MESA, Ariz. -- There may be no better compliment paid to the back end of a bullpen than when it’s said, ‘The game is over after six innings.’ The world champion Kansas City Royals' bullpen has been described that way. The upstart Chicago Cubs' bullpen is trying to establish the same kind of identity. They’re not quite there, but they believe they are an underrated group.
“The numbers aren’t that much different but I feel like their guys have been consistent for so long,” reliever Justin Grimm said Monday before the Cubs played the Royals in a spring game.