Cub fans have lamented about the Cubs bullpen woes.
Wild man Marmol and Mr. Irrelevant Woods. The two latest examples of
of the pitching staff imploding into its self shame.
It is also the management of the pen that concerns some:
Dolis is being overworked and Russell is now the de facto closer.
Wood is injured more than rust on a 1972 Ford.
Camp warms up more times than actual game appearances.
Bowden only comes in to mop up games that are lost.
And Lenny Castillo may have been left at the airport after the second
road trip because he is MIA. (The Rule 5 claim has to stay on the roster
or he must be tendered back to the Phillies).
So the Cubs are playing games with in reality a four man bullpen:
Camp, Marmol, Dolis and Russell.
To say the Cubs starters are overproducing to compensate for the weak
bullpen would be an understatement.
I checked the standings to be amazed that the Astros are in third in the
NL Central. The Astros? Everyone gave them up for a AAA dead team.
How are the Astros doing it? Smoke and Mirrors?
Well, they are getting some hitting from their no-name middle infield;
and a couple of power hitters have been driving in runs. So they have a
middle of the pack offense.
The starting pitcher except for Wandy Rodruiguez have been HORRIBLE.
DREADFUL. GAWD-AWFUL. The other starters have ERAs of plus 6.00.
But what is key to early season success: the Astro bullpen has been stellar,
and closer Myers has 8 saves.
A stellar bullpen apparently is the key to the Astros success, counter intuitively,
the opposite of most GMs thoughts that the key to a pitching staff is great
starting pitching.
Look at the Cubs: new management BLEW UP the bullpen to bolster the
starting rotation, and the problem this season is the poor bullpen.
Now the Astros near .500 surprising season could crash and burn at any moment,
but it is an interesting fact that bullpens really do matter just as much, or in some
cases MORE THAN a starting rotation.
