As expected, the Cubs demoted Rich Hill to triple-A Iowa today, reports the Daily Herald. They called up Sean Gallagher to take his spot on the roster. Gallagher will go to the bullpen and Jon Lieber will go to the rotation. Sean Marshall remains in the bullpen, despite the fact that after last night's game Lou Piniella said, "I would think that if we did something, we'd put Marshall in the rotation, for now." Marshall has not thrown more than an inning in a game this year since being recalled, though, and in his last four appearances he has faced just five batters. It would take some time before he was fully stretched out. One of the strange things that occurred this spring was the Cubs not giving Marshall a chance to make the rotation.

The last time Hill was at Iowa, in 2006, he was utterly dominant in 100 innings.

Well, if that's the case, he can go somewhere else. Win a spot in the rotation, you don't have to worry about it. ... I've got seven starters here for five spots, you know? It's a little bit too early to start talking about what he wants to do or not do.

....

You know, that galls me about Marquis, it really does. I'm not pleased with that comment. We've had a good camp over here, everybody's getting an opportunity. Go out and win a spot in the rotation.

Marquis would do well to go to Piniella immediately and unequivocally apologize and state that he's ready, willing, and able to compete for, and win, a spot in the rotation. Who's Marquis afraid of? Ryan Dempster? Jon Lieber?

Lots of notes from the first day of camp, from the Chicago Sun-Times and MLB.com:

Jason Marquis, Jon Lieber, Ryan Dempster, and Sean Marshall are battling for the final two rotation spots, after Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, and Rich Hill. One gets the impression that the best of the four--Marshall--is the least likely to get a job.

The Cubs won't take any action against Aramis Ramirez for being "dedicated entirely" to his cockfighting roosters when he is home in the Dominican Republic. "It's understanding and respecting what's acceptable in their culture,'' said Oneri Fleita, player development director and head of the Cubs' Latin American operations. ''We tend to think we have all the answers in our country, but there are people in other parts of the world that think their [customs] are better than ours.'' Moral relativism is alive and well in the Cubs front office.

"Piniella said former Notre Dame football star Jeff Samardzija, who pitched his first full season of professional ball last year, will get a longer look in camp this year and could be ready to make his major-league debut this summer if his progress remains on pace." Samardzija pitching for the big league club this summer would be a miracle.

Angel Guzman might be pitching off a mound by July. Guzman almost became the Cubs' closer last May before going down with an elbow injury and having Tommy John surgery.

This is a good sign: "Eric Patterson was one of the early position players in camp. He has spent most of his Minor League career as a second baseman but will get some playing time in the outfield." That's a good sign because the last we heard from Patterson was that he was being demoted to double-A from the big league club for showing up late to the park last September. (That demotion resulted in Sam Fuld's promotion, which resulted in this, and after this, has Fuld fighting for the starting centerfield job this spring.)

Kevin Hart didn't have a job this winter other than working out, so he learned to cook mashed potatoes.

Good and bad out of the Winter Meetings in Nashville:

Bad: Felix Pie, Sam Fuld, Tyler Colvin, and Jeff Samardzija are "untouchables," according to Jim Hendry. All four are nice prospects, but why would any of them be off-limits in a trade?

Good: Lou Piniella says that Ryan Dempster does not have a starting rotation spot locked up. Kevin Hart, Sean Gallagher, and Sean Marshall will get opportunities as well.

Bad: Ryan Theriot has locked up the starting shortstop spot for 2008, according to Piniella. If Dempster is going to have competition, why won't Theriot? What harm exists in letting Ronny Cedeno compete for the starting job in spring training?

Good: The Cubs are exploring a trade for Baltimore Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts, reports the Baltimore Sun. Roberts just turned 30 and has had .305, .264, .285 EqA's the past three seasons with good defense. Another Cubs Blog has more on Roberts rumors.

Good: A number of teams are interested in Mark Prior, hopefully driving up the asking price.

Who Knows?: The Cubs obtained Twins relief pitcher Tim Lahey in today's Rule 5 draft. Lahey, 25, had a 3.45 ERA in 78.1 innings in double-A last year, with 56 K's and 33 BB's. Another Cubs Blog has more on Lahey. The Cubs lost swingman Randy Wells, who had a 4.52 ERA in 95.2 innings for triple-A Iowa last year, striking out 101 and walking 41.

There is a lot to digest in Phil Rogers' column in the Chicago Tribune today:

Ryan Dempster is again being told that he will enter the starting rotation. Jim Hendry cites the facts that Demspter won 15 games and went to the All-Star game as a starter. He doesn't mention that those events occurred 6 and 7 years ago, respectively.

But moving Dempster to the rotation frees the Cubs up to offer the closer's role to Kerry Wood as enticement for him to come back. That might work. If it doesn't, the Cubs have Bobby Howry and Carlos Marmol as closer options. Thankfully, Hendry sees the value Marmol offers in the role he played in 2007: "Ideally, I think you'd like to give Marmol another year doing what he did last year, when he could maybe come in and give you two innings at a time and get a little more experience." As Phil Bencomo at Cub Town notes, Wood, Howry, and Marmol are all better relievers than Dempster.

Of course, Sean Marshall is a better starter than Dempster. Sean Gallagher may be as well. But, if Hendry manages to get some team to take Jason Marquis and the $16M the Cubs owe him over the next two years off his hands, Dempster can fill the Marquis role in 2008, for better or worse. (Disclosure: I like Dempster and would love to see him succeed.)

In other news, "Hendry says Piniella will give Felix Pie a chance to become the regular center fielder next spring." At the same time, the Cubs are seeking a regular rightfielder. Neither of those developments bode well for Jacque Jones and Matt Murton.

Entering play Friday, the Cubs are on pace to win 84 games this season, which would be an 18 game improvement over 2006. A big reason for that improvement has been the stability and effectiveness of the starting rotation. The Cubs are currently 2nd in the National League in runs allowed per game, at 4.17. Last year, they were 15th, at 5.15. That is a remarkable one year jump. There are a number of reasons for that jump; the starting rotation is a big one.

The Cubs are 4th in the National League in fewest runs allowed per game (4.19). Yet Lou Piniella has decided to throw the pitchers in a blender, open the lid, and allow everyone to fall where they may. Good strategy or no, it makes for exciting times. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Ryan Dempster might be entering the rotation within a week or two. Angel Guzman (0 minor league saves) will soon become the Cubs' closer.

The exact timing of this is unclear. After Sunday's game, Dempster said he was moving into rotation. Then, after a meeting, he emerged and said not yet. But, the move of Guzman to closer "is imminent, according to a source close to the manager."

It bears remembering that Dempster has been a successful starting pitcher in exactly one season, that being seven years ago when he was 23-years-old.

Meanwhile, the ostensible setup men, Bobby Howry and Scott Eyre, have been getting beat up this year, and new bullpen member Carlos Marmol is throwing bullets like no one in the Cubs' pen since Kyle Farnsworth.

Last season, it took the Cubs until September 16 to have a starting pitcher throw a complete game (Rich Hill). As such, they almost became the first team in MLB history to not have a starting pitcher throw a complete game all season. Thankfully, Jason Marquis took care of that relatively early this season, with his gem last night. Marquis is now second in the league with a 240 ERA+, to Brad Penny's 290.

Sunday's postponement of the Cubs/Cardinals game due to the death of Josh Hancock caused Angel Guzman to stay in the minors rather than take over the 5th starter's spot for the big league club. That may have cost him the 5th starter's spot altogether. Guzman started his third game for Iowa last night and only lasted 3 innings, giving up 7 runs on 4 hits, 4 walks, and a hit batter. Guzman has now started three games for Iowa and allowed 14 runs in 10.1 innings. Which has Lou Piniella saying, ''We might have to revisit this thing." Had Sunday's game not been postponed, the Cubs would have started Guzman against the Pirates yesterday. It's too bad Juan Mateo and Sean Marshall are recovering from injuries.

The Hardball Times' David Gassko looks at the best hitting pitchers in baseball. Last season, Carlos Zambrano was the third best hitter, effectively reducing his ERA by a quarter of a run. Number 4 on the list was Jason Marquis. As Gassko writes, "Maybe that might start to explain Jason Marquis’ contract."

(Courtesy of The Sports Xchange) Since 1993, when Mark Grace lost in an arbitration hearing, the Cubs have always settled up with arbitration-eligible players before the process went before an independent arbiter.

The Cubs' thinking is that it's an ugly process that usually causes hard feelings between the player and the team.

Star pitcher Carlos Zambrano and the Cubs are still far apart in their negotiations but have plenty of time to iron things out. Zambrano's hearing date is Feb. 20 in Phoenix.

The Chicago Cubs today announced that right-handed pitcher Wade Miller has re-signed with the Cubs for the 2007 season. No word on the amount yet. The AP says that Miller "is expected to compete for the fifth spot in the rotation next year." Miller has pitched only four games in relief in his career, and that was when he was a rookie in 1999. So this isn't a Glendon Rusch type signing, where he will fit in where necessary. Miller will undoubtedly be in the rotation unless his arm falls off during spring training, giving the Cubs, who also have Carlos Zambrano and Rich Hill lined up, three of its five starters. Rusch, by the way, is still on the 40-man roster and will earn $3.3M next season, though no one knows when or if he'll be able to play again.

UPDATE (11/11/2006): Miller gets $1.5M, with performance incentives that could push the total to $5.25M.

That's the way to end a complete game-less streak. The 2006 Chicago Cubs have now avoided becoming the only team in major league baseball history to not have a starting pitcher throw a complete game the entire season, thanks to Rich Hill. Hill not only threw a complete game today (118 pitches, 85 strikes), he shutout the Cincinnati Reds, a team with a good offense desperately trying to stay alive in the wild card race. Hill is now 6-2 with a 2.65 ERA in 68 innings since the All-Star Break. He has 62 K's and just 20 walks during that stretch. He continues to cement his status as a lock for the 2007 rotation.

(Courtesy of The Sports Xchange)  It seems as if next year's rotation for the Cubs will consist of Carlos Zambrano, maybe Mark Prior (if he's healthy) and ... and ...

Well, that's the rub.