I know it's VERY early, but was Hendry spot on...

[badger1679666666]

With PART of the offseason?

 

Yes Rusch, Neif were awful signings, we'll see about Jones - but still a bad contract.

 

But securing this Bullpen first, might have been a brilliant move. I guess we'll find out down the stretch - but it could be just what we needed.

[Mark_R]

I dooooooooooooooooooooo love me some CubPen.

[srbin84]

I dooooooooooooooooooooo love me some CubPen.

 

Damn straight brother!

[WrigleyField 22]

I wont get too excited yet, but it is encouraging. Lets hope Dusty uses them correctly and not too much.

 

There will likely be stretched were it will look bad but we'll have to just wait and look at the season as a whole.

 

If we wanna be successful its gonna be how we end the season. Whoever is hottest and the end will do the best.

[nilodnayr]

Just imagine how good Wuertz will be when hes not overused. And we have Novoa waiting in the wings.

[Wilson A2000]

With PART of the offseason?

 

Yes Rusch, Neif were awful signings, we'll see about Jones - but still a bad contract.

 

But securing this Bullpen first, might have been a brilliant move. I guess we'll find out down the stretch - but it could be just what we needed.

 

Why were Rusch and Neifi bad signings? Neifi hit about as good as you can expect for a sub and played gold glove defense. Rusch is an adequate 5th starter on any team and long-reliever.

[Geech]

Didn't Rusch get a raise and an extension this past offseason?

[ltb]

Didn't Rusch get a raise and an extension this past offseason?

 

that he did

[Coach C]

One thing that Hendry did right today was to turn down the TV volume when Joe and Jon were talking about him.

 

=D>

 

I guess he got to the point where he got irritated and just turned the TV down.

[Shilzzz]

jh should get some serious credit if he truly dusty-proofed the bullpen.

[soccer10k]

If we can have the whole pen pitching well then Dusty won't have to worry about overworking one or two players. Eyre and Ohman as lefties. Howry and Williamson as righties. Dempster as the closer. The big thing in previous years is that Dusty didn't have any faith in the pen because they stunk. This year there is no reason he shouldn't have faith in the pen. Hopefully it works out well. I just know that I love our pen this year.

[CubmanPi]

If we can have the whole pen pitching well then Dusty won't have to worry about overworking one or two players. Eyre and Ohman as lefties. Howry and Williamson as righties. Dempster as the closer. The big thing in previous years is that Dusty didn't have any faith in the pen because they stunk. This year there is no reason he shouldn't have faith in the pen. Hopefully it works out well. I just know that I love our pen this year.

 

In previous years, he either leaves Marshall in and hopes for the best, or he goes to one of few reliable guys in the bullpen whom he has managed to already overuse inside of the first five games. Or he goes to a bum who serves up more than just two runs, and without getting a strikeout first.

 

An early trip to the bullpen always spelled doom, but if they turn out to be as good as they seem so far, we could be in for a very fun season.

[Shilzzz]

If we can have the whole pen pitching well then Dusty won't have to worry about overworking one or two players. Eyre and Ohman as lefties. Howry and Williamson as righties. Dempster as the closer. The big thing in previous years is that Dusty didn't have any faith in the pen because they stunk. This year there is no reason he shouldn't have faith in the pen. Hopefully it works out well. I just know that I love our pen this year.

 

what i was saying was just that hendry got leftys that are good against leftys, not remlinger clones.

[UMFan83]

Its going to be interesting to see what happens to the pen when Novoa is ready to come back and, if all goes well Marshall, Guzman, Rusch and Williams are all pushed into the pen (assuming Miller joins the rotation and Guzman continues to make a case to be on the Cubs)

[soccer10k]

If we can have the whole pen pitching well then Dusty won't have to worry about overworking one or two players. Eyre and Ohman as lefties. Howry and Williamson as righties. Dempster as the closer. The big thing in previous years is that Dusty didn't have any faith in the pen because they stunk. This year there is no reason he shouldn't have faith in the pen. Hopefully it works out well. I just know that I love our pen this year.

 

In previous years, he either leaves Marshall in and hopes for the best, or he goes to one of few reliable guys in the bullpen whom he has managed to already overuse inside of the first five games. Or he goes to a bum who serves up more than just two runs, and without getting a strikeout first.

 

An early trip to the bullpen always spelled doom, but if they turn out to be as good as they seem so far, we could be in for a very fun season.

 

Exactly. And, in past years, if he goes to one of the reliable guys to get out of a jam in the fifth inning, he would still have to put in one of the crummy guys later in the game who, inevitably, would end up giving up more runs. Look at our pen's stats so far:

 

Apr 3: 5 pitchers, 4 1/3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 5 SO

Apr 5: 4 pitchers, 4 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 2 SO

Apr 7: 2 pitchers, 2 2/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 SO

Apr 8: 4 pitchers, 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO

Apr 9: 4 pitchers, 4 2/3 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO

 

Aside from the walk problem in the first two games, the pen has been lights out. 3 ER in five games for a 1.44 ERA. Looks awesome to me. I know we'll have our rough games, but it's encouraging so far.

[Guest]

Its going to be interesting to see what happens to the pen when Novoa is ready to come back and, if all goes well Marshall, Guzman, Rusch and Williams are all pushed into the pen (assuming Miller joins the rotation and Guzman continues to make a case to be on the Cubs)

I'm also anxious to see if Aardsma retains his mid- to high-90's heat. The Cubs will certainly have arms to go get something at the deadline. I just hope it isn't Soriano.

[Shilzzz]

Its going to be interesting to see what happens to the pen when Novoa is ready to come back and, if all goes well Marshall, Guzman, Rusch and Williams are all pushed into the pen (assuming Miller joins the rotation and Guzman continues to make a case to be on the Cubs)

I'm also anxious to see if Aardsma retains his mid- to high-90's heat. The Cubs will certainly have arms to go get something at the deadline. I just hope it isn't Soriano.

 

but what do they really go for? if cedeno can keep it up, and jh is going to be stubborn about jones, where does anyone go?

[SouthSideRyan]

Its going to be interesting to see what happens to the pen when Novoa is ready to come back and, if all goes well Marshall, Guzman, Rusch and Williams are all pushed into the pen (assuming Miller joins the rotation and Guzman continues to make a case to be on the Cubs)

 

17 man pitching staff.

[CubsWin]

Its going to be interesting to see what happens to the pen when Novoa is ready to come back and, if all goes well Marshall, Guzman, Rusch and Williams are all pushed into the pen (assuming Miller joins the rotation and Guzman continues to make a case to be on the Cubs)

I'm also anxious to see if Aardsma retains his mid- to high-90's heat. The Cubs will certainly have arms to go get something at the deadline. I just hope it isn't Soriano.

This is what has me more excited than a 4-1 start and a sweep of the Cardinals. Depth.

 

The best case scenario has Marshall, Guzman and Hill all ready and able to contribute at the major league level in the rotation and Aardsma, Novoa and possibly Shipman in the pen. What's nice is that worst case, one of the starters and one of the relievers will likely be able to be called up and perform reasonably well.

 

Question now is which teams will be looking for pitching help and have the extra bat the Cubs need?

[CubsWin]

Its going to be interesting to see what happens to the pen when Novoa is ready to come back and, if all goes well Marshall, Guzman, Rusch and Williams are all pushed into the pen (assuming Miller joins the rotation and Guzman continues to make a case to be on the Cubs)

I'm also anxious to see if Aardsma retains his mid- to high-90's heat. The Cubs will certainly have arms to go get something at the deadline. I just hope it isn't Soriano.

 

but what do they really go for? if cedeno can keep it up, and jh is going to be stubborn about jones, where does anyone go?

Unless Jones can really turn his career around, it isn't going to be hard to find someone better than him to play RF. Heck, he might already be in the system. Pie is batting .500 in his first 5 games at AAA. :wink:

[soccer10k]

Its going to be interesting to see what happens to the pen when Novoa is ready to come back and, if all goes well Marshall, Guzman, Rusch and Williams are all pushed into the pen (assuming Miller joins the rotation and Guzman continues to make a case to be on the Cubs)

I'm also anxious to see if Aardsma retains his mid- to high-90's heat. The Cubs will certainly have arms to go get something at the deadline. I just hope it isn't Soriano.

 

but what do they really go for? if cedeno can keep it up, and jh is going to be stubborn about jones, where does anyone go?

Unless Jones can really turn his career around, it isn't going to be hard to find someone better than him to play RF. Heck, he might already be in the system. Pie is batting .500 in his first 5 games at AAA. :wink:

 

That is definately some great news.

[CubsWin]

Back on topic...

 

I think it is way too early to tell if Hendry's moves were good ones or not. I always liked the Howry and Eyre signings. I thought the trade for Pierre was necessary after Furcal went to LA. But the Cubs hot start can be attributed to the ball bouncing their way in game 1 against the Reds, hot hitting by Cedeno, Lee and Barrett with very good performances out of the pen against the Cards. Five games just can't show a complete enough picture.

 

But the change that I really like about this Cubs team might not even be attributal to Hendry and should be something that will be more sustainable that a hot start by Cedeno. I like the attitude with which they have been playing. They're scrappy. They seem to believe in their ability to scratch out a hit, get the runner over and get him in. They believe that even if they are down, their bullpen is good enough that they can/will come back. They've got some fight in them, and they aren't taking anything for granted. They're hungry. It is a welcome change from the moping about injuries or the station-to-station baseball hoping for Sammy or someone to hit one out.

 

Now let's hope they continue to play with that hungry attitude all year long...