The Forgotten Cub

As the Cubs get ready to expand their roster from a 25-man to a 40-man squad, all eyes are on top prospect Javier Baez, and his expected return to the bigs. Baez is a one-of-a-kind, flashy infielder with an exceptionally high baseball IQ and a swing stronger than Samson's. While I certainly am excited to see Baez make his return, and hopefully see him stay on the big league roster in the coming years, meanwhile blossoming in to an above average second baseman, I can't help but think about another highly-touted young prospect in the Cubs' system.

Here's a quote from a 2014 ESPN the Mag piece, written by Tim Keown:
"Scouting/player development VP Jason McLeod dubbed [Javier] Baez, [Kris] Bryant, [Albert] Almora and [Jorge] Soler the Core Four. If even three of them come close to fulfilling their potential, they'll represent a homegrown Cubs trio unseen since the days of Banks, Williams and Santo. Analysts who project prospects for a living rank the Core Four among baseball's top 30, with Baez and Bryant in the top 15."

Baez call-up soon? Check. Bryant tearing-up big league pitching and hitting walk-off bombs? Check. Soler hitting whistling bottle rockets in to the gap and throwing out anyone that dares to test the rocket attached to his arm? Check.

But who's the other guy? Why haven't we seen or talked about Albert Almora, much less thought about him since last spring? After all, entering 2014, he was Baseball America's #36th ranked prospect in the world. He was selected 6th overall in the 2012 MLB Draft. What's the deal?

Well, take in to account that when that piece was written, neither Addison Russell nor Kyle Schwarber were in the Cubs' organization yet. Russell was still in the A's organization and Schwarber was preparing for his junior season at Indiana University-Bloomington. Since then, both players have joined the Cubs' big league roster, and thrived, meanwhile becoming fan favorites. It kind of feels like those two have slid in to the "Core Four," with Baez and Almora sliding out. If you took a poll of every Cubs fan at a sell-out game at Wrigley, and asked them who is in the Cubs "Core Four," chances are you would get some mix of Bryant, Soler, Rizzo, Schwarber and Russell.

Almora has had his share of struggles, which many have noticed on the field. Last season, he batted a dismal .234 in 36 games with the AA Tennesse Smokies, where he started the 2014 season. His 2015 season got off to a cold start. On August 4, he was hitting just .237. Almora has been forgotten by Cubs' fans, and many others have already given up on him, calling him a "bust," or simply, "trade bait." Memories of Josh Vitters, Felix Pie, and Brett Jackson are in the back of fans' minds, and many think Almora will be an addition to that list.

While many have taken notice of his struggles on the field, not many are aware of the struggles in his personal life. His father, Albert Almora Sr., has been battling prostate cancer since 2014. This kind of a distraction might explain some of the struggles at the plate that Almora has experienced since raking .347 in the rookie league in 2012 and .329 in high A Kane County in 2013.

The next counter-argument that one might have is that his dwindling numbers in 2014 and most of 2015 suggest that he cannot battle adversity or that he isn't mentally tough enough. That's rubbish. Keep in mind that Almora is only 21 years-old. He's the same age as me! As someone that is also in my early 20s, I can say that a lot of us young adults don't know how to handle adversity. That is something that college prepares you for. It offers you a time to make mistakes and have some experience dealing with the crap life throws at you sometimes. So shouldn't young kids in MLB farm systems be granted the same amount of grace? At least until they "graduate" and turn 23? I say yes.

While Almora has made his share of mistakes at the plate, rarely does he ever make mistakes in the outfield, something that can't be said about some of the current Cubs' outfielders (not naming any names...). I recently had my eyes pop open while watching ESPN's SportsNation (a sentence I never thought I'd write) when the show featured an incredible catch he recently made. Shortly after, I looked up the clip on YouTube and it took me a solid ten minutes for me to find the catch. Why? Because he has treasure chest of web gems on YouTube. Like....

And finally, the catch I was looking for:

Even in the midst of all the hardship surrounding him and his family, Almora has shown a grittiness that doesn't come along very often. That can't be taught. Look at how hard he plays: willing to sacrifice his body and make Mickey Mantle-like catches in the outfield. Look at the range that he has, not to mention his baseball IQ. Can you name a better defensive outfielder anywhere in the Cubs' organization?

Critics will then say "he's not a hitter." I beg to differ. In an August 21 game, Almora stepped up to bat in the 12th inning, with the game tied 6-6. Watch what happens.

And what happened in a game tied 5-5 in the bottom of the 9th last season?

Still not sold on Almora? We have been talking about how he has been struggling primarily throughout this piece. But since batting .237 on August 4, he has gone on an absolute tear, batting a beastly .375, hitting safely in 24 of those 26 games. He has brought up his low batting average to a respectable .274 and a solid .326 OBP. He could eclipse a .280 BA before the season ends. He also showed great promise in big league camp at spring training, where he batted .345 and where he roomed with now all-star and rookie of the year candidate Kris Bryant. He HAS overcome adversity!

While the Cubs have been on a roll, Almora has been quietly making strides towards becoming the Cubs 2016 every day center fielder. I expect Almora to get a lot of time this coming spring, and start 2016 in AAA. If he continues to thrive, we could be seeing him some time in the early summer, similar to how Bryant and Addison Russell got called up, and soon became every day players. As Dexter Fowler and newly acquired Austin Jackson enter free agency, there should be room for Almora to elevate his game to the next level and be given a shot in center.

It may sound crazy, but Almora has the tools to be a better option than both Fowler and Jackson. While Fowler has raised his numbers since his weak first half of the season, at times he is a liability in the outfield. He either doesn't run hard enough, misjudges the distance of fly balls, or just isn't fast enough to keep up in center. Almora is fast enough, and will not make those types of mistakes. At the plate, I think Almora can at least bat .241 (what Russell is hitting right now), and have a good enough OBP for a rookie player that would make up for the loss of Fowler. But I guess we are getting ahead of ourselves.

The bottom line is that in a system that has yielded two all-stars (Bryant and Rizzo), three other stud rookies (Russell, Schwarber and Soler), there is still more to come. Javy Baez should be making his return some time this week and barring injury, Almora is primed for a big league debut next season. Why have a core four when you can have a core seven?

Finding the Right Mindset as a 2015 Cubs Fan

Entering Sunday's series finale versus the White Sox, the Cubs were attempting to extend their win streak to ten games, go 20 games over .500, and gain a game on the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central standings. All of this sounds great. However, White Sox ace Chris Sale had something else in mind.The lefty held the Cubs to just one hit and no runs, striking out 15 in only 7 innings of work. Sale was able to extinguish the Cubs' on-fire bats, and the White Sox picked up the W.

My initial reaction was sadness and bitterness. I was bummed that the streak had to end, and maybe even more bummed that it had to end at the hands of the White Sox, of all teams. But then I remembered what this season is about: growth. That helped me to appreciate the amazing stretch the Cubs have been on, winning 15 of their last 17.

After spending a week at spring training, talking to players, watching the games on TV, and doing all kinds of research I could, prior to Opening Day, I arrived at the conclusion that the Cubs would somewhere between 83 and 85 games. While many websites and magazines were calling the Cubs contenders, like this Grantland piece, and others correlated the 2015 season to that of the 2015 season in Back to the Future II, I was a little more skeptical, "realistic," as I would have called myself at the time.

This year was all about answering questions about the team for the future, finding out who will fit each position as we move in to a new era of Cubs' baseball, and giving the young players chances to grow at the Major League level. In my head, I decided that finishing above .500 would be a successful and exciting season. While the Cubs certainly have a bright future, and many stud young players, I just couldn't see them being ready yet. I couldn't see a 73-89 team flip its record backwards, and go on a deep playoff run. It just wasn't a fair expectation for such a young team, that has never been there before.

And here we are. The Cubs now own a 3.5 game lead over the Giants in the second NL Wild Card spot, while starting FOUR rookies in their lineup every day. While there is still a month and a half of baseball left to be played, the Cubs are in the mix, and have a legitimate shot to make the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

I went to Thursday's game against the Brewers, and it had a different feel from other games I have been to in recent years. Not because the Cubs launched 5 homers. Not because Wrigley Field sold out on a Thursday afternoon game against a bad team. But instead, there was something in the air. There was a hope that had been rekindled around the ballpark, and an excitement that hasn't been there in a long time. Many fans are starting to "believe" again.

Now for those of you that are reading, some of you might be stopping me right now and saying, "Oh here we go again. The last thing you want to do is believe, because they're the Cubs, and the Cubs are going to break your heart." Now, this is where it comes back to what I said earlier. This year is different. When former general manager Jim Hendry assembled the 2003, 2007 and 2008 Cubs' teams that made the playoffs, he did it through making big acquisitions. He overpaid Alfonso Soriano and Ted Lilly in free agency, he traded for Aramis Ramirez and Kenny Lofton, etc. The teams that he put together had a very tight title window. It was a "win now or bust" strategy, that proved not to work, seeing as the Cubs only got a few cracks at winning, fell short, and then got stuck with bad contracts and mediocre teams. Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer have put the Cubs together in a way, that while they may look good now, they aren't even close to how good they can be.

Remember only three years ago (feels a lot longer than that) when the Cubs called up a highly-touted first baseman prospect, who put together a nice rookie campaign, then followed it up with very lackluster numbers in 2013 (.233 BA)? That player is Anthony Rizzo, and since then, he has been the second-best first baseman in the National League, and this season, is a legitimate threat to win NL MVP.

What's the moral of that story? While the Cubs look good now, and they show a lot of promise, imagine how good they are going to look in two, three, four years from now, when their young guns start to hit their prime, and some blossom in to stars. The Cubs still have Albert Almora and Javier Baez in the minors, both are some of the best prospects in baseball. Not to mention pitcher CJ Edwards. While the Cubs currently have the fourth best record in the MLB at 67-49, keep in mind that they also have the third lowest team batting average, hitting a dismal .241. Imagine what that team batting average is going to look like in a few years with some fine seasoning?

Another thing to think about is how rare it is for a team to win it all with no recent playoff experience. It's kind of like if you ask a girl out. If you've already had a girlfriend, you've been there before, and you have way more confidence than when you hadn't dated before. It's the same for sports. A lot of the time, we'll see a team show up in the playoffs, and they end up losing to a team that's been there before. So even if the Cubs lost in the playoffs, just playing playoff games would be a huge win for this team.

This season has been a bonus season for the Cubs. It's kinda like a prequel to a great movie. The prequel may be really good, but its laying the groundwork for something that's even better. And barring bad injuries, the Cubs are going to be better.

That isn't to say that they don't have a chance this year. They do. But if it's October, and you're watching the Cubs, and they lose, don't be heartbroken. Don't be mad. Because this just the start of something beautiful. Enjoy, my friends.

Four Ideas Better Than "Space Jam 2"

According to numerous reports, Warner Brothers is in the works of creating a sequel to Space Jam, one of the most fun and zany sports films of all-time. Michael Jordan leads a ragtag group of Loony Toons that possess 0 athletic ability against a team of aliens or "Monstars" for their independence. Winning recipe. It worked in 1996, and it will probably make more money in the year 2016 or 2017, or whenever this film gets released.

Detailed in a Deadspin piece, Warner Brothers plans to feature LeBron James in the role MJ was in almost 20 years ago. And while this film is a near sure-bet to make an ungodly amount of money, I can't help but think that something is missing. While LeBron has been one of the best basketball players and biggest sports stars since Jordan played, this film could end up being a little too formulaic. Unoriginal. It could very well end up being the same thing as its predecessor, only with a star in the same sport that doesn't come close to holding a candle to Jordan.

At first, I dismissed the idea of adding more installments to the Space Jam franchise, but then I saw an interesting tweet from my buddy Nick Wolf:

That's it! Instead of rebooting or rewriting the same film, why not turn Space Jam in to a multi-sports franchise a la Air Bud, in which the Toon Squad competes in different sports battles featuring other great athletes?! And on that thought, I present to you, four ideas better than "Space Jam 2":

1) "Space Strikers" 

Let's start with Nick's idea. You have soccer's most-recognizable star, David Beckham. So recognizable in fact that he has a movie named after him already. Just about everyone plays soccer as a kid, whether it is on a park district team, or if it just outside at recess or in P.E.I would be love to see the swiftness of these characters that we know and love playing soccer.

2) "Space Blitz"

This was an obvious choice. Football is the top sport in America right now. The only not-so-obvious choice is which athlete would the Toon Squad pick to lead it? Or would they two players, one to operate the offense and one to operate the defense? Let's go with that idea.

So the Toon Squad has to pick a defensive player, and right now the easy choice would be to take J.J. Watt, a once-in-a-lifetime player that can dominate a game on the defensive side of the ball. Watt is goofy and fun enough for this role. On the offensive end, I think the Toons gotta pick a quarterback. They can't rely on Buggs, Daffy or Tweety to pass the ball. And this is where it gets tough. You have a choice between possibly the greatest quarterback of all-time (Tom Brady), the best statistical quarterback ever (Peyton Manning), and the MVP (Aaron Rodgers), and maybe potential all-time great. Who do you give the ball to?

Six months ago, I would have said Brady. But the whole "deflategate" could tarnish the reputation of your movie, as well as bring down its ticket sales. So you can rule him out. Between Rodgers and Manning, you have two guys that both can act (we've seen plenty of their commercials), and I don't think you really can go wrong. I would prefer Rodgers because he is playing at a higher level right now than Manning is, but you couldn't go wrong with either.

3) "Space Slash"

What sport is more cartoony and animated than hockey? Wouldn't you love to see Tasmanian Devil picking a fight with an alien that looks at him funny? I'm imagining hard hits and fast-paced excitement! Maybe even throw in a broadcaster that is a parody of Al Michaels covering the 1980 gold medal team. 

As for what NHL player the Toon Squad would be targeting in free agency, this is another tough decision. They could go with Sidney Crosby, but they would be mortgaging the farm on someone that could very easily get a concussion and have to sit on the sidelines for the rest of the big game. This may be some of my Chicago-bias easing in, but I think they take the same route they took in the original Space Jam, and target a winner who is not only at the top of their game, but dominating their game. The Blackhawks have won three of the last six Stanley Cups. So I think they target stars Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. However, "Captain Serious" would not have time for any cartoon tomfoolery of any kind. Kane would be in, and Toews could have an awkward cameo or a minor role.

4) "Space Slam"

While America's pastime may be seen by many as "boring", kids are still growing up playing little league. And one of the most exciting video games I played as a kid was none other than MLB: Slugfest, which allowed you to do ridiculous things such as punch players instead of tagging them, and jump-kick the catcher on plays at the plate. I'm sure that this would still be exciting and gritty. Baseball is in a weird place right now, because while there are many stars on the rise, its stars A) aren't as recognizable as they have been in the past and B) haven't established their place quite like stars in the past. Perhaps the obvious choice would be for the Toon Squad to acquire Mike Trout. But I feel like the Toon Squad might have their sights set on another player. Even though Derek Jeter has retired and is no longer actively playing the sport, could you see the Toon Squad coming to Jeter for help in his retirement life where he doesn't have much else going on? I can. Also, Jeter is the most recognizable star baseball has had in recent years, and I'm sure the MLB would love to milk him for all that he's worth. Jeter would bring a veteran presence to a young clubhouse in search of its soul. Plus, you need a leader at the shortstop position, and Jeter is the best option. Jeter has also done his share of acting, so I'm sure he'd be comfortable in this role, and entertaining and fun.

So these are just some ideas I had from brainstorming. Each film could have all kinds of different plot angles and twists. And of course, many cameos from star athletes. And Bill Murray. Can't leave out Bill Murray.

What do you think of these ideas? Would you see any of them? Would you replace any of my athlete selections? Do you have an idea better than Space Jam 2? Whatever your opinion is, drop a comment or tweet me @vellvita7.