Cubs Not Focused On Opening Day Starter
The Chicago Cubs officially started spring training on Monday with the pitchers and catchers reporting to camp. One of the major story lines for the Cubs leading up to opening day will be competition to be the No. 1 starting pitcher.
Carlos Zambrano has been the opening day starter for the last six seasons, but is coming off a season that was constantly derailed by psychological meltdowns. It wasn't until the very end of the season that Zambrano looked like the pitcher he had been in the past.
So will Zambrano get the nod for the seventh season in a row? Or will it be veteran Ryan Dempster or the newly acquired Matt Garza that takes the mound for game one for the 2011 season?
"I think everyone one of those guys are important," Cubs pitching coach Mark Riggins said on the Mully and Hanley Show. "The ace is a one day out of the whole year, everybody has to compete through out the whole year. I think that's overrated. It's an honor to be the ace, but I think the ace changes through the course of the year. Some guy can have a rough three or four outings and another guy steps up, so I think they're all important, and I want to make them feel that way."
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Riggins made it clear that there will be an open competition, likely between three candidates, to be named the team's opening day starter.
"Dempster has had a great run here, Garza coming from Tampa Bay," Riggins said. "That's up to Mike and myself to decide once we start those games and it'll take care of itself."
