As things currently stand, slugging outfielder Tyler O’Neill is expected to make the Cardinals’ Opening Day roster, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. The Cards “have reserved a spot for him as a spare outfielder, for now,” Goold writes, noting that poor health in the shoulder of Marcell Ozuna and/or continued struggles for Dexter Fowler could eventually thrust him into a larger role. And with Ozuna set to hit free agency at season’s end, a more natural path to everyday at-bats for the 23-year-old O’Neill isn’t hard to see. As Goold highlights in chatting with hitting coach Jeff Albert, O’Neill has worked diligently to improve his contact skills as he seeks a more well-rounded offensive profile. O’Neill slugged 35 homers between Triple-A and the Majors last season but punched out in a quarter of his plate appearances in Triple-A and more than 40 percent of his 142 PAs in the Majors.
More from the division…
- Brewers president of baseball ops David Stearns chatted with MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand and discussed his club’s patient approach in free agency, as well as the decision not to bring in any rotation help from the free-agent market. “I’d say we explored various opportunities on the starting pitching market, but in the backdrop of all of that was the depth and comfort level that we have with our young starters,” said Stearns. “We rode a lot of these guys deep into the playoffs last year, whether it’s Brandon Woodruff, Freddy Peralta or Corbin Burnes. They were in slightly different roles; we’re going to be asking more of them throughout the course of the year this year, but we think they have the potential to do it.” Asked if the team would have the financial wherewithal to make in-season additions after signing Yasmani Grandal and Mike Moustakas, Stearns voiced confidence that owner Mark Attanasio is “willing to support this team and stretch the limits,” pointing to the very additions of Grandal and Moustakas as evidence of that mentality.
- Although the Cubs didn’t make any kind of significant splash in free agency, they’re also not viewing the current roster as a finished product, writes Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. Part of the team’s lack of spending stems from a desire to make sure there are ample resources in place this summer to address in-season needs via the trade market. “We don’t know what it’s going to be, but certainly there’s going to be a major focus to make sure we’re in position to improve the team in the middle of the season,” said general manager Jed Hoyer of potential summer activity.
- Perhaps the biggest additions the Cubs could see in 2019 would be healthy versions of Kris Bryant and Yu Darvish. Bryant said today in an appearance on 670 The Score that his shoulder feels “completely healed,” stressing that he’s not feeling any lingering effects of the injury that slowed him in 2018 (Twitter link). Darvish, meanwhile, spoke with confidence following his most recent spring outing, with particular excitement over the fact that his fastball reached 97 mph in that game (link via Wittenmyer). Obviously, only time will tell whether either former All-Star can rebound to something resembling peak form, but the fact that neither appears hampered by lingering effects of last season’s health struggles is nonetheless a positive sign for Cubs fans early on in camp.
KB will be back to 2016 form and lead the Cubs back to the World Series this year while proving once again he is one of the top 10 players in all of baseball. Darvish fully healthy and effective can be the ace the Cubs need. This team still has the most talent top to bottom in the NL.
lol
Cubs aren’t making it to the WS. It’s funny when all of the Cubs fans think their players will “return to form” from 2017 when the majority only had one good year, 2017. Maybe your roster is more good than great?
Exactly. Other than Baez, every player on the Cubs roster who was there in 2016, had their career year in 2016. Now Cubs fans think that’s going to happen every year.
Lol @ronnsnow every cubs player had their career year in 2016? Name them please. Bryant for sure and Hendricks. Rizzo had a typical year that year, Zobrist had better days in the past, Schwarber missed almost the whole year, willson had a better 2017, don’t even need to mention heyward. Need I go on?
Don’t feed the trolls! Those comments do not warrant response.
I think it’s more a case of being misinformed. It’s important to refute people that spout BS, others may take it as fact if it’s left unopposed
There is no room for facts in the mlbtr comment section
and yet they keep on winning … down years by most of the players in 2017 plus no closer, Yu or Bryant. don’t be a hater
The closers role and Yu was 100% on the Cubs. they had wade davis who saved over 40 last year but let him walk for Morrow. Cubs has to assume both Morrow and Yu were going to get hurt before the season even started.
Says someone who believes the abuse on Haders arm won’t rear its head in 2019 and beyond….
I saw plenty of relievers get worked harder than hader last season. I can see why you’d hope for that because he’s almost untouchable. Probably the biggest relief weapon in the game of baseball right now.
Better to use him the way we are then try and do what Texas did with Felix and try and move him to the rotation. If it isnt broke dont fix it.
Says the fan of a team that consistently throws good money after bad to be a perennial bridesmaid.
did you just call the Yankees “perennial bridesmaids”… lmao. ok. the winningest professional sports franchise in history is a “perennial bridesmaid”? wow. im not a yankee fan at all, but that’s just a ridiculous accusation.
The Cubs have won as many World Series in the last 17 years as the Yankees have. He’s kind of right lately…
doesn’t “perennial” kind of mean the opposite of “lately”?
The Cubs definitely could make it to the World Series. I wouldn’t put money on it but you saying the Cubs aren’t is as silly as the OP saying that they are. They do have a lot of talent, they do have a lot of question marks, and in baseball you really don’t know how things are going to swing. They do have a team full of high upside guys
johnrealtime, thank you for the well reasoned and thoughtful comment. Trolls abound on both sides and you just shot them down.
I’d second that John. Anyone who thinks it’s a sure thing or that they have no chance is probably bias. The Brewers are about the same and the Cardinals are improved. I can’t completely count out any of those three winning the division
And still won 95 games. You are not very bright, huh?
They got bounced in a wild card game at home, and looked terrible the last few weeks of the season. They are not a 95 win team this year.
And still lost the division to a team that was 4.5 games behind when Sept started.. Never mind that Cubs have gone less further every year since 2016.
Regular win season total only means you get into the dance, nothing more.. 2018 season record doesnt carry over, you think Reds arent gonna compete in 2019? While they might not have a ton of pitching, they are gonna wear our some pitching staffs.. We all know how tired the Cubs get when they gotta grind out a season and make excuses.
“Career year” is rather a meaningless phrase for players whose careers are still in progress. Is it reasonable to expect the offense to me more productive and consistent this year than it was last? Maybe. Obviously Bryant is a key figure in all that, but so are guys like Contreras, who was awful in the second half last year, Happ and Schwarber. On the other hand, they need repeats from Baez and Zobrist and Rizzo.
Darvish has had one season in which he pitched like an ace and it was when he was 26. He’s not going to be more than a #3 starter. And I’m saying this as a Cubs fan.
Based on FIP, Darvish pitched like an ace in:
2012
2013
2014
2016
In 2017, he pitched like a borderline #2.
Darvish had and still has elite stuff, but definitely has to be considered injury prone at this point. If he’s healthy, he’ll be an ace this year.
An ace? Come on now. He’s had 1 ace level season since 2012. What now that he’s in he’s almost 33 he’s going to find lightning in a bottle and pitch like an Ace? He couldn’t even stay healthy from ages 27-30. What makes you think he can now that he’s almost 33.
Yes. An ace. As in the clear rotation leader on almost any team in baseball. If you don’t like Darvish, fine, but you don’t have a statistical leg to stand on and you know it.
From 2012-2014, even though he lost 50 innings to TJ only 8 pitchers in baseball produced more value than Darvish and most of them had more innings because they didn’t need TJ. Darvish outperformed guys like Greinke, Strasburg, Lester, Bumgarer, and prime Quintana despite the lost innings, That’s what you call an “ace”
Even after taking 1.5 years off due to TJ, 2012-2017 only 17 pitchers produced more WAR, ahead of guys like Archer and deGrom and he averaged more WAR per inning than guys like DeGrom. Again, that’s what you call an “ace.”
Well your math is a little off because Degrom would be ahead of him in WAR per inning in your arbitrary 2012-2017 model. Darvish was no doubt a top pitcher from 2012-2017. But you know who is #13 on that list? Felix Hernandez. #14, #15 and #16 are Adam wainwright, Gio Gonzalez, and Jonny cueto.
Just because a guy was an ace doesn’t mean he’s going to be an ace moving forward. Darvish has long standing health concerns and is older and coming off T.J. You have no freaking clue if this guy is going to return to form and at age 33 what the form even is. The likelihood of him being a #3 is probably better than him being an ace. He’ll need to iron out his control because the latest iteration we’ve seen of Darvish has struggled with that and the long ball. It’s 2019 now and those old stats don’t mean much to me.
LMAO. needed a good laugh today and you provided that. thanks dude
They look the 3rd best team in the NL Central to me
Rofl
That’s funny
This is hilarious.
Hahaha
Based on what? Your individual hope? Bryant can’t hit an outside breaking ball and Yu has always been middle of the road at best.
Cardinals the team to watch in NLC.
I still see the Cubs and Brewers as stronger teams, but you’re right; the Cardinals should be a team to watch as well.
The NL as a whole is so well balanced. From top to bottom, there’s only 2 or 3 teams that would surprise me if they competed for playoff spot.
this is what really confuses me about the whole narrative that teams are not as competitive. there will always be teams tanking, but its much less then people make it out to be.
The goal is to eliminate ‘perennial’ tankers. Perennial winners are considered ‘dynasties’, but perennial tankers are just sad.
At some point, the answer is not to continually subsidize the small-
market franchises but to swap them out for more profitable situations.
That’s Baseball in the land of supply & demand.
How about a whole new layer or league of competition called AAAA.?
Teams can potentially play their way into the Biggs by being perennial winners in AAAA, while teams in the Biggs can play their way down to AAAA by being perennial losers. Each offseason the two tiers of MLB realign themselves according to their successes and failures.
The best way for that to happen is like something that soccer leagues do. Relegation/promotion system. There would be chances for cities like Nashville, Portland, San Antonio, and others to gain teams, while other cities could lose them. There might be more fan investment for that…just my thoughts.
The only problem with that is if you recall about a decade ago the Cubs had one of the worst records and would have been relegated. How do you think they were able to draft KB. Then you look at the Mets and they would have been relagated recently also. That’s two teams in major markets. Not to mention Houston for a few years. Sorry but that just wouldn’t work.
The owners would never agree to a relegation scenario.
lol
Without starting O’Neal over Fowler and totally releasing or trading off Cecil, the Cardinals are 3rd in the Division again in 2019. Why does Mozeliak insist these over the hill guys start much less play in a game.
Wow. The season hasn’t started and it is over for the Cards if Fowler and Cecil are there? Your detention of over the hill is a little flawed. Cecil is 32. He has recently been taken out of game plan to work on mechanics. He has lost 30lbs to get into better shape. Fowler is 32 as well.. If he produces career avg numbers he is certainly an asset. To be quite honest, he can’t be worse than last year. If he isn’t procuring early, he will be out of lineup with Tyler and Jose ready to play. So relax Francis.
Yeah he really needs to step up the “procurement” this year. Otherwise he’ll be sold for pennies on the dollar.
A healthy Darvish and Bryant is akin to a large free agent splash in reality. Darvish looked great over the weekend and Bryant looks to be swinging normally again. I’m not often in agreeance with the suits, but I am with the Cubs winter approach.
could have gotten a closer though
They could have gotten a closer. I really liked Strop in that role last year and not having a set closer gives us back end flexibility. Norris was the only money smart play in that role this off-season, but I am not often for paying a 34 y.o..
Darvish walked 4 in an inning and a third.
yes, in his first start in almost a year…. not concerned with that 1 and a third.. but nice try.
From an optimistic standpoint, the MPH on his fastball is encouraging, from a realistic standpoint that outing was far from good.
Weren’t the Cubs suppose to sign Harper? Only for Ricektts to say the team is out of money.. Now Cubs TV network is with Sinclair broadcasting LMAO.. Get ready for broadcasts full of Christianity talk and Donald Trump mentions..
Fact is when Cubs dynasty, arent a dynasty at all. When they play healthy teams in postseason they lose.
Rizzo, Bryant will be fine. Baez is talented, but what is he in the end? There is nothing coming to big leagues soon. Esp pitching. So any real upgrades will have to be no names that out perform expectations.
Where Brewers have a farm system they can tap for help, via trade or call up. Cardinals and Reds as well. Cubs will compete for Central, but beyond that its all up to health and luck.
And when they don’t face teams that have an ace that is an absolute choke artist in the playoffs. Yes, I’m talking about Kershaw, although he is not the only ace that is a choke artist in the playoffs, because that’s also true about Severino, my favorite player.
I get so tired about a healthy so and so. All teams have to stay healthy. It’s always been part of the game. And I get so tired about hearing the cubs being a 95 win team. They cleaned up mostly on tanking teams like the reds and marlins and injury riddled teams like the Mets. They had a losing record against teams like the Cardinals.
And somehow the Cardinals had a worse record than the Cubs also playing the Marlins, Reds, and Mets. I’m just stumped as to how that can happen.
Easy. Milwaukee made them look awful.
For once, I’ll agree with themed regarding his last sentence. Luke Farrell blew consecutive games against the Cards on walk-offs. If the Cubs win one of those games, they win the division.
The Cubs lost two series against Milwaukee in September. Win one of those four games they lost and they win the division.
That being said, they did not choke. The Cubs played consistent winning baseball the entire year. They just ran out of gas at the end just as 28 other teams do at some point during the season or postseason.
Milwaukee will finish 4th in the division.
We know, dude. We see you post this in every MLBTR thread mentioning the Brewers. You clearly are hitting the “refresh” button very frequently to be able to do so in such an expedient manner. Ah, what an exciting life you must live.
wow you feel better
Dray16 is the man.
If Ozuna’s shoulder turns out to be a chronic problem that follows him through the rest of his career, his best hope will be as a DH. Even then it might be iffy.
Fowler hasn’t shown any return to prior form, thus far in ST.
If O’Neill can’t cut his Ks down to an acceptable number, he’ll be playing overseas in the future.
The O’Neill trade seems like it was a win-win for both sides.
Agreed as it will be hard to cut down on ones strike outs not playing everyday
Seems that way. If for no other reason than the cardinals rotation is full. Gonzales would’ve been competing with or bumped Reyes, Gant, Gomber, Ponce etc. They did have quite the logjam of OF’s at the time of the deal but they’ve since cleared out piscotty, Pham, and Grichuk. As long as O’Neill is a reasonably productive player I’m sure they’ll be alright with it. The M’s are happy regardless.
Except the Cubs don’t have many prospects to trade. Teams like the Braves, Dodgers, Brewers or possibility Padres if they are in a race can offer more to teams and that’s just the NL.
I still see the Brewers making a big splash at the deadline for a stud pitcher for the stretch run. I really like the moves Stearns has made to bolster the bullpen and lineup. The starting lineup is very balanced left/right now. Gonna be a great year in the central
The Central is dramatically improved. The Cardinals are always a threat but may still be a second place team at best in this division. The Pirates and Reds improved this year but not quite up to challenging. It boils down to the Cubs and Brewers. The Cubs have potential across the diamond and it boils down to pitching and clutch hitting which let them down last year. The Brewers have improved but they never addressed starting pitching and many of their players had career years like many of you have said about Cubs players in 2016. The bigger question is who will run out of gas once they get to the playoffs after the struggle to win the division.
It would be very dangerous to count out the Cardinals before the season even starts, they are by far the more improved team relative to Chicago and Milwaukee. They have just as much of a chance to win this division as either team and you can bet neither Chicago or Milwaukee are blowing them off as easily as you.
Exactly. Well said.
Dont count out the fact STL, has multiple prospects it can lean on. Meaning they can improve just by calling up guys or installing them as starters if need be.
I’d love to see them make a run at Kimbrel just to create a lock down pen, that would allow them to take it slow with CMart. Prep him and Reyes for starting. That would maximize depth of pitching, create other opportunity’s in trade market too.
Cubs dont have this ability, Brewers do, Reds do, IDK about Bucs farm system to judge it.
Agree totally Teufelshunde4, a Kimbrel signing would create a bullpen that could rival any teams, and with the plethora of starters, any addition should be focused on the pen. I doubt if they make the long term deal Kimbrel wants, but if he accepts a 3 year deal, I think they should be all in.
It also boils down to the manager. Last year Maddon pulled out many starters way to early and wore out his pen.
Many, please name them. The only two that had career years were yelich an Jesus. Cain was Cain but every other position player had down years from 2017 to the point were some of them were benched and or sent down to the minors. Even the pitchers had their problems except for Chacin, Hader, and Jefferies. Plus they played an entire year without Nelson who was supposed to be their Ace. Counsel deserved more credit then he received to keep that ship together.
I doubt Cain matches his 2018.
I agree with this but I don’t believe
the drop off of his OPS will be that significant (from .813 down to .790ish).
I do expect bounce back seasons from both Shaw and to a lesser extent Braun and the offensive upgrades at catcher and 2B should help offset any drop offs from Yelich and Jesus.
Why? He has been consistent for 3 string years. They only thing he might not achieve in 2019 is another .390 obp.
The Cubs single biggest question mark this offseason and heading into opening day is their closer situation. Brandon Morrow will not be ready in time to open the season and his health will remain a concern all year if and when he does return. Craig Kimbrel is still out there and is apparently going to have to settle for a deal considerably less than his original expectations as a free agent.
If the Cubs do make one impacting deal in the coming days and weeks it should be for Kimbrel who would answer that nagging question. If Morrow does return just fine he would still be an asset in a set up role where he has had his most reliable success anyway.
Cubs ownership should bite the bullet on Kimbrel before he winds up signing with another NL competitor like the Braves, Phillies, Nationals or perhaps even the rival Cardinals.
There’s a very solid reason the Red Sox aren’t chasing to bring him back. I don’t know what that reason is, but they have one.
That solid reason is the max competitive balance tax penalty that the Red Sox would incur due to their spending the past few seasons. That is also a concern facing the Nationals. The Cubs aren’t anywhere near those two teams in regards to luxury tax penalties despite the fact that signing Kimbrel would put them over the line in 2019.
Another consequence of the Cubs signing Kimbrel includes the loss of their second round 2019 June Draft pick and forfeiting $500k of international bonus dollars by inking a free agent who was extended a qualifying offer. Those same concerns would also impact the Phillies and Cardinals. As a receiver of revenue sharing funds the Braves would forfeit their third highest 2019 Draft pick. One of those teams are most likely to sign Kimbrel if the Cubs don’t.
You’ve given enough reasons for the Cubs not to….and as history tells, Theo and Jed have NO interest in signing closers to long term, stupidly lucrative deals. They can do that with other positions. Bullpens are highly volatile (Giants won three Series in five season with three different closers; Astros won one without a closer–in the playoffs). I’m sure if Kimbrel fell into the one year, $10M range he’d be under consideration.
Kimbrel won’t sniff the record long term and lucrative closing contract he was hoping to receive at the onset of free agency. He likely won’t even come close to the deal Wade Davis struck with the Rockies after the Cubs passed on him following his one great season on the North Side.
What I’m suggesting is that the Cubs should be all over Kimbrel, matching or even slightly exceeding whatever offers he finally does receive from any of those other contenders. Maybe you and other fans are satisfied that the Cubs go into yet another regular season (aside from 2016 with Davis) hoping a candidate emerges who can be elite and stay healthy for the duration. I prefer that they not rely on any of their current options and instead take their chances with a still 30-year old Kimbrell who has a track record of historic closing numbers and just might come at an unexpected discount.
Frankly, I’m also sick of the Cubs having to make summer deadline deals for pitching that has cost them their last three elite prospects and will surely mean dispensing of a fine young MLB talent this July with such a weak current farm system. I’d rather they spend the necessary and likely discounted cash now in free agency for Kimbrel, punt the #2 pick and $500k of international funds and secure their closer for at least the next few seasons before the window of winning another World Series really starts to close.
Correction: (aside from 2017 with Davis)
I think it was that 5.41 Postseason ERA last year. Even the best closer is still not a complete pitcher. If they’re exposed, they crack.
There is a zero percent chance the Cubs sign Kimbrel
Brett Cecil
Brett Cecil
Cec Bretil
deep
Beanie & Cecil
Beanie Siegal
Crett Becil
Oniell should be starting . Not getting traded, not platooning. He has way to much potential to use him every third day . Fowler is awful – Fowler should be our 4th outfielder . It’s a joke to think Fowler is anything better than that.
I am excited to see what effect Jeff Albert will have on O’Neill after the excellent work he did with the Astros young hitters. He’s got a lot of potential to be the Cards breakout player of the year this year if he can work his way into regular at bats, which shouldn’t be too hard if Fowler continues to be a below-average player this year
For a slugger, O’Neill has surprising speed, a good throwing arm, and is an excellent defender. Fowler is on a short leash. The Cards will give him every chance to prove 2018 was an aberration, but if by the middle of May he is still struggling, O’Neill should get a chance. The issue in RF is that they also have Martinez, who is an offensive threat.
Any chance the Brewers go in on Kimbrel? Each day that he goes unsigned, his price will drop. Stearns and the Brewers do stretch the budget if they can drastically improve their team. I could see them offering him a deal. Adding Kimbrel to an already dominant bullpen would be huge
It wouldn’t surprise me. You have the advantage of probably the best GM in the game….he’s very creative.
But that division is a hat toss; any of 4 teams can win, and even the Pirates can do damage. Will be fun to watch.
Highly unlikely they will but you never know. Stearns always seems to make some big move.
I think Grandal and Moustakas are our big moves. I would love to see another arm brought in though. Can never have too many.
Fowler is popping up weakly to left field and making boneheaded plays on the basepaths. I know it’s early, but man, if you’re competing for a job, you have to show up early. They won’t wait around for him for long.
He’s too busy thinking the cards passed him up last year, doesn’t think he needs to earn anything this year, and didn’t put in the work in the off-season
I feel like unless O’Neill is starting 5+ times per week to start the season, that he shouldn’t start the year in St. Louis.
they aren’t far from gaining another year of control over him, he still struck out 40% of the time last year, and got away with a really high BABIP in his short sample. They want to see what Fowler and Ozuna can do everyday, so I would assume they need to let them play everyday until there is an injury or they show they can’t cut it.
Then call O’Neill up to take the everyday roles, and let O’Neill focus on bat to ball ability in Memphis while gaining the extra year.
O’Neill will be an everyday guy this year I believe though. I just don’t want to see him sitting on the bench and accruing service time, and not playing everyday.
I partly agree. Oniell needs at bats so they can see what he is and im rooting for the guy however i think he stinks. Pretty good defensively but a terrible offesive player. It doesnt matter what his ops is if he strikes out 200x a year which is exactly what hes gonna do with 500 pa. Hes a mistake hitter at best and an easy out not what we want in the lineup if we’re tryin to compete for the world series thats why grichuk is gone..same thing except oniell is worse. Strikes out more. I hope new hitting coach helps but dont hold ur breath. Not sure why people want to put him in the lineup so badly except that fowler stinks even worse. Ozuna is a big key to the season. A very good ozuna means we compete for the pennant a so so ozuna means we need an outfielder! I like bader for his speed hustle and defensive ability and im ok with him in center but he needs to raise his obp to be an effective offensive player otherwise i feel like our outfield is NOT productive enough.
I agree that O’Neill should start the year in AAA. Especially since they resigned Martinez. Too much redundancy. But fan4life you are a little harsh on O’Neill. The guy played great in RF for the Cards last year and has speed, and a good arm. Plus his OBP in the Minors is actually pretty good. But Fowler will get a chance, probably through the middle of May, and if he struggles, then O’Neill should get the call-up, although Lane Thomas’ progress shouldn’t be ignored. And yes, the Cards’ outfield would be underperforming if Ozuna repeats his 2018 season and Fowler fails. If Ozuna struggles, the Cards may well deal him before the trade deadline, and hopefully it would be for a left-handed outfielder with thump. Time will tell, but the Cards shouldn’t wait long.
You’re right i am too harsh on him probably cuz i believed in grichuk and was dissapointed however i really do want him to be a good player and big factor for the Cardinals cuz im a fan and want them to win! Same with fowler
Agreed.
I’d love a Joc Pederson for Marcel Ozuna swap somehow. Gives us another year of Joc over Ozuna, clears the way for Verdugo to play next year for the Dodgers and lowers their tax bill a bit. This assumes Ozuna is a better producer than Joc though.
While that probably doesn’t happen. Our 2020 outfield could probably be
LF – Martinez/Fowler
CF – Bader
RF – O’Neill
Bench
Thomas/Arozena
This assumes Fowler isn’t bought out or moved somehow.
Take a look at his minors numbers after he got sent down to work on his plate discipline last year. His average jumped up over 300 and he was still hitting homeruns. That shows that ONeill has the ability to make adjustments, and that is HUGE to cutting down on K’s. It’s way too early to write him off as a k machine after the progress he made last year, I think he’s the Cardinals breakout player of the year this year easy as soon as they transition Folwler to a 4th outfielder
Injuries are the team that will determine the NL central !
The Cubs are in trouble. Everyone knows it except cubs fans (highly delusional, uninformed).
I’m pretty sure that even the Cubs fans know it—you and themed and a few others tell them all the time. I think they have caught on by now.
It’s great how the sheep follow the narrative about the Cubs being bad while they are clearly the top of the class in the NL central.. Brewers lost the pitching they had The Cards don’t have enough pitching Wainwright’s done Martinez is bull pen bound The Reds upgraded from what they had last season but could probably best hope for 3rd in the Central the Pirates lmao are the pirates ( can you name starting their infield ) bottom line Cubs are the best top to bottom
Yeah, their infield is terrible. It may not be the worst defensively, because that honor belongs to my Yankees, but at least they have a very good offensive one, just like your team.
The Cards dont have enough pitching? All they have is depth. If the Cubs lose even two starters this year, who fills those spots? They have NO starting pitching depth and that’s going to bite them hard this year, their farm system is barren in major league ready pitching, and they don’t have much in terms of pieces they can move at the deadline to shore up weak spots.
I would be very concerned if I was a Cubs fan.
I don’t disagree that the Cubs are a stacked team, but I’m confused as to what the Brewers lost as far as pitching? Gio had a good run, but only started slightly more than a half dozen games, and Miley had a career year. If anything I think the young guys the Brewers are playing with will be more formidable….plus we don’t know what Nelson will bring. At best he’s an ace….. I’m hoping for 2nd or 3rd starter
Well, Darvish sucked even before he got hurt last year. A rebound for him may be harder than simply getting healthy.