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Time to make a deal for a 5th starter?


BigSqwert

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I know it was only one game but I really don't think BMAC is ready to join this team. A pretty poor outing against the lowly Royals. No Ks and 4BBs won't cut it. I know the Royals are better recently but they are not world beaters. With El Duque consistently getting shoulder problems is it time to start looking around for a solid/consistent arm? I say yes since this is as good a chance for us to get in the World Series as I have seen in my lifetime. BMAC needs to be sent down to Charlotte to regain his confidence and hopefully he'll be ready for next year's team.

 

I don't want to sound like I'm panicking but I sort of am.....I REALLY want this team to go all the way and one more solid starter could put us over the top.

 

:gosox1:

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QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Jun 21, 2005 -> 08:27 AM)
I still think El Duque will be the guy.

 

If he can stay healthy, Yes. This is a situation that KW didn't think he would have to deal with. I wonder what they are saying behind closed doors about McCarthy. He is still young and I'm sure he will be fine, but he hasn't been the same pitcher we saw in the spring.

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Duque will be the guy, book it.

I think Oz will rest him here and there so that he can go late into the season. I expect B-Mac to get spot starts against the teams we should beat like KC., TB, Detroit, Seattle etc.

I'd rather see us go after a bullpen guy. Package up all the dead weight in the minors (Borchard and the merry-go-round of 5th starters from last year) and get ONE solid bullpen arm.

Edited by LosMediasBlancas
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I think El Duque is our fifth starter...but we should USE him like a fifth starter. When there are off days, skip his turn in the rotation to give him extra rest. Or maybe have him start once a week (like Ted Lyons, when he was a "Sunday Starter" for the Sox). That should keep him fresh and competitive.

 

I think 20 quality starts out of El Duque is what you want. I thought before the season that if the Sox could get 25 starts from El Duque, that would be good enough.

 

Remember that our fifth starters were 5-15 with a 9+ ERA last year in 25 or so starts...a 4.88 ERA out of El Duque looks downright awesome compared to that.

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QUOTE(LosMediasBlancas @ Jun 21, 2005 -> 07:50 AM)
Duque will be the guy, book it. 

I think Oz will rest him here and there so that he can go late into the season. I expect B-Mac to get spot starts against the teams we should beat like KC., TB, Detroit, Seattle etc.

I'd rather see us go after a bullpen guy. Package up all the dead weight in the minors (Borchard and the merry-go-round of 5th starters from last year) and get ONE solid bullpen arm.

I agree with you about getting rid of dead weight and getting a solid bullpen arm.

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If KW trades for a starter, I doubt it would be a #5 type of guy. If I were in charge, I'd give BMac another opportunity, despite his bad location, he was very close to wiggling out of trouble last night. I think if a starter is acquired, it will be a front-line guy to help propel this team to the World Series.

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I agree with Richie Allen, I think if Kdub deals for a starter it will be a top tier pitcher. If he can't get something done without giving up anyone off of our 25 man (minus Willie or Ozuna), I would love to see him go after Casey Fossum from TB. This guy is relatively cheap (around $1M) and is pitching very well this season. He'd be a great stopgap while allowing the duke to rest.

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As the season grows shorter and our lead grows wider the need for a 5th starter becomes less and less. Unless El Duque goes down completely and BMac just flat out can't cut it, we should be able to get by with a combo of those two the rest of the way out. What we need to do is solidify our chances of winning the other 4 days and since, IMO, there is no bat we can realistically go and get to assure that(in fact it can be argue that we just got that bat with Frank's return) then our best bet is to get a quality BP arm.

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QUOTE(upnorthsox @ Jun 21, 2005 -> 02:13 PM)
As the season grows shorter and our lead grows wider the need for a 5th starter becomes less and less. Unless El Duque goes down completely and BMac just flat out can't cut it, we should be able to get by with a combo of those two the rest of the way out. What we need to do is solidify our chances of winning the other 4 days and since, IMO, there is no bat we can realistically go and get to assure that(in fact it can be argue that we just got that bat with Frank's return) then our best bet is to get a quality BP arm.

 

If KW can get a top tier pitcher there will not be a need for more bp help considering that the Cubans, mainly El Duque, have been responsible for any strain put on our BP so far this season. If you've got a staff of 4 guys (MB, FG, JG, top tier guy) who are all but guaranteed to make it 6-7 innings every outing, the BP as it stands now would be fine covering for just 1 weaker spot in the rotation (Contreras, usually short outings). Hell, if you're gonna spend the money and talent to upgrade the team go for a starter.

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hindsight is 20/20.

 

remember JR does not give big contracts to pitchers. i dont entirely disagree with that theory.

 

SP is still way overpriced to RP, i think we can get another bullpen arm for good value.

 

How soon we forget that Duke 5th and BMac 6th is the best 5/6 weve had in a long long time and better than some 3/4s of the past.

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hindsight is 20/20.

 

remember JR does not give big contracts to pitchers.  i dont entirely disagree with that theory.

 

SP is still way overpriced to RP, i think we can get another bullpen arm for good value.

 

How soon we forget that Duke 5th and BMac 6th is the best 5/6 weve had in a long long time and better than some 3/4s of the past.

I still want to know why people automatically consider McCarthy to be a good 6th starter for us. What has he done for us so far? He really hasn't done anything different than what Felix Diaz did for us last season. Remember how Diaz pitched that one good game against the Cubs and was brutal against everyone else? It's eerily similar to that, isn't it?

 

McCarthy obviously isn't ready for the big leagues.

Edited by Jabroni
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QUOTE(Jabroni @ Jun 21, 2005 -> 09:26 AM)
I still want to know why people automatically consider McCarthy to be a good 6th starter for us.  What has he done for us so far?  He really hasn't done anything different than what Felix Diaz did for us last season. Remember how Diaz pitched that one good game against the Cubs and was brutal against everyone else?  It's eerily similar to that, isn't it?

 

McCarthy obviously isn't ready for the big leagues.

 

You're right. I never get too excited about one of our prospects no matter how highly touted. For every Mark Buehrle there are 10 Scott Ruffcorns and Joe Borchards.

 

I'll get excited about BMAC once he starts getting guys out on a consistent basis in the big leagues.

 

I may sound a bit pessimistic but how many guys really pan out? I'm confident this guy eventually will but until he does I'm not going to sport a woody.

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Somebody mentioned on WSCR the thought of trying to move Cotts to fill the spot. I've gone back and forth on this one, but I think in the end it would be a mistake. When we tried starting him last year, it really seemed to screw him up for the rest of the year.

 

I say just take our lumps with Mac now. Even if he can't help us in 2005, it may pay some good dividends for us down the road.

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You're right.  I never get too excited about one of our prospects no matter how highly touted.  For every Mark Buehrle there are 10 Scott Ruffcorns and Joe Borchards.

 

I'll get excited about BMAC once he starts getting guys out on a consistent basis in the big leagues.

 

I may sound a bit pessimistic but how many guys really pan out?  I'm confident this guy eventually will but until he does I'm not going to sport a woody.

A good example is Sergio Mitre of the Flubs. He was always brutal in the past when they used him to spot start but now he has apparently come into his own. He has pitched well for them and he appears to be a completely different pitcher now.

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Somebody mentioned on WSCR the thought of trying to move Cotts to fill the spot.  I've gone back and forth on this one, but I think in the end it would be a mistake.  When we tried starting him last year, it really seemed to screw him up for the rest of the year.

 

I say just take our lumps with Mac now.  Even if he can't help us in 2005, it may pay some good dividends for us down the road.

Bad move. Our bullpen is already a bit weak with Shingo and Vizcaino, and also Marte's shakiness. Cotts can go 2 innings in relief and gives us 3 options that we can trust (Cotts, Politte, Hermanson). We probably just need to bite the bullet and have McCarthy start until El Duque is healthy again. And they should definately be skipping McCarthy's turn in the rotation when off-days permit.

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If we go out and get another stud pitcher and put Hernandez in the bullpen when he gets back.

We would have to be the favs in the postseason.

 

My wet dream would be trading for Oswalt and Lidge.. I dont care what minor league prospects we would have to give up.

I want to win it all now been waiting since 1972 to get to the Series

Edited by Cubs Suck23
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QUOTE(Wedge @ Jun 21, 2005 -> 02:35 PM)
Somebody mentioned on WSCR the thought of trying to move Cotts to fill the spot.  I've gone back and forth on this one, but I think in the end it would be a mistake.  When we tried starting him last year, it really seemed to screw him up for the rest of the year.

 

I say just take our lumps with Mac now.  Even if he can't help us in 2005, it may pay some good dividends for us down the road.

 

 

I heard Oz say that if anything, we might have Cotts closing games here and there.

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