Carlos Silva dominated today, allowing only two hits and striking out 11 with no walks over 7 innings to improve his record to 7-0.
Silva, 31, has won five straight starts after getting no-decisions in three of his first five, and the Cubs are 9-1 through his first ten appearances. A pair of rallies saved Silva from a loss in a no-decision against Arizona May 1, and an eighth-inning grand slam off of Esmailin Caridad cost him a win when the Cubs lost Silva's debut in Cincinnati 5-4. Unlike hard-luck starter Tom Gorzelanny (2-5. 3.66), the Cubs have scored four or more runs in all ten of Silva's starts.
Ron Santo's old teammate Ken Holtzman was a perfect 9-0 as a starter in 1967 while splitting time between the Cubs and the Illinois National Guard.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Howdy, Howry
The Cubs brought back Bobby Howry today, and he picked up pretty much where he left off in Chicago, giving up an RBI double and an intentional walk in a third of an inning.
Actually, that's not fair to Howry. You can't blame a guy for an intentional walk. And before earning the nickname "Home Run Howry" in 2008 (13 in 70 innings), he pitched in more than half of the Cubs' games over 2006-2007 while maintaining an ERA in the low threes. He pitched similarly well for the Giants last year before running into trouble with Arizona this season.
Whether or not Howry becomes a difference-maker, I see more moves coming to the Cubs' pitching staff. There's no reason to keep Carlos Zambrano in the bullpen - salary aside, he really only had one bad start, and he's given up six runs in the equivalent of two starts' worth of relief appearances. Not stellar, but not worthy of a staff ace being in the bullpen. The problem is, there's no room at the inn as far as the rotation goes.
Since Ted Lilly is a quality starter in a contract year and can't get run support to save his life anyway, I would start shopping him for at least one quality reliever and a prospect or two. If they really need two left-handed starters in a given series, give Sean Marshall a spot start. Beyond that, I'd be a little less gun-shy about shuffling relievers back and forth from Iowa if they're not getting the job done for the parent club.
John Grabow, whose runner Howry allowed to score today, would be on that list regardless of his major league experience. His career numbers indicate he's a halfway decent pitcher, but there's clearly something wrong this season. If there are merely some kinks in his game, let him fix them where it won't hurt the Cubs instead of in the late innings with a small lead.
And while he wasn't a Cub, I offer my condolences to the family of former pitcher Jose Lima, who died of a heart attack Sunday at the age of 37. While his name appeared on an unconfirmed list of players in the Mitchell Report, Lima first became a controversial figure in 1998 when he was accused of grooving pitches to fellow Dominican Sammy Sosa to give him an edge over Mark McGwire in the home run race. While Sosa did hit three of his last 17 homers against him that year - Lima won all three of his starts against the 1998 Cubs, incidentally - McGwire tagged him for one too. Regardless, it's a sad day when someone's life ends at such a young age.
Actually, that's not fair to Howry. You can't blame a guy for an intentional walk. And before earning the nickname "Home Run Howry" in 2008 (13 in 70 innings), he pitched in more than half of the Cubs' games over 2006-2007 while maintaining an ERA in the low threes. He pitched similarly well for the Giants last year before running into trouble with Arizona this season.
Whether or not Howry becomes a difference-maker, I see more moves coming to the Cubs' pitching staff. There's no reason to keep Carlos Zambrano in the bullpen - salary aside, he really only had one bad start, and he's given up six runs in the equivalent of two starts' worth of relief appearances. Not stellar, but not worthy of a staff ace being in the bullpen. The problem is, there's no room at the inn as far as the rotation goes.
Since Ted Lilly is a quality starter in a contract year and can't get run support to save his life anyway, I would start shopping him for at least one quality reliever and a prospect or two. If they really need two left-handed starters in a given series, give Sean Marshall a spot start. Beyond that, I'd be a little less gun-shy about shuffling relievers back and forth from Iowa if they're not getting the job done for the parent club.
John Grabow, whose runner Howry allowed to score today, would be on that list regardless of his major league experience. His career numbers indicate he's a halfway decent pitcher, but there's clearly something wrong this season. If there are merely some kinks in his game, let him fix them where it won't hurt the Cubs instead of in the late innings with a small lead.
And while he wasn't a Cub, I offer my condolences to the family of former pitcher Jose Lima, who died of a heart attack Sunday at the age of 37. While his name appeared on an unconfirmed list of players in the Mitchell Report, Lima first became a controversial figure in 1998 when he was accused of grooving pitches to fellow Dominican Sammy Sosa to give him an edge over Mark McGwire in the home run race. While Sosa did hit three of his last 17 homers against him that year - Lima won all three of his starts against the 1998 Cubs, incidentally - McGwire tagged him for one too. Regardless, it's a sad day when someone's life ends at such a young age.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Turning the corner?
Don't look now, but the Cubs have won four in a row, good for the third-longest win streak in the NL.
The Starlin Castro experiment is a success so far, Aramis Ramirez is starting to get clutch hits like his walkoff homer Monday (no matter his average, he always seems the most likely Cub to hit one of those), Derrek Lee has reached safely in eight of his last nine games and at 5-0 Carlos Silva is making the Milton Bradley trade look like the Eric Karros and Mark Grudzielanek for Todd Hundley trade.
On the downside, Geovany Soto's batting average (.289) is falling back to Earth and so is Ryan Theriot's (still a robust .317). And I don't understand Jeff Baker starting in the outfield for the first time in two years when Tyler Colvin is getting the job done.
But still, Castro, Soto and Kosuke Fukudome have on-base percentages above .400, Alfonso Soriano is having his best season as a Cub, Marlon Byrd is still kicking butt, and they can still throw five guys out there who are batting over .300. Tom Gorzelanny (3.09) finally got some run support in Philadelphia tonight to pick up his second win. Apart from a couple of arms in the bullpen - but not Carlos Marmol (1.31), Sean Marshall (2.11) and James Russell (2.77) - the cylinders are clicking.
Now it's time to get consistent. The Reds should take care of themselves (their Next Big Thing, $30 million Cuban pitcher Aroldis Chapman, is struggling mightily with his control in AAA), but I don't want to see the Pirates breathing down the Cubs' necks anymore, and they need to make the most of the Brewers' current nine-game losing streak. If Trevor Hoffman comes around, there's nowhere for Milwaukee to go but up.
The Starlin Castro experiment is a success so far, Aramis Ramirez is starting to get clutch hits like his walkoff homer Monday (no matter his average, he always seems the most likely Cub to hit one of those), Derrek Lee has reached safely in eight of his last nine games and at 5-0 Carlos Silva is making the Milton Bradley trade look like the Eric Karros and Mark Grudzielanek for Todd Hundley trade.
On the downside, Geovany Soto's batting average (.289) is falling back to Earth and so is Ryan Theriot's (still a robust .317). And I don't understand Jeff Baker starting in the outfield for the first time in two years when Tyler Colvin is getting the job done.
But still, Castro, Soto and Kosuke Fukudome have on-base percentages above .400, Alfonso Soriano is having his best season as a Cub, Marlon Byrd is still kicking butt, and they can still throw five guys out there who are batting over .300. Tom Gorzelanny (3.09) finally got some run support in Philadelphia tonight to pick up his second win. Apart from a couple of arms in the bullpen - but not Carlos Marmol (1.31), Sean Marshall (2.11) and James Russell (2.77) - the cylinders are clicking.
Now it's time to get consistent. The Reds should take care of themselves (their Next Big Thing, $30 million Cuban pitcher Aroldis Chapman, is struggling mightily with his control in AAA), but I don't want to see the Pirates breathing down the Cubs' necks anymore, and they need to make the most of the Brewers' current nine-game losing streak. If Trevor Hoffman comes around, there's nowhere for Milwaukee to go but up.
Friday, May 07, 2010
A Starlin is born
The Cubs called up 20-year-old Tennessee (AA) shortstop Starlin Castro today. He is slated to start for the Cubs tonight in Cincinnati and become the first major league player born in the 1990s. In honor of the occasion, I compiled a list of decade debuts:
Starlin Castro - born 3/24/1990, debuting 5/7/2010
Albert Pujols – born 1/16/1980, debuted 4/2/2001
Wilson Alvarez – born 3/24/1970, debuted 7/24/1989
Tim Conroy – born 4/3/1960, debuted 6/23/1978
Lloyd Allen – born 5/8/1950, debuted 9/1/1969
Dick Ellsworth – born 3/22/1940, debuted 6/22/1958
Johnny Antonelli – born 4/12/1930, debuted 7/4/1948
Walt Masterson – born 6/22/1920, debuted 5/8/1939
Joe Cicero – born 11/11/1910, debuted 9/20/1929
Mickey O’Neil – born 4/12/1900, debuted 6/19/1919
Stuffy McInnis – born 9/9/1890, debuted 4/12/1909
Lefty Herring – born 3/4/1880, debuted 5/16/1899
Amos Rusie - born 5/30/1871, debuted 5/9/1889
Frank Pearce – born 3/30/1860, debuted 10/4/1876
So he joins a varied mix of players, though it represents a fair amount of talent for a random selection of young prospects. Rusie is in the Hall, Pujols should be a lock and McInnis deserves a look from the Veterans Committee. Alvarez (once), Ellsworth (once) and Antonelli (five times) were all-stars, and Alvarez threw a no-hitter. On the other end of the spectrum, Cicero and Herring played fewer than 50 games and Pearce's debut was also his finale, his major league career over at age 16. Oddly enough, Castro was born on Alvarez' 20th birthday, Antonelli on O'Neil's 30th, and eight of the 14 were born between March 4th and April 12th.
What does this all mean for the Cubs? Chad Tracy will play more, but at Iowa. Mike Fontenot will start less at second, probably spot struggling Aramis Ramirez more at third and pinch-hit more if Castro becomes a starter. Ryan Theriot will play either more second base or exclusively second base, depending on Castro's performance at short.
We can only guess how his numbers will compare, but I wouldn't expect anywhere near his 20 RBIs and 20 runs scored with a .376 average in 26 games - not only because he's jumping from AA to the majors, but because without much power I don't see him batting above seventh in the lineup anytime soon unless Kosuke Fukudome struggles in the two spot.
But good luck to the youngster, and here's hoping for a long, healthy and successful career in Cubbie blue.
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