Cubs Spring Training Updates (Part II: Pitchers)
It is a few weeks into Spring Training and the position battles on the Cubs are moving along. I covered the hitters yesterday, and today we will look at the pitchers. There are some health issues of concern, as well as some battles for spots in the middle of the bullpen. Here’s your update:
Starters:
Carlos Zambrano: Big Z will most likely be the opening day starter. He has looked pretty sharp in two short starts this spring, pitching 2 shutout innings in one and giving up a couple runs over 3 innings in the other. He has 8 strikeouts in 5 innings of work.
Ryan Dempster: Dempster also has had two starts. He has a big contract to live up to this year, and so far has looked sharp, posting a 3.60 ERA in 5 innings of work.
Ted Lilly: Lilly threw two scoreless innings for the Cubs early on, but has since joined the USA team in the WBC. He hasn’t gotten a chance to pitch there yet.
Rich Harden: The Cubs are bringing Harden along slowly, but he did finally get into game action yesterday and pitched two scoreless innings. Keep it moving slow Cubbies, we need him in October.
Sean Marshall: The battle for the 5th starter spot seems to be securely in Marshall’s hands. In his three appearances he has only given up 1 run over 9 innings. He also hasn’t walked a single hitter. The fact that he is a lefty gives him a huge advantage as well.
Jeff Samardzija: Jeff seems to be trying to lose the battle for the 5th spot. He has a 6.75 ERA and has not had a good outing in his three appearances. He may not be in the bullpen either, as the Cubs may want to keep him stretched out in Iowa so he can start later in the season.
Aaron Heilman: 7 strikeouts and no runs in 5 innings? Heilman really wants this job, but it will take an entire dominant spring to win the starting spot. That being said he is looking like a very good candidate for a spot in the bullpen.
Chad Gaudin: Gaudin is the only one who really thinks hes in the running for a starting spot. He has 3 appearances 
and 2 starts so far and they were not going to well. He did have two scoreless innings the other day, and he will likely be coming out of the bullpen.
Bullpen:
Kevin Gregg: He has looked good so far in the contest for who will be the Cubs closer. In 4 innings he hasn’t given up any runs and has 4 strikeouts. He has also only given up 2 hits and a walk.
Angel Guzman: It’s been an up and down spring for Angel. He was once the future of the pitching staff but he isn’t even making that strong a push to be in the bullpen this spring.
Kevin Hart: In 4 innings he has looked terrible, giving up 5 earned runs, 1 homerun and 2 walks. Ouch.
Neil Cotts: He has been lights out. He hasn’t given up a run yet and he looks to be solidifying his spot as the lefty in the bullpen.
Luis Vizcaino: You can almost say that he has played his way out of the discussion in the bullpen. He blew a save and can’t seem to even get out of any jams. If he doesn’t turn it around soon, he will definitely not be on the team come April.
Carlos Marmol: He had one decent outing early in the spring, but nothing special. His pitching in the WBC has been a bit suspect. He took a tough loss last night in the 11th and the Dominican Republic has been eliminated from the tournament, so expect to see Carlos back in Cubbie blue in the next few days.
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