Sveum happy Marmol back as Cubs closer
Carlos Marmol looked an awful lot like the Carlos Marmol of old Friday. That’s good and bad.
Marmol threw 29 pitches (18 strikes) in the ninth inning and worked out of a self-created, bases-loaded jam to earn his first save since May 2.
Cubs manager Dale Sveum reinstated Marmol to the closer’s role after taking it away last month. Although there were a few scary moments Friday, the bottom line is that Marmol got the save.
If Marmol can have success, it will do wonders for a bullpen that was hurt by injuries and ineffectiveness early in the season, forcing several pitchers to work in roles for which they aren’t ideally suited.
“It’s huge,” Sveum said Saturday. “You’ve got a guy that’s obviously done it before, and you just get him on track to be able to throw strikes.
“That’s all you want. I don’t care if anybody goes out and throws strikes and they blow a save. That’s part of the game sometimes. Just staying away from the blown save because of walks and breakdowns like that.
“We really didn’t want to put some of these guys in these situations. Their stuff or whatever just doesn’t play to have put them in those situations. Their roles should be sixth-, seventh-, eighth-inning guys like that.”
Drilling it:Interim hitting coach James Rowson was out early Saturday afternoon with some of his charges, working on a soft-toss drill, in which he underhanded the ball to the hitter from short distance using a net parallel to the hitters#146; stances.#147;It#146;s just something that the guys wanted to work on today,#148; said Rowson, promoted from the system last week when Rudy Jaramillo was fired. #147;It#146;s just soft-toss, and the net is there to help them and show them to keep their swing compact.#148;Dale Sveum, a hitting coach by trade, endorsed the drill.#147;It#146;s just a drill to keep the bat in the strike zone longer and keep connected with your lower half when you swing the bat and you#146;re not shutting down your back side,#148; he said.#147;It just kind of keeps you fluid and your bat can#146;t get too far out of the strike zone. It#146;s got to go through the strike zone, not around the strike zone.#148;Draft picks sign:The Cubs have announced the signings of 15 players from this year#146;s amateur draft. They include right-handed pitcher Paul Blackburn out of Heritage High School in Brentwood, Calif., who was drafted with the 56th overall pick (compensation round between Rounds 1 and 2).Others include right-handed pitcher Josh Conway (fourth round), infielder Stephen Bruno (seventh round), left-handed pitcher Michael Heesch (eighth round) and catcher Chadd Krist (ninth round).Hill clears waivers: Catcher Koyie Hill, designated for assignment last week, cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Class AAA Iowa. Hill has the right to refuse the assignment and choose free agency.