It seems as if the current club's MO of patient, selective hitting has resulted not only in more runs scored but also in higher pitch counts forcing starters out early.

Does anyone know where a statistic that shows how many innings the Cubs have faced opposing bullpens, and compare them to other clubs? (or conversely, how many innings have starters remained in games against them). I've made a cursory check at BP, to no avail. It would also be interesting to compare the past couple Cubs seasons as well.

- He's not entirely ineffective. The fact that he was left off two playoff rosters is completely invalid criticism.

- As has been shown countless times (most recently by the '07 Phillies and '08 Brewers); there simply is no such thing as a starting pitching surplus. Remember how uncannily healthy our starters were last year? Don't count on it again.

- Lieber makes a lot of sense as a swing man. Could a few starts down the stretch (quasi 6-man rotation) alleviate some of Jason's inevitable downturn? We also have an entirely legit long reliever in in the bullpen, which is probably good for 1-2 wins over Gallagher/Petrick.

Other notes:

- Simply being named a starter will in no way increase Marquis' trade value. If a team were interested they'd watch him.

- In one season Lou has proven he's there to do what's best for the team, and what's best for a win--both long and short term. You can't place too much emphasis on spring training numbers for a veteran pitcher. No one will ever say there's a 20-win season hidden in his arm, and Lou knows that and still likes their chances with him in the rotation.

I realize this post is a couple days late but I don't see the cause for panic? He threw exactly how everyone could have expected last year (even put together some outstanding games when we needed them most) and I didn't see everyone reacting this violently then. Did everyone take his comment about wanting to be a starter that personally?

I kind of neglected my bullpen this year, but everyone in my league overvalued closers so I didn't bother until the 13th round.

3.(37) Derrek Lee 1B
8.(144) Rich Hill SP
11. (181) Geovany Soto C
13. (217) Kerry Wood RP
15. (253) Ryan Theriot 2B,SS
21. (361) Félix Pié OF
22. (396) Kevin Hart RP

FA Additions: Mark DeRosa 1B,2B,3B,OF

Notable Mention: 2.(36) Brian Roberts 2B (haha)

Will likely begin season on the DL.

http://blogs.jsonline.com/brewers/archive/2008/02/17/gallardo-to-miss-4-weeks-after-knee-surgery.asp x

Insert standard "I never wish injury on any opposing player, BUT..." comment. This is kind of good news for the Cubs, and bad news for anyone intending to draft him for their fantasy team (me).

Probably will only miss 1-2 starts at most, so not likely to have a huge impact on the season.