Biggest mistake this season was not to trade for Swartzak, Robertson and/or Kahnle.

hankchifan

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Cubs bullpen has been terrible. 8th inning has been our Achilles heel. If the series with the Dodgers turns into a bullpen competition, we are toast. Cubs should have dealt with the White Sox beyond Quintana, and tried to get at least Swartzak. Robertson and/or Kahnle would have been great - they are doing a great job with the Yankees now. A trade for at least one of these relievers or a good shutdown reliever from another team was what we needed to get to the World Series. With Edwards Jr., Rondon, Duensing, Strop, etc. we are going nowhere.
 
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Schwarber for Robertson in offseason
 
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That's what Justin Wilson was supposed to be. Koji also wasn't supposed to get hurt. Things don't always go as perfectly as they went in 16. This team could still win it all, just on guts alone, but it's going to be insanely difficult with this BP. I'm pretty satisfied they made it this far.
 

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I would say 8 if they can. 8th inning has been Cubs Achilles heel all season. If we can transition from starter to Wade Davis we have a much better chance to win. Let's forget about bringing Edwards Jr , he can't get the ball over the plate and we can't afford walks in close games.
 
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The problem is most starters have the same issue as the pen....throwing strikes and/or putting guys away.

Every starter has been on pace to hit 100 pitches in the 5th/6th inning making an 8 inning outing almost impossible.

The pen will be used and needs to be effective.....duensing-strop-edwards-davis need to be able to get us 9 outs from the 7tj inning on.
 

TL1961

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hankchifan said:
Cubs bullpen has been terrible. 8th inning has been our Achilles heel. If the series with the Dodgers turns into a bullpen competition, we are toast. Cubs should have dealt with the White Sox beyond Quintana, and tried to get at least Swartzak. Robertson and/or Kahnle would have been great - they are doing a great job with the Yankees now. A trade for at least one of these relievers or a good shutdown reliever from another team was what we needed to get to the World Series. With Edwards Jr., Rondon, Duensing, Strop, etc. we are going nowhere.
Click to expand...

Not knowing the cost of one of those makes this argument iffy at best.

They did trade for a reliever, Justin Wilson. They thought highly of him. He simply lost control/confidence, and the trade did not work out. (Not for 2017, anyway)

But they didn't stand pat.
 

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ijustposthere said:
That's what Justin Wilson was supposed to be. Koji also wasn't supposed to get hurt. Things don't always go as perfectly as they went in 16. This team could still win it all, just on guts alone, but it's going to be insanely difficult with this BP. I'm pretty satisfied they made it this far.
Click to expand...

I somehow forgot all about losing Koji. That is a big factor.

A year ago, I thought Strop-Rondon-Chapman would be terrific, but Rondon regressed badly.

I think Edwards has had great stretches, but right now is messed up. Edwards and Wilson and Rondon all are better than they have been pitching. Bad timing.
 
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The Cubs have been trying to fit a round peg into a square hole with Edwards. The guy is not a closer, but the Cubs are going to keep forcing it because Maddon loves to try to prove people wrong
 

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hankchifan said:
Cubs bullpen has been terrible. 8th inning has been our Achilles heel. If the series with the Dodgers turns into a bullpen competition, we are toast. Cubs should have dealt with the White Sox beyond Quintana, and tried to get at least Swartzak. Robertson and/or Kahnle would have been great - they are doing a great job with the Yankees now. A trade for at least one of these relievers or a good shutdown reliever from another team was what we needed to get to the World Series. With Edwards Jr., Rondon, Duensing, Strop, etc. we are going nowhere.
Click to expand...



Strope is serviceable. I would like to give Edwards another shot; his stuff is so darn good. He just needs better control and maybe he needs to learn Tai Chi or something because my biggest complaint for him is, when things unravel, he's toast. He can't seem to dig in and 'get it back'.

Rondon, Grimm, Duensing, all need to go away.

We need to trade Shwarber for a really really good set up man and then sign at least TWO good RP in the off season and completely retool the bullpen.
 

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millerjg01 said:
Strope is serviceable. I would like to give Edwards another shot; his stuff is so darn good. He just needs better control and maybe he needs to learn Tai Chi or something because my biggest complaint for him is, when things unravel, he's toast. He can't seem to dig in and 'get it back'.

Rondon, Grimm, Duensing, all need to go away.

We need to trade Shwarber for a really really good set up man and then sign at least TWO good RP in the off season and completely retool the bullpen.
Click to expand...
Why does Duensing need to go away?
 
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2.74 ERA wasn’t good enough I guess. Avg 1 strike out per inning must really suck too.
 

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millerjg01 said:
Strope is serviceable. I would like to give Edwards another shot; his stuff is so darn good. He just needs better control and maybe he needs to learn Tai Chi or something because my biggest complaint for him is, when things unravel, he's toast. He can't seem to dig in and 'get it back'.

Rondon, Grimm, Duensing, all need to go away.

We need to trade Shwarber for a really really good set up man and then sign at least TWO good RP in the off season and completely retool the bullpen.
Click to expand...

A few things here. Duensing needs to go? Dude's been a pleasant surprise all year long and he won't be expensive, I sign him as quickly as I can. As far as Edwards, while he does have control issues, to me the more pressing issue is command. He has to be able to put those pitches where he wants to and he just plain loses that ability from time to time. I think they need to get to the bottom of that but when he's on he's nasty. Lastly if we're trading Schwarber dear god it better be for more than a "really good set up man". While his value may not be as high as it once was the guys had really good second half numbers and should have more value than that. If he doesn't you definitely don't trade him.
 
CSF77

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TC in Mississippi said:
A few things here. Duensing needs to go? Dude's been a pleasant surprise all year long and he won't be expensive, I sign him as quickly as I can. As far as Edwards, while he does have control issues, to me the more pressing issue is command. He has to be able to put those pitches where he wants to and he just plain loses that ability from time to time. I think they need to get to the bottom of that but when he's on he's nasty. Lastly if we're trading Schwarber dear god it better be for more than a "really good set up man". While his value may not be as high as it once was the guys had really good second half numbers and should have more value than that. If he doesn't you definitely don't trade him.
Click to expand...

Hitting 30 HR’s with AAA time and a shit 1st half. Hate to see what he does after putting a complete quality season
 
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Bullpen has struggled but this team isn't hitting. That's what is killing them.

2-for-22 from KB, Rizz and Willson this series.
 

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CSF77 said:
Hitting 30 HR’s with AAA time and a shit 1st half. Hate to see what he does after putting a complete quality season
Click to expand...

I actually find it pretty impressive that Schwarber still ended up with 1.5 fWAR given his first half & demotion. Wouldn't be surprised to see him put up some very impressive production next year.
 

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TC in Mississippi said:
A few things here. Duensing needs to go? Dude's been a pleasant surprise all year long and he won't be expensive, I sign him as quickly as I can. As far as Edwards, while he does have control issues, to me the more pressing issue is command. He has to be able to put those pitches where he wants to and he just plain loses that ability from time to time. I think they need to get to the bottom of that but when he's on he's nasty. Lastly if we're trading Schwarber dear god it better be for more than a "really good set up man". While his value may not be as high as it once was the guys had really good second half numbers and should have more value than that. If he doesn't you definitely don't trade him.
Click to expand...

You are right on Duensing...I was angry when I typed that lol.

But the bullpen needs a major overhaul none the less.
 
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Great bullpen won't keep you from losing games where you score 1 fucking run. The offense has been the biggest problem

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