Rick Sutcliffe Working with Cubs Pitcher Chris Volstad
The Cubs have several young guys in the running to make the rotation this Spring, so they brought in a little extra coaching help. Former Cub great Rick Sutcliffe has been invited to Cubs camp this year as an extra instructor.
Sutcliffe spent 8 of his 18 seasons in Chicago, going 82-65 in his time with the Cubs.
Sutcliffe mentoring Volstad is a good fit, as they are similar in build, with Sutcliffe standing 6’7 and Volstad 6’8.
“A lot of it’s just attitude, but [we've worked on] a couple pitches, also,” Volstad said of his sessions with Sutcliffe. “Nothing new, but how to use different things and let guys know it’s the pitcher’s plate and stuff like that. We’ve been working on things and talking. It’s been a big help.”
Cubs coach Dale Sveum has seen what Volstad is capable of in past games against the Marlins, but he’s also noticed a few things that need improvement as well.
“He needs to learn what he can do and get quicker outs with the movement he has on his fastball and the length he has through the strike zone with his height,” Sveum said. “[He has to learn] more pitch sequences, understanding how to move the ball inside a lot more with his fastball and movement. He had a game against [the Brewers] last year and a pretty decent lineup and he went right through them pretty easy by pitching inside and broke a lot of bats and did a great job.”
Sveum also says that Sutcliffe has been working with several of the Cubs young pitchers.
“There’s a select few guys he’s taken under his wing,” Sveum said of Sutcliffe. “He can relate to big tall guys. Sut didn’t have the movement that Volstad has, but just getting him to understand pitch sequences and how to get big league hitters out is his big thing. Travis Wood, too. They both got to the big leagues and didn’t pitch a ton of innings in the Minor Leagues and now you have to understand how to get big league hitters out.”
Anytime you can bring in a guy like Sutcliffe to mentor young pitchers, it’s a win, win situation. Sutcliffe gets to pass on some of his knowledge and try to help his former team win games, and the pitchers get perspective from a guy who spent 18 years in big leagues.
I’ve always been a fan of bringing in former team greats to help. Not only was Sutcliffe a very good major league pitcher, he knows what it means to wear a Cubs uniform. Now obviously there isn’t a history of winning in Chicago, but donning a Cubs uniform and stepping onto Wrigley field, is a privilege. Sutcliffe’s presence at Spring Training will no doubt help the young guys understand that, and it can only make them better as pitchers.
Follow Andrew Fisher on Twitter @the_realfish, thanks to Carrie Muskat for the article
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