Re: Cubs on verge of signing Lieber

[mdwilla]

http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports_hardball/2008/01/cubs-targeting.html

The Cubs are looking to their past to bolster their starting rotation and appear close to signing veteran right-hander Jon Lieber.

 

Lieber, who turns 38 in April, would compete with Ryan Dempster for the fifth starter's job if he joins the Cubs, as expected.

 

 

Wonder if they found a taker for Marquis or Dempster or just building some depth if they have to deal Gallegher and Marshall.

Edited January 16, 2008 by mdwilla

[Ding Dong Johnson]

I have faith in my Liebs that he can be a better SP option than Dempster.

[Schwarber Fan]

I like this move for 2 reasons:

 

1. Lieber > Marquis and Dempster

2. This would almost guarantee a trade

Edited January 16, 2008 by Rondon Fan

[UMFan83]

My sources say that this thread won't last 120 pages

[anabiono]

alright, i resigned to strapping myself in for this one

[rchap24]

I like this move for 2 reasdos:

 

1. Lieber > Marquis and Dempster

2. This would almost guarantee a trade

Totally agree with you on this one...I mean the guys old, but he can still pitch and seriously i really don't want to see Dempster who cant throw strikes for one inning through his horrible split finger and walk the first 5 guys up every game haha!

[ctcf]

I'm in on this one if not for the nostalgia factor alone.

[RynoHawk23]

This is awful to mediocre at best. I don't get it.

[C.C.]

I'm in on this one if not for the nostalgia factor alone.

[AlwaysaCub]

This also increases our ex-Cubs count by one. But thankfully, our current Cubs count will hold steady at 25.

 

In other news, this trade is good because Lieber is a smart pitcher, Marquis is a dumb pitcher, and Piniella will recognize this.

[rawaction]

Lieber's not good anymore. He never was that good in the first place. The worst part of this deal is it likely takes the Cubs out of any rumored deal for Blanton, Bedard, or Burnett (no matter how far fetched some may seem), as they would obviously feel they can get a 5th starter out of Lieber or Dempster....not to mention still having Marshall, Gallagher, and Hart.

[Rob]

Nothing wrong with some moderately priced rotation depth... assuming it's on a one year deal.

[YearofDaCubs]

He will be better than Dempster but IMO he still won't be good enough to warrant us signing him.

[UMFan83]

Lieber's not good anymore. He never was that good in the first place. The worst part of this deal is it likely takes the Cubs out of any rumored deal for Blanton, Bedard, or Burnett (no matter how far fetched some may seem), as they would obviously feel they can get a 5th starter out of Lieber or Dempster....not to mention still having Marshall, Gallagher, and Hart.

 

Yes but i makes players like Gallagher and Marshall more expendable in case the right trade comes along...

[Twiggy]

Good deal in my opinion. Anything to keep Dempster out of the starting rotation.

[St.Paul Cub]

I think it's a low risk signing. He's old, but I think he can still be effective. I don't think it shuts the door on any trade, it might make it more likely in that if we were to trade Marshall and Gallagher for Bedard we'd still be alright back of the rotation.

 

Z, Lilly, Bedard, Hill, Lieber/Marquis/Hart

[Banedon]

Lieber's not good anymore. He never was that good in the first place. The worst part of this deal is it likely takes the Cubs out of any rumored deal for Blanton, Bedard, or Burnett (no matter how far fetched some may seem), as they would obviously feel they can get a 5th starter out of Lieber or Dempster....not to mention still having Marshall, Gallagher, and Hart.

 

You're assuming that we were in any of those rumored deals.

[shnsajax]

As long as he has to win the job outright come ST

[CubColtPacer]

If your #5 starter can give you a great shot at an ERA under 5, that's typically better than most teams. Lieber has had an ERA under 5 each of the last 11 years. He is regressing, but at the same time he is moving from a horrible ballpark to pitch in and a ballpark he always struggled in, and he's moving to a ballpark he dominated in.

 

His away numbers the last 3 years:

 

2005: 4.05 ERA, 115.2 IP, 111 H, 81:21 K/BB, 1.25 HR/9, .251/.288/.422 OPS against

2006: 4.64 ERA, 77.2 IP, 90 H, 43:15 K/BB, 1.39 HR/9, .289/.325/.460 OPS against

2007: 4.19 ERA, 38.2 IP, 36 H, 25:15 K/BB, 0.46 HR/9, .248/.327/.366 OPS against

 

Even if he put up his 2006 away numbers or even worse than that, he'd still be a pretty good option for the 5th starter. When you look at his home half of his starts, a good note would be that Lieber was significantly better in Wrigley Field than outside of Wrigley Field when he was a Cub. Wrigley has a great shot to improve his numbers once again just like Philadelphia devalued his numbers.

 

Now, the concern with Lieber. The declining K/BB rate, and the injuries. He is definitely regressing, but the injuries may have made his regression on the K:BB rate artificially inflated. The injuries are still a concern though, and I doubt Lieber gets through the full season without spending some time on the DL. With just a somewhat low priced one year deal though, that's fine. He'll still be a good 5th starter option for this team, even without the nostalgia factor, and the two biggest reasons why are consistency and park factors.

[jersey cubs fan]

Lieber's not good anymore. He never was that good in the first place.

 

I think he was pretty good at his best. Unlike most Cubs pitchers, he didn't give away first base. But no, he isn't good anymore. I'm not sure why people are so certain "he can still pitch" and will be better than Marquis and Dempster. I think among the three you might find one who doesn't stink, but who knows which one that will be.

[WilcoFan]

Bets on whether Lieber, if healthy, outperforms Marquis this season?

[Banedon]

Lieber's not good anymore. He never was that good in the first place.

 

I think he was pretty good at his best. Unlike most Cubs pitchers, he didn't give away first base. But no, he isn't good anymore. I'm not sure why people are so certain "he can still pitch" and will be better than Marquis and Dempster. I think among the three you might find one who doesn't stink, but who knows which one that will be.

 

Maybe the philosophy is to get as many "maybe" pitchers as you can to increase the odds of one being not horrible?

[daske17]

Ken Rosenthal reporting it as official.

[rocket]

jason marquis > jon lieber. don't know about dempster.

 

lieber is injury prone and not very good. pointless move if true.

[UMFan83]

Hopefully this one works out better than Greg Maddux's homecoming