The Lazy Blogger’s Offseason Improvement Thread: The Starting Rotation
You know the drill. Who goes? Who stays? Who would have thought that Chewbacca was a lefty?
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BigFlax
PenFoe
StPatrick
CT
CactusMcHarris
Zambrano stays.
Hopefully Hill gets better and becomes the No. 2.
Lilly is a solid No. 3 and not much more. But that’s fine.
Marquis, Trachsel and Marshall are inconsistent enough or garbage enough that I really hope to not see them back in the rotation next year.
There’s Prior and Guzman from the infirmary and I’m not excited about either one of them, nor will I ever be again. Happy, pleased, surprised – hopefully – but not excited.
There is less than nothing available through FA.
There is Kevin Hart, Sean Gallagher, Kerry Wood and Dempster who could be stretched out.
My choice, given what’s here:
1. Z
2. Hill
3. Lilly
4. Hart
5. Dempster
Of course, this blows.
Guzman had reconstructive elbow surgery towards the end of 2007. I’m sure that puts him out for 2008, and probably for good.
Why is Frodo standing next to him with yellow driving gloves on?
Here is my crazy trade scenario. Offer Felix Pie and Jason Marquis for Johan Santana. They need a CF for the future, and will need another inexpensive arm since they won’t be able to resign Santana. They will prob ask for me, and I am confortable throwing Murton or Cedeno in the trade. Imagine a rotation with:
1: Santana
2: Big Z
3: Lilly
4: Hill
5: Hart/ Marshall/ ?
I think that is an offer the Twins would HAVE to listen to. Pie is in an all time high now, and I really don’t think he will be able to keep it up with his playing, unfortunately. Everyone wins. Come Jim Hendry, pull the trigger!
Henrique, I love the idea of getting Santana, but it will take SO MUCH MORE than Pie and Marquis to get him. Quite honestly, I don’t think the Cubs have enough players in their system to even put together a package that the Twins won’t laugh at.
Maybe starting with Hill, Pie, and Murton keeps Hendry from getting hung up on. Anything less than that, though, and the Twins would be nuts.
Pex, I like Hart in the rotation, and I actually think there’s a decent chance that it’ll happen.
TDubbs, we missed you.
It would nice to have another power pitcher, but as we stack up now, we are ok
If the Cubs can package up one of Marshall/Gallagher/Hart with , say Patterson/Hoffpair/Kroeger/Holliman and net an upgrade in CF that would be optimal. I would hope Gallagher/Hart work on a good sinker over the off-season. I would think both Marshall/Holliman/Veal are expendable with Lilly and Hill already in the rotaion
Z
Hill
Marquis
Lilly
Marshall/Hart/Gallagher/Prior
I hope that trade was a joke. Or you’re super space crazy.
Z
Lilly
Hill
Marquis
Hart
Then, use the early off days to make the rotation more like:
Lilly
Z
Hill
Marquis
Hart
to split up the lefties.
Then, move Marshall+some AA dude for Renteria.
Zambrano
Lilly
Hill
Marquis
Hart
I definitely DO NOT want Maquis to be in the rotation, but we’ve got to be realistic. He probably isn’t going anywhere. If by some miracle we could unload him, then I’d like to see Gallagher in the rotation, possibly. Of course I’d LIKE to see Prior, but we know that won’t happen. There’s really nothing available on the FA market, especially after a shitty pitcher like Joel Pineiro locks up a 2 year, $13 million contract for being a shitty pitcher. What a retarded contract. That means Kyle Lohse is going to be making like $8 million/year.
Kind of OT in regards to Santana, when are the Twins supposed to build their open-air stadium?? Is that still happening??
I guess anything is an upgrade compared to the steaming pile of garbage they are currently in.
Well, I feel they might listen to a package with Pie, Marquis and Murton. They are certainly not be able to resign him, and they know they won’t win this coming season, so, it is either that, or nothing (high draft pick). I feel they would have to listen. But then again, there is a reason I am not a GM…
I’ll be up in Minnesota for a wedding in two weekends. I’ll ask around and see what the deal is
AB, they broke ground, and it’s set to open in 2010.
I’m surprised there isn’t more “Prior is coming back!” hype. I’m proud.
I’m going to be keeping an eye on Samardzija’s minor-league numbers next year, too. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s at least a September call-up.
Maddux
Leiber
Trachsel
Tavarez
Clement
What? They’re all free agents!
Borowski can close.
That’s still remarkably nothing for Santana. Why would they settle for 2 players that couldn’t get playing time on a mediocre cubs team and a terrible pitcher? Space crazy. Why don’t we trade Eyre for Vlad and Ohman for Brandon Webb while we’re at it.
If Pinero gets 2/13, Trachsel’s option might be worth picking up. 4.74/1 isn’t that bad for him in comparison.
The only starter who might get dealt is Marshall. I don’t even think McFail is dumb enough to take Marquis’ shitty contract.
If they can slot in a righty for the 3 spot, you can go Zambrano/Lilly/#3 RHP/Hill/Marquis
If you can get a #3 who can keep his ERA under 4, you’re talking a 70 win rotation. That ain’t bad.
That’s why I said that would only keep the Twins from hanging up on Hendry. If Zambrano was cheap, he’d be just about the only thing that would get serious talks for Santana started. But he’s not.
There’s no way the Twins trade Santana before the deadline, unless they get 2 or 3 players who can be put in their lineup immediately. If Hunter walks, they might be able to afford extending him.
The only trouble with hoping to extend Santana is the fact that he said something about how he didn’t think the Twins were trying hard enough to field a competitive team. If he was serious about that (which remains to be seen), letting Torii go certainly won’t endear him to the franchise.
As much as every Cubs fan with half a brain would love for it to happen, I think the Cubs have a better chance of getting A-Rod than Santana.
1. Zambrano
2. Lilly
3. Hiroki Kuroda
4. Hill
5. Hart/Dempster/Gallagher-whomever sucks the least.
Kuroda is a Japanese pitcher who’s elected free agency. His ERA went up some last year, but he’s 31 and we play in the NL Central. I think he’s a good choice to try and snag because he’s not going through the posting process and won’t be as expensive as Matsuzaka or any of they guys you’ve heard of. A year ago, this guy was the ERA champ in Japanese baseball. I think he’s worth a risk provided his price tag stays down. I certainly feel he’s a better option than Marquis. I think we have enough depth in the minors should he prove to be a bust. I like the idea of Hart starting, but I’m not sure if he has enough pitches. He was absolutely filthy in relief, but does anyone know if he started in the minors or has a pitch beside that cut fastball?
I just checked my facts and Kuroda has not elected free agency, but he can choose to. He is 32, not 31, but still pitched pretty good for the Carp in the Japanese legaues. 3.56 ERA, which even allowing for the Japan factor, is proably still better than what Marquis posted.
Jack, FYI Hart has been a starter in the minors, so at least there’s no transition period. And I know you’re not the only one on the Kuroda bandwagon.
I’ve been waiting for someone to suggest a Japenese import plug-in on here…
I’ve been hearing that Torii is gone and the Twins will resign Santana even if they have to free up cap space some other way, so that really isn’t a viable option. Now, Torii Hunter in CF for the Cubs…?
Kuroda’s not Santana, but he’s a more realistic option for us. And I just have to feel in my gut that at least for the first year, he’d post good enough numbers to be the 3rd or 4th starter. By the time the legaue really figures him out, I think we’ll have some more interesting options arriving from the minors, such as the Shark. If Hart’s done the job in the minors, I say give him a shot, provided we resign Wood to take his spot in the 7th inning. If Kuroda doesn’t elect free agency, I wonder if the Carp would consider a red-headed wanna-be comedian in a possible trade? How do fart jokes play in Japan?
What about the other Santana? I mean, his stock is pretty low right now, if I remember correctly…
I think the Angels are still kinda pissed Rami decided to stick around. Besides, I’m not sure we have the pieces in our system the Angels are looking for n regard to Santana. Maybe if we had an extra power hitting third baseman handy, we’d have a shot. It just seems like as far as position players go, we have a lot of fourth outfielders and utillity infielders. At least we have the chance of producing a kick ass catcher.
That’s the worst looking Han Solo ever. Where did they find that guy?
They didn’t…?
I think a Sean Marshall and Eric Patterson could pick up this righty, fresh off a rough year: http://sportsline.com/mlb/players/playerpage/479168
Re: Photo–tall lefty…lots of hair…I thought Randy Johnson was hurt…
we could always get bailey…its not like dusty is gonna play him anyway, since he’s too young. also, my friend was reading an article on some giants blog. what if bonds ends up as a red under dusty?
as for pitchers, i like our 1-2-3 of z, ted, rich. itd be nice to see prior come back and stuff, and it would be nice to get santana, but i think everyone is looking past the great free agent available, possibly.
roger clemens. thats right, we add him, we get maddox back, and our rotation is the greatest thing ever.
Realistically, I think what we’re going to get is:
Z
Lilly
Hill
Marquis
Marshall
And honestly, I think there’s not much better out there.
I really like Marshall. He’s improved every stat I’ve seen from last year to this one – K/9, BB/9, ERA, WHIP, whatever you name. None of the improvements are all that impressive on their own, but the kid is getting steadily better at every facet of his game. I think he deserves a shot at a permanent rotation spot.
I also have to give some props to my fellow Yid Jason Marquis. I was ready for a painful experience watching him pitch, but he actually did pretty decently. And the Cubs won 21 games that he started. That’s pretty impressive from a guy who was as bad as he was the year before. Not that I’m counting on him for anything great next year, I’m just pleasantly surprised that he didn’t
There’s no one on the MLB FA market I want other than Maddux, and I want him to replace Larry Rothschild, not to throw the ball. As for the Japanese players, I have to admit I like ‘em, and it’d be fun to see Kuroda in the mix, but I’ll believe it when I see it.
Realistically, I think what we’re going to get is:
Z
Lilly
Hill
Marquis
Marshall
And honestly, I think there’s not much better available realistically.
I really like Marshall. He’s improved every stat I’ve seen from last year to this one – K/9, BB/9, ERA, WHIP, whatever you name. None of the improvements are all that impressive on their own, but the kid is getting steadily better at every facet of his game. I think he deserves a shot at a permanent rotation spot.
I also have to give some props to my fellow Yid Jason Marquis. I was ready for a painful experience watching him pitch, but he actually did pretty decently. And the Cubs won 21 games that he started. That’s pretty impressive from a guy who was as bad as he was the year before. Not that I’m counting on him for anything great next year, I’m just pleasantly surprised that he didn’t
There’s no one on the MLB FA market I want other than Maddux, and I want him to replace Larry Rothschild, not to throw the ball. As for the Japanese players, I have to admit I like ‘em, and it’d be fun to see Kuroda in the mix, but I’ll believe it when I see it.
Realistically..teams trade proven greats like Santana to organizations who can pay him, and ask for a lot in return (Beckett for Hanley Ramirez – good trade for both teams) – we can “pie in the sky” here (that’s what message boards are for) but you do not trade a guy like Santana for a maybe (Pie), a guy who probably can’t (Murton) and an overpriced mistake (Marquis), overpriced by Minnesota standards.
Unfortunately, to get Santana, names like Hill, Hart, Veal, Samardzjia, Marmol, and others will have to be on the table – Soto would be the guy, but they’ve got Mauer and he’s a hometowner.
Trying to be reasonable and wearing a Minnesota hat…would you trade Marmol. Hart and a third prospect for Santana…because that’s what it will cost. Frankly, I might do it.
I like Marshall, too, Jiraiya. Unfortunately, Lou doesn’t seem to trust him.
I’m not sure why everyone is so excited about Hart. His minor league numbers are pretty mediocre, and 10 innings or so in the majors shouldn’t be enough to put him in the rotation.
What else do we have to get excited about? Prior?
Bwaaaahaaahaaaa!