R. Hill Turning the Corner ?

[Jehrico]

This is getting stupid, send him to Tennessee where there aren't hurricanes if you're paranoid about him pitching in Iowa already. Of course, the floods would probably come back to Iowa if they sent him there.

 

No kidding... A scheduled Rich Hill start is akin to one of the signs of the apocalypse. Send him to a drought-stricken region in Africa to provide relief..

Or better yet, Georgia...

[Guest]

Guess where there's a rain delay?

[Balsa]

You have got to be kidding me.

[abuck1220]

do the cubs even care about hill at this point?

[TruffleShuffle]

every park in florida should be a dome

[Bruno7481]

The only corner Hill is turning leads to nowhere.

[E.J.]

do the cubs even care about hill at this point?

 

To be fair, he hasn't really given the Cubs anything to care about. Should probably shut him down for the rest of the year. No way he's going to help the Big Club this year at the rate he's going.

[abuck1220]

worst start yet?

 

3 ip, 5 h, 5 er, 3 bb, 3 hbp, 1 k

[abuck1220]

do the cubs even care about hill at this point?

 

To be fair, he hasn't really given the Cubs anything to care about.

 

well, that's just a stupid thing to say. he's a 28 y/o, dirt cheap lefty that was one of the best pitchers in the NL in 2007. i think that's enough to make the cubs "care" about him regardless of how poorly he's pitched this season.

[E.J.]

do the cubs even care about hill at this point?

 

To be fair, he hasn't really given the Cubs anything to care about.

 

well, that's just a stupid thing to say. he's a 28 y/o, dirt cheap lefty that was one of the best pitchers in the NL in 2007. i think that's enough to make the cubs "care" about him regardless of how poorly he's pitched this season.

 

I was mostly kidding with that statement. I'm sure the Cubs care about him, but he's just not producing at all this year. The wheels have completely fallen off. I'd rather they shut him down for the rest of the season, let him get his mechanics fixed and his head straight, and see what he can do next year.

[Wheelimus]

At the point we're at now I don't see Hill having a chance in hell of bumping any of our top 4 starters. So it would probably be best to shut him down and just stick with Marquis as our 5th. At least then we can hopefully get him through waivers tomorrow and hope a contender gets desperate or something.

 

I'm not feeling too bad about a Z/Demp/Harden/Lilly playoff rotation.

[17 Seconds]

At the point we're at now I don't see Hill having a chance in hell of bumping any of our top 4 starters. So it would probably be best to shut him down and just stick with Marquis as our 5th. At least then we can hopefully get him through waivers tomorrow and hope a contender gets desperate or something.

 

I'm not feeling too bad about a Z/Demp/Harden/Lilly playoff rotation.

 

What would be the point of shutting down Hill?

[soapy]

yeah, i don't see the advantage of shutting him down. he probably needs to work through this regardless of whether its physical or mental.

 

really depressing though. i guess i finally have to let go of that last little shred of hope that he'd slide into Marquis' spot.

[MajikRat]

Maybe he could spend his off-time getting his chakras aligned or re-reading that self-help book he previously credited for helping him get his head on straight. He is the Rex Grossman of the Cubs - million dollar arm, 5 cent head.

[Guest]

"His arm is good; the quality is there," Cubs pitching coach David Rosario said. "The main thing to me is concentration. To me, concentration is what's keeping him from having consistency. That's the main issue we're going to attack."

 

The 28-year-old southpaw is trying to regain the command that allowed him to reach the big leagues three years ago. He was one of Chicago's most dependable pitchers last season, but this year he's been hampered by control problems. He struggled with his fastball and curveball against the Cardinals.

 

"The first inning was good, the second inning was very good because he kept the ball down," Rosario said. "He was pounding the zone, then suddenly he started missing and losing control. The third inning was a long inning. He put some people on base and lost his command. To me, that's concentration, and we have another month-and-a-half to work on it."

[fromthestretch]

"His arm is good; the quality is there," Cubs pitching coach David Rosario said. "The main thing to me is concentration. To me, concentration is what's keeping him from having consistency. That's the main issue we're going to attack."

 

The 28-year-old southpaw is trying to regain the command that allowed him to reach the big leagues three years ago. He was one of Chicago's most dependable pitchers last season, but this year he's been hampered by control problems. He struggled with his fastball and curveball against the Cardinals.

 

"The first inning was good, the second inning was very good because he kept the ball down," Rosario said. "He was pounding the zone, then suddenly he started missing and losing control. The third inning was a long inning. He put some people on base and lost his command. To me, that's concentration, and we have another month-and-a-half to work on it."

 

How much of an effect do you think the batted ball off the ankle had on him? He seemed to lose it the inning after that happened.

[Banedon]

The "concentration" reference seems to be them saying they aren't sure what's going on. That seems like a cop out to me.

[Jehrico]

The "concentration" reference seems to be them saying they aren't sure what's going on. That seems like a cop out to me.

I wonder if he has ADD but it's undiagnosed? Scott Eyre had similar problems, until he got medication for it in 2002, and he turned his career around. I wonder if this has been looked into. If not, I'd love to see what Hill could do if that is the problem and they get it taken care of.

[Lefty]

"His arm is good; the quality is there," Cubs pitching coach David Rosario said. "The main thing to me is concentration. To me, concentration is what's keeping him from having consistency. That's the main issue we're going to attack."

 

The 28-year-old southpaw is trying to regain the command that allowed him to reach the big leagues three years ago. He was one of Chicago's most dependable pitchers last season, but this year he's been hampered by control problems. He struggled with his fastball and curveball against the Cardinals.

 

"The first inning was good, the second inning was very good because he kept the ball down," Rosario said. "He was pounding the zone, then suddenly he started missing and losing control. The third inning was a long inning. He put some people on base and lost his command. To me, that's concentration, and we have another month-and-a-half to work on it."

 

Wrote this in the minor league thread. But why is this Single-A coach the one to try and salvage this major league asset? I know Riggans, the organization's pitching coordinator totally changed Hill's motion in Arizona. Have they just dumped Hill in Daytona? He is not your typical Single-A pitcher.

[Wheelimus]

At the point we're at now I don't see Hill having a chance in hell of bumping any of our top 4 starters. So it would probably be best to shut him down and just stick with Marquis as our 5th. At least then we can hopefully get him through waivers tomorrow and hope a contender gets desperate or something.

 

I'm not feeling too bad about a Z/Demp/Harden/Lilly playoff rotation.

 

What would be the point of shutting down Hill?

 

I guess I just worry about him blowing his arm out or something trying to overdo it to make it back this year. I suppose it's a small worry though. Probably no reason to have to shut him down, but part of me thinks that and then playing winter ball might be more helpful.

[Guest]

"His arm is good; the quality is there," Cubs pitching coach David Rosario said. "The main thing to me is concentration. To me, concentration is what's keeping him from having consistency. That's the main issue we're going to attack."

 

The 28-year-old southpaw is trying to regain the command that allowed him to reach the big leagues three years ago. He was one of Chicago's most dependable pitchers last season, but this year he's been hampered by control problems. He struggled with his fastball and curveball against the Cardinals.

 

"The first inning was good, the second inning was very good because he kept the ball down," Rosario said. "He was pounding the zone, then suddenly he started missing and losing control. The third inning was a long inning. He put some people on base and lost his command. To me, that's concentration, and we have another month-and-a-half to work on it."

 

Wrote this in the minor league thread. But why is this Single-A coach the one to try and salvage this major league asset? I know Riggans, the organization's pitching coordinator totally changed Hill's motion in Arizona. Have they just dumped Hill in Daytona? He is not your typical Single-A pitcher.

 

Riggins is roving and went to Daytona after Mesa, which is one of the reasons they sent Hill up there. I don't know if Riggins is still in Daytona or not but he was there when Hill first got there.

 

How much of an effect do you think the batted ball off the ankle had on him? He seemed to lose it the inning after that happened.

 

Not sure. He only had to throw 1 pitch in the 2nd after that so it could easily have manifested itself as a problem in his next inning. No one talked about but he was far better before the ball off the ankle.

[fromthestretch]

How much of an effect do you think the batted ball off the ankle had on him? He seemed to lose it the inning after that happened.

 

Not sure. He only had to throw 1 pitch in the 2nd after that so it could easily have manifested itself as a problem in his next inning. No one talked about but he was far better before the ball off the ankle.

 

Any idea which ankle it was? If it was his right ankle (his landing foot), I could see how that could have an impact on his control. Not that he was painting the black prior to that, but he wasn't hitting multiple batters either until that happened.

[Guest]

How much of an effect do you think the batted ball off the ankle had on him? He seemed to lose it the inning after that happened.

 

Not sure. He only had to throw 1 pitch in the 2nd after that so it could easily have manifested itself as a problem in his next inning. No one talked about but he was far better before the ball off the ankle.

 

Any idea which ankle it was? If it was his right ankle (his landing foot), I could see how that could have an impact on his control. Not that he was painting the black prior to that, but he wasn't hitting multiple batters either until that happened.

 

No, they didn't say.

[Warren Brusstar]

worst start yet?

 

3 ip, 5 h, 5 er, 3 bb, 3 hbp, 1 k

 

Effing Rothschild! Screwing up Hill's mechanics from 1500 miles away!

[Transmogrified Tiger]

If you poke a sleeping bear and it wakes up and eats you, the bear did it but it's your fault.