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CHICAGO -- If there is one word to describe the future of the Chicago Cubs, uncertainty is most certainly it.Save for the status of manager Mike Quade and the ever-looming question of who will be the next general manager, you're left with the all-important question of who will round out the 25-man roster for 2012.One of the most pressing areas when determining that hypothetical roster is the star football live ting rotation. Ryan Dempster and Matt Garza figure to be the only locks for next year, right now.With Carlos Zambrano's future as shaky as his numbers, the remaining spots in the rotation are up for grabs. Likely candidates include Randy Wells, Andrew Cashner, Casey Coleman and Rodrigo Lopez.With all that uncertainty, Quade doesn't feel the need to stress the importance of each start to these pitc football live hers."I need no message," Quade said. "They understand their circumstance. They understand their opportunity. There's nothing that I need to add to that. ... There's nothing for me to put on them. You're here to compete. You're here to keep a job, to establish who you are."These guys know what's at stake. It's better for me to be supportive and relax, because it keeps them relaxed."Coleman, who pi football live cked up a no-decision in Saturday's loss to the Pirates, is working hard to focus only on this season."I'm trying not to get too far ahead of myself," he said. "You're always pitching for your job, no matter how old you are. You don't want to stay in Triple-A or the Minor Leagues. Just take it start by start is what I'm trying to do, and not get too far ahead of myself." Command key to Coleman's football live success CHICAGO -- Before the start of Saturday's 7-5 loss to the Pirates, Cubs manager Mike Quade said if Casey Coleman wanted success in the Majors, he'd have to learn to command his pitches.Coleman isn't going to blow anyone away with his fastball, but if he executes each pitch, he can get outs."Command matters up here, no matter what your feature is," Quade said. "But with guys like Casey, football live Rodrigo [Lopez] and [Randy] Wells, who don't bring 95 to the plate, obviously, it becomes a bigger problem for those guys."The 24-year-old right-hander has shown signs that he can be successful in the big leagues, but has fallen victim to the damaging big inning."You see signs of it for an inning, a 20-pitch stint," Quade said. "Then, [he] loses command. It's not unusual with young guys."The abili football live ty to take a 100-pitch outing and limit those wandering periods of 15 pitches where the ball gets up, that's the goal. No one is going to go out and make 90 pitches exactly where you want them, but 70 would be good." Cubs keep VP of player development in fold CHICAGO -- General manager or not, the Cubs made sure their vice president of player development isn't going anywhere. Cubs chairman To football live m Ricketts locked up Oneri Fleita by giving him a four-year contract extension last week. Fleita joined the Cubs in 1995 as a Minor League manager, before transitioning to a scout, director of Latin American operations and, eventually, his current role overseeing player development."It's something I believe in," Fleita said. "I've been given the support to sign players internationally this year th football live at I've never had. ... This is an opportunity now to work for a great family in the Ricketts family, and we've been given resources to compete. That makes it a lot of fun to everyone involved."After the dismissal of general manager Jim Hendry, Ricketts made clear the new GM would have absolute say in all baseball decisions, but he liked Fleita enough to give him a new deal."To me, this is more abo football live ut the staff that's here and keeping some continuity," Fleita said. "When the next general manager comes in, hopefully, we'll be able to serve him well." Inconsistency plaguing Marmol CHICAGO -- Just hours after Cubs manager Mike Quade praised the work of his bullpen, closer Carlos Marmol gave up a grand slam in the ninth inning in Saturday's loss to the Pirates.The 28-year-old right-hander ha football live s struggled with consistency this season. After giving up four earned runs against Houston on Aug. 16, he threw five scoreless appearances before Saturday's blown save."It was, obviously, a rough day [on Saturday]," Quade said. "It winds up being about command. ... He's given up some big hits. It's been a tough fight for him. He's just going to have to keep fighting. You keep putting people in the football live position to do what he needs to do. I hope he straightens it out."With 22 games to play, Quade isn't thinking about taking the closing duties away from Marmol. But he does know he has other options if he needs them."Oh God, the last thing I've thought about is next year," said Quade. "We just want to get people through this year in as good of shape as we can."We want to see Marmol pitch well, but football live I have absolutely no problem with giving him a day [off] and using [Sean Marshall] and [Kerry Wood]. I trust those guys. They've all done it, and they're all very good." Worth noting #149; Sean Marshall recorded his 30th hold of the season on Saturday, tying Carlos Marmol's single-season club record set in 2008. Marshall already holds the single-season mark for holds by a Cubs left-hander, s football live urpassing Jeff Fassero's 25 holds in 2001. #149; Andrew Cashner's final rehab start with Triple-A Iowa was postponed on Saturday night due to rain. Mike Quade said he could be available for the Cubs as early as Wednesday. #149; Bryan LaHair made his Cubs debut on Sunday, starting in left field and batting fifth. This is his first Major League start since Sept. 28, 2008, with Seattle. football live
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