A Little Edge? Might As Well
With Angel Guzman scheduled to get the start next Tuesday at Pittsburgh, but with a 5th starter not needed again until May 12th at Philadelphia, here is what the Cubs should do to give themselves a little bit of an edge, although they probably won't:
TUEDAY MAY 2 - Recall Angel Guzman from Iowa to start the game at PIT, and option SS Ronny Cedeno to AAA Iowa so that he can play every day.
WEDNESDAY MAY 3 - No matter how he does on Tuesday at PIT, option Angel Guzman back to Iowa, and bring up an extra bat (6th man) for the bench until a 5th starter is needed again in ten days. It can't be Cedeno, because he has to remain on optional assignment for at least ten days unless he is recalled to replace a player who is placed on the DL, but it could be Angel Pagan, Scott Moore, or Buck Coats (all are on the 40-man roster), or even Micah Hoffpauir or Mike Fontenot, if the Cubs open up a spot on the 40-man roster by transferring Kerry Wood or Juan Mateo to the 60-day DL, or by recalling Mark Prior from his optional assignment and immediately placing him on the 60. (If Wood or Mateo are transferred to the 60 to open up a spot for Hoffpauir, either would be eligible to be reactivated on May 31st, because they were placed on the 15-day DL on April 1st, and time spent on the 15 counts toward time spent on the 60).
Meanwhile, Gooz would get a start for Iowa at New Orleans on Sunday night May 6th (on normal four days rest) to help him stay stretched out as a starter.
Then...
SATURDAY MAY 12- Angel Guzman--or possibly Sean Marshall or Carlos Marmol, if Guzman is ineffective--gets recalled to get the start at PHI, and remains in the Cubs starting rotation until further notice.
At this time, a position player would need to be cut, but Uncle Lou and the Cubs would at least have a six-man bench for every game over the ten-day period May 2-11. And that could mean the difference in an extra inning game where a PH or PR is needed in a key spot, and that one extra win thanks to that "6th man on the bench" could make a difference come the end of the season. You never know. As insignificant as it might seem, the Cubs should play for every little edge they can get.
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