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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.

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.

Sandberg believes strongly in small ball and being aggressive. Bunt runners over, hit and run, straight steals, manufacturing runs, playing the game the right way.

Jake Fox has no development left in him. His future is as a bench player, so how does it hurt to have him as a bench player right now? It's not like they aren't trusting him in pinch-hitting situations. He's getting his at-bats, but he's getting them the way he likely will get them for most of his career..1 a day. You really think the occasional pinch hitting in a high pressure situation or a throwaway at bat late in a dugout is the way to use a 26 year old? There is always time for more development, and he gets little out of it. He needs to go through the motions of being a starter. If he's not starting two or three times a week he ought to be elsewhere. Or, if the Cubs don't think he's good enough to start, find a team that does. The Cubs have been trying to find a team who thought he was good enough to even be a consistent bench player since this past winter. There has been very little interest from any other club. Jake also still carries the label as being uncoachable from his history in the minors. That combined with his terrible defense makes him a poor fit for pretty much every team. I really don't see how his defense is going to develop. It hasn't developed in a variety of positions over the last 4 years..another couple months isn't going to make much of a difference. If he's going to stick in the major leagues, it's either going to be as a pinch-hitter, a DH, or possibly a 1st baseman for a team who is desperate. Let's put this another way. This should be Jake Fox's last option year. If he stays in the minors all season, he has to either be traded (without options, you wouldn't get anything for him) or he'd have to make the major league team next year out of spring training. If he's going to have to make the major league team as a pinch-hitter next year, what's the problem with bringing him up as a pinch-hitter this year?

Jake Fox has no development left in him. His future is as a bench player, so how does it hurt to have him as a bench player right now? It's not like they aren't trusting him in pinch-hitting situations. He's getting his at-bats, but he's getting them the way he likely will get them for most of his career..1 a day.

The Cubs pitching was 3rd best in the NL in 2008 and 2nd best in 2007 (as far as team ERA). Even this year, which has been a struggle pitching wise especially in the bullpen, the Cubs are still hanging on to average at 8th place overall. Neither pitching staff in 07 or 08 was supposed to be one of the best in the league. I would argue they most likely overachieved both years (although more in 07 than in 08, but that's just because 08's pitching staff had more expectations on it). I don't see where Rothschild wouldn't get a decent amount of leash. His recent track record points to him getting a little bit of time, and the Cubs pitching seems to have been coming together the last 2-3 weeks.

and that is fine... so have him starting at 3rd in the minors. The thing with Fox is that he's very unlikely to be a long term solution anywhere - except as a bat off the bench (or a DH if we deal him to an AL team). So, I think the idea was to call him up and take advantage of his hot bat in pinch hit situations. You're not stunting his growth, because he's not really an answer long term anywhere. And he's not a long term answer anywhere because of his defense. Exactly. If the Cubs thought he could handle 3B consistently after a little practice, they would probably have him down in AAA working on it everyday. It seems pretty obvious from their quotes and the fact that he's in the majors that they don't think he could ever be even a fill in starter there. He's a guy who may get a start or two there in very favorable matchups but is mostly going to be playing some innings there out of desperation like what happened the other night. They called him up for his bat off the bench and nothing else. His best chance to get a couple of starts is if one of the corner OF's needs a break against a left-handed starter.

A backup catcher who the Mets were desperately trying to trade before having to release him and pay him his entire salary in the next week. Broadway never has been able to figure it out in either AAA or the majors. A couple of mediocre years in AAA can really ruin a career.

Exactly. They needed a strong bench precisely because of the state of their roster, but instead they decided to go with players who would be somewhat valuable in the playoffs when you have giant benches but are terrible players to compose a 5 man bench. I definitely agree with the farm comment. They may not start hitting the majors until 2011, but the Cubs have lots of interesting guys that are coming. The state of the farm system is much improved over 1 year ago. There aren't really many at all can't miss guys down there (as much as that exists with prospects) but there's a large quantity of good prospects that make it pretty likely that a few of them will pan out. 2010 will likely be about the same roster as 2009 (the Cubs have decisions to make on Harden and Gregg, but everyone else returns) and then hopefully when 2011 hits a minor leaguer or two can be mixed in to provide some cheap production and the Cubs can fill their other holes with the large amount of money that is likely coming available that season.

This isnt taunting, just asking. Did Notre Dame make a bowl game? I know when MSU doesnt make one it makes the offseason seem like 9 months :) Yeah, they blew out Hawaii in their very minor bowl game.

gregg has gotten boned over on a bunch of those this year, frankly. one of the balls to ethier looked good too. I feel like the zone for Gregg has been really tight this year as well. His entire gameplan is to throw pitches at the knees or higher on the outside corner, and the umps are not really giving him much either way. That combined with the fact that he doesn't have a great "out" pitch is why he has so many walks. His control isn't terrible (it's a little below average)..but hitters have been fouling off the strikes, taking the close pitches for balls and then taking walks.

That's a tough one. All 3 of those guys have hit a lot better this week (Lee for much longer than that). Fontenot has looked fine at the plate today just like he has the last few days. Two sharply hit ground balls, a sharp line drive, and a dribbler.

I think they sent Furcal back to first because the pitch got away due to it hitting Pierre. I'd have to double check the rule on that one, but I don't think a batter can advance in a situation like that. Correct, once it hits the batter its a dead ball. Runners can't advance Thanks everyone. Forgot that particular rule in that mess of an inning.

Pierre stepped out of the batter's box and offered at a pitch low and in, which ended up hitting him. The ump correctly called it a strike. Meanwhile, Pierre was safe on that one. I'm still confused on why they sent Furcal back to first. If Pierre swung and the ball got away, that should still be a wild pitch. So they either called a foul ball (which it wasn't, but that's what Gameday has it as) or some kind of batter's interference? I know his foot was outside the box but I don't think they called him for that. And you're correct, Pierre was also safe at first. That was potentially 2 breaks for the Cubs this inning.

Not too often you see 3 close calls on the same pitch. That was close to a called strike, a close play on the stolen base, and the check swing looked close as well.

all of our guys? who's sitting...soto and bradley? it's pretty reasonable to give your catcher a game off on a day game after night game. everybody has been wanting to get Hoff more at bats, and Bradley probably needs to be handled carefully. i don't see the big problem. edit: and Theriot. i knew i was forgetting someone. Why not let hoff play today at first since we got a tough righty on the mound and we have to be more lefthanded this year when possible? I would have been fine with that as well. But the team is not being careful with Lee like they are with Bradley. And Bradley is needed the next couple of days against the left-handers. Yeah, i thought about that, but Lee has been hot and hit Billingsley well last year. I don't know Bradley's history against Billingsley. In the regular season, Lee is 1 for 6 with a HR, 1 BB, 1 K against Billingsley. In the playoffs he was 1 for 3 with a K. So .222/.300/.556 overall. Bradley has never faced him as far as I can tell.

all of our guys? who's sitting...soto and bradley? it's pretty reasonable to give your catcher a game off on a day game after night game. everybody has been wanting to get Hoff more at bats, and Bradley probably needs to be handled carefully. i don't see the big problem. edit: and Theriot. i knew i was forgetting someone. Why not let hoff play today at first since we got a tough righty on the mound and we have to be more lefthanded this year when possible? I would have been fine with that as well. But the team is not being careful with Lee like they are with Bradley. And Bradley is needed the next couple of days against the left-handers.

Billingsly does have pretty consistent splits. Right-handers hit home runs off him at a bigger rate, but left-handers have a much higher average and many more doubles and so have much better numbers overall against him (80-130 points difference in OPS). With the wind blowing in today, a left-handed dominated lineup isn't a bad way to go. Wrigley isn't the greatest of ballparks to hope for a lot of ground balls/line drives, but it's the best hope.

I've always had a hunch that a majority of his walks are taken when there aren't RISP's. He doesn't seem to mind working the count and taking a walk in those situations, but when there are RBI opportunities, he gets super aggressive and swings at horrible pitches. He will still sometimes take pitches, but only to get ahead in the count in order to increase the probability of him getting a hittable pitch. If he gets a 2-0 count, he'll just start flaling away at anything to avoid walking. Soriano has actually walked a lot more in his career with RISP than with nobody on. In fact, he has walked at more than double the rate. Intentional walks account for some of that but not all.

From what I've heard, it's not his arm that's the problem. It's his glove. Apparently he can't catch the ball behind the plate or in the field. That's what I don't understand, how can you be a catcher your entire high school and college career and all of a sudden not be able to catch the ball behind the plate? From what I've heard he would drop routine strikes, is that true? How do you just lose the ability to do that after being in that position for close to a decade? Probably the same way a guy can forget how to throw strikes. Throwing strikes is a lot more difficult than not being able to catch a ball. That can be the result of improper arm slot, injury, overthrowing, etc. All he has to do is hold his glove up, move it a few inches to a foot at a time, sometimes not at all, and squeeze the mitt. How do you do that for so long and then just not be able to do it anymore? Throwing the ball accurately I get, but catching a ball? I don't think he lost anything. I just don't think it was bad enough to get him moved in college. It wasn't like he was dropping every 3rd pitch. But his defense was also nowhere near major league level. And as he moved up the levels and people started to get more and more movement on their pitches, that just contributed to the problem.

If Z took the suspension starting tonight the Cubs rotation wouldn't really be affected because of the off day on Monday. But I bet he'll appeal that length of a suspension.

He was a catcher in both high school and college.

All that is well and good, but it doesn't change the fact that a NTC is just a negotiating asset, and a pitcher would be foolish to pass up the opportunity to pitch in SD. That might be for most players, but it doesn't seem to be that way for Samardzija (who is following in the footprints of someone like Brian Giles who doesn't use it as a negotiating asset either). And yes, I do believe Samardzija would be foolish to pass up a trade to SD. He could make a lot of money in his career over there. But while most people with a NTC in trade talks say that they'll consider their options if the club wants to trade them but they're happy there etc., Samardzija came right out during the trade talks last offseason and said that he wouldn't even consider waiving the NTC no matter what the Cubs did. I think he's prepared to be that foolish.

Im not, but Shark probably is, and since, he has a full NTC, thats the only guy who needs to be against it. Yeah, the NTC was the only way we could talk him out of playing football. I don't think there's a chance he would accept a trade. I don't think it was the only way. The main thing was the money. The NTC is just a bargaining chip. I think any pitcher would be a fool to turn down a potential trade to SD, especially a young one trying to build up his resume for arbitration/free agency. A couple years pitching in Petco could help Samardzija big time. He can use the NTC to negotiate something else into his deal. I'm thinking I remember hearing that the NTC was a necessity, but I could be remembering wrong. And as far as Shark waving it, doesn't he live near Chicago and wants to stay close to home? That may override the idea of getting earlier playing time in SD. Yes. Jeff grew up in NW Indiana and he has consistently said that the main reason he picked baseball was because he could play close to home and have his family come see him. He has also said consistently that he wouldn't waive the NTC for any reason and the only place he ever wants to play is Chicago.

I actually thought Fox looked pretty bad in his first 4 swings at the plate yesterday. He was getting fooled by those changeups but managed to work the count and foul weakly some pitches off before driving that fastball well. It's only Lee's 2nd game back..he doesn't need another rest. They might decide to rest Bradley one of the next 2 days though with the night game/day game and so Fox might be able to get a start in RF.