Cubs Rotation Fading?

[The Tardis]

Zambrano, Wood, and Clement have been three of the heaviest worked pitchers in baseball (though nowhere close to the ungodly workloads hoisted on the shoulders of Livan Hernandez and Jason Schmidt). Is it leading to a drop in effectiveness? Might be. Combined with Prior's injury problems, the Cubs' formidable rotation may be in pretty poor shape by the time the playoffs roll around.

Post All-Star break ERAs for the Cubbies starters:

Maddux 2.31 (5 starts-35 IP-7 IP/GS)
Wood 3.94 (5 starts-32 IP-6.4 IP/GS)
Zambrano 4.18 (4 starts-28 IP-7 IP/GS)
Clement 4.75 (5 starts-30.3 IP-6.067 IP/GS)
Prior 6.86 (5 starts-21 IP-4.2 IP/GS)
Glendon Rusch 9.00 (1 start-vs. Cards-5 IP-5 IP/GS)

Cumulative: 4.34

Maddux is 4-0. All other Cubs starters are 5-7. 5-8 if the Padres hold on tonight.

[brianpnoonan]

cubs lose! cubs lose! cubs lose!

the only teams i'm really "afraid" of facing right now in the playoffs are either san francisco or florida in a short series. They've got guys, like beckett tonight, who can shut you down. admittedly we won tonight, but anything can happen in any five game stretch that's why you play them. In a 7 game series there isn't a team i'm scared of. Not the spankees, not the red sox, not the cubs, nobody.

if i had a choice, i'd pick atlanta in the first round. they dont' really have an ace, their offense is good but not as good as ours, and their bullpen has a great closer and a couple other good guys but it's not as deep as ours. To me that's an ideal matchup where our strengths trump theirs.

That's just my opinion.

[STLCARDSFAN1]

yeah i really don't care who we play. we can beat anyone and i am not afraid of no one with our team this year. the way i see it bring anybody on.

[frivolousz21]

I think most likely a lot of cubs pitchers..

IE. Prior and Zambrano had amazing yrs last yr that are hard to follow.

look at Pujols. then again we now know he is hurt.