Well, the Cubs’ healthy early season is evaporating quickly. Like the 3-10 start wasn’t enough.
Today the Cubs placed Kerry Wood on the disabled list with his continued shoulder problem. Apparently the optimism that he would be able to pitch today was misguided. Instead, the Cubs will add lefty reliever Scott Maine to the pen. Maine, who didn’t show enough in Spring Training to make the team, currently sports a 1.42 ERA at AAA Iowa over 6.1 innings. He’s allowed just four base runners in those innings.
The bigger news, though, is that Ryan Dempster – the Cubs’ best pitcher, if not player, through the first few weeks – has a sore right quad, and has already had an MRI taken. The Cubs haven’t revealed the results yet, but Randy Wells has been brought to Chicago from Iowa in case Dempster can’t make his scheduled start on Sunday. That’s usually not a good sign.
Wood’s stay on the 15-day DL might not last a full 15 days from today. Because he didn’t pitch this week in Miami, the Cubs can backdate his stay to last Saturday.