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.

Can I borrow that bloody sock?

Curt Schilling is pondering a comeback, and he's got the Cubs and/or the Rays in his sights.

I don't know quite how to feel about this . . . yeah, it would be nice to have someone with that much experience on the playoff roster (because he's not starting the season with anyone). But that much experience comes in a 42-year-old package. And the way I see it, Schilling would still be the 5th starter, unlikely to see much or any starting action in the playoffs.

Of course, if any of the current aces were injured (or turned into deuces) I would majorly change my tune. I just don't know if I could ever get used to having his blog in this town. Do we need any more built-in controversy?

If it leads to winning a pennant . . . absolutely.

Man, He's Got Tight Quads

Milton Bradley left today's game with a tight quad after legging out a walk in his first at bat. I'm really not that alarmed, especially since it would give Micah Hoffpauir a place to play for awhile if Bradley did miss his customary 50 games.

Further allaying my anxiety is the fact that Bradley's contract is heavily laden with incentives for actually, you know, playing. I'm as excited as the next guy (overheard from Next Guy: "I'm actually kinda bored over here.") . . . Correction, I'm even more excited than the next guy that the Cubs are playing baseball again, but Spring Training games don't mean jack. The team results don't mean anything, and the individual stats don't mean anything. I still remember when Nomar set the Cactus League on fire, prompting Peter Gammons to predict an MVP year for the Cub shortstop. I think he wound up with a negative batting average in April. 

So, yeah. Not scared. Not scared. But still . . . um, let's not lose anybody else during the intense base-on-balls drills, mkay?

I Promise

. . . and this isn't just based on his grand slam to open up spring training, Micah Hoffpauir will steal the starting first-base job from Derrek Lee. He won't win the job based on his performance in the spring, but Lee better pray for his own health. If Lee spends any time on the DL this year, Hoffpauir won't be giving the job back to him. And if the double-play parade continues for #25, he'll be grabbing some bench before the All-Star break.

It's beginning to look a lot like baseball.

Ladies, gentlemen . . . prepare to pee your pants. Chicago Cubs baseball is on the air. There's no need to type any further. Let's just all relax and soak in the moment.




Okay, that's enough soaking. Go change your drawers quick before the first pitch.

Play ball!

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.

A-Fraud + A-Roid =

A-Freud

Terrible joke. Terrible photoshop. Terrible execution of a terrible idea. Yet . . . here it is, and I am laughing at myself.