The Bullpen

[sweetpeteman]

Since this is going to be an on going issue throughout this season, I figured we might as well have a thread on it.

 

The current bullpen as it stands:

 

Lopez - meh

Camp - why is he here?

Dolis - probably good to see what he has

Russell - good

Castillo - really raw, not a bad idea for a re-building team, but needs a lot more time in the minors

Wood - hopefully can turn it on, but is probably going to struggle for consistency, as he did in Cleveland

Marmol - needs serious coaching.

 

 

So of the 7, Lopez, Camp and Castillo have no place in the majors, and Marmol needs serious help.

 

 

The question is who is available either in the minors or for cheap.

[bukie]

Well, Castillo is staying on the roster for a while, at least. Camp is the 7th reliever, well down the lists of things to bother dealing with at this time.

[A New Era]

Beliveau is probably the one guy that should be up. I'm not gonna bring him up in a panic, because who cares if we suck this year. This is the year to find out who we have. Which is why Theo and co are throwing things at the wall, Volstad, Stewart, Lahair, Shark, etc. . A couple of those guys will stick. I think Beliveau will too, so might as well let him get adjusted to the majors this year.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Carlos Marmol has thrown 47 pitches this season.

 

He was produced one swing and a miss.

[Guest]

Beliveau is probably the one guy that should be up. I'm not gonna bring him up in a panic, because who cares if we suck this year. This is the year to find out who we have. Which is why Theo and co are throwing things at the wall, Volstad, Stewart, Lahair, Shark, etc. . A couple of those guys will stick. I think Beliveau will too, so might as well let him get adjusted to the majors this year.

 

Alberto Cabrera is on the 40-man and after a half season of relieving in the minors, should be ready for some big league innings.

[PriortoTheoIhadWood]

<3 Russell...That guy took alooooooot of [expletive] from Cubs fans last year for taking some bullets as a starter. Hope he gets another shot at the rotation in a couple of years (though I don't think he'll end up a starter). He actually showed a lot of toughness against the Red Sox in Fenway up until his arm got tired. He should last here IMO...

 

Anyway the bullpen should look drastically different by the end of the year, even if it's mostly roles/playing time. Really think Beliveau is going to be a standout pen arm...much better mechanics than I expected to see.

[Sammy Sofa]

He took "aloooooooooooot of [expletive]" as a starter because he's a horrible starter. The guy ideally can be serviceable as a reliever, so I have no idea why you'd want to see him get another chance as a starting pitcher. Because of part of one game against the Red Sox? Edited April 10, 2012 by Sammy Sofa

[hawkeyecub]

Carlos Marmol has thrown 47 pitches this season.

 

He was produced one swing and a miss.

 

Whaaaaaaa?

[SouthSideRyan]

Why the [expletive] would you want Russell to get another shot as a starter?

[KingCubsFan]

Carlos Marmol has thrown 47 pitches this season.

 

He was produced one swing and a miss.

His decline really isn't much of a surprise. It's too bad we're stuck with his deal, but at least it's over next year.

[sweetpeteman]

Carlos Marmol has thrown 47 pitches this season.

 

He was produced one swing and a miss.

 

Whaaaaaaa?

 

 

I had to look for myself but according to the play-by-play on Cubs.com, the only swinging strike he's had was the first pitch to Nady last night.

[PriortoTheoIhadWood]

He took "aloooooooooooot of [expletive]" as a starter because he's a horrible starter. The guy ideally can be serviceable as a reliever, so I have no idea why you'd want to see him get another chance as a starting pitcher. Because of part of one game against the Red Sox?

 

Nah, just liked his arm, but I could see the other side pretty easily. He's no Shark with the stuff or the velocity so I'm barely curious or sold on my statement of him getting a chance again. That totally depends on how his arm strength and breaking ball develop, and I'm not sure he actually has the upside there. Anyway, if you watched his starts last year by the time the Dodgers start came around he was capable of throwing alright until about the 4th or 5th inning. Just mentioned the Red Sox one because it got the national broadcast so I remember it pretty well.

 

My problem with the crap he took last year is that he was like the 10th starter on the depth chart, and 6-7 guys fell before they had to go to him. He sucked but it was clear that he had some talent as a pitcher...Glad to see all that bounced right off and he's creating himself a role on this pitching staff.

[PriortoTheoIhadWood]

Why the [expletive] would you want Russell to get another shot as a starter?

 

To illicit your anger, obviously. Take solace in the fact that it's not going to happen.

 

His decline really isn't much of a surprise. It's too bad we're stuck with his deal, but at least it's over next year.

 

Really hope he and Bosio make some adjustments and some contender becomes enamored by the decent price and length of his contract. Doesn't even really have to close probably.

[hawkeyecub]

Carlos Marmol has thrown 47 pitches this season.

 

He was produced one swing and a miss.

 

Whaaaaaaa?

 

 

I had to look for myself but according to the play-by-play on Cubs.com, the only swinging strike he's had was the first pitch to Nady last night.

 

That's insane.

[toonsterwu]

The minors should provide enough guys to get a look this year. Raisin notes Alberto Cabrera above, a guy I like a fair amount in the pen as he can run it in the mid-90's with a good slider. I believe Cabrera has late inning potential in the pen. Beliveau wasn't ready in the spring, but unless they land a lefty in a trade, he should get a shot to fill the 2nd lefty role in the pen. Blake Parker is older, and somewhat forgotten about, but he had a decent rebound season last year and has a good fastball/slider combination that could see time. More middle relief if he gets a look. Along with Cabrera in AA, Kevin Rhoderick might get a look late in the year. With that nasty slider, might be a borderline setup type of guy. Guys like Frank Batista, Ryan Searle, Marcus Hatley all are intriguing enough out of the pen and could get a look later in the year. If you want a darkhorse, much as it bothers me that he's a pen arm now, Jeffry Antigua might be able to get a look late in the year.

 

Of course, any number of starters could end up in the pen. In particular, I wouldn't rule out the idea of Jay Jackson and Travis Wood perhaps going to the pen.

[haubrich91]

I believe it was on the pre-game show Saturday where Jed was getting interviewed. He stated that creating a good bullpen is the easiest thing to do while building your 25 man roster.

 

While watching this particular bullpen makes me not want to watch baseball anymore, you have to have faith in the guys making the decisions. With that being said, I hope we find out this year at the least that one of Dolis/Lendy/etc. stick long-term.

[jersey cubs fan]

I believe it was on the pre-game show Saturday where Jed was getting interviewed. He stated that creating a good bullpen is the easiest thing to do while building your 25 man roster.

 

Really? He said that it is the easiest? I could see it being the easiest to do if it was your sole goal. If you go into an offseason determined to have a good bullpen, you can lock it down. But with budgets, other needs and a reasonable amount of attention given to a bullpen, I would think it would be among the most volatile groups.

[dew1679666265]

Really? He said that it is the easiest? I could see it being the easiest to do if it was your sole goal. If you go into an offseason determined to have a good bullpen, you can lock it down. But with budgets, other needs and a reasonable amount of attention given to a bullpen, I would think it would be among the most volatile groups.

 

He could have been referring to it in a resource allocation sense. Basically that bullpen is the spot you can put the least amount of money into and still have a really good one (in theory, at least). If that's what he meant, though, "easiest" was probably the wrong word to use.

[haubrich91]

I found the video. At 1:10 he starts talking about it. He doesn't say "easiest", however says "you can build the bullpen quickly when you need to".

 

http://www.csnchicago.com/pages/video?PID=WMi5eRP8Q_6ngfmQa5EcFgcw8v0KB0Qi