One Gathers that Guzman Has Passed Prior
While Mark Prior became The Franchise in 2003, it was Angel Guzman who shined in spring training that year. Of course, everything unraveled for Guzman mid-season 2003. Now that things appear to have unraveled for Prior, Guzman is once again firing strikes in spring training. A 5th starter's job is up for the taking, and Guzman had his manager saying this after today's game:
"He's throwing the ball like he wants a spot here/ That was impressive. I told him after he pitched that he threw the ball very well and I want him to continue to work hard here in camp, and not take anything for granted. We'll see what happens."
Asked if Guzman could be considered for the long relief role, Piniella said, "I'm not looking at him as a reliever, believe me."
There are some people in our lives from whom compliments simply mean more, whether we have a rare respect for that person or they just tend to hand out compliments with less frequency. Piniella strikes me as that kind of person.
- cubsnet's blog
- Login or register to post comments
Piniella
There are some people in our lives from whom compliments simply mean more, whether we have a rare respect for that person or they just tend to hand out compliments with less frequency. Piniella strikes me as that kind of person.
Speaking of which, this story from the Official Site made me happy. As implied, Piniella must trust Theriot to a certain extent to let him know that he's made the team, and it seems like it's been awhile since the Cubs have had a manager that trusted younger players to any extent at all.
I have to say, I'm fairly impressed with Piniella so far. He seems to have brought a legitimately fresh outlook to this franchise in terms of talent evaluation. It's nice to see guys like Theriot, Guzman, and even Murton get fresh looks this spring, when they probably would have already been pigeonholed into a role (respectively, AAA, AAA, and short end of a platoon) before.
And, the opposite seems true, as well. Guys like Jacque Jones and Mark Prior seem to have had their roles with the organization thrown up in the air, too, although they're probably not as happy as the others about it.
Guzman
I think it is a wonderful thing that Guzman's control has come back, and the he is bringing it, according to reports, in the mid to upper 90's like he was before the shoulder surgery, but I would not mind seeing him start the season in Iowa just to make sure. If Guzman pitches there the way he has in Arizona, then he won't be in Iowa for very long. I think Miller could keep the fifth spot warm until then.
MC