Rotation Battle: Though it may have actually began when they started throwing bullpen sessions at the beginning of camp, the battle for the fourth and fifth spot in the Chicago Cubs rotation officially began today when candidate Randy Wells started against the Milwaukee Brewers. And it went pretty well for Wells. Though nothing is guaranteed, Wells, who pitched two scoreless innings, is almost a lock for one of the two spots. After being something of a revelation in by winning 12 games with a 3.09ERA in his rookie season of 2009, Wells stumbled to just an 8-14 record with a 4.26ERA in 2010, his first full season in the Bigs.
Other Notes: Reed Johnson was 2-3 in his return to the Cubs. Johnson who spent 2008-2009 with the Cubs returns after spending the 2010 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is signed to a non-guaranteed Minor League contract. Also re-debuting for the Cubs was Kerry Wood. Wood who spent the last two season with the Indians and Yankees returns to the team where he spent the first ten years of his baseball career. Wood, who burst onto the national scene in 1998 after striking out 20 Houston Astros won the 1998 NL Rookie of the Year Award. However, he was never quite the same, save for the 2003 season when he took the Cubs to the NLCS. He gave up two runs on three hits in one inning of work while striking out two and walking none.
Looking Ahead: The Cubs face the 2010 World Series Champion San Francisco Giants on Tuesday followed by another match-up against the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday.
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