Manager Lou Piniella promised -- and seeming threatened -- to make changes to his team's beleaguered bullpen.
"We're going to put together a good bullpen before long," Piniella said over the weekend in Milwaukee. "Just give us a little time, and this will get much better from the bullpen side of things." The Cubs made one move Sunday, recalling Jose Ascanio from Class AAA Iowa to replace the injured Chad Fox.
The biggest issue with the relievers has been the amount of walks they've yielded. They have issued 64 walks in just 90 innings pitched. By comparison, the starting pitchers had given up 70 walks in 185 2/3 innings.
Nothing drives Piniella crazier than relief pitchers that can't or won't throw strikes. Piniella has been after Neal Cotts all year to "trust his stuff" and throw strikes, to little avail. The reliever most recently drawing Piniella's ire has been Aaron Heilman, who was dependable early on. Both could see their roles diminished.
In Milwaukee, Heilman walked Corey Hart before giving up a home run to Ryan Braun on Friday. On Saturday, he walked two more.
Piniella has said more bullpen changes will come when Carlos Zambrano comes off the disabled list sometime next week. The Cubs may move rookie Randy Wells from the rotation to the pen once Zambrano comes back. Jeff Stevens, obtained over the winter in the Mark DeRosa trade, entered Sunday at Class AAA Iowa having not allowed a run in 14 innings to start the season. He's a possibility, either sooner or later.
CUBS 4, BREWERS 2: Sean Marshall, without his best stuff, gutted out five innings and picked up his first win of the year. He gave up both runs on five hits. Alfonso Soriano keyed a four-run third with his 10th homer of the year. Kevin Gregg earned his sixth save.
