Nothing up his sleeve
Cubs fall as Piniella sticks with status quo instead of unveiling 'surprises'
SAN DIEGO -- Uh, never mind.
The Cubs opened a tough West Coast trip Tuesday with the promise of surprises and changes, and instead they delivered...
The Cubs opened a tough West Coast trip Tuesday with the promise of surprises and changes, and instead they delivered...
Is that the sound of crickets?
(AP)
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Cubs vs. Padres
Is that the sound of crickets?
''Surprises? What surprises do you want?'' said manager Lou Piniella, the man who last Friday promised exactly that for Tuesday. ''I might go coach third base tonight.''
Not even that happened. Instead, all the twists and intrigue of the weekend culminated in, well, not much at all -- before or during a 5-1 loss to the San Diego Padres.
Young right-hander Angel Guzman should get his chance to close games this season, eventually, and he got his first late-inning taste by retiring five straight batters in the seventh and eighth. Closer Ryan Dempster, who faced one batter in the eighth just to get some work, would get his chance to become a starter again once Guzman is ready.
And who knows where Alfonso Soriano will bat in the Cubs' order next week or next month?
But surprise, surprise: The only moves the Cubs made were the expected recall of left-hander Sean Marshall from Class AAA Iowa to start tonight and the announcement of lefty reliever Neal Cotts' demotion to Iowa, where he will start.
Instead of Derrek Lee's return to the lineup resulting in Soriano's move to the No. 2 spot in the order, Piniella backed off that plan in the wake of a 23-run weekend and returned Soriano to his usual leadoff spot.
''You look at his lifetime numbers, and lifetime numbers tell you he belongs in the No. 1 hole,'' said Piniella, who was well aware of Soriano's .292 career batting average and .341 on-base percentage in the leadoff spot when toying a few weeks ago with the move that would have made Ryan Theriot the leadoff man.
Theriot's .233 average and just four walks (three in one game) in the seven games while Soriano filled Lee's No. 3 spot didn't make a persuasive case to stick with the plan.
Of course, the bigger non-change was sticking with Dempster in the closer role after leaving the pitcher to twist in the clubhouse Sunday. Twenty minutes after telling the media in great detail about his plans for returning to the rotation and his excitement, Dempster was sent back out to report that plans had changed.
Dempster declined to talk to the media Tuesday after having been put in an embarrassing spot Sunday.
''I take responsibility for that,'' Piniella said. ''If there's anybody to blame here, just blame me.''
Piniella said he meant to tell Dempster of the change in plans right after Sunday's game but got delayed by first meeting with Cotts about his demotion. By then, Dempster had spilled it.
But the saga clearly is not over. Piniella still has his eye on Guzman as a closer ''down the road.'' Guzman, who was sent to the bullpen Saturday because leg cramps have prevented him from throwing more than about five innings at a time, is taking a seventh-inning role right away, Piniella said.
''Then he'll work into the eighth-inning situation to help [Bob] Howry out from time to time, and then let's see how his arm responds to back-to-back days,'' Piniella said. ''We've got some figuring out to do. And then if Dempster's pitched two or three days in a row and he needs a day off, we get in a close situation and this kid's throwing the ball well -- yeah, give him a chance.''
Guzman said he's excited about the possibility and plans to use Dempster heavily as a resource. That's the idea, Piniella said.
''He can help Guzman acclimate a little bit, and at the same time, down the road, we can look at the possibility of Dempster starting,'' Piniella said. ''Down the road.''
At least it won't be a surprise.