Tribune: Wood Signs Deal with Cleveland (p. 29)

[CUBZ99]

Hendry:

 

"I think we all feel that Kerry is certainly deserving of a three- or four-year contract," Hendry said. "He’s done everything this organization has asked for the last 14 years, been a warrior the last couple of years. He's come back and health-wise stood the test of time, taken the ball every day we needed, and had no hang-ups, except for (missing one month with a blister injury).

"We’re just in a situation, as Kerry fully understands, that that length of deal, for the kind of salary he’d command right now, is not our first priority. We certainly have to finish our rotation, we have offensive situations to address, and by having the prominence that (Carlos) Marmol now brings to the table, it certainly doesn’t come before the other needs we have. We felt it was time Kerry goes out and does what’s best for him and his family, and gets a huge multi-year deal if possible."

 

And yet, we give Soriano 8 years?

 

Soriano didn't have Wood's injury history. Any team that gives Wood a 3+ yr deal for over $10MM a year is insane. Wood will always be one of my favorite Cubs, but Hendry is making the right call on this decision.

[Clem Fandango]

Hendry:

 

"I think we all feel that Kerry is certainly deserving of a three- or four-year contract," Hendry said. "He’s done everything this organization has asked for the last 14 years, been a warrior the last couple of years. He's come back and health-wise stood the test of time, taken the ball every day we needed, and had no hang-ups, except for (missing one month with a blister injury).

"We’re just in a situation, as Kerry fully understands, that that length of deal, for the kind of salary he’d command right now, is not our first priority. We certainly have to finish our rotation, we have offensive situations to address, and by having the prominence that (Carlos) Marmol now brings to the table, it certainly doesn’t come before the other needs we have. We felt it was time Kerry goes out and does what’s best for him and his family, and gets a huge multi-year deal if possible."

 

And yet, we give Soriano 8 years?

 

Closers are a dime a dozen. We just traded for one, and Marmol is "closer material" even though they shouldn't put him anywhere near that title.

 

People want Wood on this team for sentimental value and not what's in the best interest of the team regarding payroll, which is clearly why they let him walk. You're all acting as if you're Peter Angelos and you just traded Brian Roberts

 

Yes, it sucks to see Wood go.

Yes, I'd rather see Wood in a Cubs uniform

Yes, it's gonna hurt to see him pitch well for another team

No, it's not gonna hurt when he signs a $10-$12 million a year deal elsewhere, because he's a closer and shouldn't make that much when we have in house options to replace him.

 

I'm just as saddened by his loss as everyone else on here but don't let your man crush get in the way reality. To quote Bob Kelso "Stop looking for trouble just because you like this patient and face the facts"

 

Freeing up the money we'd probably have to pay Kerry will make space for someone else to join this team. 1998 and 2003 were a long time ago, let's move on to more important matters, like when do we resign Mark Prior? I miss his musk

Edited November 14, 2008 by The Logan

[David]

Starting LFer vs. a closer

 

great comparison

[SouthSideRyan]

Oh...

 

I also have a Rex Grossman jersey.

 

a Jordan 45 from when I was in 6th grade

 

a Grant Hill 96 olympics jersey

 

 

and, the only one besides Rose and maybe Harden (debatable) not loaded with bad karma, a Rodman 91 black jersey.

 

Oh, I also have a Sosa home authentic.

 

Any of those hideous black bulls jerseys are loaded with bad karma.

[SouthSideRyan]

Has anyone mentioned how stupid it is to come out on November 13th and say we're done with you? I mean what's the point to this?

[USSoccer]

Hey, guys-let's take a 97 win team and decide we're not going to resign our 2nd best reliever, and replace him with someone who isn't near as good.

[David]

Hey, guys-let's take a 97 win team and decide we're not going to resign our 2nd best reliever, and replace him with someone who isn't near as good.

 

If Wood wants a multi-year deal at big money, we absolutely should not resign him. Letting him go is absolutely the right move given what he is almost certain to command.

 

Millions and millions of dollars to relievers FTL.

[USSoccer]

Hey, guys-let's take a 97 win team and decide we're not going to resign our 2nd best reliever, and replace him with someone who isn't near as good.

 

If Wood wants a multi-year deal at big money, we absolutely should not resign him. Letting him go is absolutely the right move given what he is almost certain to command.

 

Millions and millions of dollars to relievers FTL.

 

Aside from the fact that I feel that Wood would be one guy you should be willing to pay his ducats to, regardless, you can't tell me that there was no way to figure something out.

[David]

Why do the Cubs owe Wood anything?

 

I don't understand the mindset. Separate yourselves from the emotion. I love Woody too but I want this team in a position to win more than anything. Overpaying a closer is bad enough. Overpaying a closer with durability concerns is even worse.

[Sammy Sofa]

Why do the Cubs owe Wood anything?

 

I don't understand the mindset. Separate yourselves from the emotion. I love Woody too but I want this team in a position to win more than anything. Overpaying a closer is bad enough. Overpaying a closer with durability concerns is even worse.

 

Yeah, emotionally this is beating me up, but logically it makes sense. The Cubs need the money to bump up the offense and the starting rotation and Marmol can close. Yeah, the bullpen isn't a sure thing, but I'd be pissed if too much money was spent there instead of where it's really needed. People will step up in the 'pen for much less money and get the job done.

[17 Seconds]

If anything, Wood owes the organization for all the money wasted on him

[USSoccer]

Why do the Cubs owe Wood anything?

 

I don't understand the mindset. Separate yourselves from the emotion. I love Woody too but I want this team in a position to win more than anything. Overpaying a closer is bad enough. Overpaying a closer with durability concerns is even worse.

 

I recognize that paying the man is not the logical move. That said, I'd have paid him and tried to make the necessary upgrades more creatively (Grienke, Hermedia).

[SouthSideRyan]

If anything, Wood owes the organization for all the money wasted on him

 

Wood should sue the organization for negligence for 1998-2006.

[badnews]

I have zero sentimentality about Kerry Wood so I don't think much of the crying in this topic. This reminds me of when the Red Sox got rid of Garciaparra, and oh, they cried, they cried, they cried. Who's got a better chance of going into the Hall of Fame, Kerry Wood, or Garciaparra? Garciaparra, obviously, but neither guy is going. The point is, the Red Sox got rid of Garciaparra and the earth somehow continued to revolve.

[NCCubFan]

You're right, maybe we could have fit Wood in at 3/30 if our financial situation were different. But in some ways, I'm sure glad we can't, because giving closers big money is stupid, no matter how much we love him.

 

id rather lose with wood than win without him. and i know i am not in the minority.

You're completely in the minority. Winning a championship is much more important than who's on the team. My first choice would be to win with Wood, but if it comes down to winning or keeping Wood winning is much more important.

[Guest]

Has anyone mentioned how stupid it is to come out on November 13th and say we're done with you? I mean what's the point to this?

 

I'm trying to figure out who is going to give Wood this long term deal for a ton of years that just annihilates what the Cubs could even think of offering. I mean, it's not like the Cubs organization and us fans are the only ones who know about Wood's injury history and the likelihood that something could happen in the future. Based on this history, I don't see a team offering him more than three years because of all the risk. And also because of the history, who is going to offer him a ton of money also?

 

I get that it's probably the smart thing to let Wood walk but I can't see his demands being so absurd that the Cubs have to consider themselves out of the running right now. This isn't a small market team that can't afford to pay a player more than $8-10M per year for more than a couple years letting a player who is going to get 5-7 years at $15-20M per year. It just seems crazy to do this now.

[Guest]

I was so pumped in 07 when he came back and actually stayed healthy. Soccer and I got to see him pitch in what I think was his second or third appearance, out in SF. His showing in the 03 playoffs was nothing short of epic, even considering getting roughed up on the mound in game 7. I've been a staunch cubs fan my whole life, but the day i became a helplessly obsessed fan was May 6th, 98.

 

This sucks :(

 

I know the Cubs lost that game, but just seeing him back out there was amazing and it made up for the Cubs getting owned by Matt Cain that day (both on the mound and with his bat as he homered that day).

[doschi]

Long-time lurker, first-time poster.

 

Finding out that Kerry was as good as gone, replaced by a guy with two first names who tied for the league lead in blown saves (9) pretty much made me want to:

 

a) cry like a little girl

b) act like a bitter [expletive] for the rest of the day, and/or

c) pray to God/Allah/FSM that this is the precursor to a deal involving Peavy, Roberts, Abreu, or at least SOMEBODY that warrants kicking our current Mr. Cub to the curb.

 

To be honest, I don't think that any of the players mentioned in © is the miraculous answer to our "100-year itch."

 

I think that signing Demp and Woody, along with dumping Marquis in favor of one of the A-list starters on the market (ie Sabathia, Sheets, Peavy et. al...and while I'm dreaming I'd like a Lamborghini that runs on biodiesel and a supermodel Cubs fan with a libido like Wilt Chamberlin) would be a start.

 

I'm on the fence as far as Roberts. Move DeRo to RF, platoon Fukudome and Johnson in CF, but I think we could do pretty well with Fontenot as our 2B/leadoff hitter.

 

Hear me out. Roberts obviously has the overwhelming advantage as far as speed (which is obviously integral in the leadoff spot), but if you pro-rate MF's AB's to where Roberts' are, well, here are the numbers. I'm multiplying MF's stats by 2.51440329 to even out the AB's, so I know this is purely hypothetical, but, here goes...

 

BR - 155G - 611AB - 107R - 181H - 51 2B - 8 3B - 9HR - 57 RBI - 40 SB - .296/.378/.450

MF - 155G - 611AB - 106R - 186H - 55 2B - 3 3B - 23HR - 101RBI - 5 SB - .305/.395/.514

 

I ain't sayin', I'm just sayin'.

 

So, without the need for a new 2B or RF, we could have signed Woody, Dempster, and Peavy/Sabbathia/Sheets/Steve Carlton/Nolan Ryan/Cy Freakin Young.

 

Aaaaaaand here would be your lineup (IMHO):

 

2B Fontenot

1B Lee

3B Ramirez

LF Soriano

C Soto

RF DeRosa

CF Johnson/Fukudome

SS Theriot

 

Bench:

IF Cedeno

IF/OF Hoffpauir

C Blanco

 

Rotation:

SP Zambrano

SP Lilly

SP Harden

SP Dempster

SP Randy and/or Walter Johnson (or one of the aforementioned pipe dreams)

 

Bullpen:

RP Wood

RP Marmol

RP Samardzija

RP Gaudin

LP Cotts (meh)

LP Marshall

 

Then a possible pickup or two for the bench (or Roberts, bringing MF of the bench).

 

Long-ass, first-post story short,

 

I Miss Kerry.

[Peoriaman]

Hey, guys-let's take a 97 win team and decide we're not going to resign our 2nd best reliever, and replace him with someone who isn't near as good.

 

If Wood wants a multi-year deal at big money, we absolutely should not resign him. Letting him go is absolutely the right move given what he is almost certain to command.

 

Millions and millions of dollars to relievers FTL.

 

Aside from the fact that I feel that Wood would be one guy you should be willing to pay his ducats to, regardless, you can't tell me that there was no way to figure something out.

 

There was no way to figure something out.

[Jehrico]

Hey, guys-let's take a 97 win team and decide we're not going to resign our 2nd best reliever, and replace him with someone who isn't near as good.

 

If Wood wants a multi-year deal at big money, we absolutely should not resign him. Letting him go is absolutely the right move given what he is almost certain to command.

 

Millions and millions of dollars to relievers FTL.

 

Aside from the fact that I feel that Wood would be one guy you should be willing to pay his ducats to, regardless, you can't tell me that there was no way to figure something out.

 

There was no way to figure something out.

Yeah there was.

[Little Slide Rooter]

I cant wait to see how all the Woody love turns out after we flip Gregg over to the Padres for Peavy and give Woody a huge contract, and he spends 80% of the season on the DL. Remember, this isnt the first time that Woody supposedly threw his last pitch in a Cubs uniform.

[bhogg]

Long-time lurker, first-time poster.

 

 

 

Welcome, dude. I like your thinking, but I have to have my doubts on whether Fontenot can sustain that production for an entire year. . . . . . he's so tiny.

 

It's strange, but I'm not all that upset about Kerry moving on. I understand they don't want to lay out $10 million for a closer who has such a high probability of getting a serious arm injury during the length of the contract he's supposedly earned. I certainly wish we could have retained him, but poop happens.

[soapy]

as much as i hate this, it's the right move. you can say wasting money on people like Marquis put the Cubs in this spot (and you'd be right), but i don't think you can compound one mistake by making another. the bottom line is giving Wood the kind of money he will seek and deserve would likely prohibit the team from making necessary upgrades elsewhere. if the Cubs gave a 3/30 or so to a reliever that is going to be 32 in June with a significant injury history, this place would explode (rightfully so).

 

i'm very sad to see Kerry go though.

[Soul]

Why do the Cubs owe Wood anything?

 

I don't understand the mindset. Separate yourselves from the emotion. I love Woody too but I want this team in a position to win more than anything. Overpaying a closer is bad enough. Overpaying a closer with durability concerns is even worse.

 

I recognize that paying the man is not the logical move. That said, I'd have paid him and tried to make the necessary upgrades more creatively (Grienke, Hermedia).

 

If he really is going to get $10 million/yr for 4 or 5 years I do think that's too much. I'm not sure if we're just making that assumption or if it's really what he's going to get though.

 

I also wonder if Wood is really as big an injury risk, given his new role. He pitched 66 innings last year, and seemed to hold up reasonably well. I'm not sure you can take his injury concerns as a starter and automatically project that out to his new role as a guy who is now throwing 1/3 the innings.

[hardcorecubfan]

throws the re-mix of Go Cubs Go off with the line "after ten years we still got Wood."

 

A strange move considering we babied him through all those injuries and kept resigning him. Now he looks like he cvan pitch again we let him go