Hill focusing on mechanics at Iowa

DES MOINES, Iowa - Somewhere between the end of last season and the start of this one, Rich Hill lost control of the strike zone - and his spot in the Chicago Cubs' rotation.

The Cubs viewed Hill as one of the anchors of their staff after the 28-year-old left-hander went 11-8 in 2007. They never expected Hill to lose his command so quickly, though, and stuck with him despite a terrible spring. But when Hill walked 18 in his first 19ˆ¿ innings of the season, the Cubs had seen enough.

On May 2, when he walked four in the first inning against St. Louis, Hill was yanked after getting just two outs. The Cubs optioned him to Triple-A Iowa the next day, with the hope it would help Hill solve his control problems and regain the form of last season, when he had a 3.92 ERA.

Though Hill acknowledges that his demotion to Iowa was difficult to accept, he's determined to use it as an opportunity to fix his mechanics.

"I'm not the type of person who's going to sit there and not work. I consider myself somebody who works hard in any situation," Hill said, adding he's "here for a reason, to work and get better."

What makes Hill's plight all the more baffling is that he had shown solid control in the majors until this season. In 195 innings last season, Hill issued 63 walks. But Hill has been struggling to consistently find his release point, and that's been one of the reasons for his unexpected wildness.

"I've been having a tough time mechanically since the beginning of spring training. So just to come down here and work on things that you can't exactly work on in games up there, that's the biggest part of it," Hill said.

Hill's performance through two starts at Iowa has been encouraging. He threw 5ˆ¿ scoreless innings on Sunday, striking out eight in a 3-0 win over Portland. So far, Hill has a 1.69 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 10ˆ¿ innings with Iowa.

But he hasn't solved his control problems quite yet. Hill has walked five batters, including four against Portland.

"He's got good enough stuff where he's getting a lot of outs even when he doesn't have the best mechanics," Iowa Cubs manger Pat Listach said. "He's competing. He's come down here with a positive attitude."

Hill said his demotion has been easier to take because he knows Chicago has not lost faith in him.

"They said, 'It's not a demotion (because) of performance, it's just that we see that you need to work on some things, and soon as you get that figured out you'll right back up here,'Ȧ" said Hill, who is 1-0 with a 4.12 ERA in five starts for Chicago this season.

There's been no timetable set for Hill's return to Chicago, but both he and the Cubs are hoping it comes sooner than later. Of course, that depends on how quickly Hill can put his control issues behind him.

"We're watching Hill's progress really carefully," Chicago manager Lou Piniella said. "He's a kid we were counting on."