Chris Volstad demotion leaves Cubs empty from Carlos Zambrano
BY GORDON WITTENMYER gwittenmyer@suntimes.com May 18, 2012 3:20PM
Updated: May 18, 2012 3:22PM
The Cubs chose the stage Carlos Zambrano made famous for his crosstown meltdowns to remind Chicago that they still haven’t gotten anything back for Zambrano and that $15.4-million they paid to get rid of him.
In fact, they assured they won’t get anything back for quite a while by optioning winless starting pitcher Chris Volstad to AAA Iowa Friday, making the announcement during the Cubs-Sox series opener.
Left-hander Travis Wood, who pitched well in a fill-in start for the Cubs on May 6, will join the roster to start in Volstad’s place Tuesday in Houston.
Volstad, acquired from the Marlins in the Big Z dump/trade in January, hasn’t won since before the All-Star break last year, with a major-league high 19 straight winless starts.
The Cubs are 0-8 when he starts this year, and his ERA rose to 7.46 Thursday night after lasting only two innings against the Philadelphia Phillies – his shortest start in three years.
Volstad wasn’t available following the move.
Asked after Thursday’s start what he does next, Volstad said, ``That’s a good question. I mean, we’ve been trying a lot of different things. I’ve just got to keep working. There’s no giving up, or no quit. This is going to get better.’’
