Should We Call You Ace Arrieta? Cubs Say Goodbye To Edwin Jackson

On a day which saw Jake Arrieta and the Chicago Cubs beat up on the Atlanta Braves 4-1, it was announced that Edwin Jackson was Designated For Assignment. Two of the worst kept secrets in baseball has finally come to to the surface.

Arrieta’s role as ace of the Cubs was cemented in yesterday’s victory. He struck out ten, but most importantly, where he wanted the ball to go, it got there. Ladies and Gentlemen, that’s going to come in handy should the Cubs seal a spot in the Wild Card.

“He’s just figuring everything out right now,” Joe Maddon said. “I hate to tell you, but there’s more in the tank there, and another level. As he gets more self awareness and is able to deal with all these weapons that he has, he’ll get better.”

Get better? huh? This was his eleventh victory of the season. That coming in a season all experts were predicting that the mighty Jon Lester was going to light it up for the North Side crew.

Part of Arrieta’s success could come from that icy stare on the mound. I wouldn’t want to meet that in a dark alley so imagine the batter’s who have to look at that. No other pitcher shows zero emotion like Jake does.

So Edwin Jackson is no longer a Cub. That’s right, the often travelled and equally chastised pitcher was sent his walking papers yesterday.

“It stinks but it’s the business part of the game,” Jackson said. “I’ll be all right, the team will be all right. Hopefully in my time here, I left some kind of positive influence on some of the guys. They can continue to keep it going and proceed to go ahead and prosper in the game.”

His record was 14-33 and a 5.58 ERA. Nobody is certain why Jackson’s number’s were so high, but I felt the bullpen might have sparked a rejuvination in him. Sure, I picked on him in the blog, but all truth be told, he’s a good pitcher. For some reason, he just couldn’t get things working in the Cubs organization. There’ll be another team picking him up and I wish him all the best.

“He’s one of the best human beings I’ve ever been around,” Arrieta said. “We’re very close, and our families are really close. The off-the-field stuff is a huge part of what makes that situation so difficult.”

Believe it