It's posts like this that make me embarrassed to have to associate myself with 90%+ of typical Cubs fans. If I had a dollar for every time someone thought they were smarter than Theo...
First of all, how would this hope of yours come to fruition? A career ending injury? We'd surely still need to pay him and it would eliminate any chance of him opting out after year 3 or 4 which guarantees a full-length contract... doesn't seem to be what you're looking for. A trade? No one trades a player a couple months into a long-term deal and selling low at the behest of overemotional fans' knee-jerk reactions isn't exactly what makes Theo the GOAT. I hope you were just venting your frustrations through an outlandish post.
In regards to his performance... relax. We're about 1/4 into the first season of his contract and surely nerves can be a factor early on. I do see the mechanical issues in his swing but Mallee is working with him and he will figure it out. All the focus rests primarily on his bat, but you need to look at the big picture. He is an unbelievable fielder with multiple gold gloves and that skill will always play every game. He's the best baserunner on the team and does virtually everything well.
Take a look past the classic stat numbers at face value and you'll see Hayward's true value... in the four seasons he's reached at least 140 games, he's finished with respective WARs of 6.4, 5.8, 6.2 and 6.5. For reference, a WAR of 5+ is considered all-star caliber, and his 6.5 WAR last year was good for 10th in the league out of all position players.
Another thing people fail to grasp is the CONTEXT of the signing.
-NEED: We needed to improve our outfield defense and could afford to realize the value of his other tools while simultaneously adding depth (especially after having a very lucky season last year in regards to health and results with very few injuries and a win total of 97 that was well above where our run differential indicated we should end up) and the Schwarber injury in game 3 shows why this depth was so important.
-MARKET VALUE: What people don't realize is how awful the future FA market is... next year's class is pitiful and teams will be scrambling for bats. If Heyward were a FA after the 2016 season with number consistent to the rest of his career he would be signed for much more.
-TIMING: J-Hey signed this deal at 26 years old... opportunities to add a player with his skills at his age do not come around often, especially when the timeline matches perfectly with the organization's window to compete
-ABILITY: Virtually all of our young studs are cost controlled for at least several more years and we had the payroll flexibility to make a signing in this range after a few nice value signings. We will have TV Network money coming in 2019 before our studs are up for FA and Heyward's contract could be opted-out of around then or not much of a hindrance if picked up due to the influx in cash flow.
-SITUATIONAL: Not only were we adding a great player but we were taking him away from a division rival and facing him 19 times less per year. Also, he was offered more money by the Cardinals...
Theo, Jed and Co. considered all these things and many, many more factors when pursuing him. To insult them with a comment like this (not just by HC but by thousands of other shallow, emotionally unintelligent minds) is not only foolish but downright disrespectful after everything they've done to turn a dumpster fire of a roster into a world-class organization top-to-bottom in less than half a decade.
At the moment, even with his "HORRIBLE" offensive start, Heyward is on pace to be above a 2.0 WAR player... not ideal for a player with his salary but as I already explained that's not incredibly important and he WILL turn things around.
I don't chime in like this too often but I had to address this thread...
I'll be back to bump this thread for sure... Go Cubs.
Relax, I was being facetious, just like the thread title. I don't think he's literally the worst hitter in the NL (although he may be the worst 2 hitter). I understand they're not able to take a mulligan on his contract, although if they could and I had a vote, I would.
Obviously I hope you're right and I hope he hits 350 from here on out. Just don't see it with how lost he is at the plate.
And I don't see why he hasn't been moved out of the 2 hole. Joe touts his OBP but it's probably below average for 1-3 hitters (too lazy to look it up). Sure he has speed but is never on base. It's frustrating, I would have rather they spent the money on middle relief and replacing/re-signing Jake, and called up Almora to play right. But obviously I'm not Theo Epstein, so we'll see how it plays out.
He's hitting 217 and slugging 276. That is unacceptable for a 23 mil a year corner outfielder. It doesn't make me a bad Cubs fan to point that out, nor does it make me shallow or emotionally unintelligent (your words).
If we were playing in a game 7 tomorrow I'd rather see Matt Sczcur starting in right. That's not exaggeration. And he makes league min.
Jed and Theo have done some great things, but that doesn't mean they are immune to mistakes.
If we were playing in a game 7 tomorrow I'd rather see Matt Sczcur starting in right. That's not exaggeration. And he makes league min.
Jed and Theo have done some great things, but that doesn't mean they are immune to mistakes.
Nah just because he got his pay deferred does not make it a bad contract. Actually 1 mill is worst less now then if they would have given it to him 15 years ago so they actually saved money by paying him later
That opportunity in the 5th with two on...I wasn't excited to see him at the plate. I guess you could have pinch hit with Soler but I would have preferred a better contact guy even than Soler.
Buck said that Maddon stated whether or not to start Heyward was his toughest lineup division of the series. That was a spot where it didn't pay off, but...In Joe I Trust.
Buck said that Maddon stated whether or not to start Heyward was his toughest lineup division of the series. That was a spot where it didn't pay off, but...In Joe I Trust.
