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 Cubs lefty Rich Hill is having a very rough Spring this year as he is struggling to find the control on his pitches....which is the key to his success. If you remember back to when Hill initially came up to the Cubs, he only had two legit pitches (curveball and fastball) and at times he couldn't locate his fastball so teams would just 'sit' on his curveball and smack it all over the place. The same thing will happen this year if Hill, who walked six in 1.1 innings yesterday, doesn't get this figured out. Manager Lou Piniella doesn't seem worried though:
"First of all, he has good Major League stuff," Piniella said. "Second,
last year, for a young pitcher, I thought he handled himself quite well
and helped us win a division, and really one of these years, this young
man should have a breakout year. We were hoping this would be the year
for him. He's got to throw strikes, obviously."
With all of that being said, I think the Cubs are going to probably not trade Jason Marquis just in case this Hill issue doesn't get worked out. Hill came into camp with the hopes of quickening his delivery to home plate with runners on base and while I'm not sure if that's the main cause for these issues, any change in a pitchers habit can be troublesome.
In other Cubs news.....Kerry Wood was back on the mound yesterday after dealing with back spasms on Wednesday. Wood is now the clear cut favorite to win the closers job as he's had an outstanding Spring thus far.....Kosuke Fukudome played centerfield for the first time yesterday and did a fine job in the field but went 0-4 at the plate to drop his average to .205.......Michael Wuertz continued his strong Spring by throwing an inning and striking out two. Wuertz has not given up a run yet in 8 IP.
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Hill's not getting any younger. He might want to have that breakout year sometime soon to capatilize and increase his bank account funds. At least right now, they have that flexibility in the starting rotation.
Well, he's only 28 and has had one full year in the majors. He went to college so it's not like he's been in the organization since he was 19. He's had issues in the past with playing mindgames with himself. He obviously has the talent but it all starts with him throwing strikes.
Worried at all about fukudome?
I'm not worried about him yet. Lee isn't doing any better than Fukudome. The part I worry about with him is if the fan base treats him like Jacque Jones. He's going to have his hands full adjusting to the US, Chicago, and the MLB. Having a fan base turn against him would destroy his psyche.
I would hope they give Fukudome a little more slack
Brandon Inge for Michael Wuertz?
not a chance in Hell