What's next for Cubs? More Castro, a reset rotation

Posted May 24, 2010 11:00 pm

By Bruce Miles

The traditional Memorial Day milepost for baseball doesn't come until next week, but the Cubs will be busy playing a game in Pittsburgh that day.

So now is as good a time as any to assess a few things related to the Cubs.

Heading into Tuesday night's series opener against the Dodgers, the Cubs are a shade below mediocre (21-24) and 5 games behind the Cardinals in the National League Central.

They ranked eighth in the NL in runs scored entering Monday's league action, fifth in homers, 10th in on-base percentage and 10th in earned run average (4.16).

The Cubs have gotten this far with a shaky bullpen and without infield corner men Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez pulling their weight. Lee is batting .218 with 5 homers, and Ramirez is at .160 with 4 homers.

A year ago after 45 games, the Cubs were 23-22 and 4 games behind the Cards. Lee was hitting .242 with 5 homers, and Ramirez was on the shelf, having just dislocated his left shoulder.

So things look about the same - minus a Milton Bradley and plus a Marlon Byrd - as they did a year ago at this time. The Cubs managed to hold a share of first place in early August before fading.

Here are some things to watch as the weather heats up:

Castro up, Theriot down? The Cubs have called up shortstop phenom Starlin Castro once -- from the minor leagues.

Maybe they need to call him up to the top of the batting order for a long-term look.

Manager Lou Piniella's usual M.O. has been to bat Kosuke Fukudome first against right-handed pitching with Ryan Theriot second.

But Theriot has had a poor May, with a hitting line of .263/.280/.275. He has not drawn a walk since May 1. Theriot's walks-to-strikeouts ratio started going the wrong way last year, and he currently has 7 walks and 25 strikeouts.

In the past, a move down to the No. 8 hole has helped Theriot. Piniella can do this again and move Castro up to the second spot.

Castro has reached base via hit, walk or error in all 16 games he has played, hitting safely in 14. His hitting line is .350/.409/.500. He has 6 walks and 6 strikeouts.

Those numbers are based on a small sample size, but Castro has not shown any signs of being unable to handle anything thrown - and in recent days, hit - at him.

A careful Marshall plan: Piniella tends to fall in love with relief pitchers who are doing the job. There's nothing wrong with that, as long as arms aren't being abused.

Sean Marshall has become the only pressure-situation setup man Piniella seems to trust in recent days, and he has not been shy about throwing Marshall out there.

Since May 12, Marshall has worked in 7 games over a 12-day span, giving up 3 hits and no runs.

After working 4 games over a five-day period from May 14-18, Marshall had 3 games off in a row before working the final two games of a road trip.

With a Cubs off-day Monday, the workload doesn't look excessive, and Marshall has enjoyed an outstanding May, with an ERA of 0.79 while holding hitters to an .057 batting average.

It will help Marshall and the Cubs if lefty John Grabow can find it, and if righty Bob Howry has anything left in the tank after his recent signing.

Resetting the rotation: The Cubs said Carlos Zambrano threw 73 pitches at Monday morning's simulated game as he preps to start again after an unhappy stint in the bullpen. The restart could happen next week in Pittsburgh.

The problem is that none of the Cubs' five starters already in the rotation has thrown poorly. One of them will have to go to the bullpen. It might be lefty Tom Gorzelanny, but the Cubs already have lefties Marshall, Grabow and James Russell in the pen.

It's a situation that bears watching. The Cubs don't have a true long reliever, and Gorzelanny could fit that bill.

The middle: Alfonso Soriano and Geovany Soto can't carry the offense forever. In fact, Soto's line in May is only .200/.365/.320. The saving grace is that he's still taking his walks.

But the offense will go the way Lee and Ramirez go. Lee began heating up in May last year, but it hasn't happened this year, with his May line being .232/.319/.329. For the season, his OPS is .664. By comparison, Theriot has an OPS of .669, and he has not hit a homer.

Ramirez has been bothered by a sore left hand, and the Cubs said tests, including an MRI, over the weekend, proved negative. The most alarming part of Ramirez's game is his strikeout total: 40 in 156 at-bats after he struck out 43 times in 306 at-bats last year.

In June of last year, Lee hit .333 with 6 homers. He's a .317 lifetime hitter in June. The Cubs wouldn't mind a typical Lee June beginning in the final days of May.

Cubs scouting report

Cubs vs. Los Angeles Dodgers at Wrigley Field

TV: Comcast SportsNet Tuesday and Thursday; Channel 9 Wednesday

Radio: WGN 720-AM

Pitching matchups: The Cubs' Ryan Dempster (2-3) vs. Clayton Kershaw (4-2) Tuesday at 7:05 p.m.; TBA vs. Chad Billingsley (5-2) Wednesday at 7:05 p.m.; TBA vs. John Ely (3-1) Thursday at 1:20 p.m.

At a glance: The Dodgers took two of three from the Tigers in L.A. over the weekend. They're 25-19 and 1 game behind the Padres in the NL West. The Cubs were 3-5 against the Dodgers last year, 2-2 at Wrigley Field. Rafael Furcal (hamstring) could come off the DL to start the series. Andre Ethier, who leads the Dodgers in several key offensive categories, is on the DL with a broken pinkie. The Cubs' Derrek Lee is 1-for-12 vs. Billingsley. The Dodgers lead the NL in OBP (.347), while the Cubs are 10th (.334). The Cubs are 10th in ERA, at 4.16. The Dodgers are 11th, at 4.32.

Next: St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field, Friday-Sunday</p

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