Beer Kaese

Edwin Jackson is getting $13 million a year through the 2016 season. According to Fangraphs he's been worth the following: 2009: $16.4 million 2010: $13.9 million 2011: $16.1 million 2012: $10.1 million 2013 (so far): $3.8 million I don't have a problem with the contract. It was necessary to spend on a dependable arm for the next three years. (My only issue is the 4th year.) Let's look at his recent history. He was traded from Arizona to Detroit . . . Detroit let him walk and he signed with Chicago . . . Chicago let him walk and he signed with Washington . . . and Washington let him walk. It is not a contract that will bite the team but teams in search of a title didn't find him worth keeping.

Travis Wood hands down. When the Jedi arrived Z was cancer and Dempster was old. No real talent in the system (see 2011). You gotta have pitching, it's why we over spent on Jackson.

I am concerned. He looks more and more like a guy who hits on the back half of a quality lineup. I expected an improved walk rate before improved power.

A high ceiling raw young prospect is a sandwich pick that looks good after a year. If we were able to get that we'd add to the quality in Kane County.

I agree. DeJesus has a maximum trade value this year because of the team option for next year. The club will not contend during the contract period so he must be converted to the maximum future impact. A team trading for a vet like DeJesus for a couple seasons is not inclined to trade top prospects or near major league ready players because they need those known quantities, that's why they are acquiring veteran talent. The 34th pick is about as maximum impact as DeJesus is worth.

I've always wondered where the phrase "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" came from. I've always assumed it meant that a major league baseball player was worth two minor league prospects. I KNOW most of the prospects will flame out or be traded for known value. The more prospects we have . . . the more working capital we have . . . the faster we get good.

Maybe I'm being practical, maybe I don't follow the minors closely enough or maybe it's too early in the building process but all I want to see in the minors this year is players advance. I want to see guys move from low A to high A, from high A to AA, from AA to Chicago in September and from AAA to Chicago in June and July. It's all about growth of capital. I want more valuable assets.

I'm certainly excited to watch and see how the 162 regular season games unfold, and that's more than I was able to say the past few winters. If when the Summer rolls around we're competing, and in position to make moves to make us better, then it will be more exciting. That's how I used to view the baseball season as a kid. I will be disappointed if we are buyers. We must be sellers . . . one more year.

I'm with you on this one. This team is younger and cheaper and the farm has way flippin' more talent than what Jim Hendry rolled out in April of 2011. Maybe this time the Tribune won't fire Dallas Green before the talent makes it to the majors. I'm jacked up on the direction and I can't wait to see it play out over the next couple seasons.

We are more aggressive than I anticipated, which is fine because we have cash. Adding Jackson could get us to 81 wins. That, when combined with the advancing youth, makes us an attractive destination for free agents next year. We are going to get good fast, stop thinking like we are a small market team.

Shark, Wood and Feldman are healthy and in the mix. Garza and Baker are returning from injury and should start when ready. We need one more who is healthy and should start . . . it's likely someone passed over by contenders but there is an outside chance it's as a result of a trade. My initial opinion was that the Cubs would sign two but I have adopted the better argument that they would add three starting pitching candidates. Go Cubweiser!

Would love, love, love to see that. As a fifty year old guy, I'm done with old marginal crap.

It will be Stewart to start. If the broken bone in his hand had nothing to do with diminished production he might not last the season . . . on the roster.

If my sig wasn't the best ever I would replace it with this . . . I am all in on davell's take.

I hear where you're coming from bearjuice but the team needed to be blown up. This year is a little different in that, while there are a few more players likely to be moved (Garza, Marmol, Soriano and DeJesus), there are more holes in the starting rotation than last year so it's likely they add a guy to a 2 or 3 year deal and add at least two starting pitchers. They will need to spend money on free agents to field a team. They won't be a lot better but I expect them to finish better.

I've listened to people for more than twenty years who told me that Cubs fans over rate their prospects. It wasn't until the internet that I actually saw it. Add one solid pitcher. If a deal too good to be true materializes, do it. Tread water in 13. You have to write off 13 to give the system one year of growth. Excuse my language but no one cares about Arizona and Idaho. No one is going to trade value for anything that happened in Arizona or Idaho.

My plan adds a reliable arm and evaluates the top end of the farm. And, if there is enough to work with, I'll throw money at a position player and two pitchers in 2014 and ... you are still not happy? You're nuts.

I don't follow the Cubs as closely as many of you but here's my 2013 plan. I'll start with my projected opening day lineup: CF DeJesus RF Sappelt 1B Rizzo LF Soriano SS Castro 3B Stewart C Castillo 2B Barney I'll begin in the outfield. Soriano is too productive to give away and isn't blocking any young talent so he stays, for now. DeJesus has wicked L/R splits, can play all three outfield spots and is in the final year of a reasonable contract. Jackson starts in AAA and DeJesus is moved at the deadline to a contender who needs more offense against right handed pitching, almost the easiest trade to make. Sappelt has been impressive enough that I want to keep a corner outfield spot open. I would look to free agency to fill the backup spots. I know some will hate this idea but I like Reed Johnson. I would platoon him with DeJesus in center and have all three outfield positions backed up with one guy. This allows me to keep Campana in AAA and I have three able center fielders so Jackson can work on his mechanics. For the fifth outfielder, any guy with some power works and the ability right is a bonus. The infield is almost brain dead simple. I believe that it's possible that the broken bone in Stewart's hand might explain why his offensive production fell off and the Cubs owe it to themselves to give Stewart the opportunity. If it works, the Cubs are out of AAAA and back into the major leagues. Castro. I would like to see competition at second but if that lineup (Sappelt and Stewart) is productive then Barney is good enough for now. Rizzo. Castillo looks good but having Clevenger around can't hurt. As for the bench, with Clevenger around you've covered the plate and corners. Barney can play short so a player who can play second or second and third is all that is essential. My eleven position plays are: Soriano, DeJesus, Sappelt, Johnson, Stewart, Castro, Barney, Rizzo, Castillo, Clevenger and a second baseman who can play third. I really don't care who the last two players are, aside from an outfield bat and not wasting money or giving out multi-year contracts. The pitching staff is impossible to predict as this is where the Cubs should spend some cash. I can live with Samardzija, Garza and Wood but there isn't anything out of the rest that I would expect to be major league ready before the middle of next season. If the Cubs are intent on moving Garza before the deadline, they should have a player ready in AAA. I would sign two starting pitchers. The first would get a three or four year contract. He's only a middle of the rotation guy but young enough that it's not unreasonable to expect we've locked him up for his peak seasons. The other guy can be anything short term. As for the bullpen, who knows. Moving on to 2014 and a team with a legitimate chance to contend day one. Soriano may or may not be with the team at the end of the 2013 season but I can't see why we'd trade a guy who is productive, not a malcontent, isn't going to bring a lot in return, isn't blocking anyone and gets easier to trade with each passing day. I can't believe I'm saying it but it wouldn't bother me if he played out his contract. That said, if Sappelt rips it up and we can get a youngish stud corner outfielder, then I trade without hesitation no matter the cost or the return. Also, if my plan fails but Soriano is productive, he's a nice trade chip before the 2014 deadline. Center is a different matter. My plan insures Jackson gets time to work before he's called up but if he can't be productive then we'll need to sign a guy for a season or two. I'm comfortable with Sappelt manning one of the corner spots. I will concede small sample size, weak competition and no scouting reports. I'm going with my gut and keeping a corner outfield spot open for him to seize next spring. The infield is in decent shape. I feel comfortable with Castro and Rizzo as two quality pieces to a contending puzzle. I can live with a cheap Barney if we get production elsewhere. I like what I've seen from Castillo. The hot corner is key. If the broken bone was the issue and Stewart is back to the player he was prior to the injury it's huge. I'm not suggesting he's great or that he would settle in at third long term, only that he would be an asset. Now, setting aside center for the moment, if everything else lives up to my expectations I am still looking at corner outfield, third and second as positions where I can improve my team in 2014 and beyond. Pitching is another matter. I'm assuming Samardzija is good enough to be the second or third best starting pitcher on a contender, in 2014. The John Doe character is a three or four. Wood and whoever fills Garza's role are fours or fives. I also assume there will be a couple of guys as good those two in spring training. That means, at worst, I have the middle and back of the rotation set with major league ready pitching in AAA. For the 2014 season I do what ever it takes, if it's a pile or cash or a pile of prospects it doesn't matter, I get a top of the rotation pitcher. And I would not shy away from adding a top quality older pitcher on an expensive but much shorter deal as well. I know some believe I lack the vision or creativity to build a contender for next year. I believe I am being prudent. I want to see Sappelt, Castillo, Stewart and Jackson and if necessary show me Vitters and Clevenger too. I want to see Samardzija, Wood, and the pitcher we are able to sign to a multi-year deal. Show me a couple farm kids able to pitch effectively in the majors. If I see enough to justify committing big money long term in 2014 to a legitimate and proven top of the rotation guy, even if it costs top prospects, I do it. If all these guys who are unproven (or unknown) do not justify my faith then trading top prospects now is suicidal and committing massive cash long term to a top shelf player who makes almost no difference in the standings despite a Cy Young type performance is a massive waste of cash. Garza and the Cubs contending in June are the wildcards.

Three hundred and eighty-nine posts .. BOO YEA! I'm just padding my total, trying to get to 400 in 10 years. Actually, I'm thrilled to see posts that see what I see. It won't be pretty or easy but 14 or 15 could see a good young team with a stacked farm. And let's face it. If you want a team that can take a good long run at a title, you need a good team and a good farm.

When the Cubs traded for Garza, they were coming off a 75-87 season, had the 15th highest payroll in MLB (though I can't recall if they had any big off-payroll expenditures like traded players or something), and were 16th in the BA organizational rankings even after the trade. The Cubs had a 140mil dollar payroll. I think they traded Lee and Lilly, lots of cash. The point is the team was getting older and declining. I know some thought that resigning Ramirez, and signing CJ Wilson and Fielder was the way to go but I believed they needed to blow it up. At some point you have to concede you can't complete and you need trade payroll and build the farm. That is exactly what happened this year.

What is not being said is that the Cubs had one of the highest payrolls, worst records and worst farm systems in all of baseball. Hendry doubled down by trading a third of the farm assets for Garza and gave Pena 10 mil. There was no option but to cut payroll and build the farm for assets to trade and money to spend. I'm excited about the Cubs for the first time in 3 years.

There are themes that have emerged from this thread. 1) The minor league talent in the system is too far down to generate major value. 2) We ain't got no pitching. Like it or not 2013 is another lost year. If I were the GM, I'd add some arms passed over by the contenders and trade them later to the contenders.

In my opinion, you are clueless.

I hope you're right. There are two holes in the rotation, such as it is, so adding two starters works for me.

Because it is Important. lol! Your posts in this thread are so stupid that my head hurts.