Hill Eases Concerns in Final Spring Outing

The last big question the Cubs needed an answer to this Spring..."Can Rich Hill still throw strikes?" was answered yesterday as Hill threw five innings while striking out six and walking only one hitter. This was, by far, Hill's best outing of the Spring and lets the Cubs, and its fans, breathe a sigh of relief as Opening Day looms closer.

After working earlier this Spring to become quicker to home plate from the stretch position, Hill went back and simplified his delivery and seems to have gotten back to normal. It was annoying last season to see opposing base runners have such an easy time stealing off of Hill but I'd prefer him letting those guys get a good jump to second base instead of just walking them. Hill's value comes from his ability to throw strikes, which allows him to mix up his pitches so his control of the strike zone should precede any other concerns in his game.

Kevin Hart came into the game after Hill and continued his downward trend by giving up two runs in less than two innings before Sean Marshall came on and gave up a game tying double. Luckily, the Cubs were able to overcome those obstacles as the newest Cub, Reed Johnson, had a nice day with two hits and two runs and Derrek Lee hit his second homer of the Spring. Michael Wuertz threw another scoreless inning before Carmen Pignatiello closed out the game even though he gave up his first run of the Spring. Quietly the Cubs have creeped back near the .500 mark on the Spring as the victory moved them to 13-14 overall.

The Cubs roster is pretty much set at this point and these last few days will have the Cubs throwing out their daily lineup for 6 or 7 innings in the hopes that everyone can get comfortable with where they are in the field and the batting order.

Jack Cobra covers the Cubs, Bulls and sports in general on his blog, Cobra Brigade. He also writes for Yay Sports on Fridays.

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Pie Is Rounding Into Form

Felix Pie certainly has had an interesting Spring so far. After coming into camp preparing to battle with Sam Fuld for the starting spot in center field Pie got off to a pretty nice start only to be sidelined by the dreaded testicular torsion injury. After he came back everyone was screaming that the Cubs were about to sign/trade/make up a center fielder to platoon with Pie because he couldn't handle the position himself. Through all this drama Pie has kept working and it has paid off as he raised his Spring average to .340 yesterday with an electric 3-3 game at the plate that included a double, triple and scoring the winning run. THAT is what he has been his entire career in the minor leagues and THAT is what the Cubs are hoping he can bring on a consistent basis this season.

In a game that saw Cubs starter Ryan Dempster struggle and newly turned reliever Jon Lieber do the same, Pie was the constant in the lineup as he was on base all day and scored two runs out of the eighth hole in the batting order. Over the last week or so, Pie has stepped up his game and should leave very few doubts in the minds of the Cubs Organization as to who their primary center fielder should be this season.

Even with Pie playing well, it would behoove the Cubs to go out and pick up a right handed hitting option to play center field whenever Pie needs a rest and they seem to be on the verge of signing for Blue Jays outfielder Reed Johnson. Johnson is kind of a "jack of all trades, master of none" who can help out at all three outfield positions if he stays healthy. He struggled last season in Toronto but has shown an ability to get on base with regularity in his career.


Jack Cobra covers the Cubs, Bulls and sports in general on his blog, Cobra Brigade. He also writes for Yay Sports on Fridays.

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Wood to Close, Lieber to Pen

Cubs Manager Lou Piniella finally made up his mind today and it tells him that Kerry Wood will be the Cubs closer to start the season and Jon Lieber is heading to the bullpen. 

Ryan Dempster and Jason Marquis survived the three-way pitching duel to become Cubs starters, while Kerry Wood was officially named closer on Monday.

Dempster will pitch in the No. 3 spot. Marquis will become the fifth starter. Jon Lieber is headed to the bullpen.

"Dempster has worked hard, and he's thrown the ball well here," manager Lou Piniella said. "We told him we'd give him every opportunity to start this spring, and we did just that.

"He came to camp with the mindset to get a spot in the rotation, and he worked really, really hard and threw the ball well all spring. He had one bad inning, actually. And Marquis has pitched well also. ... So we've got ourselves a really nice pitching staff here, bullpen-wise and starting pitching-wise. What can I say? These guys have all competed well, and they all deserve it."

This actually turned out about as well as it could for the Cubs as the competition between Dempster/Marquis/Lieber spurred them on to having great Spring's and Wood was flat out dominant after his first week. It's doubtful that the Cubs will sit with five starters for the entire season, so having someone like Leiber coming out of the pen is invaluable. I'm not really sure how Lieber will pitch in the bullpen but as long as he throws strikes he should be ok.

Jack Cobra covers the Cubs, Bulls and sports in general on his blog, Cobra Brigade. He also writes for Yay Sports on Fridays.

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Wood Suffers Setback

Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood was scratched Wednesday because of lower back spasms. Chicago will reevaluate Woods on Thursday.

SI.com

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Power Outage For the Cubs?

Remember last season when it seemed like the Cubs would go weeks without hitting a home run and their offense would remain stagnant? It seemed to be such an issue that Cubs GM Jim Hendry was nearly forced to add Kosuke Fukudome to the mix this season in the hopes that it would solve the problem.....think again. So far this Spring, the projected 2-3-4-5 (Soriano, Lee, Ramirez and Fukudome) hitters for the Cubs have combined to hit.....3 homers. 3! Not worried about home runs? Well, they've also combined for only 12 extra base hits.....in 119 at bats. Folks, that's not good news.

Now can you see why the Cubs are still hoping to get Brian Roberts from the Orioles? With Alfonso Soriano seemingly past his days of 30+ steals and the meat of the Cubs order remaining powerless, the Cubs are going to have to find a way to manufacture runs this season. Having Ryan Theriot as the only real stolen base threat in the lineup isn't going to get the job done.  

Before we start fretting too much, I think we can all count on A-Ram and Soriano going for 30+ home runs but the power outage by Lee is.....disturbing. I don't expect 20+ home runs from Fukudome but the fact that he's hitting below .230 is......nerve wracking.

Jack Cobra covers the Cubs, Bulls and sports in general on his blog, Cobra Brigade. He also writes for Yay Sports on Fridays.

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• Zambrano Shines, Soriano Smashes, Wood Closes (03/17/2008)
• Marquis Pitches a Gem (03/14/2008)
• Soriano to Hit Second.....What? (03/13/2008)
• Pie to Have Testicular Surgery (03/11/2008)
• Cubs Bullpen Update - Marmol Dominates (03/10/2008)
• Pie's Job to Lose (03/10/2008)
• Owings Knocked Around By the Cubs (03/10/2008)
• Bruce Bochy and Lou Piniella (03/07/2008)
• These Things Could Ruin the Cubs Season (03/06/2008)
• Gross Homers in the 10th to Beat Cubs (03/05/2008)
• My First Spring Training Game (03/04/2008)
• DeRosa Eyes March 10th Return (03/03/2008)
• Soriano Out With Broken Finger (03/02/2008)
• Mitchell Report Probably Won't Lead To Suspensions (02/29/2008)
• Aramis Ramirez Is A Scratch (02/29/2008)
• Cubs Open Spring with Win (02/29/2008)
• Cubs Kick Off Spring Schedule Today (02/28/2008)
• DeRosa To Have Heart Surgery (02/27/2008)
• Cubs Looking Good So Far (02/26/2008)
• DeRosa Heads to Chicago for Possible Heart Surgery (02/25/2008)
• DeRosa Taken To Hospital (02/23/2008)
• Who's at Short? (02/21/2008)
• Ryan Dempster Is Motivated, But Can He Do the Job? (02/21/2008)
• Who Is Jose Ceda?? (02/19/2008)
• So Far...So Good (02/19/2008)
• Cubs Sign Alex Cintron (02/18/2008)
• Non-roster Guys With A Shot - Part 1 (02/16/2008)
• Ho Ho Kam Park, Mesa (02/15/2008)
• Kerry Wood, Closer? (02/15/2008)
• Pitchers and Catchers Workout (02/14/2008)
• Cubs 2008 Preview - Starting Pitchers (02/11/2008)
• 2008 Cubs Preview - Relievers (02/07/2008)
• 2008 Cubs Preview - Right Field (02/06/2008)
• Cubs 2008 Preview - Center Field (02/05/2008)
• Cubs 2008 Preview - Left Field (02/04/2008)
• Felix Pie, Chicago Cubs (02/03/2008)
• Ho Ho Kam Park, Mesa (02/03/2008)
• Cubs 2008 Preview: Catcher (01/31/2008)
• Cubs 2008 Preview - First Base (01/30/2008)
• Cubs 2008 Preview - Second Base (01/29/2008)
• Cubs 2008 Preview - Shortstop (01/25/2008)
• Cubs 2008 Preview - Third Base (01/24/2008)