I wouldn't. I would wait 1 more year and then splurge. I want to make sure I know what I have and at this point there are a few question marks. I would be active in the trade market.

_________________
Be well

GO BEARS!!!

The army of IMU's will carry us through.

_________________
Hawaii (fuck) You

I just read that Jon Lester, a lefthander, hasnt even attempted a pickoff at 1st this. HASNT EVEN ATTEMPTED.

Yikes.

400 posts in a month....and your posting value has declined with each one.

_________________
Hawaii (fuck) You

Don't hate.

He's got Cub zombies and delusionites on the run.

WHY DO CUBS FANS DEFEND JON LESTER AGAINST ANY AND ALL CRITICISM WHEN HE ISN'T EVEN ON THE CUBS?

Seriously! This drives me fucking nuts!

I agree with this approach at this point. They may have their rotation in house or they may have nothing. It may sound mocking but at this point, what's another year? Backlash against losing hasn't reached a tipping point and the seals will continue to clap when you bring up another prospect or two next year.

On the other hand, you don't just boom, steak dinner a rotation. If they want a good one for 2016, they need to start now.

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

yar

the reality is the Cubs are not the affirmative choice for any of these guys

If they are the highest bidder they MAY get them but pursuit will most likely end like Girardi, Sanchez and Tanaka.

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

John Danks was one of the league leaders in pickoff attempts.

How did his season benefit from that?

_________________
Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

Because Jon Lester is going to be 31 next Spring Training and giving him a bunch of money is stupid. If the White Sox do it for Scherzer or Lester I'm going to be pissed. If they do it for Shields I'll still consider being pissed, but something about James Shields makes me think he wont break down into a flaming pile of garbage right away the other two will. I go back and forth on Shields.

What happens in 2 years when this whole prospect thing is **supposed** to be really taking off? When Lester is eating 26m a year with a 4+ ERA?

Unless Lester pitched a perfect game in every game all season (my research indicates that he did not) it'd be very nice to see him at least try to hold a runner. Watch tonight's game against the Royals, who run run run run. In the NL it's even more of a problem.

Of course pitchers shouldnt be leading the league in pickoff attempts, because that usually means they are giving up way too many baserunners, but Mark Buehrle has taught us that holding runners at 1st is very advantageous. Not being to hold them at all creates RISP for the opponent.

His SB% against is lower than the MLB average for his career. Yet he hasn't picked a guy off since 2011.

Apparently, he is doing fine?

And he hasn't even had good defensive catchers.

_________________
Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

What do you give a shit? You hate the Cubs.

Are the Cubs going to acquire Jarrod Saltalamacchia and David Ross too?

I do! I should actually be rooting for them to get Lester!

But, I've convinced myself into a temporary pity party because Ricketts is ravaging everything redeeming about the franchise. So at least for now I'd like to see Cubs not get burned bad by a terrible FA.

By the time America gets to 500 posts, he'll be writing like Mini Ditka or SHARK.

_________________
Hawaii (fuck) You

Mentoring future World Series MVPs Jen-Ho Tseng and Duane Underwood. Duh

Jake Arrieta
Jon Lester
Kyle Hendricks
Neil Ramirez
CJ Edwards
Carson Sands
Corey Black
Duane Underwood
Pierce Johnson
Jen Ho Tseng
Paul Blackburn
Jeferson Mejia

YOU GOTTA BE BLEEPIN ME. THAT IS THE GREATEST PITCHING SURPLUS I EVER SAW

_________________
Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

if you're not a Cubs fan, your opinion about what is being "ravaged" is invalid.

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

My guy Junior will pull a Marmol and become a lights out reliever. It'll save me from turning his shirsey into a dish rag.

Not being able to hold runners doesnt matter.

Not being able to get outs matters more. 15 hits and 3 walk braj.

No. 5 years for a pitcher is too many. If he were Kershaw or someone of that ilk at the prime of his career, unlikely to fall off anytime soon, you make an exception. Lester's best has probably been produced already. He's still solid, but not special. No deal at those numbers.

_________________
Go Cubs!!!!

America wants baseball games to be 5 hours long so he's a bigfan of infinite pickoff attempts.

David Ross, the guy who typically caught Jon Lester while in Boston, is one of the better throwing catchers in baseball.

Jon Lester GS per catcher:

91 Jason Varitek (known for being bad defensively)
64 Jarrod Saltalamacchia (known for being bad defensively)
29 Davis Ross
27 Victor Martinez (known for being bad defensively)

Sit down, child, and let the grown-ups talk.

_________________
Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

No AJ? He missed out.

Well, until this year, he bothered trying to pick off runners. He at least tried. So his career stats overwhelmingly represent years when he tried to pick off runners, something he does not do anymore. You're looking at the wrong numbers.

This year David Ross, a very good defensive catcher, caught most of his games. That's why his CSR is 2% below league average.