It’s good to have a backup plan. In fact, it is necessary. It is a requirement for all the major sports teams in our city. For example, the Bulls’ backup plan for not getting Carmelo was Pau Gasol, McDermott, and Mirotic; not too bad. The Hawks didn’t need a backup plan this summer, since they signed their option A guys to 2 matching long term deals. The Sox appear to have no plan, let alone a backup plan. But today, we’re going to talk about the other 2 teams: the Cubs and the Bears. What was the Cubs backup plan to trading Samardzija & Hammel? What is the Bears backup plan for Cutler?
First of all, the plan for this trade was to add more prospects, but how did the player swap workout? Let’s look at the pitchers the Cubs traded this past 4th of July. How have they been doing since moving to Oaktown? Well, Samardzija, before Monday night’s game, was 3-3 with a 4.07 ERA. Jason Hammel on the other hand is 1-5 with a 6.75 ERA. I saw these stats flash across the Cubs game on Sunday, and had to look for myself. These numbers are NOT very good. Yes, they’re pitching in the “tougher” AL, but they’re playing for a first place club that actually scores runs. Oakland is a pitcher’s stadium by far too. I think Samardzija will be fine, but Hammel was traded at the peak of his value. We haven’t seen Addison Russell or Billy McKinney yet, and have only seen Dan Straily once, but what about the guys that were brought up to replace them in the Cubs starting rotation? Those guys would be Kyle Hendricks and Tsuyoshi Wada. Hendricks is 5-1 with a 1.78 ERA, while Wada is 4-1 with a 2.56 ERA. I know it’s only a small sample size, but I am very pleased with the performance of these 2 rookies. I’m going to say, just like the guys before them, that they are NOT the reason the Cubs have not been good. It continues to be the offense, while the starting pitching (minus Edwin Jackson) has been outstanding. I’m feeling better and better about that trade each day… The Cubs backup plan has worked so far… or has it? I thought they were tanking this year too…
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It’s important to have a backup plan. What’s your backup plan for your fantasy team? You need one of those too. You can’t just pull a quality QB or RB out of your ass. You may be able to find a WR that is OK on the wire, but that’s it. In a 12 team league that is any good, the waiver wire is a rough place to fill your needs. Drafting a deep team is the best solution for that, or maybe you just plan on being one of the lucky ones with no injuries all year. Yeah, good luck with that. Yeah, that same luck we’ll need if Cutler goes down. You ready to make it through a full season for once in your Bears’ career Jay? Our playoff hopes depend on it.
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