Extending Zambrano

[RichHillIsABeast]

please, please extend Z in spring training.

 

If not before...

[CubinNY]

please, please extend Z in spring training.

 

If not before...

 

I agree. However, with Boras as his agent (if he is still z's agent) I'm thinking talks won't start until after Zito is signed.

 

Just my 2 cents.

 

Either way, I expect Hendry to get him signed. Hendry seems to be playing with monopoly money this year.

[RichHillIsABeast]

please, please extend Z in spring training.

 

If not before...

 

I agree. However, with Boras as his agent (if he is still z's agent) I'm thinking talks won't start until after Zito is signed.

 

Just my 2 cents.

 

Either way, I expect Hendry to get him signed. Hendry seems to be playing with monopoly money this year.

 

Z ditched Boras a while back. His new agent still should wait until Zito signs anyway, which should happen in the next 2 weeks I would think. Let the market dictate price.

[VanceJergins]

please, please extend Z in spring training.

 

If not before...

 

I agree. However, with Boras as his agent (if he is still z's agent) I'm thinking talks won't start until after Zito is signed.

 

Just my 2 cents.

 

Either way, I expect Hendry to get him signed. Hendry seems to be playing with monopoly money this year.

 

I'm pretty sure Zambrano fired Boras. So that will probably make things a little easier.

[NoDak]

please, please extend Z in spring training.

 

If not before...

 

I agree. However, with Boras as his agent (if he is still z's agent) I'm thinking talks won't start until after Zito is signed.

 

Just my 2 cents.

 

Either way, I expect Hendry to get him signed. Hendry seems to be playing with monopoly money this year.

 

Hendry will sign him or be prepared to lose him. Hendry takes pride in that he has never actually had to exchange figures with a player. Instead, he signs them first. The trick is will it be a 1-year deal or a long term deal? That I can't answer with as much certainty.

[NorthsideAvenger]

Z ditched Boras a while back. His new agent still should wait until Zito signs anyway, which should happen in the next 2 weeks I would think. Let the market dictate price.

 

Z firing Boras has little effect on the chances of the Cubs re-signing Z. Boras prides himself on telling his clients to "Wait till their FA agency before they sign a new deal" theory. Boras never liked signing a contract during season, or before there FA, and maybe that is whyZfired him, cause Z doesn't want to leave Chicago, and in Z's eyes his best chance at staying is find an agent who will get him the money his talent deserves, and do it quickly, instead of waiting. So, I HONESTLY believe Z will be signed in Spring Training, ala Aramis Ramirez (without the OPT OUT clause, tho) and Lee.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

please, please extend Z in spring training.

 

If not before...

 

I agree. However, with Boras as his agent (if he is still z's agent) I'm thinking talks won't start until after Zito is signed.

 

Just my 2 cents.

 

Either way, I expect Hendry to get him signed. Hendry seems to be playing with monopoly money this year.

 

Hendry will sign him or be prepared to lose him. Hendry takes pride in that he has never actually had to exchange figures with a player. Instead, he signs them first. The trick is will it be a 1-year deal or a long term deal? That I can't answer with as much certainty.

 

My guess is that Zambrano's contract will follow the same path that Wood, Lee, and Ramirez went before him. A one-year deal will be signed right before the arbitration deadline followed by an extension worked out in spring training.

[cubs121]

please, please extend Z in spring training.

 

If not before...

 

I agree. However, with Boras as his agent (if he is still z's agent) I'm thinking talks won't start until after Zito is signed.

 

Just my 2 cents.

 

Either way, I expect Hendry to get him signed. Hendry seems to be playing with monopoly money this year.

 

Hendry will sign him or be prepared to lose him. Hendry takes pride in that he has never actually had to exchange figures with a player. Instead, he signs them first. The trick is will it be a 1-year deal or a long term deal? That I can't answer with as much certainty.

 

My guess is that Zambrano's contract will follow the same path that Wood, Lee, and Ramirez went before him. A one-year deal will be signed right before the arbitration deadline followed by an extension worked out in spring training.

i hope so. :?

[cbbryan]

Z will eventually sign an extension in the 5 yr/ 17 million per range.

[Handlebar McSkullet]

if Zito gets 18 mil a year.... then Zambrano..... what 20 mil per?

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Zito won a Cy Young, Zambrano hasn't. Foolish as it sounds, it will make a difference.

[Omar]

I hope he'll take a hometown discount..

[bc2k]

Zito won a Cy Young, Zambrano hasn't. Foolish as it sounds, it will make a difference.

 

Had Z been a free agent this offseason, I think he'd have received more money in his contract than Zito.

[TruffleShuffle]

Zito won a Cy Young, Zambrano hasn't. Foolish as it sounds, it will make a difference.

 

Had Z been a free agent this offseason, I think he'd have received more money in his contract than Zito.

 

Probably. I'd expect the Cubs will have to give him a similar contract to the one that Zito just received.

[BigbadB]

There is a simple solution to all of this. Run Zambrano out there for about 300 IP this coming season and then sign him to a minimum salary deal while they sew his labrum back on. :D

 

Of course this is not a joking matter. But, looking at how this offseason went and the money that was spent, it's absolutely shocking they couldn't find a way to make sure they took care of their own first.

 

If Zambrano walks, this offseason might just go down as the worst offseason of Hendry's tenure. And he's had some real doozy's.

[Andy]

There is a simple solution to all of this. Run Zambrano out there for about 300 IP this coming season and then sign him to a minimum salary deal while they sew his labrum back on. :D

 

Of course this is not a joking matter. But, looking at how this offseason went and the money that was spent, it's absolutely shocking they couldn't find a way to make sure they took care of their own first.

 

If Zambrano walks, this offseason might just go down as the worst offseason of Hendry's tenure. And he's had some real doozy's.

I find it near impossible to believe that, short of complete bombouts by all our major acquisitions, that this offseason will overtake last for the worst.

[NorthsideAvenger]

Zito won a Cy Young, Zambrano hasn't. Foolish as it sounds, it will make a difference.

 

Had Z been a free agent this offseason, I think he'd have received more money in his contract than Zito.

 

Nah. I think Z would get somewhere in the neighborhood of 6 yr $96 mill. The Cy Young that Zito won and the fact that Z doesn't have one, (as silly as it sounds, as someone mentioned earlier) is a big difference. Now could anybody imagine had JOHAN SANTANA been a FA this yr? He could have easily broken the $150 mill barrier for pitchers.

[CheeseHead Cubs Fan]

There is a simple solution to all of this. Run Zambrano out there for about 300 IP this coming season and then sign him to a minimum salary deal while they sew his labrum back on. :D

 

Of course this is not a joking matter. But, looking at how this offseason went and the money that was spent, it's absolutely shocking they couldn't find a way to make sure they took care of their own first.

 

If Zambrano walks, this offseason might just go down as the worst offseason of Hendry's tenure. And he's had some real doozy's.

 

Perhaps a bit presumptuous? Not sure how you can point a finger at Hendry for something that has yet to happen.

[imb]

There is a simple solution to all of this. Run Zambrano out there for about 300 IP this coming season and then sign him to a minimum salary deal while they sew his labrum back on. :D

 

Of course this is not a joking matter. But, looking at how this offseason went and the money that was spent, it's absolutely shocking they couldn't find a way to make sure they took care of their own first.

 

If Zambrano walks, this offseason might just go down as the worst offseason of Hendry's tenure. And he's had some real doozy's.

 

Perhaps a bit presumptuous? Not sure how you can point a finger at Hendry for something that has yet to happen.

 

Did you miss the words "if" and "might"?

 

I understand that they are small words, so maybe your brain just didn't register them.

[frostwyrm]

Zito is guaranteed $137M over 7 years. That's an average of $19.57 per year. If we want Z in a 4-5 deal it will certainly cost $20M per year, probably more. We could add years and reduce the avg. salary, but I wouldn't want to sign any pitcher for as long as Zito is signed for. Thing is, Hendry doesn't care one iota about the Cubs longterm future, so I can see him offering an 8 year deal, heavily backloaded as usual.

[frostwyrm]

There is a simple solution to all of this. Run Zambrano out there for about 300 IP this coming season and then sign him to a minimum salary deal while they sew his labrum back on. :D

 

Of course this is not a joking matter. But, looking at how this offseason went and the money that was spent, it's absolutely shocking they couldn't find a way to make sure they took care of their own first.

 

If Zambrano walks, this offseason might just go down as the worst offseason of Hendry's tenure. And he's had some real doozy's.

 

It's still too early to be certain, but come 2009 the Cubs will likely have the worst team in the history of pro sports on a dollar-per-win basis.

[CubFanPhilly]

It's still too early to be certain, but come 2009 the Cubs will likely have the worst team in the history of pro sports on a dollar-per-win basis.

 

They might, considering they'll have $75 mil. committed to just six players.

 

The Cubs have been in the running for the worst return on investment for the last couple of years:

 

(millions per win)

2005 Yankees $2.19 (95)

2006 Yankees $2.01 (97)

2004 Yankees $1.82 (101)

2006 Cubs $1.44 (66)

2006 Red Sox $1.41 (86)

2004 Mets $1.36 (71)

2005 Red Sox $1.30 (95)

2004 Red Sox $1.30 (98)

2005 Mets $1.22 (89)

2005 Dodgers $1.20 (71)

2006 Angels $1.19 (89)

2006 Giants $1.18 (76)

2006 Dodgers $1.18 (88)

2005 Cubs $1.14 (79)

2006 Braves $1.14 (79)

2006 White Sox $1.14 (90)

2006 Astros $1.13 (82)

 

...Spend like the Red Sox & lose like the Royals. Hell of a model.

[CUBZ99]

My first reaction was that whoever stated Z would make more than Zito was crazy, until I looked up the stats. Zambrano has put up some really impressive numbers over the last four years. His ERA has been better than Zito, he is pitching a consistent 200+ innings, and his WHIP is lower. No question Zambrano could break the bank in FA if he stays healthy and has another good season.

 

Not that I am advocating it, but the Yankees and Mets both lost out their targeted FA starter. Zambrano could bring a nice return if Hendry put him on the block, and if the Cubs lose him anyways it would be nice to have something in return. Does anyone think the Yankees, Mets or

Dodgers would offer their top 2 or 3 pitching prospects for Z? And is it worth the gamble.

[soapy]

Not that I am advocating it, but the Yankees and Mets both lost out their targeted FA starter. Zambrano could bring a nice return if Hendry put him on the block, and if the Cubs lose him anyways it would be nice to have something in return. Does anyone think the Yankees, Mets or

Dodgers would offer their top 2 or 3 pitching prospects for Z? And is it worth the gamble.

My own feeling is that this becomes an option worth possibly exploring if the Cubs bomb in the first half of 2007. That is to say, all the things that can go wrong do (Lee can't recover, Soriano reverts back to 2004-2005, same with DeRosa, Marquis and/or Lilly bomb, etc.). If the Cubs are toiling in the cellar again, you start exploring a trade of Zambrano (among others) to "re-load" on prospects, IMO. He's going to be owed a truck-load of money and it might not be in the best interest of the Cubs to pay it to him if they have no hope of contending with their current roster. Get what you can out of him and re-group.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Not that I am advocating it, but the Yankees and Mets both lost out their targeted FA starter. Zambrano could bring a nice return if Hendry put him on the block, and if the Cubs lose him anyways it would be nice to have something in return. Does anyone think the Yankees, Mets or

Dodgers would offer their top 2 or 3 pitching prospects for Z? And is it worth the gamble.

My own feeling is that this becomes an option worth possibly exploring if the Cubs bomb in the first half of 2007. That is to say, all the things that can go wrong do (Lee can't recover, Soriano reverts back to 2004-2005, same with DeRosa, Marquis and/or Lilly bomb, etc.). If the Cubs are toiling in the cellar again, you start exploring a trade of Zambrano (among others) to "re-load" on prospects, IMO. He's going to be owed a truck-load of money and it might not be in the best interest of the Cubs to pay it to him if they have no hope of contending with their current roster. Get what you can out of him and re-group.

 

If the Cubs are tanking the first half, Zambrano could be the player that helps the Cubs unload Marquis and Derosa's contracts.