Hendry must be planning on moving an arm

[Beer Kaese]

Presently we have:

 

Zambrano

Prior

Maddux

Rusch

Williams

 

Dempster

Howry

Eyre

Wuertz

Ohman

Novoa

Williamson

 

and

 

Wood

 

Logically the signing of Eyre put Rusch into the rotation and means Williams is going to be moved in a trade. I'd imagine teams are expressing interest in Wuertz and that Hendry would be willing to part with Novoa.

 

Our pitching staff is set with Z, Prior, Wood, Maddux and Rusch in the rotation and Demp, Howry, Eyre, Wuertz, Ohman, Williamson and TBD in the pen. If Prior and Wood return to form we've got enough in the rotation to be in most games and the pen could be better then the rotation, seriously. As long as Wuertz and Ohman don't flameout, that is potentially a solid pen from the 6th inning on. Prior might be the key. If he and Z can give us 7, and the pen holds up its end, we should be able to keep Wood's pitch count in check.

 

Until Hendry makes his moves I have no idea what the other half looks like. Lee and Ram, cool. What else? My wish list includes a high OBP guy who can motor and a lefthanded stick in the middle of the lineup. I could live with trading for Pierre and signing Giles.

 

Pierre - CF

Murton - LF

Lee - 1B

Giles - RF

Ram - 3B

Walker - 2B

Barrett - C

Cedeno - SS

 

We get there by moving Williams, Novoa and Patterson to Florida and throwing our money at Giles and not Fucal. I'm willing to move a top prospect not named Pie to Florida to get that lineup. Pierre is Pie's place holder.

[10man]

I honestly don't think J.Williams is going anywhere. Most likely he's gonna end up being the swingman just like Rusch was the last 2 years. Williams is our insurance just in case Wood goes down again or Rusch doesnt pan out as a 5th starter.

[Electron Blue]

yeah, ever since Rusch was brought back for $2.5m I've assumed Williams is on his way out. And after Howry and Eyre were signed I can almost guarentee it.

 

That's kinda scary, though. Williams seems like pretty good trade bait, and when you force yourself into a corner where you need to get rid of him, you somewhat "wasting" him. Hopefully Hendry has a specific plan for what he wants in return rather than just deciding to trade him away.

[Careless]

I'll be pretty miffed if williams is still on the team and isn't starting over rusch.

And you left off a few pitchers.

[Blueheart05]

Presently we have:

 

Zambrano

Prior

Maddux

Rusch

Williams

 

Dempster

Howry

Eyre

Wuertz

Ohman

Novoa

Williamson

 

and

 

Wood

 

Logically the signing of Eyre put Rusch into the rotation and means Williams is going to be moved in a trade. I'd imagine teams are expressing interest in Wuertz and that Hendry would be willing to part with Novoa.

 

Our pitching staff is set with Z, Prior, Wood, Maddux and Rusch in the rotation and Demp, Howry, Eyre, Wuertz, Ohman, Williamson and TBD in the pen. If Prior and Wood return to form we've got enough in the rotation to be in most games and the pen could be better then the rotation, seriously. As long as Wuertz and Ohman don't flameout, that is potentially a solid pen from the 6th inning on. Prior might be the key. If he and Z can give us 7, and the pen holds up its end, we should be able to keep Wood's pitch count in check.

 

Until Hendry makes his moves I have no idea what the other half looks like. Lee and Ram, cool. What else? My wish list includes a high OBP guy who can motor and a lefthanded stick in the middle of the lineup. I could live with trading for Pierre and signing Giles.

 

Pierre - CF

Murton - LF

Lee - 1B

Giles - RF

Ram - 3B

Walker - 2B

Barrett - C

Cedeno - SS

 

We get there by moving Williams, Novoa and Patterson to Florida and throwing our money at Giles and not Fucal. I'm willing to move a top prospect not named Pie to Florida to get that lineup. Pierre is Pie's place holder.

 

There's no incentive for the Marlins to take on Corey's salary in exchange for Pierre. The whole idea of trading Pierre, from their perspective, is to reduce team payroll and get prospects that are ML ready or who can blossom quickly on a rebuilding team. Juan Pierre is a free agent after next year, I don't see how it benefits the Cubs to give away THREE guys with Major League service time for him. The Cubs can work a seperate deal to rid themselves of Patterson, if that's their plan. BTW, I'm not for giving them two ML players either. If the Cubs have true interest in Pierre they should be willing to part with no more than one ML guy and a couple of kids.

[CuseCubFan69]

I hope Hendry moves something to get an impact bat or 2 in the OF. I just have this awful feeling he is going to overpay in prospects for Pierre and if he was to overpay prospects for a player I want it to be for an Arebu type player.

[USSoccer]

I hope Hendry moves something to get an impact bat or 2 in the OF. I just have this awful feeling he is going to overpay in prospects for Pierre and if he was to overpay prospects for a player I want it to be for an Arebu type player.

 

agreed. if you're going to spend assets, spend them on something good.

[erik316wttn]

I honestly don't think J.Williams is going anywhere. Most likely he's gonna end up being the swingman just like Rusch was the last 2 years. Williams is our insurance just in case Wood goes down again or Rusch doesnt pan out as a 5th starter.

 

If Williams goes anywhere I'll be ticked. I really liked the trade that brought him here, and I think he showed a load of potential. I'm not saying he'll ever be a Z or Prior caliber starter, but I could see him being a very solid #3 guy. He's not someone you want to get rid of easily.

[soapy]

I honestly don't think J.Williams is going anywhere. Most likely he's gonna end up being the swingman just like Rusch was the last 2 years. Williams is our insurance just in case Wood goes down again or Rusch doesnt pan out as a 5th starter.

 

If Williams goes anywhere I'll be ticked. I really liked the trade that brought him here, and I think he showed a load of potential. I'm not saying he'll ever be a Z or Prior caliber starter, but I could see him being a very solid #3 guy. He's not someone you want to get rid of easily.

 

That's one thing that really irked me about the Rusch signing. I can appreciate Hendry's desire to have a lefty in the rotation, but it just seems that Williams has far more potential (for far less cost) then Rusch.

 

On the flip side, that could potentially make Williams more valuable to another team. I would think that teams like Cinci or Philly could have a lot of interest in a guy like Williams who could be an effective SP for few dollars.

[mg420]

I honestly don't think J.Williams is going anywhere. Most likely he's gonna end up being the swingman just like Rusch was the last 2 years. Williams is our insurance just in case Wood goes down again or Rusch doesnt pan out as a 5th starter.

 

If Williams goes anywhere I'll be ticked. I really liked the trade that brought him here, and I think he showed a load of potential. I'm not saying he'll ever be a Z or Prior caliber starter, but I could see him being a very solid #3 guy. He's not someone you want to get rid of easily.

 

That's one thing that really irked me about the Rusch signing. I can appreciate Hendry's desire to have a lefty in the rotation, but it just seems that Williams has far more potential (for far less cost) then Rusch.

 

On the flip side, that could potentially make Williams more valuable to another team. I would think that teams like Cinci or Philly could have a lot of interest in a guy like Williams who could be an effective SP for few dollars.

 

if maddux doesnt return and/or wood gets injured again, both rusch & williams might be in the rotation. i really like what i saw of williams last year too. i also think rusch would make a very good #5 starter and could win 12-15 games next year if he starts the whole year.

[TheDude]

I wouldn't make the assumption about trading an arm. Hendry has been quoted more than once this offseason of saying he doesn't mind having 7 starting pitchers on the team going into the season.

[soapy]

I honestly don't think J.Williams is going anywhere. Most likely he's gonna end up being the swingman just like Rusch was the last 2 years. Williams is our insurance just in case Wood goes down again or Rusch doesnt pan out as a 5th starter.

 

If Williams goes anywhere I'll be ticked. I really liked the trade that brought him here, and I think he showed a load of potential. I'm not saying he'll ever be a Z or Prior caliber starter, but I could see him being a very solid #3 guy. He's not someone you want to get rid of easily.

 

That's one thing that really irked me about the Rusch signing. I can appreciate Hendry's desire to have a lefty in the rotation, but it just seems that Williams has far more potential (for far less cost) then Rusch.

 

On the flip side, that could potentially make Williams more valuable to another team. I would think that teams like Cinci or Philly could have a lot of interest in a guy like Williams who could be an effective SP for few dollars.

 

if maddux doesnt return and/or wood gets injured again, both rusch & williams might be in the rotation. i really like what i saw of williams last year too. i also think rusch would make a very good #5 starter and could win 12-15 games next year if he starts the whole year.

 

That's a possibility. I just wasn't at all impressed with what I saw from Glendon in 2005. I'm concerned that 2004 may have been a fluke. Maybe the yo-yoing back and forth from RP to SP had a negative effect on him. But I prefer not to take that chance at $3 mil (or whatever he's getting this year) when you could get equal or greater performance from Williams for far less cost. That's what makes me believe that Williams will be traded for an OF bat. Hopefully of the impact variety.

[Jehrico]

I honestly don't think J.Williams is going anywhere. Most likely he's gonna end up being the swingman just like Rusch was the last 2 years. Williams is our insurance just in case Wood goes down again or Rusch doesnt pan out as a 5th starter.

 

If Williams goes anywhere I'll be ticked. I really liked the trade that brought him here, and I think he showed a load of potential. I'm not saying he'll ever be a Z or Prior caliber starter, but I could see him being a very solid #3 guy. He's not someone you want to get rid of easily.

 

I wouldn't package Jerome in a deal for someone like Pierre, but I would for someone like Dunn. I'd have to think real hard about Wilkerson.

 

Does Williams have any options left? I almost wouldn't mind seeing him get a little AAA time, be the first guy called up if someone is hurt, and take over Rusch's spot if (should be more like when) we trade him in the summer.

[craig]

I wouldn't make the assumption about trading an arm. Hendry has been quoted more than once this offseason of saying he doesn't mind having 7 starting pitchers on the team going into the season.

 

Agree completely. They have no surplus at present. Hendry has talked often about wanting to have pitching depth. Wood, Williams, and Rusch for the 4-5-6 spots is hardly an excess that demands a deal.

 

If Hendry does nothing else with pitching, Rusch and Williams both make the team. If Wood and the other starters are healthy, one of Rusch and Williams (I don't know which) goes to pen. But assuming Wood is *not* ready, or assuming that during parts of the season at least one of Wood-Prior-Z-Maddux will be disabled, there is room for both Rusch and Williams in the rotation.

 

Personally I think Williams might actually do pretty well in relief.

 

That said, I think the pitching supply is such that if there is a valuable trade that comes up, but depends on including Williams or for that matter Ohman, Hendry has assembled enough depth so that he could afford to trade one of those two. (I'm not advocating for that, just saying Hendry could...)

 

The funny thing is that there continue to be rumors that Hendry is looking for *more* rotation help. One guy says Kevin brown, somebody else hears Corey for Kyle Lohse, somewhere else you hear Zito talk, and now and then you hear mention of the Cubs having interest in Burnett or Washburn.

 

If Hendry *does* go after another rotation pitcher, *then* I think Williams becomes more likely to get traded.

 

But Hendry has been all about depth, in rotation, in relief, and in the infield.

[Beer Kaese]

I honestly don't think J.Williams is going anywhere. Most likely he's gonna end up being the swingman just like Rusch was the last 2 years. Williams is our insurance just in case Wood goes down again or Rusch doesnt pan out as a 5th starter.

 

If Williams goes anywhere I'll be ticked. I really liked the trade that brought him here, and I think he showed a load of potential. I'm not saying he'll ever be a Z or Prior caliber starter, but I could see him being a very solid #3 guy. He's not someone you want to get rid of easily.

 

That's one thing that really irked me about the Rusch signing. I can appreciate Hendry's desire to have a lefty in the rotation, but it just seems that Williams has far more potential (for far less cost) then Rusch.

 

On the flip side, that could potentially make Williams more valuable to another team. I would think that teams like Cinci or Philly could have a lot of interest in a guy like Williams who could be an effective SP for few dollars.

 

Bruce did hint at Abreu and Furcal. I could go for that. Hairston and Patterson could share center with those additions.

[Jehrico]

I honestly don't think J.Williams is going anywhere. Most likely he's gonna end up being the swingman just like Rusch was the last 2 years. Williams is our insurance just in case Wood goes down again or Rusch doesnt pan out as a 5th starter.

 

If Williams goes anywhere I'll be ticked. I really liked the trade that brought him here, and I think he showed a load of potential. I'm not saying he'll ever be a Z or Prior caliber starter, but I could see him being a very solid #3 guy. He's not someone you want to get rid of easily.

 

That's one thing that really irked me about the Rusch signing. I can appreciate Hendry's desire to have a lefty in the rotation, but it just seems that Williams has far more potential (for far less cost) then Rusch.

 

On the flip side, that could potentially make Williams more valuable to another team. I would think that teams like Cinci or Philly could have a lot of interest in a guy like Williams who could be an effective SP for few dollars.

 

if maddux doesnt return and/or wood gets injured again, both rusch & williams might be in the rotation. i really like what i saw of williams last year too. i also think rusch would make a very good #5 starter and could win 12-15 games next year if he starts the whole year.

 

That's a possibility. I just wasn't at all impressed with what I saw from Glendon in 2005. I'm concerned that 2004 may have been a fluke. Maybe the yo-yoing back and forth from RP to SP had a negative effect on him. But I prefer not to take that chance at $3 mil (or whatever he's getting this year) when you could get equal or greater performance from Williams for far less cost. That's what makes me believe that Williams will be traded for an OF bat. Hopefully of the impact variety.

Maybe Glendon has a little Farnsy in him, with the every-other year thing, which would mean he should be pretty decent this year. Then, hopefully, we'll trade him in the offseason.

[JeffH]

But Hendry has been all about depth, in rotation, in relief, and in the infield.

 

Not so much in the outfield, though. :(

[YearofDaCubs]

So the question remains why even bring Rusch back if you have Williams? Signing Eyre made the Rusch signing redundant.

[goonys evil twin]

So the question remains why even bring Rusch back if you have Williams? Signing Eyre made the Rusch signing redundant.

 

The answer to your question is twofold, Hendry overvalues mediocrity and lefthandedness.

 

But I don't think the Eyre signing made Rusch redundant. Eyre is a loogy/middle reliever. Rusch is a swingman. They are very different pitchers. Signing Rusch so quickly seemed completely foolish and unneccesary to me, it's not like he was a risk to sign elsewhere in a hurry. And it's not like he was irreplacable. The only explanation is that he wanted to lock-in his supply of arms so he can be positioned to trade others.

[TheDude]

So the question remains why even bring Rusch back if you have Williams? Signing Eyre made the Rusch signing redundant.

 

The answer to your question is twofold, Hendry overvalues mediocrity and lefthandedness.

 

But I don't think the Eyre signing made Rusch redundant. Eyre is a loogy/middle reliever. Rusch is a swingman. They are very different pitchers. Signing Rusch so quickly seemed completely foolish and unneccesary to me, it's not like he was a risk to sign elsewhere in a hurry. And it's not like he was irreplacable. The only explanation is that he wanted to lock-in his supply of arms so he can be positioned to trade others.

 

I think it has more to do with the fact that Hendry wants more than 5 starters. I do not believe the answer to be any more complicated than that.

[CubfaninCA]

So the question remains why even bring Rusch back if you have Williams? Signing Eyre made the Rusch signing redundant.

 

Don't see how the Eyre singing's redundant. Williams may be on the move. Perhaps the Cubs can get Wilkerson.

[nick23]

What I don't understand is why everyone assumes that the signing of Eyre automatically puts Rusch in the rotation. Rusch was never going to be our lefty set up man. I'm sure Hendry would trade Williams if the right deal comes along, but right now I think Williams is our 5th starter, with Rusch still in the swing/long relief role. No way is Glendon Rusch guaranteed a spot in the rotation right now.

[biittner77]

So the question remains why even bring Rusch back if you have Williams? Signing Eyre made the Rusch signing redundant.

 

Don't see how the Eyre singing's redundant. Williams may be on the move. Perhaps the Cubs can get Wilkerson.

 

The Eyre signing affects Ohman more than it does Rusch. I'd rather keep Ohman but if he is part of a deal for an OF than so be it. I'd imagine Ohman would be pretty attractive to a lot of teams due to his experience, price and Lefthandedness.

 

I see the pen shaping up this way:

 

Dempster

Howry

Eyre

Williamson

Wuertz

Williams

Rusch

 

This assumes that Baker will yet again go with a 12 man pitching staff and that Hendry is serious about having 7 starters and going out and getting another SP arm.

 

This makes Novoa and Ohman expendable in trades.

[craig]

What I don't understand is why everyone assumes that the signing of Eyre automatically puts Rusch in the rotation. Rusch was never going to be our lefty set up man. I'm sure Hendry would trade Williams if the right deal comes along, but right now I think Williams is our 5th starter, with Rusch still in the swing/long relief role. No way is Glendon Rusch guaranteed a spot in the rotation right now.

 

Agree with main points.

1) Eyre and Rusch are not redundant, Rusch was never considered as a primary situational lefty reliever.

2) And he's no lock for rotation. That depends on Wood's health, whether or not Hendry adds another rotation pitcher, whether or not Williams gets traded, whether or not Prior or Z or Maddux are disabled, and whether or not Dusty prefers Rusch over Williams in the event that there ends up being one spot between the two of them.

 

It's certainly my hope that health concerns do *not* necessitate a rotation with both Rusch and Williams.

[erik316wttn]

Is Dusty one of those managers who thinks a rotation "needs" at least one lefty? If he is, pencil in Rusch.

 

I'd rather have a good righty over a mediocre lefty anyday, but unfortunately there are very few in baseball who think that way.