Archive - Mar 6, 2008
A Trade Possibility...
Submitted by Rob G. on Thu, 03/06/2008 - 7:35pm.
Gameday Open Thread / Cubs @ Athletics
Submitted by Cubnut on Thu, 03/06/2008 - 1:43pm.
The Cubs play the A's this afternoon at 2:05 Central Time in Phoenix. You can hear the game via the mlb.com Web cast.
Jason Marquis starts for the Cubs against former White Sox farmhand and non-roster invitee Gio Gonzalez. The lefty led all of minor league baseball in strikeouts last season and fanned three Giants over two scoreless innings in his Oakland debut last Saturday.
Marquis also threw last Saturday and, you may recall, pitched like hell.
I know Dusty's Long Gone But...
Submitted by Rob G. on Thu, 03/06/2008 - 12:36pm.
Dusty Baker wants his hitters to hit. He likes aggressive hitters. He was talking about Joey Votto and finished with this:
“I really, really hate the called third strike. I hate that. You're guess and you ain't ready to hit.”
Does the aggressive stuff go for Adam Dunn, too? “Like I said, I don't like called third strikes. Dunn’s not a kid. He's not old, but he ain't a kid. I bet you he gets better. He's from Texas, right? There’s not a cow in Texas if he don’t get better.”
“He wants to get better. Barry Bonds he always told me Dunn would be one of the best around. Comes to hitting, Barry’s got a pretty good idea.”
On Votto: “He needs to swing some more. I talked to him about that. Strikeouts aren't the only criteria. I'd like to see him more aggressive.”
“A lot of this on-base percentage is taking away the aggressiveness of some young kids. Most of the time you’ve got to put handcuffs on a young to keep him from swinging.”
Cubbie Blue Bones and Groans, Spring Training Edition
Submitted by Dr. Joseph Hecht on Thu, 03/06/2008 - 6:34am.
The Cubs have a few nagging health problems as well as injuries this spring. Nothing critical. Just stuff like heart arrhythmia's treated with surgery.
Mark DeRosa had ablation surgery to burn the short circuit in the electrical wiring of his heart. Now that he's got normal sinus rhythm, can dancing with the stars be far behind? Our 2nd baseman is back in Mesa and should resume baseball activities as soon as next monday.
Alfonso Soriano broke the tip (distal phalanx) of his right long finger catching during fly ball drills while coached to catch two-handed. Ouch that hurts. If this was a 16 inch softball league he'd be out there the next day (gnarly looking hands are the trademerk of us 16 inch softball players). Fortunately it's a hairline crack in the bone so it will be less sore in a week or two.
Update (from the Sun-Times):
(Soriano)... threw from the outfield in his first work since suffering the injury sunday and fared well. Next up is batting practice.
Aramis Ramires has a sore shoulder. Not sore enough for an MRI. Expect him back soon and more importantly expect to see DeRosa at third soon too.
Update (from the Sun-Times):
...(A-Ram) had his scheduled spring debut pushed back to friday, but Piniella said it's not a concern and plans to have him in the lineup Friday and Saturday.
Michael Wuertz was held back a bit with a weak arm but he pitched a 1-2-3 inning with 2 K's yesterday looking solid. Last year Wuertz had a rough spring but was back on track once the season started, so it appears he's OK.
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