By my count this
morning, the Cubs were carrying 14 pitchers on their 25-man roster. They must need all 14 to change a lightbulb
in the clubhouse.
Joe the Genius
Maddon wants that many—and more—to get through a game. Citing a stretch of close and extra-inning
contests, Maddon last night called on catcher Miguel Montero to pitch the ninth
in a 11-6 drubbing by the Yankees. So,
that makes 15 pitchers with an asterisk.
This way leads
to madness, folks. The Cubs sent down
Matt Szczur (who should give the White Sox a call and vice versa), which leaves
them with four outfielders, and that’s including Kyle Schwarber. Talk about a lack of flexibility, or a
disaster waiting to happen. I sure wouldn’t
want Schwarber risking injury running around where he doesn’t belong in late
innings.
The next big
thing in baseball will be to think of pitching in terms of quality, not quantity
(see Cubs, above). If you’ve got bad
pitching, the solution is not more of the same.
Conversely, good pitching should free up a roster for talented role
players like Matt Szczur. Oh, to own a
baseball team and impose my will on it.
Maybe in my next life.
No comments:
Post a Comment