Yankees Sign Masahiro Tanaka

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I was reading an Arguello article this morning, prepping us for the second half of the offseason. He prefaced it by saying the first half is generally the more exciting half....

 

I know I can barely contain myself, with the additions of Wright, Ruggiano, Kottaras, and Veras. Oh, and Brett Marshall.

 

I think the closest I came to excitement was adding Kalish and Roberts to minor league deals. Seriously, if Tanaka goes elsewhere(likely) an addition of Hammel or Baker caps off the damn offseason. I'm all about the rebuild, but [expletive]. That's a horrifically awful offseason. Worse than I thought possible honestly. Even if I do think we're a low 70's win type team currently, the activity sucks out loud.

 

Remember early in the offseason when it was talked about how we were determined to add some young pitching via trade? Feels like teams just went "lol no" at all our demands.

[davell]

I was reading an Arguello article this morning, prepping us for the second half of the offseason. He prefaced it by saying the first half is generally the more exciting half....

 

I know I can barely contain myself, with the additions of Wright, Ruggiano, Kottaras, and Veras. Oh, and Brett Marshall.

 

I think the closest I came to excitement was adding Kalish and Roberts to minor league deals. Seriously, if Tanaka goes elsewhere(likely) an addition of Hammel or Baker caps off the damn offseason. I'm all about the rebuild, but [expletive]. That's a horrifically awful offseason. Worse than I thought possible honestly. Even if I do think we're a low 70's win type team currently, the activity sucks out loud.

 

Remember early in the offseason when it was talked about how we were determined to add some young pitching via trade? Feels like teams just went "lol no" at all our demands.

With the asking price we put on Shark, I think that was inevitable. I guess it was their way of saying they aren't ready to deal him yet. Other than a Hammel/Baker type move, the only other possibility I see is trading Russell.

[Soul]

why are we paying attention to this stuff? this is basically that dude's facebook wall, it's not like he's a paid columnist or something

 

because everyone is looking for some sign of life from the Cub's front office....

 

Yeah, all we've got left is commenting on fan blog posts and the best over-the-counter means to stay asleep.

[Sammy Sofa]

Everyone is desperately trying to ignore how horrendous this upcoming season is shaping up to be.

 

I didn't think there was a chance it would actually somehow be WORSE, but here we are.

[NOLA]

why are we paying attention to this stuff? this is basically that dude's facebook wall, it's not like he's a paid columnist or something

 

because everyone is looking for some sign of life from the Cub's front office....

 

Yeah, all we've got left is commenting on fan blog posts and the best over-the-counter means to stay asleep.

 

These frigid temps and all of us posting on the mind-numbingly slow Cubs offseason makes me think of The Shining for some reason.

All talk and no trades makes Jack a dull boy...

[Guest]

Everyone is desperately trying to ignore how horrendous this upcoming season is shaping up to be.

 

I didn't think there was a chance it would actually somehow be WORSE, but here we are.

If we get Tanaka and keep Shark, I challenge you to explain how it could possibly be worse.

 

We lose little from the offense and should get better without adding much from the outside. Starlin and Rizzo should rebound/improve, and we likely get 1/2 a season of Baez and other incremental gains. The bullpen is a lot stronger than it was to start last year. The rotation has taken a hit, for certain. But adding Tanaka would make up that gap pretty easily.

 

If, and it is a big honking if, we add Tanaka, I believe we'll get to see interesting baseball in the late summer in a while.

[Guest]

Everyone is desperately trying to ignore how horrendous this upcoming season is shaping up to be.

 

I didn't think there was a chance it would actually somehow be WORSE, but here we are.

 

I'm looking forward to and expecting rebounds from Castro and (to a lesser/different extent) Rizzo and a Baez call up. I expect better from Samardzija too.

 

Those things alone would make 2014 much better for me than last year, regardless of record.

 

Also, the bullpen is going from massive glaring weakness to probable strength. That matters.

[jersey cubs fan]

Everyone is desperately trying to ignore how horrendous this upcoming season is shaping up to be.

 

I didn't think there was a chance it would actually somehow be WORSE, but here we are.

If we get Tanaka and keep Shark, I challenge you to explain how it could possibly be worse.

 

I'm guessing the point is that here we are, right now, not the end of this month in a timeline that actually winds up with the Cubs getting Tanaka. And right now they don't have Tanaka, plus it doesn't look particularly good for their chances to get Tanaka.

[jersey cubs fan]

Everyone is desperately trying to ignore how horrendous this upcoming season is shaping up to be.

 

I didn't think there was a chance it would actually somehow be WORSE, but here we are.

 

I'm looking forward to and expecting rebounds from Castro and (to a lesser/different extent) Rizzo and a Baez call up. I expect better from Samardzija too.

 

Those things alone would make 2014 much better for me than last year, regardless of record.

 

I'm not sure how you can say "regardless of record", it's almost as if you throw that in there to reassure yourself you don't mind all the losing. But if the record doesn't improve despite Castro and Rizzo rebounding, plus better from Samardzija and a Baez call up, then some other disaster has occurred.

[Sammy Sofa]

Everyone is desperately trying to ignore how horrendous this upcoming season is shaping up to be.

 

I didn't think there was a chance it would actually somehow be WORSE, but here we are.

If we get Tanaka and keep Shark, I challenge you to explain how it could possibly be worse.

 

We lose little from the offense and should get better without adding much from the outside. Starlin and Rizzo should rebound/improve, and we likely get 1/2 a season of Baez and other incremental gains. The bullpen is a lot stronger than it was to start last year. The rotation has taken a hit, for certain. But adding Tanaka would make up that gap pretty easily.

 

If, and it is a big honking if, we add Tanaka, I believe we'll get to see interesting baseball in the late summer in a while.

 

I'll be stunned if they get Tanaka. I don't think it's realistic to expect they land him; I hope I'm wrong, but I doubt it.

 

The offense was just rank last year, and they haven't don't much to improve it. It's basically hinged on praying that Castro and Rizzo rebound and that Baez both shows up and is good. Those are some pretty big if's; I really like Baez, but it's hardly unlikely that he shows up and struggles.

[Cubswin11]

Everyone is desperately trying to ignore how horrendous this upcoming season is shaping up to be.

 

I didn't think there was a chance it would actually somehow be WORSE, but here we are.

If we get Tanaka and keep Shark, I challenge you to explain how it could possibly be worse.

 

We lose little from the offense and should get better without adding much from the outside. Starlin and Rizzo should rebound/improve, and we likely get 1/2 a season of Baez and other incremental gains. The bullpen is a lot stronger than it was to start last year. The rotation has taken a hit, for certain. But adding Tanaka would make up that gap pretty easily.

 

If, and it is a big honking if, we add Tanaka, I believe we'll get to see interesting baseball in the late summer in a while.

 

I'll be stunned if they get Tanaka. I don't think it's realistic to expect they land him; I hope I'm wrong, but I doubt it.

 

The offense was just rank last year, and they haven't don't much to improve it. It's basically hinged on praying that Castro and Rizzo rebound and that Baez both shows up and is good. Those are some pretty big if's; I really like Baez, but it's hardly unlikely that he shows up and struggles.

Who are some of the better prospects, as of now, for the 2015 draft? I wish I wasn't serious about that question.

[Guest]

Everyone is desperately trying to ignore how horrendous this upcoming season is shaping up to be.

 

I didn't think there was a chance it would actually somehow be WORSE, but here we are.

 

I'm looking forward to and expecting rebounds from Castro and (to a lesser/different extent) Rizzo and a Baez call up. I expect better from Samardzija too.

 

Those things alone would make 2014 much better for me than last year, regardless of record.

 

I'm not sure how you can say "regardless of record", it's almost as if you throw that in there to reassure yourself you don't mind all the losing. But if the record doesn't improve despite Castro and Rizzo rebounding, plus better from Samardzija and a Baez call up, then some other disaster has occurred.

 

All I'm saying is that if they win 65 or 66 games again but those things happen, I'll feel much better about 2014 than I did 2013. Even if random other players get hurt or significantly underperform or whatever. There's also Soriano's production to make up for.

[treebird]

Everyone is desperately trying to ignore how horrendous this upcoming season is shaping up to be.

 

I didn't think there was a chance it would actually somehow be WORSE, but here we are.

If we get Tanaka and keep Shark, I challenge you to explain how it could possibly be worse.

 

We lose little from the offense and should get better without adding much from the outside. Starlin and Rizzo should rebound/improve, and we likely get 1/2 a season of Baez and other incremental gains. The bullpen is a lot stronger than it was to start last year. The rotation has taken a hit, for certain. But adding Tanaka would make up that gap pretty easily.

 

If, and it is a big honking if, we add Tanaka, I believe we'll get to see interesting baseball in the late summer in a while.

 

I'll be stunned if they get Tanaka. I don't think it's realistic to expect they land him; I hope I'm wrong, but I doubt it.

 

The offense was just rank last year, and they haven't don't much to improve it. It's basically hinged on praying that Castro and Rizzo rebound and that Baez both shows up and is good. Those are some pretty big if's; I really like Baez, but it's hardly unlikely that he shows up and struggles.

 

on the whole, isn't it considerably more likely that baez is mediocre or worse in aaa and spends the whole season there than he comes up to the majors and is good enough to have a real impact on the team?

[Sammy Sofa]

Everyone is desperately trying to ignore how horrendous this upcoming season is shaping up to be.

 

I didn't think there was a chance it would actually somehow be WORSE, but here we are.

If we get Tanaka and keep Shark, I challenge you to explain how it could possibly be worse.

 

We lose little from the offense and should get better without adding much from the outside. Starlin and Rizzo should rebound/improve, and we likely get 1/2 a season of Baez and other incremental gains. The bullpen is a lot stronger than it was to start last year. The rotation has taken a hit, for certain. But adding Tanaka would make up that gap pretty easily.

 

If, and it is a big honking if, we add Tanaka, I believe we'll get to see interesting baseball in the late summer in a while.

 

I'll be stunned if they get Tanaka. I don't think it's realistic to expect they land him; I hope I'm wrong, but I doubt it.

 

The offense was just rank last year, and they haven't don't much to improve it. It's basically hinged on praying that Castro and Rizzo rebound and that Baez both shows up and is good. Those are some pretty big if's; I really like Baez, but it's hardly unlikely that he shows up and struggles.

 

on the whole, isn't it considerably more likely that baez is mediocre or worse in aaa and spends the whole season there than he comes up to the majors and is good enough to have a real impact on the team?

 

Yes, that too.

[Guest]

I really don't think Javy is going to have any problem at all with the PCL.

 

Maybe for a week or two.

 

But I get what you're saying.

 

I didn't say I was looking forward to Javy being some big difference maker. I'm just excited about seeing him in the big leagues and it's something I'm looking forward to.

[Sammy Sofa]

I really don't think Javy is going to have any problem at all with the PCL.

 

Maybe for a week or two.

 

But I get what you're saying.

 

I didn't say I was looking forward to Javy being some big difference maker. I'm just excited about seeing him in the big leagues and it's something I'm looking forward to.

 

Me too, but it kinda sucks that he'll be unleashed onto a big pile of poo.

[Guest]

Everyone is desperately trying to ignore how horrendous this upcoming season is shaping up to be.

 

I didn't think there was a chance it would actually somehow be WORSE, but here we are.

If we get Tanaka and keep Shark, I challenge you to explain how it could possibly be worse.

 

We lose little from the offense and should get better without adding much from the outside. Starlin and Rizzo should rebound/improve, and we likely get 1/2 a season of Baez and other incremental gains. The bullpen is a lot stronger than it was to start last year. The rotation has taken a hit, for certain. But adding Tanaka would make up that gap pretty easily.

 

If, and it is a big honking if, we add Tanaka, I believe we'll get to see interesting baseball in the late summer in a while.

 

I'll be stunned if they get Tanaka. I don't think it's realistic to expect they land him; I hope I'm wrong, but I doubt it.

 

The offense was just rank last year, and they haven't don't much to improve it. It's basically hinged on praying that Castro and Rizzo rebound and that Baez both shows up and is good. Those are some pretty big if's; I really like Baez, but it's hardly unlikely that he shows up and struggles.

Who are some of the better prospects, as of now, for the 2015 draft? I wish I wasn't serious about that question.

 

Mike Cameron's son Daz is the leading candidate for 1.1 in 2015. He's a prep outfielder.

[Guest]

Everyone is desperately trying to ignore how horrendous this upcoming season is shaping up to be.

 

I didn't think there was a chance it would actually somehow be WORSE, but here we are.

If we get Tanaka and keep Shark, I challenge you to explain how it could possibly be worse.

 

We lose little from the offense and should get better without adding much from the outside. Starlin and Rizzo should rebound/improve, and we likely get 1/2 a season of Baez and other incremental gains. The bullpen is a lot stronger than it was to start last year. The rotation has taken a hit, for certain. But adding Tanaka would make up that gap pretty easily.

 

If, and it is a big honking if, we add Tanaka, I believe we'll get to see interesting baseball in the late summer in a while.

 

I'll be stunned if they get Tanaka. I don't think it's realistic to expect they land him; I hope I'm wrong, but I doubt it.

 

The offense was just rank last year, and they haven't don't much to improve it. It's basically hinged on praying that Castro and Rizzo rebound and that Baez both shows up and is good. Those are some pretty big if's; I really like Baez, but it's hardly unlikely that he shows up and struggles.

The offense wasn't quite as bad as the runs scored would lead you to believe. The wOBA was still bad, but was within shouting distance of average. If we can:

 

- manage to avoid giving Barney 555 PA's of .252 wOBA

- have Castro improve on his 705 PA's of .280 wOBA

 

That alone will help improve the performance dramatically.

 

Also, it is often pointed out that we are not likely to get repeat performances from the Murphy's of the world, but we are also not likely to get Lillibridged in 2014, either. The 286 PA we got from Lillibridge, Clevenger, Watkins, Borbon, Sappelt and Alberto Gonzalez contributed greatly to the lousy performance. Simply having a deeper bench would avoid a lot of negative performances. We'll still get some bad results from some guys, but avoiding the incredibly negative results would make things a lot better.

 

Without any additional changes, I strongly doubt the offense will be top 10 in MLB. However, it wouldn't surprise me that much if they were very close to average in most offensive metrics - especially in the NL.

[Sammy Sofa]

Everyone is desperately trying to ignore how horrendous this upcoming season is shaping up to be.

 

I didn't think there was a chance it would actually somehow be WORSE, but here we are.

If we get Tanaka and keep Shark, I challenge you to explain how it could possibly be worse.

 

We lose little from the offense and should get better without adding much from the outside. Starlin and Rizzo should rebound/improve, and we likely get 1/2 a season of Baez and other incremental gains. The bullpen is a lot stronger than it was to start last year. The rotation has taken a hit, for certain. But adding Tanaka would make up that gap pretty easily.

 

If, and it is a big honking if, we add Tanaka, I believe we'll get to see interesting baseball in the late summer in a while.

 

I'll be stunned if they get Tanaka. I don't think it's realistic to expect they land him; I hope I'm wrong, but I doubt it.

 

The offense was just rank last year, and they haven't don't much to improve it. It's basically hinged on praying that Castro and Rizzo rebound and that Baez both shows up and is good. Those are some pretty big if's; I really like Baez, but it's hardly unlikely that he shows up and struggles.

The offense wasn't quite as bad as the runs scored would lead you to believe. The wOBA was still bad, but was within shouting distance of average. If we can:

 

- manage to avoid giving Barney 555 PA's of .252 wOBA

- have Castro improve on his 705 PA's of .280 wOBA

 

That alone will help improve the performance dramatically.

 

Also, it is often pointed out that we are not likely to get repeat performances from the Murphy's of the world, but we are also not likely to get Lillibridged in 2014, either. The 286 PA we got from Lillibridge, Clevenger, Watkins, Borbon, Sappelt and Alberto Gonzalez contributed greatly to the lousy performance. Simply having a deeper bench would avoid a lot of negative performances. We'll still get some bad results from some guys, but avoiding the incredibly negative results would make things a lot better.

 

Without any additional changes, I strongly doubt the offense will be top 10 in MLB. However, it wouldn't surprise me that much if they were very close to average in most offensive metrics - especially in the NL.

 

But at the same time it wouldn't take much for it to stink.

 

Obviously we want it to do well, but they're yet again setting up a team where things have to break right just for them to be OK.

[Cubswin11]

It's great to say find a way to limit Barney and his .250's wOBA, but who do we have to take those 500+ ab's away from him that will be a substantial improvement? Baez isn't getting here THAT fast that he will take a large chunk nor, like mentioned, is he a sure thing at this point to do all that much better in a limited/initial call up.

[Guest]

It's great to say find a way to limit Barney and his .250's wOBA, but who do we have to take those 500+ ab's away from him that will be a substantial improvement? Baez isn't getting here THAT fast that he will take a large chunk nor, like mentioned, is he a sure thing at this point to do all that much better in a limited/initial call up.

 

My scenario of awesomeness has Baez destroying Iowa for six or seven weeks and then getting called up when we get the extra year of service time.

[Guest]

It's great to say find a way to limit Barney and his .250's wOBA, but who do we have to take those 500+ ab's away from him that will be a substantial improvement? Baez isn't getting here THAT fast that he will take a large chunk nor, like mentioned, is he a sure thing at this point to do all that much better in a limited/initial call up.

 

My scenario of awesomeness has Baez destroying Iowa for six or seven weeks and then getting called up when we get the extra year of service time.

Extra year of service time only takes 10 days.

 

Avoiding SuperTwo takes into June most years.

[Guest]

It's great to say find a way to limit Barney and his .250's wOBA, but who do we have to take those 500+ ab's away from him that will be a substantial improvement? Baez isn't getting here THAT fast that he will take a large chunk nor, like mentioned, is he a sure thing at this point to do all that much better in a limited/initial call up.

Play someone at third that can hit decently and play Valbuena at second.

 

Done.

[davell]

Between Olt, Valbuena, Ryan Roberts, Javy, and Alcantara, maybe even KB- there's enough decent possibilities and scenarios out there, that I'll be stunned if Barney gets anywhere near that many PA.

[Guest]

It's great to say find a way to limit Barney and his .250's wOBA, but who do we have to take those 500+ ab's away from him that will be a substantial improvement? Baez isn't getting here THAT fast that he will take a large chunk nor, like mentioned, is he a sure thing at this point to do all that much better in a limited/initial call up.

 

My scenario of awesomeness has Baez destroying Iowa for six or seven weeks and then getting called up when we get the extra year of service time.

Extra year of service time only takes 10 days.

 

Avoiding SuperTwo takes into June most years.

 

Meant the super two. Brain cramp as I was equating the time frame to Rizzo's 2012 situation. My bad.