Big Z will leave

[Brian]

My prediction is that Rich will be dead on Hendry's doorstep due to injecting heroin into his forehead sometime in the next month.

 

RHIAB can inject heroin into his forehead if Z is signed, I'll do it if he isn't.

Edited February 14, 2007 by Brian

[Soul]

I'm about to shoot up either way.

[KingKongvs.Godzilla]

Why not Z to the Dodgers for like...Billingsley and so on?

 

Probably not going to do it for alot of people because we need a star in the deal no? But the young pitcher/young cheap position player is one of the most valuable pieces in baseball today.

 

I'm on the fense on that suggestion, but the Dodgers/Angels are the most realisitc and enticing teams. Maybe the Yankees if they include Hughes, or the Mets if they wanna give up Pelfrey/Humber.

[sethuel1]

I'm about to shoot up either way.

The first step is admitting you have a problem.

[imb]

I really feel like no matter what happens (barring total crap trade), we come out ok.

 

Either

 

A.) we sign Carlos long-term. If this happens, cool, we have a young ace locked up for a long time. I hope he doesn't get hurt, but it's a risk with any pitcher, and for someone of Carlos' worth, it's one I'll take.

 

B.) He leaves in the offseason. We get two high picks and we have Tom Wilken picking for us. Certainly not the best outcome, but it's also not letting him go for "nothing".

 

C.) We trade him. Who knows what a contender will give up for him, we have no idea. If someone thinks they can win a world series and are a piece away, and also feels that they can lock him up in the offseason, they may be willing to give up a lot. It's easy to say that no one will give up 2 or 3 top prospects for him, but we all see how crazy teams get when they are close to the playoffs.

[UK1679666180]

B.) He leaves in the offseason. We get two high picks and we have Tom Wilken picking for us. Certainly not the best outcome, but it's also not letting him go for "nothing".

 

I hear that Tom's brother Tim is pretty good as well. :)

[RichHillIsABeast]

I'm about to shoot up either way.

The first step is admitting you have a problem.

 

The second step is getting ahold of la chiva. Then it's on. First one to stick it wins.

[Soul]

I'm about to shoot up either way.

The first step is admitting you have a problem.

 

I did. I admitted I'm a hopeless Cub fan.

 

That's when I started shooting up.

[imb]

B.) He leaves in the offseason. We get two high picks and we have Tom Wilken picking for us. Certainly not the best outcome, but it's also not letting him go for "nothing".

 

I hear that Tom's brother Tim is pretty good as well. :)

 

As you can see, I was hoping for a Tom/Tim collaboration. Can you imagine how good we would be with a double-Wilken?

[abuck1220]

if z really cared about being a cub he'd play for the league minimum. but no, he's got to be selfish and actually ask to be paid what the market dictates.

 

Yeah, b/c hometown discounts for an org that drafted and developed you is completely out of line.

 

Bastard Cubs organization. Worthless arrogant SOBs.

 

i don't get why people expect z to give the cubs a hometown discount. the cubs didn't give him more money when he was pitching at a level above what he was getting paid.

[Omar]

This will probably be a last-minute signing like Derrek Lee before the 2006 regular season and Aramis Ramirez before the 2005.

[A New Era]

Remember guys, Carlos reads the messege boards. Micheal Barret told us that. So try to say some nice things about Carlos Zambrano. .

 

 

"Um Carlos. TheGilesBros likes Zambrano. Will Zambrano stay with the Cubs for TheGilesBros? Thank you."

[nilodnayr]

Why not Z to the Dodgers for like...Billingsley and so on?

 

Probably not going to do it for alot of people because we need a star in the deal no? But the young pitcher/young cheap position player is one of the most valuable pieces in baseball today.

 

I'm on the fense on that suggestion, but the Dodgers/Angels are the most realisitc and enticing teams. Maybe the Yankees if they include Hughes, or the Mets if they wanna give up Pelfrey/Humber.

 

While the Dodgers aren't in as enviable of a position as their cross town buddies are in terms of the rotation, they are one of the handful of teams that are somewhat close considering they just nabbed arguably the top starter on the market and have all their starters under contract or with options for at least the next two years.

 

Yankees are in a similar situation, although they are insane and can be reasonably certain 40% of their rotation (Moose, Pettitte) will be retired in 2 years and Pavano will likely be long gone by then. You never know with the Yankees though, so I wouldn't count them out. I don't think they would deal Hughes though and if hes not included, no deal.

 

Like I said before, I think the mets are a perfect match. Glavine, Il Duche, Maine, Perez, Park make a fine back end of the rotation, but theres no one there to lead. Pedro is targeting July or August. The Mets spent a ton of money in recent years and see themselves as needing to be perennial pennant favorites. No matter how hard they can hit the ball, I can't see that happening with that rotation.

 

They have the players to deal that wouldn't hurt their ML team (Heilman, Milledge, Pelfry, Humber, Martinez, Gomez) AND more importantly (at least to them) the NEED of Zambrano.

 

I would definitely want LA, LAA, and NYY to be in the conversation, but I have to believe our best shot would be with the Mets.

[entbird79]

Ahhh 18 pages, just what I was hoping for. If we could have the mass suicide threats/giving up on the Cubs threats the day before he signs his long term deal, that would be just spectacular.

 

His reported potential long-term deal is worthy of suicide.

 

I sure hope Rich Hill doesn't turn all Z on us and ask for market value when he reaches FA, the greedy SOB!

[Soriano12]

If Prior and/or Miller get healthy this year, Hill continues his success of late last year, Marquis is decent, why not trade Lilly midseason and use that money to extend Z?

 

Just a thought.

[soapy]

I can't believe how upset people are at Z for asking for a Zito-like contract. Many have already pointed out that he's better and younger than Zito.

 

Whether or not it's wise to sign him to such a deal is certainly debatable, but it's perfectly reasonable for him to seek such a deal. I think most would do the same.

[Soul]

Are there many people who are angry at Z?

 

I'm not angry at anyone, since nothing has happened yet ;)

 

I'll be upset at Hendry if he can't sign Z because he overpaid such riff-raff as Marquis and Lilly, though.

[soapy]

Are there many people who are angry at Z?

 

There are plenty of people calling him a selfish prick (or similar) and questioning his loyalty (to the point of ridiculousness, IMO). All for expecting to be paid the same amount as someone who is performes below his level.

 

To each his own, I guess. We'll see what happens.

[RynoRules]

In sum, and for the record, my position is that:

 

- 7 yrs and 100-something mill is too much for any pitcher not in the all-time upper echelon;

- I'd therefore prefer to trade Z for ARod, a deal I think is very realistic;

- This is not a reflection on my opinion of Z or his comments - good for him. He should be out there to get a fat contract.

[CUBZ99]

Are there many people who are angry at Z?

 

There are plenty of people calling him a selfish prick (or similar) and questioning his loyalty (to the point of ridiculousness, IMO). All for expecting to be paid the same amount as someone who is performes below his level.

 

To each his own, I guess. We'll see what happens.

 

I'm sure there are some people on the board who were hoping that Zambrano appreciated the Cubs and truly wanted to be a Cub for a long time. I think from a fan standpoint, it is easier to cheer for a player that truly enjoys playing for the team you root for rather than a guy that is simply looking for the biggest payday. And yes, there are more things involved than money regarding a contract extension. There are many examples of players that signed home town discount deals for below what they could have gotten on the open market. In the NL Central alone, Carpenter and Oswalt could have possibly made much more on the open market than the deals they signed. Wood could have made more signing with another team this past off season.

 

I don't blame a player for being soley about the money, or wanting to get the biggest payday he can get. But I can see why many fans would be or are upset over a player only concerned about money.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

According to Bruce Miles latest, Hendry and the Cubs don't seem to concerned about Zambrano's comments. Link.

 

Privately, Cubs officials predict a low-key Zambrano when pitchers and catchers report for spring training today and begin workouts Thursday.

 

“I’m not really concerned about the stories going around today because my dialogue with Carlos and his representatives has been that his intent was clearly to stay here first,” Hendry said.

 

 

“I’ve had quite a few conversations with Carlos’ representative, Barry Praver,” Hendry said. “He’s always expressed to me, which is very normal for a five-plus (years) player going into his free-agent year, that they would like to get something done by Opening Day. If we don’t, then their preference would be to table the discussions (after) Opening Day.

 

“Carlos has always made it clear to myself and to his representative that staying with the Cubs is his first priority, and it’s been a policy of ours not to negotiate with our free-agent players during the season.”

 

 

“Barry and I spoke today,” Hendry said. “When you get in those $10 million-plus cases, sometimes it’s hard to bridge the gap. We’ll continue to talk during the week. Hopefully it will not go to trial. I think both sides are prepared it possibly could. I don’t foresee that having any effect either way on Carlos’ future here.”

 

In recent years, Hendry has had success in re-signing such veterans as Kerry Wood, Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez.

 

[Sammy Sofa]

In sum, and for the record, my position is that:

 

- 7 yrs and 100-something mill is too much for any pitcher not in the all-time upper echelon;

- I'd therefore prefer to trade Z for ARod, a deal I think is very realistic;

- This is not a reflection on my opinion of Z or his comments - good for him. He should be out there to get a fat contract.

 

Exactly. I've maybe seem 3 or 4 people in this thread who are "angry" at Z. Most just seem to be discussing the pros and cons of trading him.

[Soul]

Are there many people who are angry at Z?

 

There are plenty of people calling him a selfish prick (or similar) and questioning his loyalty (to the point of ridiculousness, IMO). All for expecting to be paid the same amount as someone who is performes below his level.

 

To each his own, I guess. We'll see what happens.

 

I'm sure there are some people on the board who were hoping that Zambrano appreciated the Cubs and truly wanted to be a Cub for a long time. I think from a fan standpoint, it is easier to cheer for a player that truly enjoys playing for the team you root for rather than a guy that is simply looking for the biggest payday. And yes, there are more things involved than money regarding a contract extension. There are many examples of players that signed home town discount deals for below what they could have gotten on the open market. In the NL Central alone, Carpenter and Oswalt could have possibly made much more on the open market than the deals they signed. Wood could have made more signing with another team this past off season.

 

I don't blame a player for being soley about the money, or wanting to get the biggest payday he can get. But I can see why many fans would be or are upset over a player only concerned about money.

 

Did Z mention specifics about what he wants though? I thought his main difficulty was that there hasn't been any real negotiating taking place, no real push to get a deal done and he wants one done. We're all speculating as to what he would really sign for.

[CuseCubFan69]

Are there many people who are angry at Z?

 

There are plenty of people calling him a selfish prick (or similar) and questioning his loyalty (to the point of ridiculousness, IMO). All for expecting to be paid the same amount as someone who is performes below his level.

 

To each his own, I guess. We'll see what happens.

 

I'm sure there are some people on the board who were hoping that Zambrano appreciated the Cubs and truly wanted to be a Cub for a long time. I think from a fan standpoint, it is easier to cheer for a player that truly enjoys playing for the team you root for rather than a guy that is simply looking for the biggest payday. And yes, there are more things involved than money regarding a contract extension. There are many examples of players that signed home town discount deals for below what they could have gotten on the open market. In the NL Central alone, Carpenter and Oswalt could have possibly made much more on the open market than the deals they signed. Wood could have made more signing with another team this past off season.

 

I don't blame a player for being soley about the money, or wanting to get the biggest payday he can get. But I can see why many fans would be or are upset over a player only concerned about money.

 

Did Z mention specifics about what he wants though? I thought his main difficulty was that there hasn't been any real negotiating taking place, no real push to get a deal done and he wants one done. We're all speculating as to what he would really sign for.

 

I thought he mentioned having a Zito like contract.

[YearofDaCubs]

In sum, and for the record, my position is that:

 

- 7 yrs and 100-something mill is too much for any pitcher not in the all-time upper echelon;

- I'd therefore prefer to trade Z for ARod, a deal I think is very realistic;

- This is not a reflection on my opinion of Z or his comments - good for him. He should be out there to get a fat contract.

 

Exactly. I've maybe seem 3 or 4 people in this thread who are "angry" at Z. Most just seem to be discussing the pros and cons of trading him.

It's not that Z is asking for Zito money which bothers me, it's how he is going about it and how he is throwing ultimatums because of it. That bothers me.