Tall Midget wrote:
City of Fools wrote:
rogers park bryan wrote:
City of Fools wrote:
no Cubs fan is a bigger skeptic than me. But to achieve 1989, they traded Palmero and Moyer for Williams. They did the opposite of what the Cubs have done.
But they DID have a lot of young talent at that point.
they were "relatively" young team. Compare the two teams and you see just how young this Cubs team is. And trading core young players is what I'm specifically talking about.
In 1989, Maddux, Grace, Berryhill, Girardi, Walton, Smith and Williams were all young and/or inexperienced players. That's a pretty significant youth movement.
I'm not sure what you're saying about Moyer. It took him a while to develop. He wouldn't have been a major asset in 1990, 91, or 92. I don't think people saw him as a "core" player at the time.
And didn't the Cubs trade Palmeiro because they had to choose between him and Grace? The team will have to make similar decisions in the upcoming years. I would also add that Palmeiro's history with PEDs complicates this discussion.
he was a major asset in '88. 12 wins and tenth in strikeouts. He was a regarded, if not highly regarded prospect. Palmeiro would have been in left and clearly would have been a better asset than Dwight Smith. Would the Cubs have found a competent closer within their own ranks? My memory is that Lancaster could have done it.
Planning for flameouts is part of the game. Walton going downhill so fast certainly had an impact but the 1990 season was done in specifically by injuries to pitchers. Rick was injured the year before and all five starters spent some time on the DL. The difference is, the best under 26 year old was Grace. Dunston was the second best. Smith was the third best and Walton was fourth. Compare that to Rizzo, Bryant, Russell and Schwarber. If any of those fails, you have 2015 Soler and 1989 Girardi up next. After that, the Cubs cabinet was pretty bare (just comparing offensive players-pitching may be the Achilles heel of this team for years to come). The 2015 Cubs have Castro and La Stella, both of whom are 26 and under. There just seems to be more depth. Green/Frey built the right way...they just made some disastrous trades and acquisitions (Dave Smith, anyone?). I'm still skeptical but another year of success and you would have to buy in to this regime.