Donovan picks the Cubs

by 80badger on Dec 13, 2007 8:51 AM CST Comment 8 comments

John Donovan on CNNSI thinks the Cubs have the NL Central locked up. Here is the link.

He tries to soften his proclamation a couple of times,albeit poorly, leaving himself an out when he is wrong but it is clear he thinks the Cubs are the NL champs and the rest of the Central is weak and not getting better with their offseason moves. It is difficult to see why he thinks the simple acquisition of Fukudome makes the Cubs so much better despite the big questions they have on their pitching staff.

At the end of the article he makes it clear he thinks The Stache was crazy to sign Gagne: "As good as the Rowand signing may have been -- for Rowand, anyway -- how bad was the Brewers' decision to give Eric Gagne $10 million for one season of closing? He had a 6.57 ERA in 26 appearances in the second half of '07. Relief pitchers are hard to find on the free-agent market, sure. But that's ridiculous...." Should be fun to email him this article next October after the Brew Crew wins the Central and Gagne plays an integral role in the teams'success.

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redicilous

i'm sick of debefending the gagne signing with dilusional cubs fans. (i live in chicago) yes, $10 mil is probably more than gagne deserves, but the fact that it's only for one year makes it a much better deal. If he pitches like he did in Texas as gets us 40+ saves, it's a good signing; if not, he's only on our books for one season. The only thing I would have liked to have seen was a team option for a second season.

by SunglassesAtNight on Dec 13, 2007 9:18 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

I love how no one mentions this

Ten million for one year. If he sucks, what are they paying him in 2009? If just about every other reliever signed to a deal this winter sucks next season, what are their teams still on the hook for? I'd say signing Linebrink to a four year deal is still much dumber than the Gagne signing.

Francisco Cordero had a 6.75 ERA in 26 appearances in the first two months of 2006 - that guy sucked after that, too, didn't he?

Obscure baseball records and more at my blog, Recondite Baseball.

by TheJay on Dec 13, 2007 9:22 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

it's funny that guys

who write about baseball can know so little about the game.

how bad was the Brewers' decision to give Eric Gagne $10 million for one season of closing? He had a 6.57 ERA in 26 appearances in the second half of '07.

i trust this is the direct quote, won't bother reading the article... but the response to this question is:

it's about as crazy a decision as it is to base contract talks on less than 25 innings of baseball... maybe a dozen hits...

Bring Back The Old Logo!

by jacob on Dec 13, 2007 9:28 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

One thing's for sure

It's not as bad as writing one team has the Central locked up three months before spring training and rosters being finalized. He's going to look pretty stupid if Melvin or the Reds pull off a major trade. Even now it's a toss up.

by MunichBrats on Dec 13, 2007 10:35 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

The Reds

are scaring me too.

by Braunstalker on Dec 13, 2007 12:02 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Response to Cubs fans:

Which is crazier, $10 million for a reliever who is a season or two removed from being arguably the best reliever in the history of baseball, or $48 million and a four year commitment for an unknown outfielder who has never played a single MLB game?

Or, in Cincinnati's case, how about $44 million and four years for a reliever who had a road ERA higher than Gagne's single bad half-season?

You heard it here first: Prince Fielder will hit more homeruns than Eric Gagne's ERA x 100.

by stevie ray Braun on Dec 13, 2007 4:24 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

What a shock

Donovan just waited for the first piece of real news to come out of Chicago to pronounce them the best team in the NL Central. Retaining Kerry Wood wasn't big enough. But I bet if the Cubbies would have announced that Lou's annual prostate exam went well, Donovan would said the same damn thing. Never mind the inconsistant offensive production and aging stars, never mind the likelihood that they've got no chance to get the same performance out of their pitching staff (which saved their asses last year). They just signed a 30+ left fielder with no history of success on this level! Crown their asses!

by Ted Simmons Speed Camp on Dec 14, 2007 4:53 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

not to mention

I think moving Ryan Dempster to the starting rotation was probably the right move for them, however, it does weaken their bullpen.

by SunglassesAtNight on Dec 17, 2007 12:58 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

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NL Central Standings

	W	L	PCT	GB	STRK
St. Louis Viva El Birdos	91	71	.561	0	Lost 6
Chicago Bleed Cubbie Blue	83	78	.515	7.5	Lost 1
Milwaukee Brew Crew Ball	80	82	.493	11	Won 3
Cincinnati Red Reporter	78	84	.481	13	Won 2
Houston The Crawfish Boxes	74	88	.456	17	Lost 3
Pittsburgh Bucs Dugout	62	99	.385	28.5	Lost 2