Rich Hill on thin Ice?

[C.C.]

Slip sliding away???

 

 

Asked whether he might take Hill out of the rotation to let him work out his issues, given a wealth of starting depth in Lieber and Sean Marshall, Piniella suggested that would be an option.

 

''I'm going to sit down and talk to our pitching coach about that,'' Piniella said. ''I want what's best for Hill. We've got to get him straightened out. That's the important thing.''

[TruffleShuffle]

hey lilly had 2 bad starts also, let's pull him from the rotation too.

[CubColtPacer]

At least the quote wasn't Piniella saying something about how the Cubs need to get off to a fast start, and that was the reason for him considering taking Hill out. It is right to do the best thing for Hill that gets him fixed the quickest. Now, I don't believe that's taking him out of the rotation, and I think at this point Piniella won't either after thinking about it.

There's definitely something wrong though. Hill hasn't been able to hit the strike zone consistently for weeks. His first outing had good stuff, and the Astros were swinging early in the count which helped him to be effectively wild. I'm sure that if he continues in the rotation he'll continue to have several outings where he can be wild and still be effective. At some point, the underlying problem will have to be addressed though.

[sneakypower]

"what's best for Hill"

 

that language makes me uncomfortable. Hill should be glad though, Pignatiello basically only got eight pitches to prove himself before getting the ax in Lou's reactionary world. And Pie got just three games.

[soapy]

this would be a terrible idea. if you're going to bump someone from the rotation, it should be Marquis. moving Hill into the bullpen shouldn't even be anywhere in any realm of possibility. it's insane.

[Wheelimus]

This might just be Lou's way of lighting a fire under Rich's butt. I'd be shocked if he follows through and bumps Rich anytime soon.

[Magnetic Curses]

yeah, i don't know what all this pitching depth is about. having a lot of pitchers doesn't mean you have depth. you have to have good pitchers first. hill has proven that he's better than almost every single one of the pitchers you have, lou.

[weis21]

Not that I am in favor of it by any means, but I took Lou's statement of letting him "work it out" to mean that they would send him to Iowa for a start or two to see if he could throw strikes consistently. Or is that not a possibility due to options? Also, I had a dream that Lieber earned a spot in the rotation, hopefully it's for Marquis and he gets shipped out of town.

[WilcoFan]

No way should Hill be pulled from the rotation-that would be really dumb. However, they do need to figure out what's going on with this guy and his control issues. It was going on during Spring Training and has now progressed into the season. There's a specific problem going on and somebody needs to figure out why he can't find the plate. Last night was ridiculous.

[MPC]

disappointing but not surprising. adhd lou arrives again.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Im not saying Rich Hill should be pulled from the rotation. Im not saying Jason Marquis or Ted Lilly should be pulled from the rotation. I am saying that Jon Lieber has looked great, and it is best for the team to put him in the rotation, and it will be at the expense of one of those 3.

[biittner77]

Pitching depth should mean that it's OK if a starter struggles because there are other effective pitchers that can bail him out if that happens. Last Night was a good example of that.

 

Hill's control problems aren't going to get any better by pitching who knows when in mop up duty. So does "What's best for Hill" mean a trip to Iowa? Seems like he'd get at least 3 more starts before that happens.

[TruffleShuffle]

Im not saying Rich Hill should be pulled from the rotation. Im not saying Jason Marquis or Ted Lilly should be pulled from the rotation. I am saying that Jon Lieber has looked great, and it is best for the team to put him in the rotation, and it will be at the expense of one of those 3.

 

i like how dempster has two good starts and is an ironclad lock for the rotation, while lilly and hill's solid 2007 seasons have been swept under the rug.

[soapy]

Hill's control problems aren't going to get any better by pitching who knows when in mop up duty. So does "What's best for Hill" mean a trip to Iowa? Seems like he'd get at least 3 more starts before that happens.

yeah. i think it's fair to be concerned about his control issues. it's something he has struggled with in the past, and seemed to have corrected last year (and second half of 2006). it's a complete over-reaction to pull him from the rotation now though. if he continues to struggle with command over the next three starts or so maybe i can see sending him down for a few starts, but sending him to the bullpen seems like a ludicrous idea to me.

 

i'm thrilled with what lieber has done early this season but i think anyone who believes lieber is going to be better than hill over a full season is fooling themselves.

[Backtobanks]

No way should Hill be pulled from the rotation-that would be really dumb. However, they do need to figure out what's going on with this guy and his control issues. It was going on during Spring Training and has now progressed into the season. There's a specific problem going on and somebody needs to figure out why he can't find the plate. Last night was ridiculous.

 

The problem is that Hill is a bit of a head case. Remember last year when he was doing some kind of "meditation" to relax during games. I really think he overthinks about pitching rather than letting his natural talent take over. Also, don't forget that he's left-handed which adds to his eccentricities.

[Elrhino]

He looked horrible all spring. If he has the same problems next start, I have no problem sending him to AAA for a few starts to work on whatever is ailing him. The Brewers are going to be too tough this year to treat mlb regular season games as an experiment lab. Edited April 11, 2008 by Elrhino

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

If Lilly has the same problems in his next start, I think he should be moved to the pen to work on whatever it is that's ailing him.

[FergieJ31]

hey lilly had 2 bad starts also, let's pull him from the rotation too.

 

Yes, this. We need a knee jerk emoticon around here - until then this one will have to suffice: :roll:

[rocket]

this is really stupid. it's weird how lou has this blind devotion to dempster but hill is on a short leash. granted dempster has looked good so far this year, but dempster had a bad spring and there was no doubt in lou's mind that he was his #3 starter. lou's been very weary about hill this season, for whatever reason. i guess last season's good year doesn't matter to him.

[Tyrant]

I don't think Lou is ready to pull Hill from the rotation now. I think he's just saying that Hill needs to get things straightened out. And he's right about that - the guy has looked awful for weeks now.

 

You all shouldn't be so eager to freak out about short quotes in the newspaper. If you look at the quote again, it's the REPORTER saying that it might be an option. Lou himself never actually says he's thinking about pulling Hill from the rotation. He just says he needs to get things fixed.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

hey lilly had 2 bad starts also, let's pull him from the rotation too.

 

Yes, this. We need a knee jerk emoticon around here - until then this one will have to suffice: :roll:

 

 

Why is pulling Lilly any more knee jerk than pulling Hill?

 

Compare the two:

 

Rich Hill: 9 IP, 7 H, 7 BB, 7 K, 5 R, 5.00 ERA.

Ted Lilly: 8.1 IP, 12 H, 2 BB, 5 K, 9 R, 9.72 ERA.

 

In 2005, Lilly has a 5.56 ERA. It's not out of the realm of possibility that he could be bad this year. It's no more kneejerk to want to pull Lilly than it is to pull Hill. In fact, based on two starts, Lilly should be the one pulled.

 

Frankly, I wouldn't pull either one. But I find it funny that everyone assumes Lilly's struggles are a fluke while Hill is doomed and needs to go to AAA.

[FergieJ31]

hey lilly had 2 bad starts also, let's pull him from the rotation too.

 

Yes, this. We need a knee jerk emoticon around here - until then this one will have to suffice: :roll:

 

Why is pulling Lilly any more knee jerk than pulling Hill?

 

I was agreeing with Truffle. I thought his sarcasm was pretty obvious.

[Jehrico]

hey lilly had 2 bad starts also, let's pull him from the rotation too.

Hill's only had one bad start, and that was only one bad inning as he recovered decently after that. His first start qualified as a quality start. 6IP, 4 hits, 3BBs, 4Ks, 2 R. Talk of removing him from the rotation before Marquis or Lilly is completely and totally asinine, unless you're only talking about it because you think Hill is one of those guys that performs better when he thinks he's pitching to keep his job.

 

edit: I didn't miss the sarcasm either, I'm only replying to the word "also," which implies Hill has had two bad starts.

[abuck1220]

hill needs to go to AAAA where he belongs.

[SouthSideRyan]

hey lilly had 2 bad starts also, let's pull him from the rotation too.

 

Hill had 1 bad start.