ESPN 1000 Reporting Cubs To Begin Pursuit of Burnett

[Balsa]

D>Hendry knows he may not get a guy like Giles through FA, but now would have a stockpile of cheap, valuable trading chips to make an OF trade.

 

Cheap yes, valuable no. Number four and five pitchers are a dime a dozen, unless they are left handed.

 

Besides, if the are cheap and valuable why not keep the money and trade the guys anyway? Pitching is not this team's problem?

 

I can think up a number of reasons why this is a bad. It just doesn't make any sense to me.

 

9th best ERA in the NL isn't a problem? Good joke.

 

Someone call wasn't a joke, asshat.

 

Pitching isn't this team's problem and even if it is Burnett isn't that good and is often injured. Let's not get carried away here.

 

Oh god. Here come the swearing police... :roll:

[SeldomSeen]

D>Hendry knows he may not get a guy like Giles through FA, but now would have a stockpile of cheap, valuable trading chips to make an OF trade.

 

Cheap yes, valuable no. Number four and five pitchers are a dime a dozen, unless they are left handed.

 

Besides, if the are cheap and valuable why not keep the money and trade the guys anyway? Pitching is not this team's problem?

 

I can think up a number of reasons why this is a bad. It just doesn't make any sense to me.

 

9th best ERA in the NL isn't a problem? Good joke.

 

It wasn't a joke, asshat.

 

Pitching isn't this team's problem and even if it is Burnett isn't that good and is often injured. Let's not get carried away here.

 

Hmmm.

[craig]

I like Burnett as a target. Burnett might never get better than he has been, but he's been good. In each of his most recent non-injury years, he's had ERA's below 3.7. He hasn't sustained the Cy Young <3 year yet, but he's been very good. If any of Z, Wood, Prior, or Burnett put up 3.3 ERA's, Cub fans will always feel like it's not quite as "ace"-ish as we expect, and would kind of see that as underachieving to varying degrees. But if you have all four of those guys, and they can all come in at or below 3.5, you've got a really good situation. And in any given year, probably 3 of the four will be fairly healthy. In a good year, one or more might have a really good year and be better than that.

 

Rusch as #7, that's where he belongs. Williams as #6 would be a nice situation. I think he's got a chance to be a pretty nice relief guy; he's not afraid of working from the stretch, obviously, since he always worked with runners on base this past season but was uncommonly calm/lucky/composed about sticking to it and getting out of jams. Getting Burnett could also open things up to trade.

 

We can call it "redundant", but without some redundancy how can you deal? Developing a redundancy would then make Williams and Hill more available for trading.

 

I'm not saying I'd prefer Burnett to Giles. But either one would add a lot of fuel to the Cub engine.

 

I like the idea of Hendry being proactive this winter. In past, I've thought he sometimes tends to be very patient; make a modest offer early on, then wait things out to see which FA's end up losing their bidders. That was the Alou way, Hendry jumped in late when Alou suprisingly came out with minimal market. Ditto for Maddux, Hendry came on when nobody ended up pursuing Maddux.

 

But seems like maybe this year Hendry is going to target early.

 

Makes sense, because he's got so much money, and so many different ways to try to fill out the puzzle. Every decision dominoes on others. So if he could resolve the Furcal/Burnett questions early, that would make it tons easier to know which other questions will remain and how much money he'll have left to answer them.

[imb]

Burnett and Furcal would make me crazy happy.

 

An injury prone pitcher and an overrated SS for 20-25m a year?

 

We're talking about Burnett and Furcal, not Renteria and Morris, or whatever, your messageboard is thataway.

[CubinNY]

D>Hendry knows he may not get a guy like Giles through FA, but now would have a stockpile of cheap, valuable trading chips to make an OF trade.

 

Cheap yes, valuable no. Number four and five pitchers are a dime a dozen, unless they are left handed.

 

Besides, if the are cheap and valuable why not keep the money and trade the guys anyway? Pitching is not this team's problem?

 

I can think up a number of reasons why this is a bad. It just doesn't make any sense to me.

 

9th best ERA in the NL isn't a problem? Good joke.

 

It wasn't a joke, asshat.

 

Pitching isn't this team's problem and even if it is Burnett isn't that good and is often injured. Let's not get carried away here.

Probably should have said "relatively valuable," but valuable nonetheless. Also, unless I'm mistaken, both Hill and Rusch are lefthanded and cheap.

 

I think Hill might have some value but the Cubs cannot trade Rusch until June or something b/c he just signed with them (without his permission). Sign and trade deals are verboten in MLB>

[CubfaninCA]

D>Hendry knows he may not get a guy like Giles through FA, but now would have a stockpile of cheap, valuable trading chips to make an OF trade.

 

Cheap yes, valuable no. Number four and five pitchers are a dime a dozen, unless they are left handed.

 

Besides, if the are cheap and valuable why not keep the money and trade the guys anyway? Pitching is not this team's problem?

 

I can think up a number of reasons why this is a bad. It just doesn't make any sense to me.

 

9th best ERA in the NL isn't a problem? Good joke.

 

It wasn't a joke, asshat.

 

Pitching isn't this team's problem and even if it is Burnett isn't that good and is often injured. Let's not get carried away here.

 

LOL. That time of the month? Are you confusing the White Sox w/ the Cubs?? Cub pitchers get hurt often. The Cubs need another really good arm.

[CubinNY]

D>Hendry knows he may not get a guy like Giles through FA, but now would have a stockpile of cheap, valuable trading chips to make an OF trade.

 

Cheap yes, valuable no. Number four and five pitchers are a dime a dozen, unless they are left handed.

 

Besides, if the are cheap and valuable why not keep the money and trade the guys anyway? Pitching is not this team's problem?

 

I can think up a number of reasons why this is a bad. It just doesn't make any sense to me.

 

9th best ERA in the NL isn't a problem? Good joke.

 

It wasn't a joke, asshat.

 

Pitching isn't this team's problem and even if it is Burnett isn't that good and is often injured. Let's not get carried away here.

 

LOL. That time of the month? Are you confusing the White Sox w/ the Cubs?? Cub pitchers get hurt often. The Cubs need another really good arm.

 

...who gets hurt really often and will cost @$10 million/year for the next three or four years.

 

-------------

It is not that time of the month, I'm just fed up with your smartassed comments. You could have ended the above post just fine without the "good joke", but then again you are you.

[CardsFanInChiTown]

Burnett and Furcal would make me crazy happy.

 

An injury prone pitcher and an overrated SS for 20-25m a year?

 

We're talking about Burnett and Furcal, not Renteria and Morris, or whatever, your messageboard is thataway.

 

I just happen to think those two guys will be the most overpaid players in the offseason. Relax.

[SeldomSeen]

D>Hendry knows he may not get a guy like Giles through FA, but now would have a stockpile of cheap, valuable trading chips to make an OF trade.

 

Cheap yes, valuable no. Number four and five pitchers are a dime a dozen, unless they are left handed.

 

Besides, if the are cheap and valuable why not keep the money and trade the guys anyway? Pitching is not this team's problem?

 

I can think up a number of reasons why this is a bad. It just doesn't make any sense to me.

 

9th best ERA in the NL isn't a problem? Good joke.

 

It wasn't a joke, asshat.

 

Pitching isn't this team's problem and even if it is Burnett isn't that good and is often injured. Let's not get carried away here.

Probably should have said "relatively valuable," but valuable nonetheless. Also, unless I'm mistaken, both Hill and Rusch are lefthanded and cheap.

 

I think Hill might have some value but the Cubs cannot trade Rusch until June or something b/c he just signed with them (without his permission). Sign and trade deals are verboten in MLB>

Understood, but if Patterson is given the first half to improve his worth, there is another option at the deadline with Rusch, Hill, and/or Williams. Dealing from depth is never a bad thing.

[1908]

What's with all the sniping going on in this thread? Everybody take a deep breath.

[Flames24Rulz]

Burnett would be alright, i'd prefer Washburn though..

[TrueBlueCubFan]

Take into account this came from one of the least credible sources in all of Chicago sports: Bruce Levine.

 

To me this is not news. He might as well be the leading writter for The National Enquirer, that's if they begin publishing sports.

 

Levine has 0 credibility

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Burnett would be alright, i'd prefer Washburn though..

 

:shock:

[Magnetic Curses]

Burnett and Furcal would make me crazy happy.

 

An injury prone pitcher and an overrated SS for 20-25m a year?

 

We're talking about Burnett and Furcal, not Renteria and Morris, or whatever, your messageboard is thataway.

 

I just happen to think those two guys will be the most overpaid players in the offseason. Relax.

 

what other injuries has burnett had besides TJS? i honestly don't know but doubt that him having one injury makes him injury prone.

 

as for an overpaid furcal....of course he's going to be overpaid, christian guzman makes 4 mil a year and he might be the worst hitter in the history of the game. shortstops are ALL overpaid, it's simply a position that people want to squeeze offense out of.

 

i don't think they'll be the most overpaid FAs this offseason, they might, but there will be a lot of overpaying. at least they're talented and warrant any risk involved in signing them.

[don_kessinger_was_good]

Is our goal to fill the whole 25 man with pitchers?

 

Why not, it seems to be the organizational philosophy at the minor league level, that's for sure.

 

Heck, we can just clone Z at let him play all nine positions. We'd win 100 games! :lol:

[don_kessinger_was_good]

With the money the Cubs have to spend along with the weak FA class, I would hope to see the Cubs mentioned with every top FA. I'd pursue Furcal, Giles, and Burnett. It isn't likely we sign all of them...probably not likely to sign even two of them, but if we heavily pursue all of them we greatly increase or chances of at least getting one of them.

 

The Cubs probably could afford all three for this year; it would be affording them plus raises to Prior and Zambrano that could handcuff them in the future.

 

Wrong. After 2006, Maddux will likely retire--he won't be on the Cubs at least--and Wood will go elsewhere for sure. That's a phat $20MM in freed up money. Even if say $6MM of that per year goes to the new big contract Lee will get, you still have $14MM which pays handily for one of these free agents, and one of the middle relievers I still hope to get.

 

Bottomline is that if you can fit these new free agents into your 2006 budget, then you can CERTAINLY fit them into your budgets for 2007 and beyond, no problem.

[CubinNY]

What's with all the sniping going on in this thread? Everybody take a deep breath.

 

Breath took, feel better. Bad day. No excuses.

 

Oxygen is good.

[katway]

Sign Burnett, then include any package of Williams, Mitre, Hill for Dunn or a smaller package for Kearns. that Angel Guzman returns to form and the team will be set with starting pitching for the next several years. Then spend free agent $ on Furcal and relief pitching.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Burnett and Furcal would make me crazy happy.

 

An injury prone pitcher and an overrated SS for 20-25m a year?

 

I'd rather pay Furcal 9 million and Burnett 10-11 million than pay Jaque Jones 5 million or Preston Wilson 5 million.

 

Considering Juan Encarnacion is likely to get 6 million in this market and Weaver is likely to get 7-8 million, I'm not that concerned. The lack of quality free agents is going to cause nearly everyone to be a little overpaid as people scrounge to fill holes. The Cubs have almost 40 million coming off the books, so I don't think fitting these guys into the budget is going to be that difficult.

[CardsFanInChiTown]

Burnett and Furcal would make me crazy happy.

 

An injury prone pitcher and an overrated SS for 20-25m a year?

 

We're talking about Burnett and Furcal, not Renteria and Morris, or whatever, your messageboard is thataway.

 

I just happen to think those two guys will be the most overpaid players in the offseason. Relax.

 

what other injuries has burnett had besides TJS? i honestly don't know but doubt that him having one injury makes him injury prone.

 

as for an overpaid furcal....of course he's going to be overpaid, christian guzman makes 4 mil a year and he might be the worst hitter in the history of the game. shortstops are ALL overpaid, it's simply a position that people want to squeeze offense out of.

 

i don't think they'll be the most overpaid FAs this offseason, they might, but there will be a lot of overpaying. at least they're talented and warrant any risk involved in signing them.

 

That is true about furcal, I guess if I were the Cubs I go with RC and get some outfield help instead. The ROI for furcal is going to stink.

 

Good point on on Burnett, I thought he missed a lot of time in 05 but he didn't - he made 32 starts. In 04 he was shut down with elbow inflammation but yeah he's been pretty healthly.

[XZero771679666304]

Burnett and Furcal would make me crazy happy.

 

An injury prone pitcher and an overrated SS for 20-25m a year?

 

We're talking about Burnett and Furcal, not Renteria and Morris, or whatever, your messageboard is thataway.

 

I just happen to think those two guys will be the most overpaid players in the offseason. Relax.

 

what other injuries has burnett had besides TJS? i honestly don't know but doubt that him having one injury makes him injury prone.

 

as for an overpaid furcal....of course he's going to be overpaid, christian guzman makes 4 mil a year and he might be the worst hitter in the history of the game. shortstops are ALL overpaid, it's simply a position that people want to squeeze offense out of.

 

i don't think they'll be the most overpaid FAs this offseason, they might, but there will be a lot of overpaying. at least they're talented and warrant any risk involved in signing them.

 

That is true about furcal, I guess if I were the Cubs I go with RC and get some outfield help instead. The ROI for furcal is going to stink.

 

Good point on on Burnett, I thought he missed a lot of time in 05 but he didn't - he made 32 starts. In 04 he was shut down with elbow inflammation but yeah he's been pretty healthly.

 

Hasn't he had major surgery in the past few years? IIRC he has.

[MeatampPotatoesMan]

Burnett's agent says he's looking for a 5 year deal.

[SouthSideRyan]

I applaud this. Kerry and Maddux are gone after 2006, so why not get ahead of the curve and seek replacements now? Our window will soon be closing anyway, and IMO it would be foolish to trust Kerry to stay healthy enough to start all year. Whether it's Burnett or Millwood or whoever, we need another top shelf SP.

man, imagine the posisbilities if we did not have that 9mil contract for Maddux.

 

Then we'd have that 9M contract for Clement.

[UMFan83]

I didn't read most of this thread. Thought I'd offer a quick suggestion.

 

I like the idea of getting Burnett. Do that and use Williams as trade bait for a RF or package Williams and Walker and find something very useful. I think there is no need for 7 starters, even if 2 get injured you still have Mitre and Co. to spot start. Worst case scenario, you pull a Yankee move and find the Aaron Smalls of the world during the season.

 

However, why do I feel this interest in Burnett is to drive the price up, or distract other teams while Hendry swoops in and picks up Milwood for cheaper?

[CardsFanInChiTown]

Burnett and Furcal would make me crazy happy.

 

An injury prone pitcher and an overrated SS for 20-25m a year?

 

We're talking about Burnett and Furcal, not Renteria and Morris, or whatever, your messageboard is thataway.

 

I just happen to think those two guys will be the most overpaid players in the offseason. Relax.

 

what other injuries has burnett had besides TJS? i honestly don't know but doubt that him having one injury makes him injury prone.

 

as for an overpaid furcal....of course he's going to be overpaid, christian guzman makes 4 mil a year and he might be the worst hitter in the history of the game. shortstops are ALL overpaid, it's simply a position that people want to squeeze offense out of.

 

i don't think they'll be the most overpaid FAs this offseason, they might, but there will be a lot of overpaying. at least they're talented and warrant any risk involved in signing them.

 

That is true about furcal, I guess if I were the Cubs I go with RC and get some outfield help instead. The ROI for furcal is going to stink.

 

Good point on on Burnett, I thought he missed a lot of time in 05 but he didn't - he made 32 starts. In 04 he was shut down with elbow inflammation but yeah he's been pretty healthly.

 

Hasn't he had major surgery in the past few years? IIRC he has.

 

I found an article on Burnett that addresses his health...

 

Since undergoing Tommy John surgery two seasons ago, Burnett has been relatively healthy. He did miss sometime last season with elbow tightness and a start this season with the same problem. Optimists believe that A.J. Burnett is healthy and because of the Tommy John surgery, his injury problems are behind him. Skeptics point towards his injury history and are wary, regardless of the surgery.

 

It's hard to predict injuries but you can use a player's injury history to see if a trend develops. The majority of Burnett's aches and pains coming up through the minors and his early seasons in the Major's were with his elbow. Couple those injuries with his Tommy John surgery and that must mean there is smooth sailing ahead. Right? Not necessarily. Burnett underwent numerous MRI's on that right elbow and they never discovered any significant structural damage until 2003.

 

Pre-TJ, Burnett used to have one of the most violent and erratic windups in baseball. Think of a monkey at the zoo having a seizure as he was throwing feces at innocent observers. He had a widely inconsistent release point, often throwing across his body and using a variety of arm angles. This can cause (and in A.J.'s case caused) a weakening of the elbow ligament and can eventually lead to similar problems as the problems that A.J. experienced. Post-TJ, Burnett has smoothed his mechanics some, sticking to a ¾ release point and refining his wind-up even further. He still needs work to help refine his wind-up and delivery to help prevent stress on the elbow and to also help his release point.

 

 

http://www.lookoutlanding.com/story/2005/10/20/01959/665

 

 

By the way - What does IIRC mean? Thanks!