questionmarkgrace

ouch wasnt he sitting at 92-94 at arkansas state university college prep or where ever the heck he was from? Lets hope he can get his weight back and start pitching like he was because 86 only cuts it if you are jamie moyer.

ah, sorry, forgot that one. Lose as many games as possible. This will improve the draft pick and maximize chances of a regime change. I feel it's pretty damn unlikely we win enough games to make this season respectable so that's not a concern. Regarding draft position, meh it's a terrible draft next year, and we're talking what a max of 5 spots? I'd rather not go to Albert Pujols to convince him to leave his 80 win team to come to a 60 win team. You have no concern about the potential for lack of regime change? Winning 70 games isn't going to save Hendry's job. lets hope so. personally I thought if he was able to move soriano then Ricketts would for sure let him stay next year. I don't see how he lets him stay now but I guess stranger things have happened.

More on Yoennis Cespedes the defector that hasnt signed yet. Dude has put up some gaudy numbers down there. He will probably get a major league deal. http://www.baseballdecuba.com/Players-50SN/YCespedes-GRM.html As far as the guy we did sign Yoannis Negrin Perez he did have 11 wins at one time two years ago and 5 complete games according to this blurb. Scroll down: http://baseballdeworld.com/2010/01/15/chasing-dreams-cuban-baseball-defectors-part-1/ this pdf has his compete stats for that year: http://www.baseballdecuba.com/descargas/47NSN-IndividualPitchingTeams.pdf

maybe not but moving to the AL and that park down their can be like coors in the summer time. Really though its amazing that he has sustained such a low babip compared to marshall's being so high while being two comparable pitchers.

Adams' numbers are still phenomenal away from Petco, and he's been doing it for four years now. Don't get me wrong, I love what Marshall has become, but man, I hope he has a run like Adams'. Yeah I would say Marshall is better as well. At least two out of the last three years. Plus younger and cheaper. Marmol as expected is up and down but that 2010 season looks ridiculous. WAR/Relieving (Runs above replacement as a reliever based on FIP) _____ Adams ___ Marshall ___ Marmol 2009_ 1.3/12.1 ___ 1/4.4 ___ .6/6 2010_ 1.6/16.5 ___ 2.2/21.1 ___ 3.1/28.9 2011_ 1.4/12.3 ___ 1.8/15.9 ___ .7/6.4 This is where I have to plead ignorance in certain stat areas, because glancing at their numbers on BR I have no [expletive] clue how that works out. How is Marshall rated higher than Adams this year when they've pitched the same number of innings and Adams is better in practically every major category? marshall's FIP is lower which is basically era adjusted for what it should be. Mainly though I think that it is because it takes into account that marshall has a higher K per 9 and lower walks per 9. But just glancing at the stats Marshall's Babip has been pretty high in the .300's consistently vs. Adams in .200's. I would venture to guess that yes petco has made a difference but also it shows that the padres have played solid defense while marshall has been a victim of poor defense. It explains why Adam's whip is lower than marshalls. Although I dont think that BABIP is included in WAR or Relieving above. It will certainly be interesting to see how Adams fairs in texas' hitters haven after pitching if petco all these years.

Adams' numbers are still phenomenal away from Petco, and he's been doing it for four years now. Don't get me wrong, I love what Marshall has become, but man, I hope he has a run like Adams'. Yeah I would say Marshall is better as well. At least two out of the last three years. Plus younger and cheaper. Marmol as expected is up and down but that 2010 season looks ridiculous. WAR/Relieving (Runs above replacement as a reliever based on FIP) _____ Adams ___ Marshall ___ Marmol 2009_ 1.3/12.1 ___ 1/4.4 ___ .6/6 2010_ 1.6/16.5 ___ 2.2/21.1 ___ 3.1/28.9 2011_ 1.4/12.3 ___ 1.8/15.9 ___ .7/6.4

Well they were offered crap for the crap he wanted to give up. I can certainly see that Johnson and grabow and pena may not have garnered much. Look around the league at what Beltran and Mike Adams garnered. I have to think Ramirez, would have gotten us a deal similar to beltran (despite tweets to the contrary). ANd marshal and marmol probably would have garnered something close to what the rangers gave for Mike Adams. These are high potential impact guys these team are getting back. Byrd might not have brought back 4 prospects from the braves but one pretty good one and one high ceiling guy would have worked. I would have even been happy trading just one of marshall or marmol because we have plenty of bullpen type arms and only a handful of starter types in the upper levels of the system. Unless the cubs plan on retaining ramirez grabbing fielder and grabbing a starter Wilson or Jackson Hendry's plan doesnt make sense.

That's probably true. Pujols/Fielder is the important signing anyway. We have a few guys who could be top of the rotation type guys in the future (McNutt, Whitenack close), but no elite middle of the order power bat in the minors. If we miss on Wilson we can bring back Aramis and settle for a lesser arm (Edwin Jackson?) and still maybe compete. I dont see Whitenack coming back from surgery that quickly or the cubs rushing him again because of surgery. McNutt hasnt been all that impressive when not injured this year. Maybe an off season heals nagging injuries but who knows.

yeah we can but how does that make us a .500 baseball team? I'm not so sure. Castro getting even better, Soto hopefully bouncing back to 2008/2010 Soto instead of just decent but mostly only tolerable Soto, Aramis not getting off to such a slow start power-wise (if he is indeed back), adding someone like Fielder or Pujols, signing a new starting pitcher and then not having two of them go down after their first starts of the year and then being replaced by a parade of hideous garbage. Sure, things have to go their way, but it's far from impossible. And even if they don't quite get over the hill next year it can still mean that 2013 can be the push that puts them over the top with more good FA available and more money coming off the books. Giving up on 2012 effectively means giving up for the foreseeable future whereas it's not like 2012 is a make or break season if they attempt to be competitive. If they make the right moves and end up back at .500 or above, great. If they make the right moves and up, say, winning 15-20 games more instead, great. Then they're still in a position to win even more the next year (and the seasons after that). That is a lot of ifs. I guess my point is if it is at all questionable that we are competing next year why not trade a piece or two to get better long term? As others have said having marshall and marmol around is pointless if you cant get them the ball with a lead. I suppose this still could happen if Ramirez is dealt at the waiver deadline but that remains to be seen.

yeah we can. but does that make us a .500 baseball team? I'm not so sure. A second starter makes us a contender. Or keeping Aramis and signing Fielder and signing a pitcher. Getting Wilson and Fielder (which I personally think will be difficult to snag both) does not make us a for sure contender next year.

I'm worried about a team that will be dependent upon pitching with little to no improvement on offense.

Why do you think Garza is a #3 pitcher (at best)? Add to that why he thinks Dempster is a #3 at best. Because of their ERAs and W/L, duh OK, so who's the #1 right now? Enlighten me. Z's a 3-4. We don't have a #1, but that's a far cry from Z/Demp/Garza being 3/4/5s. Garza is at least a #2, Dempster is a 2/3 and Z is a 3/4 at this point, IMO. Add Wilson to that and you're doing pretty well. yes but Wilson plus Fielder - Aramis does not equal 23 + wins. We are currently 23 games under. Like I said Fielder + Baker/Farhety is a wash from Aram and Pena this year. Maybe a slight up tick. Wilson certainly helps but he doesnt make us 23 games better. Plus wells should not be an option to start next year. he should be the 6th starter/ long man. We need two pitchers not one. Or a heck of a lot of improvement from what is currently here offensively and pitching wise, which I think at this point is hard to ask for.

Yeah moving one or the other would be ideal. Marshall in my opinion would have been the best to move because of the emergence of Russell. The rangers gave up two top guys for Mike Adams. Wieland the further along of the two is less regarded but is having a breakout year and would have been a great pick up for the cubs. The cubs probably could have gotten him and a lesser guy. The padres in return got wieland and Erlin who is considered a top 35 prospect in all of baseball.

CCP answered this question well. Who were we supposed to trade to bring in this young major league ready talent? Marmol or Aramis might have garnered that, but the only rumors I've heard on either that specify was a guy saying the Cubs could expect a mid-tier prospect for Aramis. If Hendry got offers for current players where teams were offering multiple players better than the guys we have ready to come up next year (Flaherty, Jackson) then Hendry is very wrong for passing it up. I strongly doubt those offers were on the table, however. There is no way aramis would have garnered a mid tier prospect if Beltran grabbed a top prospect. Don't play ignorant. The cubs never made him available and really, that mid tier prospect claim was never confirmed anywhere outside of this board. Marmol and Marshal probably would have gotten us back what we needed. Especially marshal because he is cheap and under control for two years. What bourne doesnt have is power at a non-traditional power position, which teams value irrationally high. Bryd offers that and my guess would be close to matching Bourne on WAR given last year. Plus we have guys tweeting that Bryd would have brought a nice haul. So yes its not out of the realm of possibility that Hendry simply wanted to keep these guys as a ploy for attracting free agents. indeed it seems highly likely.

How do you know Hendry turned down a good deal for Byrd? Because a younger, better, more valuable player netted four prospects and the Astros have been roundly criticized for taking too little for him? The Cubs have as much or more money than any other team in baseball available to spend on players this offseason - that's why there's a belief that we can net Fielder and Wilson. Is it a certainty that we will? Of course not, but just because we might not get both doesn't mean we shouldn't try to contend next year. Bourne is younger yes but whether he is better than Byrd (when healthy for a full season) is a point of contention. comparing his last year numbers to bourne this year he has a higher WAR. Plus he is a centerfielder who has some power of which bourn has none. I think he offers more. No one said the cubs shouldn't try to contend next year. The fact of the matter is that without any trades at the deadline to bring in young major league ready talent we are entirely dependent upon free agency to fill our needs at first base/starting pitching. We would have been better off trading from an area of depth and getting back a couple mlb ready pitchers than depending entirely upon free agency which I think is a much bigger crap shoot then most are acknowledging. Someone argued that free agents wouldnt want to come here if we traded guys away. Well why would they want to come here when it looks like this team has no plan except to add two players to a 90 loss team?

I certainly think Hendry turned down a good deal for Byrd. The braves really wanted him, more so than Bourne and he brought the astros back 4 nice prospects. Bryd probably would have garnered more as the tweet suggested. All the comments Hendry has made suggests that he thinks this team is close to competing. As I stated in another thread; even if we sign Fielder and lose Ramirez thats basically a wash. If we add wilson it will make us better but probably not 23 games better. Those are two big ifs though. Everyone on this board seems to assume that other teams wont go out and sign free agents next year or pursue trades to make their teams better than this year. And yet they presume that the cubs will be able to sign two of the top three free agents. That is alot of things going the cubs way. They may be better next year but wont contend for a wild card.

I dont know. At somepoint we have to stop making excuses for Hendry whether its our opinions about too much salary or not the right players in return. Others teams in the last couple of days have gotten very solid returns on their major league talent Hendry has made one meaningless trade and on this 90 plus loss team. This one is on him.

Yeah, I could see that especially with all of the FA's they would garner quite a few draft picks. On the other hand if they resign pujols, sign Jackson and carpenter for cheap, then maybe add willingham also for cheap; I still dont see how we are better than them with Fielder, Wilson, and no Ramirez. Pena and Ramirez this year could very feasibly be more productive than Fielder and Baker/Flarhety platoon. I think most people would be pretty happy with 20 hr's and 50 rbi from that platoon at this point next year. If we can agree that first base and third base changes are close to a wash with possibly a slight upgrade; I think most would agree that we are more than one pitcher away from competing.

I didn't realize all of those contracts were expiring. but, berkman is a free agent as is carpenter and pujols. Thats 38 million to work with right there. If they keep the payroll the same at 98 million that allows them to sign Pujols for say 22 mil at who knows how many years, Jackson at 10 million, and they could probably keep furcal at a 1 year incentive laden 6 mil. If they bump the payroll about 10 -15 mil then they can probably resign carpenter at a reduced rate and heath bell long term.

If this year's Randy Wells is the Randy Wells we're getting from here on out, I agree we need a couple of starters. I don't think we can just assume that, though. And Wilson has been far better than a solid starter the past couple of years. He's one of the best pitchers in baseball right now. As for the lineup, you'd have to play the left/right matchups well, but both Baker and Soriano have destroyed lefthanded pitching in their careers and that includes this year for both of them. Against righthanders who you put behind Fielder would be more nebulous and would depend largely on how Jackson and Flaherty were hitting them. The rotation would still clearly have to carry the team, but I think with a top three of Garza/Wilson/Dempster, the rotation would be capable of it. Especially when you consider we could be looking at a Cardinals team without Pujols and a Brewers team without Fielder. A .500 team might win the Central next year. its looking less and less like Pujols is leaving the cardinals especially considering the team they are putting around him. What team? Furcal's contract is up after this year unless the Cardinals opt for the $12 million team option. That doesn't seem to increase the chances of bringing back Pujols since, one, Furcal sucks, and two, he'd be expensive. And they traded away Rasmus for garbage. If anything, they've downgraded the team and their chances of re-signing him with these latest moves. edwin jackson is garbage? Furcal may have renegotiated his option for next year. He is a clear upgrade over theriot though. Plus they are still looking at trading for Heath Bell.

If this year's Randy Wells is the Randy Wells we're getting from here on out, I agree we need a couple of starters. I don't think we can just assume that, though. And Wilson has been far better than a solid starter the past couple of years. He's one of the best pitchers in baseball right now. As for the lineup, you'd have to play the left/right matchups well, but both Baker and Soriano have destroyed lefthanded pitching in their careers and that includes this year for both of them. Against righthanders who you put behind Fielder would be more nebulous and would depend largely on how Jackson and Flaherty were hitting them. The rotation would still clearly have to carry the team, but I think with a top three of Garza/Wilson/Dempster, the rotation would be capable of it. Especially when you consider we could be looking at a Cardinals team without Pujols and a Brewers team without Fielder. A .500 team might win the Central next year. its looking less and less like Pujols is leaving the cardinals especially considering the team they are putting around him. I personally think he stays. But the pirates are certainly up and coming and will continue to get better with clint hurdle at the helm. plus they seem to own us these days. And the reds are looking perennial. I think we have seen the real Randy Wells for the last year and a half now. There are too many question marks in that line up. So if you are talking about competing for third place then maybe because I dont see this team competing with the Cards and the Reds next year.

for a guy who has lost velocity and consistency since last year it is quite a trade. But that doesn't necessarily mean he wont be his dominant self again next year.

They definitely won't contend for anything if they don't field a right fielder. :D Seriously, I think they can with that lineup. When you take into account a potentially very good rotation of Garza/Wilson/Dempster/Z/Wells, you don't need a dominant offense to compete. I'd definitely give LaMaheieu a shot at 2nd over Barney to get a little more offense in, though. It's nitpicking but I'd also bat Soto at the top of the lineup instead of Barney/LaMaheieu. In that scenario I'm banking on Flaherty being fairly productive facing only right handers and I'm hoping that defensive improvements make the pitching that much better. It's not a surefire contention strategy, but the Central is likely to be somewhere between really bad and horrid next year. It won't take a lot to hang in there. i don't think that line up is a contender at all. All it will amount to is a boat load of walks for fielder and a bunch of gidp's for soto and byrd. Plus our rotation is more than one solid starter away from being good. we need 2 at this point.

well its certainly a concern, now. I'm hoping the Ricketts are extremely upset with Hendry and have tied his hands until they can find a capable gm to fix this teams problems. My guess is that this is not the case however.

I read that Negrin was his staff ace back in cuba and won 11 games in their short season but havent looked up his stats yet. I will post them when I do. But on the surface he sounds like a good get.