One of you clowns on here mocked me and used my statement in your signature when I stated:

" The Cubs dumping Paul Maholm is now costing them about 50 million"


In todays Tribune from Paul Sullivan:

In hindsight, the Cubs could have kept Paul Maholm (13-11, 3.65 ERA in 2012 with the Cubs and Braves) around for only $6.5 million with $45.5 million to invest elsewhere. The onus is on Jackson to live up to his deal.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

I never mocked you, I kind of agree...it just does not really matter. Both are just guys n fairly easy to replace a 3-4 starter.

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The great Arodys Vizcaíno will more than make up the difference.

but Edwin Jackson has the possibility to be hear when they are finally good...even though he has never been with the same team for three consecutive years (assuming that is when they are good)

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Never understood that one, Jimmy. Trade a decent starter and then turn around and sign another starter for 4 years.

Lets say they are similar in quality.....before you had a starter......now you have a similar quality starter AND the minor leaguers they got for the previous starter. That said, I hate the jackson signing. Too many years at too much money.

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Go Cubs!!!!

I love when writers do this. It's very deceiving. The difference between Jackson and Maholm this year is actually only 12.5 million. If you were to average Jackson's signing bonus over the life of the contract it'd only be 6.5 million.

But with a short term deal, you have little risk. A deal like jackson's that is signed before the team is truely ready to contend is foolish. If he has an injury in the first year or two, there could be a lot of dead money connected to that deal. Not to mention the money wasted on a guy that is no better than a #4 starter in a decent dotation. Even in this rotation, he will follow Sammy and Garza.

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Go Cubs!!!!

Sammy?

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Comparing Maholm's 1 year 6.5M deal to Jackson's 4 year 52M deal in gross terms is unfair and lazy.

Gross, unfair, and lazy are about perfect for Paul Sullivan and Phil Rodgers

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Samardzija of course. He and Garza will take the #1 and #2 spots in the rotation provided they are both healthy. I think Scott Baker just might win as many games (or more) as Jackson if he's healthy. Very anxious to see him pitch in spring training.

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Go Cubs!!!!

No! Wrong, samaridza has shown nothing other thanhe. Is at best a #4 starter in the nl. ...you cub fans take the bait. Much too quick.

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You are the same clown that thought the Cubs should have dealt Soriano just to be rid of him and I said it was stupid, because since switching to a lighter bat at the end of May he led the N.L. in HR's.I never wanted the Cubs to sign Soriano, but you dont pay 15-15 million a year so he can help another team. if you don't get some value for him and have nobody better that is ready to take over, you don't give him away. He went on to have a great season with over 100 RBI and 30 HR's. You also are the same clown that said no decent A.L. team would want Dempster and yet several teams wanted him and Texas ended up getting him and then Boston signed him this offseason. Your Baseball thoughts are awful.

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Go Cubs!!!!

I was the "clown" who mocked you for your comparison of Maholm and Jackson. Paul Sullivan is wrong as well. You acquire as much talent as possible, and move it along if that is the best strategy at the time. Keep in mind, I'm not crazy about the Jackson deal. But comparing the two is silly at best. Also, you couldn't remember what the Cubs received in return. It's possible their return could be a two or three starter for years to come. Possible closer as well. He could also suck. Time will tell.

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I wanted Soriano gone in 2011. He was a terrible outfielder and seemed to strike out whenever a clutch hit was needed. Last year,he did a great job in the outfield and improved his hitting. He is not a liability going into this season. I like the guy and hope he does well again. If the Cubs trade him for more youngsters though,I wouldn't be upset.

As for Maholm/Jackson,I have a thread. 45 mill gets you a lot of FA signings. I would have kept Maholm.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

One point about Maholm is he was a reclamation project so he signed cheap. If he has another good year, he will be up for at least a 3 yr 36M deal so the key becomes what Vizcanio becomes. If he becomes a top closer or a 2 or 3 starter making peanuts, the Cubs win big. If he never materializes, obviously they gave away Maholm for nothing.

I didn't like the E Jax signing either, but the price for guys that take the ball every 5th day is that high and next years free agent pitching market is thin, so they got what they could this year.

I am a believer that their season ticket base was really looking bad and they couldn't afford another 100+ loss campaign so they spent heavily on E Jax and then strategically on Baker, Villaneuva and Feldman.

The starting pitching last year after Garza went down and they unloaded Maholm and Dempster was incredibly bad.

Right, you can buy a ton of useless players like Keppinger, Schieholtz, Hairston and whatever other dogshit floatsam MLB free agency has to offer.

If you are directing this at me, you are confused at best. I had no issue with trading Maholm, as long as the prospects they got were good ones, it's the right thing to do. I did NOT want Jackson and thought they overpaid for him. Guys like Maholm (or Scott Baker this year) are ideal guys to sign. They have good upside and are not a big (or long-term) financial risk. They can bring good prospects in a deadline trade, as teams may well view them as guys worth more than the salary they are getting and know they can get a guy that can help them in a playoff run, without any long-term commitment.

By the way....my "clown" comments were made for 312player to be clear.

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Go Cubs!!!!

It was at JimmyPasta from the first post. I agree with this entire post.

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I still want soriano gone, he has lived up to that awful contract one year..great!
The cubs will still have a hard time moving that turd,and that is assuming he will agree to leave...I think he goes back to sucking this year too...great that he went to a lighter bat, I have been saying that since 09.


Texas regrets trading for that d bag...and Boston will realize in may/June they fucked up.

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Jackson will be traded at the deadline next year
Smardzija is already a decent back end starter. I wouldnt say thats his ceiling. He can get better.
The Cubs will contend for the Wild Card in 2014

No, it doesnt.

Its 45 over 4 years. You'd get one decent player or two bad ones.

They still need an ace.

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The mantra is 2015. Don't fall out of harmony.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

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Ive never gone in for that 2015-2016 thing.

They should win 70-75 this year and be ready to win 80-85 next year