There have not been nearly enough innings played to evaluate a team on what will become a six month, 162 game season, but three points were made clear during the first series of the Cubs season.
1. The bullpen is a mess - With two blown saves in two chances and very nearly a third straight on Sunday, the relief corps has shown the front office was right in questioning their makeup at the end of Spring Training. Marmol hasn't been able to locate his slider (no surprises here), but along with that he's lost the changeup and fastball combo he's used to set up that slider over the past two seasons. Wood was correct in his doubt of some Opening Day squeezes from the home plate umpire, but you'd expect a veteran not to be shaken by such a sequence. I'll commend Shawn Camp for closing out a sloppy eighth on Saturday and Rafael Dolis for shutting down the side on six pitches the inning prior, but the season-long viability of this unit is already under scrutiny.
2. Jeff Samardzija has potential - The poorly-quaffed hardballer looked like he has finally come into his own on Saturday, tossing out a final line of 8 2/3 innings, four hits, one earned run, eight strikeouts, and zero walks. The control (79 strikes on 110 pitches) may be the most impressive feat he accomplished on the day after gaining a reputation for having accuracy issues both in the minors and as a big league reliever. Although Starlin Castro's arm (and possibly Brian LaHair's fielding) cost him the first April complete game for a Cub since Mark Prior in 2003, Samardzija vindicated management's decision to install him as the third starter over more seasoned options currently regaining form in Iowa.
3. The Nationals are overrated - Steven Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann shut down the Cubs lineup to bookend the weekend (14 IP, 9 K, 1 BB, 2 ER) and Tyler Clippard looked the geeky-yet-effective part in his setup role, but Gio Gonzalez looked shaky on Saturday and the Nationals hitters could not crack Cubs starters more reminiscent the back end (if that) of contending NL East rotations. Zimmerman and LaRoche would look much more formidable in the 6 and 5 spots, respectively, in that order. Yet with Werth continuing to show very little from the 5-hole and the extreme unlikelihood that Bryce Harper shows the plate discipline to hit third immediately upon call-up, this Nationals club may regret not nabbing a bigger bat this offseason. They'll need that first half of the order (topped with Ian Desmond's early .429 OBP) to complement the playoff-caliber pitching staff if they plan to chase the Phillies, Marlins, and Braves into the fall.
As I've said before, I never thought Samardzija was a great pitcher, especially in college when I knew his game a little more intimately. The Cubs paid him too much, but when he was drafted, he was an example of the dangerous case of "He's never focused on only baseball before." What he did have was a live arm and a fastball with good late movement. The WhiteSox and Cubs have both used this philosophy of "if he focuses on baseball, he will become a better player." While the idea makes sense, it does not always pan out as planned(see Jared Mitchell, the Sox first round pick in 2010 who has yielded very little since focusing only on baseball in the minors). However, if Samardzija stays healthy, continues to pound the zone, and can consistently use his slider and changeup effectively, the Cubs may realize the potential in Shark after several years of mediocrity.
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