Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks is introduced at the opening ceremony of the Cubs Convention on Jan. 13 at the Sheraton Grand Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune, John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
On a day the Chicago Cubs celebrated some of the legendary pitching of their past, their starting pitcher of the moment got caught up in it just long enough to steal a pregame peek at Kerry Wood on the field and to daydream about Wood’s glory 25 years ago Saturday at Wrigley Field.
“When I was warming up, I was like, ‘Hey, maybe I can strike out a bunch of guys today,’ " said Drew Smyly, who didn’t last long enough to get the win, much less strike out 20, by the time the Cubs came back late to beat the Miami Marlins 4-2. “Unfortunately that wasn’t the way it worked out.”
He did, however, leave the ballpark with some related swag — his son having nabbed one of the bobbleheads of Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins given to fans before the game.
“I saw him after the game with a Fergie bobblehead, so we’ll take that home,” Smyly said.
The greatest pitcher in franchise history later was shown on the video board between innings to a rousing ovation. The greatest pitching performance in franchise history got several ovations, not the least of which came when Wood, wearing a Murphy’s Bleachers T-shirt, was shown on the same screen in the middle of the fourth.
Even former All-Star and Game 1 playoff starter Ryan Dempster was in the house as a TV analyst. But the pitcher who might have the most to say about how much these Cubs accomplish this season?
He might have been the most overlooked Cubs pitching great in the place on this day.
Is it possible anyone has forgotten Kyle Hendricks?
“I don’t care if they have,” said Hendricks, the Cubs’ three-time opening-day starter who had what he described as one of his most productive bullpen sessions Saturday ahead of his next rehab start Tuesday in Iowa.
“I just love pitching, man, and I’m so happy that I’m back in cleats and on a mound and in a game. That’s all I really care about. I would love to get back to Wrigley and hopefully if they remember me, that’d be great.”
It’s probably safe to say he would be in line for another one of those ovations that risk a pitch-clock violation when he returns — possibly sometime during the next homestand later this month.
“Sure, I’ll take Ball 1,” he said. “I’m used to filling up the zone.”
A couple of boxes still need to be checked as Hendricks heads into his third and fourth scheduled rehab starts Tuesday and then Sunday — mostly mechanical adjustments to fix command issues that have led to eight hits and four walks in 4⅓ innings in his first two rehab starts. Those were his first two official games since July 5.
But his once-ailing right shoulder is healthy and his body strong, he said — his velocity reaching 89 mph consistently (topping out at 90). That’s higher than it’s been since he won the major-league ERA title in 2016, a year he also did a few other impressive things in October and November.
“Kyle’s been an absolute stud for the Cubs for a really, really long time,” said Smyly, who struggled with his trademark curveball and left in the fourth inning Saturday trailing 2-1. “All the guys were very happy to see him, and we can’t wait to have him back.”
The Cubs rotation has been its strength this season, especially during a stretch of four straight series wins in April that pushed them to a high-water mark of five games over .500 as late as April 21.
But for all the hype afforded slugging prospect Matt Mervis when he was called up Friday to help a listing lineup, pitching is the backbone of most championship teams and almost certainly will be what tells the final story of this season — especially after a $300 million winter that, among other things, significantly upgraded the fielding side of the Cubs’ run prevention.
“Our starters especially have been doing a really nice job,” manager David Ross said. “It’s about the depth we know we’re going to need; we’ve seen it already play out. “His (Hendricks’) impact is going to be great. We want to get him back to being the best version of himself, and when he is that, for sure, to have that type of six-seven guys that you’re going to be able to rely on with consistency, experience and all the things Kyle brings — we just want to get him back to being 100% him.
“That’s a really good situation for us.”
To that end, Hendricks called his last two days in Chicago to work with the staff “the most important two days of my entire rehab” so far.
With Justin Steele and Marcus Stroman setting the pace for a rotation that led the National League in ERA (3.25) even after Smyly’s short start, Hendricks said he feels the luxury of added patience.
“So there’s absolutely no need at this point,” he said of jumping into the mix. “But it’s a long year; it’s absolutely a long season. You never know the ups and downs you go through.
“If I can just come and contribute in whatever way that ends up being needed from me, and I can get those results that I’m used to getting, it would provide so much for this team and I would be so excited just to come in and fit right into this group and do exactly what they’re doing.”
Jameson Taillon already has spent time on the injured list. Rookie Hayden Wesneski — who faces reigning Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara on Sunday — has looked like he’s starting to settle in recently after a few early growing pains.
Meanwhile, 129 games remain to navigate, with the Cubs sitting a game over .500 in an upside-down division that has the questionable Pittsburgh Pirates in first place and the favored St. Louis Cardinals buried deep in last place — their manager, Oliver Marmol, under increasing heat, and their All-Star free-agent, ex-Cub Willson Contreras no longer the starting catcher as of Saturday.
The win Saturday — which included a second RBI hit from Mervis in as many days and a first big-league hit from Miguel Amaya on a 67-mph bouncer up the middle after five outs on 100-plus-mph contact — was two straight to open the homestand after a 1-6 trip that included five one-run losses.
That’s how important pitching is.
For a Cubs team that already got off to a relatively quick start, it’s hard to overstate the difference adding a healthy, vintage Hendricks might make to a team that could be in position with another good month to start thinking more tangibly about contending.
“Hundred percent,” Hendricks said. “We were thinking that way from the start. But you never quite know how it’s going to come together. But there was such a good feel in that spring training locker room. It’s just an accountable, super-pro group.
“We know the potential that we have with this group, and we’ve said it from the start. No. 1 is taking care of our division, and we feel we have a great chance with that, and at the end of the season, we’ll see where we end up. We feel like we can make a long, great run with this group.”
The biggest problem might be figuring out where he fits into one of the top-performing rotations in the majors in a week or two.
“There’s always a spot for Kyle Hendricks,” Smyly said.
A healthy rotation
The Cubs rotation ranks first in the National League in ERA and could get a boost from Kyle Hendricks in the coming weeks (games started in parentheses):
- Justin Steele (7): 5-0, 1.45
- Marcus Stroman (7): 2-2, 2.18
- Drew Smyly (7) 3-1, 3.05
- Hayden Wesneski (6): 2-1, 4.45
- Jameson Taillon (4): 0-2, 5.29
- Javier Assad (1): 0-0, 6.00
- Caleb Kilian (1): 0-1, 18.90
- TOTAL: 12-7, 3.25
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Originally published at Tribune News Service