Official Cubs 2021 Thread

[skramer100]

So not a good start to the year, but what you all think. Have a bad feeling if we are not in first gonna be a massive sell of at deadline. Think we may only keep Baez out of the entire core.

 

[imprimis]

When I was stationed in San Diego in 1969 the Cubs came to play. 4 of us went to the game in uniform because it was 50 cents to get in. Towards the end of the game we were motioned to come sit behind the Cubs dugout with the local Cubs fan club. After the game, we were invited to come to the team hotel and meet the players. We did. The players were in the lobby milling around and talking. One lady asked if we wanted to meet Ernie Banks. Of course. She took us over to the restaurant where he was having dinner. He came out and we were introduced. The 4 of us and Ernie Banks walked back to the hotel and sat in the lobby for about 30 minutes talking baseball. He was a great man.

 

[LVRebel]

I mentioned it in the openind day thread as well, but this one may last longer. I agree with you @skramer100 about this year. It's possible that we could perform well, if the core of our lineup performs at a high level. Last year, everyone was pretty bad. When Baez, Bryant, Rizzo and Schwarber get out performed by Jason Heyward and Ian Happ, you know it's not going to be a great season (like last season). If Heyward and Happ can perform similarly to last year, and Baez, Bryant, and Rizzo can perform as they have in years past, we could be a really strong offensive team. Throw in Joc Pederson and he should hopefully be a little upgrade over Schwarber.

No, the pitching....who knows. We hopefully know what we'll get out of Hendricks, but losing Lester and especially Darvish is pretty big. We added Arrieta and Davies, which will help, but it's hard to know what were going to get with them. Will we get the Arrieta from the WS season, or the 0.500 pitcher with a 4-5 ERA from his past 3 years?

And the bullpen? The perennial thorn in our side. There's been talk that Kimbrel has got some life back in his fastball, but his last 2 seasons have been brutal. Combined 0-5 record with about a 5.8 ERA and only 15 saves.

Lots of question marks. The offense didn't show up in game 1, but it's a long season. They may need to carry the team this year, so yeah, if they don't produce, I could also see them cleaning house at the deadline.

 

[absoluteUnit]

I mentioned it in the openind day thread as well, but this one may last longer. I agree with you @skramer100 about this year. It's possible that we could perform well, if the core of our lineup performs at a high level. Last year, everyone was pretty bad. When Baez, Bryant, Rizzo and Schwarber get out performed by Jason Heyward and Ian Happ, you know it's not going to be a great season (like last season). If Heyward and Happ can perform similarly to last year, and Baez, Bryant, and Rizzo can perform as they have in years past, we could be a really strong offensive team. Throw in Joc Pederson and he should hopefully be a little upgrade over Schwarber.

No, the pitching....who knows. We hopefully know what we'll get out of Hendricks, but losing Lester and especially Darvish is pretty big. We added Arrieta and Davies, which will help, but it's hard to know what were going to get with them. Will we get the Arrieta from the WS season, or the 0.500 pitcher with a 4-5 ERA from his past 3 years?

And the bullpen? The perennial thorn in our side. There's been talk that Kimbrel has got some life back in his fastball, but his last 2 seasons have been brutal. Combined 0-5 record with about a 5.8 ERA and only 15 saves.

Lots of question marks. The offense didn't show up in game 1, but it's a long season. They may need to carry the team this year, so yeah, if they don't produce, I could also see them cleaning house at the deadline.

I still don’t understand what happened to Khris Bryant. He seemed like a sure fire perineal all star. Was it an injury?

 

[LVRebel]

I still don’t understand what happened to Khris Bryant. He seemed like a sure fire perineal all star. Was it an injury?

Good question. I don't know either. He has had a few injuries, but nothing that seems like it would have a long term affect on his ability. I'm hoping that he can get it together though. Just about the whole Cubs offense struggled season, and it seemed contagious. Need Bryant to step it up for sure this season.