Too Many Questions

And now, back to our regularly scheduled broadcast:

Almost on cue, the Chicago Cubs revealed one of their major flaws, THE flaw that might prevent them from the remarkable: the bullpen imploded. Now, to be fair, Kevin Gregg was really the one that gave up the final run in the 3-2 10-inning loss to Houston Tuesday, but Gregg's misadventures raise the questions plaguing Cubs fans nationwide:

What can David Patton do outside of A-ball?
What will Aaron Heilman look like in September?
Can Kevin Gregg close in the cold? Can he close for a team in Chicago?
Which Angel Guzman will show up?
Who's going to lock down long relief?
Is Neal Cotts capable of being a lefty specialist?

These are all questions that are going to play out over the season, and I expect several of them to play out in the Cubs favor. Guzman closed the spring strong and looked great last night. We have a few arms in the minors that can pitch in should they be needed for long relief; consider this a trial phase. And regardless of what Gregg does, we still have Marmol as an insurance policy. Lou has said the better man for the job is going to close, and I expect that to be the case if Gregg has a hard time acclimating to the cold and Marmol is electric [remember, Gregg was closing in Florida last year where he didn't have to deal with a Chicago winter or any fans at the ballpark].

Still, bullpen rant aside, Soriano continued to hit; yes, his home run was supplemented with strike outs, but man, that ball traveled. Once again, Alfonso gave me a reason not to chase him into Lake Michigan, and Rick Sutcliffe's Soriano for the MVP pick doesn't look so foolish. Then again, it's still early, so let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Also, Dempster looked solid. I'll take two runs over six innings any day of the week, especially when he's going up against unlikely Cub-killer Wandy Rodriguez [who?] in a hitter's park like Houston. It was also nice to see Derrek Lee get in on the action, as he's going to have to step it up from last year if he doesn't want to see his at bats go to Hoffpauir [check to see how many times I misspell his name this season, as the winner gets a prize]. And Theriot hit as well. Our middle infielders have to get on base, and thus far, they've been solid at the plate.

All things considered, that's not a terrible loss; sure, it's one of those winnable games that could come back to haunt you in the stretch run, and you never want to see a lineup this potent restricted to two runs by a pitcher with a career ERA hovering around 5.00, but there were certainly some positives worth focusing on. Still, it's hard to shake the feeling that there are just too many questions with the bullpen.

Stay tuned; I can't see this question being relegated to the back-burner at any point this season.