Rothschild: Staff fine despite Big Z's 'dead arm', Harden pushback
Pitching coach Larry Rothschild handled Sunday's pregame session with the media.
That's usually a sign of trouble because it means there's an issue with one of Rothschild's charges.
So it was Sunday as erstwhile ace Carlos Zambrano missed his scheduled start because of a "dead arm" or a "tired arm." The Cubs say Zambrano will pitch Tuesday against the Astros at Wrigley Field.
There were other developments, too, with Rich Harden getting pushed back to the St. Louis series, which begins Sept. 9 at Busch Stadium. But Rothschild said the overall health of his staff is fine and that these moves were made with the long term in mind.
"I would hope that what we're doing today puts us in good shape," Rothschild said. "That's the purpose of it. Again, we're looking at this over the long haul, for the rest of the season and what's the best way for us to have an opportunity to win the most games, and this does it."
For the second straight August, Zambrano had a terrible month. He was 1-1 with a 7.43 ERA. A closer look at the numbers reveals more trouble. In 26â?" innings this August, Zambrano gave up 31 hits while walking 15 and striking out 18. That adds up to an alarmingly high WHIP (walks plus hits per 1 inning pitched) of 1.72. Zambrano's WHIP for the season is 1.30.
The problem, according to Rothschild, is a tired right arm, one that has logged at least 200 innings in each of the last five seasons.
Zambrano played "long toss" Sunday morning on the outfield grass before shortening up to pitching distance and then throwing about 10 pitches from the bullpen mound. He declined to comment afterward, telling reporters he'd talk today. Zambrano was on the disabled list in late June and early July because of a strained right shoulder.
"He's not in any pain at all," Rothschild said. "He feels good. He's gone through this every year for the last four or five years at a point in time where his arm feels a little heavy, tired. I think everybody goes through that. I think it's a little bit of a dead-arm period. He has felt a lot better the last couple days."
The Cubs started lefty Sean Marshall on Sunday. They'll go with Jason Marquis in today's series opener with Houston followed by Zambrano and Ryan Dempster.
The Cubs have an off-day Thursday, so that gives everybody an extra day.
"We're going to work around that and do the best we can to get guys extra rest, but right now, it's all about winning games, and we're trying to juggle the two and make sure it gives us the chance to win the most games."
Harden last pitched Friday against the Phillies, so he'll get at least 11 days between starts.
"We knew coming in he's a guy who hasn't pitched much in the last couple years," Rothschild said, noting Harden's history of shoulder problems with Oakland. "We're going to have to watch him. You can see that his velocity was down a little bit the other day. He needs some extra days right now. This way, we can really back him off and get him a good rest for the rest of the season, hopefully to get him ready to pitch the rest of the season."
Pitching coach Larry Rothschild handled Sunday's pregame session with the media.
That's usually a sign of trouble because it means there's an issue with one of Rothschild's charges.
So it was Sunday as erstwhile ace Carlos Zambrano missed his scheduled start because of a "dead arm" or a "tired arm." The Cubs say Zambrano will pitch Tuesday against the Astros at Wrigley Field.
There were other developments, too, with Rich Harden getting pushed back to the St. Louis series, which begins Sept. 9 at Busch Stadium. But Rothschild said the overall health of his staff is fine and that these moves were made with the long term in mind.
"I would hope that what we're doing today puts us in good shape," Rothschild said. "That's the purpose of it. Again, we're looking at this over the long haul, for the rest of the season and what's the best way for us to have an opportunity to win the most games, and this does it."
For the second straight August, Zambrano had a terrible month. He was 1-1 with a 7.43 ERA. A closer look at the numbers reveals more trouble. In 26â?" innings this August, Zambrano gave up 31 hits while walking 15 and striking out 18. That adds up to an alarmingly high WHIP (walks plus hits per 1 inning pitched) of 1.72. Zambrano's WHIP for the season is 1.30.
The problem, according to Rothschild, is a tired right arm, one that has logged at least 200 innings in each of the last five seasons.
Zambrano played "long toss" Sunday morning on the outfield grass before shortening up to pitching distance and then throwing about 10 pitches from the bullpen mound. He declined to comment afterward, telling reporters he'd talk today. Zambrano was on the disabled list in late June and early July because of a strained right shoulder.
"He's not in any pain at all," Rothschild said. "He feels good. He's gone through this every year for the last four or five years at a point in time where his arm feels a little heavy, tired. I think everybody goes through that. I think it's a little bit of a dead-arm period. He has felt a lot better the last couple days."
The Cubs started lefty Sean Marshall on Sunday. They'll go with Jason Marquis in today's series opener with Houston followed by Zambrano and Ryan Dempster.
The Cubs have an off-day Thursday, so that gives everybody an extra day.
"We're going to work around that and do the best we can to get guys extra rest, but right now, it's all about winning games, and we're trying to juggle the two and make sure it gives us the chance to win the most games."
Harden last pitched Friday against the Phillies, so he'll get at least 11 days between starts.
"We knew coming in he's a guy who hasn't pitched much in the last couple years," Rothschild said, noting Harden's history of shoulder problems with Oakland. "We're going to have to watch him. You can see that his velocity was down a little bit the other day. He needs some extra days right now. This way, we can really back him off and get him a good rest for the rest of the season, hopefully to get him ready to pitch the rest of the season."
