Joe Maddon gave Eddie Butler the vote of confidence, probably because he believes in the raw ability, the front office’s change-of-scenery projections and, well, the Cubs don’t really have any other good options right now.
That blockbuster deal for a pitcher – if it even comes together at all this summer – isn’t happening a week before the amateur draft, with 56 days left until the July 31 trade deadline.
Even before Butler shut down the Miami Marlins during Monday night’s 3-1 win at Wrigley Field, the Cubs manager confirmed he will be on a “long leash” (reporter’s words) as the defending World Series champs try to gain traction and separate from the rest of the National League Central.
“Yeah,” Maddon said. “Overall, he’s had one outstanding outing, one not-so-good one, (the rest) kind of medium range, so I’m just looking for him to stay aggressive. Be very simple in your game plan. Don’t try to do too much. Don’t try to overthink it. Let your stuff work.”
That’s exactly what Butler did, breaking Giancarlo Stanton’s bat in the first inning and retiring 11 straight hitters from the second through the end of the fifth. Butler allowed one run before lefty Mike Montgomery got the final 10 outs and notched his second save as the Cubs (29-27) extended their winning streak to four games and moved into a first-place tie with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Since throwing six scoreless innings and beating the St. Louis Cardinals in his Cub debut, Butler (3-1, 3.75 ERA) had allowed nine runs, 14 hits and 10 walks in his previous three starts, a span of 12.1 innings that intensified questions about the back of the rotation.
“That first game in St. Louis, I think, is what he’s supposed to look like,” Maddon said. “You saw a lot of 94-95 (mph) and let’s go, let’s go. He just went right after the hitter and I’d like to see him really get back to that moment. He’s a got a good curveball, too. I like his hook. He’s still feeling his way through this whole thing.
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“But the stuff definitely plays. He’s definitely got enough stuff to do all this. It’s just a matter of (what) I’ve talked about (before), the stage guys. Stage 3: I belong here. I can do this.
“Once he arrives at that and lets his stuff eat a little bit, he can absolutely do this.”
Brett Anderson threw a simulated game on Monday in Arizona, but between his 8.18 ERA this season and long history of back injuries, there’s nothing to suggest that he will be a quick fix or a sturdy piece to the rotation.
If the Cubs are thinking about using Montgomery as a sixth starter during this 30-games-in-31-days stretch between June 2 and July 2, Maddon said: “We haven’t had that conversation yet.”
So this will be about Butler hitting that stage of trust and belonging that he could never reach at Coors Field as an up-and-down prospect with the Colorado Rockies.
“Today was that,” Butler said, “being efficient, attacking the zone, keeping a good pace that keeps everybody ready to play. The guys were talking about it after the game: ‘Hey, that was a great pace of play today.’ It’s on everybody’s mind. If you can get them back into the dugout, it gets them ready to score runs for you, too.”