FanPost

Pitchers and Catchers Countdown - Weekend Edition

I was doing some work in Wisconsin so I didn't know if I was going to be back to do one of these today. However malfunctioning heat along with cold temps meant that half of the house was too damned cold to sleep in and the other half of the house was too damned hot.

Anyhow, I'm throwing two subjects together as often times its slow on the weekend and I'm not sure how much there is to talk about this subject...could be lots, could be very little. So onward we go.

The retention of Larry Rothschild was not seen by many Cub fans as a positive one. However many in the media have been quick to cite Rothschild's reputation as one of the top pitching coaches in the game and the legions of pitchers who swear by him. The bottom line is that second to Jim Hendry, no one's reputation is riding on this season as much as Larry Rothschild's is.

Rothschild's saving grace may be Lou Piniella. Reading between the lines, even interpreting what Hendry has said, whenever Rothschild comes up, it seems that Dusty Baker is thrown under the bus. Piniella came out and said during the Cubs convention that Cub pitchers won't be worked to the same extent that they have been in the past.

T-Minus Weekend Edition Question: What will the team of Piniella and Rothschild mean for Cubs pitchers?

As I've said, Rothschild has a lot to prove this year, and right or not, if the Cubs pitching continues to be injured, he will take the blame. He laid his neck on the line, pushing for the signing of Jason Marquis, saying that he believed that he could fix the former Cardinal. Piniella claims to be a believer in Rothschild and as Cub fans we can only hope that these two are able to work together in a way that it seems like Rothschild and Baker couldn't.

So first and foremost, I was wondering what, if anything people know about Piniella's reputation for working with pitchers? Did anyone here follow him closely with the Reds, Mariners and Devil Rays that can attest to his tendancies? Thoughts on how long of a leash Rothschild has? Are there any believers out there?

DmL

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