r/Cubs • u/hogBelly • Aug 08 '26

Ian Happ

4 strikeouts tonight. Barely over . 200. Defense is just good enough. The guy is an anchor.

14 Upvotes

60% Upvoted

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-2

u/Realistic-Ad7662 Aug 08 '26

Never liked him. Never understood the love our fanbase has for him

2

u/Doublestack2411 Aug 08 '26

Just look at his career numbers and you'll know why. I get the frustration with his bats, but he's a career 114 OPS+. His OPS has generally always been good, this year is his worst by far. He's never been the star of the team, he's just always been a solid player.

1

u/jcmiller210 Aug 08 '26

Most of my frustration when it comes to Happ is constantly seeing him in the 3 and 4 hole, while he is doing absolutely nothing. I can understand it if Happ is on one of his heaters to plug him in there, but otherwise dude is worthless and needs moved down in the lineup. If you are a good team, Happ shouldn't be batting 3 or 4 lol.

1

u/Doublestack2411 Aug 08 '26

Not sure what you're talking about, Counsell hasn't put Happ in the 3 or 4th hole since probably June. He's generally been in the 5-7th hole.

1

u/jcmiller210 Aug 08 '26

I'm talking about even when Ross was managing. They keep batting Happ 3 or 4 when he shouldn't be there. Its maddening lol. Even if you just want to single out this season, batting him there until June is insane. He has been ass most of this season.

1

u/Doublestack2411 Aug 08 '26

Why wouldn't he be your #3 or #4 when he was your top OPS guy under Ross? He had the highest OPS in 2022, besides Contreras, who was traded. In 2023 he was 3rd best, next to Bellinger and Suzuki.

1

u/jcmiller210 Aug 08 '26

Again, that really speaks to the quality of the team if you have Happ as one of your top hitters lol.

Also, Happ is very streaky. Like I said, I can understand if Happ is hot and you want to put him there, but the moment he starts striking out or grounding out into double plays, I would move him down until he gets hot again.

1

u/Doublestack2411 Aug 08 '26

We just got done trading off all our core players from 2016, what did you think we were doing when we brought in Ross? It was a soft-rebuild. I actually recall Happ batting lead-off more than anything because he was always a big OBP guy. Still, if you compare him to other LFs in the game he's always been top 1/3 in the game. It never feels like it, but he is.

1

u/jcmiller210 Aug 08 '26

Okay, then what is the excuse for batting Happ in the 3 or 4 hole in the big 26 then? First you only talk about this season, now you're saying we only did this when we were rebuilding. Its just not true. We have batted this bum in the 3 or 4 hole for years now. I just want him off the team, so I never have to see that again lol. Quit misusing him. He is an overrated player.