Every fan of the Chicago Cubs knows that the bullpen would be a complete disaster since the earliest of days in Spring Training. Those fears became reality rather quickly as the season started, and continued to be a horrifying reality throughout the first 14 games of the season. Fans have been demanding bullpen help all since the off season began. The Cubs already weak bullpen took a vicious hit when Angel Guzman, projected eighth inning setup pitcher, was forced to the shelf with a possible career ending surgery just after camp began. Unfortunately for Cub fans everywhere, General Manager Jim Hendry was unable to fill the void in the bullpen with an experience pitcher before the season began With Ted Lilly coming back to the rotation on Saturday when the Cubs face the Milwaukee Brewers, the understanding was that one of the starters would be moved into the bullpen. The only question, or so most though, was would we see Carlos Silva or Tom Gorzelanny take over a relief role.
In a complete shocker, according to several reports, the Cubs have decided to move Carlos Zambrano into the bullpen effective Friday. While many fans have been saying that Zambrano has fallen off, and is not earning the money he was signed to in his contract of a few years ago, no one could have realistically expected their $18 million a year “Ace” pitcher to be the starting pitcher selected to move to the pen. there are a few questions that are raised with this move. How long will this experiment last, and will this move help the Cubs win more of the games they have the lead in the late innings?
Before you question how this helps the team, taking Zambrano out of the rotation, ask yourself this. How many games have the Cubs been leading in the seventh or eighth inning when they had a one run lead? The Cubs bullpen has had several problems holding on to leads late in the game. The bull pen has blown at least six games, when the Cubs have had a small lead. You don’t have to think long about this next question, and I really shouldn’t have to ask. Who do you trust more on the mound, Zambrano, John Grabow, Jeff Gray or Jeff Samardzija. The answer should easily be Zambrano. He is by far better than any of the other late inning relief candidates that are currently in the bullpen. Another reason why this move makes sense, is because Zambrano is a strikeout pitcher. Strike outs is a key for anyone who pitches in the eighth inning. The only foreseeable problem, is that Zambrano hasn’t pitched in relief since his second season in the majors, which was eight years ago in 2002.
How long a move like this will last, depends on a number of variables. How well Zambrano pitches in the setup role, and how well the other starters pitchers do. This could easily be a short lived experiment if Zambrano gets shelled outing after outing, or if either Silva or Gorzelanny fall off the map and put up a couple poor starts in a row. Either one of those two situations could result in the return of Zambrano to the starting rotation. Personally, I hope this move becomes permanent; only because that would mean that all three pitchers will be having success in their roles. If all three have success, there is a very good chance that the Cubs will catapult themselves back into contention for the division. If this move fails, then the Cubs are back at square one.
While I may not personally be in favor of this move, at least the team is trying to do something to improve a very weak component of their ball club, while taking away from a strength. If the Cubs did not have Lilly coming back, this move would not make any sense at all. Any way you spin this, we can only assume making a move like this is nothing short of a desperation move. Most would rather see either Silva or Gorzelanny be moved to the pen, because they would rather see close to 200 innings from Zambrano instead of only 70-80. Most don’t see how limiting the innings of one of your better pitchers can do anything to help the club at all. Others feel that he will be a great setup man and give the Cubs everything they need in the eighth inning.
As the situation stands, Cub fans are voicing mixed opinions on this move, but that doesn’t make this the wrong move. Only time will tell how this move plays out, and what the ramifications are. However, this will have a lot to say with the future of Lou Piniella and how much longer he sticks around. If this move is deemed a success and the Cubs start winning, Piniella will be called a genius for making the gutsy move. If this works out, we could very likely see him stick around until the bitter end of the year, and may even get extended if the Cubs make a lot of noise. If this fails, he could be ushered out of town and fired before the All-Star break.
