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player ready...Mike Bielecki is back in the Cubs` bullpen. And Les Lancaster is back in the starting rotation.
Manager Jim Essian made the switch Wednesday because, he said, Lancaster`s new forkball could make him a strong starter. Lancaster makes his first start Saturday afternoon in San Diego.
”Instead of just a fastball and slider, he has something else for them to look at,” said Essian, impressed by Lancaster`s recent work out of the bullpen.
In six starts last season, Lancaster went 3-1 with a 3.66 earned-run average. His last start was a 3-2 victory Sept. 29 in New York.
Lancaster hasn`t been a regular starter in the majors since 1987, when he started 18 games as a rookie. He seemed surprised by the move. ”To me, Bielecki and I throw the same pitches,” he said. ”But I`m sure they have their reasons.
”My control has been superb-knock on wood. Right now, I happen to be pitching better than I have in the past few years.”
Bielecki hasn`t been pitching poorly, but he has been inconsistent. He was shelled Monday night, but he had pitched well in each of his three previous starts.
His seven victories lead the staff, and he has a 3.96 ERA as a starter, 3.86 out of the bullpen.
Numbers race: The Cubs` three homers Tuesday gave them 60, the most in the National League.
That`s three behind major league-leading Detroit. The Cubs are on a pace to club 171 homers, a total they`ve reached only five times. . . . Cedric Landrum`s two steals Wednseday made him 8 for 8 in stolen-base attempts.
Ball day: Faced with increasingly tense relations between players and fans, National League President Bill White has ordered clubhouses to post a warning to players about league rules prohibiting them from throwing baseballs into the stands.
”This is a dangerous thing to do,” the letter says. ”Fans can be hit by the ball or injured in the scramble for the ball. In past years, there have been injuries to spectators and subsequent lawsuits.”