Well, that didn’t go as planned. It was looking good early for the Cubs on opening day as Marlon Byrd hit a three run homer off Derek Lowe in his first at bat as a Chicago Cub. However, Carlos Zambrano gave that lead away in a hurry and then some as Atlanta responded with six runs of their own in the bottom of the first. Things just kept getting worse for the Cubs as Zambrano continued to meltdown and was pulled in the second inning.
1.1 IP, 6 H, 8 ER, 2 BB. Not good. Certainly not the performance Lou Piniella was looking for from his unpredictable ace. Zambrano is being relied on to lead the pitching staff this season and he simply just needs to be better if the Cubs want to contend. Hopefully we’ll be able to look back on this and just chalk it up to opening day jitters.
The bullpen did not provide much relief either as they surrendered eight more runs in a game the Cubs eventually lost 16-5. Credit Atlanta for taking advantage of their opportunities, but Cub pitchers issued 8 walks in this one which usually means big trouble. This was surprising to because Piniella had complimented his pitching staff on their control during spring training.
The good: Marlon Byrd is already a more valuable member of the team than Milton Bradley, the man he replaced, ever was. Also, Sean Marshall was tremendous in relief of Zambrano striking out five in just 2 2/3 innings while setting down all eight batters he faced. His curveball was deadly and had the Braves hitters looking lost. James Russell was also impressive in his major league debut throwing two scoreless innings.
The bad: Carlos Zambrano and the bullpen. The Cubs need consistency from their ace and this was not a good start. Concerning the bullpen, they were put in a bad spot due to Zambrano’s early exit, but the Cubs are looking for Jeff Samardzija to be a contributor this year. However, he was plagued by the same issues today that he faced last season, mainly control as he walked the first three batters he faced.
It’s generally wise not to read too much into one game in baseball as there are still 161 more games to be played. This team has a potent lineup and a pitching staff capable enough to make them a contender deep into the season. We will certainly find out much more about this team over the next few weeks.
The series will resume on Wednesday when Ryan Dempster faces off against Jair Jurrjens.
