Just a few weeks after being moved to the set up role in the Cubs’ bullpen, General Manager Jim Hendry announced that Carlos Zambrano will be headed back to the starting rotation. Neither Hendry or Piniella would specify exactly when Zambrano will actually make the move back into the rotation, but they did say that he would be used in long relief to get his arm ready to start. Zambrano compiled a 6.23 ERA in eight relief appearances.
It appears that the Cubs have almost no plan whatsoever on what to do with Carlos Zambrano. The original move to the bullpen seemed premature based on his past and his contract. Being one of the team’s highest paid players, he has to be more than just a bridge to the closer. The Cubs believed that moving him to a one inning role would allow him to throw with more velocity and just blow batters away. Instead, the opposite happened as his velocity actually dropped, routinely struggling to hit 90 mph. Now the team believes that moving him back into the rotation will increase his velocity because he does not start hitting his top speed until the fourth or fifth inning. Didn’t they know this before? If they knew that it took him a long time to get warmed up and to hit his top speed then why was he ever moved to the bullpen? This entire situation has reeked of desperation from the beginning, and now it seems they are just trying to move on.
The Cubs have won three games in a row to move back to 18-22. They are currently 5.5 games behind the surprising Cincinnati Reds who are led by former Chicago Cubs manager Dusty Baker. A five game road trip begins tonight in Philadelphia against the first place Phillies. Tom Gorzelanny (1-4, 3.60) will start tonight for Chicago. He has pitched well so far, but has received very little run support which is a major reason for his 1-4 record. The 47 year old Jamie Moyer (5-2, 4.57) who made his major league debut before I was even born (and I’m 21 years old!) will pitch for Philadelphia.
