Not so sweet for Lou

The Chicago Cubs lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks in a game that saw Lou Piniella remove starter Carlos Zambrano after just 6 innings and 85 pitches. The move to the bullpen and Carlos Marmol did not work out. Lou didn't do anything horribly wrong. Unfortunately, the result has created a flurry of second-guessing.

Lou Piniella probably wants to bring Zambrano and 2nd game starter Ted Lilly back on short rest to avoid having to use Jason Marquis as a starter. Lilly, Rich Hill and Zambrano had ERA's of 3.83, 3.92 and 3.95, respectively. Marquis posted a 4.60 ERA during the regular season. Zambrano dueled D-backs ace Brandon Webb for 6 innings and the game was tied at 1. Webb pitched a scoreless top of the 7th, and Zambrano was removed to give way to Marmol, who posted a superb 1.43 ERA and allowed only 3 HR's in 69 1/3 innings this season.

Marmol has been exceptional. RP's Bob Howry, Kery Wood and Michael Wuertz have all been good for the Cubs out of the pen. My question for the second-guessers is: when is the right time for Piniella to remove Zambrano?

Brandon Webb posted a 3.01 ERA this year and in 5 years, his highest ERA for a season is 3.59. Arizona has a solid bullpen as well, headlined by closer Jose Valverde, Brandon Lyon and Tony Pena. After six and a half innings, it didn't look like the Cubs' offense was going to be exploding against Webb and Co. any time soon. If you leave Zambrano in for 3 more innings, you might make it impossible to reasonably bring him back for game 4 and you might still have to go to Marmol in a tied ballgame.

If you remember back just a bit, Ted Lilly came back on short rest and performed well after Zambrano tanked in the same situation. Perhaps Lou feels over taxing Zambrano would hinder his effectiveness in an important game 4 situation. By the numbers, Lilly and Hill should be able to hold down the fort and could put the Cubs in a position where a fresh Carlos Zambrano will be throwing for the series.

Think a little, second-guessers. Piniella probably wouldn't have removed Zambrano if he had known Marmol would give up two runs in the 7th inning. But, Piniella probably didn't see that as a likely scenario. We know what happened, but what we don't know is how Zambrano would have done in the bottom of the 7th. Maybe Reynolds takes Zambrano deep and everyone is getting on Lou for not going to Marmol? The move didn't work. Was it the optimal move? I don't know. But, it wasn't a stupid move or one that is going to cost the Cubs the series.