alas, that success did not carry over. the cubs tried using him as a starter in 1996, and that experiment failed—in 6 games (5 started), he posted a 6.38 era in 24 innings of work. he only struck out 13 while walking 14. they tried using him as a starter again in 1997, but that failed too. he went 0–1 in 8 innings of work, which totaled two games started. after his final major league game on april 22, 1997, swartzbaugh stuck around in the minors until 1999.