THis sure seems like a pretty good trade for the Cubs, but Phil Rodgers was on M&H earlier, and he said that this CJ kid is, and I quote, "could win a Cy Young award a couple years down the road. He's like Mark Buerhle but with better stuff."

Now as I said, this seems like a real solid trade, but how in the world can you honestly say that right now? The kid is 21 and pitching in A ball. Maybe he gets to the show and becomes an All Star, maybe he never makes it in the bigs. You can't project him to be in the Cy Young race 2 years from now. Of course, it is Mully and Hanley, and it is Phil Rodgers....

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Heard that too Frank. Cringed driving to work today. How he still has a job is beyond me.

Sure Edwards is having a stellar season in the Kane County equivalent. He's just, if not more likely, to become Trey McNutt and get his brains beat in when he goes to AA then even becoming marginally successful in the big leagues. Too many people listen to this show, read Phil and form the majority of their baseball thoughts.

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Team Cutler.

Its ridiculous but thats what baseball media does with prospects.

Joe Sheahan could be a parody account and I wouldnt be able to tell

They said the same thing about "Losing Pitcher" John Danks.

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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

Angel Guzman had more potential than Prior, Wood, or Zambrano

Fixed it for you. If this were a Sox trade and their new prospects they would be assumed to suck ass.

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Elections have consequences.

Phil Rodgers actually said that? What a total fucking moron he continues to be.

Rodgers is tarnishing a great name with stupid comments like that. Edwards isn't even a lock to make it to the big leagues. He has a power arm, a big time curve and a slight frame. That is a recipe for a blown out arm.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

Except a fellow Sox fan just gave an example of that EXACT THING being said about John Danks when they got him.

Cmon, PittMike. Dont be so Soxy

It doesn't bother me so much anymore as I get older. I guess the Jesus Theo/Jed talk the last year or more is getting to me. I hope the kids work out but there really is a bit of bias I think.

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Elections have consequences.

A bit?

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Those poor babies are laying there in the maternity ward waiting for their names. As soon as their mothers make the decision, Joe Sheehan can place them in his top 100 prospects and Cub fans can print world series tickets for 2033.

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

sounds to me like Ault's ceiling is identical to what Rizzo is giving you today

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

You're struggling.

You like the trade and you like the development of Rizzo

Just put the Cub hat on and be done with it

The trade is good. It sounds like Garza didn't have much interest in signing as he was making outrageous demands. The only recourse was to trade. I don't think they got anything huge for the future. However, its a great deal if you got one productive MLB player, which I think they did in Ault. Grimm will be a spot filling 5th starter, Edmunds will be a middle reliever if he ever makes MLB.

I was being facetious with the Rizzo development. You used WAR to show he is 10th in the league at 1B. I don't think you even believe that to be true. I think we are seeing a highly streaky hitter whose glove was heavily overrated. Overall, you can live with him at 1B but you will always be looking to upgrade.

As you are projecting these guys onto your team, think of what they will look like as an amalgamation. Rizzo, Ault and Baez will give you 500 strikeouts from your infield with really good power but below average OBP. This is essentially the nobody on home run team the shitty Sox offense has become...and that is under a good scenario.

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

I expect Rizzo to get a little better. He'll be a top 7 or 8 1B. I never really saw him as an MVP candidate.

Dan Szymborski ‏@DSzymborski 19h
Essentially, the Cubs get 6 years of Olt, 5 years of Grimm, 6 years of Edwards, an PTBNL for 1 win.

Interesting way to look at it.

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Team Cutler.

They've already had 105!!

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You know me like that.

That face was juuuuuuuuuuust about gone from my brain. Thanks.

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Team Cutler.

that was an awesome post, Dr. Ken..... i genuinely laughed out loud.

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I didn't see it posted but the word on the ptbnl is that its either Neil Ramirez if they think he is healthy or its a choice of 2 guys from the list. There is no Neil Ramirez + an additional player.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

With Garza staying on a roll, another take on the trade:

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/tim- ... ris-072413

SO, WHAT DID THE CUBS GET?

Single-A right-hander C.J. Edwards, who throws up to 96 mph with a good changeup and breaking ball, probably possesses the biggest upside of the four players in the Garza deal. But Edwards, 21, packs only 155 pounds onto his 6-foot-2 frame, so his durability is in question.

Edwards’ slight stature evokes memories of Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd, and some of the Rangers’ minor-league coaches even called him “Oil Can,” according to a team official. But Edwards, after learning that Boyd had drug problems, asked the coaches to stop, the official said.

The Cubs view right-hander Justin Grimm, 24, as a fifth starter or setup reliever. Right-hander Neal Ramirez, 24, the likely player to be named, is another power arm, but one with a history of injury. His game management and difficulty pitching out of trouble also are concerns, a scout said.

Third baseman Mike Olt, who turns 25 on Aug. 27, is perhaps the most interesting player in the deal. A year ago, the Rangers deemed him untouchable in potential trades for Garza and right-hander Zack Greinke. But Olt suffered a concussion in the Dominican Winter League and had vision problems early in the season.

“I’ll give the guy credit, he’s still playing hard, carrying himself the right way,” the scout said. “But he has a long way to go. His swing is really stiff, and there is some length

WTF??

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

Wait a minute. Don't pitchers just try to get each batter out? That's their job, right? What difference does "trouble" make? Just get the next guy out. And game management? What the fuck is that? Isn't a pitcher's job simply to prevent runs? What is game management and where does that come in?

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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

What do you think game management is? What stat best reflects it?

If there was never a W/L stat for pitchers and Tango Tiger created something called GM/wOT (Game Management/working out Of Trouble based on the parameters for a pitcher's win, you wouldn't say it was meaningless. In fact, you'd probably cite it. Nolan Ryan has a career GM/wOT of 526. "Losing Pitcher" John Danks is at 465.

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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

All he had to add is that he has some growth potential

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

Garza was going nuts on twitter last night. Good thing he waited until after he was traded to start this up. He went after A's player Eric Sogard's wife for basically doing an extremely mild "yourmom" act.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

That was stupid for sure and will probably cost him millions in free agency although given the dearth in quality starting pitching, I'd be shocked to see him get less than 5/60.

Chris Archer left last nights game with forearm tightness. That is usually one of the first signs of a blown or blowing UCL. Not good for the key component of the package sent to Tampa for Garza.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

Rusin has been pretty damn good this year filling in since Garza was traded. He has I believe 8 or so fewer IP but he has hung right there with Garza stat-wise and I think the only thing Garza has done better is strike more guys out. Rusin has a far better ERA though.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!