Starter 5 Watch: Aaron Heilman

Wait, wait, wait! Sean Marshall throws three perfect innings and loses his spot atop the Starter 5 Watch? What gives?!?

Simple. Until Rich Harden throws a spring training pitch, Sean Marshall is officially the 4th starter in my book, while Harden is relegated to the DL Watch. No, I'm not placing too much stress on spring training action. I'm just drawing the simple philosophical conclusion that if you're not pitching, you're not a pitcher. When Rich Harden returns to the mound without consolation or apology to the media from Lou Piniella, that's when I'll assume he's fine. But the biggest sign of a pitcher with no arm troubles is the actual throwing of pitches.

But based on what I've seen from Heilman and Marshall (you know, the guys who actually pitch for a living), I'm not too worried about the rotation.

Starter 5 Watch: Sean Marshall

Look, there's not anything happening at this point in Cubs camp that is going to change the status of the Starter 5 Watch. But the announcement that Jeff Samardzija will be starting the Cactus League opener sets the table for a long, lively competition. 

But right now, Sean Marshall is the favorite, because the coaches say so. And they get to, so . . . yeah. I have to go with that right now.

Starter 5 Watch: Sean Marshall

I still have a hunch that Aaron Heilman will wind up as the Cubs' #5 starter before Spring Training is over, but when the manager says that Marshall "has a leg up" on the competition (Heilman, Jeff Samardzijia, and Chad Gaudin), you've gotta take the word of Sweet Lou seriously.

No matter who winds up in the five slot, I can't help but feel good about the state of the Cubbie pitching staff. When you have four legitimate candidates for the fifth spot, you really do have an embarrassment of riches in the bullpen.

Right now, I can't complain. We'll see how long that lasts.