Buehrle to Marlins (p. 5)

[Hairyducked Idiot]

What's with Chicago media lately and burying the lede?

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-1102-cubs-jed-hoyer--chicago--20111102,0,2949935.story

 

Toward the end of parsing all the generic quotes from Hoyer's press conference, we get this:

 

Hoyer did point to the pitching staff as an obvious area of concern. One source said the Cubs would be interested in White Sox left-hander Mark Buehrle if the price tag and years aren't astronomical. Hoyer pointed to the Cubs' early-season injuries to starter Randy Wells and Andrew Cashner, which exposed the club's lack of depth.

 

Buehrle to the Cubs makes a lot of sense, for the reasons listed here:

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2011/11/cubs-nationals-may-have-interest-in-buehrle.html

 

He's said he wants to try the NL, he would't mind staying close to home, and the Cardinals rotation is pretty full. He'd fit nicely into the short-term veteran FA mold we are looking at.

[Guest]

Really depends on what he'd cost.

[Prizefight]

If he leave the South Side, I can only imagine him going someplace where there's a chance to win the World Series in the next year or two. So, doubtful he comes here is my thinking

[dew1679666265]

If Wilson doesn't hit the market, I could stomach Buerhle a lot more easily. Still would prefer to look at more upside guys like Francis/Chen/Danks/etc than a mid-30s pitcher.

 

That said, he's the best of the mid-tier pitchers (Buerhle, Oswalt, Jackson) so if we go that route, I like that we're targeting Buerhle.

[Banedon]

Hasn't Buerhle long been interested in joining the Cards?

[KingCubsFan]

If he leave the South Side, I can only imagine him going someplace where there's a chance to win the World Series in the next year or two. So, doubtful he comes here is my thinking

Yeah there's no way he'd come here. He'd be a good signing though. He's about as consistent as they come.

[PrimeTime]

He says money isn't a factor and I recall him one of those players like Berkman who hates Wrigley..

 

At this point I mentioned to Mark that if he did actually sign with the Cubs, there would be major concern about the mental well being of many White Sox fans.

 

“I could see that. I don’t know if I could get up for that many day games. I’m not a morning person. Spring training is about it. I need some sleep.”

 

 

Then I pulled this up from 2 years ago

 

"I mean I can't speak for them (critics of Wrigley), but I dislike Wrigley that much," Buehrle told Dan McNeil on the Danny Mac Show on WSCR-AM 670. "I joked around with somebody the other day, saying I don't know if I could even sign with the (St. Louis) Cardinals, as much as everybody knows one day I want to play for the Cardinals.

 

"I don't know if I could because that means I'd have to go to Wrigley three times, and that's how much I hate going over there."

[KingCubsFan]

If Wilson doesn't hit the market, I could stomach Buerhle a lot more easily. Still would prefer to look at more upside guys like Francis/Chen/Danks/etc than a mid-30s pitcher.

 

That said, he's the best of the mid-tier pitchers (Buerhle, Oswalt, Jackson) so if we go that route, I like that we're targeting Buerhle.

Bruce Chen? Jeff Francis? Their upsides are basically a poor man's Buehrle.

[jersey cubs fan]

What's with Chicago media lately and burying the lede?

 

Hoyer did point to the pitching staff as an obvious area of concern. One source said the Cubs would be interested in White Sox left-hander Mark Buehrle if the price tag and years aren't astronomical.

 

That may not be the lede depending on the source. That could be some random scout jabbering about obvious things like, the Cubs need pitching and Buerhle is a pitcher. I think it's odd that at his age he's talking about 2-3 years, but I would guess he could get the Jayson Werth treatment and be way overpaid by somebody if he wanted.

 

I also think he really does hate all things Cubs.

[Little Slide Rooter]

He's a lifelong Cardinals fan who played his entire career with the White Sox and stated hed retire if he didn't get a desireable contract from a team he wants to play for. Bold prediction: Mark Buerhle will not be a Cub.

[dew1679666265]

Bruce Chen? Jeff Francis? Their upsides are basically a poor man's Buehrle.

 

By Chen I meant Wei-Yin Chen, a 26 year old Japanese pitcher who projects to potentially being a #3 starter and would be about $10 million cheaper than Buerhle (an estimate).

 

And yes, Francis has the upside of Buerhle or a little better, but he's only 31 years old, will come far cheaper and with less commitment than Buerhle, and at worst is likely to be a 2-3 WAR pitcher and at best could be nearly a 4+ WAR pitcher. Buerhle's age concerns me on a 3/36-39 deal.

[BeerHere]

Anyone remember the arguments of "Wood vs Buehrle - who's better long-term?" back on the espn message boards? Kerry Wood will always be one of my all-time favorite Cubs, but I would take Buehrle over him any day of the week.

[Prizefight]

Anyone remember the arguments of "Wood vs Buehrle - who's better long-term?" back on the espn message boards? Kerry Wood will always be one of my all-time favorite Cubs, but I would take Buehrle over him any day of the week.

 

As would most reasonable people

[BeerHere]

Anyone remember the arguments of "Wood vs Buehrle - who's better long-term?" back on the espn message boards? Kerry Wood will always be one of my all-time favorite Cubs, but I would take Buehrle over him any day of the week.

 

As would most reasonable people

It was a much more difficult argument to make in 2000/2001. Looking back now I was a fool for taking Woody over Buehrle. No way in hell Buehrle signs with the Cubs. He's going to be a Cardinal.

[erik316wttn]

Who's Mark Buehrle?

 

/Greg Maddux

[KingCubsFan]

Bruce Chen? Jeff Francis? Their upsides are basically a poor man's Buehrle.

 

By Chen I meant Wei-Yin Chen, a 26 year old Japanese pitcher who projects to potentially being a #3 starter and would be about $10 million cheaper than Buerhle (an estimate).

 

And yes, Francis has the upside of Buerhle or a little better, but he's only 31 years old, will come far cheaper and with less commitment than Buerhle, and at worst is likely to be a 2-3 WAR pitcher and at best could be nearly a 4+ WAR pitcher. Buerhle's age concerns me on a 3/36-39 deal.

Got it. I agree on Chen, provided the price isn't outrageous. Disagree on Francis, though. I don't see how he's better than Coleman or Rusin.

[TruffleShuffle]

never heard of the guy.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Anyone remember the arguments of "Wood vs Buehrle - who's better long-term?" back on the espn message boards? Kerry Wood will always be one of my all-time favorite Cubs, but I would take Buehrle over him any day of the week.

 

As would most reasonable people

It was a much more difficult argument to make in 2000/2001. Looking back now I was a fool for taking Woody over Buehrle. No way in hell Buehrle signs with the Cubs. He's going to be a Cardinal.

 

Back then, I would have taken Woody without question, but 2000/2001 me had no idea he'd one day be Dustied.

[dew1679666265]

Got it. I agree on Chen, provided the price isn't outrageous. Disagree on Francis, though. I don't see how he's better than Coleman or Rusin.

 

Francis would probably be the best we could hope for from Coleman or Rusin in 2012. If Francis can get back to his 2007 form (4.1 WAR), he could be a terrific deal. That year he posted a 4.13 xFIP and a career best 6.90 K/9. It was also his second best K/BB in his career (2.63).

 

He'd likely come extremely cheap and on a one-year deal, at worst giving us decent depth and at best giving us Mark Buerhle production without the multi-year commitment and $12+ million AAV.

[UMFan83]

I was thinking Oswalt wouldnt be a bad choice as well.

[OleMissCub]

I was thinking Oswalt wouldnt be a bad choice as well.

 

I'd be a big supporter of looking into him as well.

[dew1679666265]

I was thinking Oswalt wouldnt be a bad choice as well.

 

Not a fan of Oswalt at all. He's old (35 next season) and pretty injury prone. Oswalt really doesn't help us much at all given our current situation.

[Clem Fandango]

I was thinking Oswalt wouldnt be a bad choice as well.

 

Not a fan of Oswalt at all. He's old (35 next season) and pretty injury prone. Oswalt really doesn't help us much at all given our current situation.

 

According to Wallace Matthews of ESPN New York, the Yankees are "very worried" about Roy Oswalt's history of lower back problems.

Oswalt has two degenerative disks in his lower back and while he has never had surgery, he has received numerous cortisone shots in recent seasons. The Yankees are expected to make a play for a starting pitcher this winter, but if Matthews' source can be believed, it's unlikely they will take a chance on the veteran right-hander.

 

I think Oswalt has maybe one year left (of 15-20 starts) before he has to hang up the cleats because of his injury

[OleMissCub]

I was thinking Oswalt wouldnt be a bad choice as well.

 

Not a fan of Oswalt at all. He's old (35 next season) and pretty injury prone. Oswalt really doesn't help us much at all given our current situation.

 

Posted this in the Oswalt thread and I'll post it again:

 

In his previous nine years as a full time starter he averaged 208 IP/year and only had under 210 IP three times (127 -03, 208.2 - 08, 181.1 - 09).

 

His DL stint and his increasing age are certainly matters of concern, but he's been remarkably durable throughout his career. I'd love to have an entire staff of pitchers who are that "injury prone". Following a decade of service how many pitchers do you know that haven't had a few minor injuries?

 

Concerning his most recent problem, I don't think those back issues (spasms) are something that have had too much of a negative impact on him considering that coming back from the DL he only pitched under 6 IP one time in 10 starts and that was 5.2 IP. Small sample size no doubt, but his history of back issues aren't something that have hampered him all that much looking at his career.

[OleMissCub]

Oswalt has two degenerative disks in his lower back and while he has never had surgery

 

Wasn't aware of that. Yeah that's not good. Thought his problem was just spasms. I'd still take him on a one or even a two year deal if he was cheap enough.