They say what a difference a year makes, but so far with the Cubs, it’s looking like 2011 all over again. There is competent management running the team now, yet the relief issues that plagued the club last season are already rearing their ugly head after just two games of the 2012 season.
One can’t really make a judgement this early, but while injuries to the starting rotation were one of the things that helped bring the team down in 2011, blowing late leads just took the heart out of the Cubs. You fight for six, seven innings to get a lead and then the bullpen blows it.
Sound familiar?
Of course there’s a long, long way to go yet—we’re just getting started—but the first two games of this season certainly bear a striking resemblance to what we watched last year.
Two well-pitched games by Cubs starters–in this case Ryan Dempster and Matt Garza–all for naught once Kerry Wood and Carlos Marmol entered the game.
Look, I understand that in Theo Epstein’s grand plan, 2012 is not a season in which they are trying to win a World Series. But they’d like to be competitive, for the fans sake if nothing else. Nothing sticks the knife into the gut of a team more than blowing late leads.
Unfortunately, Marmol is signed through 2013 and is now making top closer’s money even though he couldn’t close a door right now. I’m not sure what happened, whether it was overuse or what, but the slider is not as sharp as it used to be and the fastball is a couple of miles per hour slower.
On top of everything, Marmol has no control and doesn’t know where the ball is going once it leaves his hand. Unfortunately, at $7 million this year and almost $10 million next year, Marmol probably can’t be traded.
The Cubs are stuck with a very high priced relief pitcher who can’t be counted on to close games.
Meanwhile, Wood was re-signed because Tom Ricketts figured Cubs fans wanted him back and he would soften the blow of a potential losing season. But in truth, he cannot be trusted with a lead and will undoubtedly get hurt at some point this season as he always does.
Don’t get me wrong, I still believe in Epstein and his lieutenants. And I understand some patience is in order. But I could see that Marmol was going to be too much of a risk so I’m surprised we didn’t hear his name mentioned in any trade rumors this offseason.
But who else can close out games for the Cubs? Sean Marshall is gone, so there really isn’t another obvious candidate on the roster at this point. The bullpen looks to be a disaster right now.
I feel badly for Garza, because the bullpen blew lots of games for him in 2011 and have already done it to him again in his first start this season. This is a perfect example of why you cannot judge the value of a starting pitcher by wins and losses.
If I was Garza, I’d work on my stamina. No way I’d want to come out of a game and turn it over to this ‘pen.
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