Moving forward- very early look at 2013

[dew1679666265]

pass on Hamels and the 8/180 or whatever he ends up getting, and use that instead on:

 

BJ Upton 5/80

Edwin Jackson 3/35

Stephen Drew 4/55

F. Liriano 1/6?

 

RF DeJesus (B. Jackson)

CF Upton

SS Castro

LF LaHair (Campana)

2B Drew (Barney)

1B Rizzo

3B Stewart (Cardenas)

C Castillo (Clevenger)

 

Garza, Samardjiza, E. Jackson, Dempster, T. Wood/Maholm/Volstad/F.Liriano

Marmol, Dolis, Russell, Bowden, L. Castillo, Rusin

 

print playoff tickets

 

I'm a really big fan of this.

[PriortoTheoIhadWood]

Nick Swisher getting that much? I was thinking maaaaaaybe 4/60.

[davell]

Nick Swisher getting that much? I was thinking maaaaaaybe 4/60.

Same here. But with the lack of bats available, I don't guess anything surprises me. Plus, he doesn't fit the model of 28ish types heading towards their prime seasons. Upton really fits great in every way for us honestly.

[PriortoTheoIhadWood]

Nick Swisher getting that much? I was thinking maaaaaaybe 4/60.

Same here. But with the lack of bats available, I don't guess anything surprises me. Plus, he doesn't fit the model of 28ish types heading towards their prime seasons. Upton really fits great in every way for us honestly.

 

Well Swisher is thrown out because not everyone is going to be some fresh in their early prime talent. While he doesn't fit the 28 year old model he does fit the profile of a solid, well rounded player. A distant second to Upton sure, but a viable candidate for the Cubs if they do pursue an OF bat.

[Old Style]

print playoff tickets

 

I'm a really big fan of this.

Me too.

[Tracer Bullet]

pass on Hamels and the 8/180 or whatever he ends up getting, and use that instead on:

 

BJ Upton 5/80

Edwin Jackson 3/35

Stephen Drew 4/55

F. Liriano 1/6?

 

RF DeJesus (B. Jackson)

CF Upton

SS Castro

LF LaHair (Campana)

2B Drew (Barney)

1B Rizzo

3B Stewart (Cardenas)

C Castillo (Clevenger)

 

Garza, Samardjiza, E. Jackson, Dempster, T. Wood/Maholm/Volstad/F.Liriano

Marmol, Dolis, Russell, Bowden, L. Castillo, Rusin

 

print playoff tickets

 

I'm a really big fan of this.

 

We should probably send theo a link to that post

[pitchcs]

I didn't realize pitchers salaries had gotten so high -- honestly I try not to look at that crap, it just pisses me off.

 

I still don't get the BJ Upton love, at all really.

[dew1679666265]

We should probably send theo a link to that post

 

Anybody have his e-mail? Maybe the purple shirt guy does?

[dew1679666265]

I didn't realize pitchers salaries had gotten so high -- honestly I try not to look at that crap, it just pisses me off.

 

I still don't get the BJ Upton love, at all really.

 

Very good defensively and very good at stealing bases. Decent offensively as well, especially for a CF, and he's a 4 or so WAR guy a year. That's very valuable.

[Old Style]

We should probably send theo a link to that post

 

Anybody have his e-mail? Maybe the purple shirt guy does?

baseballjesus@cubs.com

[Guest]

Just have UMFan pass it on through Theo's secretary.

[KingCubsFan]

I didn't realize pitchers salaries had gotten so high -- honestly I try not to look at that crap, it just pisses me off.

 

I still don't get the BJ Upton love, at all really.

 

Very good defensively and very good at stealing bases. Decent offensively as well, especially for a CF, and he's a 4 or so WAR guy a year. That's very valuable.

How much of his defensive ability is due to Maddon? Given Soriano's defensive numbers this year, I'm beginning to wonder how much of Upton's value is tied to the manager. Taking a quick look at Carl Crawford last year, his UZR fell off a cliff when he got to Boston. I'd be interested to see the defensive measurements for Rays players after they leave.

 

I'm not opposed to Upton, but Wrigley's small outfield + Sveum's apparent defensive positioning skills makes me wonder if we couldn't make Brett Jackson into a similar player at a fraction of the cost.

[SouthSideRyan]

Just have UMFan pass it on through Theo's secretary.

 

Yes, UMFan is quite good at passing things through Theo's secretary

[champaignchris]

Would Howie Kendrick be a good f.a. target at second base? He'd be 29 for the 2013 season.

 

according to baseball-reference he's signed through 2015.

 

Cot's has him as a free agent after this season. Maybe br is more up to date?

[rawaction]

Would Howie Kendrick be a good f.a. target at second base? He'd be 29 for the 2013 season.

 

according to baseball-reference he's signed through 2015.

 

Cot's has him as a free agent after this season. Maybe br is more up to date?

 

He signed an extension in January thru 2015.

http://

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/07/angels-ink-howie-kendrick-to-four-year-contract-extension/

[dew1679666265]

How much of his defensive ability is due to Maddon? Given Soriano's defensive numbers this year, I'm beginning to wonder how much of Upton's value is tied to the manager. Taking a quick look at Carl Crawford last year, his UZR fell off a cliff when he got to Boston. I'd be interested to see the defensive measurements for Rays players after they leave.

 

I'm not opposed to Upton, but Wrigley's small outfield + Sveum's apparent defensive positioning skills makes me wonder if we couldn't make Brett Jackson into a similar player at a fraction of the cost.

 

That's a good question and one I'm not certain of the answer to. I'm thinking he was considered a very good defender coming up through the minors, which would indicate it's not all Maddon.

 

But even if that's the case, signing Upton and having BJax ready to replace DeJesus (or just trading DeJesus if we can get a good deal) would be fine by me as well. Or there's always trading LaHair and having BJax/Upton/DeJesus but that's a bit power-lacking and I'm getting less convinced all the time that LaHair isn't for real.

[sneakypower]

Melvin was a legendarily bad fielder (at SS) coming up through the minors, in terms of errors, but he's always had incredible physical skills to allow him to make plays like this:

 

 

his CF defense is legit; he's one of the fastest runners in the game and his arm is fairly elite

[RynoRules]

pass on Hamels and the 8/180 or whatever he ends up getting, and use that instead on:

 

BJ Upton 5/80

Edwin Jackson 3/35

Stephen Drew 4/55

F. Liriano 1/6?

 

RF DeJesus (B. Jackson)

CF Upton

SS Castro

LF LaHair (Campana)

2B Drew (Barney)

1B Rizzo

3B Stewart (Cardenas)

C Castillo (Clevenger)

 

Garza, Samardjiza, E. Jackson, Dempster, T. Wood/Maholm/Volstad/F.Liriano

Marmol, Dolis, Russell, Bowden, L. Castillo, Rusin

 

print playoff tickets

 

I'm a really big fan of this.

 

We should probably send theo a link to that post

 

Sign me up.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

That bullpen is still problematic.

[mookie]

That isn't a bad scenario, but I don't understand the Jackson love here. That rotation is banking on early returns from Dempster and Shark. Since maybe Hamels is going to command so much, I really think Greinke should be the preferred choice here.

[treebird]

That bullpen is still problematic.

 

what, you don't think a playoff team should have a bullpen consisting of james russell and 5-6 bad pitchers?

[Tracer Bullet]

Just have UMFan pass it on through Theo's secretary.

 

Yes, UMFan is quite good at passing things through Theo's secretary

 

Hahaha

[sneakypower]

That bullpen is still problematic.

 

what, you don't think a playoff team should have a bullpen consisting of james russell and 5-6 bad pitchers?

...the Rays and Cards had bottom-5 bullpens last year

 

and if you can accurately predict what players are going to be good relievers in future seasons, you are likely using some type of sorcery that is terribly wasted on baseball talk

[dew1679666265]

That isn't a bad scenario, but I don't understand the Jackson love here. That rotation is banking on early returns from Dempster and Shark. Since maybe Hamels is going to command so much, I really think Greinke should be the preferred choice here.

 

The social anxiety concerns me a lot with Greinke. Plus, I don't like giving mega deals to pitchers that will last through most of their 30s and with or without the anxiety, Greinke may get a mega deal.

Edited May 16, 2012 by dew

[davell]

That isn't a bad scenario, but I don't understand the Jackson love here. That rotation is banking on early returns from Dempster and Shark. Since maybe Hamels is going to command so much, I really think Greinke should be the preferred choice here.

 

 

I just think paying for pitching is risky enough, so throwing 100+ mill at a guy who may break down mentally in a major market, doesn't appeal to me. I'd take Hamels, paying him 40-50 mill more in the process, before I'd take Greinke. If I'm the Cubs, that is. If I'm Tampa Bay, I might sign Greinke over Hamels straight up.