At first blush, Mark Guthrie’s statistics as a Cub don’t look so bad. However, ask any Cubs pitcher who left a game with runners on in late 2003 who the last person they wanted to see on in relief of them. I’m guessing the answer would be a resounding, “Mark F@#$ing Guthrie.”
Yes, I am comfortable throwing a guy under the bus for his latter-day sins. In case you’d forgotten, the end of the 2003 season was a bit stressful. Guess when Guthrie was at his most putrid? If you said, “September, 2003,” I will someday buy you a beer. Only you won’t know when that day is coming. And you might be in the shower at the time. Just leave your door unlocked.
Guthrie’s numbers are deceiving because the majority of the runs he gave up at the end of the 2003 season were charged to the poor saps who pitched before him. If Guthrie came in at the end of the 2003 season with runners on base, the ump should have just immediately waved those runners in, because they were just about guaranteed to score.
Oh, and the exact same thing happened at the end of Guthrie’s first tenure with the Cubs from 1999-2000. I don’t understand the Cub obsession with LOOGYs who can’t get out left-handed hitters, but Guthrie was another in a long line of guys cut from that mold. At least Guthrie wasn’t trying to be deceptive, though. He couldn’t get out right-handed hitters, either.
Guthrie truly earned his high spot on The Bottom 126, though, for his “contributions” to the 2003 season. Not only was Guthrie wretched down the stretch, but he was also outstandingly bad against both the Braves and the Marlins in the 2003 playoffs. Anyone who contributes to the misery that was the end of the 2003 season earns a special place in hell on the B126.
Low Point: This one is so easy, I almost feel guilty typing it. September 25, 2003. The Cubs are in Cincinnati, deadlocked in a first-place tie with the Astros. The game is about as must-win as games get against the hapless, 18-games-back Reds. The Cubs have an extremely favorable matchup, with Carlos Zambrano taking the mound against Todd Van Poppel, who would have made the B126 if he’d sucked with the Cubs as badly as he sucked everywhere else. Zambrano allows two runs before the 6th inning, which he begins by giving up three straight singles, loading up the bases. Dusty Baker inexplicably goes to Dave Veres and Guthrie to put out the fire. Veres gives up a single and a sacrifice fly to tie up the game. On comes Guthrie. He gives up a run-scoring double which gives the Reds the lead. He follows it up with a sacrifice fly, and then a two-run shot by Sean Casey. Six runs cross the plate in the inning, giving the Reds an 8-4 lead. The Reds eventually win 9-7. You suck, Guthrie.
Did You Know? In 1995, Guthrie, then with the Los Angeles Dodgers, gave up the first pinch-hit grand slam in postseason history to Mark Lewis of the Cincinnati Reds? You always did have trouble with those Reds, eh, Mark?
