Two takeaways
from the 18-5 drubbing the Cardinals administered to the Cubs yesterday: You need good pitching to win, and more
pitching isn’t necessarily the same as good pitching.
Cubs’ manager
Joe “The Genius” Maddon used three position players—catcher Victor Caratini,
infielder Tommy LaStella and outfielder Ian Happ—on the mound in addition to three
normal relievers; all of them followed starter Jon Lester, who gave up eight
earned runs in three-plus innings of work.
Going into the game, the Cubs were carrying thirteen pitchers. By using three position players, Maddon in
effect increased his staff to sixteen.
Way to go, Joe.
And how would I
have handled the situation? The three
position players pitched 3-1/3 innings; any one of them could have done
that. Of course, a good or even a mediocre
knuckleballer could have done it, too. Oh,
where have you gone, Hoyt Wilhelm, Phil Niekro, Tim Wakefield….
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