then when The(o) Plan was initiated. There is zero chance it can be corrected through the draft in a time frame matching that of the offensive prospects. The executive have developed some kind of rubbish theory about pitching no longer being a commodity, yet every year we see the price going up for middle of the road starting pitching. They seem to be taking a very similar path that we have seen from the Royals, who had to give up an arm and leg for guys like Shields.

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

I may have missed something...aren't you happy about this?

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

Thank goodness no team is baseball has profited more from trading middle of the road starting pitching than the Cubs.

I have to disagree. They had zero good starting pitchers when Theo took over. Now they have one.

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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

Garza
Dempster
Maholm
T. Wood
Volstad


Arrieta
T. Wood
Ed Jackson
Kyle Hendricks
Beeler

Like I said.

_________________
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

Here is the list of starting pitchers available in free agency for this off-season.
Take into account that some will re-sign with their teams, some aretoo old, and some have a history of injuries.
Who would you sign? The real possibilities make up a very short list.

Brett Anderson (27) – $12MM club option with a $1.5MM buyout
Josh Beckett (35)
Chad Billingsley (30) – $14MM club option with a $3MM buyout
Joe Blanton (34)
A.J. Burnett (38) – mutual option
Chris Capuano (36)
Bruce Chen (38) – $5.5MM mutual option with a $1MM buyout
Wei-Yin Chen (29) – $4.75MM club option with a $372K buyout
Kevin Correia (34)
Johnny Cueto (29) – $10MM club option with an $800K buyout
Jorge De La Rosa (34)
Ryan Dempster (38)
Gavin Floyd (32)
Yovani Gallardo (29) – $13MM club option with a $600K buyout
Jason Hammel (32)
J.A. Happ (32) – $6.7MM club option
Aaron Harang (37)
Dan Haren (34) – $10MM player option if 180 innings reached in 2014
Roberto Hernandez (34)
Hisashi Iwakuma (34) – $7MM club option with a $1MM buyout
Josh Johnson (31) – $4MM club option
Kyle Kendrick (30)
Hiroki Kuroda (40)
Jon Lester (31)
Colby Lewis (35)
Francisco Liriano (31)
Paul Maholm (33)
Justin Masterson (30)
Brandon McCarthy (31)
Brandon Morrow (30) – $10MM club option with a $1MM buyout
Felipe Paulino (31) – $4MM club option with a $250K buyout
Jake Peavy (34)
Wandy Rodriguez (36)
Ervin Santana (32)
Joe Saunders (34)
Max Scherzer (30)
James Shields (33)
Carlos Villanueva (31)
Ryan Vogelsong (37)
Edinson Volquez (30)
Jerome Williams (33)

_________________
Host of the weekly "We Fish ASA" podcast
Weekly columnist for the Northwest Herald
Bi-monthly columnist for Illinois Outdoor News magazine
Former host of The Outdoors Experience on WIND and The Great Outdoors on CLTV
http://www.wefishasa.com

Ryan Dempster

but seriously, Lester would seem to be the most obvious target

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

Lester or Scherzer.
How much and for how long?

_________________
Host of the weekly "We Fish ASA" podcast
Weekly columnist for the Northwest Herald
Bi-monthly columnist for Illinois Outdoor News magazine
Former host of The Outdoors Experience on WIND and The Great Outdoors on CLTV
http://www.wefishasa.com

Bruce Chen. His signing ensures the BP Cup's glorious return to the North Side.

No Scherzer. Diva pitches 6 innings and calls it a day. He can shove that attitude up his giggy.

Get the Google machine going on who was and wasn't Theo guys.....but whatever.

If Murph's crystal balls could look into the mind of a sterotypical Sox fan:

Theo and Co hired - "Oh crap I never thought they'd get him"

This time last year - "Thank God there's hope this won't work out...look at Rizzo and Castro fail...mmmm peanuts"

Now - "Crap WTF Rizzo & Castro are All-Stars....this team is going to be loaded AND real fun for those assholes to watch...what's my new bit...oh the pitching"


So I get the feeling the white flag is about to be waved on if the Cubs will have a stacked offense going forward.
Having said that. Feel free to get back on Google and calculate what they'll be paying those guys........mmm peanuts.

_________________
Kenny Williams fell for the banana in the tailpipe

_________________

8675309=nailed it.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Excellent gif aside, if your point is that the Cubs will have the resources to overpay for pitching because they are paying the position players...peanuts...well, large contracts don't always equate to results.



So yeah, I think it's fair to criticize putting all your eggs in the free agency/aquire them via trade baskets.

His point is quite simply that folks are looking for a new angle to attack Cubs' management.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Actually, Volstad and Maholm were acquired by Theo

Fixed


I believe the Cubs have two good starters. I think Wood will have a strong second half.

And my point would be that maybe this criticism just might be justified...

RPB's Woodie must be getting flaccid by now.

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

Is it a new angle? Of course the Cubs are going to have some potential quality players coming up. They've been bad for five years. It would be pretty much impossible to have no future hope after 5 years of that.

The only question is if they become the 90s Braves or the 2000s Royals.

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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!

They do have some pitching prospects. I know they are stronger on offense but people act as if they've outlawed pitching in the Cub minor leagues

Hendricks
Edwards
Johnson

Yes, it is a new angle to attack the Cubs lack of pitching on these boards. There are long threads saying that the Cubs prospects will not work out. Also, plenty of criticism of Rizzo and Castro. But as he pointed out, those criticisms are fading. Need a new angle.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Last place and 12 games out isn't exactly a new thing for the Cubs.

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Nor is the Sox bullpen blowing leads a new thing. I am well aware of the Cubs position in the standings. Also, that was not the point of this thread.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

The Cubs have averaged 71.2 Wins per season in last five years.

Not as low as I thought

That's um, not true?

In Theo's first draft after picking Almora he went pitcher with the next 7 picks. In the 1st 10 rounds he went with 9 pitchers and 3 position players.

In Theo's second draft after picking Bryant he went pitcher with 6 of the next 7 picks. In the 1st 10 rounds he went with 7 pitchers and 3 position players.

In Theo's third draft after picking Schwarber he went pitcher with 8 of the next 9 picks. In the 1st 10 rounds he went with 8 pitches and 2 position players.

Now you can criticize him and "superstar" McLeod for the pitching not developing quick enough but the focus IS there.

Let's not forget trading for Vizcaino, Hendricks, Edwards, Black or Ramirez.

Thank you.

Yeah, but still....

Since Theo took over

Cubs 167-251 (.402)

White Sox 193-227 (.459)

Thank you for pointing out that they've failed to use their top pick on a pitcher yet. Also, thank you for pointing out that they've traded for a bunch of good pitchers...because that absolutely wasn't the point I made in prior post.

I've heard criticism of the draft regarding a lack of pitching at the top from Cub fans here. Not sure why it's so controversial when someone else might suggest it hasn't been a priority for them.

I think it may be a little early to close the book on criticism of Cubs prospects or Rizzo or Castro.

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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!

Lipid, I gotta say Kirkwood's point is valid. What he quoted from your post is misleading if not flat out untrue.

Or maybe it's just a little hyperbole.