Trade Zambrano Now (this is not a knee-jerk reaction)

[AlwaysaCub]

Here me out. I've thought this for a while, but now seems like an appropriate time to put this out there.

 

1. Zambrano has a lot of mileage on his arm, and it occurred when he was still young. Of all the All-Star pitches, Zambrano is the least economical with his pitches and therefore puts the most stress on his arm going as deep into games as he does. Conventional wisdom is that that is when pitchers are most vulnerable to regressing from being over pitched. I'm not saying he is injured, but if his first four starts are any indication, he's gone the Mark Prior route. I know that it's a small sample size and I know he sucked last April, but he didn't suck this horribly.

2. That said, his stock is still astronomical at the moment. However, if we keep him and he continues pitching like he has, it will crash and burn.

3. Depending on the ownership situation, we may not be able to resign him anyway.

4. We can get a huge return for him, like Ervin Santana and Brandon Wood perhaps (although that proposal specifically is a pipe dream I know).

5. Yes, trading him would get Jim Hendry murdered in the press. Yes, Hendry doesn't have those kind of balls. But chances are Hendy won't survive the sale anyway, so he has nothing to lose.

6. As Branch Rickey said, it's better to get rid of a guy a year early than a year late.

 

Have at it.

[CP_414]

Here me out. I've thought this for a while, but now seems like an appropriate time to put this out there.

 

1. Zambrano has a lot of mileage on his arm, and it occurred when he was still young. Of all the All-Star pitches, Zambrano is the least economical with his pitches and therefore puts the most stress on his arm going as deep into games as he does. Conventional wisdom is that that is when pitchers are most vulnerable to regressing from being over pitched. I'm not saying he is injured, but if his first four starts are any indication, he's gone the Mark Prior route. I know that it's a small sample size and I know he sucked last April, but he didn't suck this horribly.

2. That said, his stock is still astronomical at the moment. However, if we keep him and he continues pitching like he has, it will crash and burn.

3. Depending on the ownership situation, we may not be able to resign him anyway.

4. We can get a huge return for him, like Ervin Santana and Brandon Wood perhaps (although that proposal specifically is a pipe dream I know).

5. Yes, trading him would get Jim Hendry murdered in the press. Yes, Hendry doesn't have those kind of balls. But chances are Hendy won't survive the sale anyway, so he has nothing to lose.

6. As Branch Rickey said, it's better to get rid of a guy a year early than a year late.

 

Have at it.

 

How about 10 years early?

 

Everyone is available for the right price. I would not rule it out.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

ARod

[Butterscup1679666578]

ARod

 

In all honesty, what else do you think it would take to get A-Rod? Pie? Veal? Samardzija? All of the above?

[Ding Dong Johnson]

ARod

 

In all honesty, what else do you think it would take to get A-Rod? Pie? Veal? Samardzija? All of the above?

 

I don't think the price tag would be that high. Maybe Z and Marshall.

[98navigator]

ARod

 

I wish, but the way he's pitching the Cubs would be lucky to get AGon straight up. :lol:

[soccer10k]

ARod

 

In all honesty, what else do you think it would take to get A-Rod? Pie? Veal? Samardzija? All of the above?

 

I don't think the price tag would be that high. Maybe Z and Marshall.

 

With the way the Yankees starting pitching looks at the moment, I would have to agree on the price tag not being as high.

[CubColtPacer]

I can't see the Yankees wanting to make a deal this early. They have some options that may come back for their pitching rotation, and they know they are going to win enough games anyway to stay afloat-so they don't really have much incentive right now to trade A-Rod. Maybe that will change in June or July, but I doubt they move on it in the next month or month and a half.

[frostwyrm]

I actually wanted Z traded last July, since I thought 2007 should've been a rebuilding year. Arod was the guy I wanted, and I'm pretty sure we could have gotten him.

[gflore34]

I'd like to see him moved for another big bat, ARod would be nice and other options may open up. In hindsight I'm glad Hendry hasn't resigned him, let someone else be Zambrano' mark and sign him as a #1.

[RynoRules]

Yankees have finally realized he's their best hitter. He's not going anywhere.

[Banedon]

Yankees have finally realized he's their best hitter. He's not going anywhere.

 

Wait till he has a week without a homer, and a couple of errors. He'll be on the block again.

[Tracer Bullet]

Yankees have finally realized he's their best hitter. He's not going anywhere.

 

The first sentence might be true (hard to say what the Yankees think - I'd be shocked if they thought anyone was better than Jeter). But if Z could piece together a good start or two, they would certainly listen. ARod might bolt after the year anyway, so they might take Z if they can get an extension in place for him. It'll take another pitching prospect or two, I would think, but they'll certainly listen.

 

Of course, Z would go to NY and suddenly find control and become one of the best pitchers in baseball - leading them to the WS for 3 or 4 years. Just b/c we're the Cubs and that's how things work.

[gflore34]

Yankees have finally realized he's their best hitter. He's not going anywhere.

 

The first sentence might be true (hard to say what the Yankees think - I'd be shocked if they thought anyone was better than Jeter). But if Z could piece together a good start or two, they would certainly listen. ARod might bolt after the year anyway, so they might take Z if they can get an extension in place for him. It'll take another pitching prospect or two, I would think, but they'll certainly listen.

 

Of course, Z would go to NY and suddenly find control and become one of the best pitchers in baseball - leading them to the WS for 3 or 4 years. Just b/c we're the Cubs and that's how things work.

 

...and ARod will struggle, hitting .200 or so, ultimately, ending his season on the DL after a rupturing his Achilles tendon while running out a routine GB or some such nonsense.

[Backtobanks]

Here me out. I've thought this for a while, but now seems like an appropriate time to put this out there.

 

1. Zambrano has a lot of mileage on his arm, and it occurred when he was still young. Of all the All-Star pitches, Zambrano is the least economical with his pitches and therefore puts the most stress on his arm going as deep into games as he does. Conventional wisdom is that that is when pitchers are most vulnerable to regressing from being over pitched. I'm not saying he is injured, but if his first four starts are any indication, he's gone the Mark Prior route. I know that it's a small sample size and I know he sucked last April, but he didn't suck this horribly.

2. That said, his stock is still astronomical at the moment. However, if we keep him and he continues pitching like he has, it will crash and burn.

3. Depending on the ownership situation, we may not be able to resign him anyway.

4. We can get a huge return for him, like Ervin Santana and Brandon Wood perhaps (although that proposal specifically is a pipe dream I know).

5. Yes, trading him would get Jim Hendry murdered in the press. Yes, Hendry doesn't have those kind of balls. But chances are Hendy won't survive the sale anyway, so he has nothing to lose.

6. As Branch Rickey said, it's better to get rid of a guy a year early than a year late.

 

Have at it.

 

I'm not a big fan of trading Zambrano, but a deal like Santana and Wood would make me think about it. Getting a young, experienced pitcher like Santana would make the deal interesting.

[soapy]

Yankees have finally realized he's their best hitter. He's not going anywhere.

 

Wait till he has a week without a homer, and a couple of errors. He'll be on the block again.

 

My guess is it will be after he doesn't hit any "clutch" homeruns against the Red Sox this weekend.

[C.C.]

Yankees have finally realized he's their best hitter. He's not going anywhere.

 

The first sentence might be true (hard to say what the Yankees think - I'd be shocked if they thought anyone was better than Jeter). But if Z could piece together a good start or two, they would certainly listen. ARod might bolt after the year anyway, so they might take Z if they can get an extension in place for him. It'll take another pitching prospect or two, I would think, but they'll certainly listen.

 

Of course, Z would go to NY and suddenly find control and become one of the best pitchers in baseball - leading them to the WS for 3 or 4 years. Just b/c we're the Cubs and that's how things work.

 

...and ARod will struggle, hitting .200 or so, ultimately, ending his season on the DL after a rupturing his Achilles tendon while running out a routine GB or some such nonsense.

 

That's a gimme.

[jersey cubs fan]

The time to trade Zambrano was this offseason, when you could have gotten max value. Now is not the time.

[frostwyrm]

The time to trade Zambrano was this offseason, when you could have gotten max value. Now is not the time.

 

Offseason was OK, but he was at max value last July. Yanks could have had him for the 2006 stretch run plus all of 2007. Arod was in the NY doghouse then too, so I'm sure a Z for Arod swap could have happened.

[CubColtPacer]

The time to trade Zambrano was this offseason, when you could have gotten max value. Now is not the time.

 

Offseason was OK, but he was at max value last July. Yanks could have had him for the 2006 stretch run plus all of 2007. Arod was in the NY doghouse then too, so I'm sure a Z for Arod swap could have happened.

 

Why would A-Rod have ok'd that deal? He may be getting it pretty bad in NY, but A-Rod's pretty smart in this: he knows that if he agreed to go from a first place to a last place team last year, his reputation as a "loser" might have been cemented forever. He would rather have stuck in NY and had the chance to win the WS last year and change his reputation.

 

Now, maybe, A-Rod might agree to come to the Cubs because of 2 reasons: 1)The Cubs have a decently better roster, which gives A-Rod the hope that he could lead the team to a title, and 2) Lou. A-Rod would almost certainly have declined a trade to last year's Cubs, even if the Yankees had wanted to do it.

[C.C.]

The time to trade Zambrano was this offseason, when you could have gotten max value. Now is not the time.

 

Offseason was OK, but he was at max value last July. Yanks could have had him for the 2006 stretch run plus all of 2007. Arod was in the NY doghouse then too, so I'm sure a Z for Arod swap could have happened.

 

Why would A-Rod have ok'd that deal? He may be getting it pretty bad in NY, but A-Rod's pretty smart in this: he knows that if he agreed to go from a first place to a last place team last year, his reputation as a "loser" might have been cemented forever. He would rather have stuck in NY and had the chance to win the WS last year and change his reputation.

 

Now, maybe, A-Rod might agree to come to the Cubs because of 2 reasons: 1)The Cubs have a decently better roster, which gives A-Rod the hope that he could lead the team to a title, and 2) Lou. A-Rod would almost certainly have declined a trade to last year's Cubs, even if the Yankees had wanted to do it.

 

Or if he helped the Cubs win, he would be cemented forever as a savior. I'm not sure if players think like that? If they did, why would anyone want to be a Cub.

[Elrhino]

The time to trade Zambrano was this offseason, when you could have gotten max value. Now is not the time.

 

Actually, the max time will be this July. I don't see a dominant team in either league, and there will be plenty of suitors believing they're one Zambrano away from pulling ahead of the pack in a playoff run.

[bannor10]

Trade him....I don't think tying up 18 mil for 5 years for any pitcher is a good idea but one that is a head case...Not the face of the franchise...

 

But I wouldn't trust Hendry to make a smart move either way...He should have been fired along with MacPhail and Busty the clown