Ideally, Cubs Will Add Two Starting Pitchers This Offseason and Other Bullets

theo epstein press conference featureI’m headed to the groundbreaking at Wrigley Field this morning, and then back on the road (short version: I’ve got to get home quickly because Grandma is helping watch the kiddos while I’m away, and she’s got somewhere to be this evening). I’ll have some immediate reaction to the groundbreaking on Twitter and/or Facebook, and hopefully at least a short post.

I’ll also have much more on the season ticket holder presentation soon.

  • One tease from that presentation, though, that’ll give you something to discuss while I’m snapping pictures and driving: When asked about getting impact pitching this offseason, Theo Epstein for the first time said explicitly something we’ve been thinking for a while. In an ideal world, Epstein said, the Cubs would get an impact/top-of-the-rotation type starter this offseason, and then a second solid/stable starter. That’s what I’ve been expecting the Cubs to try and do, and I get the sense from most of you in the comments that it’s what you’re expecting, too, so I think this is just a matter of everyone being realistic about both the Cubs’ needs (although they’ve got lots of pitching options, you still want to see at least two arms brought in) and the likelihood of getting what they want (getting two impact starters in one offseason is probably not realistic). It’s nice to hear it said out loud.
  • There are only a few top-of-the-rotation types on the market this year – Scherzer/Shields/Lester (and Hamels if you include trades) – and then there’s a whole host of really interesting second tier types – Hammel, Liriano, Masterson, Santana, McCarthy, and I could go on. If the Cubs can get one from the first group and one from the second? I’d be a very, very happy camper. You can’t count on that happening, but it’s the right plan.
  • The Royals took a 1-0 lead in the ALCS on a couple homers in the 10th inning (they love their extra-inning games/homers), beating the Orioles 8-6. The Orioles did knock around James Shields, though, notching 10 hits in his 5 innings of work. He gave up four earned, walked one, and struck out three.
  • C.J. Edwards made his AFL debut last night, throwing a couple innings (39 pitches), giving up three hits, one walk, one earned run, and striking out one. From various eyes-on folks on Twitter, it sounds like his velocity was solidly in the mid-90s, which is great. BN’er Kurt was there, and got some shots:
  • And also a video of Edwards getting a whiff:
  • Gerardo Concepcion and Zach Cates also pitched in the game, with Dan Vogelbach going 1-4 at DH, and Mesa got whooped 14-3. How about this blast from the past: finishing out the game for Surprise was relief prospect Aaron Kurcz. Sound vaguely familiar? He used to be a Cubs prospect until … he was the player to be named later in the Theo Epstein compensation saga.
  • Having lots of power is a good thing, and it might be a very good thing in the postseason.
  • written by

    Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

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