After right-hander Carlos Marmol was called up from Triple-A Iowa to join the bullpen on Friday, Cubs manager Lou Piniella alluded to more “surprising” moves on the pitching staff?
“We’re going to make some changes with our alignment,” Piniella said. “We’ll have some interesting things Monday or Tuesday.”
Was Piniella talking about the rotation or just the bullpen?
“Talking about some interesting things,” he replied.
Piniella could be talking about anything from a revamping of the towel drill to a change in the fifth starter’s spot.
The likeliest scenario involves the promotion of left-hander Sean Marshall, who pitched eight two-hit innings Thursday at Triple-A Iowa and is 2-0 with a 1.82 earned-run average. Marshall could replace Angel Guzman in the rotation on the upcoming West Coast trip, though that would give the Cubs three lefties in the rotation.
Piniella wasn’t dropping any clues.
“We’ll give you some things you can [speculate] on yourselves this weekend,” he said.
Marmol was 4-1 with a 3.95 earned-run average in seven starts at Iowa and throws in the mid-90s. The Cubs project him as a reliever but have built up his arm strength in the minors to get him ready to start.
General manager Jim Hendry said he believes Bob Howry and Scott Eyre will come around, calling them “guys who have done well for a long time and guys who have put up harder velocities the last couple of years.”
Both Howry and Ryan Dempster stepped up Friday.
“It’s not like someone gave us a short window,” Hendry said. “Bobby and Scott have thrown well for two, three years in a row. Dempster was on a pretty good roll until [Thursday], and except for the [game-winning home run April 22 by Albert] Pujols, he has been pretty flawless. For whatever reason our velocities have been a little inconsistent.”
Hendry said doesn’t think Howry and Eyre are feeling the effects of their previous workloads. He said Howry’s history shows he’s “a slower starter in his velocity.”
Howry said his recent back injury from moving a barbecue grill had nothing to do with his inconsistency and reiterated he was not overworked last year.
“Poor pitching,” he said. “Nothing else.”
With multiyear contracts in hand, Howry and Eyre appear safe, unless the Cubs determine Eyre’s ineffectiveness is injury-related and decide to place him on the disabled list.
The only certainty for now is Piniella enjoys keeping everyone guessing.
“We’re going to make some changes,” Piniella said. “You see Marmol coming in here. That’s part of it. You will all know in due time..”
And with that Piniella was gone.
