02-22-2010, 08:30 AM
<!--quoteo(post=80105:date=Feb 19 2010, 06:36 PM:name=Clapp)-->QUOTE (Clapp @ Feb 19 2010, 06:36 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=80102:date=Feb 19 2010, 04:10 PM:name=Ace)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Ace @ Feb 19 2010, 04:10 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=80094:date=Feb 19 2010, 05:46 PM:name=Clapp)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Clapp @ Feb 19 2010, 05:46 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=80083:date=Feb 19 2010, 02:45 PM:name=JBconway)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (JBconway @ Feb 19 2010, 02:45 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=80041:date=Feb 19 2010, 12:35 PM:name=Coach)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Coach @ Feb 19 2010, 12:35 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->Lilly:
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE <!--quotec-->MRI went well. Normal wear and tear on knee and Lilly is throwing now.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
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good news. cubs screwed the pooch by not signing any decent to solid starting pitchers this offseason ( silva DOES not count towards this). our starting pitchers are the brittle bunch & an injury waiting to happen. at some point this season, lily, big z & dempster will be on the dl. we have 0 depth this year. losing harden & not getting a body in his place will hurt this team in the end
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I think the rotation is the team's strength actually. Injuries are possible with any rotation... there's not a single 1 of our main 4 that really stands out as a major injury concern, assuming Lilly can go by mid-April to May as reported. Zambrano's made 30 starts in 6 of the last 7 years, with last season being the only time he didn't(still made 28). Dempster made at least 31 starts and threw over 200 innings each of the last 2 years. Lilly's made at least 27 starts in the last 4 years.
I would've loved to get an upgrade at the #5 spot, but at the price it would come... can't get too mad.
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For realsies, Clapp?
Zambrano can be great, but is unpredictable (I love the guy, though, and do consider him an ace)
Dempster is probably established now, but just two years ago, we wondered if he could even put up an ERA under 5.00 as a starter
Wells is no lock to perform
Lilly is hurt
? ? ?
That doesn't look like a strength to me.
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Zambrano's a roller coaster but the bottom line is he's going to win 14+ games and have a -very- good ERA more times than not. It's not always pretty, but at the end of the year, the numbers are there. And the stuff is still there for him to be a Cy Young contender.
Of course 2 years ago we had no idea if Dempster could put up a sub-5.00 ERA. I think he's proven enough where we can at least rely on him to be solid now, if not great. He won't repeat his '08 season, not a chance. But I absolutely expect him to have an ERA under 4 and perform as a very good #3.
Lilly's obviously a concern, and we don't know anything until he takes the mound against live hitting. But the reports today are encouraging, he's throwing, and hopefully he's not missing more than 5 starts. Again, we don't know anything until he really gets out there and tries to let it go, but I'd think this won't be a major issue and he'll make 26+ starts. Will he have that ERA again? No, but again, solid.
Wells may never even repeat last season, but when you're -always- composed, hit the corners, and change speeds, you'll at least be an effective pitcher in this league. His stuff is average across the board, but it's good enough because of his location and changing speeds. I'm thinking he puts a 4.15 ERA or so up, which is plenty plenty fine out of a #4.
There isn't a true ace, and it's possible there won't even be a real #2 after Z, Demp, or Lilly, But overall it's a very solid rotation that will win a ton of games if the offense doesn't shit the bed again. As for how it looks as a playoff rotation, that's a whole different matter as you're almost certainly going to need 1 or 2 -great- starters, barring an offensive explosion(which is rare in October). But it's a rotation that you can definitely win 90 games with.
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I appreciated all of that - good points, and I agree with most of them - but having said all of that, can you really still think that what you just went over is the team's <i>strength</i>?
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE <!--quotec-->MRI went well. Normal wear and tear on knee and Lilly is throwing now.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
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good news. cubs screwed the pooch by not signing any decent to solid starting pitchers this offseason ( silva DOES not count towards this). our starting pitchers are the brittle bunch & an injury waiting to happen. at some point this season, lily, big z & dempster will be on the dl. we have 0 depth this year. losing harden & not getting a body in his place will hurt this team in the end
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I think the rotation is the team's strength actually. Injuries are possible with any rotation... there's not a single 1 of our main 4 that really stands out as a major injury concern, assuming Lilly can go by mid-April to May as reported. Zambrano's made 30 starts in 6 of the last 7 years, with last season being the only time he didn't(still made 28). Dempster made at least 31 starts and threw over 200 innings each of the last 2 years. Lilly's made at least 27 starts in the last 4 years.
I would've loved to get an upgrade at the #5 spot, but at the price it would come... can't get too mad.
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For realsies, Clapp?
Zambrano can be great, but is unpredictable (I love the guy, though, and do consider him an ace)
Dempster is probably established now, but just two years ago, we wondered if he could even put up an ERA under 5.00 as a starter
Wells is no lock to perform
Lilly is hurt
? ? ?
That doesn't look like a strength to me.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Zambrano's a roller coaster but the bottom line is he's going to win 14+ games and have a -very- good ERA more times than not. It's not always pretty, but at the end of the year, the numbers are there. And the stuff is still there for him to be a Cy Young contender.
Of course 2 years ago we had no idea if Dempster could put up a sub-5.00 ERA. I think he's proven enough where we can at least rely on him to be solid now, if not great. He won't repeat his '08 season, not a chance. But I absolutely expect him to have an ERA under 4 and perform as a very good #3.
Lilly's obviously a concern, and we don't know anything until he takes the mound against live hitting. But the reports today are encouraging, he's throwing, and hopefully he's not missing more than 5 starts. Again, we don't know anything until he really gets out there and tries to let it go, but I'd think this won't be a major issue and he'll make 26+ starts. Will he have that ERA again? No, but again, solid.
Wells may never even repeat last season, but when you're -always- composed, hit the corners, and change speeds, you'll at least be an effective pitcher in this league. His stuff is average across the board, but it's good enough because of his location and changing speeds. I'm thinking he puts a 4.15 ERA or so up, which is plenty plenty fine out of a #4.
There isn't a true ace, and it's possible there won't even be a real #2 after Z, Demp, or Lilly, But overall it's a very solid rotation that will win a ton of games if the offense doesn't shit the bed again. As for how it looks as a playoff rotation, that's a whole different matter as you're almost certainly going to need 1 or 2 -great- starters, barring an offensive explosion(which is rare in October). But it's a rotation that you can definitely win 90 games with.
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I appreciated all of that - good points, and I agree with most of them - but having said all of that, can you really still think that what you just went over is the team's <i>strength</i>?
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