Trib: Cubs Considering Joining Matsuzaka Bidding, + more

[RammyFanny]

Japanese ace Daisuke Matsuzaka just turned 26, which is why so many teams, including the Cubs, are considering joining the Yankees in pursuit of him once the Seibu Lions begin the posting process. Matsuzaka finished the regular season 17-5 with a 2.13 ERA. He's more attractive than prospective free agents like Zito, Mike Mussina and Jason Schmidt.

 

And some other stuff worth mentioning,

 

The Cubs can't afford to let Aramis Ramirez get away for nothing. He could be a valuable bargaining chip if the Yankees decide to trade Alex Rodriguez. Another bad postseason and New York will deal him. Could he be reunited with Lou Piniella at Wrigley Field? . . . An intriguing package would be Piniella with a two- or three-year contract and a manager-in-training (Japanese import Trey Hillman, for example) as his bench coach and future replacement. . . . Sources in Texas say there is better than a 50-50 chance of manager Buck Showalter losing his job because owner Tom Hicks realizes how much veteran players dislike playing for him. The bold choice would be to replace him with highly respected hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo. . . . If Showalter does stay, first baseman Mark Teixeira might go in an off-season deal. . . . Would Robin Yount ever want to manage? Teams doing a search ought to ask. . . . Both Mike Hargrove and Ichiro Suzuki are expected to return to the Mariners next season. But three consecutive losing seasons must be testing Suzuki's patience. He has only one year left on his contract, and you wonder if he will ever want to go elsewhere.

 

And i'm not sure if this has been mentioned yet, but this is from an NY paper...

"Yes, the Chicago Cubs have Terry Francona on their list of managerial candidates, and it is likely the Cubs will ask (or already have) for permission to interview Francona when the presumed firing of Dusty Baker is announced... "

[Electron Blue]

holy jebus there's some juicy stuff there.

 

i assume by "trib" you mean it was printed in the paper? how legit are the sources here?

[Outshined_One]

Huh, I thought Daisuke was older than that.

 

Suddenly, my interest in bringing him in went up a good amount.

[RammyFanny]

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-0610010216oct01,1,3909168.column?page=2&coll=cs-cubs-headlines

 

The Francona thing was from the NY Daily News I think...(nonetheless, an actual paper).

[Jazz]

I don't know to much about Francona, but I have heard from my Red Sox fan friends that he does value OBP quite a bit, and he is pretty good and developing young talent, as well as keeping players healthy.

[Bruno7481]

Japanese imports make me nervous, especially pitchers.

 

There have been more failures than success stories since this all started.

 

Any team willing to commit that kind of money better be quite sure they know what they are getting.

[otis89]

Matsuzaka's career stats are just insane!

 

link

[Post Count Padder]

Matsuzaka's career stats are just insane!

 

link

I wouldn't say insane, but they are pretty darn good. I wonder if he would be able to translate those numbers over here. He pitched pretty well in the WBC didn't he?

[otis89]

Matsuzaka's career stats are just insane!

 

link

I wouldn't say insane, but they are pretty darn good. I wonder if he would be able to translate those numbers over here. He pitched pretty well in the WBC didn't he?

 

Yes, he did IIRC.

[Neuby]

I just don't see how the Tribune a company that might be up for sale soon can justify spending 15-20 million just to talk to Matsuzakas about a contract. I would sink that money into Soranio and Schmidt. Then trade some arms for A. Jones.

 

Suprized you guys left out that Crawford is one of the Cubs favorites but Rogers doesn't see how Hendry will have pitching trade.

If Hendry can lock up one of the big free agent pitchers along with a guy like Wade Miller or Mark Mulder to battle some of the young arms for the final spot and provide insurance in case Prior isn't ready again.

Edited October 2, 2006 by Neuby

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I'm highly skeptical that the posting fee for Matsuzaka will be as high as 20 mil.

[Jazz]

I just don't see how the Tribune a company that might be up for sale soon can justify spending 15-20 million just to talk to Matsuzakas about a contract. I would sink that money into Soranio and Schmidt. Then trade some arms for Andrew Jones.e Murton is your lnew leadoff hitter.

 

I think we are not as bad off on pitching as some might think, but we need a dependable innings eater who can keep us in ball games for sure. With Hill looking like Zito, Zambrano being Zambrano, one of Marshall, Mateo, and Guzman being good enough to be a back of the rotation starter, and Prior possibly healthy for 07, someone like Padilla would be enough to satisfy me if we spent alot on offense.

[ManCrushOnNomar]

Pretty sure this is the 25th time I've posted this, but

 

Matsuzaka plz.

[Mushimus]

Somewhere 1908 just opened a Kirin.

[JeffH]

The chances of the Cubs getting involved with Matsuzaka are zero.

[Neuby]

I just don't see how the Tribune a company that might be up for sale soon can justify spending 15-20 million just to talk to Matsuzakas about a contract. I would sink that money into Soranio and Schmidt. Then trade some arms for Andrew Jones.e Murton is your lnew leadoff hitter.

 

I think we are not as bad off on pitching as some might think, but we need a dependable innings eater who can keep us in ball games for sure. With Hill looking like Zito, Zambrano being Zambrano, one of Marshall, Mateo, and Guzman being good enough to be a back of the rotation starter, and Prior possibly healthy for 07, someone like Padilla would be enough to satisfy me if we spent alot on offense.

 

The Cubs need another horse like Schmidt. I want to win in the next two years and Prior can not be counted for anything more than a fifth starter.

There's no reason the Cubs can't afford to sign Schmidt and Soranio. If Rusch retires and Hendry manages to peddle Izzy, Jones or Dempster the Cubs should have enough wiggle room to go and trade some young arms for A. Jones.

[Neuby]

I wonder if the Cubs new Prez with his marketing background how much of a marketing cash cow this guy could be in Chicago.

[KingCubsFan]

I just don't see how the Tribune a company that might be up for sale soon can justify spending 15-20 million just to talk to Matsuzakas about a contract. I would sink that money into Soranio and Schmidt. Then trade some arms for Andrew Jones.e Murton is your lnew leadoff hitter.

 

I think we are not as bad off on pitching as some might think, but we need a dependable innings eater who can keep us in ball games for sure. With Hill looking like Zito, Zambrano being Zambrano, one of Marshall, Mateo, and Guzman being good enough to be a back of the rotation starter, and Prior possibly healthy for 07, someone like Padilla would be enough to satisfy me if we spent alot on offense.

Good idea! Let's count on Prior again!

[otis89]

The chances of the Cubs getting involved with Matsuzaka are zero.

 

And how do you know this? Are you Jim Hendry?

[JeffH]

Have we learned nothing from history?

[Electron Blue]

Have we learned nothing from history?

 

when you don't back up your belief, which is in contrast to a (frankly) more credible source, you won't gain many believers.

 

and "zero chance" is a pretty bold statement :)

[JeffH]

The source says that the Cubs will "consider" it. I imagine that consideration will last about five minutes.

[Post Count Padder]

The source says that the Cubs will "consider" it. I imagine that consideration will last about five minutes.

I think they'll make an initial offer. When that is surpassed by all the other bidding teams, they'll shrug their shoulders, say "we tried" and sign Wade Miller to a 4 year extension.

[WrigleyField 22]

I think we are not as bad off on pitching as some might think, but we need a dependable innings eater who can keep us in ball games for sure. With Hill looking like Zito, Zambrano being Zambrano, one of Marshall, Mateo, and Guzman being good enough to be a back of the rotation starter, and Prior possibly healthy for 07, someone like Padilla would be enough to satisfy me if we spent alot on offense.

Good idea! Let's count on Prior again!

 

How does "Prior possibly healthy for 07" translate into "count on Prior again". Sometimes I think that anytime people see Prior they automatically acuse someone of wanting to count on him.

[KingCubsFan]

I think we are not as bad off on pitching as some might think, but we need a dependable innings eater who can keep us in ball games for sure. With Hill looking like Zito, Zambrano being Zambrano, one of Marshall, Mateo, and Guzman being good enough to be a back of the rotation starter, and Prior possibly healthy for 07, someone like Padilla would be enough to satisfy me if we spent alot on offense.

Good idea! Let's count on Prior again!

 

How does "Prior possibly healthy for 07" translate into "count on Prior again". Sometimes I think that anytime people see Prior they automatically acuse someone of wanting to count on him.

As he said this, he was laying out the rotation for next year:

1. Zambrano

2. Hill

3. Innings eater

4. Prior

5. One of Marshall, Mateo and Guzman

Since a modern baseball rotation has five spots, that means he is leaving one for Prior. Not a good idea. Assuming that you start a season with those players (and I will assume Prior will not start the season), you're left with an ace, a mediocre veteran and 3 unproven players, only one of which has had sustained success in the majors. That's a bad rotation no matter how you look at it. For the fourth straight year, you would be counting on career years, young players and a healthy Prior to put you over the top. I think we should try something different.