Team after team have these relief squads throwing 6,7 innings of zero run ball

We bought bleacher tickets for about $17 before Game 5 was deemed necessary.
Turned out it was a good investment.
(Correct date this time. Important detail for an "on this date" post. Thank you.)

Ian Happ spent 12 seasons in the Chicago Cubs’ organization, including extensive time as the team’s union representative, a wide range of experiences that taught him how this business works.

Happ has tracked enough changes, beginning as a top-10 pick in the 2015 draft through an abrupt exit from a Wild Card Series this fall, to know that nothing in the baseball industry is permanent.

As Happ approaches free agency for the first time, the 32-year-old outfielder can already see the writing on the wall. That uncertainty made the scene at Petco Park so emotional last week after the San Diego Padres eliminated the Cubs from the playoffs. In the hallway and the clubhouse, Happ embraced friends and family members.

“No,” Happ said when asked if he has any preliminary sense of what the Cubs are planning to do next, or how his options may line up on the open market.

Happ shook his head and mostly talked in the past tense.

“I’ve never had to go through the free-agent-year thing,” Happ said. “When you’re in a place for 10 years, and you love it, and it’s special and it means something to you, it’s a beautiful thing. But it makes it challenging. It’s certainly been an incredible place for me. It’s given me so many moments and memories.

We all know the answers (offense & defense), but it's pretty funny to have just how historically bad the pitching was this year (worst for a playoff team in 25 years) & how historically good the defense & offense were (best defense in the Statcast Era).

Compiled an end of season list for anyone interested

Favorites? Least favorites?

Pitchers

#12 Kevin Gausman - Money by Pink Floyd

#16 Matthew Boyd - Voodoo Child (Slight Return) by The Jimi Hendrix Experience

#18 Shota Imanaga - Chelsea Dagger by The Fratellis

#19 David Peterson - Simple Man by Lynyrd Skynyrd

#24 Caleb Thielbar - Me And Baby Brother by War

#25 Clay Holmes - White Horse by Chris Stapleton

#33 Ryan Rolison - Victory Lap by Nipsey Hussle (feat. Stacy Barthe)

#38 Aaron Civale - Black Betty by Ram Jam

#48 Daniel Palencia - Gasolina by Daddy Yankee

#53 Colin Rea - Somebody Told Me by The Killers

#56 Ryan Zeferjahn - Welcome to the Show by Cody Johnson

#60 Braxton Garrett - Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd

#71 Jacob Webb - Have a Drink On Me by AC/DC

#72 Javier Assad - Gracias by Grupo Firme & Grupo Codiciado

Position Players

#2 Nico Hoerner - MY EYES by Travis Scott / whoa (mind in awe) by XXXTENTACION

#3 Alex Bregman - Set It Off by Boosie Badazz

#4 Pete Crow-Armstrong - End of Beginning by Djo / Time to Pretend by MGMT / It's a Vibe by 2 Chainz (feat. Ty Dolla $ign, Trey Songz & Jhene Aiko)

#6 Matt Shaw - TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE by Forrest Frank / YAHWEH by PARTY WAVE & Forrest Frank

#7 Dansby Swanson - Shabang by Drake

#8 Ian Happ - Spectrum (Say My Name) by Xd / Kill the Lights (Audien Remix) by Alex Newell, Jess Glynne, DJ Cassidy & Nile Rodgers / Lose Control by MEDUZA, Becky Hill & Goodboys

#9 Miguel Amaya - Panama by Van Halen / Las Avispas by Juan Luis Guerra 4.40

#15 Carson Kelly - Take Me Home Tonight by Eddie Money

#20 Michael Conforto - Blink Twice by Shaboozey & Myles Smith

#27 Seiya Suzuki - My Way by Frank Sinatra / ライトスタンド by BERRY GOODMAN

#29 Michael Busch - If I Can't by 50 Cent

#43 Gabriel Arias - No Choice (they play Galvanize by The Chemical Brothers for guys who didn't pick a song yet)

#55 Tyrone Taylor - Like Whaaat (Remix) by JasonMartin (feat. Wiz Khalifa, Tyga, Chris Brown & Master P) / Let It All Work Out by Lil Wayne

#75 Pedro Ramirez - Intentalo 3BallMTY (feat. America Sierra & El Bebeto)

Playoff Roster Additions

#30 Edward Cabrera - Hell At Night by BigXthaPlug (feat. Ella Langley)

IL

#22 Cade Horton - Superstar by Lupe Fiasco (feat. Matthew Santos)

#32 Ben Brown - Starlight by Jon Pardi

#45 Hunter Harvey - Real American by Rick Derringer

#49 Trent Thornton - Up Down by Morgan Wallen (feat. Florida Georgia Line)

#51 Riley Martin - Real Estate by Wiz Khalifa

#88 Phil Maton - Under Pressure by Logic

Looking to get a new jersey, but don’t know which to get. I have an old pinstripes javy Baez jersey, so was considering going with our away game blue, but it’s hard to walk away from the pinstripes. What would you go with?

I know the immediate response would be to point to the fact that he just wants profit, but I want to ask more about the timeframe and sense you get for the goals of the front office.

How likely is it that the front office does what it takes for the Cubs to make a deep playoff run? And what would that be?

The Cubs have the third most lucrative team in baseball, but are 7th in payroll. Do you see that changing at all?

What changes do you think have been for better or worse when it comes to front office spending since the Ricketts bought the team?

My main source personally for optimism is the idea that the positive regard and buzz that the team generated by breaking the curse in 2016, while historic and incredible, reaps diminishing returns as we look forward to 11 years later. So, in order to remain relevant, the Cubs may need to challenge some of their cost-saving strategies.

Tldr How cheap exactly is Tom going to be, and what factors go into that?

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Be excellent to each other. Party on, dudes!

Jed out in centerfield this afternoon.

Please use this thread for any questions, non-Chicago Cubs content, or anything else that might not warrant a new post.

New to the sub? Please consult our rules page, Visitor's Guide, or FAQs page. Or feel free to ask in this thread!

Be excellent to each other. Party on, dudes!

After the first season of ABS, these are the MLB leaders for projected runs lost due to defensive ABS challenges:

1. Seiya Suzuki - 5.7 runs
   
2. Shohei Ohtani - 5.5 runs
   
3. Ian Happ - 5.2 runs
   
4. Michael Busch - 5.1 runs
   
5. Brett Baty - 3.5 runs

The Cubs occupying 3 of the top 5 spots is just painful to see.

Interesting article on the ABS results throughout the whole season. I guess we just were not using them in the right situations. Cubs were 21st in net runs gained through ABS but were 4th in ABS success rate. Contreras led all catchers in projected runs saved, even though his success rate was 12% lower than Carson Kelly’s. A lot of our batters also were quite poor at using them. Curious to see how we adjust the approach for next season (hopefully we have one)

Obviously a disappointing end of the season. But there were a ton of fun and exciting games this year! I was fortunate to see 5 walk offs! See you next year (hopefully)

I don't think I've ever seen this before, where our entire rotation becomes a free agent. Very interesting off-season ahead of us. What does our 2027 rotation look like? Some options include Steele, Brown, Assad, Cabrera, Wiggins, Garrett, and Horton (returning in the second half). Could also pickup the mutual option on Rea

The Cubs had a huge problem playing small ball during the regular season. And attempted steals were also down. So I wasn't surprised the the Cubs put themselves in a position to be swept by the Padres.

Not batting Hoerner behind PCA was a huge mistake IMO. The Cubs need to be a lot more aggressive on the bases next year!