Visits: 3
If new Cubs pitcher Marcus Stroman ever studied anything about marketing while in college at Duke, he showed that he learned well by marketing himself as the newest addition to the Cubbies’ starting rotation on Sunday. Despite the tough 5-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, the Stroman trade last December was a good move for both the pitcher and Cubs fans who seemed to be pumped up with his presence even before he took the mound.
Stroman has learned to win over the hearts and minds of the Cubs faithful with reports of ticket giveaways to fans and his overall enthusiasm for moving into the Friendly Confines. Stroman’s energy also won over the crowd quickly and his readiness to win over his new home town supporters paid dividends as the Cubs crowd was definitely into this game – not just because of Opening Weekend, not just because the rival Brewers were in town but Stroman himself fired up the crowd and put on a show on the mound as well. Stroman’s great defensive double play in the fourth inning already made it to ESPN as a “Web Gem” highlight and Stroman’s three-year, $71 million dollar deal already seems like a good trade from the start.
Stroman was pulled out early after only throwing 79 pitches but that seems to be a part of manager David Ross’ plan to work the starting rotation in slowly given that spring training was much shorter this year as a result of the lockout. When Stroman’s outing ended, he had a 3-1 lead but ultimately the Cubs fell to the Brew Crew 5-4 on Sunday. Putting the starting rotation on a pitch count seems to be a part of the Cubs strategy to not overwork pitching arms that had limited time to work into the season, given the shortened, rushed spring training this year. Also, colder weather in April generally isn’t a blessing to pitching arms and keeping those multi-million-dollar arms healthy for later down the stretch may pay off heavy dividends as the Cubs try and pull off a .500 season this year.
For Stroman, moving from the Blue Jays to the Mets and now the Cubs seems like a full circle career move. The New York native already seems to be hitting his stride in Chicago with his first pitching outing. Despite a less than stellar 2021 with the Mets where he posted a 10-13 record, a 3.02 ERA in 179 innings pitched and a 1.15 WHIP, Stroman looks to bounce back and sometimes it’s not about how you pitch but where you call home that can give you an advantage. For Marcus Stroman and the Cubs faithful, let’s see if the Friendly Confines are truly welcoming to Stroman and his continued pitching career.
