Dave Bush’s woes continued Tuesday against the Cubs.
I checked the box score late in the first inning…as best as I can ascertain, Bush served up a single to lead off hitter Ryan Theriot, then walked Fukudome, somehow managed to get Derek Lee out, before serving up an RBI double to Aramis Ramirez. Then someone named Josh Kroeger got a hit off of Bush, to drive in Ramirez, and spot the Cubs a 3-0 lead after a half inning.
Frankly, I don’t care if Bush pitches perfect ball the next six innings–Tuesday’s start marks the third consecutive start in Cactus League play where Bush has allowed 3 or more earned runs within the first three innings. A team can’t consistently comeback from three run deficits during the course of a season, and Bush was notorious for getting knocked around early last year–Bush allowed 28 ER’s in the first inning over his 31 starts in ’07, for an ERA of 8.13, with 48 hits to 28 K’s.
Memo to Ned: Send Bush to the minor-league camp. He has options left, and somewhere along the way, opponents have figured out how to hit him. Right now, Claudio Vargas (who pitched 5 no-hit innings yesterday), Carlos Villanueva, and Manny Parra all deserve a spot in the rotation ahead of Bush.
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