he won't be on, Cubs game. They do have tradeable prospects, they just don't seem to have extra money.

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

Do they? They need every arm they can get, so they aren't trading pitching prospects. Schwarber is not tradeable now. You would not get much for Candelario. Willllllson is your primary catcher, so he probably isn't going anywhere. Do they move Happ, Almora, or Jimenez?

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Frank's right. Jimenez is probably only big bullet left that could get you anything of note and he would just be a keystone piece and not whole deal. More likely to see Montgomery type trades than a big deal.

We need to clear this up. Is The Plan to contend for years to come or just once in awhile? Where is Elmhurst Steve when we desperately need this vital Cubs information?

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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

How many years does Theo have on his contract, and minus the last year. Doubt he would be a lame duck GM.

Guys killin it for Houston, Theo dropped the ball on this one..it was a no brainer.

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5-0

1.06 era in Houston

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I wonder if the same package for Quintana would have gotten Verlander.

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OMG....for sure. A big part of the Verlander deal was the amount of money owed him. They probably could have gotten him without Dylan Cease being included. The Quintana deal was made in large part with his club friendly deal in mind. No doubt, Verlander has performed very well and had the Cubs known he would perform at this level, rather than the more pedestrian level he had been at with Detroit, they might have made that deal. Hard to predict such a dramatic improvement for an athlete that appeared to be in decline.

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Go Cubs!!!!

Decline? He finished second in the AL CY Young voting 9 months ago shit for brains.

but the Cubs have unlimited resources. They should have been able to take on any contract

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

:lol

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Yeah asswipe and this season he was basically a .500 pitcher with Detroit with an ERA of a middle of the rotation starter. That's what they call decline dipshit.

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Go Cubs!!!!

His Detroit ERA would rank 12th among all AL pitchers.

Verlander was just 10-8, with a pedestrian 3.82 ERA with Detroit, while collecting 28 million.....the 2nd highest salary in baseball. I don't blame Theo for not jumping on the opportunity to sign a guy making huge money, with 2 years left on a deal, when the guy was just 10-8, with a 3.82 ERA and would have involved moving a top prospect as well as taking on that huge salary.

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Go Cubs!!!!

You can't get out of your own way, that "pedestrian" ERA would have been good for 12th best in the AL, that isn't pedestrian, it means you are essentially a #1 or #2 starter...

Steve, what would you rather pay $28million for? A winning pitcher with an AL ERA in the high 3's, or a right fielder with a .669 OPS?

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I know people who do a good job of acting like they predicted something correct after the fact but Steve is redefining things by predicting something incorrect after the fact.

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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!

Or a Game 2 pitcher with an NL ERA in the 4's.

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I remember when I posted that I wouldn't say that this didn't happen and that maybe the decision might have been a good one!

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Verlander's 5 starts came against the Angels, Mariners and Rangers. Color me unimpressed.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

Add Boston to your list.

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I never wanted Heyward and his salary is ridiculous for a guy who averages about 12 homers and 60 RBI with a BA around .260 but with Arrieta likely to be moving on and Lackey likely to retire, there will be a void in the rotation in 2018 and Verlander could fill it better than most starters that will be available, so it would be an easy choice between the two. But I don't blame Theo and Jed for passing on a guy with an ERA almost 4 and a 10-8 record that makes 28 million and would have cost a top prospect. He went with the cost controlled, younger option. Seems like a pretty prudent move in many respects.

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Go Cubs!!!!

On a shitty team a starter with a 3.80 ERA might be a #1. A guy making 28 million that can't even be in the top 10 in ERA, yet has the 2nd highest salary in baseball.......bad value. Again, he was in decline.....trending in a bad direction. No way of knowing he would rebound so well after the trade. Theo made a prudent decision with the information he had to work with.

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Go Cubs!!!!

Uh, he's the #1 starter on the Astros, a team that won 101 games.

He had a WAR of 4.5 during his portion of the season with the Tigers (for reference the Cubs wouldn't have had a pitcher with half that WAR at that point in the season), if he stopped pitching with is last start for the Tigers his WAR would still have been in the top 10 in the AL.

Just stop, if you think his contract isn't a good deal, that is something to consider, but a guy who just finished 2nd in the AL in WAR, 8th in ERA, 8th in wins, 3rd in IP, 6th in strikeouts, is a legit #1 starter on any team in MLB.

You're just a fucking dope if you don't understand that.

Not for nothing but you are probably wrong on his contract being not a good value. I think the number right now is that the cost of 1 additional WAR is like 10MM bucks on the open market. So if Verlander is a 6 WAR guy, that's 60MM of value on the open market.

You're a dunce.

In 2016, Quintana was:

4th in WAR
12th in wins
7th in ERA
6th in IP
11th in strikeouts

So Quintana is then a fringe #1 or definitely a #2? I like it.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

It's seems like this isn't a question for knowledgeable baseball people. Quintana is a great pitcher who, until this season, was perpetually getting better.

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

And he makes less than 1/3 Verlander's salary. Much better value. Plus being younger and having his best perhaps still ahead, the more prudent choice all around.

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Go Cubs!!!!

Championship window though. Even the good teams have to rebuild. Quintana will probably be better than Verlander in 2019, but will it matter?

I'd feel a lot better with

Verlander
Hendricks
Lester
Arrieta


But whatever. Go Cubs.