The Cubs’ clubhouse celebration after clinching the NL Central included some telling comments from Jon Lester, who proclaimed that John Lackey had made “probably his last regular-season start. Here’s to one hell of a career!” before toasting his longtime teammate. (USA Today’s Bob Nightengale has the details.) This is the first open acknowledgement that Lackey is heading towards retirement after the season. Lackey’s two-year, $32MM contract is up once the Cubs conclude their postseason run, and he turns 39 in October. He struggled to a 4.56 ERA over 169 2/3 innings thanks in large part to problems with the long ball, as Lackey surrendered a league-high 36 homers and a career-high 18.3% home run rate. Still, Lackey has enjoyed a tremendous 15 seasons in the big leagues and, coming out of the Cubs bullpen in the playoffs, he’ll look to collect his fourth World Series ring.
Here’s more from around baseball as we head into the final weekend of the regular season…
- The Cardinals don’t expect extensions with any of their upcoming free agents before the season is over, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. This includes Lance Lynn, whose representatives haven’t had any in-depth talks with the club about a new deal. When asked if Thursday’s start could be his last with the Cardinals, Lynn said it “certainly looks that way.” Lynn looks to be one of the top pitchers available in this year’s free agent market, and it appears he’ll be departing a Cards rotation that will mostly be relying on promising younger arms in 2018.
- Also from Goold’s article, he reports that the Cardinals have been in touch with Juan Nicasio about a new deal. Nicasio came to St. Louis after a rather surprising series of transactions that saw the right-hander waived by the Pirates, claimed by the Phillies and then dealt to the Cards all within a week’s time at the end of August and in early September. No matter the uniform, Nicasio pitched well, posting a 2.65 ERA, 3.55 K/BB rate and 71 strikeouts over 71 1/3 innings for his three teams, making a league-high 75 appearances. The Cardinals have clearly liked what they’ve seen in their short time with Nicasio on the roster and may be trying to lock Nicasio up before he hits the open market.
- There is mutual interest between the Giants and Nick Hundley in a new contract, though Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle observes that it might hinge on how much playing time Hundley is able to find elsewhere from a catching-needy team. Obviously, anything more than a backup role isn’t an option in San Francisco with Buster Posey locked in as the regular catcher. Hundley hit .246/.276/.425 over 296 PA with the Giants while becoming a big voice in the team’s clubhouse.
lackey is a bum
A bum with three rings from three teams in two leagues. Yup, bum.
And you’re a jealous bum
End of his run, of course he’s not lights out…but a very good 15 year career.
Why is Lackey a bum. He had a great career. Explain yourself
He’s a jerk. He’s a me-first crybaby. Sure, he’s had big wins and three rings, but he still acts like a jerk.
a big toothed bum
so what is it? cardinals don’t expect to extend lynn or nicasio, then, it says they are in contact with nicasio’s agent. which is it, derrick?
Its they don’t expect to extend anyone before the season’s end, not just no extensions in general. They’ll probably offer something to both but Lynn’s won’t be a priority.
Lynn will probably join the Cubs or White Sox since he’s from Indiana.
I mean, its whoever will pay the most, most likely. I doubt he’d really discount anyone to play near Indiana.
Come on, it’s obvious that Lynn isn’t going to bypass free agency now that he’s so close.
Lynn received very little run support this year. He would give up 2 runs and either get a no decision, or lose 2-1. His era was half of Wainwright’s, but Wainwright had a better W/L record. Stats can be misleading at times.
*Faulty* stats can be misleading at times.
And accurate ones. I certainly appreciate advanced stats, but even they can often be lacking. That’s why there’s always the search for better ones.
Not a problem if you just don’t look at a pitcher’s record in the first place, for exactly the reason you just mentioned
Stats are just Math. They don’t lie. It’s the people that use them and the arguments into which they are placed that can be misleading.
Agreed, though the flaw may be in believing that the math being used is accounting for all necessary variables. Also the across the board application of many stats twists perception. Maybe my argument is (unintentionally) misleading, but I believe context is important.
On a side note, that’s dentures!
Ok Cardinals- Let Lynn walk but you need to find a veteran “innings eater” to replace him for depth. If you wont spend the 100 million (which I agree with) on Lynn, spend 100 million and steal Arrietta from the cubs. Go out and either sign J.D. Martinez or make the trade for Donaldson. If you go the Donaldson route you might as well offer a trade (centered around Pham) to acquire Ozuna or Yelich. Phams stock in incredibly high right now- time to put him on the block.
Potential Rotation:
Martinez
Arietta
Weaver
Reyes
Wacha
*Waino in bullpen
Possible batting order:
1. Carpenter 1B
2. Fowler CF
3. Donaldson 3B
4. Ozuna/Yelich LF
5. DeJong SS
6. Molina C
7.. Piscotty RF
8. Wong/Gyrko 2B
or
1. Carpenter 1B
2. Fowler CF
3. J.D. Martinez RF
4. DeJong SS
5. Pham LF
6. Molina C
7. Gryko 3B
8. Wong 2B
I could see this but I think the Cardinals trade for Donaldson and trade Piscotty and Gyorko over along with a few other prospects. Then I think the sign J.D. Martinez to put in right and keep Pham. Then focus on the Pen like bringing back Nicasio, and maybe sign one of the big arms like Andrew Miller or Wade Davis. I think the Cards leave the rotation as is right now except with Waino instead of Lynn.
Possible Rotation:
Martinez
Weaver
Wacha
Wainwright
And Flarehty till Reyes is back
Lineup
1. Carpenter 1B
2. Pham LF
3. Donaldson 3B
4. Martinez RF
5. Fowler CF
6. Molina C
7. DeJong
8. Wong
Bench
Kelly C
Martinez OF/1B
Diaz IF
Grichuk OF
Bader OF
Thats another good option however its going to take a lot more than Gyrko and Piscotty to get Donaldson. Weaver, Flarehty, or Pham would have to be the center piece. I truly think it would be wise to trade Pham not that his stock is at an all time high. Also I dont see the Cardinals going after a top closer. I can see them resigning Nicasio and possibly having a younger are in the bullpen. Cards are too conservative and history shows that high priced, elite closers may not pan out on a new team.
I agree with Shadow. Blue Jays are vocal about only trading Donaldson for players that can impact this upcoming season. Their outfield was not very productive this season. Gyorko would slot in where Donaldson was for the Jays. Piscotty would take over for Bautista. They also need SP help so they could ask for a Mike Mayers or Anthony Reyes type to sweeten the deal. That would definitely be suitable for 1 year of Donaldson with the Cardinals going big to re-sign him before he hits free agency — similar to Matt Holliday. That also vacates a spot in the OF. Pham in CF. FOWLER IN LF. RF could be split between Grichuk and a rookie — O’Neill should get the nod. They could go big for JD Martinez, but he would likely require the Cardinals to ship Carpenter to an AL team after a year of subpar defense as Martinez gets older — moves to 1B. Stanton wants out of Miami after vocalizing unhappiness today. However, Cardinals management definitely would require a substantial chunk of Stanton’s contract to be eaten in the trade. Hence, unlikely for Stanton to STL.
I like this potential batting order;
(But…I don’t see it happening),
1. Fowler…….Lf
2. Pham……..Cf
3. Donaldson..3rd
4. JD Martinez..rf
5. DeJong……..ss
6. Hosmer……..1b
7. Molina………..C
8. Garcia/Mejia..2nd
I can see the Cubs letting Arrieta walk and signing Lynn…he’ll come cheaper, has similar stats and is a year younger.
Red Feather has STL signing Arietta which is hysterical… IDK what Mo & Girsch are gonna do, but its doubtful they hand out a 100 million dollar deal for a pitcher who has not been a part of the org. Never gonna happen… Price choosing Sox over Cards was a good thing in the end… Same for Heyward..
Cards have to many complementary pieces right now.. Need at least 2 core players to lead this team.. Plus rebuild the bullpen.
look what the last cardinal signing if a cub got them. an overpriced washed up outfielder.
How is that hysterical? Giving Lynn a 100 million contract (which Im sure the cubs will) is hysterical. The Cardinals are clearly going out of their comfort zone this off season and if that means stealing a quality veteran pitcher from cubs whole is actually worth 100 million would be ideal. cubbies fans would love it!