Cubs hanging around, but for how long?

Monday, May 23, 2011
Posted: 7:25 p.m.

By Patrick Mooney
CSNChicago.com

Matt Garza reacts after the Cubs win in Florida, but he had to be scratched from Sunday's start. With a plethora of injuries, can Chicago stay in the division race? (AP)

The Cubs are hanging around. It’s not catchy and you can’t put that on a billboard. It won’t be the next advertising campaign. But for the moment it fits this group.

The crucial next question is: How long can they keep doing that?

Matt Garza – who was supposed to be a game-changer for this franchise – has already been scratched once with right elbow tightness.

Marlon Byrd is so respected by his peers that the players voted him into last season’s All-Star Game. He throws his body all over center field, but even he can’t play through multiple fractures to his face.

Their strength up the middle was already sapped with Geovany Soto on the disabled list. Cubs pitchers trust Soto and like throwing to their catcher. Jeff Baker – a utility man playing his way into more at-bats by hitting .376 – is also nursing a groin strain.

The Cubs believe Andrew Cashner has the potential to be a star, but they don’t know when his right shoulder will allow him to pitch again. Randy Wells (forearm) gave up seven runs in four innings in his rehab start on Sunday at Triple-A Iowa.

The Cubs talk a lot about their team chemistry, but they will be running a deficit in energy, intensity and leadership when these core pieces are missing.

“I don’t think anybody questions (that) we got a lot of high-character guys in our clubhouse,” general manager Jim Hendry said. “They’re going to grind their way through it and play good baseball.”

The Cubs (20-25) are going to have to do it pretty soon, starting with a nine-game homestand that begins Tuesday night. Three teams that no one expects to contend – the Mets, Pirates and Astros – are coming into Wrigley Field.

The schedule is brutal after that – 20 games in 20 days against the Cardinals, Reds, Phillies, Brewers, Yankees and White Sox. If the Cubs are going to be a factor in the division, they need to pad their record now.

With almost 28 percent of the season complete, the Cubs are in fifth place, but not completely buried in the National League Central. They began Monday 6.5 games out, and they know it could be much worse.

“Day-to-day, win-loss, your mood changes,” reliever Jeff Samardzija said. “(But) I haven’t seen a team come to the park every day ready to work (like) this team has. And we do it every day regardless of what happened the day before.”

No doubt, the injury problems are real, one reason why the Cubs are five games under .500 and haven’t won more than two in a row yet this season. But those issues also mask how much their rotation has underachieved.

The Cubs woke up Monday with only 14 quality starts, which easily ranks last in the majors – everyone else has at least 20. Their starters had gone 11-20 with a 5.54 ERA – every other rotation was at 4.79 or lower.

The Cubs have enough pieces to make it interesting on any given night. And they have enough flaws to frustrate the fans that are still paying close attention.

“Hang around for a little longer,” manager Mike Quade said. “Get yourself back healthy and playing consistent baseball to where you can make a run. We haven’t done that yet. We’re still in this thing. We’ve hung around for this long. But eventually we got to put together a nice stretch.”

The Cubs can’t wait too much longer. Quade’s positive attitude can only go so far.

“It’s up to us,” pitcher Carlos Zambrano said. “Q can be the best manager in the big leagues, but if we don’t perform as good, he’s the one that will take the blame. If we do good, he will look good.”

Patrick Mooney is CSNChicago.com's Cubs beat writer. Follow Patrick on Twitter @CSNMooney for up-to-the-minute Cubs news and views.