Author Topic: Cubs in '18  (Read 75526 times)

brjones

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Re: Cubs in '18
« Reply #1905 on: February 13, 2018, 12:20:25 pm »
Darvish deal is official.

craig

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Re: Cubs in '18
« Reply #1906 on: February 13, 2018, 12:26:20 pm »
Full Darvish contract terms:

Bob Nightengale @BNightengale
Yu Darvish $126 million contract: $25 million in 2018; $20M in 2019; $22 M in 2020; $22 M in 2021; $19 million in 2022 and $18 million in 2023 He also has full no trade clause in first four years of deal. #Cubs

Thanks, br.  Interesting sequence, and no-trade. 
*An early report had alluded to "options" plural, so I'd wondered whether in addition to Yu's opt-out after 2, whether the Cubs might have an option on year 6.  Doesn't seem so.
*Having it slightly front-loaded might seem a mild encouragement to opt out. 
*Having it decline during years 5 and 6 seems logical, given aging, and that the Cubs could be pretty cash-strapped. 
*Heh heh, funny that Yu's last year is same as Lackey's!  :)

JR

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Re: Cubs in '18
« Reply #1907 on: February 13, 2018, 12:28:23 pm »
So after 2019, Darvish needs to decide if he can top 4/$81 or not.  And hopefully he'll still be worth that to the Cubs after 2019.

Considering the market, that's a nicely constructed contract for both sides I think.

craig

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Re: Cubs in '18
« Reply #1908 on: February 13, 2018, 12:45:17 pm »
Gimenez:

The issue of what pitch arsenal to focus on with Darvish is one that doesn't get talked about enough.  It's not a matter of not having enough of one with him - it's having too much arsenal.  He not only has probably 7-8 pitches, he likes them.  Darvish likes to toy with hitters and make them look bad.  What's the golden mean with him?  Obviously the fastball and slider are the core of the arsenal, but what else?  When he was in Japan a lot of people thought his spiltter was the best in NPB.  Clearly Gimenez thinks Darvish needs the slow curve as a setup pitch (I think he's right).  And his change can be devastating, when it's on.

That will be interesting, deeg.  Which pitches, when, and how many.  Could be cross purposes, too.  You want to make guys look silly, but trying to throw seven pitches and trying to get guys to chase can lead to a lot of non-strikes, long counts, and bullpen wear. 

Scout in Tribune article other day said he thought Darvish needed to be more aggressive with his fastball and slider. 

Should be fun to watch.  I recall years ago Harry talking about Rick Sutcliffe, that he had 4 good pitches and it sometimes took a little while to figure out which were working on a given day, but that if he ever had a day when all four were on at the same time, he'd throw a no-hitter.

I wonder if having a bucket of pitches might be helpful in withstanding the effects of years late in his contract?  Maybe still have enough variety to stay effective even if the fastball slows down a little? 

brjones

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Re: Cubs in '18
« Reply #1909 on: February 13, 2018, 12:55:54 pm »
Darvish press conference is about to start on Facebook live:


Deeg

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Re: Cubs in '18
« Reply #1910 on: February 13, 2018, 01:23:12 pm »
That will be interesting, deeg.  Which pitches, when, and how many.  Could be cross purposes, too.  You want to make guys look silly, but trying to throw seven pitches and trying to get guys to chase can lead to a lot of non-strikes, long counts, and bullpen wear. 

Scout in Tribune article other day said he thought Darvish needed to be more aggressive with his fastball and slider. 

Should be fun to watch.  I recall years ago Harry talking about Rick Sutcliffe, that he had 4 good pitches and it sometimes took a little while to figure out which were working on a given day, but that if he ever had a day when all four were on at the same time, he'd throw a no-hitter.

I wonder if having a bucket of pitches might be helpful in withstanding the effects of years late in his contract?  Maybe still have enough variety to stay effective even if the fastball slows down a little? 

I would agree that variety is likely to help Darvish age well.  He's not a guy who has to average 94-95 to be effective.

I do think Yu's 4-seamer is a better pitch if he throws the curve 10-12 times a game.  Hell, I even like the ephus pitch for him, though he hasn't used it for a few years.  Most of his stuff is pretty hard, 86-plus.

CurtOne

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Re: Cubs in '18
« Reply #1911 on: February 13, 2018, 01:29:42 pm »
So after 2019, Darvish needs to decide if he can top 4/$81 or not.  And hopefully he'll still be worth that to the Cubs after 2019.

Considering the market, that's a nicely constructed contract for both sides I think.
If he opts out after two years, he's probably done so well we've won two more World Series.  I'm more worried that many will wish he would opt out...that's means he didn't fare well.

craig

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Re: Cubs in '18
« Reply #1912 on: February 13, 2018, 02:03:21 pm »
Great point, Curt.  If it's a highly successful $45/2 contract, and then he leaves, that will go down as a very good signing. 

brjones

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Re: Cubs in '18
« Reply #1913 on: February 13, 2018, 02:22:36 pm »
This seems to be the best reply from the Darvish press conference:

Patrick Mooney‏ @PJ_Mooney
Yu Darvish on #Cubs adding personal catcher Chris Gimenez: "I like Contreras better." (Laughter in media room.)

Dave23

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Re: Cubs in '18
« Reply #1914 on: February 13, 2018, 02:35:09 pm »
He’ll fit right in...

CurtOne

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Re: Cubs in '18
« Reply #1915 on: February 13, 2018, 02:35:56 pm »
He obviously doesn't believe in framing!

JR

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Re: Cubs in '18
« Reply #1916 on: February 13, 2018, 02:45:16 pm »
Hope he's cool with being called a mother F'er on the mound . . .

Deeg

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Re: Cubs in '18
« Reply #1917 on: February 13, 2018, 03:26:13 pm »
Yu has a great sense of humor - that much will become clear in time.  His general personality is quite a departure from what Americans think of as the stereotypical Japanese (of course, he's only half-Japanese).

As for the opt-out, look at it this way - if you were told you could sign Darvish to a 2 year $45 million contract this winter, would you have said no?

Chris27

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Re: Cubs in '18
« Reply #1918 on: February 13, 2018, 03:54:15 pm »
Great point, Curt.  If it's a highly successful $45/2 contract, and then he leaves, that will go down as a very good signing.

But Darvish had a hard time getting a huge contract at 32. If he's 34, even if it's coming off two big years, is he going to get something bigger than the four years he has left with the Cubs?

ticohans

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Re: Cubs in '18
« Reply #1919 on: February 13, 2018, 03:55:03 pm »
If he's coming off two big years, yes, he will definitely get more than $81M guaranteed.