Wood wants to come back, open to relief. Bring him back.

[DivineBovine]

According to the trib. If he's willing to try closing, bring him back. They have no other real options, and they could probably get him back for a reasonable price. He could potentially be another Gagne, and I'd hate to see him leave. Maybe its a little risky, but the upside is definitely worth it IMO. I'd be way more hesitant if he's set on starting.

 

 

 

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-060927cubsbrite,1,3025243.story?coll=cs-home-headlines

[Neuby]

I want Wood back next year he's saying all the right things right now hopefully we can bring him back cheaply.

[DivineBovine]

He's always been one of my favorite players. His injuries have been frustrating, but it's tough to fault him for his attitude.

[Balsa]

He's always been one of my favorite players. His injuries have been frustrating, but it's tough to fault him for his attitude.

AGREE 100%

 

Limited contract, lots of incentives, I want Wood to stay in a Cubbie uniform!

[Brian]

If he's truthfull he should take the league min + incentives. Especially since he's guarenteed 3mill.

[RichHillIsABeast]

Good.

[soccer10k]

No more than $1M as a base salary for a year. Let him earn more money/years with his on-field performance.

[A New Era]

Hopefully Wood really means what he says about the cubs and the fans. And he takes a (really) low base as to make it safe for the off-season (IE other moves needed).

[C.C.]

He's always been one of my favorite players. His injuries have been frustrating, but it's tough to fault him for his attitude.

 

I'm glad I'm not the only Wood fan. I man-love the guy. You can say all you want but the man gives you everything he has everytime he's on the mound. And he's one of the rare pitchers in the league that when he's on he's worth the 100 bucks to see him pitch. I hope he's a Cub next year. It's nice to hear a ML baseball player have such loyality to a City and their fans...

 

''I know I haven't given this organization or the fans or this team what they paid for two, three years ago,'' Wood said in an interview with WGN-AM (720). ''As a player, you feel -- you don't want to say 'guilty' -- but you [don't] feel like you've done your job and earned your money and gone out and done what you're supposed to do. There's an obligation there, absolutely.

 

''This organization has given me everything I've got and gave me a chance to play baseball, and they drafted me. There's definitely loyalty here. I love Chicago, I love the fans, I love the stadium, I love Wrigley Field. I love everything about the situation I'm in, but I understand the reality of the game. Hopefully, it'll be only one conversation [with general manager Jim Hendry]. We'll talk and decide what's best for the organization and best for me, and hopefully that's staying here.''

 

Honesty and sincerity at it's finest. Bring'em back!

[muntjack]

Kerry Wood should be a cub for life. It's very unfortunate that he hasn't been healthy enough to reach his potential.

 

Regardless, he single handedly provided me with the greatest game I've ever seen, and for that I will always be a Kerry Wood fan.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

If we can get Wood for 1.5 million or less, then I'm all for it. Right now, we have over 10 million already tied up in the bullpen. We can't afford to pay Kerry 3-4 million and still address the more pressing issues.

[mg420]

if they sign wood for the pen they should trade either dempster or howry (depending on if they want wood to close or set up) imo. dempster is going to be a big ? next year and i sure dont want him starting as has been suggested in some newspapers. i think he can bounce back if he gets regular work so perhaps they should trade howry & let wood set up. if dempster melts down again, wood can close & wuretz can set him up.

[Sammy Sofa]

if they sign wood for the pen they should trade either dempster or howry (depending on if they want wood to close or set up) imo. dempster is going to be a big ? next year and i sure dont want him starting as has been suggested in some newspapers. i think he can bounce back if he gets regular work so perhaps they should trade howry & let wood set up. if dempster melts down again, wood can close & wuretz can set him up.

 

Howry? He's at least shown to be worth the money. Dempster and, to a lesser degree, Eyre are the ones really sucking away at the cash. Those tw and Novoa should be the ones to be moved.

[mg420]

if they sign wood for the pen they should trade either dempster or howry (depending on if they want wood to close or set up) imo. dempster is going to be a big ? next year and i sure dont want him starting as has been suggested in some newspapers. i think he can bounce back if he gets regular work so perhaps they should trade howry & let wood set up. if dempster melts down again, wood can close & wuretz can set him up.

 

Howry? He's at least shown to be worth the money. Dempster and, to a lesser degree, Eyre are the ones really sucking away at the cash. Those tw and Novoa should be the ones to be moved.

 

both eyre & howry were way overused this year imo. eyre was having a good year until he got injured. howry might bring the most value and with wuretz being so effective they might be able to get a very good player for him. the cubs also have haren who might also be a good setup guy.

[Sammy Sofa]

I think you need to hold onto Howry and Wuertz if you're going to attempt Wood at closer. Kerry is going to have to work his way into that kind of schedule, and if they're even somewhat competitive they're going to need the extra coverage.

[C.C.]

You arean't going to get any takers for Dempster. Howry and Eyre would be the ones you'd get the most for. Also if Rusch retires Wood would nicely slot in there with Rusch salary. It's almost a wash...

[Sammy Sofa]

You arean't going to get any takers for Dempster. Howry and Eyre would be the ones you'd get the most for.

 

Actually, I think you could get something decent for Dempster if packaged right...and the Cubs would probably have to eat some of the money.

 

Bottom line, you can't get rid of both Howry and Eyre and if you have to pick between the two I don't know why anyone wouldn't keep Howry. He's held up under the extra work and has shown he can usually slide right into the closer's spot when needed. Guys like Eyre and Novoa have deceptively decent numbers that I think could net some good returns. Trade Eyre off on his own and package Demp and Novoa together, insert Wood, Marmol and Mateo and move it on up!

[C.C.]

You arean't going to get any takers for Dempster. Howry and Eyre would be the ones you'd get the most for.

 

Actually, I think you could get something decent for Dempster if packaged right...and the Cubs would probably have to eat some of the money.

 

Bottom line, you can't get rid of both Howry and Eyre and if you have to pick between the two I don't know why anyone wouldn't keep Howry. He's held up under the extra work and has shown he can usually slide right into the closer's spot when needed. Guys like Eyre and Novoa have deceptively decent numbers that I think could net some good returns. Trade Eyre off on his own and package Demp and Novoa together, insert Wood, Marmol and Mateo and move it on up!

 

Sounds good to me!

[wastra]

I want Wood brgouht back IF it's at a good price. If he wants something like $5 million, he's gotta walk.

 

I think $2-3million base with incentives if he closes full time or starts a lot of games that can make it up to maybe $4m (closing) to $6m (starting).

 

 

And I don't think they should be performance incentives, but durability incentives (i.e. he shold get bonuses for starts, appearances, IP, etc, but not wins or saves.)

[RynoRules]

If we bring back Wood, trade Demp to Cinci.

 

For those of you who doubt the Reds would take him back, review this year's trades again...

[goonys evil twin]

if they sign wood for the pen they should trade either dempster or howry (depending on if they want wood to close or set up) imo.

 

I'm all for trading a reliever if possible.

 

Normally I wouldn't want the Cubs getting more free agent relievers. But at least with Wood, they wouldn't be giving up a draft pick to sign him. Plus, there's still the outside chance that after a year or two of bullpen work, he could still return to the rotation as an effective starter. Yes, I know the chances aren't great, but I think a low guarantee high incentives contract is worth that bet.

[mg420]

if they sign wood for the pen they should trade either dempster or howry (depending on if they want wood to close or set up) imo.

 

I'm all for trading a reliever if possible.

 

Normally I wouldn't want the Cubs getting more free agent relievers. But at least with Wood, they wouldn't be giving up a draft pick to sign him. Plus, there's still the outside chance that after a year or two of bullpen work, he could still return to the rotation as an effective starter. Yes, I know the chances aren't great, but I think a low guarantee high incentives contract is worth that bet.

i hope wood can be a joey nathan kind of guy. nathan couldnt stay healthy as a starter either but he's a lights out closer. with guys like hill, marshall, mateo veal & gahllager i think wood might be better off staying in the pen if he can keep healthy there.

[goonys evil twin]

with guys like hill, marshall, mateo veal & gahllager i think wood might be better off staying in the pen if he can keep healthy there.

 

None of those guys compares with Wood if he's at his best. The only reason he should stay in the pen is if he's physically incapable of returning to the rotation.

[davearm]

I want Wood brgouht back IF it's at a good price. If he wants something like $5 million, he's gotta walk.

 

I think $2-3million base with incentives if he closes full time or starts a lot of games that can make it up to maybe $4m (closing) to $6m (starting).

 

 

And I don't think they should be performance incentives, but durability incentives (i.e. he shold get bonuses for starts, appearances, IP, etc, but not wins or saves.)

Contract incentives cannot be tied to performance measures like wins or saves.

 

The only "performance" incentives MLB allows are for awards like MVP, Cy Young, All-Star game, etc.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I want Wood brgouht back IF it's at a good price. If he wants something like $5 million, he's gotta walk.

 

I think $2-3million base with incentives if he closes full time or starts a lot of games that can make it up to maybe $4m (closing) to $6m (starting).

 

 

And I don't think they should be performance incentives, but durability incentives (i.e. he shold get bonuses for starts, appearances, IP, etc, but not wins or saves.)

Contract incentives cannot be tied to performance measures like wins or saves.

 

The only "performance" incentives MLB allows are for awards like MVP, Cy Young, All-Star game, etc.

 

Many relievers have incentives for Games Finished.