04-12-2010, 10:26 AM
The Cubs could NOT sign Grabow for less. They could either offer him arbitration or let him go. If they offered him arbitration, they would be paying him more money in 2010 than they are paying him now. That's almost inarguable.
Yes, the Cubs could have cut Grabow, and signed Kiko Calero or David Weathers (Capps signed for more than Grabow). Put aside Calero can't make the Mets (who don't exactly have the 1990 Reds bullpen pitching for them) and Weathers (as far as I know) can't make ANY TEAM IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES. Even if they did sign these guys, they would have had exactly one half of one lefty in their pen. Sean Marshall. If Silva and Gorzelany shit the bed in spring training (which I'm sure many here thought they would), and Marshall had to start, the Cubs would enter 2010 without a left handed reliever in their bullpen.
The only guy from Fella's post that makes any sense is Beimel. that's it. Therefore, for Jim Hendry to not be a fucking moron, he would have had to do the following:
-Assume the market for relievers would be buyer friendly, despite the signings of Hawkins, Betancourt, and Lyons for similar deals to Grabow.
-CUT Grabow, despite not having a single veteran lefty in the pen
-know ahead of time Silva and Gorzelany would be good enough that Marshall wouldn't be needed in the pen
-or, be confident enough that Russel would do well enough to make the team (although we haven't the foggiest idea how well he will do)
-or, be confident that Joe Beimel wasn't going to get a contract in line with the money everyone else was making.
-His master stroke would then be to sign a guy that literally, no other major league team in existence thinks is good enough to pitch for them.
I'm not saying that Hendry couldn't have done anything better. It's conceivable he could have cut Grabow and put together a decent bullpen. But you guys have him jumping through so many hoops it's comical, all in order to save some minuscule amount of money from the Grabow signing.
Grabow has been bad. If he continues to be bad, then it's a terrible signing. If he pitches roughly the same way he has for the rest of his career, then AT WORST, Hendry has pissed away 2 million over 2 years, MAYBE.
Yet we will still spend thread after thread decrying the tragedy of the Grabow signing, while at the same time spending thread after thread moaning about the inordinate amount of rookies in the bullpen.
Yes, the Cubs could have cut Grabow, and signed Kiko Calero or David Weathers (Capps signed for more than Grabow). Put aside Calero can't make the Mets (who don't exactly have the 1990 Reds bullpen pitching for them) and Weathers (as far as I know) can't make ANY TEAM IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES. Even if they did sign these guys, they would have had exactly one half of one lefty in their pen. Sean Marshall. If Silva and Gorzelany shit the bed in spring training (which I'm sure many here thought they would), and Marshall had to start, the Cubs would enter 2010 without a left handed reliever in their bullpen.
The only guy from Fella's post that makes any sense is Beimel. that's it. Therefore, for Jim Hendry to not be a fucking moron, he would have had to do the following:
-Assume the market for relievers would be buyer friendly, despite the signings of Hawkins, Betancourt, and Lyons for similar deals to Grabow.
-CUT Grabow, despite not having a single veteran lefty in the pen
-know ahead of time Silva and Gorzelany would be good enough that Marshall wouldn't be needed in the pen
-or, be confident enough that Russel would do well enough to make the team (although we haven't the foggiest idea how well he will do)
-or, be confident that Joe Beimel wasn't going to get a contract in line with the money everyone else was making.
-His master stroke would then be to sign a guy that literally, no other major league team in existence thinks is good enough to pitch for them.
I'm not saying that Hendry couldn't have done anything better. It's conceivable he could have cut Grabow and put together a decent bullpen. But you guys have him jumping through so many hoops it's comical, all in order to save some minuscule amount of money from the Grabow signing.
Grabow has been bad. If he continues to be bad, then it's a terrible signing. If he pitches roughly the same way he has for the rest of his career, then AT WORST, Hendry has pissed away 2 million over 2 years, MAYBE.
Yet we will still spend thread after thread decrying the tragedy of the Grabow signing, while at the same time spending thread after thread moaning about the inordinate amount of rookies in the bullpen.
I wish that I believed in Fate. I wish I didn't sleep so late. I used to be carried in the arms of cheerleaders.