More Thoughts on the Deal

Just from listening to a bit of sports talk, my guess is tha Cubs are going to have to do some PR, at a minimum, to make the Chapman trade palatable for a goodly segment of their base, including me.

Also, one wonders if they have got this right from an analytical perspective.  They did not swoon before the break because their bullpen fell apart. Their bullpen fell apart because its weaknesses were exposed due to the string of bad and short starts by Arrieta, Lester, Lackey, and Hammel.  The back end of the pen is better than average.  The middle is weak, and, since the Cubs will never use a strong piece to keep a game close, they have lost a lot of games because they have not been able to stay close through the middle innings.

The other reason for the skid was the offense, which was impacted by a series of injuries, notably Fowler and Soler.  Time will fix these, and, on the offensive front, picking up a left-ganded batting outfielder like Reddick would help if the cost is manageable.

As for the starters, with Warren out of the mix now, look for the Cubs to stretch out Cahill just in case.  Hard to see getting another starter of equal ability to those now in the rotation unless injury forces their hand.