Do you bring Wood back for 2008?

[Post Count Padder]

I'd definitely bring him back, and I'm sure he's gonna wanna be back.

[XZero771679666304]

I'd definitely bring him back, and I'm sure he's gonna wanna be back.

 

Yeah, I bring him back, and I think he's a career Cub.

[CubFanPhilly]

Easy. Print the same contract he signed this year. Scratch the $1.75 mil. guaranteed money, replace with $2.5 mil., bringing the overall value to $2.5 mil. to $7.25 mil. (if he ends up healthy all seaon and takes over as closer). Put a clause in vesting all the incentives if by some miracle he starts again and reaches >150 IP.

 

Trade Dempster. Use Marmol & Howry when the game is really on the line.

 

Done.

[TruffleShuffle]

Trade Dempster. Use Marmol & Howry when the game is really on the line.

 

same problem as blanco - getting dempster's salary off the books is a nice idea; getting someone to take the whole thing on will be damn near impossible.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Trade Dempster. Use Marmol & Howry when the game is really on the line.

 

same problem as blanco - getting dempster's salary off the books is a nice idea; getting someone to take the whole thing on will be damn near impossible.

 

Why? Dempster has 1/5.5 left on his deal. Even the most SABR-savvy GMs have turned to much worse than Dempster in the name of getting a "true closer", and of course the not-so-bright GMs would probably see him as a bargain. Getting someone to take Dempster wouldn't be a problem, it'd be a matter of getting an appropriate return.

[Lefty]

Trade Dempster. Use Marmol & Howry when the game is really on the line.

 

same problem as blanco - getting dempster's salary off the books is a nice idea; getting someone to take the whole thing on will be damn near impossible.

 

Why? Dempster has 1/5.5 left on his deal. Even the most SABR-savvy GMs have turned to much worse than Dempster in the name of getting a "true closer", and of course the not-so-bright GMs would probably see him as a bargain. Getting someone to take Dempster wouldn't be a problem, it'd be a matter of getting an appropriate return.

 

If you believe he's so awful it's addition by subtraction. Be satisfied if they just take his contract.

[CubColtPacer]

Trade Dempster. Use Marmol & Howry when the game is really on the line.

 

same problem as blanco - getting dempster's salary off the books is a nice idea; getting someone to take the whole thing on will be damn near impossible.

 

Why? Dempster has 1/5.5 left on his deal. Even the most SABR-savvy GMs have turned to much worse than Dempster in the name of getting a "true closer", and of course the not-so-bright GMs would probably see him as a bargain. Getting someone to take Dempster wouldn't be a problem, it'd be a matter of getting an appropriate return.

 

If you believe he's so awful it's addition by subtraction. Be satisfied if they just take his contract.

 

I'm not sure it's addition by subtraction because Dempster's awful, it's more that the Cubs simply have a surplus of relievers. If they re-sign Wood and trade Dempster, their top 5 relievers still are Marmol, Howry, Wood, Wuertz, and Eyre. That's a good bullpen, and Dempster's marginal value is not worth the 5 million to the Cubs. It might be to another team who has very few good relievers.

[badger1679666666]

My Kerry Wood Bias is the strongest on these boards, so opinion should mean little. I can't imagine the Cubs without Kerry Wood. He's pitched well out of the pen, and has seemingly gotten better and more comfortable everytime out with good velocity and his good curve.

 

If we were gonna overpay for Glendon [expletive] Rusch then we can overpay for Woody. He was loyal to us, he's been a class act, and stand up guy. He took a pay cut and didn't even look elsewhere to make up for being so committed to the club that he pitched injured to help the cubs win. There's alot worse options in the pen.

[CubFanPhilly]

Trade Dempster. Use Marmol & Howry when the game is really on the line.

 

same problem as blanco - getting dempster's salary off the books is a nice idea; getting someone to take the whole thing on will be damn near impossible.

 

Moving him shouldn't be that difficult. With so many pitching-starved teams in the NL, I can see at least a few GMs interested in converting him back to a starter - and a couple that would see him as an upgrade over their closer. $5.5 mil/1 year is less of a risk than signing a FA arm of similar quality. Many of those guys will be getting 2-3 year deals.

 

The salary relief is the return. It's $5.5 mil. that would be available to upgrade SS or RF.

 

He should be easier to move than Jones, Blanco, or Eyre.

[rocket]

when are we going to learn to not spend big money on middle relief? not to mention injury-prone middle relief.

 

i love kerry wood, but the money could be spent better elsewhere.

[CubColtPacer]

when are we going to learn to not spend big money on middle relief? not to mention injury-prone middle relief.

 

i love kerry wood, but the money could be spent better elsewhere.

 

If signing Wood allows you to trade Dempster though, you save money and add talent from the trade.

 

That's one of the only 2 ways I'd sign Wood. The other way would be if Wood came for less than 2 million, which I don't see as likely but I guess it's possible.

[jersey cubs fan]

when are we going to learn to not spend big money on middle relief? not to mention injury-prone middle relief.

 

i love kerry wood, but the money could be spent better elsewhere.

 

If signing Wood allows you to trade Dempster though, you save money and add talent from the trade.

 

That's one of the only 2 ways I'd sign Wood. The other way would be if Wood came for less than 2 million, which I don't see as likely but I guess it's possible.

 

It's much more important not to get tied up in multi-year deals than to avoid paying significant money to relievers. I don't mind a quality reliever getting $2-5m. I hate being tied to a guy for 3 years.

[rawaction]

when are we going to learn to not spend big money on middle relief? not to mention injury-prone middle relief.

 

i love kerry wood, but the money could be spent better elsewhere.

 

Exactly. Howry, Wood, Dempster, Eyre....all money that could be better spent elsewhere. That would be a $20M pen. That money would be better served on offense (AROD) and the Cubs could make due with Wuertz and Marmol being the main bullpen contributors.

[Yestheydo]

I could see Dempster for Freel happening.

[DivineBovine]

No brainer on both sides.

 

He'll be back, and he should be given a shot at the closer role. The downside is small, because nobody will pay too much, and the upside is Gagne or Smoltz in a good year. I'll take it.

[Knyption]

He'll be back and make him setup/closer

 

woods can still toss 98

 

if he can throw mostly fastballs with an occasional off speed nasty pitch hell be top closer inthe leauge .. see gagne a few years back.