Well, that was a rough week. 0-6 Saturday through Friday, including a sweep by the fluorescent Floridian ballclub. A total of 14 runs were scored over six games from the single-specialist Cubs lineup. Starters decided they had enough of outperforming the hitters the first week and sunk down to their rightful place in the bottom third of the majors. And the defense--oh, the defense! Multi-error games Saturday, Tuesday, and Friday have led to big innings from three separate opponents. As I sit here watching the top of the 7th on Saturday (5 RUNS! 10 HITS!), the outfield has made errors on two consecutive plays. Let's hope this week bottoms out as the worst single week of the season. Not much faith in that, but at least the turn of weather in May should warm up the bats and bring some sunny afternoons at the ballpark. After the jump, we knock out a couple burning questions raised through these first few weeks.
What can we expect from this pitching staff this season?
After a fantastic first week was stifled by some anemic hitting, the Cubs starters regressed a bit this week and continued to work without any help from the offense. As we have seen Ryan Dempster and Kerry Wood hit the DL over the last two days, pitching depth again looks like it will come into question early this season just as it did last year with Andrew Cashner and Randy Wells. Dempster's injury seems recoverable, but Wood has the dreaded "shoulder fatigue" which could well drag on into the remainder of the year.
As such, the Cubs will require those who disappointed during Spring Training (specifically Randy Wells, Esmailin Caridad, and Casey Coleman) to step up into larger roles. Wells was recalled from Iowa and will get the call in place of Dempster on Sunday. He had an underwhelming 2011 and followed that up with a poor spring to miss the team out of camp. He has the talent to be an end of the rotation starter or spot man (Rodrigo Lopez - 'nuff said) for the next few seasons here. If he can regain his breaking ball that led him to a surprising run in 2010, the Cubs should be able to put together another decent run from this staff.
The bullpen is still a mess. They didn't face many pressure situations this week as they were mostly trying to steady the ship from early-inning deficits, but it's a struggle when Shawn Camp is a go-to guy in the 7th. Rafael Dolis is getting a chance to impress and with Carlos Marmol's struggles and Wood's injury, may eventually see time in the 9th this season. I would expect this bullpen to straighten itself out a bit, though that's not saying a lot based on what we've seen so far.
How long can the Cubs keep Anthony Rizzo, Brett Jackson, and Welington Castillo in Des Moines?
This question needs to be answered from a couple different viewpoints. From an on-the-field perspective, each of those players may present a better option than the man in their spot at Wrigley. From a financial perspective, keeping Jackson and Castillo down in the minors until June will delay their arbitration eligibility for another season. However, the growing cry from Cubs fans for something young and exciting to watch should tip the scales in favor of callups by June 1.
The major reasons beyond the arbitration clock keeping these players in Iowa are LaHair's solid early play for Rizzo, plate discipline for Jackson, and Soto blocking regular playing time for Castillo. In addition, the Cubs would probably like to display the guys blocking these players for future trade considerations. It looks like Marlon Byrd already may be moving on to the BoSox for former Chicagoland prep star Michael Bowden, a big arm that may end up in the 'pen sooner rather than later. The Cubs will likely bring Reed Johnson into an everyday role in favor of Jackson learning how to take a pitch in Des Moines, but this move likely guarantees a move up by late summer.
Steve Clevenger has performed admirably early on this season, handling this unfamiliar staff well for a rather inexperienced guy behind the plate and already coming up with a couple three-hit games. I don't think Clevenger is the guy keeping Castillo off the Chicago roster, rather that Cubs management wants to get Welington consistent at-bats somewhere until he can take an everyday role.
Rizzo, probably the best prospect of the three at the moment, has the best chance at an early callup due to his early season form and LaHair's versatility to take at-bats in the corner outfield spots. In 64 plate appearances, Rizzo is hitting .367 with 7 HRs for an OPS of 1.140 this season. If anything, Rizzo could provide a reason for Cubs fans to turn out to the park in May before the rest of the AAA club is given a shot once this team drops out of contention.
No comments:
Post a Comment