Cubs Sign Grabow (2 years, $7.5 Million)

[Tarver]

We can only hope that this will be the last multiyear contract he ever doles out.

[Rob]

If I had to guess, I'd say it'll be about 7.25 mil over two years, plus incentives for games finished... just in case we need to use him as closer.

 

Not far off considering I made that guess on Sept. 15th.

[davearm2]

The worst organization in professional sports.

Not even in the conversation.

[TruffleShuffle]

The worst organization in professional sports.

Not even in the conversation.

 

don't respond to him, he posts crap like this all the time.

[erik316wttn]

We can only hope that this will be the last contract he ever doles out.

 

Fixed

[17 Seconds]

it's way too much money, but he IS better than Marshall

 

he is?

 

Marshall's 2009 FIP was 4.10

Grabow's 2009 FIP was 4.29 in PIT and 3.83 for CHC

 

The difference in salary is now ridiculous, of course

 

Grabows FIP was worse in 2009

 

Grabow 2009- 4.20

Marshall 2009- 4.19

 

Grabow 2008- 4.54

Marshall 2008- 4.39

 

Grabow 2007- 4.28

Marshall 2007- 4.62

 

Also Marshall is 27 and has gotten better each of the last 3 seasons. Grabow is 31 and hasn't really shown any trend of improving.

[CyHawk_Cub]

Yet another reason to dump Hendry before he does further harm. We know JH will make moves like this, at least bring in someone else who might not be so stupid...I'll take my chances w/ a new guy

[TruffleShuffle]

if ERA isn't a good stat for relievers then FIP isn't either.

[Backtobanks]

Yet another reason to dump Hendry before he does further harm. We know JH will make moves like this, at least bring in someone else who might not be so stupid...I'll take my chances w/ a new guy

 

That's quite a statement without knowing who the new guy might be.

[erik316wttn]

Yet another reason to dump Hendry before he does further harm. We know JH will make moves like this, at least bring in someone else who might not be so stupid...I'll take my chances w/ a new guy

 

That's quite a statement without knowing who the new guy might be.

 

Are you kidding me? Are you honestly implying we should keep Hendry because the next guy might not be any better? Really?

[Backtobanks]

Yet another reason to dump Hendry before he does further harm. We know JH will make moves like this, at least bring in someone else who might not be so stupid...I'll take my chances w/ a new guy

 

That's quite a statement without knowing who the new guy might be.

 

Are you kidding me? Are you honestly implying we should keep Hendry because the next guy might not be any better? Really?

 

There's been a ton of discussion about Hendry's competence and while he has many faults, the overall consensus is that he's certainly not in the bottom five. I don't think we will have to worry about after this year because he won't be extended if the Cubs don't win the WS. If the Cubs do win the WS, he will be extended and deserves to be.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

if ERA isn't a good stat for relievers then FIP isn't either.

 

Why?

[Peoriaman]

Good signing.

[cubsfan26]

FWIW Bruce Levine said today that the Pirates were ready to offer him 3y at 12m.

[NewUserName]

FWIW Bruce Levine said today that the Pirates were ready to offer him 3y at 12m.

 

Well that seals it for me, the team with the longest streak of losing seasons in baseball was also going to pay him this much. I am glad Hendry tied him up before he got on the open market.

[Soul]

Yet another reason to dump Hendry before he does further harm. We know JH will make moves like this, at least bring in someone else who might not be so stupid...I'll take my chances w/ a new guy

 

That's quite a statement without knowing who the new guy might be.

 

Are you kidding me? Are you honestly implying we should keep Hendry because the next guy might not be any better? Really?

 

There's been a ton of discussion about Hendry's competence and while he has many faults, the overall consensus is that he's certainly not in the bottom five. I don't think we will have to worry about after this year because he won't be extended if the Cubs don't win the WS. If the Cubs do win the WS, he will be extended and deserves to be.

 

Whew. I was worried there. But now that I know Hendry is not in the bottom 5 GMs, I feel pretty good.

[Backtobanks]

Yet another reason to dump Hendry before he does further harm. We know JH will make moves like this, at least bring in someone else who might not be so stupid...I'll take my chances w/ a new guy

 

That's quite a statement without knowing who the new guy might be.

 

Are you kidding me? Are you honestly implying we should keep Hendry because the next guy might not be any better? Really?

 

There's been a ton of discussion about Hendry's competence and while he has many faults, the overall consensus is that he's certainly not in the bottom five. I don't think we will have to worry about after this year because he won't be extended if the Cubs don't win the WS. If the Cubs do win the WS, he will be extended and deserves to be.

 

Whew. I was worried there. But now that I know Hendry is not in the bottom 5 GMs, I feel pretty good.

 

The bottom line is that a lot of the "Hendry hate" comes from the fact that we're all passionate about the Cubs. I'm sure most passionate fans have an equal amount of hate for their GMs too. If the measure of a GM is winning the WS, then there's only one successful GM per year and the rest are failures. Actually everything I've read puts Hendry somewhere in the middle of the pack, but I knew if I posted that everybody would have to chime in. As I've often posted, all of us think we can do a better job than Hendry while we sit here fantasizing about trades and free agent signings.

[JeffH]

As I've often posted, all of us think we can do a better job than Hendry while we sit here fantasizing about trades and free agent signings.

 

I don't think I could do a better job of being a MLB GM than Hendry.

 

That doesn't prevent me from thinking that he's horrible at it, is better qualified to be setting pins in a bowling alley, and should have been replaced years ago.

[Backtobanks]

As I've often posted, all of us think we can do a better job than Hendry while we sit here fantasizing about trades and free agent signings.

 

I don't think I could do a better job of being a MLB GM than Hendry.

 

That doesn't prevent me from thinking that he's horrible at it, is better qualified to be setting pins in a bowling alley, and should have been replaced years ago.

 

You're entitled to your opinion, but the only opinion that counts belongs to Ricketts and before him the Tribune Company. Apparently they have had enough confidence in him to keep him on the job and increase the payroll he has to work with. With all of the money they've spent over the years, I'm sure they could have hired a "better" GM if they weren't satisfied with his performance.

[erik316wttn]

As I've often posted, all of us think we can do a better job than Hendry while we sit here fantasizing about trades and free agent signings.

 

I don't think I could do a better job of being a MLB GM than Hendry.

 

That doesn't prevent me from thinking that he's horrible at it, is better qualified to be setting pins in a bowling alley, and should have been replaced years ago.

 

I'm not saying I could do better than Hendry. I'd probably run the team into the ground. But I know enough about baseball to know when someone is doing a bad job. It's like when a Cubs player is having a terrible season... is he immune from criticism from us because none of us could do any better?

 

I am saying, though, that the Cubs could most likely do a lot better than Jim Hendry, and Ricketts shouldn't let him handcuff this team any more before making the change. Even after he's gone, we'll still be feeling his influence upon this team for quite some time. He's done some good, yes, but I think those are overrated (Nomar and Lee fell into his lap, and the Pirates were in fire-sale mode with Ramirez and he was just the first guy to call them. Harden was a good deal, though. I'll give him that, but he negates that move by not even offering arbitration.) He's done more harm to this team than good, let a completely incompetent manager ruin two of the best arms this franchise has ever seen, gave out no-trade clauses like they were candy thereby severely handcuffing us in making necessary personnel moves, and giving out completely baffling contracts to players who didn't deserve it.

 

There are worse GM's than Jim Hendry, but the fact that "the next guy might not be better" isn't a good reason to not fire him. If you suck at your job, you'd be fired, and your boss wouldn't even consider what your replacement might be like. It should be the same here.

[Backtobanks]

As I've often posted, all of us think we can do a better job than Hendry while we sit here fantasizing about trades and free agent signings.

 

I don't think I could do a better job of being a MLB GM than Hendry.

 

That doesn't prevent me from thinking that he's horrible at it, is better qualified to be setting pins in a bowling alley, and should have been replaced years ago.

 

I'm not saying I could do better than Hendry. I'd probably run the team into the ground. But I know enough about baseball to know when someone is doing a bad job. It's like when a Cubs player is having a terrible season... is he immune from criticism from us because none of us could do any better?

 

I am saying, though, that the Cubs could most likely do a lot better than Jim Hendry, and Ricketts shouldn't let him handcuff this team any more before making the change. Even after he's gone, we'll still be feeling his influence upon this team for quite some time. He's done some good, yes, but I think those are overrated (Nomar and Lee fell into his lap, and the Pirates were in fire-sale mode with Ramirez and he was just the first guy to call them. Harden was a good deal, though. I'll give him that, but he negates that move by not even offering arbitration.) He's done more harm to this team than good, let a completely incompetent manager ruin two of the best arms this franchise has ever seen, gave out no-trade clauses like they were candy thereby severely handcuffing us in making necessary personnel moves, and giving out completely baffling contracts to players who didn't deserve it.

 

There are worse GM's than Jim Hendry, but the fact that "the next guy might not be better" isn't a good reason to not fire him. If you suck at your job, you'd be fired, and your boss wouldn't even consider what your replacement might be like. It should be the same here.

 

I'm always amazed that so many of you give him no credit for Nomar, Lee, and Ramirez. How come Nomar and Lee didn't "fall into" some other GM's lap? How come no other GM called the Pirates first to get Ramirez when they were having a fire sale? The reason might be that he's always on the phone trying to make a deal that makes the team better. I will agree that he has some faults (mostly in NTCs and paying too much for "fringe" players), but the Cubs have been a competitive team throughout most of his tenure. (Now we'll get all the comments about the high payroll) While we're at it, he deserves some credit for the young players who are starting to come to the ML. I've been a Cub fan for 55 years and watched them go for years without having anything close to a winning season. We'll see if the next GM is "lucky" enough to have all-stars "fall into his lap".

[rocket]

Hendry's negatives (depleted farm system, ridiculous contracts, hatred of advanced stats, hard on for middle relievers) outweigh his positives (pretty awesome at trades).

[Guest]

I'll say it -- I think I could do a better job.

 

There, now my vanity is exposed for all to see. :)

[Sosa21MVP]

FWIW Bruce Levine said today that the Pirates were ready to offer him 3y at 12m.

 

Oh wow, that changes everything. The Pirates are such a well run organization. The Cubs really got lucky to be able to retain Grabow at such a bargain price.

[17 Seconds]

if ERA isn't a good stat for relievers then FIP isn't either.

 

i didnt think so but i wasnt really sure exactly how fip works. the only reason i did it is because he used it.