Lester has no compensation linked to him outside of money. That is what will create his market more than anything he has done on the field.

I always think of Lester in the 1(a) tier of aces like Cain, Hamels, Shields, current Verlander (not 2006 Verlander) Gio, Kuroda... those guys all got paid, so he's going to get paid similarly (plus inflation).

I would not have been in favor of it to begin with, going 5 years on a 31 year old pitcher almost never works out, I believe he will get/ someone will offer 6 or 7.

There’s just something scary about signing a guy coming off a career best walk rate, a near career best strikeout rate, a near career best HR/9 rate, and a ground ball rate that has dropped for four straight years. Sure, he may have finally put everything together in a way that he never had before, but that’s a tough bet to bank $140+ million on. 5/125 is what i would go, but that's not going to get it done.

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1926-1931-1934-1942-1944-1946-1964-1967-1982-2006-2011

They should wait to acquire an ace next year.

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Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

McCarthy or Masterson

2015 FA SP (age Opening Day 2015)


Clay Buchholz (31) – $13MM club option with a $245K buyout
Mark Buehrle (37)
A.J. Burnett (39)
Trevor Cahill (28) – $13MM club option with a $300K buyout
Jhoulys Chacin (28)
Wei-Yin Chen (30)
Bartolo Colon (43)
Johnny Cueto (30)
Ross Detwiler (30)
R.A. Dickey (41) – $12MM club option with a $1MM buyout
Marco Estrada (32)
Doug Fister (32)
Yovani Gallardo (30)
Jaime Garcia (29) – $11.5MM club option with a $500K buyout
Jeremy Guthrie (37) – $10MM mutual option with a $3.2MM buyout
J.A. Happ (33)
Dan Haren (35)
Tim Hudson (40)
Hisashi Iwakuma (35)
Scott Kazmir (32)
Ian Kennedy (31)
John Lackey (37)
Mat Latos (28)
Mike Leake (28)
Tim Lincecum (32)
Kyle Lohse (37)
Corey Luebke (31) – $7.5MM club option with a $1.75MM buyout
Kris Medlen (30)
Bud Norris (31)
Ross Ohlendorf (33)
Mike Pelfrey (32)
Rick Porcello (27)
David Price (30)
Ricky Romero (31) – $13.1MM club option with a $600K buyout
Jeff Samardzija (31)
Alfredo Simon (35)
Jerome Williams (34)
Jordan Zimmermann (30)

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1926-1931-1934-1942-1944-1946-1964-1967-1982-2006-2011

That is quite the crop of FA's.

Im sure many of them will be resigned. Jerome Williams makes me laugh

Alfredo Simon is 35? Someone is going to pay him too much. I see a massive mean reversion to bad in his future. Most likely, he'll get hurt in May and never be heard from again.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

I'll take Bud Norris and Cueto.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Cueto is fun to watch. Health is a big issue, obviously. Actually, those would be two decent signings.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Medlen was a beast before he got hurt.

Id target Porcello too.


Lotta good guys there. But probably half will resign

Can Bosio revive Chacin? That looks like a Cubs type signing.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

I dont know. It feels a little silly even looking that far ahead.


But no probably not

Shields isn't an ace on any tier. Neither are Gio or Kuroda.

I think I would rather pay 5 million more per year for Lester than Shields, who, even at his best, is underwhelming in a lead role.

I wonder if there is any concern about long term commitments to Lester because of cancer.

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

I think that has to go into it. Chemotherapy really fucks up the body. Im not an expert, but Id say his 31 years are a bit harder than most

Why not sign one each year?

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

Alright, Lester and Montero are in


Now get a power hitting outfielder and another middle of the rotation starter. And maybe a super sub veteran infielder.

Isn't Alcantara your super sub infielder?

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

No, he is the "star utility player".

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Depends on the outfield situation. He could be. I dont want to count on Baez and Bryant right away though. Bryant probably wont be up til after the may arbitration day and Baez struck out 6 times while I typed this. So having a competent veteran infielder would be nice. Just competent.



Favorited 2,150 times
Bryce Harper ‏@Bharper3407 7h7 hours ago
The Cubbies coming in hot! #MLB

Right away? You've been counting on them for years already

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