Pressure on Hill

[hawkcub]

With the signings of Ted Lily and Jason Marquis I think that the cubs are saying to Hill your our #2. I believe Lily's a 3 and Marquis a 4. This is going to put an extreme amount of pressure on Hill and I don't know if he can handle it. Granted he will be 27 by the season start but he went from jumping back and forth from Des Moines and Chicago to being the #2 starter for the Cubs very quickly.

[Guest]

With the signings of Ted Lily and Jason Marquis I think that the cubs are saying to Hill your our #2. I believe Lily's a 3 and Marquis a 4. This is going to put an extreme amount of pressure on Hill and I don't know if he can handle it. Granted he will be 27 by the season start but he went from jumping back and forth from Des Moines and Chicago to being the #2 starter for the Cubs very quickly.

No, the pressure is on Lilly because the Cubs are telling him that he's the #2.

[oldstyle81]

Hill shut me up real quickly once he showed he can pitch with the Chicago Cubs the way he did with the Iowa Cubs

[Rob]

In the past, the Cubs have made the mistake of relying on the health and performance of Prior and Wood to get them to the postseason. We've finally learned our lesson.

 

This year, we're relying on Prior and Hill to make or break the pitching staff. Thank the lord we've learned from our mistakes.

[Jon]

In the past, the Cubs have made the mistake of relying on the health and performance of Prior and Wood to get them to the postseason. We've finally learned our lesson.

 

This year, we're relying on Prior and Hill to make or break the pitching staff. Thank the lord we've learned from our mistakes.

That's ridiculous.

 

Hill has to make the rotation first.

[Backtobanks]

In the past, the Cubs have made the mistake of relying on the health and performance of Prior and Wood to get them to the postseason. We've finally learned our lesson.

 

This year, we're relying on Prior and Hill to make or break the pitching staff. Thank the lord we've learned from our mistakes.

That's ridiculous.

 

Hill has to make the rotation first.

 

By all accounts Hill made the rotation during the 2nd half of last season. Everything I've read has him as the #2 or #3 starter in the rotation.

[Jon]

In the past, the Cubs have made the mistake of relying on the health and performance of Prior and Wood to get them to the postseason. We've finally learned our lesson.

 

This year, we're relying on Prior and Hill to make or break the pitching staff. Thank the lord we've learned from our mistakes.

That's ridiculous.

 

Hill has to make the rotation first.

 

By all accounts Hill made the rotation during the 2nd half of last season. Everything I've read has him as the #2 or #3 starter in the rotation.

Prior, Miller, Hill, Guzman, Marshall, etc. will all be competing for the two remaining open spots in the rotation. Those won't be settled until March.

[Drew Doughty]

I would be surprised if they really thrust Hill into a competition for the spot. He has nothing left to prove in AAA. Guz, Marshall, etc, all do still. They might compete for the 5th starting spot out of the gates, but Hill probably has the 3rd/4th spot locked down.

[CubinNY]

There can't be anymore pressure on Hill that what Dusty and Roschild put on him after he came back up from the AJP/Barrett punch.

 

Hill got tarred, feathered, and sent packing after defending his catcher. Then once he got his chance again Dusty pretty much said it's now or never.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

The pressure could be on Hill for a roster spot.

 

Zambrano, Lilly, Marquis, Miller, and Prior cannot be optioned. Hill will have to perform well enough that one of those gets DFA'ed if all are healthy.

[questionmarkgrace]

I wonder how they will shuffle the rotation. typically you don't want two lefty starters going back to back but right now it looks like z, lilly, hill, marquis, and miller/prior/guzman/mateo. Maybe hill and lilly are different enough to go back to back

[hawkcub]

The pressure could be on Hill for a roster spot.

 

Zambrano, Lilly, Marquis, Miller, and Prior cannot be optioned. Hill will have to perform well enough that one of those gets DFA'ed if all are healthy.

 

I'm thinking if healthy Prior or Miller is going to be given the long relief role. The other one will get the 5 starter role. Hill will be the #2 or #3 starter.

[DiamondMind]

I know Hill had a good second half, but I'm sorry, I put him right in there with Marmol, Miller, Marshall, and whoever, to COMPETE for a role. No way I just hand it to him.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

I know Hill had a good second half, but I'm sorry, I put him right in there with Marmol, Miller, Marshall, and whoever, to COMPETE for a role. No way I just hand it to him.

 

Shouldn't Marquis and Lilly have to compete as well? Hill outpitched Marquis last season.

[Outshined_One]

Remember how, coming into the last offseason, Jerome Williams seemed to have a spot "locked down"?

 

I'm not saying, I'm just saying.

[CubColtPacer]

From Hendry's comments both about Hill's value and about Prior being a "#6 starter to start the season", I don't think Hill could knock himself out of the rotation unless he tanks the first couple months of the season, and then it would be a possibility if everyone was healthy.

[radarluv1]

what happens if we send guys like marquis and miller down? are we left paying for the whole contract, or can their contracts be picked up by some willing team?

[Rob]

what happens if we send guys like marquis and miller down? are we left paying for the whole contract, or can their contracts be picked up by some willing team?

 

We can't just send them down, IIRC. We could, however, cut them. At that point, any team who wanted them could pick them up and only be on the hook for a prorated portion of a league minimum salary.

[radarluv1]

what happens if we send guys like marquis and miller down? are we left paying for the whole contract, or can their contracts be picked up by some willing team?

 

We can't just send them down, IIRC. We could, however, cut them. At that point, any team who wanted them could pick them up and only be on the hook for a prorated portion of a league minimum salary.

 

so no matter how well (2?) of prior, miller, guzman, marshall, mateo, marmol do, theres pretty much no way marquis gets knocked off the 25 man roster. great. for 3 years.

[abuck1220]

I know Hill had a good second half, but I'm sorry, I put him right in there with Marmol, Miller, Marshall, and whoever, to COMPETE for a role. No way I just hand it to him.

 

they did compete for a spot...last season when hill not only outpitched them all soundly, he outpitched most of baseball for a few months. or would you prefer to have them "compete" for the spot by virtue of 10 spring training innings?

 

that being said, i don't think hill has a rotation spot locked up at all. as i said in the one of the other threads that are seemingly devoted to this topic, if z, lilly, marquis, miller and prior are all healthy, hill is in AAA. of course, this is completely idiotic, but it's what i think the cubs will do. they love miller and they aren't paying marquis big money to be a swing man (see glendon rusch, who had to be the worst starter in baseball and get hurt before he got bumped).

[A New Era]

what happens if we send guys like marquis and miller down? are we left paying for the whole contract, or can their contracts be picked up by some willing team?

 

We can't just send them down, IIRC. We could, however, cut them. At that point, any team who wanted them could pick them up and only be on the hook for a prorated portion of a league minimum salary.

 

so no matter how well (2?) of prior, miller, guzman, marshall, mateo, marmol do, theres pretty much no way marquis gets knocked off the 25 man roster. great. for 3 years.

 

That's true for any team who has veteran starters who could be viewed as a risk. Aside from 1 or 2 we really don't have many rookies who could step up in 07 and become good pitchers.

[ltb]

Remember how, coming into the last offseason, Jerome Williams seemed to have a spot "locked down"?

 

I'm not saying, I'm just saying.

 

i don't recall him having to compete for a spot out of spring training.

[10man]

The pressure could be on Hill for a roster spot.

 

Zambrano, Lilly, Marquis, Miller, and Prior cannot be optioned. Hill will have to perform well enough that one of those gets DFA'ed if all are healthy.

IIRC, Prior still has 2 options left and he hasn't acquired the necessary service time to be able to refuse being optioned.

[Guest]

The pressure could be on Hill for a roster spot.

 

Zambrano, Lilly, Marquis, Miller, and Prior cannot be optioned. Hill will have to perform well enough that one of those gets DFA'ed if all are healthy.

IIRC, Prior still has 2 options left and he hasn't acquired the necessary service time to be able to refuse being optioned.

I believe that is right...and then wrong.

[blufftonbuck]

In the past, the Cubs have made the mistake of relying on the health and performance of Prior and Wood to get them to the postseason. We've finally learned our lesson.

 

Not sure if I feel any better relying on Ted and Jason!!!