Hill, Rusch, Williams........Is there anyone else???

[cbbryan]

Do we have anyone ready in the minors? Is Hill the most qualified starter or is there a possibility that someone else could come up for a spot start and see if they can have some success?

 

I mean Ryu, Pinto, Nolasco, Mitre, or even Brownlie? Anybody?

 

Even if one of them could come up for a stint to see how they did. I don't know the status of any of these guys, honestly.

[burnt out cubbie fan]

Mitre is more than ready. Pinto, Ryu, Nolasco are not so much. I'm not sure about Brownlie one way or another. He might be able to come up and help in the pen but I am not sure how well he would fair as a starter.

[Derwood]

Mitre is more than ready. Pinto, Ryu, Nolasco are not so much. I'm not sure about Brownlie one way or another. He might be able to come up and help in the pen but I am not sure how well he would fair as a starter.

 

C'mon! Mitre is no better than Hill or Williams. I don't know why everyone thinks he's so "ready" when all he's done is suck every time he gets the chance to start?

[EricG]

Could move Dempster back into the rotation and use Wood/Williamson in the closer role.

[Derwood]

Could move Dempster back into the rotation and use Wood/Williamson in the closer role.

 

"How can I do that, Dude? Dempster has saved us man!"

[gflore34]

Could move Dempster back into the rotation and use Wood/Williamson in the closer role.

 

"How can I do that, Dude? Dempster has saved us man!"

 

I don't believe that would be a good move, Dempster' been so effective because he can let all fly for one inning. As a starter he'd have to pitch with the next at bat in mind and at a certain pace.

 

Speaking of Wood, how fun was it watching him follow Maddux the other night? After seeing Maddux, Rusch or Williams for 7 innings, the opposition might as well concede three outs for Wood' inning. They've no chance...

Edited August 18, 2005 by gflore34

[gus_dog]

Speaking of Wood, how fun was it watching him follow Maddux the other night? After seeing Maddux, Rusch or Williams for 7 innings, the opposition might as well concede three outs for Wood' inning. They've no chance...

 

He has been really very good. I like him in that role, especially since the Cub don't have a stopper in the set-up role (although, he's doing a pretty good imitation). I know, he's a starter, but he's a pretty intimidating reliever. It has really helped out the bullpen, and the team too, IMO.

 

Isn't that what it's supposed to be all about? Helping the TEAM?

[CaliforniaRaisin]

I'd prefer seeing Kerry Wood start.

[EricG]

Kerry Wood can't start he can't handle the workload without having to be shutdown with shoulder inflamation. Dempster possibly could start, the question is will he be more effective then Rusch in a starting role.

[katway]

If we are talking about people in the system ready to start next year, then Angel Guzman comes to mind. If he is fully recovered, he takes a spot in the rotation next year.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Kerry Wood can't start he can't handle the workload without having to be shutdown with shoulder inflamation. Dempster possibly could start, the question is will he be more effective then Rusch in a starting role.

 

Dempster would take some time to get stretched out after relieving the past few months. Plus he'll be mighty pissed at starting again.

 

Personally, I think Kerry should be shut down.

[Outshined_One]

Mitre is more than ready. Pinto, Ryu, Nolasco are not so much. I'm not sure about Brownlie one way or another. He might be able to come up and help in the pen but I am not sure how well he would fair as a starter.

 

C'mon! Mitre is no better than Hill or Williams. I don't know why everyone thinks he's so "ready" when all he's done is suck every time he gets the chance to start?

 

Yes, as those games against Toronto and Florida proved to us, Mitre is nothing more than a scrub.

[burnt out cubbie fan]

Mitre is more than ready. Pinto, Ryu, Nolasco are not so much. I'm not sure about Brownlie one way or another. He might be able to come up and help in the pen but I am not sure how well he would fair as a starter.

 

C'mon! Mitre is no better than Hill or Williams. I don't know why everyone thinks he's so "ready" when all he's done is suck every time he gets the chance to start?

What's with the outrage? He asked if there were any pitchers that could do a decent job if they were called up for a spot start. Also, I think your last sentence is completely false and I and can show you the numbers if you want.

[gus_dog]

Mitre's numbers this season, game by game:

 

DATE	GAME	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	SVO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	NP-S
24-May	HOU	0	0	2.57	1	1	0	0	0	0	7	5	2	2	0	1	5	108-70
29-May	COL	0	0	5.84	1	1	0	0	0	0	5.1	9	6	6	3	1	1	87-54
3-Jun	@SDN	0	1	6.88	1	1	0	0	0	0	4.2	6	5	5	0	3	0	75-41
8-Jun	TOR	1	0	4.88	1	1	0	0	0	0	7	2	0	0	0	1	6	105-60
14-Jun	FLO	1	0	3.55	1	1	1	1	0	0	9	5	0	0	0	0	3	99-73
19-Jun	@NYA	0	1	4.19	1	1	0	0	0	0	5.2	8	6	5	0	4	2	113-64
24-Jun	@CHA	0	1	5.19	1	1	0	0	0	0	4.2	7	7	7	1	4	2	93-57
30-Jun	MIL	0	0	5.6	1	0	0	0	0	0	1.2	4	3	3	1	0	4	35-26
1-Jul	WAS	0	0	5.52	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.2	1	0	0	0	1	0	13-8
3-Jul	WAS	0	1	5.51	1	0	0	0	0	0	1.2	1	1	1	1	1	1	25-14
7-Jul	@ATL	0	0	5.26	1	0	0	0	0	0	2.1	3	0	0	0	1	1	50-31
17-Jul	PIT	0	0	5.19	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.2	2	0	0	0	0	0	9-6
20-Jul	@CIN	0	0	5.26	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	17-11
22-Jul	@SLN	0	1	5.4	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.1	2	1	1	0	0	0	10-6
25-Jul	SFN	0	0	5.3	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	1	22-12
31-Jul	ARI	0	0	5.66	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	3	4	4	3	1	6	51-34

[CubfaninCA]

Just toss a coin.

[NewUserName]

How do we know if anyone of these guys could be an effective starter? 2 bad starts and in comes the next one. I know this may be hard to grasp for alot of Cub fans but rookies and young players need time to develop. Not very many guys come into the big leagues and have all-star numbers immediatly. Taking Rich Hill out of the rotation was just plain silly. If they would just have gone with Mitre last year instead of bringing in Maddux would he be any worse than Maddux is now. The money they are paying Maddux could also have been used to resign Clement. Heaven forbid we stick with a youngster when we can overpay for a 37 year old. This mentallity is just driving me nuts. As far as I am concerned we could go the rest of the year with Z,Prior, Williams, Hill and Mitre and I would be alot happier than seeing maddux getting vested and Rusch living off his one good year. I said this in another post but the Cubs even suck at losing. Almost any forward thinking team would have already gone with this kind of rotation

[CubfaninCA]

How do we know if anyone of these guys could be an effective starter? 2 bad starts and in comes the next one. I know this may be hard to grasp for alot of Cub fans but rookies and young players need time to develop. Not very many guys come into the big leagues and have all-star numbers immediatly. Taking Rich Hill out of the rotation was just plain silly. If they would just have gone with Mitre last year instead of bringing in Maddux would he be any worse than Maddux is now. The money they are paying Maddux could also have been used to resign Clement. Heaven forbid we stick with a youngster when we can overpay for a 37 year old. This mentallity is just driving me nuts. As far as I am concerned we could go the rest of the year with Z,Prior, Williams, Hill and Mitre and I would be alot happier than seeing maddux getting vested and Rusch living off his one good year. I said this in another post but the Cubs even suck at losing. Almost any forward thinking team would have already gone with this kind of rotation

 

You don't think Maddux has taught Kerry, Prior and Z a thing or two??

Also, I don't notice any teams beating down the Cubs door for Mitre.

[abuck1220]

How do we know if anyone of these guys could be an effective starter? 2 bad starts and in comes the next one. I know this may be hard to grasp for alot of Cub fans but rookies and young players need time to develop. Not very many guys come into the big leagues and have all-star numbers immediatly. Taking Rich Hill out of the rotation was just plain silly. If they would just have gone with Mitre last year instead of bringing in Maddux would he be any worse than Maddux is now. The money they are paying Maddux could also have been used to resign Clement. Heaven forbid we stick with a youngster when we can overpay for a 37 year old. This mentallity is just driving me nuts. As far as I am concerned we could go the rest of the year with Z,Prior, Williams, Hill and Mitre and I would be alot happier than seeing maddux getting vested and Rusch living off his one good year. I said this in another post but the Cubs even suck at losing. Almost any forward thinking team would have already gone with this kind of rotation

 

You don't think Maddux has taught Kerry, Prior and Z a thing or two??

Also, I don't notice any teams beating down the Cubs door for Mitre.

 

and you are privy to the private discussions between hendry and other gms...so, if anybody would know, it's you.

 

as i've mentioned in other threads, it's ridiculous how baker continues to defend his guys (neifi, holla, rusch), while doing nothing for the young guys (murton, hill, mitre) except keep them on the bench or demote them.

 

nearly every team in contention is getting contributions from young players/rookies/guys w/ little experience...

 

cardinals: molina, reyes

a's: swisher, johnson, street, haren

angels: kotchman, santana

braves: frenchy, johnson, langerhans, davies, mccann, betemit

astros: lane, burke, taveras

 

the yankees have cano, the phils have howard and even the red sox have given papelbon starts.

 

all of those teams have done more w/ regard to giving youngsters a chance than the cubs...and they are all 'in the race' a heck of a lot more than the cubs are.

 

who is going to have accomplished more this season, the cubs or the pirates? it's likely that both teams will be out of the postseason. except the pirates have given experience to duffy, duke, doumit, eldred, snell and now mcclouth. what will the cubs have to show for their likely non-playoff season? experience for rusch, macias, hollandsworth, neifi? bench time and minor league ab's/innings for hill, cedeno, murton, mitre, welly? whoop de doo...that really helps get ready for 2006.

 

i'm personally not a fan of mitre, but i'd at least like to see my doubts for him confirmed at the major league level. all these people who say that not all these prospects will pan out are absolutely right...but how are the cubs going to know which ones will and which ones won't?

[shnsajax]

How do we know if anyone of these guys could be an effective starter? 2 bad starts and in comes the next one. I know this may be hard to grasp for alot of Cub fans but rookies and young players need time to develop. Not very many guys come into the big leagues and have all-star numbers immediatly. Taking Rich Hill out of the rotation was just plain silly. If they would just have gone with Mitre last year instead of bringing in Maddux would he be any worse than Maddux is now. The money they are paying Maddux could also have been used to resign Clement. Heaven forbid we stick with a youngster when we can overpay for a 37 year old. This mentallity is just driving me nuts. As far as I am concerned we could go the rest of the year with Z,Prior, Williams, Hill and Mitre and I would be alot happier than seeing maddux getting vested and Rusch living off his one good year. I said this in another post but the Cubs even suck at losing. Almost any forward thinking team would have already gone with this kind of rotation

 

You don't think Maddux has taught Kerry, Prior and Z a thing or two??

Also, I don't notice any teams beating down the Cubs door for Mitre.

 

and you are privy to the private discussions between hendry and other gms...so, if anybody would know, it's you.

 

as i've mentioned in other threads, it's ridiculous how baker continues to defend his guys (neifi, holla, rusch), while doing nothing for the young guys (murton, hill, mitre) except keep them on the bench or demote them.

 

nearly every team in contention is getting contributions from young players/rookies/guys w/ little experience...

 

cardinals: molina, reyes

a's: swisher, johnson, street, haren

angels: kotchman, santana

braves: frenchy, johnson, langerhans, davies, mccann, betemit

astros: lane, burke, taveras

 

the yankees have cano, the phils have howard and even the red sox have given papelbon starts.

 

all of those teams have done more w/ regard to giving youngsters a chance than the cubs...and they are all 'in the race' a heck of a lot more than the cubs are.

 

who is going to have accomplished more this season, the cubs or the pirates? it's likely that both teams will be out of the postseason. except the pirates have given experience to duffy, duke, doumit, eldred, snell and now mcclouth. what will the cubs have to show for their likely non-playoff season? experience for rusch, macias, hollandsworth, neifi? bench time and minor league ab's/innings for hill, cedeno, murton, mitre, welly? whoop de doo...that really helps get ready for 2006.

 

i'm personally not a fan of mitre, but i'd at least like to see my doubts for him confirmed at the major league level. all these people who say that not all these prospects will pan out are absolutely right...but how are the cubs going to know which ones will and which ones won't?

 

Pretty much all of those teams except for the Astros have had sustained success in incorporating rookies or young guys into the everyday lineup/rotation. Even if it is just 1 year success, these teams display confidence in young guys, and put them not only in a position to succeed but to learn as well.

 

My point is there is a reason why these teams do it year after year, and the Cubs can't.

[CubfaninCA]

Perhaps the Cubs just don't draft or scout well?? People were griping about Choi, Hill, DuBois, and Cruz never getting shots and where are they now?

 

I liked Cruz, but admit that I was way off. Oh well.

[abuck1220]

Perhaps the Cubs just don't draft or scout well?? People were griping about Choi, Hill, DuBois, and Cruz never getting shots and where are they now?

 

I liked Cruz, but admit that I was way off. Oh well.

 

cruz was fantastic last season out of atlanta's pen. and he was flat out dominating at AAA this month.

 

dubois is in his first big league season, and he hasn't really been given consistent playing time. and even with the inconsisten playing time + a trade, he's slugging .453, which isn't awful. feliz, luis gonzalez, and overbay slug at about that clip.

 

hill's a decent utility guy...career .345ish obp. that's barrett, walker, winn, milton bradley range.

 

choi's got a near .800 OPS. better than piazza, castillo, feliz, lawton, wilkerson.

 

so while none of those guys are stars, they've all had some success...it's not like they're out of baseball or anything. and they're all still young...and most importantly, for the teams that have them, cheap.

[CubfaninCA]

Perhaps the Cubs just don't draft or scout well?? People were griping about Choi, Hill, DuBois, and Cruz never getting shots and where are they now?

 

I liked Cruz, but admit that I was way off. Oh well.

 

cruz was fantastic last season out of atlanta's pen. and he was flat out dominating at AAA this month.

 

dubois is in his first big league season, and he hasn't really been given consistent playing time. and even with the inconsisten playing time + a trade, he's slugging .453, which isn't awful. feliz, luis gonzalez, and overbay slug at about that clip.

 

hill's a decent utility guy...career .345ish obp. that's barrett, walker, winn, milton bradley range.

 

choi's got a near .800 OPS. better than piazza, castillo, feliz, lawton, wilkerson.

 

so while none of those guys are stars, they've all had some success...it's not like they're out of baseball or anything. and they're all still young...and most importantly, for the teams that have them, cheap.

 

Maybe I was right about Cruz after all! :D

 

Choi had a 3 game stretch where he hit a bunch of home runs and has done little since. LA could really use some hitting, and the guy can't even start consistently. Sure, sure blame it on Tracy though. :roll:

[abuck1220]

Perhaps the Cubs just don't draft or scout well?? People were griping about Choi, Hill, DuBois, and Cruz never getting shots and where are they now?

 

I liked Cruz, but admit that I was way off. Oh well.

 

cruz was fantastic last season out of atlanta's pen. and he was flat out dominating at AAA this month.

 

dubois is in his first big league season, and he hasn't really been given consistent playing time. and even with the inconsisten playing time + a trade, he's slugging .453, which isn't awful. feliz, luis gonzalez, and overbay slug at about that clip.

 

hill's a decent utility guy...career .345ish obp. that's barrett, walker, winn, milton bradley range.

 

choi's got a near .800 OPS. better than piazza, castillo, feliz, lawton, wilkerson.

 

so while none of those guys are stars, they've all had some success...it's not like they're out of baseball or anything. and they're all still young...and most importantly, for the teams that have them, cheap.

 

Maybe I was right about Cruz after all! :D

 

Choi had a 3 game stretch where he hit a bunch of home runs and has done little since. LA could really use some hitting, and the guy can't even start consistently. Sure, sure blame it on Tracy though. :roll:

 

did you not read the end of my post?

 

so while none of those guys are stars, they've all had some success...it's not like they're out of baseball or anything. and they're all still young...and most importantly, for the teams that have them, cheap.

[CubfaninCA]

Perhaps the Cubs just don't draft or scout well?? People were griping about Choi, Hill, DuBois, and Cruz never getting shots and where are they now?

 

I liked Cruz, but admit that I was way off. Oh well.

 

cruz was fantastic last season out of atlanta's pen. and he was flat out dominating at AAA this month.

 

dubois is in his first big league season, and he hasn't really been given consistent playing time. and even with the inconsisten playing time + a trade, he's slugging .453, which isn't awful. feliz, luis gonzalez, and overbay slug at about that clip.

 

hill's a decent utility guy...career .345ish obp. that's barrett, walker, winn, milton bradley range.

 

choi's got a near .800 OPS. better than piazza, castillo, feliz, lawton, wilkerson.

 

so while none of those guys are stars, they've all had some success...it's not like they're out of baseball or anything. and they're all still young...and most importantly, for the teams that have them, cheap.

 

Maybe I was right about Cruz after all! :D

 

Choi had a 3 game stretch where he hit a bunch of home runs and has done little since. LA could really use some hitting, and the guy can't even start consistently. Sure, sure blame it on Tracy though. :roll:

 

did you not read the end of my post?

 

so while none of those guys are stars, they've all had some success...it's not like they're out of baseball or anything. and they're all still young...and most importantly, for the teams that have them, cheap.

 

So they're getting "shots" but Murton and Hill aren't?? They're playing sporadically just like the Murton and the rest. People would still be beating the "I Hate Dusty" drum if Choi was still in Chicago.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Perhaps the Cubs just don't draft or scout well?? People were griping about Choi, Hill, DuBois, and Cruz never getting shots and where are they now?

 

I liked Cruz, but admit that I was way off. Oh well.

 

BA recently ranked the Cubs most recent 4 or 5 drafts as the best in all of baseball.