Schwindel happy to pitch, but hopes his run is over
mmcgraw@dailyherald.com
After making his third mound appearance of the season on Wednesday, Cubs first baseman Frank Schwindel said he's willing to pitch in a pinch whenever needed.
"I'm going to do as I'm told," Schwindel said before Thursday's game. "Nobody wants to see that. If I'm pitching three times in 10 days, that means things aren't going well for us.
"Our bullpen's been unbelievable the whole year. Every team goes through it. They (the Padres) are) hot right now, they're barreling everything, finding every hole. Just one of those tough patches where you've just got to grind through it. Better days are coming."
After one of his soft-tosses at Yankee Stadium was hit for a home run, Schwindel took a ribbing from late-night host Stephen Colbert. Showing the clip, Colbert said, "I'm no baseball player, and apparently neither is Frank Schwindel," before mockingly miming some soft throws.
"I didn't appreciate that one," Schwindel said. "I'd like to see him do it."
On the bright side, the New Jersey native now owns a major league record for slowest pitch ever hit for a home run. His 18.00 ERA could stand some improvement, but it's not the worst on the team.
"I'm in the record book for that and got a lot of good hitters out," he said. "I'll take the positives out of it, but I hope I don't have to pitch any more this year because that means were getting beat by a bunch. It's crazy how many position players have got innings this years.
"I work fast out there and get the ball over the plate, so I think that's all you can really ask for in that situation, just try and get out of it."
Making dubious history:
According to Cubs historian Ed Hartig, this was the first time the team has been outscored by 20-plus runs in consecutive series since 1879. The Cubs were outscored by San Diego 41-15, and by the Yankees 28-5.
Twitter: @McGrawDHSports