I'm not crazy about it either. Crazy money for a 4th/5th starter and that's all he'll ever be.

Not sure why some were excited for Sanchez, but not for Jackson. They are basically the same pitcher. About the same age. Around a .500 career record and a 4 ERA.

If you can get Jackson for a year less and a couple less million, why not do it?

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

I don't mind Jackson at all. Pitching costs quite a bit. In today's MLB, if you can get a 200 IP guy with a 4 ERA, its going to cost about $10M-$12M per year. I'm not saying it should cost that much, but that is the market today. Especially with injuries and lack of consistency in pitching today. I see people scoff at the value of Gavin Floyd, but he has quite a bit of value and will get quite a bit of money on the open market.

Yeah fine whatever. He can at least eat innings and protect us from Diamond/Coleman starts. The one part of the Cubs farm system that is completely lacking is starting pitching. You can always flip Jackson to his 9th team if it doesn't work out.

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One of Jackson's similarities on baseball reference.com is Gavin

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

I'd say the big difference is performing in the playoffs and down the stretch. Sanchez did quite well and Jackson got lit up. I guess the reality of a guy who eats innings (i.e. Floyd and Jackson) is 13M per year now.

They must be seeing a big drop off in season ticket renewals and they feel they need to upgrade the talent on the field this season. At least this signing would improve their depth, but it better for fucking 52M for 4 years!

Or possibly his mullet.

I'm losing my hair on the top, so let's grow it long in the back. What is the thinking there? Granted, this is coming from somebody, who at 36, still has a full head of flowing hair, but WTF man?

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Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

I will say I won't miss the Chris Volstad's of the world and I'm not a big Travis Wood is a quality MLB starter fan.

That's the thing about Jackson: why sign him to a contract? You know he will always be on the trade market every year with the team that originally signed him eating part of his contract.

I like the Villanueva signing...an AL guy (and AL East at that) moving to the NL...undervalued as a starter...moving to a much more interested fanbase...good signing.

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

Update:

Cubs Sign Carlos Villanueva for Two Years and $10 Million

By Brett on December 20, 2012

This morning, Jon Heyman – who first broke the Cubs’ agreement with Carlos Villanueva – says the Cubs have signed the free agent pitcher for two years and $10 million. We’ll see if the signing is confirmed by some folks closer to the Cubs, but, if true, it’s pretty much exactly what I guessed he would get.

Villanueva’s role with the Cubs remains pending other moves this offseason, but he can pitch out of the pen or in the rotation, and is a solid add for the Cubs, regardless of any other moves.

Two years and $10 million is a pretty fair price, given Villanueva’s recent success as a starter (in 2012, he was great as a starter), and his versatility. Perhaps the Cubs gave him a little extra scratch to convince him to sign without any assurances that he’d be a starter.

The Cubs are still working on a deal for Edwin Jackson, according to reports.

Solid! Garza is trade bait at some point, right?

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That would make sense. Obviously he will need to prove he is healthy, then it comes down to his contract demands on an extension vs what type of haul they can get in return.

There's no draft pick attached to the Jackson signing.

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Garza's going to have to pitch before you get market value for him

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

Well if Brett says it then it must be true

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My bad: Brett is the Bleacher Nation blogger.

http://www.bleachernation.com/2012/12/2 ... 0-million/

IF either one of these deals fall through,somebody has to ask Cubs brass if they know what they are doing. That would be 4 failures in the last 6 months.


This ain't horseshoes,Theo!

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

Nope its hand grenades

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Villanueva fits the mold. He is a low risk guy with the potential to reap high rewards. May he have a great 1st half and bring a great prospect at the trade deadline. The Jackson move is stupid.

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Go Cubs!!!!

The Cubs have agreed to sign Hisanori Takahashi to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, reports Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter). The veteran left-hander is a Wasserman Media Group client.

Takahashi, 37, pitched to a 5.54 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 50 1/3 relief innings for the Angels and Pirates last season. He owns a 3.97 ERA in 240 1/3 MLB innings, making 12 starts and 153 relief appearances. Takahashi has held big league lefties to a .238/.283/.381 batting line with a 4.14 K/BB.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Hisanori Takahashi serves two purposes. get out LH batters and interpet for the new Cubs closer. This tells me Marmol might be gone for maybe a couple of ML arms.

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

Great prospect for Carlos Villanueva? Really?

D Train signed to throw BP to minor leaguers:

Dave van Dyck, Tribune reporter

9:30 p.m. CST, January 4, 2013

The long journey taken by Dontrelle Willis apparently is coming back to where it began -- with the Cubs.

The Cubs have signed the left-hander, whom they drafted in 2000, to a minor league contract. The deal is pending a physical and does not include an invitation to the major league camp.

The Cubs traded the high-kicking Willis to the Marlins in 2002 and he won a league-high 22 games with a 2.63 ERA in 2005. His career headed downhill quickly after that.

Two seasons ago, he was 1-6 for the Reds and then last year retired from baseball after a short stint with the Orioles.

All part of "The Plan"

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That has to be the hope. If it doesn't happen, he's just a guy to fill in a spot in the rotation/pitching staff (if relegated to the bullpen) in the short term, until they can develop better replacements designed for the long-term. Again, it's a low-risk proposition.

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Go Cubs!!!!

That's what your father said about having unprotected sex the night you were conceived.

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Do you think the Cubs have a bad plan?

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

I think putting a team out there that will likely lose 90+ games and barring several miracles will not make the playoffs is very bad.

If Kenny/Hahn had signed Dtrain, you would have started 5 threads about it by now.

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