Rusch to Judgement

[Darkie Satchels]

Wood is coming back on Wednesday - Prior is not too far behind. Where does Rusch fit in the rotation? Did he lock himself as the number 5? If so, I'd keep him because the way that rotation clicks and pushes the other to improve is spectacular when it fires on all cylinders. Prior - Wood - Zambrano - Maddux - Rusch.

Should he be a trade high (despite his last two outtings) candidate or is he worth the ride?

[Mustangs989]

From what I've heard it looks as if Rusch will be headed to the bullpen and Jerome Williams will be given the chance to have the #5 spot in the rotation.

[Darkie Satchels]

From what I've heard it looks as if Rusch will be headed to the bullpen and Jerome Williams will be given the chance to have the #5 spot in the rotation.

Who is this guy. What are his numbers like?

edit:

G - 48
GS - 47
W - 18
L - 14
SV - 0
CG - 2
SHO - 1
IP - 284.0
H - 263
R - 137
ER - 123
HR - 28
BB - 101
K - 185
ERA - 3.90
WHIP - 1.28
BAA - .250

[Darkie Satchels]

From what I've heard it looks as if Rusch will be headed to the bullpen and Jerome Williams will be given the chance to have the #5 spot in the rotation.

From Stats:

Williams is expected to remain in the Cubs' starting rotation at least until Mark Prior and/or Kerry Wood are able to return to action. That time could come as early as next week. Williams went 1-1 with a 2.22 ERA in four starts for the Cubs' Triple-A affiliate prior to being recalled.

[Mustangs989]

Williams is the SP the Cubs got from the Giants for Hawkins. He was a fairly big prospect with the Giants and succeeded at a very young age last year. However his dad was having health problems this year, which many think caused him to lose concentration and got him demoted and eventually traded. However he's pitched better since coming to Iowa and had a nice start on Monday in Milwaukee.

Cubs.com says that it looks like Rusch will be heading to a bullpen. Here's a quote in case you don't want to read the whole thing.

Glendon Rusch and Sergio Mitre will likely be switched from the rotation to the bullpen, which will strengthen the bullpen. Mitre was 2-3 with a 5.19 ERA in seven starts while Rusch was 5-3 with a 3.13 ERA in 21 games, including 10 starts. The other starter in the mix is Jerome Williams, who gave up two runs on three hits over seven innings in his first Cubs start against Milwaukee on Tuesday. How will Rothschild choose between Mitre or Williams for the bullpen?
"Part of it will be who is best suited for the bullpen" Rothschild said. "Right now, I think you're looking at Williams starting and Sergio going to the bullpen because he can get ground balls. We need somebody who can come into an inning and get us out of an inning. I think he's more suited to warm up quicker. Nothing's etched in stone. We'll see."

Rusch is prepared for the switch.

"I'm ready for it. I talked to Larry and Dusty about it," Rusch said. "I wasn't yelling or screaming or anything."

[Darkie Satchels]

Williams looked good in the relief position today. So far he's gone 2 innings with ... what ... 3 K's? I haven't watched super close but he looks tight.

[Shock6822]

Why did Williams pitch in relief then if Rusch is going to the pen?

[Mustangs989]

Jerome Williams will be the fifth starter when Kerry Wood comes back, Mitre and Rusch are heading to the bullpen

Yep, they have an off day tomorrow so they will be skipping the #5 spot in the rotation. And since their bullpen has been used a lot lately and Williams needs to pitch some before his next outing they are giving JWill some work, and it worked out perfectly

That's what was posted in this thread