Last night Tom Gorzelanny had his worst outing of the 2010 baseball season, at the worst possible time. As soon as the announcement was made that Carlos Zambrano was going to be returning to the starting rotation, sooner rather than later, Gorzelanny was tabbed as the favorite to be demoted to the bullpen. Because of last night’s performance, Manager Lou Piniella had every reason to go ahead with those predictions, and make them come true. Personally, while I do not know who should be removed from the rotation, but as things stand, Gorzelanny is the top contender.
Despite his record of 2-5 on the year, he still has the third best ERA and the second lowest batting average against on the team, just behind Ryan Dempster. How anyone can say he does not keep the team in games is beyond me because in seven of his nine starts he has given up three runs or less, in that stretch, he only gave up three runs once. He has done more than his fair share to keep the team in the ballgames in which he has pitched in. But of course, baseball is sadly a “what have you done for me lately” sport; fans typically only remember the most recent outing. Unfortunately, last night, Gorzelanny put started poorly and things continued to crumble for him as he gave up seven runs, of which only five were earned thanks to a Mike Fontenot error, in only five innings while walking three men. Before last night’s fiasco, Gorzelanny actually held the Cubs best ERA on the starting staff
However, last night likely sunk any chance Gorzelanny had of remaining in the rotation, and he will more than likely replace Zambrano in the bullpen. However, if you thought that this would be the only move made when Zambrano returns to the rotation, you could be severely mistaken. With Gorzelanny heading to the bullpen, the Cubs will have four left handed relievers, more than half of their bullpen. I can not see the Cubs carrying more left handed pitchers than righties. One of the current left handed pitchers will likely be removed to make room for a right handed pitcher to replace Zambrano.
Before you get your hopes up, the Cubs will not be wishing John Grabow the best in his future endeavors. While he has not performed up to expectations, or even close, with two years left on his contract as well as a few million dollars his spot on the roster is likely safe. The best you can hope for is for him to be placed on the disabled list. But unless the Cubs are able to come up with something determined to be “season ending” this move will only buy them an extra two weeks.
Another left hander who will be safe is Sean Marshall. He has shown more than enough to convince Piniella to make him the 8th inning pitcher, and bridge the game to Carlos Marmol. Outside of Jeff Stevens, who has only appeared in two games, and Carlos Marmol, who is the teams closer and wont pitch in the middle innings, Marshall has been the best reliever the Cubs have been able to throw out there and have confidence in. His crisp .165 batting average against and solid .86 WHIP shows exactly why he will not be the odd lefty out. That leaves just one player, James Russell.
After Marshall, Russell may be the next best pitcher in the Cubs pen, but he may on his way out as soon as Zambrano makes his triumphant return. Of the three left handed pitchers the pen, Russell has the least experience, and would be the easiest pitcher to remove from the bullpen, despite the success he has had. He will just be the unfortunate casualty of war. I am sure he would understand, but how can you deny that he has done everything that was asked of him? He has pitched well enough to keep his spot in the bullpen, but his future with the Cubs 25 man roster, at least at this time, may have run out.
If, as I believe he will, Russell gets demoted, you can expect to see another young right handed pitcher called up to replace him. Either Andrew Cashner or Jay Jackson will be on the top of the list of names to be called up to effectively replacing Zambrano. With recent reports of Jackson starting tonight for the Iowa Cubs in Triple A, in place of Cashner, you can bet that Cashner is a sure fire lock to be called up when Zambrano returns to the rotation and Gorzelanny replacing Russell in the pen. That would definitely help out a struggling bullpen, and be the start of the Cashner Era.
In an honest moment, I could not possibly tell you who should be the odd man out, once Zambrano returns. You could pick any one of our current starters and make a case for them to stay in the rotation or be demoted to the bullpen. As for me though, removing Gorzelanny does not make the most sense, and the ripple effect will be felt in the bullpen.
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