Welp… That was a real kick in the nuts. Just a week ago we were looking golden. On September 25th, the Cubs were 3 games up with 6 game left and I honestly thought we were Gucci. We had two tough divisional opponents coming up, I thought we were playing good enough baseball to ride this out and take the divisional crown. We don’t, we play Milwaukee in game 163 and we watch the Brewers celebrate at Wrigley. That sucked. We then move onto the Wild Card game, again, at Wrigley. And again, we can’t hit and watch the Rockies celebrate at Wrigley and just like that, the Cubs season is over. Fuck me.
So folks, what do we do next? Is this a disappointment of a season? Of course. But was this team going to win the World Series? No way, Jose. This may have been the worst 95-win team in MLB history. We had nobody consistently hitting all season and other than Javy Baez and Rizzo’s 2nd half surge, Jason Fucking Heyward was our best bat. That’s gross. Other than the inconsistent offense, this team’s bullpen was depleted. Jorge De La Rosa and Jamie Garcia were pitching big time innings down the stretch. Those are not Postseason names you want to hear in the year 2018. Pedro Strop was banged up and Brandon Morrow ceased to exist after a season full of injuries. Even if we move on in the playoffs, this bullpen would’ve made sure we didn’t make it too far.
So without talking about the terrible signings of Darvish and Chatwood (puke), let’s move on to what Theo and Jed can do this offseason. Let’s start with who is on the North Side already:
Cole Hamels
The Cubs could pick up a $20,000,000 option to keep Hamels for the 2019 season. He was a rock for the Cubs rotation this season after being acquired from the Rangers. Personally I would love to see Hamels come back and give us one more year of consistent Starting Pitching.
Daniel Murphy
Murphy is going into Free Agency this offseason. According to Spotrac.com, the 33 year old Murphy is valued to receive a two-year, $30,000,000 contract. Personally, I loved the move when we got him but I do not think we should invest money into Murphy right away. He’s a slow, old, defensive liability and we have bigger fish to fry in free agency.
Addison Russell
This guy is scum. At the time of writing this, he is being investigated for domestic violence. I have a blog from before the season even started and I’ve been saying it all season: I hate Addison Russell. He has three kids with three different women, already divorced and now allegedly beat his wife. He is constantly spotted out at bars and clubs nights before day games and he stunk out loud this season. Get him off the team now.
Jason Heyward
This might be the trickiest situation of the Theo/Jed Era. Heyward is set to make over $22,000,000 each year for the next 5 years. Brutal… He has a partial no-trade clause for the next two years and if I’m Jed or Theo, I am calling each team that he hsa off his list. IF we can get Heyward off the books, then we will all be witnesses to a modern day miracle.
Moving onto the free agent class.. And boy oh boy… there are two specific sexy ass names.
Bryce Harper
Lets go. Bryce Harper is entering free agency at the prime age of 26. That is insane. You never see a prime free agent come into free agency any age below 29, but this guy is the scientifically-proven prime of his athletic career. Harper is electric and his bat will instantly make any lineup a threat. His dog’s name is Wrigley and he clearly wants the Cubs to return to the World Series. Also.. this..
#Back2BackOneDay
Manny Machado
Another 26 year old. I didn’t even think about this until when we were recording our podcast last night. I have been so focused on Bryce Harper the past few years that I didn’t realize that with scumbag Addison Russell on his way out the door (hopefully), we have a hole up the middle. Go HARD after Machado, get some offense and keep this window of opportunity open a little longer. I love this move and this is #1 on my wishlist this offseason.
So this is the final thought that I will leave you all to make this feel a little better. Since Theo and Jed have been running the show, if there is a need on the team, they GO GET THEIR GUY. Now obviously this will mean they have to move Heyward’s contract and that will be close to impossible. But these two guys are maybe the best front office duo in the history of the game and it wouldn’t shock me if they somehow got Heyward off their books. Give me Machado or Harper. Move onto next season. Lets Go.
