Starting Rotation -

[CrimsonTideCubsFan]

Who will likely be the starting four pitchers when the season opens? As always, I'm worried about pitching. Of course the key is oftentimes the relief guys but starting pitching hasn't been very consistent for a number of reasons lately.

[BigbadB]

I hope the 1st 4 starters are Zambrano, Prior, Hill and Lilly.

 

Prior's health makes that quite a stretch, however.

[b_wiggy_66]

Read the articles on Cubs.com they all say what the rotation will most likely be.

[Electron Blue]

Read the articles on Cubs.com they all say what the rotation will most likely be.

 

articles on cubs.com aren't necessarily the best source for speculation . . .

[Twiggy]

Read the articles on Cubs.com they all say what the rotation will most likely be.

 

Yep, I have no problem with that starting rotation. Hope it works out and everyong gets/stays healthy.

[Electron Blue]

Read the articles on Cubs.com they all say what the rotation will most likely be.

 

Yep, I have no problem with that starting rotation. Hope it works out and everyong gets/stays healthy.

 

a bit off-topic: where you at in Nebraska, twiggy? don't see many other nebraskans around the board.

[Twiggy]

Read the articles on Cubs.com they all say what the rotation will most likely be.

 

Yep, I have no problem with that starting rotation. Hope it works out and everyong gets/stays healthy.

 

a bit off-topic: where you at in Nebraska, twiggy? don't see many other nebraskans around the board.

 

Western Nebraska, (Chadron) about 20 miles from South Dakota border. Middle of no where. 4.5 hours to Denver, which is the closest city to watch the Cubs.

[Mizzou]

Read the articles on Cubs.com they all say what the rotation will most likely be.

For those of us who are too lazy to sift through the articles on Cubs.com, what do they project the rotation to be?

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Read the articles on Cubs.com they all say what the rotation will most likely be.

For those of us who are too lazy to sift through the articles on Cubs.com, what do they project the rotation to be?

 

Zambrano, Lilly, Hill, Marquis, Prior/Miller

[RichHillIsABeast]

Read the articles on Cubs.com they all say what the rotation will most likely be.

For those of us who are too lazy to sift through the articles on Cubs.com, what do they project the rotation to be?

 

Zambrano, Lilly, Hill, Marquis, Prior/Miller

 

I think they have Hill as 4 and Marquis as 3. :(

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Read the articles on Cubs.com they all say what the rotation will most likely be.

For those of us who are too lazy to sift through the articles on Cubs.com, what do they project the rotation to be?

 

Zambrano, Lilly, Hill, Marquis, Prior/Miller

 

I think they have Hill as 4 and Marquis as 3. :(

 

Maybe. Ordering doesn't really matter than much after the first week though.

 

But, I think they have Zambrano, Lilly, Marquis, and Hill as locks with Prior or Miller next in line. Marshall, Guzman, and Mateo are on the outside looking in.

[TruffleShuffle]

The rest of the rotation will be decided this spring. Among the names Piniella has to choose from are lefties Rich Hill and Sean Marshall, right-handers Mark Prior, Wade Miller and Angel Guzman.

 

It's strange to not have Prior guaranteed a spot...

 

](*,) ](*,) ](*,)

 

Yeah, strange that Prior isn't guaranteed a spot, but not strange that a guy who had an ERA under 3.00 and a WHIP barely over 1.00 after the all-star break is not guaranteed a spot.

[Amazing_Grace]

The rest of the rotation will be decided this spring. Among the names Piniella has to choose from are lefties Rich Hill and Sean Marshall, right-handers Mark Prior, Wade Miller and Angel Guzman.

 

It's strange to not have Prior guaranteed a spot...

 

](*,) ](*,) ](*,)

 

Yeah, strange that Prior isn't guaranteed a spot, but not strange that a guy who had an ERA under 3.00 and a WHIP barely over 1.00 after the all-star break is not guaranteed a spot.

 

I think it's strange. If Miller, Prior, and Marquis are all in the starting rotation and Hill isn't, it will basically be the same crap the Cubs always have pulled under Trib management. Play the guy that has the contract regardless of whether or not there's someone that could make the team better.

 

There's no good reason Hill shouldn't be guaranteed a spot and Marquis should. The numbers don't justify it. It makes no sense. I don't care who gets paid what for how long. The idea is to put the best team on the field or the best product on the market. It's the same stupid business logic that keeps managers dumping millions into failed projects because "we've already spent $XXX on this project so it can't fail, we must press on". If this is how the Trib runs the rest of their company, it's no wonder they are about to be broken up.

[radarluv1]

Read the articles on Cubs.com they all say what the rotation will most likely be.

 

Yep, I have no problem with that starting rotation. Hope it works out and everyong gets/stays healthy.

 

a bit off-topic: where you at in Nebraska, twiggy? don't see many other nebraskans around the board.

 

Western Nebraska, (Chadron) about 20 miles from South Dakota border. Middle of no where. 4.5 hours to Denver, which is the closest city to watch the Cubs.

 

yes but january and february are beautiful there!

[Shawon12]

Sorry to the Hill fans, but I have a feeling the rotation will settle as:

Z

Prior

Lilly

Miller

Marquis

 

Iowa:

 

Hill

Marshall

Guzman

[tkenm356]

Say Prior AND Miller come back healthier and just as strong as they were at their best (insert hel lfreezing over joke here)...

 

What becomes of the rotation then?

[Sarcastic]

Say Prior AND Miller come back healthier and just as strong as they were at their best (insert hel lfreezing over joke here)...

 

What becomes of the rotation then?

 

Hypothetically, if all of our starters are healthy and pitching well, Marquis is the most expendable, since he has the least pitching ability and has a considerable contract. They might try to trade him ASAP. If Hill is struggling, he goes back to AAA instead, though I doubt Hill will be worse than Marquis in 2007.

[CubColtPacer]

Say Prior AND Miller come back healthier and just as strong as they were at their best (insert hel lfreezing over joke here)...

 

What becomes of the rotation then?

 

I'm not sure, but it's a good problem to have. The team has left no depth behind players like Prior and Miller for years (with Wood being Miller now), and now that they have depth, the question becomes what happens if everyone is healthy. I hope the result though of that question is that whoever is pitching worse, Miller or Marquis, gets sent to the bullpen and becomes the long man.

[A New Era]

Say Prior AND Miller come back healthier and just as strong as they were at their best (insert hel lfreezing over joke here)...

 

What becomes of the rotation then?

 

I'm not sure, but it's a good problem to have. The team has left no depth behind players like Prior and Miller for years (with Wood being Miller now), and now that they have depth, the question becomes what happens if everyone is healthy. I hope the result though of that question is that whoever is pitching worse, Miller or Marquis, gets sent to the bullpen and becomes the long man.

 

I agree. I wecome that this year. Instead of not having anything after wood and prior went down (or never went up depending how you look at it) I like that we have to have discussions like. . Well, what if Hill, Prior, and Miller are all pitching good?

 

My answer is. Don't even worry about it and be happy!

[Amazing_Grace]

Sorry to the Hill fans, but I have a feeling the rotation will settle as:

Z

Prior

Lilly

Miller

Marquis

 

Iowa:

 

Hill

Marshall

Guzman

 

Which will once again confirm that Jim Hendry and most of the rest of the Cubs management are either idiots who have no idea how to make a winning team, or cowards who haven't the guts to tell an MLB veteran to shut up, sit down, and collect the millions we stupidly agreed to pay you.

 

Hill>>>>>>Marquis

[RichHillIsABeast]

Sorry to the Hill fans, but I have a feeling the rotation will settle as:

Z

Prior

Lilly

Miller

Marquis

 

Iowa:

 

Hill

Marshall

Guzman

 

Which will once again confirm that Jim Hendry and most of the rest of the Cubs management are either idiots who have no idea how to make a winning team, or cowards who haven't the guts to tell an MLB veteran to shut up, sit down, and collect the millions we stupidly agreed to pay you.

 

Hill>>>>>>Marquis

 

All indications are that the Cubs think Hill is a surefire thing to make the rotation out of ST. Unless he spends several weeks bouncing curveballs in the Arizona dirt, he's probably fine, IMO.

 

Lou won't put up with Marquis/Miller/Prior if they're sucking it up. He may give them a chance to start, but performance will dictate who plays.

 

I also think Guzman is the first callup from AAA over Marshall.

[Mark Priors Calves]

barring an absolutely horrific spring training, if rich hill is not in the starting rotation come april, i'm gonna go ballistic.

[NCCubFan]

Sorry to the Hill fans, but I have a feeling the rotation will settle as:

Z

Prior

Lilly

Miller

Marquis

 

Iowa:

 

Hill

Marshall

Guzman

Hill won't be in Iowa. Not the way he pitched after coming up the final time next year.

[NewUserName]

The one thing that I always thought about Lou was that he played players who are performing. Which may be a veteran over a younger player but also a younger player over a veteran. I suspect if Hill pitches better in Spring he will be given the opportunity to Start.

 

In this whole thing what really bothers me is the Marquis signing. We have several better options in our own system. I dont have a problem with Hendry wanting to create more depth in our pitching staff. Bad is not good depth though.

[DiamondMind]

I really expect Lilly to have a great season. 14 wins last year in the ALE. He's moving to a crap division and pitching against hitters who (generally) have never seen his stuff.