Opening Night could easily be labeled a failure for the Chicago Cubs organization, a team with a new manager and sky-high expectations. The Cubs’ $155 million investment, Jon Lester, struggled throughout his first National League start, and the team was 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position.
No, those are not good numbers.
But a positive did come out of Sunday’s 3-0 home loss to the St. Louis Cardinals: The bullpen looks like it will be a strength in 2015.
Lester was not able to make it out of the fifth inning and left the game with runners on second and third with one out. Left-handed hitting Matt Adams was due up next, so manager Joe Maddon called for southpaw Phil Coke.
He struck out Adams on three pitches, intentionally walked Yadier Molina and then struck out Kolten Wong to get out of the inning with only a 3-0 deficit.
Coke is currently the only lefty in the Cubs bullpen, but if he can engender the same effectiveness that he had in the 2012 postseason for the Tigers, he will be a valuable asset nonetheless.
Then Maddon emptied his toolbox over the course of the next four innings.
Newly acquired fireballer Jason Motte, a former St. Louis closer, tossed a perfect sixth. Neil Ramirez, owner of a 1.44 ERA in 2014, struck out two in a scoreless seventh. Pedro Strop allowed one hit and struck out two without allowing a run in the eighth, and then Hector Rondon pitched a scoreless ninth.
Every one of those last four relievers is a hard thrower. Each of their respective fastballs has averaged at least 94 miles per hour throughout their careers, per FanGraphs, and all of them—except Motte, who battled injuries—had ERAs well below 3.00 last year.
That type of overpowering bullpen has become the norm around Major League Baseball. Instead of assembling a relief core of different types of pitchers, teams are choosing to stockpile their bullpens with fireballers who pitch one inning at a time.
A prime example of this is the Kansas City Royals, which rode the bullpen trio of Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland to last year’s World Series.
The Cubs don’t have as good a bullpen as the Royals do, but it is certainly a nice feeling to know that Maddon has plenty of quality relievers at his disposal.
The Cubs’ year is still 2016, but if they somehow find a way to contend this year, their dominant bullpen will be a big reason why.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com