To quote the great Charley Steiner, "There is something liberating about those magical words, pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training." The wait is over. The baseball season begins today.
Ryan Dempster, Rich Hill, Angel Guzman, Scott Eyre, Sam Fuld, Jeff Samardzija, Daryle Ward, Geovany Soto and Jason Marquis were among the early arrivals to camp. Samardzija, along with Tyler Colvin and Jake Fox were victims of a thief that broke into the locker rooms at Fitch Park on January 29th and stole personal items that included identification, checkbooks, credit cards and a cell phone. Mesa Police arrested the burglar and security has been increased at the practice facility.
In other news, Pat Hughes was named the 2007 Illinois Sportscaster of the Year on Tuesday. Hughes received the award for the 7th time in his career, his 4th since joining the Cubs.
While Lou Piniella feels the Cubs are the team to beat in the Central Division this year, many are split between picking either the Cubs or the Brewers to take the title. Lou Piniella's crew has plenty of questions to find the right answers to over the next six weeks. Here is a look at a few of the stories in the starting rotation worth keep an eye on....
The Starting Six?
Many have touted the Cubs starting rotation as one of the best in the National League. The projected starters are Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, Rich Hill....and then it gets a little foggy. Jason Marquis had a solid start once again last year but stumbled down the stretch and fell out of favor with Lou Piniella. Jon Lieber will make a return to the North Side and his experience and ability to eat innings could be valuable....but his health, or lack thereof is always a concern. Lou Piniella planted the idea in Ryan Dempster's head last May about returning to the rotation and the club's former closer has decided to give it a shot. But Dempster might be more effective as the long man out of the pen with an occasional spot start. The backend of the rotation, while might not be very effective in a short series, must be solid through 162 games. Carlos Zambrano and Ted Lilly figure to hold the key to success while Rich Hill must build on his first full season at the big league level.
One of the old cliches is, pitching wins championships and while some have questioned the Cubs quality, without a doubt Spring Training will begin with quantity.
Carlos Zambrano
While Carlos Zambrano has the stuff to be mentioned among the elite pitchers of the game, he has yet to earn his 'ace' status. Zambrano is the Cubs number one pitcher, without a doubt, but to put it simply....it all starts with Big Z. If the Cubs are to make it to the post-season Zambrano must have a solid season and build on his career high 18 wins from a year ago.
Zambrano will not have a new contract to worry about and maybe the predictions he made before last season will come to fruition this year.
Ted Lilly
Ted Lilly had a career year last season. He posted a 15-8 record with a 3.83 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP in 34 starts....15 wins tied a career high, while he set new career marks in starts, ERA, WHIP, strikeouts (174) and walks allowed (55). And if not for the Cubs' slow start and struggles in the pen over the first two months of the season, Lilly could have posted a 20-win season. Not only was Lilly effective, he also became the stopper of the staff. The lasting memory from 2007, however, was his glove throwing incident in Game 2 of the Divisional Series.
To ask Lilly to build upon last year would be hard to do, but to ask him to post a third consecutive 15-win season would be in order.
Rich Hill
The Cubs very talented southpaw had a good but not great first Major League campaign. Hill posted an 11-8 record with a 3.92 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP while leading the Cubs in strikeouts with 183 to just 63 walks. Hill's biggest problem was holding runners and keeping his focus with runners on base. Hill has a huge upside with all the tools to be a solid number two in the majors but he must improve on the mental part of the game to take the next step in his development. The biggest question surrounding Hill, will he take a step forward or back this year?
The Other Three
Barring a trade Sean Marshall, Sean Gallagher and Kevin Hart will get a shot this spring at making the Cubs rotation. Hart was very impressive in September and based on the way he pitched last year (three different levels), he figures to be the long-man out of the Cubs pen. Hart proved he could pitch in relief and most importantly shut down teams and not allow those tack on runs that prevent late inning comebacks. In very limited action (8 games, 11 innings, 1 run on 7 hits with 13 strikeouts and 4 walks) he showed good poise and presence on the mound.
Sean Marshall has shown he can win games at the big league level and that should give him an advantage over Sean Gallagher. Marshall was effective in May (0-2 in 2 games with a 2.70 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP), June (4-1 in 6 games with a 3.82 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP) and July (1-1 in 4 games with a 2.31 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP) but struggled in August (2-3 in 6 games with a 6.18 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP with a .309 opponents batting average) and forced Jim Hendry to trade way-to-much to the Orioles for Steve Trachsel. Marshall's biggest challenge could be following Rich Hill in the rotation, but if Marshall is still on the roster and remains healthy, he could challenge both Jason Marquis and Ryan Dempster for the final spot in the rotation.
Most have gotten on the Sean Gallagher bandwagon this off-season, not based on his performance at the big league level but based on promise and rumors. Gallagher is one of the Cubs top prospects and many project him to be a mid-rotation starter in the Major Leagues....and one day, he very well could. Gallagher has lost weight this winter and figures to be ready for a break out season, but to say he was less than impressive last year would be an understatement. Gallagher pitched in 8 games, all out of the pen (8.59 ERA, a 2.11 WHIP and a .317 opponents batting average with 12 walks and 5 strikeouts in 14 2/3 innings) and did earn a save, a 4 inning performance in relief of Carlos Zambrano....the save was earned by rule. But that outing against the Giants on July 18th was his longest and clearly, his best of the year.
A Wild Card?
One possible wild card in the equation could end up being Juan Mateo. Mateo showed he could pitch at the Major League level in 2006. Mateo was selected by the Cardinals in the Rule 5 draft back in 2005 but was returned the Cubs after Spring Training. Mateo reportedly showed up to camp out of shape and was ineffective. Mateo ended up making his big league debut in 2006 with the Cubs and posted a 1-3 record in 10 starts with a 5.32 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP.
Mateo started last season on the DL after missing most of spring with a shoulder injury. Once healthy, Mateo started the year at Peoria and posted a 2-1 record with a 5.24 ERA in 6 starts and finished the year in Iowa. Mateo was 2-3 in 8 games, 7 starts, with a 4.05 ERA in 40 innings. However he gave up a ton of hits and continued to struggle with his command....50 hits allowed and in 62 1/3 combined innings walked 19 and struck out 43.
Juan Mateo pitched in the Dominican Winter League with Licey (Felix Pie and Carlos Marmol) and quietly had a successful winter....1.04 ERA in 6 games, 1 start, 3 strikeouts, 0 walks, 1 earned run allowed on 8 hits in 8 2/3 innings.
The main concern about the Cubs' rotation must be the lack of a true ace or stopper. If Zambrano is going through one of his 'down times', the Cubs could go on a prolonged losing streak and in the process wear out the bullpen. As has been the case for the last couple of years, the Cubs go as Big Z goes.
The Storylines of the Spring
- Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly and Rich Hill finishing the Cactus League schedule healthy
- The 'battle' for the last two spots in the rotation
- Jon Lieber's health
- Jason Marquis' status
- Ryan Dempster's return to the rotation
On Thursday, the first day of workouts for pitchers and catchers, the CCO will take a look at the Bullpen and the Backstops.
Click here for the first footage of Spring Training from WGN.
2008 Spring Training Articles from the CCO
Happy Pitchers and Catchers Report Day everyone! Baseball season is upon us!! This day could not get here fast enough.
I'm crying tears of Joy!!! Today is an adult male's version of Christmas, the happiest day of the year.
How's this for a Triple-A pitching rotation?
Samardzija
Marshall
Gallagher
Mateo
Cotts
We needn't worry about Marquis and Leiber guys. If either is ineffective, then Lou can cherry-pick from these guys at Triple-A, and bring up whoever has the "hot hand" all season. Lou (or the scouts) showed quite a knack for doing that last year in the bullpen, with guys like Hart, Petrick, Cherry, etc. And I think the same thing could work with the back end of our rotation this year, if need be.
Here's a bold prediction for the season: By August, Samardzija will force his way into the starting rotation, and will never leave. And then he and Z will become the dominating 1-2 combo we've all been wanting for a deep playoff push.
Don't forget that he had Top 5 talent in the draft, just like Wood and The Employee. And if I'm not mistaken those two only spent 1 1/2 years in the minors before being called up to the Bigs. I think Samardzija is on the fast track just like those guys, and he'll be here before anyone expects.
I like that predication!
This definitely should be a Holiday. It to me, is my Valentine's Day. Instead of getting Valentine cards and chocolate, I prefer getting baseball cards and bubblegum. Long Live Baseball
I for one don't understand all the Marquis bashing out there (not this article), or the notion that the Cubs would take him out of the rotation. The Cubs were 20-13 last year when Marquis started; though there are alot of factors there, it does show that he kept us in alot of games that we won, and that's what a starter is supposed to do, particularly a back of the rotation innings eater. Marquis's main strengths, his durability, good hitting, multiple pitches, and above all his ability to take the ball every fifth day without fail, play MUCH better in the rotation than they do out of the bullpen. In the bullpen, his multiple pitches won't matter much, and his sometimes poor control will be even more exposed. I am not espousing man-love for Marquis, just saying he should absolutely be in our rotation or SOMEBODY'S rotation, not the bullpen.
Adam...It seems likely that Samardzija spends most of the year working on his promising slider, missing changeup and ability to locate pitches at AA. Hopefully Veal and Ceda join Samardzija as all stars in Tennessee. You should see a lot of Gallagher, Colvin, Ascaino, Petrick, Patterson, Hoffpauir and Kroeger. (All of the hitters are lefties, I think.) Keep us posted if Colvin plays some center field--because that could be a clue to whether or not Pie is doing well enough in Chicago. Peoria will be more than interesting with Vitters and Donaldson hoping to excel as top prospects and keeping our hopes alive for their future stardom.
In some ways, the minors are a great experience for those of us who live close to minor league teams--like me in Indianapolis. You can sit close enough to see who is breaking a sweat for less than $10; and, at AAA it's an interesting blend of a few young prospects readying for the bigs, a few older veterans hoping for a call back and a few that just want to stay in the game as long as they can. I just wish Iowa was still playing Eastern teams like several years back and making regular stops in Indy.
A Wall St. Journal story today says that The Trib is not likely to complete a sale of the Cubs this year. Basically, Zell is trying to maximize the value of Wrigley Field in a deal separate from the sale of the Cubs--or at least establish a top value that a buyer of both the team and the field would pay. Prospective team buyers aren't ready to negotiate for the team until they know what their deal might be for using Wrigley, and those negotiations usually drag for months. It's safe to say that the more costly the field deal, the less money there is for payroll.