Will Russell start again for Cubs?
You could hardly blame Cubs manager Mike Quade for not wanting to think too far ahead Wednesday night.
Quade, no doubt like most people at Wrigley Field, wasn’t afraid to say he was “baseballed out” after a doubleheader in frigid temperatures.
But sooner rather than later, the Cubs are going to have to decide on a starting pitcher for next Tuesday’s game against the Rockies at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs may have to go away from lefty James Russell, who gave up 7 hits and 4 runs, including 3 homers, in 4 innings of Wednesday’s nightcap. That’s on the heels of 7 hits and 5 runs (4 earned) in 1 innings in his first major-league start last week at Houston.
Although left-handed batters are hitting just .111 against Russell, righties have a batting average/on-base/slugging line of .469/.485/.844 line against Russell. Last year right-handed batters hit .308 off Russell, and lefties hit .238.
So what to do if the Cubs decide against Russell?
They could simply keep the roster the way it is and start Jeff Samardzija. But he has walked 14 in 11 innings out of the pen, and pitch-count issues could become a factor. There are a couple of minor-league options to keep an eye on. Right-hander Thomas Diamond, who pitched in 16 games for the Cubs last year, is at Class AAA Iowa, where he is 0-1 with an 8.78 ERA and a WHIP (walks plus hits per 1 inning pitched) of 1.95. Let’s remember that the Pacific Coast league is extremely hitter friendly and that we’re looking at small sample sizes.
There is another, interesting, option. Right-hander Austin Bibens-Dirkx, who will be 26 on April 29, is 1-1 with a 7.31 ERA. His WHIP is a tidy 1.25, and he has struck out 20 while walking only three in 16 innings.
The Cubs plucked the former Seattle Mariners minor-leaguer out of the independent Golden League in 2009, when he started the season with Victoria.
At Class AA Tennessee last year, Bibens-Dirkx was 5-3 with a 3.27 ERA before going 5-4 with a 4.61 ERA at Iowa. He’s not on the 40-man roster, but the Cubs have room.
Tough-luck Garza:You had to admire Matt Garza for saying he didn#146;t care about individual wins as a pitcher after getting a no-decision in Wednesday#146;s 2-1 Cubs victory over the Padres in 11 innings.The Cubs have 5 quality starts this year #8212; Garza has 2, Carlos Zambrano has 2 and Randy Wells has 1. Garza is 0-2 with a 4.74 ERA and a WHIP of 1.66. He#146;s been unlucky on a couple of fronts: run support and the number of hits falling in against him. In 4 starts by Garza so far, the Cubs have scored a grand total of 6 runs. While Garza has been in games, the Cubs have scored 5 runs. They#146;ve been shut out in two of Garza#146;s starts, and they scored 1 run while he was on the mound Wednesday. Another stat that the sabermetrically inclined like to look at is BABIP, or batting average on balls in play. In other words, it#146;s what happens when Garza doesn#146;t walk someone, strike him out or give up a home run. The league average on BABIP is generally around .300. For Garza, it#146;s a whopping .471, which means it should start #147;normalizing#148; toward .300 before too long. Jackson wowing them:How long will the Cubs be able to keep Brett Jackson down on the farm? Their No. 1 draft pick from 2009 is off to a torrid start for Class AA Tennessee. In Wednesday#146;s 9-5 victory over Carolina, Jackson fell a single shy of the cycle. For the season, he#146;s 18-for-43, and his hitting line is .419/.544/.721. The on-base plus slugging (OPS) is 1.265. Jackson has 3 doubles, 2 triples, 2 homers and 10 RBI. He also has 6 stolen bases. The 12 walks and 10 strikeouts also represent a good early-season sign for the Cubs. The 22-year-old Jackson is the Cubs#146; center fielder of the future. Whether that future begins this year depends on several things: the Cubs#146; position in the standings, the performance of Tyler Colvin, injuries and whether the Cubs get any serious feelers for Marlon Byrd. There#146;s absolutely no evidence that the Cubs want to trade Byrd, a solid veteran. But if Jackson keeps pushing, it#146;ll be hard to deny him for too much longer.