Outshined_One

http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/funny-pictures-climbing-cat-did-not-make-a-good-decision.jpg

oh man, i want to think you are joking Exactly what part do you think I would be joking about? i still think you're joking. you have to be. It would be an even bigger ripoff than Zambrano for Kazmir.

And there it is officially. So who do we trade with? Do we get the Marlins back in and try and work Hermida into our favor at the same time? I hear they want Brian Roberts. Let's get the Orioles back in our offseason fun!!!

This.

"They drove a dump truck full of money up to my house! I'm not made of stone!"

Except the Braves really can't sit on their hands for a few weeks and wait for this to deal to play out as the free agent pitching market gets picked clean in the next few weeks. Since when has the FA pitching market gotten picked bare before the GM meetings? It may depend on who the Braves value and how much money they have to spend. They might only want AJ Burnett for all we know.

Well, this is some good news. Maybe something between the Cubs and Padres can get done before Thanksgiving after all?

What the hell.

I already knew he sucked. :|

If having a team of Neifi Perezes means winning the WS for the Cubs, I'd be down with it.

Unfortunately, no one is ever fully healthy over the course of a season. Guys go through stretches with pulled muscles, illness, and all sorts of other physical problems which would hinder their performances. I'm unwilling to write off a guy's performance over the course of a year due to injury unless it turns out he was hiding some major injury that would require surgery or a lot of time off in order to heal.

On the bright side, he managed to survive doing that with a horrible defense behind him, and he's moving to a good one. On the negative side, everything else. His K numbers are like Howry. And he's coming to Chicago. You know, to pitch like Howry. Yea, no... And why are we only looking at 2008 numbers? Especially when somebody already showed that his numbers were skewed pretty badly by an approximately 2 week stretch where he forgot where home plate was and when he did find it he got crushed. So we should discount the worst two week stretches of the other three pitchers? I was providing a basic comparison between all of those pitchers. Nothing too in-depth, but enough to give us a picture of how each performed in 2008.

Considering he loves Chicago so much, why wouldn't he sign with the White Sox?

I like Lowe. Why not?

Let's have some fun with numbers! Kevin Gregg in 2008 BB/9: 4.85 K/9: 7.60 HR/9: 0.39 H/9: 6.68 Carlos Marmol in 2008 BB/9: 4.23 K/9: 11.75 HR/9: 1.03 H/9: 4.12 Kerry Wood in 2008 BB/9: 2.44 K/9: 11.40 HR/9: 0.41 H/9: 7.33 Bob Howry in 2008 BB/9: 1.66 K/9: 7.51 HR/9: 1.66 H/9: 11.42 I'm comparing Gregg to those three because they were the three most used relievers by the Cubs last season. While these numbers are not perfect evaluators (H/9 especially), they provide a helpful baseline that supplements a lot of what we saw over the course of last season. For example, it should surprise no one that Wood and Marmol struck out batters at an unholy rate last season. Gregg's best attribute is the ability to keep the ball in the park. He also doesn't give up a whole lot of hits. However, he has a worse problem with walks than Marmol. Unlike Marmol, he doesn't strike guys out. Essentially, I'm seeing a guy who gets himself into jams by giving up a bunch of walks, but gets out of them through putting the ball into play rather than through striking guys out. That's a bit worrying. My stance on the trade is this. I've liked Ceda since the Cubs got him in the Todd Walker trade, but I've also realized that the guy has a bit of an injury history and may not be able to harness his command and control effectively. I'm a bit sad to see him go, but he's expendable. I'm more upset that we actually acquired Gregg. I don't see a whole lot to like.

*Golf clap*

I kind of liked the pitcher the Yankees gave up (Marquez) a few years ago, but his numbers have been pretty underwhelming since then.

That used to be the case, but things have really been shifting around in the past few years for whatever reason. When you look at the MLB draft and see the number of college relievers who have been selected in the first and second rounds and given 7 figure bonuses, it becomes clear that teams are placing more value on relief pitchers. You see a lot of top organizations doing this, to boot. I'd rather have an ace than a shut-down closer in my system, but both are valuable commodities in the trade market.

Jesse Rogers is a sensationalist hack. That phrase has been thrown around quite often lately. Sadly, I think it's quite applicable to most sports writers out there today.

Yes...if true, this source would know what he was talking about. HE? You just cut the number of potential sources in half you fool. Or its an inherant sexual bias... Raisin's sexist? I'm telling his girlfriend on him!

Those numbers are not very valuable at the major league level. Those numbers are absolutely horrible to use in evaluating prospects. You're dealing with significantly worse defenses, a lot more restraints on pitchers (smaller pitch counts, how many pitches a guy can and cannot throw in an outing, the kinds of pitches a guy is allowed to throw in a outing, etc.), smaller parks, worse offenses, and worse bullpens. No one will argue if you're worried about the number of walks and flyballs he gives up. But the numbers you mentioned should be ignored for all minor league pitchers.

*Gazes into crystal ball* I see the image of a pitcher...his name is Tommy John. His arm is in a sling. He does not look pleased.

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha *Deep breath* hahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!

It's been a big question for him for quite some time. The dude is huge.

One wonders if Ceda was in the offer. Considering the Padres gave him up in the first place in exchange for Todd Walker, something tells me they probably didn't want him back. But, considering their history of strong relief pitching, they might be interested in Gregg. :-k