I don't really think this disproves anything. Nobody is going to come out and say that there's truth to this stuff. Not in this organization. You just pretty much have to choose who to believe.
Zaidman on Score saying he talked to Maynard... Maynard said that the Score has been pretty entertaining the last few days... Zaidman asked him if what was being said was accurate... Maynard said that he wouldn't say that, but it's been entertaining... also added that he was on the Giants and they were never under .500 and that he saw far worse [expletive] on the Giants between teammates back then than what's being talked about with the Bears right now.
Since we're talking probabilities... what is the chance that those supplemental picks would have amounted to anything worth a damn? That certainly comes into play in the risk vs. reward conversation.
We'd have a very bad reliever on our team making $8+M right now? He's not very bad, but Wood cost a hell of a lot more than Miles and Gathright did this season. He's been very bad... Fair enough, though, as that doesn't mean he is very bad.
Plus there's the very real possibility (actually, likelihood) that Hendry knows a lot more about Woody's shoulder than we do. It might've been an even bigger risk than we think. It's fun winning by a lot of runs so we can argue about stupid crap.
Can people set aside the player-crushes and look at this realistically for a second? Realistically it's ridiculous to pretend not offering arbitration was a good idea. If he accepts, we have a good reliever. If he doesn't, we get 2 draft picks. The downside is where? A good reliever with an injury history as long as the Bible... Not to mention the the fact that it's just a bad appropriation of resources to pay a closer 8-10 million dollars.
And that's the same Kerry Wood love bias that was in everyone's brains last fall. I love him, but a relief pitcher with his injury history and risk (the miraculous recovery in 07) isn't a good investment.
You absolutely no clue how much Wood would have made if he accepted, do you? This. He was looking for and got a multi year deal. Why are people assuming he would accept arbitration? Given the market conditions and his apparent love for the team it was a pretty real risk.