The Cubs have three left-handers in the bullpen, which theoretically gives manager Dusty Baker plenty of late-inning options.
But his main left-handed setup man, Mike Remlinger, has much more success facing right-handed hitters, limiting them to a .227 average over his career, including .191 in 2004.
Remlinger, tagged with the loss Friday, has yielded four runs in five innings thus far. Should Baker go with newcomer Cliff Bartosh or Glendon Rusch when the game is on the line and a tough left-handed batter is coming up?
“I’m hoping [Remlinger] can pitch his way out,” Baker said.
Baker brought in right-hander Chad Fox to get left-handed hitters out Friday because Fox, like Remlinger, goes against conventional wisdom. He has better success against left-handed hitters than right-handed ones. Unfortunately for the Cubs, that plan didn’t pan out, either, as Fox gave up the game-winning hit to left-handed-hitting Bobby Hill.
“The good thing about `Rem’ is that his arm feels sound,” Baker said. “That’s the one positive. [Friday] night, nobody got left-handers out.
“Young Bartosh, we have to get him into a pressure situation sooner or later and see how he does.
“Right now, we want to walk him through this until he’s at full strength, which is what you do with young players. You want to build him up, not destroy him.”
Rusch could be the man Baker eventually turns to, but he had made only four appearances going into Saturday’s game because he’s primarily a long man.
Lineup conundrum
Derrek Lee, the team’s hottest hitter in April, was batting sixth in Saturday’s lineup, while Nomar Garciaparra, who came in hitting .158, was batting third.
Has Baker considered switching the two to get Lee more at-bats?
“No, not yet,” he said. “You can’t hide people in the lineup, no matter what you do. At the same time, I wanted to separate [Jeromy] Burnitz and [Todd] Hollandsworth.”
Borowski watch
Joe Borowski threw off flat ground from 130 to 150 feet for 10 minutes before Saturday’s game and said he’s recovering much quicker than he anticipated from the broken bone in his right wrist.
“It’s coming along faster than normal, but it feels like it’s taking forever,” Borowski said. “I’m starting to get to the point where it’s starting to drive me nuts.
“As soon as you get to the point where you don’t feel discomfort when you do it, you want to jump right back in there. But you have to realize you still have to ease your way into it. Today was a big step.”
