Own Disney's Million Dollar Arm on Blu-ray™ and Digital HD today!
You've undoubtedly heard about the Disney film "Million Dollar Arm," and as noted above, it's now available for you to buy. (Full disclosure: this is a paid promotion article.)
So, which Cubs pitcher would best fit that description? Obviously, in modern major-league ball, $1 million doesn't buy you much of a pitcher. (In the Cubs' case, $11 million for Edwin Jackson didn't buy them much of a pitcher, either.)
But hey, we're talking semantics here rather than actual dollars. Every team has, or should have, a "million-dollar arm," or, in baseball terms, an "ace."
We've talked about the idea of the Cubs having an ace, or top-of-the-rotation starter, and maybe they have one in Jake Arrieta. Always considered a top Orioles prospect and their Opening Day starter two years ago, Arrieta never fulfilled that promise with Baltimore and came to the Cubs in what has to be seen as Theo Epstein & Co.'s best trade. Pedro Strop came along with Arrieta in return for three months of Scott Feldman.
I suppose the Orioles aren't complaining too much, what with them being in the American League Championship Series this year. But with Arrieta and Strop (and others), the Cubs have a much better pitching staff which could help lead them back to the playoffs soon. Arrieta was not just the Cubs' best pitcher in 2014, he was among the better starters in all of baseball, and showed no ill effects from the minor shoulder issue that delayed his season for a month.
Perhaps you have a different personal definition of "Million Dollar Arm." Maybe it's a reliever like Neil Ramirez, or an up-and-comer like Arodys Vizcaino, or even someone who hasn't played in the big leagues yet, like C.J. Edwards. So I've attached a poll to this post so you can vote for your own selection. Arrieta, obviously, is my choice. The poll choices are in alphabetical order.
It's the offseason and news is slow, so have a little fun with this one.