Arrieta Posts

[WEAVERMAN]

First of all, Feldman doesn't belong on your list of pitchers who were largely done and who we took a chance with. He was a solid no. 3-4 type when we got him, not that old, he performed as expected and did well enough to earn a 3/$30 mm deal from the Astros.

Second of all, I wouldn't shed too many tears over Alfredo Simon. Yes, he was decent for three years in Cincinnati, 2 years as a reliever and one as a starter. He was worth a combined 4.1 WAR in those three years. Last year he was sub-replacement level.

But we've had our own luck over the years picking up guys like that -- Rodrigo Lopez (9.4 WAR for us), Jeremy Guthrie (16.4 WAR for us), and Miguel Gonzalez (7.9 WAR for us). Darren O'Day (9.2 WAR for us) was a waiver claim, Brad Brach (2.4 WAR so far) was traded for a fairly low level prospect who has done nothing. Every team gives up on guys who perform well elsewhere, and pick up guys who do better than expect for them.

So that brings us to Arrieta. Yes, it will always bother me that we were unable to unlock the potential that obviously was there. It doesn't bother me so much that we traded him; it bothers me much more that we weren't able to get even decent performance from him in 2012-13, and that it took the Cubs virtually no time at all to fix it. That's the real travesty here.

CHC got lucky with this guy. And we'll see what he does in the future. He'll probably still revert to what he was before, it started in the playoffs.

[abbott]

Is Arrieta as big a steal for the Cubs as Jones is for us?

[Ori-Al]

If my memory is correct, Jake had problems pitching from the stretch while he was an Oriole. He could look dominant from the windup, but he struggle as soon as a runner got on and he had to pitch from the stretch.

[Tryptamine]

CHC got lucky with this guy. And we'll see what he does in the future. He'll probably still revert to what he was before, it started in the playoffs.

I have my doubts. The guy has posted a 2.26ERA over his 437.1IP since he became a Cub. At this point he's an established ace.

[O-Arm36]

I think I'm in between the schools of thought on this one. I do think the O's tinkered with Jake too much, but I also think he probably needed a change of scenery as well to refocus.

In the O's defense, this does happen. Sometimes you get a guy who becomes the game's preeminent home run hitter for a rental set up guy in his mid 30s.

[Frobby]

What a rambling thread! I will only say that I consider Bundy's injury setbacks to be the single worst thing that has happened to this franchise over the last four years. I'm hoping we can nurse Bundy into the rotation over the next 2-3 years, but half of his service time will be used up by the time he's really ready to give us 180-200 innings (if he ever is).

[abbott]

I'm pretty sure letting him get back to basics didn't solve his deer in the headlights issue when he allowed a baserunner.

Good coaching helped him get that Cy Young. Poor coaching allowed him to be traded for a jar of generic peanut butter

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[Can_of_corn]

Good coaching helped him get that Cy Young. Poor coaching allowed him to be traded for a jar of generic peanut butter

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http://m.mlb.com/news/article/110014572/strong-body-and-mind-fuel-cubs-jake-arrieta

"Sports psychology or mental training has been viewed as a weakness, and I think that's a pretty silly way to look at it," Arrieta said, echoing a message manager Joe Maddon relayed to the Cubs.

He had been using one since College and I think he had a break-through with the Cubs. The change in his demeanor with runners on was significant.

Arrieta did. He can identify the "yellow lights" that warn things are starting to go in a negative direction.

"The yellow light is, say, a leadoff walk and then a guy hits a double," he said. "Then it's, 'OK, how do I assess the situation before it gets to a 'red light,' where everything hits the fan, and before you know it you're in the dugout after giving up five runs and saying, 'How … did that happen?'"

I guess his nickname with the O's should have been Red Light.

[Stotle]

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/110014572/strong-body-and-mind-fuel-cubs-jake-arrieta

He had been using one since College and I think he had a break-through with the Cubs. The change in his demeanor with runners on was significant.

I guess his nickname with the O's should have been Red Light.

Some would say (not publicly) that the Orioles insistence on Arrieta doing things their way, rather than an approach with which he had a higher level of comfort, exacerbated mental issues, and that the single most important things the Cubs did was to tell Arrieta "Show us what works for you and we will start from there."

[Can_of_corn]

Some would say (not publicly) that the Orioles insistence on Arrieta doing things their way, rather than an approach with which he had a higher level of comfort, exacerbated mental issues, and that the single most important things the Cubs did was to tell Arrieta "Show us what works for you and we will start from there."

Or that Arrieta's reticence in simply trusting the O's staff and buying into the changes caused the issue.

Can be spun either way.

Me, I tend to fall on the side of, do it the way the guys are paying you want you to do it.

[Stotle]

Or that Arrieta's reticence in simply trusting the O's staff and buying into the changes caused the issue.

Can be spun either way.

Me, I tend to fall on the side of, do it the way the guys are paying you want you to do it.

Seems to me like the best dev staffs work with players in their comfort zone. But, hey, different strokes and all.

EDIT -- For whatever it's worth, I've never heard your version of the story from anyone in the industry with an opinion on the matter. Anecdotal, but I've heard from half a dozen people across multiple orgs that the issue was a Baltimore dev. issue.

[weams]

Or that Arrieta's reticence in simply trusting the O's staff and buying into the changes caused the issue.

Can be spun either way.

Me, I tend to fall on the side of, do it the way the guys are paying you want you to do it.

He needed the chip knocked off his shoulder. He had to be cast off. Then he got serious. It worked out that tough love was the right love.

[weams]

Seems to me like the best dev staffs work with players in their comfort zone. But, hey, different strokes and all.

EDIT -- For whatever it's worth, I've never heard your version of the story from anyone in the industry with an opinion on the matter. Anecdotal, but I've heard from half a dozen people across multiple orgs that the issue was a Baltimore dev. issue.

I heard from the guys who are now in Philadelphia that Jake was difficult to coach. I heard Mark Connor quit over him. He was insistent on throwing all his pitches. Buck finally got tired of that. But they may have just been frustrated. The guys who never were able to bring out the best in him.

[Can_of_corn]

Seems to me like the best dev staffs work with players in their comfort zone. But, hey, different strokes and all.

EDIT -- For whatever it's worth, I've never heard your version of the story from anyone in the industry with an opinion on the matter. Anecdotal, but I've heard from half a dozen people across multiple orgs that the issue was a Baltimore dev. issue.

Noted.

Would you say Jake ever fully bought into the O's approach?

If he had could it have worked for him?

[weams]

Noted.

Would you say Jake ever fully bought into the O's approach?

If he had could it have worked for him?

I think the strings would have helped him.