Baseball Thread 12: No cutesy nickname I can think of

Because metfanboilooser shit is so much more important...

 

On paper you would think a 26-year old stud pitcher with another year on his contract at a very reasonable rate would actually be worth more than a CC Sabathia. Yet the A's didn't get a LaPorta quality prospect in return. A couple of thoughts:

- Harden complained of a dead arm in his last start. Billy Beane may have pulled the trigger now because an injured Harden wouldn't be worth anything (if he went on the DL now - he probably wouldn't be off until after the trade deadline past).
- The Cubs gave up a bunch of B prospects but not any that really fit into their future plans. Donaldson is blocked by Soto, Murton by Soriano and Fukudome, etc. Plus if Harden is a bust - they don't even have to pick up his 2009 option.
- Gaudin is like a young Julian Tavarez - which isn't a bad thing. A guy who can spot start and eat innings at an ERA about 4.20 has some value. Gaudin moving over to the NL may help him too.
- I wonder if the Yankees could have matched the offer from the Cubs but Beane preferred to move Harden to an NL club?

 

The funny thing to me is that I read two things today and yesterday from Buster Olney and Rob Neyer saying the Cubs weren't likely to make a big trade and that Beane likely wouldn't move Harden until right at the deadline, if at all, because the A's are in contention, yet here we are.

 

Which means either

1. Harden's hurt.

2. Olney and Neyer don't know what the fuck they're talking about.

If it's 1, he'll probably fail his physical.

Can't say it's 2 but the Chicago papers have reported for awhile that if they didn't get Sabathia they'd go after Harden.

Plus Hendry and Beane and made a few deals before.

 

Don't forget number three:

Beane knows Oakland isn't winning the division, but can't say so.

 

Nonouting alert! Buster Olney is not The Sports Predictor!

Don't expect Cubs to answer CC trade

Tuesday, July 8, 2008 | Feedback | Print Entry

With CC Sabathia in Milwaukee, all eyes turn to Cubs GM Jim Hendry, writes Jay Mariotti.

Jay's right in that there will be general expectation in Chicago for the Cubs to answer. But they might as well table those expectations right now, for a couple of reasons:


1. The Cubs don't have the minor league trade resources that the Brewers do. If they did, you can bet that they would have landed Sabathia, because they would have been more likely to overpay for him, rather than haggle the way that the Brewers haggled. The Cubs, as a monster money franchise, could have afforded to take a chance and unload some prime prospects for the 2007 Cy Young Award winner -- but they just don't have the same caliber of minor leaguers. That is not going to change between now and the trade deadline.

2. Sabathia will be the only pitcher at his level to be traded before the July deadline. He is dominant (with an ERA of about 2 since his first four starts), he is healthy, and there is no other baggage, other than the question of how much pressure he puts on himself at the outset of his time in Milwaukee and how long it takes him to get settled.

Every other pitcher on the market bears red flags of some kind. A.J. Burnett brings inconsistent performance this year, his injury history and his contract situation. Randy Wolf bears durability questions, rival GMs feel, and his month-to-month ERA is as follows this season: 3.68, 5.35, 3.24, 15.75, with one outing in July.

The Cubs probably don't have the talent to meet the asking price Oakland would attach to Rich Harden, and even then, Harden hasn't yet pitched enough this year to bury questions about whether he can hold up. Joe Blanton might be available in what has been a frustrating year for the right-hander, but Oakland isn't going to move him at cut-rate cost. Trade rumors are swirling around the Athletics, writes Susan Slusser.

 

Six games isn't insurmountable but yeah, you're probably right on that.

 

The Mets play real baseball?

 

Or maybe, Chris, the Yankees didn't want to add Harden to their collection on injury-prone young pitchers (Wang, Hughes, Kennedy all have made multiple trips to the DL last season and this).

 

Once in a while

 

Their system is pretty barren, isn't it?