July 5, 2014: Reality

In today’s late edition, we are going to get real.  Late last night, after all the 4th parties, news broke about the inevitable; the Cubs made their first deal of the 2014 season.  With mixed emotions, I will attempt to cover all angles of this blockbuster.

I wanted the Cubs to sign Samardzija.  I wanted the Cubs to keep Hammel.  They’re both on their way to Oakland in the latest maneuver by Theo and crew.  As my wife read this information to me as I was driving home, I was a little upset, but at the same time, should have known better.  All the talk about the Cubs getting better, the 4 game winning streak, the 3-0 start to the 2nd half of the season, the wild card push (wait I was dreaming there)…  we all got brought back to reality very quickly.  The reality that this is a business.  The reality that the Cubs are still not good enough to compete for it all.  The reality that this rebuilding plan may take even longer.  To sum up my first emotions, I was disappointed.

As I processed this news, my emotions began to shift.  As I heard the details of the deal, I started to think, did we do it again?  Did we get back a ton for these guys?  Are we coming on top in this most recent deal, like we did in the Garza trade?  Major league ready pitcher Dan Straily will immediately be placed into the rotation.  The A’s 2012 1st round pick and the 3rd ranked prospect in ALL of baseball, Addison Russell is coming our way.  The A’s 2013 1st round pick OF Billy McKinney, AND a player to be named later are included too.  I’ll tell you what… even though I didn’t want to move these guys, we definitely did not get shorted.  We got FULL value, and while only time will tell, maybe even the best of another deal.  This makes me feel good, but what does that mean for today?  What does this mean now at the major league level?  It boosts our prospects… even more than they already are… but what about the major league Cubs?

Dan Straily will be in the starting rotation, so we’re one guy short.  Maybe Villaneuva makes a spot start or two, but if this means the Cubs will bring up one of their pitching prospects from AAA, then that’s a good thing.  If we really weren’t going to sign Samardzija, then we got the most bang for our buck.  Speaking about reality, what really happened with Samardzija?  How did those negotiations go?  Was there compromise on the Cubs side?  Was there compromise on Samardzija’s side?  That’s the only way a deal was going to be made, if both sides compromised.  What went on behind closed doors?  I’m sure we’ll hear 2 different sides of the story, but bottom line is he’s gone.  I wanted to sign him, but if that was an impossibility, then OK.
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What about Hammel?  Here’s another 2nd chance starting pitcher that the Cubs have been good at acquiring each year to see if they could rekindle some past success.  Well, Jason did.  He’s looked great.  Great enough to resign and keep here long term?  I thought so.  That being said, I’d rather part with Hammel than Arrieta.  I think that Jake is the better long term option over Jason.  That’s just my 2 cents.  Again, only time will tell.

To get 2 first round picks back in the package for these guys, was pretty impressive I thought.  The only question is since Russell is a SS, and Baez is a SS, and Castro is a SS… what’s got to give?  Are we simply stacking up prospects to make a move to acquire some A+ starting pitching?  There isn’t room on the field for 3 SS’s.  This would require 2 position changes, not one.  One of these 3 will be moved.  Will it be Starlin???

Overall, I’m OK with the deal.  I had to walk myself through to get to this point.  The biggest concern of mine has to do with the timeline of winning at the major league level.  Does that push this back?  For this year, I would say very probably.  For next year, maybe not.  Are the Cubs done making moves?  I don’t think so.  This is only the first move in multiple moves.  As long as some of these moves get us better right NOW, like bringing up some of these prized prospects, I will feel better.  If one of our pitchers is brought up, then that’s the first step.  I think we need to bring up some offensive firepower from AAA… and soon, or this season may be taking a steep nose dive; a sharp downward turn in the midst of the best upswing of the season.  Are we still trusting in Theo?