greg ny [via mobile]
"What if" Rizzo doesn't pan out. Can he play third and Vogelbach play first?
Jesse Rogers
(1:14 PM)
If he doesnt pan out why would they put him at 3rd? And the answer is no
Here's the post that started the fun (and, for the record, the chat was about an hour total, with Jesse Rogers fielding Cubs questions for about 30 minutes and Doug Padilla enduring Sox questions for another 30):
I'm thinking I could save some time on the sure-fire questions: Not trading for Stanton or Price, Baez still needs work in the minors but Theo and Jed could still be flexible with the 500AB theory, Soler will be fine and just needs time to adjust to the US and needs more time and ABs in minors, still issues to work out with the renovation agreement but the old scoreboard will stay. Sveum's job is safe, they won't start spending on big-time FAs until the young core has had more time to mature, expect maybe 70 wins. less
4 fans like this.
How do you feel about the rebuild so far? Discouraged by the early results of this season?
Not at all discouraged. I knew from the start of Theo's time that it'd be 3 years or more. I'm an IU basketball fan and saw what it took to completely rebuild a team, so I see similar things in the Cubs. I like the patience they are exercising after years of overpaying for vets who ended up tanking in Chicago. I post comments on these chats all the time, most of which are sarcastic and negative, but I like the direction on the whole.
1 fan likes this.
What do you think of the black hole at Third?
A black hole would have consumed everything around it, so I'm not sure your terminology is correct. I see 3rd as more of a Gary, IN; an area that once thrived but that has now turned into urban decay and blight. Anything you try to put there will fail if it's not absolutely sound in every regard. So it's not a position that you can toss just anyone into. You need a surefire star (which Vitters is not), someone who will own it from the start. I hope Baez is that man, but it's a lot to ask. ...more
1 fan likes this.
^^ finally someone knows what there talking about, side note, dan from NY may have asked the dumbest question ive ever seen by questioning if rizzo doesnt pan out he should play third... a lefty....
greg from NY*
Yeah, these chats always leave me with a headache, probably because I have to pound my head against the wall after reading some of the questions. Also, if a guy doesn't pan out, why would you move him across the diamond? Hey, we know you're sucking at the plate, so we thought moving to a whole new position would help you to snap out of it. I love how we (Cubs fans in general) have sat through years of mediocrity and now we're all impatient with waiting a couple years for guys to mature.
1 fan likes this.
I know!!! Everyons like ya just bring baez and soler up and let them work it out in the bigs theyll figure it out. IT DOESNT WORK LIKE THAT!!! As if Hendry hasnt given us the blueprint of what NOT to do with prospects already...Cubs fans are great but sometimes...
So by my count - that's 19 Cubs questions in the chat to 9 Sox questions...
April 19 2013, 8:11 PM
And then this next guy actually took the time to make a whole separate post directed at me, though I was long gone from the chat by this time:
@ evanaltman What do you think about this???
First the pitching before Garza's return:
Send down Gregg
Call up Rusin put him in the rotation at # 5
Label Feldman the closer (It's obvious he can go through one inning of work he just has trouble getting through 5 plus 3 outs is easier than getting through 15)
So your rotation is Shark, Jackson, Wood, Villanueva, and Rusin
Your Bullpen is Marmol, Rondon, Camp, Loe 5th-7th innings
Russell in the 8th as the Set up man (Don't worry too much about match ups as a Major league pitcher he should be able to get hitters out at both sides of the plate plus Marshall was a very serviceable set up man as a lefty and I can see Russell as the same)
Feldman as closer.
Now the line up that should stay this way everyday, of course other than definite favorable matchups:
1. D. DeJesus
2. D. Barney (Everyone likes to say he can't hit, but what people forget is look where he is hitting in the line up all the time. What protection does he have? Valbuena? The pitcher? If he is hitting in front of Castro pitchers will give him more pitches to hit to avoid seeing Castro. Another reason I like him at # 2 is his swing naturally tends to put the ball in play the other way which is expected out of a # 2 hitter more than anywhere in the line up. This makes it easier to manufacture runs when you have a hitter who instinctively does the things you ask. )
3. S. Castro (Best hitter hands down should be here. The # 3 hitter doesn't neccessarily need pop, but Castro can provide some)
4. Rizzo (Prototypical clean up hitter. Won't hit for average but has plenty of pop and can drive in runs)
5. Nate S. (He seems comfortable hitting in this spot and it just seems like the right fit.)
6. Soriano (He's hit this low before so it shouldn't be a problem and he will have plenty of chances for RBI's with the three hitting in front of him.)
7. Castillo (Solid, can provide some protection for Soriano if he keeps his bat hot.)
8. Valbuena/Stewart (Typical # 8 hitters won't provide much but defense and occasional surprising big hit)
9. Pitcher
This is what I'd do with this current line up if I was at the helm. I mean honestly think about, if it really doesn't matter why not try these scenarios out. Who knows what might happen.
Go Cubs Go!!!!!!!!!......
First the pitching before Garza's return:
Send down Gregg
Call up Rusin put him in the rotation at # 5
Label Feldman the closer (It's obvious he can go through one inning of work he just has trouble getting through 5 plus 3 outs is easier than getting through 15)
So your rotation is Shark, Jackson, Wood, Villanueva, and Rusin
Your Bullpen is Marmol, Rondon, Camp, Loe 5th-7th innings
Russell in the 8th as the Set up man (Don't worry too much about match ups as a Major league pitcher he should be able to get hitters out at both sides of the plate plus Marshall was a very serviceable set up man as a lefty and I can see Russell as the same)
Feldman as closer.
Now the line up that should stay this way everyday, of course other than definite favorable matchups:
1. D. DeJesus
2. D. Barney (Everyone likes to say he can't hit, but what people forget is look where he is hitting in the line up all the time. What protection does he have? Valbuena? The pitcher? If he is hitting in front of Castro pitchers will give him more pitches to hit to avoid seeing Castro. Another reason I like him at # 2 is his swing naturally tends to put the ball in play the other way which is expected out of a # 2 hitter more than anywhere in the line up. This makes it easier to manufacture runs when you have a hitter who instinctively does the things you ask. )
3. S. Castro (Best hitter hands down should be here. The # 3 hitter doesn't neccessarily need pop, but Castro can provide some)
4. Rizzo (Prototypical clean up hitter. Won't hit for average but has plenty of pop and can drive in runs)
5. Nate S. (He seems comfortable hitting in this spot and it just seems like the right fit.)
6. Soriano (He's hit this low before so it shouldn't be a problem and he will have plenty of chances for RBI's with the three hitting in front of him.)
7. Castillo (Solid, can provide some protection for Soriano if he keeps his bat hot.)
8. Valbuena/Stewart (Typical # 8 hitters won't provide much but defense and occasional surprising big hit)
9. Pitcher
This is what I'd do with this current line up if I was at the helm. I mean honestly think about, if it really doesn't matter why not try these scenarios out. Who knows what might happen.
Go Cubs Go!!!!!!!!!......
So it's nice to see that there are some intelligent fans out there. I'm not sure whether I think they're intelligent because they actually had anything worthwhile to say, or just because they felt like I would be able to answer their questions, thus elevating me to a position of (tenuous) authority. Either way, I'm looking forward to the next chat at this point.
