Rockies Series

The Cubs managed to pull out a win to take the series 2-1.  Lester again pitched very well and this time Maddon went to Rondon in the ninth to preserve the win.  I've got to say that I much prefer Rondon in this role, or at least more of a mix and match situation for the ninth inning.  Motte had a good run, and he has turned out to be a better addition than I had originally thought, but he is basically a thrower, whereas Rondon seems to be developing into more of a real pitcher.

Trade rumors are still buzzing around the Cubs and I suppose they will continue to do so until the deadline on Friday at 3PM CDT.  The Cubs will not play again until after that hour, so one would suppose the players may have some anxious moments.  One guy who is pretty antsy is Starlin Castro, who supposedly went up to Maddon after he was pulled from the game Tuesday night.  According to Castro, Maddon assured him he would not be traded, but, if you read the fine print, he really was only reassured he had not been traded that night.

One wonders if the Cubs are willing to pull the trigger on a major deal at this point.  I have written about this in previous posts.  The Cubs are 6-7 since the break and are now 2 1/2 games back in the wild card chase.  They aren't hitting a lick these days except on rare occasions, which puts a lot of pressure on the pitching staff.  To their credit, the pitching has held up pretty well with the exception of the fifth starter role, which has been a problem from the start of the season.

So the fifth starter is a big need.  By all accounts, the Cubs are intrigued by Tyson Ross of the Padres.  Ross is certainly a good #5, maybe potentially better.  Rumor has it the Cubs are offering Castro and some lower level prospects, which would be a good deal for the Cubs.  The Padres are apparently more interested in Baez.  Right now, given Castro's poor performance, I don't blame them, but I would hesitate to trade Baez with all of his question marks.  At least not for Ross.  I would have been more comfortable dealing him for a genuine top of the rotation guy like Hamels.

When the Cubs sent down Richard, I rather thought they had a deal in the works, but, if there was one, it undoubtedly fell through.  That fifth starter is the biggest need, though, as there is very little going on down on the farm.  Wada was their most effective #5, but he is still hurt.  On this front, I doubt the Cubs are willing to deal serious talent for a rental like Price or even Samardzija.

If you look at the games played since the break, you might conclude the bullpen was the problem.  The two games the Cubs should have won for sure were the Friday night game vs. Atlanta and the Friday afternoon game vs. Philadelphia.  Both were lost by late inning failures in the bullpen, namely, Strop and Motte (later Soriano).  I kind of look at this matter differently, in that this need has to be weighed against what it would take to acquire a genuine stopper like Kimbrel.  Most of the Cubs bullpen failures have been more a result of overwork or overuse, really injudicious deployment of talent than the absolute lack of it.

The Cubs do need to straighten out the roster situation, though.  Right now they have thirteen pitchers, certainly one too many.  Of those, nine are relievers, which is a ridiculous number at this stage of the season, especially when you consider there are always one or two guys they never ever use floating around there.  Until yesterday, the Cubs were carrying Neil Ramirez, who has actually been hurt or on the verge of being hurt the whole time since returning from the disabled list.  Medina will almost certainly be sent down should the team acquire a fifth starter.

Still, one more guy has to go.  My candidate is Soriano, who has shown nothing and maybe should be disabled or just dumped.  Perhaps that is unfair to the player.  He has had rather little in the way of preparation since he was signed, but his performance so far is really a continuation of his meltdown last year with the Nationals.  It may be time for him to hang it up.  If he is still out there when the dust settles, it is likely that he becomes the next Edwin Jackson, at least in terms of the way he is used.

Which brings up the utility/bench player issue.  I can see the use of picking up a left-handed hitting outfielder, but, when you think about it, they may already have filled that need with Schwarber, who is likely to stick around even when Montero is activated.  Personally I think the team is more likely to look for help in the minors or in bringing someone off the DL, more likely LaStella and/or Baez.  These moves would be greatly facilitated by dumping Castro before the deadline.