Who are new Cubs Garrett Olson and Hank Williamson?

I was wandering more in depth about these 2. what kinda speed does olsen have on his fastball??

two dudes about to get traded for Jake Peavy. I’ve been holding off in my Peavy-anticipation this off season, but all these trading blocks have added up to me salivating for what a few months ago looked like a pipe dream.

I was wondering the same thing about Olsen, anyone know what type of velocity he has..Hill is as good as gone before the season starts, sounds like the two pitchers are pretty similar, although Olsen has a change, Hill..not so much…If Olsen has a 90+ fastball, worst case scenario he can be the lefty out of the pen.

Although getting peavy would be great..why not play it out till the trade deadline..I bet that as the soon moves along, everyone is gonna be pushing for the lead-off hitter, not another pitcher. Keep our prospects, let marshall, Olsen, Shark, Gauidan, and maybe a FA reclamation project fight for the 5th spot. I have hear that Mulder has been throwing well and he is a chicago boy, one of the suburbs…sign him and see what he has, whats the risk..

THROW STRIKES….for a hitter like Piniella was he lived on situations where a pitcher had to come into his hitting zone and he knows that is where MLB players earn their living.

Challenge a hitter and the odds are with you if you have the stuff.

But it appears that Olson is slated for a starting role with SD if a trade is in the works….

SD didn’t want Pie but wanted starting pitching and something Towers saw or knows thinks Olson is a potential pitcher at Petco. Marshall OTOH appears to be a reliever because of his stamina, which is something the Cubs need.

Williamson appears to fill Cubs need to retool and regenerate. Same for Gaub, while Stevens appears to be another player Towers would like to use in a low budget payroll, same for Hart. Here is the whole package in a nutshell….

Olson is 420K+Stevens 400K+ Hart 400K+Cedeno 833K+ Vitters + R. Hill 420K as a flyer = $2.47M with a corresponding reduction of $11M and reducing SD below the $40M mark.

Cubs get Peavy, reduce their payroll $1.3M, unload Hill without DFA’ing him, unload Cedeno without carrying him or DFA’g, got rid of Pie without DFA’g him, unload DeRosa’s $5.5M, Marquis’s $9.85M and trade minor league value of Hart & Vitters.

They shed $16.6M in total that allowed the Cubs to sign FA, Miles $2.2M + Bradley $7M Vizcaino $3M = $12.2M leaving $4.2M in reserves, to apply to Peavy’s $11M or the cost of $6.8M

It is a masterful work to add from spare parts, peripheral points on the roster and prospects, while opening a spot for Fontenot’s bat. I still say it all fits if Miles eventually beats out Theriot for the starting SS and Fontenot & Theriot platoon at 2B.

Now if Aurilia joins the club for $2M and Bako for $500K the total add will be $9.3M on the current payroll and right under $140M.

Tell me where is the weakness on this proposed roster?
Rotation: Peavy, Zambrano, Dempster, Lilly, Harden
Bullpen: Marmol, Gregg, Vizcaino, Cotts, Marshall, Wuertz, Samardz or Gaudin
Starting IF: Soto, Lee, Fontenot, Theriot, Ramirez
Starting OF: Soriano, Fukudome, Bradley
Bench: Bako, Johnson, Gathright, Miles, Aurilia

The strength is in the rotation where all top teams must be anchored. Bullpen has heavy stuff, with some competition, offense that scored more runs than any team in the NL is stronger while the bench has more versatility.

I hate to say it but the Orioles will not be contending anytime soon stuck in the AL East.

Awesome name for a pitcher from Texas.

How garret olson, he of the over 6.50 ERA in MLB, is considered to have more upside and probably more trade value than Sean Marshall, who has posted sub 4.00 ERAs most of his time in the bigs, is just beyond me. Sometimes I just don’t understand baseball. I look at it, and this trade sucks on the face of it. But what do I know?

R.J. Anderson at Fangraphs.com has a pretty good article up today giving the Cubs the thumbs down on this one. His argument is that the Cubs don’t have much patience with prospects.

He’s also not too big on Olson either.

Olson is an unspectacular starter with average stuff and below-average stats. Olson’s minor league strikeouts have yet to carry over neither has his control in the minors. A 5.13 FIP isn’t overly encouraging, and neither is the homerun problem, but CHONE foresees a better season in 2009 for Olson, 153 innings and a 4.96 FIP. The Cubs might use Olson in relief, or in the back of the rotation, and that is the problem here.

Anderson argues that with Bradley’s health, the Cubs could be in need of another lefty bat such as Pie’s.

It’s a compelling argument, but I’m like most of us here, in that there’s probably another big move brewing.

I’m just catching up on the Pie trade, so this helps a lot. Call me crazy, but I’m a little more excited about Williamson than Olson. According to this local (Baltimore) article:

Williamson, 23, was the Orioles’ 14th round selection in the 2007 First Year Player Draft. He went 0-1 with two saves, a 3.72 ERA (29.0IP, 12ER) and 42 strikeouts in 20 games with Class-A Aberdeen (17 games) and Demarva (3 games) in 2008.

42 Ks in 29+ innings pitched sounds good to me. Sounds like a decent, young power arm for the bullpen. Just the kind Lou likes.

About Olson, I’m a little more cautious. Maybe I’m just snakebit after the Rich Hill debacle, but I’m a little wary of another soft-tossing lefty finesse guy. If he is destined to be part of a Peavy trade, great. I just hope Hendry doesn’t deal Marshall to the Padres and keep Olson.

I remember hearing about Pie since 2004 thinking, oh boy I cannot wait for him to make it to the big leagues! 07 rolls around and I remember everyone was hyped up for his big league debit when Soriano as injured. Now less than 2 years later, he isn’t even on the team anymore, making that time thinking he could be a good player for the Cubs worthless

at BP and BA, but neither really gives us anything new on Hank Williamson. That likely means he hasn’t done anything really to catch any scouts eyes and get them talking.

Dave (Portland, OR): Jim, what can you tell us about Henry Williamson, just acquired by the Cubs for Pie?

 Jim Callis: Strong arm, big frame, some potential but a long way from reaching it. The Cubs have done a masterful job recently of getting previously obscure minor leaguers in minor deals (Kevin Hart, Jose Ceda, to name two), so maybe Williamson will turn into something.

Matt (Garfield Hts, OH): Any word on Rich Hill? Obviously the Cubs can’t count on him for the rotation this year but have you heard anything that might at least put him in the mix?

 Jim Callis: You don’t hear Hill’s name much up here in Chicago. Lou Piniella has been a good manager for the Cubs, but when he gets down on player, it’s pretty much over for that player. Hill is in that doghouse, as was Felix Pie prior to the trade

.

So, here’s a question, if anyone’s still looking at this fanpost, do you read Callis’ comments as suggesting Lou impacted Hill negatively or just that Hill won’t get another shot with the Cubs?