Sure its always a crapshoot but the same people saying they lost out on this would be the first ones skewering the Cubs for giving a marginal catcher big money and years and now OMG he sucks why did they sign him for that kind of money?

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

Pretty clear by now that a high draft pick pitcher is not something they want. Their philosophy has been to draft positional players, because they are a better asset. And to sign and trade for pitching, as it's easier to acquire.

They will be contending in the next few years. You know that

And you can't rip them for Girardi and not give them credit for Maddon

Sox fan reaction to every rumored Cub signing

If signed: Too much money, overrated


If not signed: Whoa man the Cubs needed that guy

Not really. That applies to less than 5 of us.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

The Cubs will be even better because they were lucky that Toronto was willing to be a bigger sucker.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Agreed.

I'm not going to be happy with a huge Lester contract but I'd be even more ticked if they signed Martin to that deal.

Hell, I'm more unhappy they didn't get in the Heyward trade talks..

Hendry would have given him the 5 years, $83M.

This is why we appreciate Theo and Jed.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

Completely agree. I would have loved to get in on the Heyward deal and would feel better if the Cubs didn't give $25M a year to a pitcher that has a lot of miles on him.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Yup.

I love the fact that America wrote a Siniesque post that everyone ignored.

People are learning.

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

And 4 of those are Frank.

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2018
#ExtendLafleur
10 More Wins

Would love Heyward but I don't think the Cubs have enough young pitching as it is and that's what it took

And a no trade



Hendry had a good run though

There's like 9 of us total


I'll amend it to Cub hatin Sox fans

I don't think he stays in STL. The cat is going to want to get paid. He turned down ATL offer when they were giving everyone extensions.

Yes I can.

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

As long as you state that it is their belief your statement is fine.

I would debate you if you hold that the underlying supposition of the belief they hold is true.

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

[quote="badrogue17]Sure its always a crapshoot but the same people saying they lost out on this would be the first ones skewering the Cubs for giving a marginal catcher big money and years and now OMG he sucks why did they sign him for that kind of money?[/quote]

They failed in pursuing a marginal talent. They also failed in not landing a guy they prioritized. There is nothing inconsistent in the criticism.

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

Nah, Rogue is right

If they signed him yesterday there would be an 8 page thread and 6 of it would be saying how bad the deal is

In fairness, there would be just as many Cubs fans defending the deal there too.

I mean, yesterday I said that the Cubs need to have a payroll that is more in line with who they are as a franchise and got shouted down even though there is another thread that basically says the same thing that I got almost universal agreement with towards the end of the year.

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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!

Of course Cub fans would defend the deal. Many wanted it.

A lot of people may agree that the payroll should be higher. The problem is making up the huge difference in one off season would have to include foolish spending

#truth

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Correct. The correct move would have been never prioritizing him in the first place. The expected cost should have been apparent from last year's market.

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

The price of poker is crazy high. With the Stanton extension and Martin deal, I bet the Cubs come up just short (on purpose) because they won't have the stomach for the cost of these contacts. I have been one of the few to fully to defend the Plan. At some point they need to spend money to fill in the holes, but I have a tough time thinking a 30+ year old pitcher at 6 years/$25M is a smart long term move. If they can swing a Jordan Zimmerman trade, then I would prefer that. They need long term pitchers whose ages line up with their position players.

I looked at Lester's numbers, which are solid. But last year was way better than his career stats. Of note, the WHIP (1.10 2014 vs. 1.28 career) was strangely low, and it makes me think it was a contract year performance. Mean reversion is likely. His numbers are very good overall, but probably not worth what he is going to get.

I'd like to see two strong signings this off season as long as it does not hamper their long term payroll flexibility. They still need to be smart in balancing the present with the future.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

You keep on coming back to the concept of spending it all in one year. I made it clear that as long as they were active that it wouldn't be a big deal if it took them two years to get back to where they should be in terms of payroll.

However, when you set the bar at what you think the Cubs should be paying(spoiler alert: never market value) instead of what they actually have to pay it changes everything.

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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!

The question I never see asked (except to note some "special" relationship btw Lester & Theo) is why would Lester (or any top line free agent pitcher) come here unless the Cubs wildly overpay for him?

When he was traded last year, he admitted to being primarily interested in returning to Boston. He's won two rings there, he has to be something of a civic hero and he's lived there for at least 7-8 years. Given the Cubs' history, unless they gave you a relative Soriano deal & you already have that legacy/security in another real major league city, why would you come here?

Especially given that half the season it's a poor park to pitch in.

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

It's a fair question. I can say the team that wins the World Series with the Cubs will be revered ala the current Blackhawks. I know other MLB cities like Boston have a similar reverence for their athletes.

The 85 Bears still capture the popular imagination. A 2018 Cubs World Series winner would be legendary. Yes I said 2018.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

I've been saying it since Girardi's name first surfaced.

The relationship between GM and player with a guaranteed contract is pretty much limited to making sure the check is signed.

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

At first you were talking about this year. That is all I argued.


Also, that every position player that works out the payroll will be a little lower.


Im hoping for a Phillies or Giants type situation. In both cases the team's payroll was in the middle (13th) when they won their first title (because drafted guys like Posey, Bumgarner, Rollins, Howard, and Utley werent making huge money yet) and then went up and up from there. That's the whole idea of a youth movement in baseball.

If it all works out, the payroll will gradually rise with the resigning of good/great homegrown players and needed free agents to fill holes as opposed to a 2006 type spending spree the Cubs had.

I agree, but he already has that in Boston.

Of course, if I'm his agent I'm constantly reminding him about Mike Hampton and his ill fated free agency in Colorado. But at least he got wildly overpaid.

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.