Miller set to take the fifth
Veteran likely to be named No. 5 starter in Cubs rotation
TEMPE, Ariz. -- After his first start of spring training, the guy on the long and grinding road back from shoulder surgery sounded almost defiant in the face of what looked like long odds.
''I'm a starter, and I'm going to be a starter for a while as far as I'm concerned,'' Cubs right-hander Wade Miller said that day 2½ weeks ago.
Turns out he was right. Barring some kind of major meltdown or health setback when he makes his fourth start this afternoon against the Seattle Mariners, the 30-year-old Miller -- who hasn't pitched a full season since 2003 -- is expected to be named the Cubs' fifth starter this week.
Manager Lou Piniella all but made it official Sunday when he said he views Miller's top competitor, Angel Guzman, as a long reliever to open the season.
Piniella, who talked fruitlessly again with pitching coach Larry Rothschild about the possibility of paring down to 11 pitchers to start the season instead of 12, said he intends to ''keep all our pitchers'' as the Cubs enter the season. In other words, he said, ''Some people we can option out and keep, and some we can't.''
One they can't is Miller, who has a guaranteed $1.5 million contract this season and no options. If he doesn't make the big-league roster, he can become a free agent.
That's not going to happen at this point. In fact, Miller could be a linchpin for the Cubs' rotation, at least in the early going, if the progress he has shown this spring continues into the season. He could be the veteran with a high-performance track record (62-45 career record) that Mark Prior was supposed to be before disappearing from the radar, along with his command.
In almost five weeks of camp, Miller has become the anti-Prior, a hard-nosed competitor getting the most out of a fastball that has crept from the mid-80s to about 90 mph in velocity and a low slider that helps compensate for the curveball weakened by the thin, hot air of Arizona.
''He's been locating his pitches,'' Piniella said. ''He's been changing speeds. I've been pleased with what I've seen.''
Miller, who missed half of 2004 with shoulder problems that eventually required arthroscopic surgery after the '05 season, has built strength and endurance this spring, while would-be challengers such as Sean Marshall (injury), Neal Cotts (ineffectiveness) and Prior (both?) have fallen out of the running.
''I felt pretty good coming into camp,'' Miller said. ''But how my games have been going, I've been pretty pleased. I've always been kind of a slow starter, even the spring when I was 100 percent, before all the surgeries and everything. So I've been pleased with how I was able to throw strikes right away and not walk a lot of hitters.''
Miller made five so-so comeback starts for the Cubs last year after signing as a minor-league free agent before the season, and he said that boosted his confidence into the offseason.
This spring he has struck out nine and walked four in nine innings (4.00 ERA) and said he's feeling stronger and bouncing back quicker from starts than he has in 2½ to three years.
But despite all the encouraging signs, he won't consider himself back from shoulder surgery when he pitches in April.
''I might say I'm back if I get a full season and get 200 innings in and try to help this team get to the postseason,'' said Miller, who went 16-8, 15-4 and 14-13 for the Houston Astros from 2001 to '03. ''That would be my idea of back. ... I'm looking forward to a full, healthy year.''
Guzman, meanwhile, is scheduled to work out of the bullpen Wednesday with a last-gasp hope of overtaking Miller for a spot in the rotation.
More likely, the hard-throwing Guzman will be preparing for a long-relief role that places him in the nearby wings to enter the rotation at a moment's notice if anyone else falters or gets hurt.
''I like the idea of bringing along a young pitcher in the bullpen,'' Piniella said, reiterating a point he made Saturday. ''That's the way you should bring up a young pitcher. Put him in long relief, let him gain some experience there, don't pitch him in pressure situations, and as he gets better, you start increasing his workload a little bit. He can be protected, but at the same time, he'll get his work and he'll watch other major-league pitchers, how they go about their business.''
Piniella and Rothschild made an adjustment with Guzman during the pitcher's bullpen session Sunday that they hope will accelerate his development even more -- moving him from the first-base side of the rubber to the third-base side.
''He felt comfortable with it, and I feel that it'll help him, especially with right-handed hitters,'' Piniella said. ''From hitting in the big leagues for a long time, I wanted to see why, with really, really, really good stuff, people don't swing and miss as much. And we picked up on something.''
Guzman had trouble getting the ball inside on right-handed hitters, and the adjustment should make that easier to do.
And even if it's in the bullpen, that's fine with Guzman.
''Wherever they need me, I'm going to be there,'' he said. ''I just want to be on the team and help the team to win the championship.''
1. RH Carlos Zambrano 16-7, 3.41
Cy Young favorite in NL?
2. LH Ted Lilly 15-13, 4.31
Never pitched 200 innings
3. RH Jason Marquis 14-16, 6.02
Most L's, worst ERA in NL in '06
4. LH Rich Hill 6-7, 4.17 6-3, 2.93 after '06 demotion
5. RH Wade Miller 0-2, 4.57
Bulldog comeback from shoulder surgery
