Isn't Samardzija a FA this offseason? Or do the Cubs control him and have to go through arbitration? He's not a FA. We've got some options on his contract, but if we decline them he's not even arb eligible yet.
SoSH seems to be mostly convinced Selig is going to have this compensation mess go to arbitration, where getting Garza or a Jackson/McNutt package would be a pretty reasonable conclusion. I, on the other hand, think SoSH is high. All of them. They done smoked themselves stupid.
I doubt it happens, but it would be great to wake up with Heather Graham in my bed tomorrow. Really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really really, great.
The man deserves his own thread. He's a fantastic addition to the staff and represents a vast improvement over Jim Hendry. I'll be interested to see what (if anything) we gave up. Can't believe how quickly and quietly negotiations with San Diego have apparently gone.
I propose that all of NSBB forgive Kaplan's first instance of overt racism after this deal comes to pass, in honor of his shockingly excellent reporting so far.
Given the precedent for this stuff, I'd have expected us to spend more getting Hoyer than Epstein. As is, we may give up almost nothing for Hoyer and a bit too much for Epstein. I guarantee Bud is keeping his eyes on this stuff and trying to set a real precedent.
Die in a fire. It occurs to me that in a hypothetical situation where Jim Hendry wanted to come back in some sort of scouting capacity, I would be happy to have him around.
Someone (?) tweeted him the same question: jimcallisBA Jim Callis Closer to middle of pack than bottom three. @jdfisch: @pgammo said #cubs have a bottom three farm system. That cant be possibly true is it? not me ... i don't tweet. well you better start it is the wave of the future I have zero followers. I just use twitter to yell at sportswriters, and ask them questions they'll never respond to. It's basically a tool for shouting at the moon. That's stupid. I ask dumb questions I think will get answered. Not because I want the answer, but because it makes me twitter famous.
This thread epitomizes all that is wrong with NSBB these days. Actually, it's all that is right and lots of the posters that made it awesome years ago are coming out of the woodwork. No doubt. I much prefer goofy NSBB to angry and bitter NSBB.
How does Coco Crisp not make the SWAG team? http://www.fangraphs.com/not/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/coco-crisp.jpg http://www.fangraphs.com/not/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/coco-2.jpg
He spent his entire GM career with the Padres, so he hasnt really had the chance to prove what he can do with any kind of payroll flexibility. For the record, I'm not criticizing. I'm saying I legitimately don't know. The only FA signings I can think of offhand are O-Dawg and Aaron Harang. I'd have to look closer before coming to any sort of an opinion. And you're right, just by virtue of it being San Diego changes the equation considerably.