Cub split Double header

Well I am betting that Dusty Baker was wishing he had kept Juan Cruz after game 1. He would have been a great 5^th starter last year and he would have fit perfectly in as a 4^th starter for them this season. Instead Carlos Marmol was the starter and as he has most of the year for the Cubs, he had control problems which led to him giving up 6 runs in the first 2 innings. After that, the rest of the game was pretty much cruise control for the Diamondbacks and Juan Cruz. I think it is time to send Marmol back to the minors to help work out his control problems and replace him with Angel Guzman.

In the second game, Juan Mateo looked pretty good for the first few innings and then looked like the batters started catching up with him. He lasted 5 innings while giving up 6 hits, 3 runs 2 earned, 3 walks and 2 strikeouts, which is not bad for a debut from a double-A pitcher. Juan should be very happy, as he also got the win in game 2 as the pen came in for the next 4 innings and shut down the Diamondbacks. I liked what I saw from him in his first game and would say he has earned another start, but I also will say; he probably would benefit from staying in minors a little longer, but not many other choices for Cubs at moment. Jerome Williams has not taken advantage of his time in the minors and looks like his time as a Cub might be up after the end of this season, which is a shame because he has a good arm, just not the motivation to stay in shape.

Another good thing about the second game was that Matt Murton hit 4 doubles tying a major league record and also drove in 5 runs while doing it. Hopefully this will give Dusty some more incentive to play him for the final few months to see what Murton can do. Maybe he can do enough to show that he can be a viable OF for the Cubs in the future.