Backtobanks
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Everything posted by Backtobanks
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I agree that keep Shark seems like a no-brainer. Spending the money on him sure seems like a better idea than trying to replace him. It doesn't sound like anyone is willing to meet our demands in trading him, most of the FA pitchers are as old or older than he is, and most or all of them have more "miles" on their arms than he does.
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I've posted that quite a few times, but then many posters jump on me about being negative about Theo.
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Yep, while Theo's "plan" has merit, he also could have very easily become the A's if he was smarter. Signing the worst of the 3 cubans (so far), not trading Barney, Gregg, and Russell while they had any value, still not finding a decent veteran reliever, missing on the 1 big contract they did give out (Jackson) have nothing to do with the "not spending money for a while" plan. This was my biggest fear when he took the job and so far it's being realized. Beane and Friedman would have been better choices IMO. Doesn't mean it won't work out or we can't make the playoffs 8 years in a row and win a title, but the early returns are discouraging when you see the Oakland freaking A's playing like the 27 Yankees on a comparable payroll. I've posted since Theo was hired that he's very smart and has a plan that hopefully will work out, but he didn't have the experience that Beane had in starting from scratch and building a winner with a modest payroll. Theo took over a very good team (89 win average) and made them better (93 win average) with a mix of prospects, good signings, and a gigantic payroll.
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We could be contenders if it wasn't for those damn 81 road games.
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The best 7th inning stretch singer/interview that I can remember. Lenny Merullo from the 1945 Cubs was fantanastic. 97 years old and sharp as a tack with great stories about the Cubs and Wrigley back then. JD and Len were in awe and loving every minute. At one point JD said "I want to hang out with you Lenny".
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If nothing else, it will be more entertaining watching them lose 10-9 instead of 2-0. Why will the pitchers suddenly give up 8 more runs a game? Because we won't have much after trading Samardzija and Hammel.
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If nothing else, it will be more entertaining watching them lose 10-9 instead of 2-0.
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Dodgers get Vogelbach with Cubs getting Kemp + $55 million sounds great to me.
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30 years old??? I guess we could use him for a year before flipping him for prospects.
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Another obvious difference is that Manny is connected to Boston (Epstein) and Sammy is connected to Chicago (Hendry and the old regime).
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The bottom line is that Lucchino knows what he's getting in Samardzija and I doubt he will feel ripped off assuming Shark's doesn't fall off. The Red Sox aren't desperate enough to make a trade that they aren't comfortable with. Somewhere in the future it might be determined that the Cubs got the better of the deal, but I doubt Lucchino will be too upset if Samardzija gives them 4-5 years of top notch pitching.
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if the premise is that lucchino wants to stick it to theo, you'd think he'd enjoy rubbing epstein's face in the fact that the red sox are a real team that acquires real players while the cubs just cross their fingers and trade for children I think the possibility, even if it were slight, that Theo trade rapes the Red Sox, would keep Lucchino from allowing it. I'm sure Lucchino is really worried about losing face to Theo in 2019 when the prospects that he trades for Samardzija finally make it to the ML. Meanwhile, Samardzija helps the Red Sox make the playoffs for 6 straight years after signing an extension.
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Third season of being "unlucky". I guess our luck will change eventually.
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It's a shame the FO didn't trade him when they had a chance.
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rofl if we got stanton and baez gets fixed, eventually we wouldn't even need to bother fielding a pitching staff. That's good because after trading Samardzija and Hammel at the deadline, we wouldn't have much of a pitching staff to field.
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Let's not forget the "crippling monstrosity" left in Boston. 69 win team with $175 million payroll.
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It's the Koolaide. http://www.lardlad.com/assets/quotes/season4/9F10.shtml I also have to wonder what's next if when the Epstein Era comes to an end, leaving behind a strong farm but a well below .500 big league club and progressively dwindling ticket sales. Does ownership hit the panic switch and hire a guy to bandage together a Hendry-esque monster? Do they sell to the highest bidder? We're about halfway there (the end of the Epstein Era) and the farm is stronger, the ML team is well below .500, and ticket sales are dwindling, so we might find out what ownership does in a few years.
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It's the Koolaide.
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Except for the fact that IF they decide to deal Shark he will have way more value at midseason than at year's end. Either trade him between now and the trading deadline or lock him up as a long-term piece. Those are the only two logical options. There is zero to be gained for having him win (HA!) meaningless games in August. If we had signed Tanaka or Darvish we wouldn't be playing meaningless games in August. Trading Shark (and probably Hammel) at the deadline probably means 2 or 3 more years of meaningless games in August. Maybe, but I really doubt they'd be as good in the OF as you think. Couldn't be any worse than what we have.
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Except for the fact that IF they decide to deal Shark he will have way more value at midseason than at year's end. Either trade him between now and the trading deadline or lock him up as a long-term piece. Those are the only two logical options. There is zero to be gained for having him win (HA!) meaningless games in August. If we had signed Tanaka or Darvish we wouldn't be playing meaningless games in August. Trading Shark (and probably Hammel) at the deadline probably means 2 or 3 more years of meaningless games in August.
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Still 1.5 games better than the Astros. You mean we're losing in the race for the top draft pick too.
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The preferable order of getting things done would be (or have been) sign Scherzer (or Tanaka, Darvish, etc.) and then decide on Samardzija. It lessens the stress and gives you some wiggle room if you know that you have a sure thing at the front of your rotation.
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That's assuming the pitcher is as good as Samardzija and the prospects pan out.
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I think just the opposite. If he continues to pitch the way he has been pitching, it's more likely some other team will sweeten their offer for him. The sad part of this scenario is that the Cubs will probably end up paying a ton of money for a FA TOR pitcher in a few years. why is that sad if it actually happens? I guess what I meant to say is that the FA TOR pitcher will probably be older than Shark and not as good.