Getting this guy would take a little of the sting out of the last three seasons for me. They have to land this dude as quickly as possible and get on to signing Scherzer or Shields. But this is FuckStein's gig for now and he'll likely find a way to fuck it all up.
This is simple. Lester is coming to Chicago next week. He better leave with a contract signed and 5-6 movers to choose from. This is where you're supposed to turn the corner and not be cheap. You've fucked up before, and that's fine. Now get this done, Epstein.....
Highly doubt he signs a contract. He will most likely wait to the winter meetings. That seems to be the time big FA's like to here everyone's last pitch. No pun intended. He also will probably wait for Scherzer to sign or it could be the opposite. Lester says he cares more about the location and fit over money. I dont believe that, but maybe.
I will bet everything that even if the Cubs do indeed sign any of the big three, that will be it. Expect another "flippable" pitcher like Anderson or Masterson. Guys on a short contract that can be either flipped or extended depending on performance. I think they will be cautious heading into next years crop too and not commit with the likes of the Reds pitchers, Zimmerman, Shark, and Price headlining the free agent market if they indeed get that far, and also. the trade route for a pitcher could be looming in the near future. It would be another way to get a pitcher without competing against the heavy hitters. I'd like to have Lester, Martin, and a lesser pitcher like the aforementioned right now, and then see how that is all working heading into the deadline to possibly upgrade if they are in contention. It is really a moot point regarding pitching if the younger kids don't take giant leaps forward anyways.
This is what bothers me. ALL of Theo's drafts have showcased hitters first then 7-8 pitchers in his top 10 picks. Where are these guys? The only close one is Pierce Johnson. Zastrysysnsy was target practice in A ball. Wasn't he supposed to be the guy we stole from the Cardinals 2 pick before they planned to take him? Jake Stinette was target practice in AZL League ball. Tyler Skulina was target practice at Daytona. Paul Blackburn is nothing special at KC now South Bend....... Duane Underwood had a nice comeback season after being target practice in Boise ball. But its Boise ball. Ryan McNeill had great stuff then had TJ surgery mid 2013. Came back at the end of 2014 and sucked, as do many TJ pitchers trying to get back in the groove. This is why I hated his 'throw tons of shit against the wall and hope it sticks.' Should have been Appel in 2012 or Nola/Freeman this year. It absolutely baffles me how the White Sox (I'm around a lot of sox fans) can have guys like Chris Sale, Axelrod, and now soon to be Rodon up so quickly after drafting and throw them in, watching them succeed. Sox drafted top talents. Cubs have knowingly passed on top talents. Cant keep doing that then wonder why you don't have good pitching. They need Lester, and the #9 pick has to be the best SP available unless some unforseen elite talent falls to their lap like Appel falling to 8th to the pirates in 2012 when people were scared to pay him. I'm big on Tom Eschelman now. I want him to be the guy.
And don't even get me started on Germ-manholed Contraception! Speaking of which, what's he up to these days?
The Cubs most likely would have picked Hoffman last year if he didnt get hurt. They decided to the go the Schwarber route and get Dylan Cease who was a top 15 talent but was hard to sign. The pitchers they drafted have all been considered at best mid rotation guys. The Cubs hitting is so deep in the minor they believe they will be able to sign or trade for pitching. Offense was way down this year across the leagues. Hitting especially power hitting are becoming a premium asset. The Cubs have a low of power in the minors even behind Kris Bryant. We have some pitchers getting close like CJ Edwards, Pierce Johnson, Hendicks just came up. I would much rather be in the Cubs position then the White Sox. They are old and have no young players to replace anyone.
And how would that be different then three years ago when the fanboys said it would be dumb to spend big money on a FA cause the team is too far away from being competitive? This team is far more than one SP away from being competitive.
Had Hoffman stayed healthy, he would have went #1. Still could have taken him 4th. Cease was considered a problem sign because he had TJ. We wont see this kid start warm ups till he's 19...... Quintana, Sale, and now Rodon is really nice. Yeah, they need hitting, and they have some, that's not there yet. Hitting with power isn't the best asset. San Fran and KC didn't need the long ball. Neither did St. Louis. We look at Fenway and Yankee stadium, notice the left handed hitters, then see no surprise why their 'power' is up. I couldn't care less for power. Cubs had a power line up back in 06-09. Didn't help. Lee, Aramis, DeRosa, Soriano. I care about one thing. If a man is on 2nd or 3rd with 1 out or 0 outs, how does he get home? I think Bryant is good enough to be the all around--do it guy who can bat 3rd. But Rizzo? Compared to 2013, yeah he improved. But man did this team still suck. Need to drive in runs. Having power hitters doesn't mean anything if you have to rely on the long ball because small ball doesn't work. You gotta do both.
I thought the implication is that he wants Theo to give him an offer he doesn't have to think twice about.
Isn't Edwards fairly close? Haven't checked, but I believe he and Johnson are the closest, and the best pitching per minor leaguers were at Kane County by far. The Cubs are still going to have to get a high profiled pitcher within the next year even if they sign someone like Lester. To me, what the Cubs have as the closest to the majors right now figure to be mid to lower end of the rotation which is okay if Arrieta is your 3rd best pitcher.
And why are you so enamored with the last three years? Apparently that is all that matters. Check back on the records and see if it goes back five years, then see how Matt Garza made the Cubs more competitive, because he didn't. They still didn't win and yes, the Cubs are more than a pitcher away from being competitive now. Don't know who is claiming that they aren't? The Cubs are far ahead of where they should be with the organization as a whole after tearing it down, and I don't expect you to understand because you see progression, even if it's minor as a failure. Getting better every year is a good thing, and wiping away bad contracts in doing so is also a good thing. If payroll has gone down dramatically, and wins have gone up, what's the argument? And can this be tabled until after we see who they do or don't pick up in the off-season?
The last three years are the years with the current management structure in place. I am judging them on their work. Wins have gone up? By how many? A few? That's not good enough. You act like payroll has gone down and the team was in the World Series. If the Cub$ had been a playoff team the last three seasons you wouldn't hear me complaining about payroll. Instead we have been given the worst three season stretch in team history. God forbid anyone complain about the worst three season stretch in the history of the franchise. How unreasonable of me. So you want this tabled until after the offseason? So that means all talk of FA right? Or just censoring the talk of skepticism of player signings but all the puppy dog and rainbow fairy tales for the fanboys can go unchallenged? Cause that is really what you want.
Everything I have heard is that Lester will sign before Scherzer. Rumors are Scherzer won't sign until January. Rumors with Lester are that he could sign somewhere as soon as next week.
That was my understanding of the rumors too. It appears all the source material comes from unnamed sources unfortunately. Cherington said that the pitching market might move slower than expected too. http://www.masslive.com/redsox/index.ssf/2014/11/red_sox_free_agency_jon_lester.html I'm not sure what timeline to buy into. At least it will be more interesting one way or another.
And you act like payroll that was near 145 million 4 years ago, and by your "accounting multilplier" would be in the range of 175 million now netted them a World Series. They didn't even get out of the first round in 07' and 08', but lets cling to this rebuild and praise the previous one for doing everything, shall we? I believe it was you that said on your way to the WS, that that was all that matters. I don't recall the Cubs going there in my lifetime......so. God forbid anyone having some hope that finally things might be going in the right direction for once in 3-4 generations. You are a Cubs fan, who has never seen a WS appearance by the Cubs, yet you fall all over yourself hanging on to the past and continue to stay knee-deep in misery. Climb out KB. It is much better out here. Nothing wrong with being skeptical. I am skeptical IF they sign Lester or anyone else. No free agent is guaranteed. And what I mean by tabling, is see who they get in the off-season. See if Baez and Alcantara can move forward, and let Bryant take his swings at the parent level. The picture will be a lot clearer after the off-season, and even more clearer into next year. I am not wanting a total abortion of this rebuild just to toss it all away trading for Cole Hamels and the signing of Hanley Ramirez because you know that those two aren't going to make the Cubs a championship team because in all likelihood, they lose Bryant and Russell, even if they nabbed Lester. Thanks but no thanks. Not when I can have Lester for nothing but money now.
