Such as it is. When the Cubs get Wells and Cashner back, things should improve. Until then the best they can hope for is .500 baseball. The way they are playing, they are lucky to get that.
The Cubs, I think, are counting on getting by in two cycles of the rotation (10 games) with a 4-2 record when Dempster, Zambrano, and Garza pitch, and maybe 1-3 when Coleman and Russell pitch. This would be a reasonable scenario if Dempster pitched back to his form of the last three seasons. If he doesn't, they are in big trouble.
Actually, the performance of Coleman and Russell, while not especially edifying, has not been as bad as it looks on paper. Most of the time, the Cubs have been in these games, as was evidenced last night, but a combination of bad breaks and lack of production has doomed their efforts.
When the Cubs get their rotation in order, there is no reason they cannot play .600 ball if they get any production at all from their left-handed hitters. Right now that's a big if. Right now they can only really count on getting two or three runs a game, occasionally four or five hard-earned runs. Combined with really good pitching, which they got from Zambrano and Garza in Phoenix, they can win. Usually they will not win if the pitching is bad or mediocre.
This is a tough situation and I cannot see it improving until their rotation is intact and they get some production from Pena and Colvin. And they bench or trade Byrd. Even in addition to Colvin getting playing time at his expense, long term they need a left-handed hitting center-fielder.
Center field looks like the only place you can put a left-handed bat on this team as it is presently constructed, and you need a third left-handed bat at least to enhance Fukudome and Pena. I read where teams are putting out feelers for Byrd. Time to move him now when there is still a market.
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