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TechnographHow will $300 million help the Chicago Cubs?
By Se Young Lee
Posted: 3/29/07 Section: Columns
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The Chicago Cubs' spending spree this offseason was noteworthy not only for the sheer amount of dollars committed, but also because of the statement that the signings make: They are crossing the Rubicon.
The NL Central was arguably the worst division in baseball last year. The Cardinals won it and advanced to the playoffs with 83 wins, least of all teams that competed in the playoffs. While the Cardinals deserve all the credit for winning the World Series, nothing they did improved their chances to contend this year. Once again, there is no clear favorite in the division. Anybody could win it this year - except for the Pirates.
So why not the Cubs? They have an ace in Carlos Zambrano, a candidate for the Cy Young, a dangerous lineup with a healthy Derrek Lee, the $136 million-man Alfonso Soriano and Aramis Ramirez. That core of players is as good as any other team's in the Central. I would not be surprised if the Cubs managed to win the division and advance to the playoffs.
But they still don't have enough, as of now, to do what Cubs fans have been waiting for the past 99 years. The not-so-distant future is not very promising, either. Throughout the history of the game, there has been one constant element that has always enabled a team to succeed: good starting pitching. This is also something the Cubs, as of right now, don't have.
The Cubs tried, like everybody else, to upgrade their rotation before spring training. But the market for starters, as with any other year in recent memory, was devoid of much quality. The Cubs missed out on Jason Schmidt (three years for $47 million) and Barry Zito (nine years, $127 million), the best and most proven starters. So they settled for Ted Lilly and Jason Marquis, not exactly names that strike fear into opposing hitters, awarding them contracts collectively worth $61 million.
Lilly has great stuff but has not put it all together, as evidenced by his 59-58 record and 4.60 career ERA. As for Jason Marquis, the fact that he won 14 games last season with a 6.02 ERA is a testament to the Cardinals' ability to score runs. They only got that money because they happened to be part of a market that awarded the likes of Vicente Padilla more than $10 million per year. As the poorest of the teams enabled by the windfall from the league's recent prosperity to lock up their young pitchers to long-term deals, prices for these unremarkable arms will only increase.
The NL Central was arguably the worst division in baseball last year. The Cardinals won it and advanced to the playoffs with 83 wins, least of all teams that competed in the playoffs. While the Cardinals deserve all the credit for winning the World Series, nothing they did improved their chances to contend this year. Once again, there is no clear favorite in the division. Anybody could win it this year - except for the Pirates.
So why not the Cubs? They have an ace in Carlos Zambrano, a candidate for the Cy Young, a dangerous lineup with a healthy Derrek Lee, the $136 million-man Alfonso Soriano and Aramis Ramirez. That core of players is as good as any other team's in the Central. I would not be surprised if the Cubs managed to win the division and advance to the playoffs.
But they still don't have enough, as of now, to do what Cubs fans have been waiting for the past 99 years. The not-so-distant future is not very promising, either. Throughout the history of the game, there has been one constant element that has always enabled a team to succeed: good starting pitching. This is also something the Cubs, as of right now, don't have.
The Cubs tried, like everybody else, to upgrade their rotation before spring training. But the market for starters, as with any other year in recent memory, was devoid of much quality. The Cubs missed out on Jason Schmidt (three years for $47 million) and Barry Zito (nine years, $127 million), the best and most proven starters. So they settled for Ted Lilly and Jason Marquis, not exactly names that strike fear into opposing hitters, awarding them contracts collectively worth $61 million.
Lilly has great stuff but has not put it all together, as evidenced by his 59-58 record and 4.60 career ERA. As for Jason Marquis, the fact that he won 14 games last season with a 6.02 ERA is a testament to the Cardinals' ability to score runs. They only got that money because they happened to be part of a market that awarded the likes of Vicente Padilla more than $10 million per year. As the poorest of the teams enabled by the windfall from the league's recent prosperity to lock up their young pitchers to long-term deals, prices for these unremarkable arms will only increase.
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Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Miguel
posted 3/29/07 @ 8:52 AM CST
"lack of solid young starters waiting to break through from the farm system"... Are you forgetting Angel Guzman and Sean Marshall? I think Guzman is on the cusp and Marshall showed a lot of promise last year prior to being injured. (Continued…)
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