CubsWin

I think it's less an issue of him getting stretched out to be able to start than it is an issue of the number of IP he's had in any given year. He's probably not going to be able to go more than 150-160 inning this year as a starter just because he's been so limited in his total IP in previous years. That's the big reason everybody was so pissed he got moved to the pen last year, it really stunted his potential development to be used as a starter this year without spending a bunch more time in the minors. I know. I was pissed too. But goony is making the argument that because he's not pitching winter ball somewhere that it will hurt his ability to be ready to be a starter somehow and I'm asking him how. II'm aware of his innings ceiling. I brought it up earlier on this page. If he can go 150 innings, that would be 25 starts of 6 innings each. I'd take that so long as he's productive and pitching like he did in his 9 starts last season.

Archer and McNutt were 21 and 20, respectively, last season. That's pretty young. They each put up pretty incredible numbers last season at a very young age. You can't possibly know what they are going to do over the next 6-7 seasons. Grienke is 27. We do know what he did over the last 6-7 years. Some good, some great, some not so good. You might be right that Archer and McNutt will never be as good as Grienke is now. There's a chance you're wrong. Obviously, I'd take that chance if it were a straight up one-for-one deal to get Grienke, but it's likely going to take 3 or four top prospects to get him and I'd rather sit back and see what Cashner, Archer and McNutt can do along with Brett Jackson and Hak-Ju Lee. I disagree simply because Grienke is a top pitcher at 27 and should be very good for quite a few more years (assuming we can re-sign him). Let them pick from 3-5 players from a list of Archer/McNutt (one of them), Gorzelanny, Mateo, Russell, Berg, Coleman, Maine, Stevens, Castillo/Chirinos, Guyer, Vitters, Adduci, Snider, Fuld, etc. There are a few players on that list that are pretty good prospects, but none that are irreplacable. But at what price financially? If Archer, McNutt and Cashner (or one of their other prospects) can be 3 of the 5 starters for the Cubs the next several seasons, think of the money that will be available to sign someone like Pujols for example. But if we keep trading our young prospects for older more expensive ones, we never get that window.

Archer and McNutt were 21 and 20, respectively, last season. That's pretty young. They each put up pretty incredible numbers last season at a very young age. You can't possibly know what they are going to do over the next 6-7 seasons. Grienke is 27. We do know what he did over the last 6-7 years. Some good, some great, some not so good. You might be right that Archer and McNutt will never be as good as Grienke is now. There's a chance you're wrong. Obviously, I'd take that chance if it were a straight up one-for-one deal to get Grienke, but it's likely going to take 3 or four top prospects to get him and I'd rather sit back and see what Cashner, Archer and McNutt can do along with Brett Jackson and Hak-Ju Lee.

Signing Greinke will mortgage the future. I'd rather get the club exclusive years of Cashner, McNutt and Archer instead of selling them for a 86 win season. What Guancous said.

I don't know how he's throwing (I don't think he's pitching in any Winter leagues this year), but he is a non-roster invitee to spring training. Link

If the choices are the Rangers, Cubs and Nationals, and Webb isn't about the money, then it's probably the Rangers, unless with the loss of Lee, Webb considers the Cubs roster better. As much as I would like Webb to sign an incentive-laden deal with the Cubs, I just can't see it happening.

Mmmmm...D'Agostino's. I used to live a few blocks away from D'Agostino's. Good pizza. Among other things. It seems oddly fitting that Woody should offer a sweetheart deal to return to the Cubs in such a Wrigleyville family favorite.

Why is that? He is capable of pitching two innings right now. That is what every pitcher starts off with in spring training and they build from there. So it's not a matter of being stretched out in time. "Waiting until late December" doesn't impact his ability to start at all. What will limit him is the fact that he only pitched 111 innings last season. To take him much beyond 150 this season would be dangerous. That would be 30 starts of 5 innings each or 25 starts of 6 innings each. If Cashner averaged 6 innings per start this season and starts 25 times, I'd be thrilled. It is a matter of being stretched out in time. He made 9 starts last year. He had 24 the year before and he has always struggled to go past 5 innings in the first place. Spring training isn't enough time to stretch out a pitcher so that he can throw 90 pitches? I watch guys do it every year. Why would it be different for Cashner? Cashner has not "always struggled to go past 5 innings". In his first full season ('09), he was on a strict pitch count so he got this reputation for not being able to go more than 5. But last season, as you pointed out, he made 9 starts before being converted into a reliever. In those 9 starts, he pitched less than 5 innings once (4 1/3) and that was his first of the season. After that first start he went 6, 7, 7, 6, 5.2 in AA and 6, 6 and 7 in AAA.

Why is that? He is capable of pitching two innings right now. That is what every pitcher starts off with in spring training and they build from there. So it's not a matter of being stretched out in time. "Waiting until late December" doesn't impact his ability to start at all. What will limit him is the fact that he only pitched 111 innings last season. To take him much beyond 150 this season would be dangerous. That would be 30 starts of 5 innings each or 25 starts of 6 innings each. If Cashner averaged 6 innings per start this season and starts 25 times, I'd be thrilled. It is a matter of being stretched out in time. He made 9 starts last year. He had 24 the year before and he has always struggled to go past 5 innings in the first place. Spring training isn't enough time to stretch out a pitcher so that he can throw 90 pitches? I watch guys do it every year. Why would it be different for Cashner?

I'm pretty sure I see Webb as either ace or 2 starter quality or broken down and a waste of money. I find it hard to see a scenario where he settles into a 4th starter spot and pitches like one. 2007 Webb wouldn't be a 4th starter on the Phillies. I have a feeling this is not going to happen, I believe Cash goes to the rotation or the Cubs make a trade. I see the Cubs getting nixed by someone willing to offer more guarranteed. This is my feeling as well.

Grabow's only getting triple the amount that Wood's getting... This is awesome news. Not only do we get Kerry back, but at that price? I don't know who could be upset about that. There's a least one fan who thinks that Hendry paid Kerry a fan favorite premium of a million dollars and that his true market value is actually $500,000. I guess no matter what Hendry does, he's overpaying... :roll:

Awesome job, Jim. But more importantly and accurately, thank you Kerry.

Why is that? He is capable of pitching two innings right now. That is what every pitcher starts off with in spring training and they build from there. So it's not a matter of being stretched out in time. "Waiting until late December" doesn't impact his ability to start at all. What will limit him is the fact that he only pitched 111 innings last season. To take him much beyond 150 this season would be dangerous. That would be 30 starts of 5 innings each or 25 starts of 6 innings each. If Cashner averaged 6 innings per start this season and starts 25 times, I'd be thrilled.

Which in turn pushes him to the bullpen for the rest of his career because "he doesn't have the stamina to be a starter." And why the [expletive] is he not pitching somewhere right now? I'm sure the reason is that the Cubs suck and their management are idiots. They would have to be to not understand that if you only have "20-something starts of 5 inning ball" then the reason must be that you don't have the stamina. I don't think Hendry could ascertain any other possible reasons or understand the increased value of Cashner as a starter. He's just that dumb.

I looked for it. Couldn't find it. If someone can, please combine them.

With the news of Kerry Wood's imminent signing, the roster for the upcoming season is starting to come into focus. And there are some interesting possibilities. If the Cubs do sign Wood, that increases the chances of Cashner being moved into the rotation. The starting 8 position players are seemingly set with Soto, Pena, DeWitt, Castro, Ramirez, Soriano, Byrd and Colvin/Fukudome. The rotation is totally up in the air. There have been reports of the Yankees being interested in trading for Zambrano, but it's just talk at this point and I don't think it is very likely to happen. That said, there are several possible configurations for the rotation. The Cubs lack a true #1. Z has the ceiling for it, but his likelihood of reaching it isn't great. But let's put Zambrano at the top of the rotation followed by Dempster. After that, it's anybody's guess at this point with Wells, Gorzelanny, Silva, Cashner, Coleman, Samardzija, Jay Jackson and Archer the main possibles. Wells, Gorz and Cash at the back end would be interesting and potentially effective. This is going to be an interesting competition to follow this spring. Marmol, Wood and Marshall could be a formidable top three for the pen with Grabow as the 4th (assuming he's healthy and effective) and much of the rest of the pen being populated by the losers in the rotation race. If the Cubs and Rangers pull the trigger on the Chris Davis & Darren O'Day for Chirinos & (insert minor league pitcher here) deal, O'Day would really make this a deep relieving corps. An interesting dark horse to make the pen out of spring training is Chris Carpenter. The bench will be made up of Fukudome/Colvin and Baker with the last 3 spots up for grabs. Darwin Barney is the favorite to win the utility infielder spot. I'm hoping Castillo or Chirinos wins out over Hill. Chris Davis from Texas would fit in nicely in the final spot. Other possibilities include Marquez Smith, Brandon Guyer and a number of other FAs yet to be signed.

Quade led off with DeWitt a lot after taking over. When he sat DeWitt, he led off with Baker. Maybe the addition of Pena changes things, but I don't see any reason why Quade would do things differently at the top of the order. I would. I subscribe to the get your best hitters the most ABs thinking, but apparently he doesn't. With Fukudome: Castro Fukudome Ramirez Pena Soto Soriano Byrd DeWitt With Colvin: Castro Soto Ramirez Pena Soriano Colvin Byrd DeWitt What will probably happen: DeWitt Castro Ramirez Pena Soriano Byrd Soto Colvin

I agree. If it's true that the Yankees are desperate, then the Cubs have the upper hand. I doubt that they are. Motivated, perhaps. Interested. But not desperate. At this point, I would want two very good prospects in return for Z. Cano will be manning 2B for the forseeable future so including David Adams in a deal should be within the realm of possibility. Banuelos would almost certainly cause them to balk, but someone like Adam Warren might be possible and perhaps a better return than someone like Brackman. Would Adams and Warren with maybe a young, Low-A or short season prospect like a Gary Sanchez or J.R. Murphy be enough to do the deal right now? I think it would be for me. Question is, how motivated are the Yankees and how much money would the Cubs need to eat...

The most teasing fact about this whole Pujols possibility is that the two richest teams in the league already have very expensive, excellent and not over-the-hill first basemen. The Angels would put up a fight, but there really isn't a lot of competition for him assuming it is accurate that the Yank-mes and the Red Sox wouldn't join the fray.

Mets took Morla. 3 guesses who took Lambert, and the 1st 2 dont count. Let's see...where do all former Cubs seem to wind up these days? Hmmm....starts with a 'B', ends with an 'E', and in the middle is 'altimor'.

Enjoy your season tickets in the upper, upper deck, Ron.

This site also had a 3-way trade rumor where the Cubs would get Jacoby and Bucholz.. Not sure how much I would even believe this. Believe? No. Hope? That's what we Cubs fans do...

Stay tuned.

I wonder if Jaramillo is recommending him after having worked with him in Texas...

Gordon could be ready to succeed at the major league level. But he'll also be 27 on opening day as will Kila Ka'aihue. How would Lars Anderson compare as a long term prospect at first? He'll be 23 all season next year and is blocked by Adrian Gonzalez now. Anderson might not be ready for the majors next season, but he could be a better long term answer. Signing Pena to a one-year deal and trading for Anderson makes more sense to me assuming Anderson can be had for an agreeable price.