What a great rotation we have now, Germano the rookie, Shark who many thought was ready to anchor this rotation but is reverting back to the old Samardzija, Wood who gives you a couple of solid starts then tanks the next few, Garza who is ineffective when he's not injured and Volstad and Coleman, when he starts, who are truly awful. Add to that a bullpen that has forgotten not only how to get people out but how to even throw strikes! If you want a 100 loss season and that first round draft pick then just entrust your pitching to this pathetic ensemble. Hopefully none of these losers are in Epsteins plans for the future, the whole of Cubs pitching needs a major overhaul, not even good hitting from our young players and Soriano can help the shoddy work being performed out on the mound by Cubs pitchers.

Note to Padre hitters in the upcoming series, just stand at the plate and wait for your walk!

Exactly which part of a TOTAL rebuild did you fail to grasp ? They are going to be lousy for at least 2 or 3 years , hopefully to build w/ young talent that can be supplemented by high priced FAs.

Germano is not a rookie, and he pitched well since becoming a Cub.

Shark is hitting more innings than he's pitched in the past, first year being stretched out, be mad next year if he does the same thing.

Wood, well when he's on he's lights out, but man... Jury is out on whether or not he can piece it together... I'd say the same for Volstad (Who I think may be solely a hot weather pitcher, see his good September last year).

The bullpen is a disappointment, but if it wasn't for our bullpen we would be in the middle of our division, probably looking at the 10th pick of the draft as opposed to a top 5. So is it really all that disappointing?

Apologies for Germano, you're right he's not a rookie, just new to the Cubs.

I just don't see where Epstein and Co are going with the pitching, yes we've picked up Vizcaino and some other arms and there are some kids in the draft who are interesting but even decent pitching is many years away. We'll be in the position that our good young position players might be hitting a storm in the future but our pitching staff will be mediocre. Epstein has said he won't explore 'high priced' free agents, so just exactly what could we get pitching wise through that channel? The Cubs are in danger of not having an ace or even a #2 pitcher for 4 or 5 seasons....uuurgh!

Yeah I really agree with you. Hoyer and Epstein have to shoulder a lot of blame because they've thus far failed to magic up some pitching. They should get some iron golems and fire elementals in there to bolster the staff.

We can't always live in the moment with tunnel vision... Just because something isn't here today doesn't mean it won't arise tomorrow..

Say Shark pitches inconsistent next year, but a better version of inconsistent... We have a #2/3 guy right there... What happens when we trade Garza? We have 2 MLB ready pitchers we can use with one being that potential ACE. That's the only way the Garza deal gets done.

Players like TWood, Germano, Volstad sound like the fillers for the back end of a rotation. If it's not them next year the Cubs will stockpile a few "upside" pitchers in the offseason again... Call-up or give a chance to Rusin/Raley... By the next year and call-ups we're right where we need to be... And not until then 2014 will MOST of the bats be in place to make contention...

While you can't always find an ACE, one can find you and the rest of the rotation can be simply solid.

Forgive me if i'm being ultra pessimistic over this. The Cubs have been burned so many times with young pitchers who promised so much only to badly disappoint or suffer career ending or career delaying injuries. I have to disagree with you about Garza, when he is unloaded he won't bring anything near a 'like value' in return because Garza simply isn't that good and teams aren't going to give quality for a pitcher who's merely 'average'.

Might as well be ALL IN with Theo's master plan. Tank and get a higher draft pick.

I don't have an issue with the position players that we have in our system, there are some pretty decent guys at the middle and lower levels who i believe will help this team down the road, i have a huge issue with our pitching. There is nothing in the Minors, Vizcaino is a huge gamble and Uncle Theo has said he won't pursue high-profile Free Agents that come with a large price tag. That leaves us with a pitching cupboard that is almost totally bare of talent. You can't build around Samardzija, Wood or even Matt Garza, none of these guys are consistently good. The next couple of seasons are going to be every bit as painful as the last 2 as we turn into the second coming of the Kansas City Royals, loaded with potentially good position players but burdened with pitchers who are pretty ordinary. My mind keeps going back to guys like Mike Harkey, who promised so much but were essentially unproductive, that's what our rotation will resemble for at least the next couple of seasons unless Epstein digs deep and brings proven starting pitcher talent to the North Side.

Since you are so concerned, how should this be fixed?

I don't think Theo said he won't ever go after high priced free agents, just that he won't do it until the time is right. There's no reason to sign a high priced starting pitcher now in hopes he is still ace caliber in 3 years when we are competitive. I'd say he wants to wait until we have a good idea of what we have with our young guys (castro, rizzo, jackson, vitters, wood, volstad, samardijza, etc.) be that an all star or serviceable player (or backend of the rotation guy) and then decide if after adding some of those high price free agents to fill holes we can win a world series. If he looks and there are too many holes, we wait a little longer. Once there are only 3 or 4 major gaps in our team, we get those free agents and go after a world series.

And what's wrong with that? Right now, it's a race to the bottom of the standings. The more the Cubs lose the better. Right now, the Cubs are in a battle for the 3rd pick in the draft. I'd like to see them win that battle. Hopefully Colorado has a stretch of good ball in them so the Cubs can make their move for the 2nd pick. This is what rebuilding looks like. Cubs are completely different than teams like Houston, Colorado, etc. These teams will not spend money when the time is right. The Cubs will do so, but they first have to lay the foundation. The Cubs might be the farthest away from winning the WS right now, but this is the best path that puts them on pace to win one in the future.

Agreed. However unlike the NBA or NFL a high draft pick is usually takes a couple of years before hes on the ML roster.

If this is our rotation next year we will lose 120 easily.

No, its not ok to lose, never.

That said, I like and want to see some of the young/new talent in this organization, such as Germano and BJackson, et al. Hopefully we see some more callups, especially in Sept. I still dont like to see AS and DDJ blocking possible OF candidates, or maybe we just wait until Sept 1?

Which OF are they blocking?

Still having trouble with reading and comprehension, eh? I said "possible", and also Sept 1 callups. We will (hopefully) see farmhands Sept 1 and put these tired old vets on the pine.

No, losing is fine right now. Winning meaningless games towards the end of seasons that were already over is what the Cubs of old would have done. That's how you stay mediocre. If you are rebuilding, you need to do it right and not half-a rse it. Every win from here on out could in effect delay the rebuilding process. Theo only has 5 years as of right now. He's knows he's got 2-3 years to get the ship going in the right direction. Year 4 is when he thinks he the Cubs will be able to make a push for the playoffs, IMO.

So no, they aren't blocking anyone.

Disagree. Winning games this year (or any other rebuild type year) does not delay anything. Cubs FO knows what needs to be done, what is lacking. If youre jockeying for better draft picks, well, thats just one big carpshoot anyway, and Ive never gotten overly excited about it. Winning some games, getting some clutch hits can only breed confidence and motivation for next year. Thankfully, I'm sure they arent losing "on purpose".

Exactly, winning breeds winning.