Two Bad Innings

The Cubs extended their winning streak to eleven with two big wins over the Cards before bullpen woes cost them the final two games over the weekend.  It was a shame to waste two good starts from Hendricks and Lackey, but, in the long view, it is no big deal.  The Cards gained no ground in the division race and four games were wiped off the books.

People are all crazy about the bullpen, but Rondon's outing was not that bad an augury for the future.  He threw hard, had good stuff, got in trouble and lacked command.  It is easy to panic right now and start signing has-beens and clubhouse nightmares like Papelbon.  I sincerely hope the front office resists the temptation.  Strop looks like he will return before the playoffs, and the injury to Lackey seems minor.

In general, the Cubs system is not producing young, reliable, exploitable arms in the way most teams do, so they are relatively dependent on trades and free agency to build a bullpen from other teams' failed projects.  Until that changes, the bullpen will always be a work in progress.  As long as the starters deliver, this is a manageable proposition.

One of the few worrying tendencies lately has been that the offense is wasting a lot of chances and not delivering hits with men in scoring position.  Some of this may be the function of the lineup.  Maddon plays everyone and plays the matchups. This is not going to change.  However, I must confess I do not like Zobrist batting cleanup.  Fowler, Bryant, and Rizzo are on-base at nearly a .400 clip, but the guy driving them in mostly is Russell, not Zobrist.  Also, I'm thinking there is no spot too low in the batting order for Heyward, who continues to excel in the field and disappoint at the plate.