Mets Release Oliver Perez
No, I do NOT want him on the Cubs. This is yet another example of how a team is willing to eat a large contract when they determine the player is hurting the team. It's time for the Cubs to do the same with Carlos Silva (and maybe Jeff Samardzija, too). The Mets have now released $18 million worth of contracts this spring.
about 1 year ago
Al Yellon
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I enjoy watching the Mets & Dodgers off-field antics.
And Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo were both very bad baseball players. Good for the Mets.
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by TJ11 on Mar 21, 2011 8:25 AM CDT reply actions 3 recs
Money aside
Which twelve break camp?
Dempster, Zambrano Garza Wells Cashner (I still disagree, but I’ll play along)
Marmol, Marshall, Wood.
Grabow
Which other three make it? I’ll keep Shark if you only have two.
Good question.
My guess? Shark, Maine and maybe Coleman as the long man … ?
Yeah, that would probably work.
Coleman, though, hasn’t had very much playing time — just three appearances.
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Don't get that at all
He was decently effective as a starter last year. Not HOF material, but I don’t understand why he got left out of the mix for the #5 spot. Oh yeah, and he is cheap….
I can't think of another righty.
I know you’re not a fan, but there is Marcos Mateo.
Yeah, I was basically pulling Al's chain.
The Cubs might need to fill out the pen with a castaway from another team.
Mateo got himself out of trouble yesterday.
But I still don’t like him.
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Might be the best of a few bad options.
I’m not a fan, either, though.
I agree.
In fact, if Cashner does make the rotation and Silva is released, I’d start with Mateo. At least he’s a power arm.
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Who can't throw strikes.
And who gives up a ton of home runs.
No, thank you.
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But who else should get the job?
Stevens? Berg?
That's the thing.
I’m not christening Mateo the next Mariano Rivera, but at least he throws hard (unlike Berg and Stevens) and struck out over a batter an inning (10.8 K/9) in his first 21.2 MLB innings last season. (Small sample size alert!) Again, I’d start with Mateo and move on to other options if he can’t keep the walks and bombs under control.
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Sorry, no.
Too many walks, and six HR allowed in the 21.2 innings. That’s a really bad ratio. Throwing hard isn’t enough.
I don’t know what the answer is, but it ain’t him, IMO.
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Weren't you in the crowd last year ...
who criticized Hendry bashers because they couldn’t point to someone else who would be a better GM for the Cubs? :)
I know that the 12th man in the pen is far less significant than the Cubs GM. But given the other options, Mateo is probably the best bet we have right now.
Scary.
Maybe the Cubs can trade for someone, or pick up someone who’s waived.
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Yeah, I said that earlier.
We are forgetting about Wellemyer. Any chance he makes it?
He's been hurt, unfortunately.
I thought he might have a shot at it, but time runs short.
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Yeah.
Too bad. I always liked him, for some reason.
I remember his very first appearance...
… in Milwaukee, where he struck out the side in his MLB debut in the bottom of the 17th, to get a save.
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He struck out an ungodly amount of batters in his first month.
May 2003 – 7.2 IP, 13K. 0.00 ERA. 0 BB, 2 hits.
Remember that extra innings May 2003 game at home vs. Houston? He pitched the 15th and 16th, and struck out 4 straight.
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But it's also a really small sample, no?
And he’s only 26 years old. Plus, the alternatives aren’t really inspiring: Coleman (probably better off at Iowa developing as a starter) Angel Guzman (recovering from injury), Jeff Stevens (as mentioned, doesn’t throw as hard, lives and dies by questionable breaking ball) Justin Berg (soft-tossing groundball guy who gets lit up when he’s off), Todd Wellemeyer (long man at best), Braden Looper (same), James Russell (also better off starting at Iowa). I’d just rather have a guy who at least has a shot at missing some bats.
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Wellemyer.
We are talking about the 12th man, and Wellemyer could probably start in a pinch. He has been better than Looper this spring, hasn’t he?
Welly now has a sore hip...
…according to this Muskat article (at the very bottom). And he’s just never been a particularly effective pitcher (aside from that one season in St. Louis). If Silva’s in the pen, then he’d be the emergency starter. If not, then maybe Samardzija could make a spot start or they could just call up someone from Iowa.
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Quade has said Silva is not a candidate for the pen.
Baseball is back!!
by cowsarecool220 on Mar 21, 2011 1:25 PM CDT up reply actions
Yeah, I noticed that, too.
But I’m also reading/hearing that Cashner is the frontrunner for the last rotation spot. So, unless Silva really turns things around in his next start, it appears the Cubs are almost going to have to trade or release him. I’m just guessing they’ll change their tune and put him in the bullpen because a trade probably isn’t the offing and it’s not like the Cubs to just dump a guy owed that much money.
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OK, honestly ...
can we stop suggesting that Silva will be traded? There’s NO WAY any team would give him more than a minor-league deal right now.
I’ll be more than happy to be proven wrong on this, but why would anybody want Silva for more than a tryout?
Like I said...
…a trade probably isn’t in the offing.
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Yes, you did.
My apologies. I got distracted and didn’t read your whole post.
That's who I'd pick.
It’s just to start the season so if it doesn’t work out you could just get rid of him and bring someone up from the minors.
Baseball is back!!
by cowsarecool220 on Mar 21, 2011 1:24 PM CDT up reply actions
he doesn't walk an awful amount.
he strikes out a lot of guys, and he has a lower bb/9 then Cashner does in the minors. The real concern is the home runs.
Awful early
to have an adult-sized doghouse.
honestly though
how much slack is Hendry giving Quade to make the ultimate decisions?
"There had to be a place where the game could be fun again….that place is called Wrigley Field"---Andre Dawson
So who's the #5 starter?
Is it Cashner then? If it is, I sure hope he’s able to handle the workload.
by jerry morales rules on Mar 21, 2011 9:49 AM CDT up reply actions
If he doesn't come up with another pitch or 2...
his workload will be minimal, because, he won’t make it past 5 innings per start. 100 MPH fastballs seem to travel quite far.
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Yeah, but who's a better option?
Silva’s been lit up like a pinball machine, Looper’s pitching on fumes, Wellemyer’s hurt, Russell’s ticketed for Iowa and Coleman’s hardly seen any action.
It seems like it was a battle among Silva, Cashner and (maybe) Russell from the start. Of those three, Cashner has been the best.
What happened with Coleman?
He piss Quade off or somethin’? Or is it that the Cubs have a gazillion dollars owed to Silva and they need to hurry Cashner…aka the Golden Child…into the rotation, so, Coleman was left out of the mix? He pitched decent at the end last year. Deserves more of a look, IMO.
"I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die." - Anonymous
Yeah, I really don't get that...
… especially since Coleman’s success came under Quade’s managerial tenure.
Incidentally, apropos of nothing, here is the catcher breakdown for Coleman’s eight starts last year:
Geovany Soto: 5
Welington Castillo: 2
Koyie Hill: 1
Draw your own conclusions.
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I believe Cashner has at least three pitches.
The fastball, a slider and a changeup. And I’m pretty sure I’ve read that Kerry Wood has been helping him develop a cutter.
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Here's my guess:
Starting rotation
Ryan Dempster RHP
Carlos Zambrano RHP
Matt Garza RHP
Randy Wells RHP
Andrew Cashner RHP
Bullpen
Carlos Marmol RHP
Kerry Wood RHP
Sean Marshall LHP
John Grabow LHP
Jeff Samardzija RHP
Carlos Silva RHP – I think the Cubs will give Silva every opportunity to fail before they release him — including in the bullpen.
Scott Maine LHP
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I think the Cubs will give Silva every opportunity to fail before they release him — including in the bullpen.
He’s already accomplished that failure. Enough.
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Yeah, it would make all of our lives simpler...
…if they just released him now a la Castillo and Perez. But I get the feeling the Cubs will be more patient about it. And, admittedly, that’s just my very distant impression.
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Just had this thought.
We have 10 days before Opening Day. If any of the starters go down, who moves into the rotation? As has been noted, Coleman has hardly pitched. Russell seems ticketed to AAA, and Shark is set for the bullpen.
Assuming the Cubs don’t keep Looper around, the Cubs might be keeping Silva mostly as an emergency backup starting pitcher whom they hope will get a little better in the last days of ST.
I’m not thrilled by this option, but I think we would have seen more of Coleman if it wasn’t a strong possibility.
I think you lose very little right now...
between Silva and AAA filler. That said though, it’s very un-Cub to flat out release a player, so I’d personally look for a DL trip to start the season.
by Damen Jackson on Mar 21, 2011 12:03 PM CDT up reply actions
But is there anybody stretched out?
I agree with what you’re saying. I’m just trying to read tea leaves.
Listening between the lines
In an interview, Hendry didn’t squash the possibility of Silva being released. Rather, he emphasized that any such decision had to be made at the last minute.
by AboutTheCubs on Mar 21, 2011 12:17 PM CDT up reply actions
That's good to know.
He may not be in the next round of cuts, which could come today or tomorrow. Maybe they’re still trying to deal him.
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I don't see any chance that another team would take Carlos Silva.
Maybe on a minor-league deal. But nothing more.
Dealing him
In trying to deal Silva, they can probably sell high on Baker or Castillo. They should keep Castillo even though he will likely go to Iowa. But if somebody is willing to take more of Silva’s salary by including Baker too, then the team can keep Moore and not be giving up much of fielding versatility that Baker provides. I assume the Cubs would get no more than low prospects in player return. I don’t know if they can waggle anything for Max Ramirez. If the Cardinals snatched up Theriot before he hit the open market, then it might be possible to get money for him.
by AboutTheCubs on Mar 21, 2011 12:51 PM CDT up reply actions
I thought I heard that Silva is not going to be considered in the bullpen
Starting pitcher is the only option.
by jerry morales rules on Mar 21, 2011 1:53 PM CDT up reply actions
It's the only option right now.
Maybe Quade changes his tune in another week or so.
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Won't take that long.
They may be making some hard choices as soon as tomorrow.
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Cashner
I think Cashner is going to be in the rotation. If not, then Coleman in the rotation and Cashner in the bullpen. Because of being shorthanded I don’t think they are considering an option of having Cashner starting in Iowa. This would be easier had Silva or Looper pitched well enough to be on the team.
The bullpen would go Marmol, Wood, Marshall, Grabow, Russell, Samardzija, and Cashner or Maine. Coleman goes to Iowa if he doesn’t start.
by AboutTheCubs on Mar 21, 2011 12:00 PM CDT up reply actions
Now, the flip side of this of course...
Is how long it actually took the Mets to cut bait. I don’t know how closely you follow the them, but both players should have really been let go a year ago; easily.
You're probably right.
But still, they made the tough choices — and this is a team in financial trouble.
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Do you think they
will keep Oliver Clothesoff?
Could this be a preamble to a bankruptcy filing?
Could these moves be in advance of the team either filing for bankruptcy or setting it up for a sale? It just seems odd to jettison this much money in the span of a few days.
I think I speak for everyone here when I say, "Wait, what the hell are you talking about?"
Wouldn't have a shot in hell of working.
But I wouldn’t put it past them to try it.
Remember Last Year at the Trading Deadline?
There was a suggestion that the Cubs might trade Zambrano to the Mets for Perez and Luis Castillo. I don’t know how real that was, but considering that the Mets have ended up releasing both of them, it’s a good thing that trade didn’t happen.
by Jody Jody Davis on Mar 22, 2011 2:20 PM CDT reply actions
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