Cubs lost their fifth straight today. Can’t say I didn’t see this coming.
You’re going to lose when you let Greg Dobbs and Ricky Nolasco’s best impression as a hitter produce RBI’s.
Awful game for Samardzija. Five runs charged through 3.2 innings of work. Old Jeffy came back with five walks.
Thought he would’ve come around…
Today, Ryan Dempster talked with Patrick Mooney about what exactly Ryan Dempster wishes to do beyond the 2012 season, when his contract expires. Dempster is approaching his age 35 season, and one which will see him being paid $14M in the final year of his contract.
Dempster said, “I’ve thought about that a lot. As you get older and you get near the end of contracts, you kind of wonder. But at the same time, when I signed on with the Cubs my first time, I was hurt and I had a chance (to) sit there on the bench and kind of watch it all play out in 2004. (I’ve) had a couple different opportunities to sign back and I’ve always thought I want to be here and win.”
His comments are essentially the typical talking points that you would hear in regards to the final walk year. His performance will not warrant nearly the amount of money on a yearly basis, however he is more than serviceable even at this point of his career.
It is impossible to predict what Dempster plans to do with the Cubs. He could be blowing smoke to the media, essentially saying he wants to stay in Chicago to increase the leverage from other clubs, or playing nice with the Chicago media until he leaves. There are several more possibilities, including the thought that he’s actually telling the truth. However the “I’ve always thought I want to be here and win” quote couldn’t possibly be true to a rational man.
Instead, the article drives a simple question: how much longer can Ryan Dempster pitch? It’s impossible to truly diagnose what the player thinks, but it would be safe to assume that Dempster has another two years in the tank.
I would really like to see Dempster retire as a Cub. He’s a true good guy, and a player Jim Hendry picked up on the cheap when no one else would; the typical player Cubs fans love to root for.
Lets hope Dempster actually finishes up with the Cubbies.
The Denver Post’s Troy Rench is reporting that the Colorado Rockies have requested a trade for Blake DeWitt in exchange for Rockie third baseman Ian Stewart.
While Stewart is probably going to be non-tendered given the presence of prospect Nolan Arenado, the potential trade would stop Stewart from signing with another team.
The step forward that Darwin Barney took at the plate (combined with the play of utilityman Jeff Baker) has made Blake DeWitt expendable. DeWitt, also a non-tender candidate, was relegated to only 243 plate appearances with Barney becoming the starting second baseman.
Ian Stewart, on the other hand, has demonstrated prodigious power in Triple-A, and was ranked as high as the number five prospect in all of baseball by Baseball America in 2005. Obviously, there is some potential in Stewart.
Entering his age 27 season, he could see a huge spike in production the same way Alex Gordon did last season (age 27 last season). And why not at the cost of Blake DeWitt? Not to disrespect DeWitt, but from a roster management perspective, you are dealing a player from a position of depth to gain a player who plays where you have none.
Here’s an idea. Why not ease Josh Vitters into a major league role by starting him against left-handed pitchers? That would give the left-handed Ian Stewart a break against southpaws, and give Vitters a taste of the majors, all the while putting the duo in favorable match-ups. Stewart doesn’t have a far-spread platoon split, but this would be an effective opportunity to sprinkle Vitters in without handing him the keys to the car.
Update: Renck has since heard that the Rockies are not looking for DeWitt in exchange for Stewart, but more along the lines of Tyler Colvin or a prospect. Either way, the Cubs should make the trade.
Recently, Carrie Muskat had one of her famous mailbag question and answer posts where Muskat answers a few select emailed fan questions.
Of the questions, the first was “With Aramis Ramirez looking to test the free-agent market, will the Cubs possibly try to resign him or could we see them trading for another team’s third baseman?”
Ok, simple enough question, I suppose, and reasonable to-boot. Then the question continued.
“Maybe Evan Longoria?”
No.
Well, you may ask, why not?
For one, you just can’t go out and trade for 5 WAR players. If one were to trade for an Evan Longoria, imagine a trade package starting with Starlin Castro, Brett Jackson, and Sean Marshall, and then picking 3 more players on top of that. You simply cannot find Evan Longoria’s on the trade market. Throw in his contract, and it’s feasibly impossible.
Longoria was rated as the NUMBER ONE most valuable trade chip TWO YEARS IN A ROW by FanGraphs. This upcoming season will be a big one for Longoria, for it is his first season he’s being paid over $2MM. Not until 2015 does Longoria get paid over $10MM, and by then he’ll have made at least one push for the AL MVP.
Cub fans, stop being delusional. Unfortunately, real-life trades are more complex than the ones that exist in a video game.
