Nearly official: Marshall to the bullpen

[Irrelevant Dude]

Although the final decision could be delayed until after this weekend, manager Lou Piniella made it official Sunday that Sean Marshall is headed to the bullpen.

 

"And the only reason being is it gives us a lefty with experience out there and it improves our bullpen," Piniella said.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/chi-01-cubs-bits-chicagojun01,0,3131110.story

 

I think we all knew this was coming, but that doesn't make it infuriate me any less. I'm tired of this organization making so many decisions based on the whether someone bats or throws left-handed. With the exception of last night's game, Marshall has been solid all year. How often do you see a team take a guy out of their rotation to fill a hole in middle relief? Turning Marshall into a matchup lefty really minimizes his value and hurts both him and the Cubs in the long run.

[Gingerballs Lives]

Quite frankly, as long as Wells is pitching well (and the rest of our rotation is healthy), I'm perfectly fine with Marshall going to the bullpen.

[Garwilly]

Quite frankly, as long as Wells is pitching well (and the rest of our rotation is healthy), I'm perfectly fine with Marshall going to the bullpen.

 

Agreed completely.

 

Zambrano

Lilly

Dempster

Harden

Wells

 

I am a fan of Marshall, but who does he bump from the rotaion at this time? I am perfectly content riding Wells hot streak. Plus it'll keep some innings off Marshall arm.

[Old Style]

Quite frankly, as long as Wells is pitching well (and the rest of our rotation is healthy), I'm perfectly fine with Marshall going to the bullpen.

 

Agreed completely.

 

Zambrano

Lilly

Dempster

Harden

Wells

 

I am a fan of Marshall, but who does he bump from the rotaion at this time? I am perfectly content riding Wells hot streak. Plus it'll keep some innings off Marshall arm.

+1

[laurens]

I agree, but i feel bad for they guy. He's obviously worked very hard to earn a spot in the rotation, and now he just gets booted out again.

[dew1679666265]

Over the course of the season, Marshall is almost certainly going to be the better pitcher than Wells. I'm also not crazy about the reasoning behind shifting Marshall to the pen.

 

However, it's not going to be a season-long move unless we acquire Peavy (and keep Marshall somehow) or Wells pitches great all year. If either of those do happen, I don't see this being a particularly bad move. If we don't get Peavy and Wells falls off, I'd say it's pretty likely Marshall moves back into the rotation. At that point, maybe he's a bit fresher for the stretch run.

 

I'm not crazy about the decision, but it's not an awful move. I do feel bad for Sean, though. He's done nothing but pitch well as a starter for us.

[CubColtPacer]

I pretty much have similar thoughts as others here.

 

There are good and bad things in this move. It does strengthen the bullpen. I believe also that Marshall transitions better to the bullpen than Wells would. At the same time, Marshall is likely going to be a better pitcher than Wells this season, which would indicate him being in the rotation. Then you add in Marshall's IP concerns, and it becomes a tangled web.

 

If Marshall becomes a setup guy, then it might be a good thing overall for the team. The difference between Marshall and Wells might not be strong enough that Marshall pitching high leverage innings could overcome it. If Marshall becomes a LOOGY (most likely) or a long reliever (less likely) then it becomes a decently bad thing for the team, albeit one that is easily fixed later.

 

The other good thing about it is that if Marshall gets himself in the bullpen now, Lou might be willing to use him as one of his primary relievers in the playoffs, which he probably wouldn't do if he had been starting all year. That's a very helpful thing if the Cubs make the playoffs.

 

I do feel bad for Marshall though. He doesn't deserve it. And I do believe the Cubs are doing it for the wrong reasons (which is one of the reasons I think Marshall will be a LOOGY). But I don't think it's going to end up being a terrible move for the team.

[dew1679666265]

I believe also that Marshall transitions better to the bullpen than Wells would.

 

Not that I disagree with you, but why do you think this?

[Magnetic Curses]

i don't like marshall and i think he should be traded while he's still got some value.

[CubColtPacer]

I believe also that Marshall transitions better to the bullpen than Wells would.

 

Not that I disagree with you, but why do you think this?

 

Well, I do believe first that being left-handed does help him establish a role in the bullpen. If Wells goes down there, he's easily the 4th man on the totem pole and could slide farther very quickly. They would probably stick him in the long reliever role who would never pitch.

 

Even with setup men, to have both a right-handed and a left-handed setup men can really help balance the workload. It's not something you bend over backwards to have but it can be beneficial. You can somewhat play matchups (although not batter by batter..you need to commit to one of them for that inning). Marshall would do really well in that role and would find plenty of work, which would also protect Guzman and Marmol's arms a little bit.

 

I also think that Wells over the course of the season will be much more likely to allow baserunners than Marshall, and so Wells will almost certainly have to be a guy that starts innings while Marshall can come in during the middle of an inning.

[dew1679666265]

I believe also that Marshall transitions better to the bullpen than Wells would.

 

Not that I disagree with you, but why do you think this?

 

Well, I do believe first that being left-handed does help him establish a role in the bullpen. If Wells goes down there, he's easily the 4th man on the totem pole and could slide farther very quickly. They would probably stick him in the long reliever role who would never pitch.

 

Even with setup men, to have both a right-handed and a left-handed setup men can really help balance the workload. It's not something you bend over backwards to have but it can be beneficial. You can somewhat play matchups (although not batter by batter..you need to commit to one of them for that inning). Marshall would do really well in that role and would find plenty of work, which would also protect Guzman and Marmol's arms a little bit.

 

I also think that Wells over the course of the season will be much more likely to allow baserunners than Marshall, and so Wells will almost certainly have to be a guy that starts innings while Marshall can come in during the middle of an inning.

 

Ok, thanks.

[rawaction]

One concern I have is Marshall has been horrible in the 1st inning this year and amazing in innings 2-7. Putting him in the bullpen presumably will set him up for failure.

[Gingerballs Lives]

i don't like marshall and i think he should be traded while he's still got some value.

 

I generally don't like soft-tossers either.

 

Hopefully he'll be effective in the bullpen.

[Electron Blue]

One concern I have is Marshall has been horrible in the 1st inning this year and amazing in innings 2-7. Putting him in the bullpen presumably will set him up for failure.

 

I'm trying to remember . . . wasn't the same said about Kerry Wood?

 

It seems the mindset (whatever that even means) is different for the first inning of a start versus coming in as a reliever.

[dew1679666265]

One concern I have is Marshall has been horrible in the 1st inning this year and amazing in innings 2-7. Putting him in the bullpen presumably will set him up for failure.

 

I'm trying to remember . . . wasn't the same said about Kerry Wood?

 

It seems the mindset (whatever that even means) is different for the first inning of a start versus coming in as a reliever.

 

Yeah, the same things were said about Kerry before he headed to the pen.

 

Marshall also had 27 appearances in the bullpen last year, recording a moderate 3.46 ERA with a 23:10 K:BB ratio. He gave up runs in 8 of his 27 appearances and multiple runs twice - two runs both times. He also struck out 23 batters in 26 innings.

 

Not dominant numbers, but not particularly bad either.

[Three Finger]

I think this is a good move, considering I don't think Marshall is as talented as everyone thinks. Riding the hot hand is the right idea. Marshall has had a good season so far aside from the egg he laid against the Dodgers, but I'm willing to get behind anything to shake up our awful bullpen.

[RedFlash]

I do think this is a good move for 2009, but ultimately I rather the Cubs keep Marshall in the rotation. The only problem I had with the whole situation is that not only is he being bumped for a rookie (albeit a rookie who is throwing decently) but he was told he was moving to the pen on the same day he was scheduled top pitch. No wonder Marshalll threw up a goose egg against the Dodgers.

[Bote McBoteface]

Because on the Cobs, you're not allowed to have a bad game unless we're paying you 6 million or more. Or your name is Aaron Miles.