There is some writing on the wall that needs to be scrubbed off over at Wrigley. Jim Hendry signed Darren Oliver. "He's done his share of winning in the big leagues," Hendry said. "He had a good spring training." He just went and got rocked for 9 runs in 2+ innings the other day in his first start for Iowa. A bad sign when your GM is lauding washed up lefties who can't make other MLB clubs. This is what has become of the proud Cubs pitching staff? The GM is even mildly excited about signing Darren Oliver?
Dusty Baker is always good for a laugh or some head scratching. Some of his comments seem apocalyptic. "Either you're working your bullpen too much, or you're working your starters too much, or you're doing something too much. It seems I don't do 'too much' just right, except win, and that's what we're going to do." We'll see about that.
There was also his quote about how he has to deal with one of the most inexperienced bullpens. Well had he not used Fox incorrectly he would still have him. He also has Borowski coming back soon, Remlinger, Hawkins and Dempster. A cursory glance around the league would show Dusty he might have more vets than some of his opponents. Consider that guys like Wellemeyer, Leicester and Wuertz at least have experience to some degree and have been bouncing around the bigs for years now.
"We need some help," Baker said, adding that general manager Jim Hendry is searching for some.
"Nobody is making any moves. Jim's trying around the clock. Boy, like I said, I don't know what to say right now."
No they need to play better. They are 9th in the NL in ERA. 2nd in walks allowed. Lead the league in pitches per plate appearance, making the games long and/or boring. And of course, have blown 5 of 10 save opportunities. Offensively (apt), they are 11th in runs scored, 14th in OBP, last in walks. They are tied for 2nd in the league for most sacrifice bunts. We all know struggling ofensively means you should bunt a lot and give away outs. Especially teams that don't draw walks.
Check in from time to time and feel free to comment. I'll have new posts here and there.
No comments:
Post a Comment