Tanaka Watch Thread (Cubs Edition)

[Flacco4Prez]

I'm not thrilled about the idea of blowing away the Dodgers or Yankees in signing an unknown quantity in Tanaka

 

[DewsSox79]

if its 25 per at 7 as a sox fan im out. **** that.


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[chibears55]

if its 25 per at 7 as a sox fan im out. **** that.


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id agree but that might be how desperate the cubs would be to get him..

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[nickofypres]

I wonder if anyone showed Tanaka these shirts:

 

[beckdawg]

if its 25 per at 7 as a sox fan im out. **** that.


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I'm torn on this. On one hand it is way more money than i think someone who's never thrown a MLB pitch is worth like you say. On the other hand, it might shut up the peanut gallery for 5 minutes.

Also, if the cubs were smart they would pitch Tanaka on marketing commercials for japan to increase their popularity there and use his wife as the person who they want to "star" in them.

 

[DewsSox79]

id agree but that might be how desperate the cubs would be to get him..

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I think as a business move they have to sign him. the fans are losing trust. This would give hope to fans again, all be it false hope...but we know majority of fans are not crazy messageboard users who analyze every stat etc.



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[nwfisch]

I think I'd still like Hitomi over the pitcher.

 

[TL1961]

Except Tanaka's first question probably was: If I pitch my ass off and give up 1 run over 8 innings, how are we going to win the game?

And the answer was along the lines of:
"Look at the offer dude. It isn't a one year contract. Starting in 2015, offense will be improving rapidly."

make that "late 2014"

 

[Boobaby1]

Hendry had some good and bad, just like every General Manager does. I mean Hendry's tenure could have been completely different if maybe Prior didnt blow out his arm or get hit with a screaming line drive, or Wood didnt blow his arm out(partially his fault too), Nomar didnt get hurt.

The Soriano looked really good on paper but turns out Soriano didnt totally live up to his contract.

Agreed. Who knows what might have been had they stayed healthy. That is the last time the Cubs actually produced multiple talented members from the farm system. You had Woody, Prior, Zambrano who all pitched well, especially in 03'. Corey Patterson, who was touted to be something special but didn't live up to the hype. I believe Dontrelle Willis, Jon Garland, and Juan Cruz were also in the Cubs farm at one time. Plus, they were able to fleece the Pirates for A-Ram using Bobby Hill from the farm as a centerpiece and he busted.

I am sure there are more, I am just too tired to look anything up.

 

[DewsSox79]

Agreed. Who knows what might have been had they stayed healthy. That is the last time the Cubs actually produced multiple talented members from the farm system. You had Woody, Prior, Zambrano who all pitched well, especially in 03'. Corey Patterson, who was touted to be something special but didn't live up to the hype. I believe Dontrelle Willis, Jon Garland, and Juan Cruz were also in the Cubs farm at one time. Plus, they were able to fleece the Pirates for A-Ram using Bobby Hill from the farm as a centerpiece and he busted.

I am sure there are more, I am just too tired to look anything up.

I still don't get how tanaka puts this team any closer to a championship, I see way too many what ifs and holes in the rotation. I dont see this "core" or how some fans compare this to the blackhawks building of a champion. your core is an avg SS, an avg 1bmn and a 3rd starter (shark) on a good team and specs that are unproven.


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[DewsSox79]

As far as the topic at hand, I think most money wins this thing. I don't know if the Cubs are going to be that team, but I've allowed my hope to go from non-existent to extremely slight with the recent news.

with the recent news I think the cubs are going to go all out with this and sign him. Im hoping KW and Hahn dont get into a bidding war if the cubs want to pay more. Id almost for me anyway as a sox fan get garza than go 7 years or north of 120 mil.


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[Boobaby1]

I'm torn on this. On one hand it is way more money than i think someone who's never thrown a MLB pitch is worth like you say. On the other hand, it might shut up the peanut gallery for 5 minutes.

Also, if the cubs were smart they would pitch Tanaka on marketing commercials for japan to increase their popularity there and use his wife as the person who they want to "star" in them.

I am guessing Toyota would be one of them?

 

[beckdawg]

I am guessing Toyota would be one of them?

Not entirely sure what you mean. What I was suggesting was that the cubs make commercials for the cubs to promote them over in Japan. If they got Tanaka their popularity would rise over there and I assume there is some way for them to get cubs games. But, they could throw a few 100k at some advertising and use that as a lure for the wife while also promoting themselves in Japan.

 

[DewsSox79]

lol. you guys think too much.


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[beckdawg]

lol. you guys think too much.


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Maybe but it's the type of creative idea that can set you apart from the competition and it's not like it's costing them anything really to offer that.

 

[Boobaby1]

Not entirely sure what you mean. What I was suggesting was that the cubs make commercials for the cubs to promote them over in Japan. If they got Tanaka their popularity would rise over there and I assume there is some way for them to get cubs games. But, they could throw a few 100k at some advertising and use that as a lure for the wife while also promoting themselves in Japan.

Got it! Just started thinking of the Toyota sponsored billboard in left center at Wrigley (or it used to be) and rolled with it.

 

[DewsSox79]

he will probably go to the highest bidder regardless of the extra crap with his wife and such. you guys probably will land him since it seems theo is ready to give this guy whatever he wants


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[Boobaby1]

lol. you guys think too much.


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You are almost 27,000 posts in, and we think too much? Pot meet kettle. :lol:

 

[Shawon0Meter]

I haven't gotten my hopes up about the Cubs getting him so far and I'm not going to start now. I still think there will be more into Tanaka's decision than money.

But I'm glad it sounds like they're legitimately trying, which I doubted they would. Just like they made a really good offer to Anibal Sanchez last offseason. Good to see signs of life like that when most of the time it seems like the team couldn't care less about NOW.

 

[DJMoore_is_fat]

I think Tanaka makes sense because he's so young. He's a risk worth taking at 5 years and maybe 6 years, too. But if we sign him to a 7-year contract, Theo and Jed better be certain he's really, really good. If Tanaka can give us 15 wins and a 3.50 ERA, it would change our staff entirely. Shark, Wood, and Edwin (who I expect to pitch better next year) could turn into a formidable rotation.

Rarely in MLB can one player make significant impact on an organization. But in this case, Tanaka could really accelerate the rebuilding process - maybe by as much as one full year.

I hate to say this, but if we suck badly for one more year - it will give us another draft to go all-in on pitching prospects.