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Great arms lead Cubs charge
Updated: Sunday June 17, 2001 2:18 PM
Would somebody please explain how the Chicago Cubs, of all teams, entered the weekend vying for the best record in the NL? The best explanation might just be the blandest: These guys can pitch. Check out the staff ERA entering Friday's play: 3.87, just off Arizona's league-leading pace of 3.85. The last time a Cubs pitching staff led the league in ERA? That would be 1946, the year after the team's last pennant. "We're pitching so well, that's why we've done well," Cubs assistant general manager Jim Hendry said. "Our offense has been on and off. Some of the guys we're counting on haven't kicked in quite like we'd like to see them yet." Everybody talks about the job Joe Kerrigan does in Boston, and deservedly so. Atlanta's Leo Mazzone is the Pontiff of Pitching and has a decade's worth of Cy Youngs to prove it. But somebody might want to pay a little attention to Oscar Acosta, who is in his second season as Chicago's pitching coach. "Oscar has a real strong presence about him," Hendry said. "He is all business, a very intense guy. He has brought a level of consistent intensity to our staff." Through Thursday's game, the Cubs have allowed the fewest hits and home runs in the league. Kerry Wood, two years removed from ligament replacement surgery on his right elbow, is dominating hitters again. Jon Lieber, stolen a few years back from the Pirates for Brant Brown, is a remarkably consistent workhorse. Kevin Tapani, this week's shelling aside, has been excellent. Even the guys at the back of the rotation, Julian Tavarez and Jason Bere, have opened eyes with the quality of their work. Then there's the bullpen, a huge upgrade on the bunch that blew 29 save chances last year and converted barely 57 percent of the time. Retreads Jeff Fassero and Flash (Don't Call Me Tom) Gordon handle the endgame. In between there's the radar-busting pyrotechnics of Kyle Farnsworth, whose fastball consistently hits the high 90s. He's been clocked at 101mph on several occasions. "Kyle always had a phenomenal arm," Hendry said of the former 47th-round draft pick by way of Baldwin Agricultural College in tiny Tifton, Ga. "By about '98 we knew he had a chance to throw extremely hard consistently. He went through some growing pains, but by the end of last year he was really showing some encouraging signs." The 25-year-old right-hander failed as a starter last year. Farnsworth went 1-3 with an 8.23 ERA before getting shipped back to Class AAA Iowa to learn a new role. He finished the year 2-9 with a 6.43 ERA in 46 outings for the Cubs. Now he's a hitter's nightmare. Farnsworth was averaging 14.78 strikeouts per nine innings, best in the majors, but that's only the second scariest fact to consider for those who must face him. The first? He often takes the mound without corrective lenses, forcing him to squint to see the catcher's signs. Just the other day, Cubs catcher Joe Girardi had to call time with Farnsworth on the mound so he could run over to the dugout. While everyone else waited, Girardi hurriedly wrapped white tape around the fingers on his right hand. He didn't want to call for a slider only to take a 101-mph rocket off his chest protector.
You ain't seen nothing yetHot as they've been, the Cubs draw just as much encouragement from what they've been missing as from what they have achieved.Steady third baseman Bill Mueller hasn't played since the middle of May, when he broke his left kneecap trying to make a sliding catch in foul ground. Mueller, who led the team with a .409 on-base percentage to that point, probably won't be back until mid- to-late August. "Defensively you can't replace Bill," Hendry said. "He's probably as good as there is in the league defensively. ... Ron Coomer has done a nice job. He's been very solid, but with not nearly the range Bill has." Catcher Todd Hundley, who signed a four-year, $23.5 million deal this winter, has been a huge disappointment so far. Girardi got the Opening Day start ahead of him, and it's been downhill from there. Hundley's last homer came May 5 and he's locked in a 13-for-77 slide (.169). Things have gotten so bad, Cubs hitting coach Jeff Pentland placed a call to Red Sox coach Rick Down, Hundley's former hitting coach with the Dodgers, to explore possible ways to get the catcher going at the plate. Some have suggested the pressure of coming back home has been too much for Hundley, whose father Randy was a Cubs star in the '70s. Whatever the reason, he seems to be mired in a funk that can't end too soon for Chicago. "We all feel bad for him," Hendry said. "He's trying. It has really become a consuming thing for him. He just didn't get going out of the gate. He's shown some glimpses, but then he takes a step backward. Our guys are still optimistic Todd will turn it around. He's not the kind of guy who's going to give up."
Boomer or bust?White Sox lefty David Wells has been exceedingly average since last All-Star break when he was 15-2 with a 3.44 ERA at the turn. Over his last 29 starts the Boomer is 10-11 with a 4.66 ERA.At 38, many wonder whether he can still turn it on and be something special for a contending team. The Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies and Cardinals remain possible landing spots for Wells should the surging White Sox decide to trade him. "That's the million-dollar question: Is he special or not?" one major league scout said. "Guys who have been there and done that, maybe they're not able to still pitch at the highest of what their game has been, but they're still able to get it done. Wells can do it without his best stuff. He knows how to change speeds, use his curveball, get people out." Wells, still owed about $5.3 million for the rest of this season, reminded everyone of that this week when he shut out the Reds for seven innings. His fastball was just 88-91 mph, but he spotted it well and kept Cincinnati off balance. The strong outing came just three days after back spasms contributed to the shortest start of his career. He was also coming off a root canal when he faced the Reds. "Put him in a 3 or 4 [rotation] slot and I still believe he'd give you solid innings," the scout said. "I think he could be an asset to a championship club. It's not been a real good situation for him in Chicago. What's left in the tank? Who knows? He may not have the best of physical ability, but he's got a big heart, and that's part of what fills up the tank." Mike Berardino covers baseball for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.
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