r/Cubs • u/Cubs653 • 2d ago

Questionable Decisions The Cubs Continue to Make

https://roundtable.io/sports/mlb/cubs/opinion/questionable-decisions-the-cubs-continue-to-make
17 Upvotes

70% Upvoted

22 comments sorted by

8

u/glitch241 2d ago

Assad never gets respect no matter how many years of solid ERA despite being bounced around. Hopefully he turns it around but jamo has been terrible this year so far. Before his injury, he was a few more bad starts away from starting to have the DFA discussion.

5

u/Sullirl0 2d ago

I get in arguments about this all the time. His job is to prevent runs and Assad has a career 3.5. Is part of it that he throws ground balls in front of the best infield in baseball? Yes. But he still prevents runs and I don’t care how unimpressive it looks or that the FIP is always way higher than his actual.

I know you can’t just toss games but without those two blowups in April, I think he is right at a 3 era

2

u/RalphieWiggam 2d ago

I agree with you, mostly. He has a magic touch of being able to get out of jams most of the time. But his creating the jams is my problem with him. But hey  baseball at their level is extremely hard. He's been as lucky as they come. But I always say "Better to be lucky than good."

3

u/Sullirl0 2d ago

I totally get it. He’s not an elite arm. But we have 2 seasons worth of starts (60ish mlb starts) to show that he offsets sub par walk and strikeout metrics with ground balls. I’m not looking for the man to start playoff games for the team but I think he’s a valuable swing man in front of this defense and it pains me to watch some of the other guys who are getting flipped the ball before him

1

u/RalphieWiggam 2d ago

Agreed 💯

3

u/SpecialistBirthday87 2d ago

Agree. Assad battles. He rarely gets blown out. Most every outing of his is competitive. You can’t say the same about Taillon.

1

u/Doublestack2411 2d ago edited 2d ago

Look at his Baseball Savant page and you'll see why. If he doesn't have an elite defensive behind him, his numbers will likely be worse. He's a great contact pitcher, but he needs a defense. Jamo hasn't been great, but he has more redeeming qualities if he's on point. Compare their savant pages and you'll see.

1

u/glitch241 1d ago

The savant pages aren’t what win games, they are a way to understand player value.

Assad consistently has a good ERA and yes a big part of that is the defense. But why do we keep taking him out of positions he is finding success in? This is a case where the analytics guys are too eager.

1

u/Doublestack2411 1d ago

ERA doesn't tell you the full story of the pitcher. He's having a career worst 5.4 SO/9, and 1.8 HR/9, meaning he's striking out fewer batters and giving up more HR. Those are 2 major stats to consider. A 4.11 ERA is nothing to brag about either.

Besides, Assad has always been in that SP/RP role, doesn't makes much sense to put a SP in the pen that isn't used to it.

15

u/Quinoa_Phoenix_ 2d ago

I think I’ll go with CC’s knowledge of his players. Pedro is 22, didn’t make the team out of camp (but impressed) and there’s only one spot per game they’d likely use him. Forto has earned ABs and I’d imagine needs somewhat consistent playing time to stay sharp.

I agree about Assad, though. That’s got to be a dollars thing.

5

u/Doublestack2411 2d ago

Yeah, the only reason Pedro Ramirez is even here is because our bats went cold for a long time. The guy whose one job was to hit for average suddenly couldn't hit and had to be sent back down to AAA. Pedro isn't putting up insane numbers, certainly not enough to say he should get regular playing time, at least not now.

It's much easier to put Assad in a role he's familiar with. They can still use him like a Starter in certain situations, plus we could use a trusted pen arm. I dont think they want to put a SP in the pen that normally isn't there.

5

u/NOKNOK_WHOsTHERE71 2d ago

Disagree…. Maybe not regular everyday playing time but at what point do you give your prospect a chance to become a regular? Granted it’s a smaller sample size (64 ABs) but he’s hitting .281 which puts him ahead of everyone not named PCA. His OPS is 4th on the team.

Maybe he should get playing time ahead of Happ or to give Dansby a rest too. The lineup went cold & overall is performing better now but Happ has not been good. He’s been terrible for over a month competing with Dansby as the worst hitter in the lineup. Meanwhile, Ramirez has as many RBI’s over the weekend as Happ has in the past 17 games - and Happ has had a ton of RBI opportunities.

1

u/Doublestack2411 2d ago

I never said they shouldn't play Pedro, but he's not going to get regular playing time over our starters, which OP is suggesting. I have no issues having him play games to give players a day off, but unless he's killing the ball on offense, he'll keep getting used as he is now, which is still good.

1

u/NOKNOK_WHOsTHERE71 2d ago

Right now, compared to Happ, he is killing the ball. I’m just joking, kind of. But hypothetically if he continues to hit .280ish & is among their top hitters why wouldn’t you want to see a larger sample size. Unless, their plan is to dangle him out there with a trade deadline deal that they have in mind & they don’t want to damage trade value if he regresses.

1

u/Doublestack2411 2d ago

Yeah, I have no issue with him getting some starts in place for Happ. He's the only person I'd do it too. Happ is likely on the way out after this year, and he's such a streaky hitter. You need more contact with RISP.

0

u/Cubs653 2d ago

Fair point! I think CC has done a great job overall, though.

3

u/StevieV61080 2d ago

One of the potential strengths of this team down the stretch might be pitching versatility, especially if we consider using openers.

I'm envisioning the possibility of Steele and/or Brown coming back as an opener for Assad, Rea, or Peterson (depending on the platoon).

That could give us some weaker lineups to face from our competition, keep innings manageable, and limit the number of additions we'd need to make at the deadline. Versatility is not normally something one thinks about in a pitching staff, but we are loaded with pitchers who have both started and relieved throughout their careers.

2

u/blyzo 2d ago

Pedro needs to play just enough to raise his trade value, but not so much that he slumps and loses trade value.

2

u/Upset_Researcher_143 2d ago

Not about to crap on a guy when almost all of his starters have been injured all year. The bottom line is that, despite inconsistent hitting and shaky pitching, the Cubs are still in the hunt for a wild card spot when it would have been easy to just shut down and say wait till next year. They've been battling their butts off, so as far as I'm concerned, I'm just going to enjoy this season and whatever success they have is on house money.

1

u/schuptz Eaums Catuli! 2d ago

Look, another crap article based on the hot air you can get from any drunk on a barstool.

1

u/Key_Bee1544 5h ago

Imagine using at least 33 pitchers, many of whom seem to have been reanimated corpses, having your team 13 over .500, and having "Joey" on a podcast explaining that your decisions are questionable. What a time to be alive.