There is little news coming from the Cubs as the season winds to an end.
But there are little tidbits and rumors that begin to create a bigger picture.
First, the shutdown of Jeff Samardzija was interesting. The reason was that this was the most innings he had pitched since 2008. A starter to reliever and now a converted starter is a different mind set for a pitcher, a different routine. Since the Cubs have been out of the race since May, there really was no reason for the Cubs to even start Samardzija this weekend. But they did. And he went out and threw his best game of the year: a complete game victory over the Pirates.
Afterward, the Cubs web site writer reports that Samardzija is slated to be the #1 or #2 starter in the rotation in 2013. That is good news for Samardzija, but a question mark for the rest of the staff.
Then, there is a rumor that after six weeks of rest, Matt Garza is still not throwing a baseball. The implication is that his elbow injury is much worse than we were led to believe in July. An injured Garza equates to zero trade value so one would expect he would return to the Cubs for 2013. But if he needs to have surgery, Garza may not even be in the picture for most of 2013. Either scenario is bad news for the Cubs.
Another piece of news was that the Cubs continue to purge old management employees.
The Cubs have dismissed six members of the Minor League coaching staff, including Dave Bialas, who has been with the organization for 18 years, most recently as Triple-A Iowa's manager. Bialas was the Cubs' Minor League field coordinator for 10 seasons before returning to managing this past season for the first time since 2001.
Also gone are Class A Daytona pitching coach Marty Mason, Class A Peoria manager Casey Kopitzke and hitting coach Barbaro Garbey, and Mesa Rookie League pitching coach Frank Castillo and hitting coach Jason Dubois. Kopitzke is headed to Marquette University to enroll in its sports law program. Castillo and Dubois both played for the Cubs. Garbey was in his third season with the Chiefs and seventh in the Cubs organization. Kopitzke was in his fourth season as a Minor League manager in the Cubs' system.
It means that Epstein and Hoyer are on a drive to replace all the old Hendry-Tribune baseball employees with their own people. It is consolidation of power and loyalty. It is also a move to insulate the baseball side from the Tribune dominated business side run by Crane Kenney. It foretells a power struggle.
It also may be an indictment of the minor league system which continues to lack the development of skilled major league players. Catcher Steve Clevenger's antics in the Nationals series sums up the point: throwing at Bryce Harper because the Nationals were continuing to play hard in the 5th inning up 5 runs is no excuse to throw at a batter. Clevenger claims he was sticking up for his team. But it was a boneheaded move and instigated another on field scrum. Clevenger was suspended one game by the league. The result may be he will lose his job, because the new front office has brought in former A's catcher Antony Recker, another career minor leaguer who has some power numbers in AAA. Recker is not a long term solution at catcher, but he is another AAA guy filling a roster spot in the short term.
Epstein and Hoyer are looking to fill the system with "their" guys. While it is normal to blame the previous administration for the inability to develop talent, the move to consolidate all aspects of the operation will lead to full accountability on Epstein in the near future. The question is whether the Cubs can hold on long enough for his talent to reach the majors.
The Cubs drafted many pitchers in June, but none will be ready for at least 2 years. This puts the weakness of the Cubs current minor league system in the spotlight. Here are the last of the Hendry era starters vying for a rotation spot next season: Rusin, Raley, and Coleman. None have impressed. Further, Epstein's pitchers on the 40 man roster for next season are not much better: Brigham, Castillo, Concepcion, Germano, Socolovich, or Volstad. Vizcaino is on the 60 day DL for arm surgery and his prognosis for 2013 is unknown.
In the best case situation, the 2013 Cubs rotation is Garza, Samardzija, Vizcaino, T. Wood and Germano. In the worst case it is Samardzija, T. Wood, Germano, Volstad and Rusin.
The other tidbit last week was the promotional special featuring Jorge Soler, the Cubs $30 million Cuba exile outfielder who just finished up in short stint in Class A. A thirty minute special on a Cubs prospect is early propaganda to try to keep some level of nominal interest in the Cubs as the season ticket renewals are mailed to fans. But even if the Cubs try to fast track their new signees like Soler and Almora, they will start at best in AA next season. And if there is that arbitrary 500 AAA at bats promotion milestone, they will not be able to reach Wrigley until mid 2014. If Brett Jackson and Josh Vitters continue to struggle under .200 BA, the move to promote may become acute if projected season ticket sales drop 25 percent this off season.
