Nobody wanted Zambrano. Not even for free. Volstad may suck compared to front of the rotation MLB starting pitchers but he's miles better than 99% of the minor league fodder they could have got in return. Try to find a minor league piece of junk PTBNL that is going to start 100 games in the major leagues.
Ever since he "Hit" on Ortiz, Mueller, and Bellhorn to bring the '04 WS to Boston, he's been playing longshots just about each year with a couple guys.
1. Theo is not the GM of the Cubs 2. Volstad was not acquired to be a long shot, he was acquired to be filler for the back of the rotation with the added benefit of not being a huge distraction. To read into it more than that would be silly.
Skin Blues wrote:1. Theo is not the GM of the Cubs 2. Volstad was not acquired to be a long shot, he was acquired to be filler for the back of the rotation with the added benefit of not being a huge distraction. To read into it more than that would be silly.
Hoyer's part of the same tree.
Basic addition by subtraction for the Cubs. The fact that they got Volstad coming back is grand theft.
Volstad's not terrible. Groundball profile, making steady gains in limiting walks and just 25 years old. If things break right, he could come close to a 4.00 ERA next season. At any rate, if Zambrano's peripherals from last year demonstrate his new level, I'd rather have three years of Volstad than one more year of the cancerous Zambrano.
Even if the plan is just to hang on to Volstad for a year or two, he could become a nice trading chip for the Cubs down the line and bring in a solid prospect. We all agree that wasn't going to happen with Zambrano, who teams knew couldn't exist in Chicago.
daullaz wrote:Volstad's not terrible. Groundball profile, making steady gains in limiting walks and just 25 years old. If things break right, he could come close to a 4.00 ERA next season. At any rate, if Zambrano's peripherals from last year demonstrate his new level, I'd rather have three years of Volstad than one more year of the cancerous Zambrano.
Even if the plan is just to hang on to Volstad for a year or two, he could become a nice trading chip for the Cubs down the line and bring in a solid prospect. We all agree that wasn't going to happen with Zambrano, who teams knew couldn't exist in Chicago.
Agreed. He made some great strides last season with his walk rate. That is important because of his size (6'8"). It's usually harder for the taller pitchers to repeat their mechanics. He was also a tad unlucky last season (68.9 LOB%; 15.5 F/HR). If the Cubs get an ERA somewhere in the 4.25-4.40 range from him as a back end starter they'll be happy.
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by Skin Blues » Fri Jan 06, 2012 8:46 pm 
