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K0ZZ · 06-23-2014, 06:46 PM

Anthony Rizzo and Jake Arrieta's struggles underscore a solid month for Cubs baseball

The Cubs need to make moves to bolster their line up that much is clear, but one of the pieces they planned to build around is playing at a sub par level while two starters are drawing closer to 10 losses after 2 months of play, but while Arrieta doesn't have a W-L record as bad as Jason Hammel's, his ERA is almost a 6, which is horrible, and Travis Wood isn't far off from being on the struggling side of things.

Anthony Rizzo will likely be sent to the bench or potentially AAA to work himself out of this batting skid he found himself in, especially with Josh Vitters playing ball at a high level and being able to slide in at first, Rizzo has played well below expectations as he has struggled most of the season. Dan Vogelbach is vested within the Cubs roster but many still see him as a minor league talent at best and he won't likely see a promotion and has a lot of expectations to be traded, at least unless Rizzo can pull from this slump.

Another ailing positional player is Wellington Castillo who saw his batting average drop below the .200 mark in the past few series and despite a few heroic blasts in recent games, the Catcher has been a non-factor and has struggled behind the plate somewhat, the Cubs signed a familiar face to back him up, Henry Blanco returns to the Cubs, the 42 year old will likely retire after this season but gives depth at a position the Cubs had none, he won't be the starter for long but gives Castillo time to work and be mentored on the ins and outs of catching.

As for the pitching, the Cubs will have to stand pat, the Cubs have Matt Wisler, Anthony Ranaudo and Yordano Ventura sitting with their Iowa squad but Ranaudo posted a 6 ERA in one month of pitching and the other two are inexperienced at the MLB level, if Arrieta struggles another month, it could be possible to see a move to the AAA to be in the works for him, but until than, the Cubs who had made a lot of moves early in the season will not be pursuing another starter, and could potentially ship off another starter (likely Hammels) if they see themselves struggle in June for another prospect.

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06-23-2014, 06:46 PM	#12
K0ZZ The Hard Way OVR: 23 Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 3,836 Blog Entries: 8	Re: A rebuild for the ages -\|Chicago Cubs\|- Anthony Rizzo and Jake Arrieta's struggles underscore a solid month for Cubs baseball The Cubs need to make moves to bolster their line up that much is clear, but one of the pieces they planned to build around is playing at a sub par level while two starters are drawing closer to 10 losses after 2 months of play, but while Arrieta doesn't have a W-L record as bad as Jason Hammel's, his ERA is almost a 6, which is horrible, and Travis Wood isn't far off from being on the struggling side of things. Anthony Rizzo will likely be sent to the bench or potentially AAA to work himself out of this batting skid he found himself in, especially with Josh Vitters playing ball at a high level and being able to slide in at first, Rizzo has played well below expectations as he has struggled most of the season. Dan Vogelbach is vested within the Cubs roster but many still see him as a minor league talent at best and he won't likely see a promotion and has a lot of expectations to be traded, at least unless Rizzo can pull from this slump. Another ailing positional player is Wellington Castillo who saw his batting average drop below the .200 mark in the past few series and despite a few heroic blasts in recent games, the Catcher has been a non-factor and has struggled behind the plate somewhat, the Cubs signed a familiar face to back him up, Henry Blanco returns to the Cubs, the 42 year old will likely retire after this season but gives depth at a position the Cubs had none, he won't be the starter for long but gives Castillo time to work and be mentored on the ins and outs of catching. As for the pitching, the Cubs will have to stand pat, the Cubs have Matt Wisler, Anthony Ranaudo and Yordano Ventura sitting with their Iowa squad but Ranaudo posted a 6 ERA in one month of pitching and the other two are inexperienced at the MLB level, if Arrieta struggles another month, it could be possible to see a move to the AAA to be in the works for him, but until than, the Cubs who had made a lot of moves early in the season will not be pursuing another starter, and could potentially ship off another starter (likely Hammels) if they see themselves struggle in June for another prospect. Top batters: Top pitchers by ERA Starting pitchers stats __________________ Bulls\|Bears\|Cubs\| Blackhawks\|Huskies\|Horned Frogs\|