Chad Fox helped beat the Cubs. Now he wants to join them.
Fox, who was the winning pitcher for Florida in that maddening Game 6 of the 2003 National League Championship Series, is one of a handful of possible pitching surprises in camp with the Cubs. His track record as a solid setup man, especially in odd-numbered years, suggests he could develop into a valuable resource in a work-in-progress bullpen.
“Going to the World Series was the greatest thing,” said Fox, who was sidelined with nerve damage in his right elbow last year. “You want to experience that again. Looking around at the teams that had interest in me, Chicago was a no-brainer for me. I know that this is a very good team and has a chance to do special things. I want to be a part of winning again.”
For the Cubs to give their stacked starting rotation a chance to run the table in October, they must prove their lineup has life after Sammy Sosa and their bullpen can do a better job holding leads.
While manager Dusty Baker says he is also looking at Joe Borowski and LaTroy Hawkins as possible closers, it is unproven Ryan Dempster who is expected to emerge as the closer.
The cast in front of Dempster is also somewhat uncertain as Kyle Farnsworth was traded to Detroit and Kent Mercker was not invited back.
Hawkins, Farnsworth and Mercker were the most worked members of the 2004 bullpen, making at least 71 appearances. Someone is going to have to fill the holes left by the departures of Farnsworth and Mercker.
Homegrown relievers Jon Leicester, Todd Wellemeyer, Will Ohman and Michael Wuertz all are solidly in the picture. But there is room for a surprise or two. That’s where Fox and possibly even a true long shot like Jermaine Van Buren could come in.
“We know how good Chad Fox can be,” general manager Jim Hendry said. “People don’t seem to remember it, but he was closing out games for Florida at times when [Ugueth] Urbina struggled. He was an important part of the team that won the World Series. He’s had his ups and downs, but check out how he’s pitched in odd-numbered years.”
Fox, 34, was drafted in 1992 and reached the big leagues in ’97, making 30 appearances for Atlanta. There are worse places to learn how to pitch. But Fox was traded to Milwaukee the following season and spent five years in the Brewers organization.
His best work came in 2001, when he was a setup man for Curtis Leskanic. He compiled a 1.89 earned-run average over 65 appearances, using a low-90s fastball and wicked slider to get 80 strikeouts in 66 2/3 innings. The slider took a toll on his elbow, however, and he underwent his second surgery the next season.
Fox opened 2003 with Boston but was traded to Florida at the trade deadline. That deal gave him the opportunity of his career, and he took advantage of it. Fox quickly earned manager Jack McKeon’s confidence and wound up working in nine of the Marlins’ 17 postseason games.
He vividly recalls the feeling when he and his Florida teammates arrived in Chicago for Game 6 of the NLCS. The Marlins were down three games to two and knew they’d have to beat both Mark Prior and Kerry Wood to survive.
“We just had a great feeling,” Fox said. “I can’t describe it, but we were loose, we were still confident. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, not facing Prior and Wood, but we didn’t think they could beat us. We thought we’d find a way to win, and that’s exactly how it turned out.
“That squad came together like nothing I’ve been a part of. We were one big family. It was a good, good mix.”
Fox worked only 12 games in 2004 because of nerve damage in his twice-rebuilt elbow. There was little he could do but rest it with an eye on 2005.
“I’m healthy, ready to go,” he said. “I’m at full strength coming into spring training. I’m ready to prove to these guys I’m healthy. If I’m healthy, I know I can help this team.”
Van Buren doesn’t know much, at least not about big-league pitching. The 24-year-old from Hattiesburg, Miss., has been on a wild ride the last couple of years.
A former second-round pick of the Colorado Rockies, he wound up pitching in the independent Central League in 2003 after being cut loose by the Rockies. The Cubs signed him a year ago on the recommendation of special assistant Gary Hughes, started him in the bullpen in the low-A Midwest League and watched in amazement as he climbed three rungs to Triple-A Iowa by season’s end.
“It’s a nice experience to be here,” Van Buren said. “I look around this room and see some future Hall of Famers–Greg Maddux, Wood, [Carlos] Zambrano, Prior. Those are great pitchers. It’s great to be in their company.”
Van Buren’s fastball rarely tops 90 m.p.h., and he does not have a trick pitch. He has a hitch in his delivery that seems to affect the timing of hitters, however.
“I try to keep hitters off balance,” he said. “I had a lot of fun last season because I got to pitch with the game on the line. I really liked that.”
Van Buren wound up as the closer at Double-A West Tenn almost by accident. But it was opposing batters who were scratching their heads. He held them to an almost-criminal .134 batting average over 51 appearances, striking out 64 in 53 innings.
Not bad work for a guy who had never pitched out of the bullpen.
There’s only one way to find out whether his style of pitching can be successful against the best hitters in the world. The Cubs will give him, and several others, a chance to surprise them this spring.
