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I know that this is extremely unlikey, but mlbtraderumors said that the Brian Roberts deal fell through because the O's were asking for too much .... I'd hate to deal BP, especially w/in the division because I think that he's the kind of building block to build a team around...
but if we could get something like Rich Hill & Sean Marshall for him... would you?
Yep, we can't forget that the bandbox of a stadium we play in definitely hurts our chances with FA pitchers. Why pitch here when you can pitch at Wrigley where the wind is usually blowing in (blows in more than it does out) and the OF dimensions are deeper, especially in the "well".
That said, if we didn't at least match this offer or offer $4 mil, we missed the boat IMO. Lieber is not great, but I would have LOVED to get him for one year at $4 mil. There just isn't much out there, especially at that price.
I don't think this division will be decided by a Jon Lieber signing. I think the Cubs are a better team, but I thought they were a better team before getting Lieber. At best, he'll be a fairly solid contributor, but can he stay healthy? And how will he perform in Wrigley with the wind blowing out? He could win 10-15 games, or he could appear in 10-15 games, it's hard to tell.
Lieber is no great shakes but he does add veteran depth to a staff that arguably has the best rotation in the division. Nice signing for Cubs - it fits their needs and is cheap.
I was hoping for Lieber, if we went with a second tier FA. I've always thought of him as a bulldog-type who can win as much with savvy as stuff and thought he stood a decent chance of bouncing back with a decent season (not saying 20 wins, but solid innings for a back of rotation arm). I liked that his injury was not arm-related. I also thought he could be a strong role-model for the young guys.
If we had signed him for $4-5M for a year I would have been pleased (even with a reasonable club option for a second year). I'm not too down about it, but would have liked to had Lieber than Tomko at a similar number and I'm getting the sneaky feeling that that's what's coming (just a hunch).
Lieber was the veteran that I wanted the Reds to target. Oh well.
[Phil ] Castellini celebrated the team's farm system and noted the team had promising prospects who would one day be great Reds -- and then joke then they'd be ex-Reds, saying "of course we're going to lose them". #SellTheTeamBob
Nov. 13, 2007: One of the greatest days in Reds history: John Allen gets the boot!
Everyone will have to excuse me for not wringing my hands over "losing out" a pitcher that has only been completely healthy 1 out of the past 5 seasons, will be 38 at the start of play in '08, is probably a 4.75-5.00 ERA pitcher at this stage of his career, and doesn't make many batters miss.
The numbers you'd get from Lieber are completely replaceable from many other sources.
Cincinnati Reds: Farm System Champions 2022
"My mission is to be the ray of hope, the guy who stands out there on that beautiful field and owns up to his mistakes and lets people know it's never completely hopeless, no matter how bad it seems at the time. I have a platform and a message, and now I go to bed at night, sober and happy, praying I can be a good messenger." -Josh Hamilton
Well, I think one report had both Hill & Marshall going to the O's for Roberts ... who knows if that was true, but the question is would you give up more or less for Phillips than you would for Roberts? ... I don't know.
But, probably the bigger question is .. would you give your #2 starter to your division rival? Probably not. However, if I were the Reds, I'd ask.
Last edited by hippie07; 01-17-2008 at 10:18 AM.
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