Cubs bullpen keeping it even keel
Morrow, Edwards key to relief corps success in 2018
MESA, Ariz. – After Game 7 of last year’s World Series, Brandon Morrow fulfilled the dream of many a player when he donated his cleats and cap to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Morrow’s 11-year career had been frequently interrupted by injuries, and yet here he was, getting recognized for his durability after becoming the second player ever to pitch in seven games of a World Series.
But the then-Los Angeles Dodgers reliever could hardly enjoy the moment. He was part of a losing effort as the Dodgers came up just short of capturing their first championship since 1988, falling in a memorable Fall Classic to the Houston Astros.
Tying the record for pitcher participation set in 1973 by Oakland Athletics left-hander Darold Knowles was small consolation.
“That was kind of bittersweet,” Morrow said. “It felt good to have stuff going in the Hall of Fame for doing that, but also losing was tough.”
Morrow, 33, offers his thoughts in an even-keeled manner in the Chicago Cubs spring training clubhouse, standing a few lockers away from new teammate Carl Edwards Jr. The two righthanders will play key roles in the bullpen as the club seeks a third consecutive National League Central crown, and how they perform might hinge in large part on how they react to high-profile failures last October.
Morrow was a workhorse throughout the postseason, appearing in 14 of the Dodgers’ 15 games, including four sterling appearances against the Cubs in the NL Championship Series that might have helped persuade them to sign him in the offseason to a two-year, $21 million contract.
But what casual fans likely remember most is his implosion in the epic Game 5 that turned the World Series in the Astros’ favor, as they overcame two three-run deficits against Clayton Kershaw to pull out a 13-12 victory in 10 innings.
In the seventh, pitching on his third consecutive day, Morrow faced four batters and did not retire any, allowing four hits and four runs as Houston took an 11-8 lead. Two of the hits were home runs, after Morrow had gone the entire season — 45 games, 2.06 ERA — without giving up one.
Such a calamitous outing in the first postseason of his career could leave an indelible mark, but Morrow said he doesn’t think much about it, displaying the short memory that will be essential in his new duties as Chicago’s closer.
“I try not to dwell on that,” Morrow said. “There’s a lot of things that happened in that game. My inning happened very quickly, but there were several other innings like that.”
Edwards, 26, echoes the same sentiments as his more experienced bullpen mate. His stumble wasn’t as spectacular, nor were the stakes as high — the NL Division Series against the Washington Nationals — but the potential for a longterm scar was there, especially for a young pitcher.
Edwards had enjoyed a terrific regular season as the Cubs’ top setup man, limiting opponents to an average of less than four hits per nine innings for the second year in a row. But walks had been a bugaboo, and they haunted him again against the Nationals, who had given him trouble before.
Handed a 3-1 lead in the eighth inning of Game 2, Edwards served up a tworun homer to Bryce Harper, then took the loss when a subsequent walk turned into the go-ahead run.
Although Edwards earned the win in Game 3 after throwing a perfect eighth — and had two scoreless outings in the NLCS — the lingering memory of his October was yielding the Harper home run and then walking all three batters he faced in the series’ final two games.
He sounds slightly annoyed but resigned to the fickle nature of fans and some of the media.
“There’s a lot of people who only watch playoff baseball,” Edwards said, “so that’s why I don’t need to bother with them, because they don’t know what I did the whole season.”
With the departure of closer Wade Davis as a free agent, the Cubs have remade part of a bullpen that had the NL’s third-best ERA last season at 3.80. Former closer Hector Rondon has left as well, but Edwards, Pedro Strop and lefty Brian Duensing are back, joined by newcomer Steve Cishek in what should be a strong setup corps.
The biggest bullpen question going into the season might be Morrow’s suitability for the closer role. He began last season in the minors and did not become a full-time reliever until 2016, after shoulder surgery the year before effectively ended his days as a starter. From 2010 to 2015, Morrow was almost exclusively a starter, though he did save
10 games in 2008 with the Seattle Mariners.
Armed with a high-90s fastball, an outstanding slider and a cutter, Morrow was on the Cubs’ shopping list initially as a setup man and, if they could not lure Davis back, as a ninth-inning option. When Davis signed a three-year,
$52 million deal with the Colorado Rockies in late December, Morrow became the closer.
“In short spurts his stuff is devastating,” said manager Joe Maddon, who plans to limit Morrow’s outings early on. “The velocity always seems to be there, but the slider is ridiculous.”
Last season, Morrow held hitters to a
.194 batting average and a tiny .454 onbase plus slugging percentage. Edwards’ numbers were just as eye-popping: .134 and .503. Together, they could form a dynamic back-end duo in the bullpen, provided they’ve gotten past their October woes.
Maddon and Morrow believe the exposure to such high-leverage situations will only benefit both pitchers in the long run.
To Edwards, the mere question is so
2017.
“That was last year. This is a whole new year for us,” Edwards said. “He’s over his Game 5, I’m over my Game 2 and 3 and 4, whatever from last year. This is a new year. We have a new beginning, and we have a good chance to go win a World Series.”