It is of note that the Cubs did not finish in last place in their division for the past two years. Well, now that the Astros are moving to the AL, it's safe to say they'll end up back in last this year. Why? Well, I'm about to list several offseason moves that may not have been incredibly great choices.
- Yesterday, January 4th- Signs Edwin Jackson to a four year deal. Edwin's a great pitcher, but not for four years. He's the kind of pitcher you sign for one year, and you ultimately end up trading at the deadline. This has happened multiple times, and he is on track to break Octavio Dotel's record. Signing him to a four year deal will not help this.
- December 21st- signs Nate Schierholtz to a one year deal. Unfortunately for Chicago, the world doesn't end. Schierholtz is a low-rate, meh-ish outfielder who did absolutely nothing for my team next year, making him the white Xavier Nady. Why did the Cubs sign him? I don't know.
- December 17th- re-signs Ian Stewart. Because he did so well for them last year. Matter of fact, the Cubs actually declined an option on Stewart a few weeks before, until suddenly they did the opposite of come to their senses and resigned the kid. A shame, too. His best days were in Colorado.
- November 27th- Signs Scott Feldman to a one year deal. The one Rangers pitcher that isn't Matt Harrison, Yu Darvish or Derek Holland. Nice aim, Cubs. Feldman will be okay at best.
- November 16th- Signs Dioner Navarro to a one year deal. His best days are way behind him, he hasn't had a good hitting year since his days with Tampa, and his age is taking away from his catching ability. Sounds like a great backup catcher!
- November 14th- Signs Scott Baker to a one-year deal. Wow, the 3rd starter for a terrible Twins team. Sure to be great for the Cubs rotation.
The same Dontrelle Willis who was terrific for the Marlins, then once traded to Detroit forgot to pitch, prompting trades to Arizona, San Francisco, Cincinatti, and finally Philly, where he was deemed to awful to pitch, sent to the Orioles' minor system, and subsequently retired.
That guy.
And the Cubs see a great pitcher in him for 2013. Seriously.
Nothing can sum up the Cubs' offseason moves more than this. The Cubs want to sign a retired pitcher who was last seen in the Orioles' minor league system, lost his ability to hit the strike zone, and wears his hat at a 45 degree angle.
So for the Cubs to be a force in 2014, because we know 2013's gonna go right down the crapper (unless something miraculous happens), they need to scrap all these crappy players, start relying more on the decent-enough farm system, and actually make sensible decisions in terms of signing players. Then, they'll actually get out of last.
And back into 2nd to last place.
They only have a chance for 2nd place if 3 more teams move out of their division. :)
ReplyDeleteI think your missing the point here. The Cubs are not concerned about the Major League roster at this point, it's all about building the Minor League system. When Theo/Jed took over there was nothing in the pipeline. Most of these deals are to fill holes until the prospects come up (most likely 2015ish). None of the players listed above are part of the long term plan. Granted, the length of the Edwin Jackson deal is questionable but the rest are one year deals. It's going to be a few more 100 loss season before they compete and as a Cubs fan I'm ok with it since they have an actual plan to build this for the long term.
ReplyDeleteI'm fully aware that they're building for the future, but you'd think they'd at least make a decent effort to be a good team now. I know they're all one year deals, but for low rate players who should be other places. I know Theo's plan involves 2015, but to him that involves an incredibly poor 2013, which shouldn't happen.
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