Remember when Rich Hill was the next big thing with the Chicago Cubs? Remember when he lost his confidence and the Cubs abruptly demoted him just months after he had a great season? Shrug. As much as I have come to disapprove of the current front office, I don’t lay much of the blame for Rich Hill’s problems at their feet. The guy just didn’t have it between the ears, and he was probably destined to fail no matter where he ended up.
Right? Right?
Left-hander Rich Hill, who struggled with control problems during his Cubs career and was non-tendered by the Baltimore Orioles after last season, has signed a free-agent deal with the St. Louis Cardinals, according to the team’s official Twitter feed.
Hill, who had a 7.80 ERA in 13 starts (and one relief appearance) for the Orioles in 2009, missed the second half of the season after undergoing left-shoulder surgery. He was invited to the Cardinals’ spring-training camp on a non-roster basis.
Hill, 29, went 11-8 with a 3.92 ERA for the Cubs in 2007 but struggled with wildness and was demoted to the minors during the 2008 season. Chicago Breaking Sports.
Oh God no.
This is the team whose dirty, magic voodoo reclamation power has worked on the likes of Sidney Ponson, Rick Ankiel, Joel Pineiro, John Smoltz, and of course, Chris Carpenter. You can pretty much pencil Rich Hill into the Cardinals’ rotation, the All Star lineup, the World Series, a Hall of Fame ballot, and center field.