Reason for the Season (so far)
By: Aaron Rife
We all know the Cubs are having a great season (so far). Some would say it’s their great play at home or the fact that Derrick Lee is back in full force. Others would say that it’s the emergence of Geovany Soto that has put the Cubs where they are. Sure, all of those have contributed to this great start however, nothing has been more important to this team than the flip-flop of two pitchers.
Ryan Dempster moved into the rotation at the start of the year and Kerry Wood took his place in the closer role. The fact that Kerry Wood has been healthy all year is a surprise and a little scary (he’s on one of my teams), not to mention that he’s been extremely effective. The bigger surprise is the job that Dempster is doing in the rotation. Who would have thought he would be their #1 pitcher at midseason with a 9-2 record, 2.63 ERA, and 1.11 WHIP? I know I didn’t and if you say you did, you’re probably lying.
The success of the remainder of the season rests on the shoulders (and elbows) of these two pitchers for numerous reasons. First, with Rich Hill losing all control as the team’s 5th starter they only have to spot start players occasionally when a 5th starter is needed. If Dempster had struggled out of the gate they would have been down 2 starters. Secondly, if Wood and Dempster had both gotten off to bad starts they could have been re-switched. Inconsistency is murder to a pitching staff. Lastly, if Wood goes down the bullpen takes a hit. Marmol would slide in to the closer role but is inexperienced there. Also, don’t forget that Dempster is already over 100 IP, a mark he hasn’t reached in 4 years and after a few more starts he’ll be at an innings mark ranking as his 4th highest in is career. Both of these players should be sell high candidates if you have them on your team (especially keeper leagues). Dempster is a great source for K’s, ERA, WHIP, and Wins and Wood will continue to eat up saves with a nice ERA and WHIP.
Remember the 07 Mets (the reason for the “so far” comments) when thinking about the 08 Cubs. Keep an eye on these two pitchers, Dempster and Wood. They are the key to the Cubs success. If either of these two breakdown the whole pitching rotation and bullpen will be thrown into chaos and the season could go in the Dempster…I mean dumpster. Remember this in September.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 at 9:59 pm and is filed under Fantasy Baseball. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
