Cubs looking for solid setup men to perform in seventh inning
LAS VEGAS -- In Carlos Marmol and Kevin Gregg, the Chicago Cubs appear to be set at both closer and at their primary setup man, regardless of who wins the ninth-inning job.
But Lou Piniella wants more. The Cubs manager wants to put together a solid back end of the bullpen, looking for that third closer/second setup man, in a role basically suited for Bob Howry going into the 2008 regular season.
"The biggest job we have here is finding two other pitchers that we can rely on to pitch in the seventh inning," said Piniella, during the Cubs' two-day trip to Las Vegas to take on the White Sox. "It doesn't matter whether they are right-handed, left-handed, submarine.
"We just want people we feel can get people out with consistency and get the job done. That's what we are really going to start focusing on here once we get to this weekend."
Piniella would like to see a young right-hander from the group of Kevin Hart, Jose Ascanio and Angel Guzman step up as one of these seventh- or eighth-inning possibilities. Guzman pitched the eighth inning of Wednesday night's 7-6 loss to the White Sox and gave up Michael Restovich's game-tying home run.
Veteran hurlers such as Chad Gaudin, Luis Vizcaino, Mike Stanton and Neal Cotts also remain in the mix. Aaron Heilman, Thursday afternoon's starter for the Cubs, would be a natural for this role if Sean Marshall wins the job at the rotation's fifth spot behind Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, Ryan Dempster and Rich Harden.
Harden, the talented right-hander who has not pitched this spring, just had the best throw day he's had since joining the Cubs, according to Piniella.
"[Pitching coach] Larry [Rothschild] told me the other day he was electric," said Piniella of Harden. "That's the word he used. Even last year, [it was] the best he has thrown the ball since he has been with us.
"They are throwing strikes, getting their work in," said Piniella of his starting staff as a whole. "Like Dempster the other day. He gave up three runs in the first inning, but he threw the ball well. We made a couple of bad plays behind him and he walked the leadoff hitter, but the ball is coming out of his hand real nice. Zambrano has thrown real well. Marshall, the same way. So, you have to be encouraged by those things."
Position battles such as the fifth starter's spot, second catcher or who wins the job at second base don't seem to take up Piniella's present attention. Putting together a bullpen behind this team's stellar rotation, on the other hand, is what Piniella considers the biggest chore on the docket for the Cubs.
"I'm talking about a short reliever that we would have good confidence in to pitch in the seventh and eighth innings," Piniella said. "That's what I'm looking for more than anything else. From last year's team, when we left here last year, we had Marmol, Howry, Scotty Eyre, Michael Wuertz.
"They're all gone. That's where we are trying to focus. And that's what we are going to need. That is our biggest job coming out of Spring Training. And that's going to evolve in the next few weeks."
LAS VEGAS -- In Carlos Marmol and Kevin Gregg, the Chicago Cubs appear to be set at both closer and at their primary setup man, regardless of who wins the ninth-inning job.
But Lou Piniella wants more. The Cubs manager wants to put together a solid back end of the bullpen, looking for that third closer/second setup man, in a role basically suited for Bob Howry going into the 2008 regular season.
"The biggest job we have here is finding two other pitchers that we can rely on to pitch in the seventh inning," said Piniella, during the Cubs' two-day trip to Las Vegas to take on the White Sox. "It doesn't matter whether they are right-handed, left-handed, submarine.
"We just want people we feel can get people out with consistency and get the job done. That's what we are really going to start focusing on here once we get to this weekend."
Piniella would like to see a young right-hander from the group of Kevin Hart, Jose Ascanio and Angel Guzman step up as one of these seventh- or eighth-inning possibilities. Guzman pitched the eighth inning of Wednesday night's 7-6 loss to the White Sox and gave up Michael Restovich's game-tying home run.
Veteran hurlers such as Chad Gaudin, Luis Vizcaino, Mike Stanton and Neal Cotts also remain in the mix. Aaron Heilman, Thursday afternoon's starter for the Cubs, would be a natural for this role if Sean Marshall wins the job at the rotation's fifth spot behind Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, Ryan Dempster and Rich Harden.
Harden, the talented right-hander who has not pitched this spring, just had the best throw day he's had since joining the Cubs, according to Piniella.
"[Pitching coach] Larry [Rothschild] told me the other day he was electric," said Piniella of Harden. "That's the word he used. Even last year, [it was] the best he has thrown the ball since he has been with us.
"They are throwing strikes, getting their work in," said Piniella of his starting staff as a whole. "Like Dempster the other day. He gave up three runs in the first inning, but he threw the ball well. We made a couple of bad plays behind him and he walked the leadoff hitter, but the ball is coming out of his hand real nice. Zambrano has thrown real well. Marshall, the same way. So, you have to be encouraged by those things."
Position battles such as the fifth starter's spot, second catcher or who wins the job at second base don't seem to take up Piniella's present attention. Putting together a bullpen behind this team's stellar rotation, on the other hand, is what Piniella considers the biggest chore on the docket for the Cubs.
"I'm talking about a short reliever that we would have good confidence in to pitch in the seventh and eighth innings," Piniella said. "That's what I'm looking for more than anything else. From last year's team, when we left here last year, we had Marmol, Howry, Scotty Eyre, Michael Wuertz.
"They're all gone. That's where we are trying to focus. And that's what we are going to need. That is our biggest job coming out of Spring Training. And that's going to evolve in the next few weeks."
Originally published at: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090305&content_id=3924902&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
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