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CHASING CUBTOBER: Supernatural and the Cubs
Posted February 3rd ago via ArmchairGM
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Somehow. Someway. The New York Mets beat the Chicago Cubs, and Opening Day is still 57 days away. This week, the Mets made themselves (arguably) the best team in the National League by acquiring left-handed starting pitcher Johan Santana in exchange for four minor league prospects. Santana, a two-time Cy Young award winner, signed a six-year extension meaning he will be a thorn in the side in the NL for a long time to come. What does this have to do with the Cubs? Be patient. We will get to that eventually. The Mets are a team of stars assembled to put up lots of runs on the board. Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, and David Wright will provide Santana with the prolific offense and run support that he did not have with the Minnesota Twins. How much better does that make Santana? I don't want to know. The NL was winnable last year, and for most of the off-season, it looked like it would be winnable again. The idea of a Wild Card team winning a one-game playoff and running the table to win the NL pennant gave Cubs fans hope that anything could happen in a playoff that had no dominant team. Getting Santana makes the Mets a dominant team. Now is the time the Cubs must strike back with a move that puts them in the Mets league. While acquiring second baseman Brian Roberts makes the Cubs better, I'm not sure if the deal makes them significantly better. Acquiring starting pitcher Erik Bedard is the move that could put the Cubs in direct competition with the Mets, but the Cubs have to knock the socks off Baltimore's Andy MacPhail and owner Peter Angelos. Still, I'm not sure Rich Hill can't be Bedard-like at a cheaper price. If the Cubs could acquire Bedard without giving up Hill (which is highly unlikely) then the Cubs could be as good as the Mets, almost. Even if they did get both Roberts and Bedard, the Cubs have ignored three positions that need to be filled before upgrading at second base. The Cubs still do not have a closer. It seems as if Cubs management wants Kerry Wo...

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