Chasing Cubtober: Target Practice (Starting Pitching)
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by LMedina86
One of the pleasant surprises of the 2007 season was the Chicago Cubs starting pitching. Most of their success can be attributed to being healthy. They only used eight starting pitchers—none of whom had to replace one of their top starters.
The Cubs free agent acquisitions, Ted Lilly and Jason Marquis, earned their money in 2007 by combining for 67 starts and 27 wins. Lilly put up an impressive 9-1 record after Cubs losses. Marquis posted an 8-3 record at Wrigley Field.
Former Cubs farm hands Rich Hill and Sean Marshall combined for 18 wins in 51 starts. Hill struck out a career-high 183 batters, while Marshall earned the fifth starter spot after Wade Miller started the season with a 10.54 ERA in three starts.
Carlos Zambrano posted a career-high in wins (18) and losses (13). In June and July he pitched like an ace, but struggled in the first two months and again in a winless August.
With that said, you can never have enough starting pitching and the Cubs could use another starter to solidify that rotation.
A legit number two starter would slide Marquis down to the fifth spot in the rotation, where his league average numbers wouldn’t be hurting the team. The best free agent option to fill that role would be Curt Schilling.
In his blog, Schilling listed the Cubs as one of the twelve teams he would like to pitch for. He is rumored to be looking for a one-year deal worth around $13 million, which is a bargain for a pitcher of Schilling’s caliber.
Though he doesn’t have nearly the stuff he used to have, Schilling’s numbers would benefit from a move to the National League where he would not have to face the designated hitter. It helped Lilly drop his ERA from 4.31 in 2006 to 3.83 in 2007.
Another thing that makes Schilling attractive is his 11-2 postseason record. Schilling would be the big game pitcher that could put the Cubs over the top in 2008.
After Schilling, there is a major drop off in talent in the free agent market. According to the Chicago Tribune’s Paul Sullivan, Japanese starter Hiroki Kuroda is on the Cubs wish list. Kuroda projects to be a number three or four starter, and would not require an expensive posting fee like fellow Japanese starter Daisuke Matsuzaka.
The trade market could include names like Johan Santana, Erik Bedard and C.C. Sabathia. Acquiring any of them is highly unlikely and would require a combination of top prospects and Major League-ready talent.
If the Cubs cannot secure a starter via an off-season acquisition, going with a young, cheap starter such as Marshall, Kevin Hart, Sean Gallagher or even Donnie Veal would be a better option.
