CubsWin

I love posts that begin "Racist or not..."

He re-upped for 1 year with Boston last week. Strange. It was in an article on the front page of mlb.com yesterday. Must've been an older article, I guess. Thanks.

what the hell? I figured Koyie had photos of Jim Hendry doing something unspeakable to a donut, but how did he get stuff on the new guys so fast? He's good...

If Andrew Miller gets non-tendered, he fits the Epstein profile. In fact, he signed him last season in Boston. Left-handed starter, former high 1st round draft pick, 26 years old (turns 27 in May). The only difference is that he has pretty much sucked at the major league level and was good but didn't dominate in the minors. That said, I wouldn't be at all surprised if Thed Epsoyer went after him for the right price.

But like I said, you never know the next time that a 27 year old elite player will even be available regardless of their physical build. That may be true, but it's not a compelling argument for entering into a contract you think will turn out to be a mistake. I have no reason not to believe that Fielder doesnt have at least 4-5 prime years left. Could be more. Would you really be upset if we got 4-5 prime years of Fielder and then he hits an early decline around age 33? He'd still be young enough where we could send him off to DH. The normal prime of a player doesn't last until 31-32... so even if you discount the "heavy players age more quickly" proofs, there would be absolutely no reason to suspect he has at least 4-5 prime years left. That statement demonstrates a willful ignorance of a lot of basic tenets of player development. In all likelihood, Fielder is on the tail end of his prime already. I'm not saying don't sign him. Preaching caution around these parts has a way of being misconstrued. But the length of contract that most here would be willing to offer is almost certainly a mistake. Anything over 6 years is more likely to hurt our team than help it. Completely agreed. I think 5 years would be ideal and 6 would be the compromise to get it done. Anything beyond 6 just shouldn't be agreed to with Prince.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/chi-cubs-claim-bianchi-off-waivers-20111209,0,5147358.story

I liked the idea of Colvin for Stewart and I had read that the Cubs didn't want to do LeMaheiu for Stewart so when I saw that the Cubs had dealt Colvin and LeMaheiu for Stewart and a minor leaguer, I was excited to see who this prospect was! A 26 year old reliever who put up an ERA over 5 at AA and struggled with this control throughout the year? What am I missing on Casey Weathers besides he was a 1st rounder? I know he's been injured a lot, but for a pitcher that's not exactly a good thing...

Gaub, Maine and Mateo are the only other possible cuts, though there are good reasons for keeping each of them. These are the only guys I could see anyone having the slightest bit of interest in: Jeffry Antigua, LHP Kyler Burke, LHP David Cales, RHP Steve Clevenger, C-1B Ryan Flaherty, IF-OF Marwin Gonzalez, IF-OF Dae-Eun Rhee, RHP Ryan Searle, RHP Of this list, the Cubs would likely only roster Clevenger, Rhee and Flaherty. Should they?

Their 40-man now stands at 34, if I counted correctly. So who else will get protected? You got to leave room for free agent signings. Is this it?

I'm a bit confused, then. You could take pretty much any SS with a bit of pop and compare them with DeRosa, then. In addition to playing 2B, 3B, LF & Rf, Lake would also be able to play a credible SS and should be able to cover CF based on his speed. Yeah, but how many actually do that? And how many of those types have we had on the cubs, recently? This is such a weird thing for me to nitpick, but I'm just saying that I took the comment as him looking into the future and seeing Lake's role on the team being a guy that fills in at different positions. I'm sure you could stick castro in LF and he wouldn't soriano himself, but the cubs don't do that. It might just be that it ends up being Lake's role, though. What the Cubs do and don't do is a very fluid concept right now. i am 100 percent certain castro will not play in LF this season. I get it. You meant the Cubs won't do that this coming season. One paragraph up you were talking about looking into the future with Lake and I thought you meant that Cubs management doesn't consider moving players to different positions as a rule. And with the turnover and expansion in the Cubs front office, what the Cubs do and don't do is a very fluid concept right now. Never mind.

I'm a bit confused, then. You could take pretty much any SS with a bit of pop and compare them with DeRosa, then. In addition to playing 2B, 3B, LF & Rf, Lake would also be able to play a credible SS and should be able to cover CF based on his speed. Yeah, but how many actually do that? And how many of those types have we had on the cubs, recently? This is such a weird thing for me to nitpick, but I'm just saying that I took the comment as him looking into the future and seeing Lake's role on the team being a guy that fills in at different positions. I'm sure you could stick castro in LF and he wouldn't soriano himself, but the cubs don't do that. It might just be that it ends up being Lake's role, though. What the Cubs do and don't do is a very fluid concept right now.

I'm not too keen on giving up Samardzija. He only went full time baseball back in 2006. He's really started figuring it out. Towards the end of last season, his strikeout to walk ratio improved dramatically (finishing with a respectable 1.30 WHIP), and he was the most difficult Cubs pitcher to hit last season. Going into his age 27 season, he is a potential middle of the rotation starter or dominant reliever. He's also under Cubs control for quite a while.

Worked for McGuire and the Cardinals...

Yeah, that was the interesting part about that year's deciding game. It was started on a Monday and completed on a Wednesday.

Game 7 of World Series? Sort of. It was Game 5 of the 2008 World Series, the final and deciding game of that series. Phillies won 4-3.

The die is cast on that. Whoever they gave up, they gave up, and I'm not going to let some sort of objective assessment ruin how much fun this is. Suit yourself. I love ruining fun. Oh, what the hell...YEAH!!!!!

It's finally official!!! YES!!! But what did the Cubs give up? I can't truly celebrate until they announce that... Oh, what the hell...YEAH!!!!!

What has this thread become? I feel like someone's about to mention Billy Dee Williams for the first time ever on a baseball message board.

I believe Lake's HR was actually his 4th. Indeed it was, which is tied for the league lead. Lake leads the league in stolen bases by a wide margin. He's got 9. The next closest guy has 5 and that's LeMahieu. All the other stolen base leaders have at least 1 caught stealing except Lake. He's 9-for-9. Power and speed is a nice combination. If only performing well in the AFL meant something...

What Kevin Goldstein fails to understand is that while refusing to let Epstein go gives Boston the appearance of leverage, it is only real leverage if they truly want to keep him. Clearly, they don't. They let Theo interview, and they will be paying Theo 6.5 to 7 million dollars to be a lame duck GM for one more year all after effectively naming Cherington their new GM. Theo would then leave next season, and presumably take the generous offer from the Cubs, while Boston would be out the 6.5 to 7 mil. So long as Ricketts is willing to wait a year to get his man, the Sox hold none, NONE, of the cards at this poker table. PR wise, it's an easy out for the Cubs. We have to wait a year for our "savior" because the Red Sox are being f*#@wads about this. Instead of mortgaging a decent part of the Cubs future, we'll call their bluff. However, this is a PR nightmare for Boston. They are already looking like an organization in disarray after a bad September collapse, firing their manager, leaks about what was going on in the clubhouse, apparently bad mouthing of Francona and Epstein, and then keeping Epstein around for one pointless season at the expense of 6.5 to 7 million bucks. If Ricketts isn't willing to wait a year to begin rebuilding and for some reason feels the need to get this done, then he will cave, and then and only then, does Boston have any leverage. But if Ricketts is willing to call their bluff, Boston will fold like a piece of origami. Boston's choice is clear. Accept something reasonable in exchange for Theo or pay him big bucks for a very uncomfortable year and then let him walk for nothing. I could easily see Josh Byrnes being named GM this year, and next year having Theo be named President if this does happen. I wouldn't be surprised if this is what the plan is now, Theo being named President and hiring Byrnes to be "GM." I'd get behind this. Absolutely. That's why I think Boston holds no leverage. They don't want him back and the Cubs don't have to get him this year.

What Kevin Goldstein fails to understand is that while refusing to let Epstein go gives Boston the appearance of leverage, it is only real leverage if they truly want to keep him. Clearly, they don't. They let Theo interview, and they will be paying Theo 6.5 to 7 million dollars to be a lame duck GM for one more year all after effectively naming Cherington their new GM. Theo would then leave next season, and presumably take the generous offer from the Cubs, while Boston would be out the 6.5 to 7 mil. So long as Ricketts is willing to wait a year to get his man, the Sox hold none, NONE, of the cards at this poker table. PR wise, it's an easy out for the Cubs. We have to wait a year for our "savior" because the Red Sox are being f*#@wads about this. Instead of mortgaging a decent part of the Cubs future, we'll call their bluff. However, this is a PR nightmare for Boston. They are already looking like an organization in disarray after a bad September collapse, firing their manager, leaks about what was going on in the clubhouse, apparently bad mouthing of Francona and Epstein, and then keeping Epstein around for one pointless season at the expense of 6.5 to 7 million bucks. If Ricketts isn't willing to wait a year to begin rebuilding and for some reason feels the need to get this done, then he will cave, and then and only then, does Boston have any leverage. But if Ricketts is willing to call their bluff, Boston will fold like a piece of origami. Boston's choice is clear. Accept something reasonable in exchange for Theo or pay him big bucks for a very uncomfortable year and then let him walk for nothing.

Guess NESN doesn't know rules for trading of recently drafted prospects: I'll be shocked and greatly disappointed in Ricketts if he agrees to give away anything of value in these compensation negotiations. In my view. Boston clearly has very little leverage. Theo clearly wants to come to Chicago. He and the Cubs have already agreed to the numbers. Boston has already announced their new GM. If they're asking too much, Ricketts should simply say, "Okay, keep him. We'll just wait a year until his contract runs out and then he'll come here." Boston's got nothing. Ricketts better realize that and just as importantly be willing to wait a year if he needs to.

I know all the buzz is on Epstein right now with all the press reports out there at the moment, but the Rays losing in the first round of the playoffs again and the serious and seemingly unchangeable budget constraints in Tampa might make Friedman feel like he hit his ceiling with the Rays. He got to the WS in '08 and was decisively beaten by a big payroll team. Might Friedman be suffering from the Billy Beane Blues? Beane was very, very very close to taking the job in Boston when it was offered due to exactly the same kind of frustration. I think Friedman would strongly consider a strong offer to come to Chicago.

Yeah, this is tough. Rough year for Cubs pitching prospects. My first choice is Beliveau. No one else really put up the kind of numbers he did, and consistently, too. 6-2, 1.57, 0.93 WHIP, .192 BAA, 89 K/19 BB over 74.1 innings. If Whitenack can be considered, he could challenge. 7-0, 1.93, 0.94 WHIP, .202 BAA, but only over 60.2 innings.

Per Cubs.com