Which potentially available starter would we want?

[Little Slide Rooter]

This has been discussed in many a thread, but it may as well come to life in poll form. Saying at the deadline, the pitchers that have been discussed are still available, which one would we want most?

[JimSorgi]

Freddy Garcia?

[dew1679666265]

I'm firmly in the "there's no price too high for C.C." camp.

 

Sabathia would be exactly the pitcher we need and a duo of Z and CC in the playoffs would be almost as nasty as they come.

 

I would hate to lose most of the players we would likely lose (Ceda, Hill, Veal, Colvin, Samardzija, etc), but it'd be worth it for a stud like Sabathia.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

I'm about 50/50 between Harden and Sabathia. I think Sabathia is better, but we could have Harden at a decent price past this year. If the price is exactly the same, I'd probably go with C.C., but Rich wouldn't upset me either.

[17 Seconds]

I'm about 50/50 between Harden and Sabathia. I think Sabathia is better, but we could have Harden at a decent price past this year. If the price is exactly the same, I'd probably go with C.C., but Rich wouldn't upset me either.

 

When healthy, Harden is better than Sabathia.

[CubbieBum]

I went with Harden because they are both ace type pitchers but Harden would be cheaper to get and cheaper in the long run. Plus CC is feeling the effects of massive overuse this year and I don't like trading for a pitcher that could be gone in half a year who isn't performing well during the year he is traded.

[RedFlash]

I went with Sabathia, because he is a better fit to staying healthy for the remainder of the yr. In his career, CC has average 29 starts per yr. Whereas Harden has averaged only 14 starts per yr. And get the feeling that Harden is Oakland's version of Prior, in that he is a mega talented pitcher, who can't stay healthy.

 

Harden has one club option left on his contract with the A's and CC is a FA after the yr. You can't go wrong with either pitcher, but going after Harden, would be an extremely risky, considering all the time and effort spent trying to keep Prior healthy. If the Cubs landed Harden (I would offer only two good prospects for Harden, nothing more) I would be thrilled. But I think the #1 option has to be CC, without a doubt.

[Yanksfan1523]

Good luck with Sabathia. He is a late night McDonald's run from being Bartolo Colon!

 

At least Bedard is controllable.

[dew1679666265]

I'm about 50/50 between Harden and Sabathia. I think Sabathia is better, but we could have Harden at a decent price past this year. If the price is exactly the same, I'd probably go with C.C., but Rich wouldn't upset me either.

 

When healthy, Harden is better than Sabathia.

 

That's a pretty huge caveat, though.

[CubbieBum]

Good luck with Sabathia. He is a late night McDonald's run from being Bartolo Colon!

 

At least Bedard is controllable.

 

Yeah I remember a story about after his rookie year he got really out of shape and fat and that's why he struggled but lost the weight a year or two ago and that was the reason for his resurgence. He seems to have put on some weight after proving himself last year.

[Little Slide Rooter]

I'm about 50/50 between Harden and Sabathia. I think Sabathia is better, but we could have Harden at a decent price past this year. If the price is exactly the same, I'd probably go with C.C., but Rich wouldn't upset me either.

 

When healthy, Harden is better than Sabathia.

 

When healthy, Mark Priors better than both.

[UMFan83]

If Harden stays healthy (as we know a huge if), he will pitch a crapload of innings. As it is, he's already thrown more innings this year than he has since 2005.

[RedFlash]

Good luck with Sabathia. He is a late night McDonald's run from being Bartolo Colon!

 

At least Bedard is controllable.

 

So is Carlos Zambrano. The fact is since his debut in 2001, CC has pitched in atleast 180 innings (BTB; Z has pitched in 200 innings atleast 5 times in his career). And the only yr in which he didn't hit 30 starts, was 2006, when he hit 28 starts. Which means, despite his size, he is extremely durable. So I'm not worried about CC's size.

[17 Seconds]

I'm about 50/50 between Harden and Sabathia. I think Sabathia is better, but we could have Harden at a decent price past this year. If the price is exactly the same, I'd probably go with C.C., but Rich wouldn't upset me either.

 

When healthy, Harden is better than Sabathia.

 

When healthy, Mark Priors better than both.

 

Is Mark Prior healthy?

[dew1679666265]

I'm about 50/50 between Harden and Sabathia. I think Sabathia is better, but we could have Harden at a decent price past this year. If the price is exactly the same, I'd probably go with C.C., but Rich wouldn't upset me either.

 

When healthy, Harden is better than Sabathia.

 

When healthy, Mark Priors better than both.

 

Is Mark Prior healthy?

 

How long will Rich Harden stay healthy?

 

Harden might be better than Sabathia when healthy, but if I'm giving up valuable chips to acquire a deadline starter, I want to make sure as much as possible that starter will be able to pitch the final three months of the year - that overrides a slight differential in talent.

[17 Seconds]

I'm about 50/50 between Harden and Sabathia. I think Sabathia is better, but we could have Harden at a decent price past this year. If the price is exactly the same, I'd probably go with C.C., but Rich wouldn't upset me either.

 

When healthy, Harden is better than Sabathia.

 

When healthy, Mark Priors better than both.

 

Is Mark Prior healthy?

 

How long will Rich Harden stay healthy?

 

Harden might be better than Sabathia when healthy, but if I'm giving up valuable chips to acquire a deadline starter, I want to make sure as much as possible that starter will be able to pitch the final three months of the year - that overrides a slight differential in talent.

 

I'm not denying that Harden is a huge health risk, but his situation is not even close to the same as Prior's. I also believe that Harden would be much much cheaper (if Sabathia is even avilable in the first place). If Harden is healthy, there is no doubt that Beane is going to deal him for the best offer.

[dew1679666265]

I'm about 50/50 between Harden and Sabathia. I think Sabathia is better, but we could have Harden at a decent price past this year. If the price is exactly the same, I'd probably go with C.C., but Rich wouldn't upset me either.

 

When healthy, Harden is better than Sabathia.

 

When healthy, Mark Priors better than both.

 

Is Mark Prior healthy?

 

How long will Rich Harden stay healthy?

 

Harden might be better than Sabathia when healthy, but if I'm giving up valuable chips to acquire a deadline starter, I want to make sure as much as possible that starter will be able to pitch the final three months of the year - that overrides a slight differential in talent.

 

I'm not denying that Harden is a huge health risk, but his situation is not even close to the same as Prior's. I also believe that Harden would be much much cheaper (if Sabathia is even avilable in the first place). If Harden is healthy, there is no doubt that Beane is going to deal him for the best offer.

 

I agree that Harden is much different than Prior, but I'm not convinced he'd be significantly cheaper than CC.

 

He'll be cheaper, but Beane's a great GM. He'll see the need (and desire) the Cubs have and exploit it.