I know, it was a cheap and easy sexual reference. But since I'm rather cheap and easy myself, I figured why not? And anyway, tell me you don't have a "We Got Wood" t-shirt hidden away in a shirt drawer somewhere?
Yes, Kerry Wood may be gone, as the Cubs figure to save the money they would have spent on the closer by filling the job between an in-house solution (Carlos Marmol) and a recent acquisition (Kevin Gregg). But that doesn't mean you'll be seeing the Cubs on any future Enzyte commercials.
While "Bob" may have a new-found "swelling of pride", the Cubs may get theirs from a new-found acquisition named Randy Johnson, aka "The Big Unit".
Both the Cubs and Randy's agent are signing love songs about the possibility of Unit signing with the Cubs as a free agent. While this may simply be a hedge against the possibility of Ryan Dempster signing elsewhere, it does have its selling points.
For one, Johnson, when healthy, is still an effective pitcher. He was 11-10 with a respectable 3.91 ERA in 2008, but perhaps even more telling is the 44 walks compared with 173 strikeouts in 184 innings pitched.
Still, the 6'10" left-hander turned 45 last September and has battled back problems. But that means he may be willing to take a one-year deal with someone for around $10 million, which may be attractive to the Cubs.
All things considered, the Cubs would rather re-sign Dempster. But in case they don't, Randy Johnson may not be a bad alternative to fall back on. For his part, he will be motivated, at least for awhile, as the Big Unit only needs five more victories to total 300 for his career. The sure-fire first ballot hall-of-famer desperately wants to reach that goal.
Signing Johnson may be worth it just so that he Cubs won't have to face him any more. He has never lost to the Cubs in his career.
With all of the available starting pitching on the market, it appears the Cubs will have no problem finding someone to fill the vacancy created by the departure of Dempster, if that should happen (though I still believe Dempster comes back).
Now filling the needs for a leadoff hitter, more speed and a left-handed bat may not be quite so easy, come to think of it...
comments (7) write a comment »
write a new comment
about 1 month ago
I would file this idea under "If You Can't Beat Em, Sign Em." If we didn't have a lefty in the rotation, I would be cool with a short term deal. But I'm not sure why we would further stunt the development of Sean Marshall or Rich Hill or Donnie Veal as potential lefties in a rotation that already features 17 game winning Ted Lilly.
Especially at $10 million for one year.
Does he have something left in the tank? Perhaps. Does he have the killer instinct the Cubs pitchers have lacked since 2003? Mentally... yeah. Can his arm and back still follow thru with his heart though?
I would rather we spend $10-12 million on a legit #3 starter (Lowe, Burnett) over 3-5 years than Johnson for one, and then use some of these prospects and other cash resources to get a legit leadoff man and/or left handed middle of the order guy.
What I appreciate about this piece, though, is that you hit the nail on the head with the headline. If the Cubs gave Johnson a deal, I think it would be simply to compensate for losing the NAME of Kerry Wood by adding a Hall of Famer to the marquee, nothing more.
Nice article, Bob
about 1 month ago
I would rather have Lowe or Burnett too. But my angle is this would cost the Cusb far less and would only require a one-year commitment, both of which will be of great interest to Hendry, who clearly doesn't have a mandate to spend lavishly this off-season. The other thing TAB is that we won't get a "legit" starter in the price range you mention. Lowe wants 5 years and will likely get 4 at at least $15 mil per. That's a huge difference. And Burnett wants $18 mil per. the only guys in the 10-12 mil range are Johnson (due to age) and maybe Sheets (due to injury history). If the salaries were equal, of course I would rather have the guys you mention.
about 1 month ago
Hey Bob what would you think of Johnson getting put in the bull-pen as a mid reliever or a closer type guy if we re-signed Dempster?
from about 1 month ago
I actually thought of that one. I don't know if he still has that dominant fastball any more - I think he sits at 92/93 tops now whereas before he was upper-90s. Not that you have to have a mid-90s fastball to be a closer, but it helps. Anyway, he wants those 5 wins to get to 300 so it isn't going to happen right now.
about 1 month ago
Ah ok that's a good point, oh well just a thought
from about 1 month ago
ichael, I was thinking that Roger Clemens would have made a great closer his last year or two. Same with Nolan Ryan - can you imagine if he only had to throw one inning at a time, he could come in at 102 mph and just blow everyone away.
about 1 month ago
You know Bob I think that Ace-like starting pitchers that get some type of arm injury early on in their career that inhibit their ability to go deep into games could go to the mid-reliever/closer position and still have a successful career. So I think that all hope for them wouldn't be lost. And that 102 mph fastball would just be devastating. Come to think of it =)
write a new comment