Should The Cubs Have Left Cashner In Bullpen?
Andrew Cashner was 5.1 innings into his first career start, and was looking like he had the makings of a very solid staring pitcher. But then Cashner was removed from the game and later placed on the disabled list with a strained rotator cuff.
"I was never really in favor of starting Cashner," Steve Stone said on the Boers and Bernstein Show. "Only becuase this is a guy who closed before he got into pro ball. I have no doubt that he has a tremendous arm, I just always worry about a guy that has been used to working out of the bullpen, and suddenly you make him a starter."
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When he was drafted, Cashner was the hard throwing closer out of T.C.U. who some envisioned in the same role for the Cubs. But the emergence of Carlos Marmol and a need for starting pitchers drove Cashner in another direction. Not that he doesn't have the talent to be a starter.
"For me, that's like saying you're going to start Sergio Santos because he has three great pitches," Stone said. "He has three great pitches and a very strong arm, but that's out of the bullpen.
"And so I hope that the youngster is good, because he has a terrific arm and he has a chance to excel. I believe his future is out of the bullpen. I don't know how long Kerry [Wood] is going to go, but I think Cashner is ideal towards the back end of your 'pen."
