Now that it seems that Wood’s arm lasted one whole year in the pen as a closer certainly adds a stability we haven’t had in a few years. Wood’s a class act and I think he’d want to stay. Barring a meltdown in his own situation, I like to think Dempster will pitch at least at the same level he has this year in 2009.

The drama of arbitration is part of the business but seriously, the Cubs would be insane to press it too long. They’re going to need them, plain and simple for the fact that good pitching is still going to be hard to get. A chase for Sabathia, if the Cubs want him, had better not keep Demp and Woody up in the air – their performance this year warrants some decent respect.

Will the people that predicted he’d suck this year just admit they were wrong instead of saying okay he’ll suck next year.

Are we going to get back into reality about this? Seriously…The only team NOT on the west coast that is willing to shell out the cash Sabathia will demand (to stay away from the west coast) is the Yankees. They already are feeling incredible pressure from all over, not the least of which is from the fans — fans who are expecting nothing short of post-season glory next year. New Ballpark, high ticket prices, coming off crummy season all = Leaders in bidding for CC, that will spare no expense. If Dempster and Wood are allowed to walk, then we will need to add someone, but I doubt it will be of the caliber of CC, at least in terms of performance of this season. In addition, lets not forget the drive (insatiable hunger) for a speedy left-handed bat.

I dont really clamor for CC as I dont see pitching as the teams problem, plus if he gets like a 7 year deal for around 20M a year, hes bound to break down at some point, despite his clean record thus far.

I like the idea of stock piling first rounders, if only this wasnt the Cubs.

But I’d rather keep Wood. He had a good year, and he would solidify an excellent bullpen. Guzman, Samardzija, Marmol, Wood, Gaudin, Cotts. That’s a top notch bullpen.

But you’re crazy.

The guy pitched great this year. He is willing to stay for less than for just about any team. For 5/50? That’s Marquis money. You keep him.

Even if by the end he’s at the bottom of the rotation, you stay with him.

The picks?! How far back do you want to go? We stunk it up in the playoffs, but the key is to keep getting there and you keep having a chance. Look at the Cardinals, Red Sox, even the Braves. This team did reasonably well. Just needs a bit of a tweak.

They’ll both be signed. But even if you did offer them both arbitration, they’d both accept, so the draft pick idea wouldn’t work anyway.

But if this played out wouldn’t we have to give the Brewers a draft pick for Sabathia? Since we’d be somewhere in the 20’s its not protected.

Excuse my ignorance, I’m not 100% sure how that works…so I could be way off base.

— Dempster is willing to take a 3 year maximum contract. Which in this market he would be a fool to do so. Problem is I am not sold at any level of Dempster to perform anywhere close to his career year in 2008. Signing him to big money has Jeff Suppan written all over it.

— Wood’s arm is a mess and a big medical risk. The odds are long that he will be able to stay as healthy and relatively effective going forward as he did in 2008. Anything more than a two year incentive laden deal is exceptionally foolish.

I respect what they do in the clubhouse but our farm system is seriously in peril. I dont think there is a chance either of them accepts which would help restock the farm…

Bob Howry is a type B reliever.. But we cant afford to offer him arbritration.. HE would accept..

especially with Tim Wilken making the selections, both Wood and Dempster are more likely to sign with an upper-echelon team if they don’t re-sign with the Cubs. They would have more value to the Mets or Yankees than the Royals or Mariners at this stage of their careers. Thus, they would be more likely to net 2nd round picks than 1st round picks.