08-04-2021, 12:12 PM
Trading all of those guys was absolutely the right move. Letting them finish out this season in 3rd or 4th place would've been a huge mistake. Here's where I think it could've been handled better:
- They should've maximized the competitive window better while it was open. I think 2017 was almost inevitable to some degree; the post-celebration season was bound to be somewhat of a downer. But they won the division again and beat a tough Nationals team in the NLDS. They were just out of gas after that series. If they threw more resources into 2018 and 2019, I think there was another deep playoff run in there. But they recognized that there was an issue with the offense and then did jack shit to address it.
- I've expressed my disappointment with the Kimbrel trade already so I won't beat that dead horse. But it also seems like the returns on Bryant were pretty weak. It's too soon to tell with these prospects, obviously, so we'll see how it shakes out.
- It was such an unceremonious exit. I'll never understand why RIzzo and Bryant sat in the dugout during their last game at Wrigley. But even beyond that -- everyone knew these guys were going to go; that was etched in stone as soon as Darvish got traded. Not that there had to be some grand farewell tour, but sheesh. They did nothing to acknowledge their contributions at all. The farewell videos posted on social media for the players *after* they were traded was something, I guess. But still pretty weak sauce.
So maybe my frustration is more with the Ricketts than with Hoyer/Ross. We were sold a bill of goods with these guys. About the constant player development. About reinvesting everything back into the product on the field. About the new "Cubs Way." And maybe some of that was bad luck, but the for the Ricketts to ever cry poor is such a bad look. They own the entire fucking neighborhood around Wrigley now. They own their own network. And, yes, they/we will always have 2016...but there will always be a lingering "what if." What if they really went all in during the years after 2016?
Whatever. I'll be looking forward to the Next Great Cubs Team sometime in the next 4-5 years, I guess.
- They should've maximized the competitive window better while it was open. I think 2017 was almost inevitable to some degree; the post-celebration season was bound to be somewhat of a downer. But they won the division again and beat a tough Nationals team in the NLDS. They were just out of gas after that series. If they threw more resources into 2018 and 2019, I think there was another deep playoff run in there. But they recognized that there was an issue with the offense and then did jack shit to address it.
- I've expressed my disappointment with the Kimbrel trade already so I won't beat that dead horse. But it also seems like the returns on Bryant were pretty weak. It's too soon to tell with these prospects, obviously, so we'll see how it shakes out.
- It was such an unceremonious exit. I'll never understand why RIzzo and Bryant sat in the dugout during their last game at Wrigley. But even beyond that -- everyone knew these guys were going to go; that was etched in stone as soon as Darvish got traded. Not that there had to be some grand farewell tour, but sheesh. They did nothing to acknowledge their contributions at all. The farewell videos posted on social media for the players *after* they were traded was something, I guess. But still pretty weak sauce.
So maybe my frustration is more with the Ricketts than with Hoyer/Ross. We were sold a bill of goods with these guys. About the constant player development. About reinvesting everything back into the product on the field. About the new "Cubs Way." And maybe some of that was bad luck, but the for the Ricketts to ever cry poor is such a bad look. They own the entire fucking neighborhood around Wrigley now. They own their own network. And, yes, they/we will always have 2016...but there will always be a lingering "what if." What if they really went all in during the years after 2016?
Whatever. I'll be looking forward to the Next Great Cubs Team sometime in the next 4-5 years, I guess.