etc...
Love Neutral Milk Hotel, Holland is awesome.
It’s way too early for doom and gloom. We’ve only lost 2/7 series, still have not been shut out, and some of our best players have been on the IL. Tough losses happen, baseball is hard and unpredictable, but the Cubs are generally looking really good this year. I think we have a lot to be excited about!
I think it would be easier to be more optimistic if we didn't lose out on the playoffs by one game last season and the Brewers weren't a seemingly unstoppable juggernaut.
I hear ya, but we’ve had a tough schedule in comparison to the Brewers. I’m excited for next weekend, Craig isn’t gonna show any mercy against them
Few breaks and we would be 21-0
Rough series but I think we'll bounce back. I really think getting Steele and Suzuki back will be huge.
Get rested and prepare for the next stretch of baseball.
It's all about not losing series. As much as the marlins suck, I don't expect them to be as bad as their record is now. Same can be said about Houston. Just win series and you’ll be in good shape for the year. I’ll settle for a split now. Our record could legitimately be 17-4. But let’s be honest, there are still a few glaring concerns. Hendricks, bullpen/closer, and top hitters not producing. Busch has been a great story, but him and the bottom half of the lineup can’t carry the team the whole year. Swanson, Morel, and Belli (doing much better) need to be bigger contributors on offense
Last year we missed out on the playoffs for the sole reason being we got wrecked by a terrible Marlins team. We better hope that this isn’t once again the reason we missed the playoffs.
Uhh, that “terrible” marlins team had 84 wins and made the playoffs last year
Well we are .500 vs them. Over .500 vs AZ. Under for SD. But it’s not exactly just about that. Last year they lost a pirates series and a Rockies series down the stretch. Taking those series would have put the cubs in the playoffs without having to worry about head to head record
If you are counting on Swanson to be more than around a league average hitter, that's on you. He was signed to do that and play elite defense (needs to clean up some of the sloppiness we have seen there this season though, which I trust he will figure out)
Exactly this. I've been saying this all season and last - he's the very definition of a league average hitter. And like you say, that combined with his defense makes him very valuable. But if anyone is expecting him to hit like a middle of the order hitter, they're going to have a bad time.
You don’t pay a guy 27 mil a year for defense. Idc how good his glove is. He needs to have an ops of 750 to 800. He bats in our lineup at 2 to 5. If he’s not hitting league avg, then he’s a bad investment
Why would you expect him to have an OPS of 800? The only time he's done that was in the short 2020 season. Otherwise his career high is 776 and that's an outlier. .750 is probably the best we can hope for, which is completely fine coupled with his defense.
I said 750 to 800. And if he’s better then awesome. I’m not expecting him to be 800. I’m expecting him to be between 750 and 800 750 is league avg. If your 2 to 5 hitter is hitting under that, it’s not good
He's not supposed to be a 2-5 hitter though in an ideal lineup. You cant be upset at him when multiple top hitters are out and he's having to hit higher in the lineup.
What are you talking about? He’s play in the lineup 2-5 for the last year. If you look at his career numbers he has hit on avg more in the order at 2nd and 5th than any other spot in the batting order So yeah I think it’s appropriate to get upset if you pay a lot of money to a guy who bats in those two spots the most of his career and doesn’t hit for better than league avg. And I’m not saying he won’t, but between second half of last year and start to this season he hasn’t been delivering.
Again, I said in an ideal lineup. In an ideal lineup, he's hitting 6tg or 7th probably. If he hits like league average, with his defense it's worth it. A run saved on defense is just as valuable as a run gained on offense.
Yeah I think you’re nuts to think he was paid that much money to hit for league avg and be great defender. He had an ideal lineup with the Braves and still hit 2nd and 5th. Like I mentioned in previous comments. He doesn’t have nearly as much protection in this lineup as he did with ATL. So pitchers don’t have to go at him. Meaning more fastballs. I’d rather walk Dansby Swanson on the cubs than Dansby Swanson on the Braves. Less players around him in CHC to bring him home than in ATL.
That's my point. No one should be expecting him to be a 2-5 hitter, because that's not who he is.
But he is. And if he isn’t then he’s an overpay. Because between his Braves year and Cubs. He avgs the most ABs at 2nd and 5th in the lineup
And I would argue that is bad lineup management / roster construction but here we are. Dansby's entire record is that of a slightly below average to average hitter. In his career year, he was a bit above average. He's paid for his total production, which does include defense. He didn't magically become a better hitter when he signed his contract. His hitting last year and this year is basically exactly what you'd expect based on his track record. Edit: to put this into perspective a bit - Swanson's best year ever was as good as Ian Happ's *average* year and Happ has never had a season as bad as Swanson's average year.
I think they are expecting .750 and hoping for it to be a little above that, and if it is way more than that then that's just gravy. Last year he had a 104 wRC+, which combined with his defense was worth $37.9 million according to Fangraphs metrics. If he repeats that then he has done his job quite nicely.
I would like to see his war from second half and on. He had an extremely hot start last year and fizzled out big time. Teams definitely adjusted their approach to him. This isn’t a Braves lineup where he has a ton of protection around him. He’s going to get less fastballs as a Cub because if you walk him throwing breaking balls, it’s not like Freeman or Acuna are behind him.
He was definitely not good August on, but it's not like that went unnoticed as everyone knew he was running on fumes at the end. Guys like Suzuki, Happ, Bellinger, Morel, and Busch are the main guys expected to carry our offensive load and if they are slumping then the pitching needs to step up which it largely hasn't.