Can the starting pitching be fixed for 2012?

[Guest]

I just noticed Cots has Wainwright's options as vested for his top 5 finish in CYA in 2010, so he is there for better or worse.

 

The Cards can void the option if he's on the DL with an arm injury at the end of the season.

[KingCubsFan]

Arguing that Hendry should stay vs. arguing that the Cardinals are set up better than us going forward are 2 different things.

 

I just noticed Cots has Wainwright's options as vested for his top 5 finish in CYA in 2010, so he is there for better or worse.

 

I don't get your argument that the Cubs are losing more valuable pieces that must be replaced via FA than the Cardinals. The Cardinals have Pujols, Berkman, and Carpenter as FAs. The Cubs have Carlos Pena, John Grabow, and Kerry Wood.

My argument was more that we'll have to add more valuable pieces through free agency in the coming years, since the Cardinals already have more useful pieces than we do and potentially have more coming up. And I never meant to conflate Hendry's contract status with the Cardinals. I was originally pointing out that the Cardinals may have just as much money as we do in the offseason and a better team in response to a comment that the rest of the division is bound to get worse this offseason.

[TripJ]

Ricketts was in Des Moines today talking with some of the city leaders and dignitaries with the I-Cubs. I have a friend who was in attendance (he sits on the Des Moines city council, city owns the ballpark, etc).

 

He didn't say anything particularly scintillating, but my friend's parting thoughts from lunch were:

 

- Quade should probably pack his bags...sounds like he may be hung out to dry as the scapegoat (not saying he doesn't deserve that, but there's another thread about that).

 

- He sure seems to like Hendry, and if he's planning on sacking him, he sure doesn't sound like it. He didn't say anything concrete - no votes of confidence - but definitely left the impression that Hendry would be left to re-build the mess.

 

- Lots of payroll coming off of the books (duh, I know), will look to spend in free-agency this offseason.

 

- Still plans to invest heavily in Wrigley over the next several years, still exploring various funding models.

 

Again, nothing particularly revelatory, but figured it was at least of note.

[Tarver]

While it isn't fair and I don't necessarily agree with it all, every columnist/talking head (even the ones I think a lot of people around here respect) has bashed the Cubs since the deadline. This team is the laughing stock of the league right now. Someone has to be held accountable.

You want the Cubs to make major decisions about the direction of the franchise based upon media frenzy?

 

And you don't even agree with the frenzy, or think it's fair?

 

Surely I'm missing something here.

 

Yeah, I just now decided Hendry needs to be fired. Harold Reynolds convinced me.

 

My point is how far the knowledge of Hendry's failings has trickled down. Before last season, you'd be in the minority of fans if you wanted Hendry gone. Now, Al Yellon and Mike Murphy are leading the charge. Keeping him around would be a huge PR hit, as well as a terrible operational decision.

[dew1679666265]

My argument was more that we'll have to add more valuable pieces through free agency in the coming years, since the Cardinals already have more useful pieces than we do and potentially have more coming up.

 

I'm not sold on this at all. I'm not real familiar with the Cardinals' system, so maybe they have more prospects than I think they do, but my impression was they have Shelby Miller and Carlos Martinez and then a bunch of nothing. BA would seem to agree with me, as they ranked the Cubs' farm system (post Garza trade) at #16 and the Cardinals at #24. The Cubs don't have any stars on the edge of making the majors, but they have a lot of options to fill spots cheaply who will likely be up within the next 1-3 years.

 

As for the current major league squads, the Cubs have 12 players on the current roster who will be under 30 next year and are under team control in some capacity beyond this year. The Cards also have 11 - and they just traded away one of their best pre-30 players in Colby Rasmus. Both teams have their own share of filler and stars on that list as well.

[KingKongvs.Godzilla]

Arguing that Hendry should stay vs. arguing that the Cardinals are set up better than us going forward are 2 different things.

 

I just noticed Cots has Wainwright's options as vested for his top 5 finish in CYA in 2010, so he is there for better or worse.

 

I don't get your argument that the Cubs are losing more valuable pieces that must be replaced via FA than the Cardinals. The Cardinals have Pujols, Berkman, and Carpenter as FAs. The Cubs have Carlos Pena, John Grabow, and Kerry Wood.

My argument was more that we'll have to add more valuable pieces through free agency in the coming years, since the Cardinals already have more useful pieces than we do and potentially have more coming up. And I never meant to conflate Hendry's contract status with the Cardinals. I was originally pointing out that the Cardinals may have just as much money as we do in the offseason and a better team in response to a comment that the rest of the division is bound to get worse this offseason.

 

I think it's up to debate whether the Cardinals have more pieces than us around a superstar. This team has individual pieces that can be called good, productive MLB players too, and more on the way like Brett Jackson.

 

This division is bad. I'd be really disappointed if the Cubs didn't compete. I feel like a new GM is a ready made excuse for another year of losing (oh we want to rebuild it right!...which I also feel would mean "cheap"). I'm not 100% for keeping Hendry, but I do think that a new GM would have to acclimate himself quickly and move even more quickly to make some moves even Hendry would have a hard to messing up given the money he has to spend to do it.

 

Another way I see it is that this offseason isn't about Hendry or the GM, it's about Ricketts. Ricketts is the one who'll be paying for the whole shebang, and with Trib contracts finally coming off the books he has a chance to show fans the kind of vision he has for this franchise. He'll be the driving force in a FA splurge this offseason for this franchise, and if anything gets done it will be because he let it happen. This is his moment to shine as much as it is for anyone else, and I don't think he's sat taking a beating for two years to sit around during his first chance to make an impact on the franchise.

[Soul]

This division is bad. I'd be really disappointed if the Cubs didn't compete.

 

Me too. But disappointment.....it's part of life as a Cub fan.

[Little Slide Rooter]

This division is bad. I'd be really disappointed if the Cubs didn't compete.

 

Me too. But disappointment.....it's part of life as a Cub fan.

 

Your basically trying to Beetlejuice up Nuts & Gum, arent you.

[TruffleShuffle]

YOU'RE. You're is a contraction of the words you and are. God dammit.

[Little Slide Rooter]

YOU'RE. You're is a contraction of the words you and are. God dammit.

 

Again, I know the difference between your and you're, were and we're, I just don't put max effort into my spelling and grammar when posting.

[TruffleShuffle]

YOU'RE. You're is a contraction of the words you and are. God dammit.

 

Again, I know the difference between your and you're, were and we're, I just don't put max effort into my spelling and grammar when posting.

 

again, you put no effort into it, which is why people will continue to give you a hard time. i guess you can just deal with that.

[KingCubsFan]

This division is bad. I'd be really disappointed if the Cubs didn't compete. I feel like a new GM is a ready made excuse for another year of losing (oh we want to rebuild it right!...which I also feel would mean "cheap"). I'm not 100% for keeping Hendry, but I do think that a new GM would have to acclimate himself quickly and move even more quickly to make some moves even Hendry would have a hard to messing up given the money he has to spend to do it.

Hendry has been messing up with extra money to spend for years, not sure why it would change now. Can he spend 40 million to build an 85 win team? Sure. But I'd rather have a new GM put this organization in the right direction.

[Little Slide Rooter]

YOU'RE. You're is a contraction of the words you and are. God dammit.

 

Again, I know the difference between your and you're, were and we're, I just don't put max effort into my spelling and grammar when posting.

 

again, you put no effort into it, which is why people will continue to give you a hard time. i guess you can just deal with that.

 

Doesn't bother me. Just clarifying that I know my grammar. Seems to bother you a bit more than me. I have no problem with you, think your a great contributor, just saying that my grammar is probably going to continue to suck, especially when I do a good bulk of my posting on an I Pad and those apostrophes are more trouble than they're worth.

[TruffleShuffle]

Doesn't bother me. Just clarifying that I know my grammar. Seems to bother you a bit more than me. I have no problem with you, think your a great contributor, just saying that my grammar is probably going to continue to suck, especially when I do a good bulk of my posting on an I Pad and those apostrophes are more trouble than they're worth.

 

but you just typed "they're" in the same sentence as you typed "your." at least show some consistency. just go all out and write "more trouble than their worth."

[Sammy Sofa]

Never understood the "it's a waste of time/not worth my time" excuse that people like WSR and hccf. Just cop to not being as sharp as you could be grammatically. You either can do it or you can't when you have a keyboard available, or even an iPad.

[KingKongvs.Godzilla]

This division is bad. I'd be really disappointed if the Cubs didn't compete. I feel like a new GM is a ready made excuse for another year of losing (oh we want to rebuild it right!...which I also feel would mean "cheap"). I'm not 100% for keeping Hendry, but I do think that a new GM would have to acclimate himself quickly and move even more quickly to make some moves even Hendry would have a hard to messing up given the money he has to spend to do it.

Hendry has been messing up with extra money to spend for years, not sure why it would change now. Can he spend 40 million to build an 85 win team? Sure. But I'd rather have a new GM put this organization in the right direction.

 

Two things I disagree with:

 

- The last time Hendry played with with freed up money the Cubs won back to back division titles for the first time in how many years? Almost 80 now?

 

- 85 wins would be a step in the right direction.

 

- What's the "right direction?" For me, the right direction is winning. This offseason offers a chance to do that simply by buying young and/or high end talent like a Fielder/Pujols plus maybe a Wilson and maybe even Beltran as a cherry on top.

[17 Seconds]

i love when people give hendry extra credit for the 2 division titles just because the cubs happen to also be horrible in the decades before him

 

- The last time Hendry played with with freed up money the Cubs won back to back division titles for the first time in how many years? Almost 80 now?

 

and how did that turn out for the cubs? certainly none of those big contracts have hurt the cubs in the past few years. but hey, we were pretty for 2 years in a row, so who cares.

[Backtobanks]

i love when people give hendry extra credit for the 2 division titles just because the cubs happen to also be horrible in the decades before him

 

- The last time Hendry played with with freed up money the Cubs won back to back division titles for the first time in how many years? Almost 80 now?

 

and how did that turn out for the cubs? certainly none of those big contracts have hurt the cubs in the past few years. but hey, we were pretty for 2 years in a row, so who cares.

 

There's been a lot of discussion about Hendry, but if you're going to blame him for all the negatives that have happened during his tenure as GM, you ought to give him some credit for anything positive that happened too. Obviously the negatives outweigh the positives, but there were some positives.

[Guest]

Give me until 8/16 to decide how I feel going forward.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Doesn't bother me. Just clarifying that I know my grammar. Seems to bother you a bit more than me. I have no problem with you, think your a great contributor, just saying that my grammar is probably going to continue to suck, especially when I do a good bulk of my posting on an I Pad and those apostrophes are more trouble than they're worth.

 

but you just typed "they're" in the same sentence as you typed "your." at least show some consistency. just go all out and write "more trouble than their worth."

 

I'm trying but it's a work in progress.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

 

I'm trying but it's a work in progress.

 

its

[bukie]

 

I'm trying but it's a work in progress.

 

its

He was actually right that time.

[Guest]

Give me until 8/16 to decide how I feel going forward.

 

Whats the significance of 8/16?

[imb]

Give me until 8/16 to decide how I feel going forward.

 

Whats the significance of 8/16?

 

8/15 is the last day draft picks can be signed

Edited August 8, 2011 by Bunts Lick Butts

[javy knows my name]

Right after signing deadline