More Sewage From Command Central

mountsalami

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"[Finishing] .500 is, like I said, still not acceptable," Sveum said.

We all know this because the true goal is to receive a high draft pick and flip the one and two year contracts for prospects, if they have a "breakout" first half.

Making sure they remain at the .425 win percentage and lower, is the true goal of our Boy Blunders.

Finishing .500 or above would not be acceptable, because the team was not built to do this and would hamper the rebuilding process.

If the Cubs are somehow only five games out of the last playoff spot, one week before the trade deadline, I believe the Boy Blunder's goal is still to dismantle whatever they can for more prospects.

Adding legit free agents this soon could hamper the rewarding journey of sustained success, year after year, for decades to come.

In [another item from Sullivan], Epstein said that he expects the
Cubs to contend in 2013 despite the fact that they're still
ostensibly rebuilding. "Otherwise, there’s no reason to show up or build a
team,” Epstein said. “It’s postseason or bust every year. That’s what
our goal is."

Way ahead of schedule if you ask me. I didn't think it would turn around this quickly.
You know? I could honestly be on board with this statement had the Cubs went out an sought ONE additional bat of substance. To simply think that Schierholtz and Stewart are the additional bats the Cubs need to contend from an offense that ranked near the bottom last year and also to expect Soriano to equate his numbers from a year ago is beyond absurd. :tongue:
 

Rice Cube

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It's a long-term plan but you do know they have to still sell 2013 and 2014 to the fans, right? :D I'm thinking most fans don't pay as much attention to the state of the franchise as you do and therefore will just read a blurb, say "okay" and go to games. It's highly unlikely that the Cubs will contend next year, but they can't actually outright say that. I don't think even the Astros have admitted that they will absolutely suck ass even though we all know they will.
 

JosMin

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Uh, the off-season isn't over yet. Trades can still be made, people may still be cut. And either way, as half of us have been saying for weeks now -- this team isn't one move away from being a 95-win team. It's going to take more time. Who knows -- the Cubs may start hot and look to add an impact bat or another pitcher. You never know.
 

Rice Cube

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Uh, the off-season isn't over yet. Trades can still be made, people may still be cut. And either way, as half of us have been saying for weeks now -- this team isn't one move away from being a 95-win team. It's going to take more time. Who knows -- the Cubs may start hot and look to add an impact bat or another pitcher. You never know.

To be honest, even if they did get hot they probably are more likely to stand pat and let it ride or go through the whole trade-and-flip thing than to add on. I don't think this front office has any intention to deviate from the plan. If they're in first place that naturally changes, but if they're in third or lower I doubt they'll hold out for a faint glimmer of hope :lol:

I'm happy with the depth of the starting pitching even though it's mostly mediocre (at least it won't be Lulstad bad) and the defense should be okay. But even though any fan with half a brain knows this Cubs team is more than a long shot to contend, it's just bad PR to admit it right now when the season hasn't even begun.
 

dabynsky

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Brett at Bleacher Nation takes on the most recent comments from Sveum and Epstein on the 2013 Cubs:
The word “expect” is replete with semantic implications. When you say you “expect” to eat lunch today, it’s a pretty good indication that you’ll actually eat lunch today. But when a parent says she “expects” her young son to behave and sit still in church, there’s a different feel – the parent might not actually believe the son will be able to sit still, but she places those expectations upon him because that’s where she wants him to be.

So, when the men in charge of the Cubs – President Theo Epstein and manager Dale Sveum, for example – speak as though they “expect” the 2013 Chicago Cubs to be a playoff contender, I can cut them some slack, and pass on the easy jokes. They may not believe it will happen, but it’s fair for them to expect contention from their players, and from themselves. See? Semantics.

Each man was asked about the 2013 Cubs during the Cubs Caravan yesterday, and each essentially did say that they expect the team to be good in 2013.

Sveum started by taking issue with .500 as a goal for the 2013 Cubs.

“The one thing you hate doing is saying, ‘[finishing] .500 will be good,’ because it’s not good,” Sveum said Wednesday, per Carrie Muskat. “It’s not 101 losses, but .500 isn’t getting you to the playoffs. Just getting in the playoffs is satisfactory …. In a perfect world, if [Matt] Garza and [Scott] Baker are ready to go Opening Day, its not a bad staff to have [Jeff] Samardzija, Garza and [Edwin] Jackson at the top and the other guys in the four, five spots. Fujikawa would come in the eight inning, Marmol in the ninth, there’s so many things that are so much better going into this season than last year. [Finishing] .500 is, like I said, still not acceptable.

“You can’t fall victim to, ‘Yeah, we are obviously in a transition in the organization, and we’re trying to get healthy and do all this,’ but don’t fall into the category that we can’t win right now,” Sveum continued. “Baseball is a funny thing. Just last year, we close out some games in April and the start of the season is a lot different and you never know what happens after that. You might not have the exact same bullets as the guy actross the street, but all you need are guys to play up to their capabilities and have a starting staff and close out games, and you win a lot of games.”

Given that Sveum is in Year Two of a three-year contract, this is everything you’d “expect” him to be saying. Nothing wrong with any of it.

Epstein’s take was similar.

“There’s no reason to show up or build a team [if you don't believe non-playoff seasons are a failure],” Epstein said Wednesday, per Paul Sullivan. “It’s postseason or bust every year. That’s what our goal is. That said, we’re obviously building for something greater, which is a time when we can expect to get into the postseason every year.

“Behind the scenes, regardless of the results, there’s progress being made. But as far as 2013, you can define it as a success or failure by whether we make the postseason, and ultimately whether we win the World Series. But absolutely. There are stories every year about teams that don’t necessarily look like the favorites on paper that find their way playing meaningful games in September, playing into October, playing into deep October. Baltimore, Oakland last year, they are great inspirations for teams in our position.”

From my perspective, I neither “expect” nor “believe” the 2013 Chicago Cubs will be a playoff contender. Of course I “hope” it, and I do think it is within the realm of possibility (however small). But, in truth, I’d just like to see progress in 2013. That’s my “expectation.” That doesn’t necessarily mean a better record in 2013, though I think that will happen.

It means that, by next October, I’d like to feel much better about the Cubs’ chances of being competitive as soon as 2014 than I did this past October.
 

mountsalami

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It's a long-term plan but you do know they have to still sell 2013 and 2014 to the fans, right? :D I'm thinking most fans don't pay as much attention to the state of the franchise as you do and therefore will just read a blurb, say "okay" and go to games. It's highly unlikely that the Cubs will contend next year, but they can't actually outright say that. I don't think even the Astros have admitted that they will absolutely suck ass even though we all know they will.

I don't believe as many fans are going to show up this season to watch the current product in place.
Ticket prices are not cheap and even the fair weather fan knows this team sucks.

Not every team's genius hints to the post season every year when they know the product sucks on the field. That includes the Astros and the Marlins.
We happen to have one that does it regularly.
 

Rice Cube

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I don't believe as many fans are going to show up this season to watch the current product in place.
Ticket prices are not cheap and even the fair weather fan knows this team sucks.

Not every team's genius hints to the post season every year when they know the product sucks on the field. That includes the Astros and the Marlins.
We happen to have one that does it regularly.

The context is that if the MLB team doesn't make it to the postseason then that season has been a failure. That said, there are plenty of ways to improve the team such that it can get to the postseason more consistently. I don't think there's anything wrong with the way the statements were phrased, and I don't think that there's anything wrong with having a bit of optimism so that the players and staff don't head into the season with a pre-programmed self-defeating prophecy. But then again, I don't read much into these statements, it's all just PR and you can take it however you want.
 

mountsalami

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this team isn't one move away from being a 95-win team.

I agree.

They did nothing of substance last season.
Nothing of substance this season either, as of yet.

I'm waiting for this one move to happen without throwing away entire seasons.
When does the circle of despair realistically end ?
Right now it's all pointing to profits for the owner.

Let's say they did add only Prince Fielder last year and BJ Upton or Nick Swisher this one along with EJax.
Still traded for Rizzo and signed Soler and got the same draft picks.
We would have some foundation to build with.
Right now it's just another waste. It's truely not neccessary.
 

mountsalami

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The context is that if the MLB team doesn't make it to the postseason then that season has been a failure. That said, there are plenty of ways to improve the team such that it can get to the postseason more consistently. I don't think there's anything wrong with the way the statements were phrased, and I don't think that there's anything wrong with having a bit of optimism so that the players and staff don't head into the season with a pre-programmed self-defeating prophecy. But then again, I don't read much into these statements, it's all just PR and you can take it however you want.

And even in the Red Sox disaster year, they won 8 more games than the Cubs did and went out and signed multiple quality players this offseason in Stephen Drew, Shane Victorino, Mike Napoli, Johnny Gomes, Ryan Dempster and traded for Joel Hanrahan instead of sitting on their hands doing nothing and waiting for the farm system to develop.

How shocking.
 

Rice Cube

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And even in the Red Sox disaster year, they won 8 more games than the Cubs did and went out and signed multiple quality players this offseason in Stephen Drew, Shane Victorino, Mike Napoli, Johnny Gomes, Ryan Dempster and traded for Joel Hanrahan instead of sitting on their hands doing nothing and waiting for the farm system to develop.

How shocking.

Well...yeah. Theo left the Red Sox in better shape than Jim Hendry did with the Cubs. So the Red Sox are better overall and can afford to do that, although "quality" is relative in this case.
 

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