Cubs Announce Rotation and Closer

As promised, Lou Piniella announced the rotation and closer duties today. After going on back-to-back days, Kerry Wood apparently woke up still able to move and will be the Cubs closer to start the year. When he eventually goes on the disabled list this season, Carlos Marmol or Bob Howry should be able to step right in.

The Cubs starting five will be Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, Ryan Dempster, Rich Hill and Jason Marquis. Jon Lieber will start the year in the bullpen in a long relief role, ready to step in when/if Rich Hill continues to struggle with the strike zone or when/if Ryan Dempster continues to be Ryan Dempster or when/if Jason Marquis continues to be Jason Marquis.

The Cubs bullpen will likely look like this to start the year:

Jon Lieber

Kevin Hart

Scott Eyre*

Michael Wuertz

Bob Howry

Carlos Marmol

Kerry Wood

* If Eyre's elbow tightness lands him on the disabled list to start the year, either Carmen Pignatiello or Sean Marshall will likely take his spot.

Tags: 
Cubs Roster Moves
Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 03/24/2008 - 1:10pm
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Comments

Submitted by Little Nate Lewis
on Mon, 03/24/2008 - 1:25pm

My guess is that keeping Marquis in the rotation is an effort to boost his perceived trade value. I can't imagine this is the long-term plan. Lou hasn't been shy about his problems with Marquis.

Submitted by rokfish
on Mon, 03/24/2008 - 1:30pm

lieber is the good soldier puts team ahead of himself

Submitted by Jeff_Pico
on Mon, 03/24/2008 - 1:34pm

Yes I fully expect one of the 2 between Marquis and Dempster to lose their rotation spots sometime in April, with Leiber filling in, Hill should get plenty of chances before he is taken out of the rotation. I'd say the most likely scenarios are a Marquis trade or a Dempster total breakdown.

Submitted by Jordan
on Mon, 03/24/2008 - 1:36pm

Where is Marshall going, Iowa?

Too bad, I liked that kid.

Submitted by Rob Richardson
on Mon, 03/24/2008 - 1:37pm

Poll: How many starts are they going to have for the Cubs in 2008:

Zambrano __
Lilly __
Hill __
Marquis __
Dempster __
Leiber __
Marshall __
Other __

Submitted by Ryno
on Mon, 03/24/2008 - 2:04pm

Zambrano 33, Lilly 18, Hill 32, Marquis 32, Dempster 12, Leiber 20, Marshall 12, Other 3 (Mateo)

Submitted by Andrew
on Mon, 03/24/2008 - 2:07pm

18 for Lilly? Are you fearing an injury?

Submitted by mattofamerica
on Mon, 03/24/2008 - 4:03pm

hey are we going to do a predictions game again this year like we did last year? guess this question is aimed at Rob and the staff...

Submitted by navigator
on Mon, 03/24/2008 - 4:42pm

Rob G. has a staff?!

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 03/24/2008 - 5:23pm

*insert improper joke*

Submitted by Rob G.
on Mon, 03/24/2008 - 5:32pm

Rob G. has a staff?! 


biggest staff you've ever seen... 
~zing~

Submitted by navigator
on Mon, 03/24/2008 - 7:20pm

As Chris Matthews would say,

HA!

:)

Submitted by Indiana JJ
on Mon, 03/24/2008 - 1:49pm


Sean Marshall and Carmen Pignatiello will now compete for Scott Eyre's spot as late-inning left-hander, after Piniella confirmed that Eyre probably won't be ready to start the season due to tightness in his left elbow.

http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/spor...

Submitted by Ryno
on Mon, 03/24/2008 - 2:01pm

I'm not thrilled with Demp in the rotation, but okay, it's a decent plan other than that.

Submitted by Andrew
on Mon, 03/24/2008 - 2:09pm

I'm thrilled about the rotation, but it's not terrible, assuming Hill gets his shit together. The most likely scenario, as I see it, is that Dempster eventually struggles and gets moved back to the pen in exchange for Lieber. Whether he'd move back to closer at that point seems unlikely.

Submitted by Wes
on Mon, 03/24/2008 - 3:16pm

I'm not too upset about it. I know Lieber's numbers are better than Dempster's this spring, but I'm taking that with a grain of salt since they aren't all facing major league hitters. What really concerns me about Jon Lieber is that his velocity is horrible. Just awful.

I'm sure Larry and Lou discussed that when they made their decision. I'd be really nervous about opening the season with a guy in my rotation throwing in the low 80s when he isn't supposed to be throwing in the low 80s.

Submitted by joshb
on Mon, 03/24/2008 - 6:34pm

he's an older sinker baller. his velocity is gonna drop with age. ala maddux,martinez,etc. It happens unless you are someone like nolan ryan or roger clemens. I've been a long time believer now that velocity means squat. keeping hitters fooled and location location location are what will ultimately win you the game.

Submitted by crunch
on Mon, 03/24/2008 - 6:40pm

it dont mean squat if you got movement...and he's got movement on his sinker...but its the fastball and cutting fastball i'm more concerned about since he's working the 80-85mph range.

all 3 options for the last 2 slots (throwing dumpster's slot in there, though it was more of a sure thing as of week+ ago) have their pros/cons.

Submitted by Wes
on Tue, 03/25/2008 - 11:52am

Exactly. I was more specifically referring to the cutter, which don't cut so good anymore. And it's 83 mph. Which means he's probably our best candidate to be throwing live BP before games.

Submitted by spongebob
on Mon, 03/24/2008 - 6:28pm

Any new news on the Roberts situation?

Submitted by Lost Fox
on Tue, 03/25/2008 - 7:54am

I understand the Dempster inclusion (he's pitched well and deserves a chance to show that he can't do it). I understand the Hill inclusion (bad Spring, but promising 2007).

Now, why the hell is Marquis in the rotation?

Submitted by Dr. aaron b
on Tue, 03/25/2008 - 8:43am

2 years 22 million dollars left on his contract. That is why he is in the rotation.

Submitted by big_lowitzki
on Tue, 03/25/2008 - 9:28am

No.

It is 2 years about 16 million dollars:

08:$6.375M, 09:$9.875M

Which is actually a very decent price for a #4 or #5 starter who will give you 180+ innings and a league average ERA.

Submitted by big_lowitzki
on Tue, 03/25/2008 - 9:26am

I understand the Dempster inclusion (he's pitched well and deserves a chance to show that he can't do it

Pitched well?

You do realize that Marquis has pitched better than Dempster this spring, right?

Let me get this straight. Dempster deserves a spot in the rotation because he has "pitched well," but Marquis doesn't, even though he had pitched much better than Dempster this spring?

And oh yea... add to the equation the fact that Marquis is by far the best hitter of the three, Leiber can barely throw 85, both Leiber and Dempster have injury histories while Marquis has shown to be a durable and valuable #5 starter.

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