Cross-town Trade
That's right, KDubs has pulled off a trade with the our cross-town rivals, the Flubs, er I mean the Cubs. There isn't a clear winner in this trade, although I'll say be got the better end of the deal, whereas Cubs fans will say they got the better deal. I just hope it turns out as one sided as our last deal with the Cubs...Matt Karchner for Jon Garland.
So, to the trade. Neal Cotts is heading north, and in return we get bug-eyed David Aardsma and minor league reliever Carlos Vasquez. Vasquez, a 23 year-old lefty, had decent numbers in high-A ball and AA ball. In 85 innings he had a 2.75 ERA with 91 K's. In 45 appearances for the Cubs, Aardsma (who you may remember for replacing Hank Aaron as the player listed first alphabetically in basbeball history) had a 4.08 ERA. In 53 innings of work he had 49 K's and 28 BB's. He may not look like much, but his second half was markedly better, which bodes well. Post-ASB, he had a 3.12 ERA in 35.2 innings and had 35 K's along with 14 BB's.
The rap on Aardsma is that he has a good amount of potential, but has had trouble with his mechanics. His faulty mechanics have caused his fastball to drop from the 93-97 mph range he reached in college to the low 90's. I may be getting ahead of myself here, but I'm thinking Matt Thornton here. Coop's specialty seems to be taking high potential guys, twiddling with their mechanics, and getting results. If he can be anywhere near as productive as Thornton, this will be a good trade for us, regardless of how Vasquez pans out.
At first, I will admit, that I was a little upset about giving up Cotts for what seemed like so little, but as I thought about it, Cotts was never that great to begin with. Yes, he was lights out for us in '05, and he played a huge role in our World Series run, but outside of that year, he has been pretty mediocre. Last year he had a 5.17 ERA and always threatened to put a crooked number up on the board; in '04 he had a 5.65 ERA in 65 innings. The more and more I thought about it, the less likely it seemed that Cotts would bounce back. I think he bounced back last year...to his crappier ways of the past.
I think the Cubs are banking on Cotts returning to his '05 form. There has also been talks about him being given a shot in the rotation. KW had talked about such a move in the past, but it just never worked out considering how set we are with regards to starters. The Cubs on the other hand have Carlos Zambrano and Carlos Zambrano, so there's a good chance Cotts will become a starter again (he was mainly a starter in the minors, even starting the Future's Game one year). My advice to the Cubs is to stick him in the 'pen. Cotts has a decent fastball and a mediocre slider. He essentially a two pitch pitcher, which won't serve him well if he is a starter.
So good-bye to you Neal; we'll always have '05.
And welcome David and Carlos
(See he does have crazy eyes!)
So, to the trade. Neal Cotts is heading north, and in return we get bug-eyed David Aardsma and minor league reliever Carlos Vasquez. Vasquez, a 23 year-old lefty, had decent numbers in high-A ball and AA ball. In 85 innings he had a 2.75 ERA with 91 K's. In 45 appearances for the Cubs, Aardsma (who you may remember for replacing Hank Aaron as the player listed first alphabetically in basbeball history) had a 4.08 ERA. In 53 innings of work he had 49 K's and 28 BB's. He may not look like much, but his second half was markedly better, which bodes well. Post-ASB, he had a 3.12 ERA in 35.2 innings and had 35 K's along with 14 BB's.
The rap on Aardsma is that he has a good amount of potential, but has had trouble with his mechanics. His faulty mechanics have caused his fastball to drop from the 93-97 mph range he reached in college to the low 90's. I may be getting ahead of myself here, but I'm thinking Matt Thornton here. Coop's specialty seems to be taking high potential guys, twiddling with their mechanics, and getting results. If he can be anywhere near as productive as Thornton, this will be a good trade for us, regardless of how Vasquez pans out.
At first, I will admit, that I was a little upset about giving up Cotts for what seemed like so little, but as I thought about it, Cotts was never that great to begin with. Yes, he was lights out for us in '05, and he played a huge role in our World Series run, but outside of that year, he has been pretty mediocre. Last year he had a 5.17 ERA and always threatened to put a crooked number up on the board; in '04 he had a 5.65 ERA in 65 innings. The more and more I thought about it, the less likely it seemed that Cotts would bounce back. I think he bounced back last year...to his crappier ways of the past.
I think the Cubs are banking on Cotts returning to his '05 form. There has also been talks about him being given a shot in the rotation. KW had talked about such a move in the past, but it just never worked out considering how set we are with regards to starters. The Cubs on the other hand have Carlos Zambrano and Carlos Zambrano, so there's a good chance Cotts will become a starter again (he was mainly a starter in the minors, even starting the Future's Game one year). My advice to the Cubs is to stick him in the 'pen. Cotts has a decent fastball and a mediocre slider. He essentially a two pitch pitcher, which won't serve him well if he is a starter.
So good-bye to you Neal; we'll always have '05.
And welcome David and Carlos
(See he does have crazy eyes!)
posted by Jeeves at 3:03 PM
2 Comments:
I guess the poll has it's first victim.
Now if only Pods was traded, then you'd know I'm as reliable as the SI cover jinx
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