Clem Fandango

Then I'll take a stab at it. They had comparable FIP's, Samardzija's bWAR and fWAR were lower this season likely due to him being shut down early and the Cubs not wanting him to rack up more innings. Had he pitched a full season he may have been able to come closer to the value Shields put up (possibly more). And the one month Samardzija struggled in June (and was the reason his numbers are as high as they are) was because the team had him experiment with a new pitch that didn't work out at all, so after a month they abandoned it and he went back to being a guy who looked like he could be an ace. He had a 3.09 ERA entering June. After June he had a 5.05 ERA. His ERA from July until the end of his season was 2.58. Samardzija was a stud. One of the biggest reasons people cite Shields as an "ace" is his ability to go deep into ballgames and rack up a lot of innings. I think Shields and Samardzija are very comparable pitchers in that regard. Shields has experience and proven stamina on his side. Samardzija was held back this season though, and he could easily turn into an innings eater with his repertoire. Number of times Samardzija reached the 7th inning or later: 14 (in 28 starts) Number of times Shields reached the 7th inning or later: 18 (in 33 starts) Number of times Samardzija threw 100+ pitches in those 14 starts: 9 Number of times Shields threw 100+ pitches in those 18 starts: 16 Number of times Samardzija threw 110+ pitches in those 9 starts: 4 Number of times Shields threw 110+ pitches in those 16 starts: 9 That was with Samardzija being used conservatively. I think Samardzija could have easily been as desirable an acquisition as James Shields. The only knock against Samardzija that you could say worked against him is the fact he's only been starting for one season. Other than that, all signs point to him being as good, if not better, than James Shields in almost every other regard. Samardzija also had a better K/9 than Shields, which people also cite as a positive for Shields. People think he's a big K guy. He's good, but he's also never had a K/9 of 9.0 or more. His K numbers look bloated because he pitches a lot of innings, when the reality is he technically strikes out less than a batter per inning. His K/9 is still good, but the notion some have that he's a top notch K pitcher is a tiny bit misleading. Shields' K/9 was 17th best in the majors. Samardzija's was 4th. That's my opinion on the two, and why I think you could've easily made a case for Samardzija and Shields being a wash in a deal for Myers.

Samardzija, Wood, Marmol and cash for Myers, Odorizzi, and Montgomery. Does that get it done? Barney and Jackson for Bauer? No chance. You could make the case that Shields and Samardzija is a wash due to Samardzija's age (3 years younger), his big upside (which in my opinion could be better than what Shields offers), extra year of control, and cheaper cost. Then it becomes a matter of Wood + Marmol + cash vs. Wade Davis

Samardzija, Wood, Marmol and cash for Myers, Odorizzi, and Montgomery. Does that get it done? Barney and Jackson for Bauer?

Not just Bauer, but Bauer, Matt Albers and Bryan Shaw

If Kevin Towers traded Trevor Bauer for Dede Gregorius he should be put down inhumanely.

Choo to the Reds...

IIRC correctly his defense was supposed to be at least average, but if it's his defense last year that was looking bad he was recovering from a leg injury which probably limited his range and effectiveness in the field. FWIW, Baseball Prospect Report (not sure how legit their analysis is) rated him on the 20/80 scale in 2009 as this: Hit 40/60 Power 45/75 Run 60/70 Arm 50/60 Field 40/60 Phuture Phillies updated his profile in January of 2011 with this scale: Hit For Average: 55/60 Hit For Power: 55/65 Fielding: 45/55 Throwing Arm: 60/65 Speed: 55/60 Ben Badler in 2009 wrote:

Barney is under control for 4. Are the Cubs planning on keeping Barney or do teams not think of Barney as a legit SS? Would Barney + Wood be a good start to opening discussions on a Bauer trade?

Rotoworld opined... It'd probably be Corbin

I'd have to think that if they target Gregorius that Corbin would be the pitcher they try and move to acquire him, since that would make a bit more sense, but his name hasn't come up that much as opposed to Bauer being their primary trading chip in these types of negotiations.

Wait, what? Cabrera for Bauer & Skaggs? That seems ridiculous. But the latest report also says that the DBacks would want to get Gregarious instead of Cabrera in this three-team trade possibility, and I think Bauer is the pitcher being moved on their end to acquire someone. Please, please, please try and sell high on Barney to get Bauer. Pretty please?

Brown's biggest issues have been health related. The last time he was completely healthy he raked, but IIRC he's been battling leg and wrist injuries for the last couple of seasons, not to metion a coaching staff/FO that really seemed to fight against giving him regular playing time. I'd still love to have him on the Cubs.

I find it highly odd that Mark Redman finished 2006 with with a 1.6 fWAR... but he was a pretty bad All-Star, one who was only selected because of the rule. At the tie of his selection he had a 5.27 ERA His final numbers were 11-10 5.71 ERA 1.59 WHIP 167 IP 76 K 63 BB 4.1 K/9 4.99 FIP 5.22 xFIP Somehow that translated into a 1.6 fWAR and only a -0.1 bWAR

http://i.imgur.com/mLWwW.jpg

This is utterly baffling. The value of this package and the one they received are at very least even, yet they were only going to give up Myers. Niese is under control long term and a good #3 while Wheeler is an extremely good pitching prospect who may have legitimate #1 upside. So there's that deal that was reportedly turned down. I think they also asked for a Dickey for Myers swap that was rejected. Anderson for Myers was rejected. Lester for Myers was rejected, too, I think. There must be something rotten about Myers that front offices aren't thrilled about.

Maybe he was trying to wait out the desperation and missed his window

This headline sounds really damning compared to how the quote comes off... Headline: "Cubs Manager Dale Sveum Calls Out Starlin Castro, Says He’s Only Focused ’80-85 Percent’ of Time" Quote: “He came a long way, but still has to even concentrate more. We’ve got him probably — just throwing a number out there — really focused 80-85 percent of the time. We got to get that to 95 percent of the time. I don’t think anybody ever really focuses 100 percent.” http://nesn.com/2012/12/cubs-manager-dale-sveum-says-shortstop-starlin-castro-is-only-focused-80-to-85-percent-of-time/

lmao http://i.imgur.com/05Mvz.jpg Tremendous

Hahahahaha... but how much cash is added when you hit "Balance Cash", cause there's a PTBNL or cash coming the Royals way.

Any suspicion as to who the PTNBL could be coming form the Rays? I would think if uit's a highly touted guy it might soften the blow but who do they have that fits that mold that could be a PTBNL?

http://i.imgur.com/jHMVR.gif

Wow. Good move for the Rays. Curious who the other prospects are.

Where are you reading that?

That's a nice AAV, but 6 years for an uncertainty? Yeesh. Also, this tidbit was ridiculous:

Wrong ackronym