Sean Marshall

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SP	*Johan Santana	SP	*Sean Marshall
	14-7, 2.65, 187 K, 58 BB, 217.1 IP		3-4, 3.62, 50 K, 19 BB, 59.2 IP
SS	#Jose Ryes	LF	Alfonso Soriano
2B	#Luis Castillo	SS	Ronny Cedeno
3B	David Wright	1B	Derrek Lee
CF	#Carlos Beltran	CF	Reed Johnson
1B	*Carlos Delgado	2B	Mark DeRosa
C	Ramon Castro	3B	Casey McGehee
RF	*Ryan Church	RF	*Kosuke Fukudome
LF	Nick Evans	C	Henry Blanco
P	*Johan Santana	P	*Sean Marshall

 

You'd think Lou would let his regulars get some hacks against Johan, since they may see him in the first round, but he seems to have gone the opposite route and sits most some of his regulars. Curious.

The Cubs want to try and take 2 of 3 or at least 1 of 3 from the Mets and hope the Brewers take 2 of 3 from the Pirates or sweep them. That would set up a tie between the Mets and the Brewers heading into the final weekend and increases the odds of them having to use their aces (C.C. or Johan) late in the season. That's more of a concern with the Mets when it comes to the Cubs playoff situation, but the more innings C.C. racks up now, the better chance he'll be less effective by the time the Cubs may face him in the playoffs. The Cubs also need to win 5 of 6 for 100 wins assuming the Monday make-up versus the Astros is not played.

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SP	*Sean Marshall	SP	Anibal Sanchez
	2-2, 3.55, 33 K, 10 BB, 38 IP		1-2, 4.08, 14 K, 7 BB, 17.2 IP
LF	Alfonso Soriano	SS	Hanley Ramirez
SS	Ryan Theriot	CF	Cody Ross
CF	*Jim Edmonds	3B	Jorge Cantu
1B	*Daryle Ward	1B	*Mike Jacobs
2B	*Mike Fontenot	2B	Dan Uggla
RF	*Kosuke Fukudome	LF	Josh Willingham
3B	Mark DeRosa	RF	Jeremy Hermida
C	Henry Blanco	C	Matt Treanor
P	*Sean Marshall	P	Anibal Sanchez

Sean Marshall gets the start because of the doubleheader on Wednesday and he'll be on a limit of 80 pitches. If that doesn't get the Cubs to at least the 6th, expect to see Jason Marquis out there for an inning or two. Lou, obviously bored with winning with his normal lineup, lets the scrubs try to extend the Cubs five game win streak and nine game road win streak.

UPDATE: Looks like Lou made up his mind after the first game and it will be Sean Marshall getting the start on Sunday versus the Marlins.

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Just a little scheduling note, that Lou has tabbed either Jeff Samardzija or Sean Marshall for Sunday's start against the Marlins due to today's doubleheader. That is if Marquis cannot go on short rest.

"I can't bring Harden back on short rest, but I can bring Marquis back possibly," Piniella said Wednesday. "By him pitching the day game, it gives him a little longer time. If not, we'll either pitch Samardzija or pitch [Sean] Marshall."

Other than possibly using Marquis on short rest, there was another reason Harden will pitch tonight's nightcap.

"I know he's told us his preference would be to pitch at night and in cooler weather," Piniella said  

As always, blame Canada.

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SP	*Sean Marshall	SP	Todd Wellemeyer
	0-2, 4.87, 17 K, 9 BB, 20.1 IP		7-3, 3.86, 70 K, 30 BB, 93.1 IP
CF	Reed Johnson	LF	Joe Mather
SS	Ryan Theriot	CF	*Rick Ankiel
1B	Derrek Lee	1B	Albert Pujols
3B	Aramis Ramirez	RF	Ryan Ludwick
C	Geovany Soto	3B	Troy Glaus
RF	Mark DeRosa	C	Yadier Molina
LF	Matt Murton	SS	#Cesar Izturis
2B	*Mike Fontenot	P	Todd Wellemeyer
P	*Sean Marshall	2B	Brendan Ryan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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SP	*Sean Marshall	SP	*Mark Buehrle
	0-1, 5.40, 12 K, 8 BB, 13.1 IP		5-6, 4.04, 57 K, 27 BB, 104.2 IP
RF	*Kosuke Fukudome	SS	Orlando Cabrera
SS	Ryan Theriot	C	*A.J. Pierzynski
1B	Derrek Lee	LF	Carlos Quentin
3B	Aramis Ramirez	RF	Jermaine Dye
DH	Geovany Soto	DH	*Jim Thome
LF	Mark DeRosa	3B	Joe Crede
CF	*Jim Edmonds	1B	#Nick Swisher
C	Henry Blanco	2B	Alexei Ramirez
2B	Ronny Cedeno	CF	Brian Anderson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 About a week ago, the Cubs set an ugly precedent by losing three in a row to the Rays. I see no good reason to set another today by losing their fourth in a row.

Sean Marshall takes the mound and it could be his last start for awhile. When Zambrano returns, Marshall could be headed to the bullpen to give Lou another lefty while Eyre nurses his sore groin or he'll head back to Iowa. Unless he does something special today and someone craps their pants before a decision has to be made (looking at you Marquis).

Back-to-back ESPN Sunday night games and I'll be watching this with one of my oldest friends who's visiting for a few days. I've tried not to hold it against him that he's a White Sox fan all these years. But sometimes I can't help it...

Sean Marshall was supposed to start for the Iowa Cubs tonight against Albuquerque in Des Moines. Instead he's on his way to Pittsburgh, exchanging roster spots with Carmen Pignatiello. Apparently Lou Piniella huffed and puffed and blew 'Piggy' back to the minors after the southpaw showed his appreciation for making the big club by walking both hitters he faced in Monday's 10-8 torture tilt.

The Cubs are a little over two weeks into spring training with about three weeks before Opening Day. It's time to check in on the yearly ritual of spring training battles. What's the fun of spring training without a little competition? The Cubs have a few spots up for grabs and today I'll look at the starting rotation battle between Jon Lieber, Ryan Dempster, Jason Marquis and Sean Marshall. I won't pretend that Sean Gallagher has a legitimate chance, although I guess I am pretending that Sean Marshall does.

Unable or unwilling to trade for some of the top notch talent that was moved over the offseason, such as Johan Santana, Erik Bedard or Dan Haren; the Cubs head into 2008 with much of the same talent that was good for the second best ERA among NL starting staffs last year. Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly and Rich Hill will anchor the staff, and if Marquis and Marshall win the jobs, you'll have the same starting five that took the mound for the bulk of last season.

That though, appears to be the least likely scenario, as Ryan Dempster is getting his wish to compete for a starting spot and the Cubs signed Lieber on a one year deal. It appears to be a bit of a logjam at the moment, but the bullpen or the trade market can alleviate that "problem" at the end of spring training.

Let's take a look at the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate after the jump...

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