Sean Marshall has claimed the 5 slot in the Cubs starting rotation, an announcement made by coach Lou Pinella last Thursday.
Marshall will join an already stellar starting rotation consisting of Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, Ted Lilly and Rich Harden.
Marshall was competing with Aaron Heilman and Jeff Samardzija for the fifth starter job this spring, both of whom will now start the season out of the Cubs bullpen, or perhaps for Samardzija, the Cubs Triple-A Iowa club. This gives the Cubs a deep and flexible rotation for the entire season, which plays a vital role going into the stretch run.
I have said since day one that for the Cubs to win the National League Central for the third consectutive season, they must have consistency out of their #5. Marshall won the job outright this spring in Mesa, throwing consitantly in the low-90's and showing pose and accuracy around the plate.
Marshall undoubteably stood head-over-heals above his competitors, giving up one earned run on nine hits and striking out eight over 14 1/3 innings in his five spring outings.
Over the past few seasons, Marshall has failed to show that consistency and has been demoted to the minor leagues in each season. Let's hope that course of action is over and the lefty is ready for the primetime.
I'd rather have Samardzija in the bullpen anyway, I thought he fit nicely there. As you mentioned, the fact that Marshall has been inconsistent and seems to snowball when things get tough, doesn't make him the best candidate to come in with a lead on the line.
ReplyDeleteToo bad the Cubs couldn't pull off that Peavy trade. What a rotation that would be.
ReplyDeleteI must say this is slightly disappointing news. Not that Marshall has been absolutely horrible in past starts, he has however been pretty mediocre.
ReplyDeleteI was excited to see what potential Samardzija could bring to the rotation. However, he should be a key piece to the puzzle improving the back-end of the bullpen.
Any idea where Samardzija would fit in if he was placed in the bullpen and not a starter in triple-A? Hopefully he gets a chance like Gallagher did last season and he shows promise of a future outside of the bullpen.
ReplyDeleteDiesel, I think he would most likely be a late inning guy. Similarly to the role that Carlos Marmol has maintained the past two seasons, as the shutdown guy in the late innings, such as the 6/7/8 innings. We will see, USA Today had him on the front cover last Friday as a "Top Prospect to Watch in 2009"...Hopefully the ND grad can prove himself worthy and show us his toughness on the baseball diamond. He showed promise last season late, so I am optimistic.
ReplyDeleteI think Samardzija looked better last season than he really is. I think they should put him in the rotation at AAA Iowa where he can get more seasoning and be ready to jump into the Cubs rotation. Rich Harden always seems to be an injury waiting to happen. Thus, it would be a good idea to have someone ready. They need to keep Samardzija's arm conditioned to be a starter.
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