Before we get to Starlin Castro's 2013 Cubs Projections, I wanted to talk a little bit about something else in regard to Castro.
An awful lot has been written about Starlin Castro over his young career. It seems that most of this has been at the two extremes. We've heard and read countless times about how Castro is a future superstar. There have also been a lot of words spilled over what Castro can't do, some of that by myself.
While I do believe that Castro is and likely will be what you have all seen to this point in his career, there's no denying that he's a very good player. He more than earned the 7-year, $70 million contract that begins in 2013 and should easily be worth what he's being paid. He's a valuable player to any team and the Cubs are fortunate to have him for the next 7 years.
Castro has had 1912 plate appearances in his career. He doesn't turn 23 until next month. Here are the only players since 1980 that had more plate appearances than Castro through their age 22 season: Adrian Beltre (1918), Roberto Alomar (1959), Alex Rodriguez (2271), Edgar Renteria (2395) and Ken Griffey Jr. (2422). One of them is already in the HOF and two others should be.
Just behind Castro is Andruw Jones, Elvis Andrus, Ruben Sierra, Jason Heyward, Justin Upton and Miguel Cabrera.
Since 1980, only Griffey, A-Rod and Renteria have more hits than the 529 that Castro already has.
This isn't related to Castro who doesn't rank highly in home runs among these players, but I saw something that surprised me. A-Rod has the most home runs through age 22 of this group with 106. You might have guessed Griffey was next, but it's Giancarlo Stanton with 93. Oh yeah, Stanton has done that in 1498 plate appearances. Among players 22 and under since 1980, nobody has had the power that Stanton has shown so far. Albert Pujols has a higher slugging percentage, but Stanton has the highest ISO and he's done it in a pitcher's park. I didn't realize that.
Castro has been in the league a long time at this point in his career and the names around him are generally very good players.
2013 Cubs Projections
| Projection | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | SO | avg | obp | slg | wOBA |
| CAIRO | 633 | 170 | 31 | 7 | 11 | 35 | 86 | .288 | .329 | .421 | .328 |
| ZiPS | 680 | 187 | 31 | 12 | 14 | 36 | 88 | .294 | .332 | .446 | .333 |
| Average | 656 | 178 | 31 | 9 | 13 | 35 | 87 | .291 | .331 | .433 | .330 |
ZiPS is projecting 4 WAR in total while CAIRO is projecting 2.5. PECOTA projects 3.1.
Below are his percentile forecasts, but ignore the PA at the higher end. Castro is projected for so many plate appearances that the spreadsheet I'm using spits out an unrealistic number of PA.
| Starlin Castro | ||||||||||||||||||
| % | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | GDP | HBP | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA |
| 80% | 759 | 708 | 98 | 219 | 44 | 12 | 17 | 83 | 28 | 9 | 49 | 92 | 14 | 7 | .310 | .363 | .478 | .367 |
| 65% | 696 | 649 | 85 | 194 | 37 | 9 | 14 | 71 | 23 | 10 | 42 | 89 | 15 | 6 | .299 | .347 | .449 | .348 |
| Baseline | 633 | 590 | 73 | 170 | 31 | 7 | 11 | 61 | 19 | 11 | 35 | 86 | 16 | 4 | .288 | .330 | .420 | .328 |
| 35% | 569 | 531 | 62 | 147 | 25 | 5 | 8 | 51 | 15 | 11 | 29 | 82 | 16 | 3 | .277 | .314 | .392 | .309 |
| 20% | 506 | 472 | 52 | 125 | 20 | 3 | 6 | 43 | 12 | 11 | 23 | 76 | 16 | 2 | .266 | .297 | .363 | .290 |
Comments
Something to remember:
.300 is the average wOBA of a SS last year. EVEN IF Castro only hits his 35% projection, he’s a fair bit above average. It’s no secret I’m bullish on Starlin, and I think .300/.340/.450 is within the realm of plausibility. That would be pretty much dynamite.
MylesQuote Reply
It’s also weird that CAIRO projects an OPS lower than any one he’s ever had.
MylesQuote Reply
@ Myles:
It could be the league average for CAIRO is projected to be worse. Their wOBA projection is right about where I expect him to end the season.
dmick89Quote Reply
*comment about baseball*
RynoQuote Reply
I love Castro but I worry about his BB%. He’s been pretty lucky in his career so far(.334 BABIP) so it would be great to have his BB% increase in the event that his BABIP regresses…….if it actually does. If it doesn’t regress and he’s able to increase his BB%, then we could be talking about one of the best offensive SS in the league.
MuckerQuote Reply
Mucker wrote:
Some players just have high BABIPs. I think Castro is one of those players (and he’s a little lucky).
MylesQuote Reply
The buzz is that, despite being a faget, Manti Te’o won’t make it out of the first round. Ray Lewis replacement?
RynoQuote Reply
@ Ryno:
Really? Teams must really like his tape. I heard he said that he runs in the 4.5 range. I don’t see how he runs that slow at the combine if he’s 4.5. Unless he had an injury. Even though it was only one game, I thought he got exposed against Bama. To me he didn’t look like he had the strength to play against NFL talent.
MuckerQuote Reply
I think ~.320 is a reasonable BABIP for the next 5 years or so. Similar players have managed that.
That’s another interesting thing about Castro. I’m not sure how CAIRO projects players, but there just aren’t many comps to Starlin because his career arc (so far) is pretty rare.
MylesQuote Reply
@ Mucker:
I don’t see it happening. He doesn’t have a great batter’s eye and I doubt he’ll grow one. I think he’ll get his hits, but he’s always going to be Vlad mixed with Ichiro. Just hovering around pretty good, but never an OBP guy. Probably should hit lower, but then again, his OBP = BA may still be about the best this team can offer.
Reading Baseball between the Numbers has just left me still scratching my head on Sveum (as manager). I get the choice less and less as time goes on. I’m about sick of “baseball guy” managers who think being smart is doing exactly what everyone has else has done for the last thirty years, or however long ago they started playing.
joshQuote Reply
@ Myles:
He’ll slap-hit his way into our hearts for sure. Unless teams start playing him right up the middle. Then he’s screwed.
joshQuote Reply
@ josh:
I always thought Castro had a discipline issue not a recognition issue. Idk, I just remember scratching my head after some of his at bats.
MuckerQuote Reply
@ Mucker:
Whoever takes him I hope to god it’s not the Bears. He’s the new Tebow. They show him or talk about him every 5 seconds on sports channels. I’m sick of him already.
MuckerQuote Reply
GBTS wrote:
blowing money on action figures>>>>>signing dioner navarro
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
@ Mucker:
I don’t think you can believe anything you “hear” between the combine and the draft.
I think he’s basically the same player as James Laurinaitis (but apparently more of a faget) who went No. 38. He’s also pretty similar to Maualuga, who went No. 35. That’s about where I’d be comfortable picking him.
You could have a team that feels pretty set going into this season and feels Te’o would be a significant upgrade. A team like DEN or BAL might like him enough to draft him in their current slot if they can’t trade into the early second.
And it would be a massive overdraft, imo, if CHI used pick 20 on him. Now if they wanted to trade back to No. 31…
RynoQuote Reply
@ EnricoPallazzo:
His line in Spring Training so far is .333/.500/1.333/1.833, second only to Valbuena Plus he is ambidexterous. That is something you just can’t teach.
WaLiQuote Reply
@ Ryno:
Did you call the 49ers yet? Are they interested in trading up to #20? I remember you said they might be targeting somebody.
MuckerQuote Reply
@ Ryno:
I agree with this. I’m not a huge Te’o fan, but if we can somehow grab him with our 2nd round pick (or trade our 1st down) then I’d be happy with that. Also, wouldn’t the Bears be a perfect fit for him? “I told you, I’m not gay, I’m a Bear!”
WaLiQuote Reply
@ Mucker:
They stopped taking my calls years ago…
I think that trade I proposed makes a lot of sense for both teams. I think the players valued at No. 31 and No. 20 match up better with CHI and SF respectively, plus CHI would add a third, which they don’t have.
SF has 14 picks right now, and they would be best served using them to move up. CHI has fewer picks. It makes so much sense for both teams.
RynoQuote Reply
@ Ryno:
I agree and I would love for the Bears to get that 3rd rounder back. I hope they do something like that.
I don’t know if you know but yesterday when CB Steve Williams ran those insanely fast 40s, his official time was .17 slower than his unofficial best and when they showed him running in the simulcast with all the other fast times, he smoked them. Do you feel that the official times at the combine are off?
MuckerQuote Reply
@ WaLi:
Some will probably disagree, but I don’t think Te’o is a good fit for CHI. I think he’s too stiff to cover the seam in a Cover 2.
For CHI, I like Khaseem Greene or Sio Moore in the second, Kiko Alonso in the third or Kevin Reddick in the fourth.
If I’m a Bears fan, I’m rooting for a the trade with SF, BPA in the first, Kyle Long in the second, Kiko Alonso in the third and Jordan Mills (OT, La. Tech) in the fourth.
RynoQuote Reply
Holy shit. Twitter says Alex Smith to KC for No. 34 overall plus a 2014 pick.
RynoQuote Reply
@ Ryno:
Wow………That’s crazy.
MuckerQuote Reply
@ Mucker:
The value in this draft is the middle of the first and somewhere around the mid-second through the third. A team like CHI could fix their OL with two third rounders, imo.
I didn’t see the times yesterday, but I would think the official times are pretty accurate. That said, I bet the scouts are all going by their own times.
Speaking of, Gil Brandt said he clocked Marquise Goodwin at 4.19. Effortless runner.
RynoQuote Reply
@ Mucker:
Early reports suggest the 2014 pick could be a 2 as well.
RynoQuote Reply
Ryno wrote:
Do teams still use that point value chart thing? A No. 20 (850) for a No. 31 (600) and No. 95 (120) doesn’t make sense for the Bears. A #20 for a #31 and a #63 (276) makes a lot more sense for the Bears. Plus if the 49ers just picked up another 2nd…
WaLiQuote Reply
If that report is true, I like the CHI/SF trade even more.
SF
1(20)
2(1)
2(31)
3(31)
CHI
1(31)
2(20)
3(12)
RynoQuote Reply
@ Mucker:
I think he has a pretty bad case of both, mixed in with enough contact to make up for it. His patience may improve (many do not, and that may be because they have early success in traditional stats). You don’t usually see batting eye improve much, I don’t think.
joshQuote Reply
@ Ryno:
You may have covered this earlier, but how likely is it that the Bears draft a TE at some point in the draft, and will they be in the market for a “speed” WR to replace Knox?
EdwinQuote Reply
@ WaLi:
I had them mixed up. SF’s 1 and CAR’s 3 (76) for CHI’s 1.
RynoQuote Reply
@ Edwin:
If CHI is moving to a WCO as reported, they’ll need a TE like Ertz, Eifert or Escobar, imo. The move to WCO lessens the need to improve the OL. It still needs to be done, but it can be done in rounds 2-3 instead of 1.
They’d be wise to grab a slot guy like Ace Sanders later as well.
RynoQuote Reply
@ Ryno:
PFT reporting that the deal is done and just waiting until they can actually do the trade in 2 weeks.
Goodwin is fast.
MuckerQuote Reply
Bottom half of the future power rankings went up on Insider today. Brewers 27th, Pirates 25th. Cubs are somewhere in the top 15 which go up tomorrow, White Sox are 26th.
MJKQuote Reply
@ Mucker:
That 2 is huge. I can’t believe that. Now FIVE picks from 31 to 93.
RynoQuote Reply
I think it’s odd that they took anothe 2013 pick when they already have 14, though. They must be targetting a move up in the draft…or maybe a current player (Harvin? Revis?).
RynoQuote Reply
Which of Griffey, and Beltre doesn’t belong on the HOF? They both seem like slam dunk cases to me.
BerseliusQuote Reply
THat Ricketts/Hayward deal does not look like anything evil or even disingenuous. They’re just taking Hayward and his team and turning them into a business that can serve other customers as well as the Cubs, with Ricketts getting a piece of the action. If MO were still alive, he would call this the logical extension of Ricketts’ interests — the productization of the golly gee Wrigley vibe. Long before Rant Sports called Theo a snake oil salesman (dying laughing), MO was
insultingdescribing Ricketts with that that term. Wally will be Assistant to the Regional Director of Snake Oil Sales to Ricketts’ Director.Suburban kidQuote Reply
Ryno wrote:
Sign Finley – the fanbase is already used to TEs with drop issues.
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ MJK:
Who was 32? Angels?
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ Ryno:
I’m really curious to see what the 49ers do with all those picks. They are a relatively young team already so if they draft smart…….I think we are looking at another 49er dynasty.
MuckerQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
No 32 in baseball. Rockies are 30th with a whopping 16.2/100.
MJKQuote Reply
So Marlon Byrd got a job as a Met, huh? (dying laughing)
AkabariQuote Reply
@ Suburban kid:
Right, I don’t see anything wrong with it either. I’m just not sure how different what Ricketts is doing is any different that Loria. The only difference is (as RC pointed out?) is that Loria is evil and Ricketts is a saint.
WaLiQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
You leave Finley alone! He showed…great courage.
RynoQuote Reply
@ Suburban kid:
Right. I’m curious as to what the precise accusation against Loria was for doing the same thing. I don’t know what his personal ownership interest is in the Marlins. I assume its as close to 100% as the Ricketts and the Cubs.
GBTSQuote Reply
@ WaLi:
I’m not sure, but I would guess the Loria thing is just a construct to avoid or limit (not evade) certain personal taxes, i.e. a tax efficient way of paying himself.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
How is his general demeanor? It seems like he has problems getting along with Aaron Rodgers, who we all know is Just Having Fun Out There.
GBTSQuote Reply
@ Mucker:
Exactly, and the key to that is DRAFT smart.
Don’t trade for Percy Harvin. Draft Goodwin, Austin or Stedman Bailey.
Don’t trade for Revis. Draft Johnthan Banks, Darius Slay or Jordan Poyer. Hell, draft two of them and move Culliver to S where he belongs.
SF has a need for four starters (WR, DB, DE/NT and K) and depth at 7-8 positions. They’re armed to take care of all their needs in the draft. No free agents needed.
RynoQuote Reply
@ GBTS:
It seemed to be a cheap shot by Passan. He said something about Loria “paying himself to own the Marlins”. Yeah, like, so what.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
@ GBTS:
He left Texas after his RS sophomore season, so he’s clearly a degenerate who sells drugs to kids.
RynoQuote Reply
Ryno wrote:
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ Suburban kid:
If he had said something like “Loria gets paid by other people to own the Marlins” then it might have worked better. Maybe? *shrug*
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Ryno:
Especially when it seems players are more prepared to start out of college. With all those picks, they should be able to get a starter for at least 3 of those needs and maybe all of them.
MuckerQuote Reply
J’Marcus Webb——>Pothead
MuckerQuote Reply
I can’t help it. I know no one here cares, but I’m too giddy about this trade to not do an updated mock draf (four rounds)t. I’m going to be lazy and base it on nfldraftscout’s player rankings…
1. Jesse Williams, DT, Alabama – Three-down NT will improve pass rush.
2. Jonathan Cyprien, S, FIU – Let Whitner walk and have two Dashon Goldsons at S.
2. Darius Slay, CB, MSU – The secondary is now fixed. kthanxbai
3. Gavin Escobar, TE, SDSU – I think he goes higher than this, but having him and Vernon Davis on the field at the same time will be a matchup nightmare for defenses.
3. Stedman Bailey, WR, WVU – Ibid…even more so.
4. David Quessenbery, OT, SJSU – Much-needed OL depth.
4. Cory Lemonier, OLB, Auburn – Like Escobar, I think he goes higher than this. OLB depth.
4. Bennie Logan, DE, LSU – High-motor 5-tech who can spell Justin Smith until he’s ready to start.
RynoQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
More like…
RynoQuote Reply
@ Mucker:
Thanks to the Simpsons (and Phish), I now read that as PO-theed.
RynoQuote Reply
@ Mucker:
Check out my mock draft. High-upside players everywhere needed, with three 5s, two 6s and two 7s to use on a kicker and QB. I’d take AZ QB Matt Scott with a 5 or Duke QB Sean Renferee with a 6. Then one of the Florida Ks in the sixth.
This draft is huge for SF. Reload here, and we’re set for a run like NE had in the 00s. Whiff, and we’ll decline like we did in the late 90s.
RynoQuote Reply
Rany said:
Did a trade just happen?
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Akabari:
I really think Byrd’s story is age-decline which led to PEDs, but it could just as easily be that he was using, then declined and took more to make up for it, which made him careless and led to him getting caught.
I loved that his quote was something like “You have to be a real idiot to get caught using PEDs, and I was one of those idiots.”
joshQuote Reply
Ryno wrote:
RynoQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
If only this were a football site…
RynoQuote Reply
@ Ryno:
I assume this is why Rany was a bit put off.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Ryno:
It might be fun to see the Hope Monster wearing a Bears helmet 😉
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Hey, Vontae, you’re going to get Sean Smith and KC in trouble if you say that…
RynoQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
Is Rany a Chiefs fan? Or someone who doesn’t like the Niners?
RynoQuote Reply
@ Ryno:
I think since he writes about the Royals and was from KC that he is in fact a Chiefs fan and not an anti-49ers fan.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
I’m not good with hints. What are you saying?
RynoQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
Then yeah, that’ll do it.
Honestly, though, I think it’s a pretty good deal for both teams. Alex Smith is 28 and has eight years experience in the NFL. He’s a good fit for Reid’s system and he won’t cost a ton. He also gives you 3-4 years to find the QB of the future, but can give you eight years if you need.
RynoQuote Reply
@ Ryno:
I am saying that if this were to become a football blog, the Hope Monster would need a few cosmetic changes.
By the way, there is baseball to be listened to on MLB.com *yay*
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ josh:
Yeah he always seemed to be a workhorse type guy, and the pressures of being that guy,especially on a team where you KNOW any valuable assets will be flipped and the non valuable ones will be caught, were probably harder than I can imagine.
I wasn’t making a moral judgement so much as “The Mets fucking suck and will take anybody on” sort of thing.
Then again, we DID spend any amount of money on Koyie Hill..
AkabariQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
What is this “baseball” you speak of?
WaLiQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
How do I listen to games? It just keeps telling to me to buy AtBat?
AkabariQuote Reply
@ Akabari:
ALT+F4.
RynoQuote Reply
Good article on sabermetricians.
http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/42043552/
MishQuote Reply
Also, from ESPNChicago
Really glad Espn finds good people to interview.
MD needs in on this
AkabariQuote Reply
@ Akabari:
You shouldn’t have to. That’s strange.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Akabari:
Interesting take, Alvin. So the Cub’s decision to allow celebrities into the booth turned into a celebrity fest?
If he meant that the duties were handled by mostly D-list celebrities, you’d think a master wordsmith would have crafted a clearer quote.
RynoQuote Reply
Alvin, what did you think of the 2012 Cubs?
“It was a good idea at first, but then it turned into a baseball team, and it became apparent they were mediocre.”
gbts22Quote Reply
“It was a good idea at first,” Al Yellon, who runs bleedcubbieblue.com, said of the Happy Chandler’s decision to allow blacks to play MLB. “But it turned into a baseball league with negroes.”
RynoQuote Reply
Castro just pulled up lame around first base. Saweeeet.
PFDQuote Reply
“It was a good idea at first,” Al Yellon, who runs bleedcubbieblue.com, said of the Cubs decision to trade speedy youngster Tony Campana to Arizona. “But the trade just happened and you’re asking me what I think? I’ll wait awhile thanks.”
MuckerQuote Reply
“It was a good idea at first,” Al Yellon, who runs bleedcubbieblue.com, said of the Cubs’ decision to allow celebrities to take over the job the late Harry Caray handled so famously for so many years. “But it turned into a celebrity fest with D-list celebrities.” When told the Cubs said they were A-list celebrities, Yellon said “Amusing, but wrong!”
MuckerQuote Reply
“It was a good idea at first,” Al Yellon, who runs bleedcubbieblue.com, said of ESPN’s decision to interview Al Yellon. “But it turned into an interview with a D-list baseball blogger.”
WenningtonsGorillaCockQuote Reply
@ josh:
It should be noted that Castro revamped his approach mid-season in 2012 and in Aug – Oct last season he drew 20 walks (255 PA), compared to 16 in April – July (436 PA).
I obviously have no idea if he’ll keep that up, but I do think it warrants mentioning.
Chet MastersonQuote Reply
Al Yellon wrote:
It’s a thing of beauty watching a meme go from conception to full vaginal birth.
MishQuote Reply
@ Mish:
FLAGGED
GBTSQuote Reply
FWIW, Castro has not surprisingly had months in which he’s shown better plate discipline, but overall it’s been pretty bad. Maybe he did improve. I don’t know, but a couple months isn’t nearly enough to know for sure as Chet mentioned. The 1st half of 2010 remains the best half of a season in which he’s had the best walk rate. I hope he did improved, but his August BB% last year is the only month in which it’s not necessarily bad (9% in August and 5+% and 6+% in July and September). His improvement seems to be around a more patient August.
dmick89Quote Reply
Regarding his BABIP, I think we should expect a little higher than .300, but I wouldn’t expect .340ish like Myles. Last year it was .315.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89 wrote:
My earlier expectation was ~.320.
Myles wrote:
MylesQuote Reply
Only 68 people in history (with over 500 PA) have a career BABIP of .340 or more. If you expand the window to .320, you get 323 players, many of whom are not especially notable.
MylesQuote Reply
Sorry Myles. Was thinking you said .340. I can’t read.
dmick89Quote Reply
Sometimes when I’m bored and the computer is on my lap, I turn to BRef and other baseball trivia pages. Now is one of those times. So happy 117th birthday to Will Koenigsmark, who has one of the best worst cup of coffee box scores out there (Sept 10, 1919).
He enters in the 8th inning of his only MLB appearance against Brooklyn. He promptly gives up 2 R on 2H and a BB on 0 IP, facing 5 batters. His ERA is infinity for infinity.
I know, you are probably thinking that I’m being a sh**head for using ole’ Will’s birthday to highlight his futility. That certainly isn’t a good way to treat a Cub, even one who’s been dead for 41 years.
He was a Cardinal.
SVBQuote Reply
Matt Stairs, Craig Monroe, Willie Banks, Carl Warwick, Sammy Taylor, LeRoy Herrmann, and Bud Teachout were all ex-Cubs with birthdays today, but I didn’t feel like talking about their unremarkable careers with the Cubs.
SVBQuote Reply
@ SVB:
I liked Matt Stairs.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Stairs is a pretty funny guy, and seemed to have a knack for timely hits, but his one year as a Cub wasn’t terribly remarkable.
Year Age Tm G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
2001 33 CHC 128 403 340 48 85 21 0 17 61 2 3 52 76 .250 .358 .462 .820 115
SVBQuote Reply
@ SVB:
Wasn’t that the year that Sosa was like 100+ RBI over the next highest Cub total, and that next highest was Stairs? To the internet!
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
Oh wait, Ricky Gutierrez was #2 in RBI. Stairs was #3. And Sosa was other-worldly. But not as awesome as Bonds.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
“It was a good idea at first,” TheHawk, who runs badnewscubs.com, said of the Cubs decision to trade speedy youngster Tony Campana to Arizona. “But the statfags were too busy reading every word and playing with their ZORPS to enjoy it. Such poetry”
RynoQuote Reply
@ SVB:
But he was almost exclusively a pinch hitter. I think its like with a LOOGY, you have to almost look situation by situation to determine his impact.
joshQuote Reply
@ dmick89:
So long as everyone validates his approach because he accumulates hits, he has little motivation to change. Then again, its probable that there isn’t a ton of change a guy can make after a certain point in his life (I’m not being confessional).
Bring in Sosa as a special consultant?
http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2011/3/10/2038583/developing-plate-discipline
joshQuote Reply
WaltersFootball.com has the Bears going Tavon Austin WR, Kyle Long OT, and Dion Sims TE for first three picks…….fuck yeah!!! You could substitute Sims for the best available OG or leave it alone but that would be an excellent draft for the Bears IMO.
MuckerQuote Reply
@ Mucker:
That would definitely fix the offense, but don’t you guys need like two starting LBs? FA will be very important for CHI, imo. If they can land one LB and one OL, the draft will be that much easier.
And walterfootball is terrible. The guys at nfldraftscout are good, but they only do one-rounders usually. The guys at bleacherreport and mockingthedraft are good too.
RynoQuote Reply
So it sounds like the Smith trade is for No. 34 this year and a conditional 3 next year (moving to a 2 if KC wins a certain number of games).
Reports are that SF is gearing up for a run at Revis, and I’m not sure I like that. If you want to take a chance on an experienced CB coming off an injury, go after Brent Grimes. If it’s just a vet you want, go after Chris Houston.
I’d rather conserve resources, since we’ll need to extend a LOT of players after next season.
RynoQuote Reply
@ Ryno:
Yeah but I believe they will bring back Roach and/or Hayes and they could still bring back Urlacher depending on what he wants. FA is important but unfortunately the Bears have some work to do because they only have $10.5 million in cap and they have to resign Melton still. I think the Bears need to get better on offense because the Def is still good for another 2-3 years and that’s their window I think.
MuckerQuote Reply
@ dmick89:
Right – I’m not trying to say his walk rate improvement is a guarantee, just that during last season it was acknowledged he made a conscious change to his approach, or at least attempted to change.
The thing about his first half of 2010 is that he batted 8th quite frequently increasing the likelihood that he’d be walked or pitched around. 7 of his 29 walks in 2010 were of the intentional variety. In 2011 he had 2 IBB and 5 in 2012.
Chet MastersonQuote Reply
I wasn’t saying matt stairs was bad. Only that I thought Kowningsmark was a more interesting story than stairs one yr with the cubs. A good question might be why the cubs didn’t reaign him.
mobile svbQuote Reply
@ Mucker:
‘twould be wise to restructure Peppers and Tillman.
RynoQuote Reply
@ Chet Masterson:
Good point about the IBB.
dmick89Quote Reply
Honestly, Ryno is just a gift from the gods on this NFL Draft blog.
MishQuote Reply
@ Ryno:
‘twouldn’t it? They can creat some pretty decent cap space if they can restructure a couple of contracts….specifically Tillman and Peppers.
MuckerQuote Reply
@ mobile svb:
I think they had cheaper options for backups, but I don’t recall. The guy was a journeyman in the literal sense of the word.
joshQuote Reply
@ mobile svb:
Hee Seop Choi
dmick89Quote Reply
Now we can be friends again.
RynoQuote Reply
@ Mish:
I honestly don’t like all the baseball talk. It’s distracting. Maybe they need to create a subforum.
RynoQuote Reply
@ Ryno:
Maybe I’ll start a thread in the off-topic forum. (dying laughing)
MishQuote Reply
Altho I am sincere; I don’t do NFL prospecting and am not CFB fan so Ryno’s draft notes are very enlightening to me. I don’t know why someone neg’d my post above. (dying laughing)
MishQuote Reply
Castro hurt his hamstring. He says it’s not bad, so I figure he’ll be out at least 6 weeks.
We might not win the Division if that’s true.
joshQuote Reply
God you guys are the worst. THE. WORST.
MishQuote Reply
josh wrote:
A lot of you folks are missing some key data and yet you insist on blovating
WenningtonsGorillaCockQuote Reply
New Shit
MylesQuote Reply