2024 Chicago Cubs first-half disappointment: Christopher Morel | CHGO Cubs Podcast

there’s a lot of guys that are just marginal Major Leaguers right now Madrigal Brewer quas uh I I think personally I don’t know other any other way and I’m a fan of his Morell was a dud in the first half of the Season he he was his defense it didn’t work we don’t know how long it’ll last and the offense has regressed again even though the home runs are there so I’m hoping for a big second half from him but we’ll see I think Hector nerys maybe not his fault mhm but he has been a dud in the first half too he he was your one free agent addition to the bullpen and it has helped not at all yeah well morale like that was it may it was like all of May when like it was just it looked like it was a lot of bad luck the bad bit was so low the exit Vos and all the baded ball data was still so good and you’re like his expected stats were great and you’re like this can’t last forever uh but yeah since then I think for the most part A lot of that has not looked as good like the the bad ball data has gotten a little worse um I I still think the the Approach at the plate has been good as far as walks and strikeouts and that kind of stuff and chasing uh but I think you are like anecdotally seeing him in between on pitches and like taking more pitches in the zone than he was earlier in the year when you’re were like the approach is still so good I think that’s been something that’s hurt him a little bit uh and so yeah I’d agree with lugan that you felt like it’s only a matter of time till the numbers started to improve because all this other data underlying data was telling us that it was uh it would that it would or that it should uh but it it really hasn’t that to to much of a positive extent and so yeah you’re looking at like it’s it’s to the point where you’re you’re seeing people saying like Morel needs to be benched Morel needs to whatever it is and you’re like did not expect that going into this year I think that’s so when you talk about him being a dud it’s just like you expected him to have at least a solid year um and not necessarily getting that or at least you’re not getting it to the extent that you thought you would um you know giving him the keys to third big like letting him play every day like you thought he’d have a at least offensively a lot better year and you’re not really getting that yeah I uh you know everyone knows I’m a big supporter 96 WRC plus by the6 So Below League average barely and the worst defensive third baseman I think it’s still L there yes I think he’s still number one worst yeah um you know everyone like I was saying everyone knows I’m a big Morel Defender when Sarah our producer Slanders I want to tell her to go jump in the lake um I have nothing to say though I see you in the YouTube chat okay it’s a good day to be a lake jumper is it is a good yeah it is a good day to be a lake jumper to be fair um but in all seriousness I uh you know I’ve I tweeted the other day you know I’m never giving up on Christopher Morell I’m not I’m really not giving up on him like he remind like the slander and everything it reminds me all so much of watching Kyle schwarber the first couple years after the ACL injury with the Cubs this guy I mean we saw it yesterday the raw power that he displays I think clip Floyd said it best on Marquee on Saturday night I’m a real sicko I watched the Marquee postgame after those two games and spent the entire day watching the Cubs I I watch that postgame and why I don’t that’s almost disturbing I know but I’m glad I watched it because Cliff Floyd had great Insight on Christopher Morell and he talked about how he like like I said about Dansby is not taking the ball to right right center either he’s not taking the ball the other way and until he starts to show that more he is not going to that things aren’t probably going to change and I’m you guys know I’m not some hitting expert the guy played in the major leagues for a really long time he knows what he’s talking about I’m more likely to listen to him and and at least like that’s probably a good reason why things haven’t gone his way I like you said Ryan a little bit in between he’s been it feels like every at bad he’s check swinging at least once or twice and yeah he’s let some like he’s gotten screwed on a few strike three calls on balls L are outside the Zone but like just barely not there and then he’s gotten you know gifted some too at the same it’s all kind of evened out I think that his thing like I said with Dansby probably good to have a good week off here and hopefully it transcends cuz he did have a great his best game you can argue yesterday was his best game of the season two Homer game you know what I mean multihomer game right right so like it’s it the reason that it reminds me so much of K schwarber when he first came back to the Cubs in you know after the ACL injury and post 2016 is he leads the team in homers he’s 18 homers he’s still hitting the ball out of the park they he just needs to hit a little bit more and I think he can develop into what I think is an All-Star caliber player has it taken a bump in a road this year and and am I surprised by that yes because I felt like last year he was better he was significantly better than year one when he first came up so as theepan always says development isn’t always linear I think that there are good things from this first half from him in terms of the Walk rate and the K rate but yeah they need him they need him to produce more they I can complain about the front office not you know bringing someone in to go with him Bellinger and SE as that’s more proven but at the same time I also we also as like as a fan we they need him they and we need him to perform better so yeah I would agree he’s a dud and it’s been a massive disappointment um but I’m still in I’m still all in I’m going down with the ship with the guy it’s one of those thing I think like he he has the tools like he has the raw power he has the athleticism he has all that and you’re just trying to get to a point where it clicks for him and like he’s I think he actually the last I’m looking at his last you know 11 games or so again it’s just small sample sizes so it may just be more of like looking for Silver Linings but his last 11 games going to the break he hit 250 had a 798 Ops he did strike out 15 times and only walked twice so there’s a little give and take obviously in that um but a little bit results wise a little bit better uh over the last you know week and a half or so of games um yeah you just you need to get him to a point where it’s um you see you see everything click for him I I don’t think or I think he has the tools to be a really good hitter I don’t know if he’ll ever be a superstar bat but I think he has the tools to be a really positive uh part of this lineup now and in the future um but you just got to get him to a point like I said where where it clicks for him and he’s not he doesn’t look in between like the walk rates are still good in the strike like he’s not chasing a lot like all the underlying stuff says it’s good but then at some you need the results too and he’s he’s hitting 202 of the 690 Ops going into the All-Star break uh it’s just it just at the end of the day it does have to improve right we talked I said it earlier some point you are what your record is as a team well at some point you are what your stats say you are as a hitter too because you can’t just go an entire year and saying man he got really unlucky like the the numbers do have to improve and I with along with Swanson I think moral is another guy that you’re like okay candidate for some positive regression uh in the second half but he’s another guy that just got to go out do it because they need that from him yeah evil wax says by the way got to be done with him at third base might have to say he’ll never be good at third I’m not ready to go there I just don’t think they need to play him at third in the second half of the Season we’ve seen a good sample size if he wants to work on that nonstop in the offseason and come back at spring training and say look how much better I am I’m open to that conversation but if you’re trying to get to the postseason right now that experiment for me is over in the second half for the most part not every day but way less often than he’s playing third base now that’s my problem with Morell like I like him and I like when he’s hot but I don’t I don’t like his position I think that’s my biggest issue with him is that he’s not playing the position that is best for him and it’s FR that’s up to the manager Sarah like the second half that’s going to be a manager decision and I’m not like he said like you’re seeing that more more miles Master Bron getting Third Base starts and Morell um daging like obviously it’s that that’s been I mean help like that’s that’s they’ve been able to do that because of Cody Bellinger’s injury so say has back out in the Outfield Bush at first PCA in Center you do have more time or you do have more open time at the DH position where you can put Morel um but as we’ve like when Once guys start getting healthy um it’s going to be all right well how do you how do you kind of fit this puzzle together right well the whole Third Base thing I’m not letting up on this I mean they could have figured this out last year and maybe they did and maybe Craig Council was just bullish on it okay maybe because he’s he was right they need to play Morell every day coming of the year you needed to play Morel every day and third base was an open spot all right right call so I can agree to disagree on on that fact that like that factor the fact that they just never tried to figure it out last season but I tend to agree with Luke on the fact that I haven’t given up on him at third base yet cuz even though outs above average are terrible and all this and that I do feel like in some aspects it has improved but you don’t have to play him at third base every single day and unless they shake this roster up a little bit which I’m not against then maybe you can play him at second base or you know play him you know maybe he is just the DH I I don’t know all I know is that the Cubs the way they act these last couple years under this front office they like to be able to utilize the DH with other guys and not just have one guy there that I’m not saying that I support that I’m not saying that it’s the right move but I just think that if they eventually move on from Morel he is absolutely going to come back to haunt us if there is one player on this roster that will absolutely haunt us if we move on from him just because you couldn’t find a goddamn position for him I it will feel feel just like Kyle schwarber all over [Music] again like the May

The All-Star break is here which means it’s time to discuss the first half disappointments from the Chicago Cubs in 2024 so far. Christopher Morel leads the Cubs in homers but he has been awful for the most part of the first half of the season, playing as a below league average bat and one of the worst third baseman in baseball. The CHGO Cubs crew discussed his struggles and more on Monday’s podcast.

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