Levine: Wood Sees Season Begin To Unravel

By Bruce Levine--

(CBS) -- The once promising future of Cubs left-handed starter Travis Wood has taken a dramatic downturn. The eroding results of this season have shocked the pitcher and organization alike.

Wood's start Sunday was a debacle of major proportions. The Cubs pitcher failed to make it out of the second inning. He allowed seven earned runs on nine hits and gave up three home runs before hitting the showers.

Since June 21, Wood is 1-7 with seven no-decisions. After a breakout season in 2013 in which the young pitcher posted a 3.11 ERA, the team and Wood's agents were close to agreeing on a contract that would have gone through at least one free agent season (Wood will not be eligible for free agency until November of 2016). The deal appeared imminent, before negotiations fell apart in early April.

"Obviously something is different," Wood said after the 58 pitch outing. "Whether it is the hitters' approach off of me, or not being able to execute the pitches the way I did last year, that will be something to be addressed over these next couple of starts and into the off season."

After 29 starts this season, Wood's ERA has gone up two runs per nine innings over his 2013 numbers. With roughly four starts, possibly three, left this season, Wood will fall 25 to 30 innings short of his career-high 200 innings he established last season.

"I think his season has been a little bit hit and miss," manager Rick Renteria said on Sunday about his pitcher. "I think he would be the first one to tell you that he would have wanted a much better season to this point. He has continued to grind. He has had some games where he has been efficient enough. I think he is a much better pitcher than he has shown."

A major league scout who has watched Wood over his career, broke down the pitcher's strengths and weaknesses after watching him struggle on Sunday.

"Wood was perfect with his command last season," said the NL scout. "He was never an overpowering guy, so he had to have great command on both sides of the plate to be successful. Last year he was really strong on his arm side control. Wood has been up with his pitches three of the four times I have seen him this year. Nobody can pitch up in the zone with just an average fast ball and get away with it."

As to the pitcher's near future, the Cubs must decide if diminishing results in his last two starts are a warning sign of fatigue. If that is the case, shutting the gutty lefty down for the season may be the short term solution to the problem. In his last two starts, Wood has given up eleven earned runs in 6.1 innings. Even more alarming is the five home runs he allowed in that short window of failure.

Wood's record stands at 8-12 with a 5.15 ERA in 2014.Those numbers evoke a question of Wood's overall health at this point of the season.

"I feel great," Wood lamented after the team's 10-4 loss. "That is one of the bad things about this. I feel great and the outcome is not what you want."
Manager Renteria said he would get together with his staff and Wood to determine what can be done to salvage the final outings of the season for Wood.

"We just got to get Woodie back to being Woodie," Renteria related. "Whatever that is we will try to figure it out."