Obligatory, because it was the first game of the season:
So, game one of the Jim Harbaugh era was so-so for Michigan. I saw some things I liked, but too often, the offense looked like a pitcher trying to bat. There are some talent deficiencies in the skill positions (and you don’t bring in a fifth year transfer QB with mixed results at Iowa if you don’t have some serious issues back there), and that probably has more to do with the uneven performance than the coaching transition. It seems like Michigan’s been rebuilding since the Lloyd Carr era – who would’ve thunk the Cubs’ process would have gone more smoothly and more quickly?
The Cubs activated Carl Edwards, Jr. from the disabled list at Iowa (blister), where he’ll presumably finish out the year there (through Monday). Does the recently-turned-24 righty come up to the big league bullpen after that? He’s already on the 40-man roster, so there’s no impediment there. The questions are whether he could actually help, whether it’s a good time to get him a little big league exposure, and whether his command struggles would sink him in the bigs right now. Because there’s no question about the stuff being big league caliber, and there’s also no question that the Cubs could use another impact reliever, capable of getting strikeouts and grounders in big moments. Edwards, 24, has a 2.93 ERA at Iowa over 30.2 innings there (he threw 23.2 innings at AA before his promotion), with a terrifying 24 walks, but an electrifying 38 strikeouts. Edwards has always been a big-time strikeout guy, but the huge uptick in walks is a new development.
The Cubs also outrighted James Russell to Iowa after he was DFA’d earlier this week, and must have cleared waivers. It’s conceivable that he could hang around the organization through the end of the season, just in case there’s a spate of injuries in the bullpen. Russell gave the Cubs some great innings in his career, but he’s been brutally bad for about three months now.
One more transaction: Brian Schlitter cleared waivers and was outrighted to Iowa. Like Russell, it’s conceivable he could show up with the big league team later this year if there’s an emergency, but it’s not likely.
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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NEWSLETTER
Obligatory, because it was the first game of the season:
