Carlos Marmol's off night has Cubs on watch
August 2, 2009
BY GORDON WITTENMYER gwittenmyer@suntimes.com
MIAMI -- Maybe it was an aberration.
''I hope so,'' Cubs pitching coach Larry Rothschild said.
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Or maybe Carlos Marmol's lack of control in an ugly eighth inning Friday -- and his flirtation with a repeat performance Saturday -- was a return to all those problems he had in the first half of the season.
''I walk two guys. It was a bad day, that's all,'' Marmol said after blowing up a 2-2 game Friday.
This much is clear: Marmol is a key for the Cubs getting back in the playoffs, making games like the last two as important to watch as they are confounding.
Marmol played with fire the first three months with more walks than innings pitched until a dominant 14-appearance stretch from June 29 until Friday. He had a 19-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 0.64 ERA in that span.
His performance Friday, in which he walked two, hit a batter and gave up three runs, came after a three-day breather. On Saturday, he walked two more (one intentionally) and hit a batter to load the bases with one out before striking out Dan Uggla and Jeremy Hermida to escape.
''It's a fine line with him between pitching too much and trying to get him rest,'' Rothschild said. ''It's just slowing things down and really staying over the mound. And when he does -- even [Friday] night, you saw a number of good pitches, just not back-to-back or enough of them to get him through the inning. It's just a rhythm thing. He's got a tough delivery.''
Marmol has had command slumps since becoming the Cubs' setup ace in 2007, including a three-week stretch leading up to his All-Star selection a year ago. But that was nothing like his first half this season, which raises red flags when he has a game like Friday.
In 51 innings, Marmol has more walks (48) than he had in either of the last two seasons. He has set a career high in hit batters (10), tied with the Milwaukee Brewers' Dave Bush for the National League lead -- a dubiously impressive feat for a relief pitcher.
His 3.53 ERA (up from 3.10 before Friday) would be astronomical if opponents could hit his stuff any better than .159.
BY GORDON WITTENMYER gwittenmyer@suntimes.com
MIAMI -- Maybe it was an aberration.
''I hope so,'' Cubs pitching coach Larry Rothschild said.
RELATED STORIES
Long, painful victory road
Or maybe Carlos Marmol's lack of control in an ugly eighth inning Friday -- and his flirtation with a repeat performance Saturday -- was a return to all those problems he had in the first half of the season.
''I walk two guys. It was a bad day, that's all,'' Marmol said after blowing up a 2-2 game Friday.
This much is clear: Marmol is a key for the Cubs getting back in the playoffs, making games like the last two as important to watch as they are confounding.
Marmol played with fire the first three months with more walks than innings pitched until a dominant 14-appearance stretch from June 29 until Friday. He had a 19-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 0.64 ERA in that span.
His performance Friday, in which he walked two, hit a batter and gave up three runs, came after a three-day breather. On Saturday, he walked two more (one intentionally) and hit a batter to load the bases with one out before striking out Dan Uggla and Jeremy Hermida to escape.
''It's a fine line with him between pitching too much and trying to get him rest,'' Rothschild said. ''It's just slowing things down and really staying over the mound. And when he does -- even [Friday] night, you saw a number of good pitches, just not back-to-back or enough of them to get him through the inning. It's just a rhythm thing. He's got a tough delivery.''
Marmol has had command slumps since becoming the Cubs' setup ace in 2007, including a three-week stretch leading up to his All-Star selection a year ago. But that was nothing like his first half this season, which raises red flags when he has a game like Friday.
In 51 innings, Marmol has more walks (48) than he had in either of the last two seasons. He has set a career high in hit batters (10), tied with the Milwaukee Brewers' Dave Bush for the National League lead -- a dubiously impressive feat for a relief pitcher.
His 3.53 ERA (up from 3.10 before Friday) would be astronomical if opponents could hit his stuff any better than .159.
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