The signing of Fujikawa has the potential to be a huge game changer for the Cubs next year. The only problem is that they would need to keep Marmol for this to happen.
Imagine Russell and Camp sharing the 7th, Marmol holding fort in the 8th and Fujikawa closing. I think this would be a really solid bullpen. This would be a bullpen that I could trust, but if Marmol gets traded, it's significantly weakened.
Having a solid 8th inning guy is becoming more and more important to the point that to be a contender, a team needs to have a closer-caliber type guy, or even an actual closer, working setup. Problem is, I think it's a real long shot the Cubbies keep Marmol. If they have the opportunity to unload his salary and get a prospect in return, there's no way they won't jump at it.
But, on the positive note, Madson signing with the Angels possibly knocks out the team that already has shown interest in taking Marmol.
Showing posts with label Rebuilding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rebuilding. Show all posts
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
2013 Preview
Young talent can and should be able to compete, and with valuable Major League experience under their belts this year, many of the young guys should be better in 2013.
So will the Cubs repeat as a 100 loss team or will they compete?
It depends on the direction they take in the off-season. Soriano's production will be hard to replace if they trade him for minor league talent. Ditto with Garza. These two players will be key to the Cubbies having at least a .500 season. So, for the sake of this post, I'll assume they keep these two.
1st Base: Rizzo is the future of the Cubs at 1st and a future All-Star. With him there and improving, we can win.
2nd Base: Very few are as good as Barney defensively, and if he can improve his batting average to the high .280's, I think we have a winner there too.
3rd Base: Valbuena and Vitters look to platoon if nothing is done here. Hopefully they don't intend on resigning Ian Stewart. 3rd base is definitely looking weak, but if either of those guys can improve a little and hold the fort, we'd have a solid #8 hitter.
SS: Castro's defense will improve, I'm not worried. Other than that, we have a winner here too.
Infield: So, with the exception of third base, we have seen (and I love) the Cubbies of the future. These are all players I could easily see taking the team to the playoffs in the next couple of years. But now if only the rest of the positions looked as good.
OF: Brett Jackson is the only "future of the Cubs" we got a look at this year, and I wasn't impressed. Hopefully with some Major League experience and some winter ball, he'll improve. A lot is riding on this guy. Soriano can be the veteran presence the team needs right now, leading the Cubs by example and providing a fearsome presence in the lineup. I'm still not sold on DeJesus and I'd rather see LaHair get more time in right field.
C: The jury's still out on our catchers and I want to see more of them before I form an opinion, but right now, they look to be solid #6 or #7 hitters.
P: I'm excited about Samardzija. He's our Strasburg or Medlin, but not as good. Hopefully he can get there. I'm a fan of Garza, but I really feel like he's a low #2/high #3 starter at best. Not someone I'd build a rotation around. There's nothing else to be excited about. Travis Wood looks to be a solid #5 starter, but who gets excited about a #5 starter. Chris Volstad is arbitration eligible, and I hope beyond all hope we don't give this guy a penny.
Bullpen: I'd like to keep Jeff Russell as our 7th inning guy and blow up the rest of the bullpen.
Off-season Hopes: If we open 2013 with the same batters, plus or minus a few bench guys, I'd be happy. I'm happy, because that meant we focused our off-season on pitching. Two new starters to go behind Samardzija and Garza and ahead of Wood. Two or three new bullpen additions also look good. Give me this team and I have hopes of contending. Maybe we don't make the playoffs just yet, but were up there contending for most of the year. The young guys are improving and learning to win. The front office is now ready to make a big play in the free agent market and sign the biggest pitcher on the market for the 2014 season. They also sign the biggest closer on the market for the 2014 season.
So will the Cubs repeat as a 100 loss team or will they compete?
It depends on the direction they take in the off-season. Soriano's production will be hard to replace if they trade him for minor league talent. Ditto with Garza. These two players will be key to the Cubbies having at least a .500 season. So, for the sake of this post, I'll assume they keep these two.
1st Base: Rizzo is the future of the Cubs at 1st and a future All-Star. With him there and improving, we can win.
2nd Base: Very few are as good as Barney defensively, and if he can improve his batting average to the high .280's, I think we have a winner there too.
3rd Base: Valbuena and Vitters look to platoon if nothing is done here. Hopefully they don't intend on resigning Ian Stewart. 3rd base is definitely looking weak, but if either of those guys can improve a little and hold the fort, we'd have a solid #8 hitter.
SS: Castro's defense will improve, I'm not worried. Other than that, we have a winner here too.
Infield: So, with the exception of third base, we have seen (and I love) the Cubbies of the future. These are all players I could easily see taking the team to the playoffs in the next couple of years. But now if only the rest of the positions looked as good.
OF: Brett Jackson is the only "future of the Cubs" we got a look at this year, and I wasn't impressed. Hopefully with some Major League experience and some winter ball, he'll improve. A lot is riding on this guy. Soriano can be the veteran presence the team needs right now, leading the Cubs by example and providing a fearsome presence in the lineup. I'm still not sold on DeJesus and I'd rather see LaHair get more time in right field.
C: The jury's still out on our catchers and I want to see more of them before I form an opinion, but right now, they look to be solid #6 or #7 hitters.
P: I'm excited about Samardzija. He's our Strasburg or Medlin, but not as good. Hopefully he can get there. I'm a fan of Garza, but I really feel like he's a low #2/high #3 starter at best. Not someone I'd build a rotation around. There's nothing else to be excited about. Travis Wood looks to be a solid #5 starter, but who gets excited about a #5 starter. Chris Volstad is arbitration eligible, and I hope beyond all hope we don't give this guy a penny.
Bullpen: I'd like to keep Jeff Russell as our 7th inning guy and blow up the rest of the bullpen.
Off-season Hopes: If we open 2013 with the same batters, plus or minus a few bench guys, I'd be happy. I'm happy, because that meant we focused our off-season on pitching. Two new starters to go behind Samardzija and Garza and ahead of Wood. Two or three new bullpen additions also look good. Give me this team and I have hopes of contending. Maybe we don't make the playoffs just yet, but were up there contending for most of the year. The young guys are improving and learning to win. The front office is now ready to make a big play in the free agent market and sign the biggest pitcher on the market for the 2014 season. They also sign the biggest closer on the market for the 2014 season.
Friday, June 8, 2012
Rebuilding
Before the season began, we had Soriano locked up in Left Field, Byrd locked up in Center and an opening in Right. So we're rebuilding right? As part of the rebuilding process, the decision was made to bring in DeJesus for Right Field. And to bring him in, we locked up that position for two years. Yes, as a rebuilding team, we now had all three outfield positions locked up for the foreseeable future. It just didn't make any sense to me. If we're truly rebuilding, then why not leave that position open to give valuable major league experience to the young guys?
Well, since then, we were able to unload Byrd, finally opening up an outfield spot, but I'm still bothered by DeJesus. Why did we sign him for two years? Why? Obviously, any casual fan would come to the quick conclusion to move LaHair to Right Field and bring up Rizzo for First. But we can't do that because we have DeJesus locked and loaded and camping out in Right.
I've been told that maybe locking up DeJesus for two years might be a good strategy. If he returns to potential, then the Cubs have a good player who is valued higher than he's paid. Trade bait. Maybe the Cubs don't want to bring up Rizzo because of some sort of Major League Clock. I guess I understand these things, but I still don't buy it. Screw the clock and screw trade bait. Chicago is not Tampa Bay. We don't need to take four years to rebuild. We can do it by next year.
I say lets go all in with the rebuilding. Trade Dempster now. Trade Soriano and eat whatever amount of money we have to. Trade Soto. Get rid of DeJesus and Stewart. Hell, while we're at it, why not trade Garza as well. Lets get some almost major league ready players in return, and then let them all play. We're going to lose anyway, so why not do it in an exciting way.
Exciting? Yup. It's a lot more exciting seeing the future fail than the past. I'd rather watch the team that will be good next year struggle than watch this batch of aging veterans struggle. Yes, I know Stewart and DeJesus aren't exactly aging veterans, but they sure do look like it.
Well, since then, we were able to unload Byrd, finally opening up an outfield spot, but I'm still bothered by DeJesus. Why did we sign him for two years? Why? Obviously, any casual fan would come to the quick conclusion to move LaHair to Right Field and bring up Rizzo for First. But we can't do that because we have DeJesus locked and loaded and camping out in Right.
I've been told that maybe locking up DeJesus for two years might be a good strategy. If he returns to potential, then the Cubs have a good player who is valued higher than he's paid. Trade bait. Maybe the Cubs don't want to bring up Rizzo because of some sort of Major League Clock. I guess I understand these things, but I still don't buy it. Screw the clock and screw trade bait. Chicago is not Tampa Bay. We don't need to take four years to rebuild. We can do it by next year.
I say lets go all in with the rebuilding. Trade Dempster now. Trade Soriano and eat whatever amount of money we have to. Trade Soto. Get rid of DeJesus and Stewart. Hell, while we're at it, why not trade Garza as well. Lets get some almost major league ready players in return, and then let them all play. We're going to lose anyway, so why not do it in an exciting way.
Exciting? Yup. It's a lot more exciting seeing the future fail than the past. I'd rather watch the team that will be good next year struggle than watch this batch of aging veterans struggle. Yes, I know Stewart and DeJesus aren't exactly aging veterans, but they sure do look like it.
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