Enough of Jason Marquis

Marquis suffices for a #5 starter. He’s not good; he’s not terrible. That’s all you can expect from a #5 starter. I like Gallagher as a #4 guy more than Marquis. Skip Marquis in the rotation, if an off day in the schedule permits.

Oakland is only 5 games out of the division race and only 4.5 games out of the wild card race. How eager are the A’s to unload Harden when Oakland still has a chance to make the playoffs?

He is afraid to pitch to contact, which causes him to avoid the strike zone like the plague which leads to his walks. He is afraid to trust the rest of the team to back him up defensively, all he needs to do is execute pitches.

...the Cubs really need to add a frontline starting pitcher if this team is going to realize it’s best potential. Definition of a frontline starting pitcher is Rich Harden. Billy Beane is interested in moving him and the Cubs are trying to win a World Series for the first time in100 years. Make the move Jim Hendry, make the move. If you have to give up multiple top prospects then DO IT. The sooner the better.

Even if he were not a walking infirmary what in the world makes people think the
A’s will trade when they are in the HUNT and have an option for 09 ? Personally I think
we should tell Hendry to get Edison Volquez and if he can’t he is a worthless GM. I know
it has been pointed out countless times to Blue Mike and his ilk but the idea that the Cubs have the goods to get an “A” starter if one is EVEN AVAILABLE are laughable. Most team can do just about as well with their compensation draft picks then we might offer. I don’t think are trading chips are worthless but the ain’t gonna get you CC , Harden or probably not even Cook ( not sure on his contract status). Most realistic thing the Cubs can do is go fishing for better , more reliable 3-5 starters, Wolf definately, Padilla might become available and some others.
Stop making stuff up about how the Cubs can get guys who very likely WILL NOT BE
TRADED AT ALL.

...and I’ll be glad to miss one like it again.

Yes, Marquis is Marquis and think we all knew what we were getting when they signed him. He is a well paid #5 starter and unless someone out there really wants to get rid of talent to bolster our rotation I think he’ll stay our #5 starter (can you even imagine him in the bullpen?! – yikes).

could be really attractive to the Indians. These other teams, (if you are talking about the Brewers), have no reason to even realistically try to get Sabathia. The Brewers are interested mainly to drive up the price for the Cubs & Angels. Most other teams won’t have the dollars to sign Sabathia. The Cubs have a unique combination of money & prospects.

Does getting Harden (or whomever) mean Marquis is out? I doubt it. Marquis is in because of his contract. Trade Marquis now – and Jon Lieber steps in and instantly makes the rotation better.

How much are you willing to give for Harden? I don’t think we get a single frontline pitcher w/o giving up Gallagher. Are you willing to trade for Harden if doing so means you are stuck with Marquis as your #5?

ESPN by Buster Olney, Harden will not move unless 1. The A’s are out of it and 2. Beane is completely blown away by an offer. Cubs do not have the pieces to make that deal. Cubs really don’t have the pieces to make a CC deal. Unless the Indians bite on a Gallagher, Colvin, Patterson and one other piece.
Marquis is what he is, he will end up 13-11 and piss us off the whole year.

The Yankees, Phillies and Brewers all have much better farms systems to draw from. The Cub system is not in good shape right now. Ignoring the very green Josh Vitters, there is not a single “blue chip” or grade A prospect in the system.

Tim Wilkens didn’t exaclty have a great 2006 draft. And Oneri Flieta has sucked for years.

If the Cubs can’t get Sabathia or Harden … whom do they get?

Another candidate is Randy Wolf of the Padres…I suppose Maddux too but I just don’t see him contributing, sorry Al.

Don’t get me started on Maddux, lets just say I think he prefers the SoCal situation but he would better than Marquis and in the long run Gallagher.

What? You can’t mean what you’re saying here.

This is one area where Jim Hendry needs to do his best. Try to hornswaggle Mark Shapiro by talking up EPatt, Veal, etc. and explaining that their stats don’t tell the whole story. Talk up their moxie, their athleticism, the cut of their jib. Make like the proverbial used car dealer, Jim, and get us C.C.!

Rich Harden will not be traded. Oakland is still in the race and he is a vital part of them staying in the race. Plus we don’t have the prospects to net Harden. It’s like someone trying to trade for Mark Prior in 2004.

C.C. Sabathia should be our primary goal. Donnie Veal, Dae-Eun Rhee (can he be traded?), Wellington Castillo, and Eric Patterson for Sabathia might be something that would get Cleveland intrested. However, Rhee would be a BIG price to pay, that is, IF he can be traded. Hendry would have to get alittle creative.

We have to find a taker for Jason Marquis, and if not, they should seriously look into releasing him. It makes no sense on having him on this team really. You might as well start Samardzija .. at least he has the potential to be dominate.

A potential rotation of: Zambrano – Sabathia – Dempster – Lilly – Gallagher would be the best rotation is a long, long, time. All of the starters would have the potential to dominate, and you have a starter that has upside (Gallagher), and 3 proven pitchers (Sabathia, Zambrano, Lilly) and a guy that’s having a great season (Dempster). There is a chance that Gallagher fails, but it’s a much better chance than having Marquis pitching 5th day.

Wishful thinking anyway. I’ll put faith in it though, isn’t that what us Cub fans do anyways?

But I’m not sure I want to give up the amount of young talent most teams will be wanting. Granted we could luck out and get someone cheap but I doubt it. And can we afford to get C.C. or Harden and afford them next year? I have heard someone say to get Maddox back, Im ok with that. I think he has the ability to get us to the WS and win it. He would be basically cheap and we know what he can do. C.C. has no experiance at the plate. Like it or not we do need a pitcher that can handle the bat, bunting and a clutch base hit every now and again. I dont see C.C. bunting at all.

as the Indians have spent a lot of resources scouting our organization. A hole we HAVE to fill though is up the middle. Every game there are grounders going into CF that MOST MLB shortstops routinely get. Theriot has the range of a turtle. Marquis is, seriously, just a BAD pitcher. The reason he won 5 in a row (or whatever it is that Len was talking about yesterday) is because he was getting a ton of run support. Harden isn’t worth the price asked for him. We need to KEEP Gallagher. I think if we eat Marquis’ contract, he can be part of a PACKAGE to get a quality pitcher. And, I think CC is it. Just make sure he is signed. But Marquis and Theriot are serious weaknesses on our team. Throwing in a SS hitting over .300 would be a plus in any package. However, I am sure that his lack of range has been well noted.

...but I think that Sabathia is the better pickup. We need someone we can count on through the end of the season, to carry us into the playoffs and beyond. The risk associated with Harden is really scary. Especially if you have to give up Gallagher – your best backup plan – to get him (and I honestly think that you’ll have to give up Gallagher to get either of those guys).

But failing that, Harden is the best backup plan. If I were Hendry, this would be my shopping list in order of priority:

1) Sabathia
2) Harden
3) Bedard
4) Wolf

Burnett’s contract is a minefield, so there’s no way I would look at him. Any of these 4 guys makes us a better team however.

makes me want to cry.

I bet most of you didn’t want Edmonds and were too smart to say so and only begrudgingly admitted for now you are wrong. Most of you also are Murton lovers, believe Pie will part the Red Sea and thought Cedeno was worthless.

As for the trading prospects:
First assumption is that the Cubs are going to make a trade and possibly two or three in their pitching staff. I would fall to the floor if the Cubs got Harden or Sabathia, for three reasons, this is not Hendry’s modus operandi (no matter what you all wish arsfor) and two the Cubs simply do not have the porspect jack to get either one, and three they don’t need one (unless Zambrano goes down).

What Hendry will do is probably work the second tier, my guess is that Burkett is a prime target for the Cubs could extend his contract, he is young and still a power pitcher, second target will be Oswalt where Houston is about to wave the white flag and knows it needs quantity in the prospect world and then three depending on Bedard’s health look at Houston’s failed trade. All three will come with the current Cubs offering of prospects and also give the Cubs something in 2009. To me Bedard (3.97 ERA, 4-4, 1.32 WHIP) offers the greatest possibility in that he needs a fresh start mentally, has another year on his FA offering and the Cubs want a left-hander. Finally Seattle would take Pie and possibly Patterson along with a Hill or Marshall & Ascanio (if Hill is healthy), ridding themselves of the last Bavasi move. The Mariners then could move Ibanez and get some more players.

As for Marquis: 5/15 quality starts (6 IP less than 3-ER), 4/15 other starts 5.2-5.0 IP less than 3-Runs, 4/15 starts 5-IP 4 or 5 runs scored. That is essentially 13/15 decent to good quality starts. Cubs are 9-6 (.600) when he pitches, (almost in line with their record). He is a good #4 starter but not a difference maker or a #4 on a championship team. If he were a #5 (which Gallagher is now) than he would be okay. But I think the Cubs can do better and still believe the Cubs could trade Marquis to SD for Maddux straight up. Cubs get the professor who can help the team prepare and help Maddux at least leap frog over Clemens.

The other trade is Cotts for Fuentes as rumored.