Sheets?

[Backtobanks]

Rosenthal from Foxsports makes some FA predictions:

 

Ben Sheets — Arguably the best starting pitcher in the entire free-agent class, but the question remains: Is he healthy?

 

Sheets missed all of last season while recovering from elbow surgery. Teams likely will want to see him throw before deciding whether he is worthy of an investment.

 

He still makes the most sense for a high-revenue club that can absorb the risk, but the Yankees and Red Sox do not figure to spend more on starting pitching.

 

Prediction: Cubs.

[JeffH]

Yes, Sheets or Bedard and a better second baseman.

 

Leave the freaking bullpen alone.

[davearm2]

Yes, Sheets or Bedard and a better second baseman.

 

Leave the freaking bullpen alone.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if either Sheets or Bedard end up signing with the Cubs. Seems like the kind of move Hendry might have under his hat at this point.

 

Getting a better second baseman would surprise me though. I think they feel they're set to go with Baker and Fontenot.

[Backtobanks]

Yes, Sheets or Bedard and a better second baseman.

 

Leave the freaking bullpen alone.

 

From MLBTR (Dierkes' predictions on remaining FA):

 

Kiko Calero - Cubs. A dozen teams could use Calero, who has generated surprisingly little interest. I expect the Cubs to add a late-inning arm

 

Calero would be a decent pickup if the price is right.

[Sammy Sofa]

I would not mind an incentive-heavy contract for Sheets at all.

[Prizefight]

I would not mind an incentive-heavy contract for Sheets at all.

 

 

Yes, please

 

What would we need to guarantee him? 3-5 million maybe?

 

The risk/reward here makes it a no-brainer that we sign him which is the exact reason why we don't.

[A-Cal]

if we added both sheets and calero i would be more happy than i have been with this team since right after the mark derosa home run in Game 1 of the 2008 NLDS

 

damn, it has been a while

[CUBZ99]

Would love to see Hendry sign Sheets if they could get him for less than Harden. I remain skeptical that with all of the pressure that Hendry is under that he would gamble most of his remaining payroll on a starter who may or may not contribute this season. It would be a pretty big gamble for him.

[Clem Fandango]

No one wants to put a feeler out on Wang?

 

And yes, I intentionally worded that to make a double entendre...

 

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd256/gallow737/wang1.jpg

 

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd256/gallow737/wang2.jpg

 

I'm feeling very childish today.

 

Seriously though, would Chein-Ming Wang be a bad idea to inquire about? I know he was absolutely abysmal last year but could that have been an aberration?

[CubbieBum]

No one wants to put a feeler out on Wang?

 

And yes, I intentionally worded that to make a double entendre...

 

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd256/gallow737/wang1.jpg

 

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd256/gallow737/wang2.jpg

 

I'm feeling very childish today.

 

Seriously though, would Chein-Ming Wang be a bad idea to inquire about? I know he was absolutely abysmal last year but could that have been an aberration?

 

Eh. I've never been high on him and at this point I would say Marshall could do around the same job.

[Uber]

Eh. I've never been high on him and at this point I would say Marshall could do around the same job.

 

Did the travel channel tell you that?

[chasinf5s]

that article has Holliday going to the cards along with tejada. That would make them pretty good on offense....

 

Anyway, i would also offer Sheets a incentive laden contract. We know how good he can be and its not much a risk for the possible reward. The Cubs did take chances on Dempster and Harden.

[davearm2]

Seriously though, would Chein-Ming Wang be a bad idea to inquire about? I know he was absolutely abysmal last year but could that have been an aberration?

Looking at his peripherals, it would appear his good years were the aberration. If he was fully healthy, he projects as a roughly league average starter.

 

Guys can get away with a low k/9 rate, but when their hr/fb rate goes bad, things go south in a hurry.

[A-Cal]

why is it that marshall can do the same job as almost every pitcher brought up on these boards?

 

marshall is not that good, wang is better... I am not advocating a Wang signing, but I wanted to point this out.

[SouthSideRyan]

why is it that marshall can do the same job as almost every pitcher brought up on these boards?

 

marshall is not that good, wang is better

 

Were you in hibernation for '09?

[Cubswin11]

Sheets should get something around the Justin Duchscherer ($5.5) and Harden ($6.5) deals at best. Both of those deals only have about half the money guaranteed and both pitchers have had less serious injuries the last few years and have been pitching more recently. Sheets should be Hendry's #1 target right now as we have a serious hole in our rotation right now IMO, with Lilly highly questionable to start the year, Dempster not a sure thing to be much more than a #3, and a back end being compiled of Silva/Samardzija/Marshall/Wells.

[Kid Gleason]

I was just wondering who y'all think is a better pitcher at this point in their careers assuming health...Sheets or Harden? If the Cubs were to add a healthy Sheets would they ultimatly be better of than if they had kept a healthy Harden?

[jersey cubs fan]

I was just wondering who y'all think is a better pitcher at this point in their careers assuming health...Sheets or Harden? If the Cubs were to add a healthy Sheets would they ultimatly be better of than if they had kept a healthy Harden?

 

What do you mean "assuming health". Sheets might be a better bet to give you 220 innings of great ball, and even at his best Harden may only give you 150 innings of better ball. But there's no assumptions with these guys' health other than it will always be in doubt.

[Sammy Sofa]

It's pretty obvious that he was asking who people would prefer to have, Sheets or Harden, if both were somehow magically a lock to be healthy.

[17 Seconds]

I was just wondering who y'all think is a better pitcher at this point in their careers assuming health...Sheets or Harden? If the Cubs were to add a healthy Sheets would they ultimatly be better of than if they had kept a healthy Harden?

 

there's no way to know with those 2 guys.

[A-Cal]

Sheets over Harden if they are both magically healthy again.

 

Harden over Sheets if they are both magically healthy again and Harden regains the use of all of his pitches.

[Splendid Splinter]

I was just wondering who y'all think is a better pitcher at this point in their careers assuming health...Sheets or Harden? If the Cubs were to add a healthy Sheets would they ultimatly be better of than if they had kept a healthy Harden?

 

What do you mean "assuming health". Sheets might be a better bet to give you 220 innings of great ball, and even at his best Harden may only give you 150 innings of better ball. But there's no assumptions with these guys' health other than it will always be in doubt.

 

 

Totally agree there. Sheets would be able to give you more innings when completely healthy, but if he was asking if both had the same amount of IPs being completely healthy... then it's close for some people. IMO I have to go with Harden then and it's not even close because if he was to be completely healthy then that means he would be able to use all of his pitches as well and I see him doing what he did with the Cubs in '08 over a full season. But again... it's hard to beat Sheets's 2004 season.

[CubsWin]

The rotation currently stands at Zambrano, Lilly, Dempster, Wells and whoever. Adding Sheets to that mix with pitchers like Marshall and Gorzelanny able to step in for him in case of injury would be great, assuming he can still pitch effectively which is yet to be seen.

 

My question is, since it is unlikely the Cubs would be able to afford both Sheets and Orlando Hudson, which would provide the biggest difference to the Cubs chances of getting to a World Series?

 

I don't know how to answer that question. I'm guessing somebody out there does...

[Guest]

The rotation currently stands at Zambrano, Lilly, Dempster, Wells and whoever. Adding Sheets to that mix with pitchers like Marshall and Gorzelanny able to step in for him in case of injury would be great, assuming he can still pitch effectively which is yet to be seen.

 

My question is, since it is unlikely the Cubs would be able to afford both Sheets and Orlando Hudson, which would provide the biggest difference to the Cubs chances of getting to a World Series?

 

I don't know how to answer that question. I'm guessing somebody out there does...

Sheets would unquestionably have a bigger impact if he's 100% healthy. Since we don't know how healthy he is, it's really hard to answer the question.