If today was April 1, I could see you thinking that the above headline is an April’s Fool joke (the fact that the season had not begiun yet on April 1 would be another big giveaway). However, it’s no joke. The Cubs brain trust (such as it is) has decided to move their supposed ace to long relief.
Before you have a canniption fit, let’s think about this rationally. Of the Cubs five starters, who has been the weakest thus far this season. I think it’s fair to say that Zambrano holds that dubious distinction. I know that you’d expect the answer to be Tom Gorzelanny or Carlos Silva, but that’s not the case. Both have outpitched Z in the early going.
So if one of the starting pitchers has to be moved to the bullpen to make room for Ted Lilly’s return from the DL, who should it be? It seems to me that the guy struggling the most in the rotation should be the guy moving to the pen.
But there’s another aspect to this move. As you probably know, Zambrano is a terrific all-around athlete. He prides himself on his hitting abilities and despite his heft (which is down considerably this year), he can dunk a basketball. Plus, Z has the mentality of a kid on a sandlot. He loves to play, regardless of the game. A new challenge might just fire him up.
In an article written by Paul Sullivan of Chicago Breaking Sports, Zambrano said he was fine with the move and even thought about it himself before manager Lou Piniella approached him with the idea. Z said he’s up for the challenge and wants to do whatever he can to help the team.
And here’s the thing that semi-excites me: I think Zambrano is going to be really good in the pen. I can see him handling the 7th and 8th innings – territory where the Cubs have struggled mightily this season. I can also see Z being strong enough to handle two innings of relief in back-to-back games.
The downside to this experiment is going to come when it’s time to move Zambrano back into the rotation. He’s stretched out now to throw 120+ pitches. I don’t know exactly what toll it will take on Z to be in the pen or how long it will take him to get stretched out again, but I’m fairly certain that spending much time in the bullpen will lessen the number of pitches he is able to throw in an outing.
Of course, that’s a problem for the future. For now, the Cubs need to win baseball games and they need a capable bullpen in order to do that. Adding Zambrano to the bullpen makes the bullpen stronger without significantly weakening the starting rotation.
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Once Ted Lilly returns from the DL, roster moves are going to have to be made. We already know that Zambrano will be moving to the bullpen, but who’s going to be leaving the bullpen?
Jeff Samardzjia should be going down to AAA to get his act together. However, I don’t think that is the move that the Cubs are going to make. I think we’re probably going to see James Russell make the trip back to Iowa. This, despite being one of the few effective arms in the bullpen so far this year (notwithstanding his last outing).
It appears to me (and everyone else on the planet) that the Cubs overspent on Samardjzia and they are giving him every opportunity to earn his keep. Unfortunately, that hasn’t worked so far and there really is no reason to believe it will happen anytime soon. Samardjzia has been a bust and the Cubs front office is having a very hard time coming to terms with that bit of reality.
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I’m getting ready to go to another Cubs game. This time I’ll be heading to Cincinnati to see the Cubs take on the Reds on Sunday, May 9. I’ve never been to Great American Ballpark before, so I’m really looking forward to the experience.
Let me climb up on my bully pulpit for a moment and blast the Cincinnati Reds for having the absolute worst ticketing system in the world. It took me three days to order tickets and I had to go through the online ordering system, an automated voice response system, and finally a live person (I didn’t think they had any) to get it done.
Dealing with the automated voice response system was maddening. I speak at a normal volume (maybe a bit more than normal) and I speak clearly. Despite that fact, the system couldn’t understand what I was saying. To add insult to injury, the disembodied voice would occasionally interrupt what I was saying to tell me she couldn’t understand me.
To make the experience just a wee bit worse, when I told “Cindy,” the live person I spoke to about how bad the automated voice response system was, she couldn’t have cared less. I know she’s just a cog in the wheel and didn’t design the automated voice response system, but that shouldn’t have stopped her from caring (or at least acting like she cared).
Rergardless, I’m going to the game…and hoping I never have to buy tickets from the Reds again.
