This has been somewhat of a disappointing season for Mitre. He has never had an ERA above 3.34 -- 2003 with West Tennessee -- in the minor leagues until this season's 4.33 with triple-A Iowa. That's almost a run-and-a-half higher than what he posted last season at Iowa. Mitre's minor league performance has been impressive enough that he has been given opportunities as a spot starter with the big league club each of the last three seasons, situations in which he has not pitched particularly well. His 8.31 ERA in 8.2 innings in 2003 was followed by a 6.62 ERA in 51.2 innings in 2004. This year, Mitre has a 5.66 ERA in 55.2 innings. So there is improvement, but certainly not the kind of performance we could have hoped for given his minor league numbers prior to this year.

Mitre will be out of options next season. He will need to have a solid September and a good spring training next year, or the Cubs will be forced to subject him to waivers.