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Grote's 5 Cubs Observations: Tsuyoshi Wada Needs His Fastball Command

By Mark Grote--

(CBS) Cubs catcher Miguel Montero is stressed out over left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada's diminishing fastball command in recent starts.

"You can't really do that much with secondary stuff when you don't have the fastball," said Montero, holding his arms up in the air. "It's tough for a catcher to call a game like that. It gets to a point where you just want to flip a coin, because he can't execute any of his pitches. There's literally nowhere to go."

Wada hasn't made it past the fourth inning in either of his last two outings. He's allowed eight earned runs in 6 2/3 innings combined in that stretch and has a 4.84 ERA for the season.

"He has to stop giving so much credit to the hitters," Montero said bluntly.

At this point, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said he's not even thinking about making a change to the fifth starter spot, but at one point Travis Wood had the same vote of confidence and now finds himself pitching out of the bullpen. So Wada's future remains cloudy.

Vizquel gives insight on Castro

Detroit Tigers first base coach Omar Vizquel played shortstop at an honors level in the big leagues for 24 seasons. He believes that Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro can afford to tighten up his defense.

"He has some really good attributes at shortstop, but sometimes it looks like he gets out of focus a little bit on the plays he has to make," Vizquel said.

There remains something redeeming about Castro's entire outlook the way Vizquel sees it.

"Wearing No. 13," said a smiling Vizquel, who himself wore No. 13. "He's telling you that something good is going to happen."

Miggy does it all

The Cubs recently faced two-time MVP Miguel Cabrera during a two-game series in Detroit.

Vizquel summarized Cabrera's greatness wonderfully.

"He has the eye of a lead-off guy, the ability to hit the ball to right field like a second hitter," Vizquel said. "He has the connection ability and doesn't strike out like a three hitter is supposed to be, and he has the power of a four hitter."

When the conversation turned to Cubs hitting consultant Manny Ramirez, Vizquel just started laughing.

"He hasn't changed at all, except he's got a little white beard," Vizquel said of his former teammate in Cleveland. "He's looking a little older now, but he's still Manny!"

Williams fond of Soler

Cubs Hall of Famer Billy Williams really didn't want to reveal which Cubs player he most enjoys watching, insisting that he "loves all of them." But you wouldn't be going out on a limb if you were to suspect that it might be a certain rookie right fielder.

"I compare Jorge Soler with (Roberto) Clemente," Williams said. "Not too many guys are going to run on him because of his arm."

Soler has been on the disabled list since June 3 with an ankle sprain.

Maddon keeps 30-minute rule on mind

It was after a recent road loss that Maddon was cranking a Barry Manilow song on the team bus.

"You lose hard for 30 minutes, and you win hard for 30 minutes," Maddon said. "I never want our guys to carry bad into our clubhouse the next day."

Maddon was asked if that was a difficult concept for young players to pick up.

"It just depends on whether your players have been raised by wolves or not, and if they had been, it becomes more difficult, " Maddon said with a straight face. "So, when you have a bunch of guys that have been raised by wolves, it's easier to get the 30-30 concept out there."

Mark Grote is the Cubs pregame and postgame host on WBBM. Follow him on Twitter @markgrotesports.

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