Reliever Les Lancaster was asked to start a minor-league game Saturday, prompting speculation that Mike Harkey and Rick Sutcliffe would not be ready to open the season.
Until Saturday, Lancaster had been penciled in as a reliever. But he is being considered for a spot in the rotation if Harkey and Sutcliffe aren`t healthy in two weeks.
”They told me they want me to get innings, so I guess that means starting,” Lancaster said before his outing at Mesa`s Fitch Park. ”I`ve only been going two innings at a time, so I`ve got to stretch it out a little.”
Lancaster started only six times in 55 appearances last season, but was 3-1 with a 3.66 earned-run average. He has made 27 starts in 168 big-league appearances.
The Cubs have assumed that Sutcliffe won`t be ready, but Harkey had appeared to be improving in his two outings. If only one of the two isn`t healthy, Mike Bielecki would take the fifth spot in the rotation. If both aren`t healthy, that leaves the Cubs searching for a fifth man.
– Harkey is scheduled to pitch a B game Sunday against San Francisco.
– Sutcliffe believes he`ll be ready April 9. Saturday, he reported no pain one day after his first spring appearance, a 17-pitch stint.
”When the season opens, I imagine I am pitching the third or fourth game,” he said. ”I`ve got to get to the point where I can throw 100 pitches. It`s peaks and valleys. Last week, there were valleys, but now my strength`s coming back.”
– Jose Nunez, optioned by the Cubs last week, said he might be headed for Japan. Nunez said his agent, Joe Sroba, was talking to teams there but did not have a firm offer.
