MLB 2017 Season

[buckchuckler]

I, for one, hope that the Cubs do not trade Schwarber for Sonny Gray.  Gray had a horrible 2016.  Other than that, he has been pretty dang good, including this year, and especially in his last 4 starts when he has been lights out.  I've seen some people (both on Scoop and elsewhere) talking like 2016 is the norm for Gray and this year's bounce back is him playing above his level.  The guy was 3rd in the AL Cy Young award voting in 2015 and in 2014 and 2015 (first 2 years as a full time MLB starter) he threw 219 and 208 innings, respectively, and had a 3.08 and 2.73 ERA, respectively.  I think Gray is a really solid starter, and I think Schwarber is a horrendous defensive player that can do one of two things offensively: swing and miss or swing and hit the ball really far on occasion.

In fact, despite saying I hope the Brewers "sell," with 2 more years of cheap control I'd actually love to have the Brewers go after him with some of their prospects that have young talent in front of them at the MLB level.

Basically said the same thing earlier.  Maybe not quite as elegantly, but Gray would help the Cubs.  So, I hope they don't get him as well.  I didn't write him off after one bad season at age 26. 

[wadesworld]

So, I clearly offended you with my response to this statement.  You know why I gave you a snarky response?  Because I never said, or even implied any of those things.  I pointed out that power is meaningless if you can't make enough contact.  That is all.  Never said Schwarber was done.  Certainly didn't say that I "know for sure" he was done.  That was you making assumptions about things I never said. 

Also never said they couldn't find another pitcher of Gray's quality.  Not sure where you got that at all. 

When I brushed off your response, you told me I was too stupid to insult.  Nice.  Why should I respect you again?

I went with Sammy, you told me I couldn't have a baseball conversation, after blatantly insulting me with 2 consecutive posts (at least the ones from our conversation), oh yeah, then you insulted me again. 

I don't have an inferiority complex at all.  More than comfortable in my Sox fan skin.  What I have a problem with is the cub fan superiority complex, which you have demonstrated to perfection. 

I have no problem with the Cubs, they actually seem like a decent bunch of guys, especially Rizzo, but others as well.  It is the cub fans, many like you, that make me really despise the team and hope they lose.

Yeah. Cubs fans claiming other fan bases have an inferiority complex is pretty comical.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

So, I clearly offended you with my response to this statement.  You know why I gave you a snarky response?  Because I never said, or even implied any of those things.  I pointed out that power is meaningless if you can't make enough contact.  That is all.  Never said Schwarber was done.  Certainly didn't say that I "know for sure" he was done.  That was you making assumptions about things I never said. 

Also never said they couldn't find another pitcher of Gray's quality.  Not sure where you got that at all. 

When I brushed off your response, you told me I was too stupid to insult.  Nice.  Why should I respect you again?

I went with Sammy, you told me I couldn't have a baseball conversation, after blatantly insulting me with 2 consecutive posts (at least the ones from our conversation), oh yeah, then you insulted me again. 

I don't have an inferiority complex at all.  More than comfortable in my Sox fan skin.  What I have a problem with is the cub fan superiority complex, which you have demonstrated to perfection. 

I have no problem with the Cubs, they actually seem like a decent bunch of guys, especially Rizzo, but others as well.  It is the cub fans, many like you, that make me really despise the team and hope they lose.

Nothing offended me - annoyed is a better description.  I'd suggest you go back and look at the order of the posts as your memory isn't serving you well.  You went the snarky route before I ever insulted you - I was still having a conversation.  Specifically this: 

But as I hope the cubs lose, I hope they don't acquire Gray.  I hope they keep SchwAAArber, keep scuffling at a .500-ish pace, I hope they keep looking up at the Brewers, and I hope they don't have anyone else to add to their rotation next season.

You're perception of a "Cubs superiority complex" is also way off base. 

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Yeah. Cubs fans claiming other fan bases have an inferiority complex is pretty comical.

Except I didn't claim the entire fan base had an inferiority complex.  A portion of the fan base certainly does. 

[buckchuckler]

Nothing offended me - annoyed is a better description.  I'd suggest you go back and look at the order of the posts as your memory isn't serving you well.  You went the snarky route before I ever insulted you - I was still having a conversation.  Specifically this: 

But as I hope the cubs lose, I hope they don't acquire Gray.  I hope they keep SchwAAArber, keep scuffling at a .500-ish pace, I hope they keep looking up at the Brewers, and I hope they don't have anyone else to add to their rotation next season.

You're perception of a "Cubs superiority complex" is also way off base.

Hahah, ok.  Sox inferiority complex is real, but superiority complex is in my mind.  Ok.  Sorry, I am so inferior to you I must have been blinded by your halo like glow.  And, I hope you know.  I am so sorry SchwAAArber has gotten under your skin so much.  I was just poking a little fun, thought you could handle it.  Sorry I misread you.  I remember you giving me a lot of crap last year when the Sox fell apart, not sure I instantly fell into petty insults, but who knows.  Maybe I did. 

[MU82]

As an objective observer who lived in Chicago for 16 years and closely watched both teams (while rooting for neither), I'll throw in my 2 cents ...

In general, I'd say many Sox fans do have an inferiority complex. All or even most? I don't know about that. I do think most of 'em resent that the Cubs get the lion's share of attention even when the Sox are decent and the Cubs stink. But that's life; the Cubs simply have more fans. And nationally, anything relating to the Cubs almost always gets more pub than anything relating to the Sox.

Meanwhile, I also think bandwagon-jumping Cubbie fans have a superiority complex and over the years they have tended to overstate how good their team is. Now, lifelong Cubbie fans who have supported the team through thin and thinner, they have almost a blissful ignorance: "Even when we're 62-100, life is wonderful in Cubbieland! Wait till next year!!"

Again, all of those observations are generalizations, and I usually try to steer clear of those. As one of my professors used to say: "All people who make generalizations are stupid."

[DegenerateDish]

Todd Frazier last minute healthy scratch from lineup...

[tower912]

Yankees want him.  Bidding war against Boston.

Tigers send JD Martinez to Arizona for 3 minor league middle infielders.

[DegenerateDish]

Yankees '16 first round pick Blake Rutherford going to Sox, top 30-50 prospect.

[buckchuckler]

Yankees '16 first round pick Blake Rutherford going to Sox, top 30-50 prospect.

Seems like another great move by Hahn.  Kahnle and DRob invilved too.  This pretty much empties the cupboard besides Melky and Swarczak.  But boy, he has nailed this rebuild so far.  Nice to get the Yanks and BoSox in a bidding war. 

[Pakuni]

Yankees '16 first round pick Blake Rutherford going to Sox, top 30-50 prospect.

Baseball America has him #36. MLB has him #30. Keith Law has him #16.

That's a great return for a pair of guys the Sox were eager to be rid of, unlike Quintana who they could have kept until winter and still received great value.
Between Rutherford, Jiminez and Robert, they now have some monster OF prospects. 2020 can't come soon enough on the South Side.

[Lennys Tap]

Baseball America has him #36. MLB has him #30. Keith Law has him #16.

That's a great return for a pair of guys the Sox were eager to be rid of, unlike Quintana who they could have kept until winter and still received great value.
Between Rutherford, Jiminez and Robert, they now have some monster OF prospects. 2020 can't come soon enough on the South Side.

I was hoping for one more borderline top 100 prospect and a few lottery tickets after Q was traded. This far surpasses my expectations. Now that we've pretty much emptied the cupboard let's lose 50 of our remaining games and get a top 3 draft choice!

[buckchuckler]

Baseball America has him #36. MLB has him #30. Keith Law has him #16.

That's a great return for a pair of guys the Sox were eager to be rid of, unlike Quintana who they could have kept until winter and still received great value.
Between Rutherford, Jiminez and Robert, they now have some monster OF prospects. 2020 can't come soon enough on the South Side.

Miker Adolfo has re-emerged as a legit prospect this year after a couple years hounded by injuries.  Last year at this time Zach Collins was the Sox #1 prospect, now he isn't even top 10.  Sucks trading guys like Sale, Q, and Eaton, but boy has Rick gotten return. 

[DegenerateDish]

Selling high on Kahnle is smart, he's having a spectacular year, but he's had trouble before, and won't be around by the time the Sox are good again.

[buckchuckler]

Selling high on Kahnle is smart, he's having a spectacular year, but he's had trouble before, and won't be around by the time the Sox are good again.

He has been astoundingly good this year, but I agree.  Cash in relievers while you can.  Maybe he becomes Andrew Miller 2.0, but even if he does, he doesn't help the Sox.  Not worth the risk of him becoming Nate Jones. 

I can't believe Hahn got a prospect like Rutherford for a guy not named Sale or Quintana --- if the deal goes through of course. 

[buckchuckler]

Deal is confirmed.  Also, Moncada is being called up. 

[MUBurrow]

Good gravy - I hope Stearns takes a note out of the Hahn playbook and accumulates a bunch of compromising pictures of everyone at the winter meetings next year.

[DegenerateDish]

That Bryant slide did not look promising. Looked like he broke two fingers.

[🏀]

That Bryant slide did not look promising. Looked like he broke two fingers.

Sprained pinky, day to day.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Hahah, ok.  Sox inferiority complex is real, but superiority complex is in my mind.  Ok.  Sorry, I am so inferior to you I must have been blinded by your halo like glow.  And, I hope you know.  I am so sorry SchwAAArber has gotten under your skin so much.  I was just poking a little fun, thought you could handle it.  Sorry I misread you.  I remember you giving me a lot of crap last year when the Sox fell apart, not sure I instantly fell into petty insults, but who knows.  Maybe I did.

We've had our disagreements before but I honestly don't recall giving you much crap about the White Sox.  And if I did, it wasn't intended to be serious.  In fact, I've been pretty open that I thought that they needed to rebuild and that I liked Rick Hahn.  If I took your ribbing of Schwarber the wrong way then that's my fault.  It just didn't seem particularly good-natured to me.   

Some Cubs fans absolutely do have a superiority complex.  Some Sox fans absolutely have an inferiority complex. 

I think I've always been a pretty realistic Cubs fan.  If my confidence in the team and organization comes off as a superiority complex to you, so be it.   

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Sprained pinky, day to day.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Does the benefit of calling Moncada up now and getting experience outweigh losing some service time considering the Sox probably won't be competitive for a few more years?  He's doing well in AAA but not completely dominating.

I know he was up for a few weeks or so last year so they'd have to keep him down the rest of this year and maybe into May of next year to gain that extra year of control. 

[#UnleashSean]

Have the Cubs awakened?

[Pakuni]

Does the benefit of calling Moncada up now and getting experience outweigh losing some service time considering the Sox probably won't be competitive for a few more years?  He's doing well in AAA but not completely dominating.

I know he was up for a few weeks or so last year so they'd have to keep him down the rest of this year and maybe into May of next year to gain that extra year of control.

At this point, the Sox have him under control through 2023 and they've likely cleared the dreaded "Super Two" deadline. If my calculations are correct (always a risky proposition, I know), they'd have to keep him down for most of 2018 - assuming a September call up - to gain another year of service time on the back end AND avoid Super Two I don't see how that does the player or the team much good.
No, he's not completely dominating AAA now, but he's shown enough there to indicate he isn't going to progress much more playing against that level of competition. Better off letting come up now and go through the likely rough patches than keep him at AAA for most of another season.

[drewm88]

Have the Cubs awakened?

Probably won't lose another game until next year's championship hangover.