Cubs MLB Roster

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40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full) 

28 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, and twelve players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors. 

Last updated 3-26-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 15
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Jameson Taillon
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

INFIELDERS: 7
* Michael Busch 
Nico Hoerner
Nick Madrigal
* Miles Mastrobuoni
Christopher Morel
Dansby Swanson
Patrick Wisdom

OUTFIELDERS: 4
* Cody Bellinger 
Alexander Canario
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

OPTIONED: 12 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Ben Brown, P 
Alexander Canario, OF 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Keegan Thompson, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 
Hayden Wesneski, P 

 



 

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Things I Learned At The Ballpark

GAME 14 REVIEW
CUBS 5 DODGERS 4 W: Scott Williamson (2-0) L: Danys Baez (0-1) SV: Ryan Dempster (4) Recap | Box Score | Play-by-play | Game Chart| Photos
I made it out to Dodger Stadium once again and scored some nice tickets right behind home plate, second level, prime area for foul balls. (More on that in a minute). The AngelFan Wife and I got a babysitter and went to the game with a pal from work and his gal. He's a moderate Dodger fan, but was more interested in the Cubbies that were on his fantasy team performing well (Barrett & Ramirez). The Dodgers have two video scoreboards at the park, one basically consists of generals stats and what not, the other is the fancier color version with tidbits on the players. Here's what I learned from the Dodger information board: - Michael Barrett's cousin is Scott Fletcher - "O" is for Offense (that was for Olmaedo Saenz) - John Mabry was the Cardinals Rookie of the Year in 1995 - John Mabry is 9 home runs away from 100 (I'm sure the Mabry watch will be up on ESPN in no time) - Jacque Jones attended USC - Ronny Cedeno is the 3rd best hitter in the NL against right handed pitchers - Ronny Cedeno is the 2nd best hitter in the NL at night - Neifi Perez has played 2b, SS, 3B and Catcher in the majors (guess who our new emergency catcher is) Why do I mention all of these factoids? Cause the game isn't worth talking about. The Cubs played poorly and lucked into a victory. The Eyre/Lee bunt fiasco will hopefully turn out to be a whole lot of nothing, but to say the least I'll be on edge until I hear a definitive word (so far X-rays were inconclusive on Lee's wrist). While I'm sure most of you watching the game noticed all the dinks that fell for the Cubs, it was even worse at the ballpark as just about every ball hit by the Cubs had that wobbly wood sound of a ball that clearly missed the sweet spot of the bat. This game was the anthisesis of Monday's game, instead of well-pitched, well-defended, well-executed affair, it was luck and bad defense that got the Cubs win. I did get to witness Cedeno's first two walks of the season, although the first was one of the most extreme unintentional-intentional walks I've ever seen. Marshall was okay, his curveball will certainly be his defining pitch through his career. Batters were bailing at it all day and it appears he can throw it at 2 very different speeds (low 70's and mid 80's). And why Marshall gets pulled after 85 pitches and retiring 10 batters is a bit beyond me. I suppose we can't complain about Baker hurting young arms though. I pretty much missed most of Aardvark's inning as the AngelFan Wife was on a quest for an It's It Ice Cream, which apparently is no longer sold at the ballpark. Considering how cute she looks in a cap & jersey, I'll forgive her. Walker's "I Hope I Catch It" defense worked once, then it cost us a run later in the game, Jacque Jones saved another run on the same play with a good throw to home which pretty much ended up saving us the game. Well, okay, Baez and Repko saved the game for us, but whatever. Oh yeah, the foul ball thing....Bill Mueller, 2nd inning, screaming foul ball straight back just over the screen. Right at me and I cup my hands together for sort of a basket catch. BAMN!, right off the palm of my left hand and 3 rows back. Should of had the right hand over the left and tried to get my body in front of it. Humiliating and made more so by the fact that a buddy from work and the AngelFan Wife were there to witness it. I won't be able to live it down unless I catch the next one and who knows when that will happen. I'm honestly devastated, maybe that's why I'm so disgusted by the game. The Cubs won, makes the off-day more bearable and you need these kinds of win every once in awhile. The Redbirds are up next starting on Friday. Another series victory over them would really get me to start believing. That's unless Derrek Lee's wrist is broken, then I'm going to start believing that we actually may be cursed.

Comments

Oh yeah, the foul ball thingÖ.Bill Mueller, 2nd inning, screaming foul ball straight back just over the screen. Right at me and I cup my hands together for sort of a basket catch. BAMN!, right off the palm of my left hand and 3 rows back. I diligently looked at the Comcast replay for Rob doing his best imitation/forshadowing of Danys Baez fielding his position ...fortunately (for Rob that is) the camera didn't pan back into the crowd on that play. I looked in slow-motion on my replay of the 0-2 foul ball and the camera didn't budge from their view of home plate. I guess we'll have to wait some time for the next Rob and Angelfan Wife TV appearance.

Not the prettiest of games to look at, and Lee's wrist is a serious concern until we hear otherwise, but last year we would've lost that game. We only got those dink bloopers because hitters are adjusting, taking what they're given, and not swinging for the fences at face-high fastballs. Ok, maybe Ramirez swung at one, but...

Dusty from yahoo sports- "I've got John Mabry and Todd Walker, who can play first base" I would hope he goes with Mabry, rather than Walker so Dusty won't have to go to his crack pipe/Neifi.

The bottom line is I would take a loss, a healthy Lee, and a healthy Eyre over what happened last night. The one good thing is it looked like Lee wanted to continue but they didn't allow him. I hope that means that his hand is still attached. As for Eyre, we need Eyre in the pen. He's the big creamy center of the cream-filled doughnut that is our bullpen.

The bottom line is I would take a loss, a healthy Lee, and a healthy Eyre over what happened last night. The one good thing is it looked like Lee wanted to continue but they didn't allow him. I hope that means that his hand is still attached. As for Eyre, we need Eyre in the pen. He's the big creamy center of the cream-filled doughnut that is our bullpen.

"so far X-rays were inconclusive on Leeís wrist" Queue up the front office conspiracy theories... We're looking at multiple compound fractures. I think I saw bone just behind his believe bracelet.

I'm going to be optimistic about Lee until I hear that he's been cleared to do the towel drill and ready to pitch 3 simulated innings. Then I'll know he's hurt bad.

Hoping nothing is broken, what's the damage on a sprained wrist? 2-weeks?

I have never heard inconclusive when a x-ray showed nothing. This means it showed something but it was hazy....not good. if it was nothing they would of said negative.

"He's the big creamy center of the cream-filled doughnut that is our bullpen" Keep Rusch away from the bullpen.

I have never heard inconclusive when a x-ray showed nothing. This means it showed something but it was hazy....not good. if it was nothing they would of said negative. Not true. There's several factors that could play into this: 1) The hand and wrist are very specialized areas, with many small bones. It's not like a tibia or a ulna that you can tell is broken. 2) Depending on how quickly it was X-rayed and on the severity of the wrist sprain (because whether or not it's broken, it's also sprained), there could have been a lot of inflammation in the muscles and ligaments that make it too hard to tell with certainty if there is a break or not. 3) Most X-ray rooms at ballparks aren't as equipped for serious medical examination as are hospitals. The X-ray might have been negative, but due to a limitation in angles, competent techs, equipment, etc., they want to do another test or two to be certain. I don't see the validity of a Cubs conspiracy theory here. Tickets are sold and the team is winning. If his wrist is broken, I think it's more likely they'd have said something like "Preliminary X-rays indicate a possible fracture. More examination to come." That's very different from inconclusive results.

Rob, (or anyone else), if you have the MLB radio package you should have your Angel Fan wife listen to the Twins call of last night's MN/LAAAAA game. Jack Morris did a dead on impression of Ron Santo when Cuddyer hit his walk off home run.

Oscar Acosta. RIP.

Andrew -- I don't think there is a conspiracy at work here either. However, we do know that the Cubs don't make full public disclosure of injuries a priority. While the limitations to ballpark medical technology that you describe are real, I have to echo BigZ's concern -- if there was nothing, they would have been able to see that. It doesn't mean there's definitely a break, but it does mean that from what they saw, there might be, so they want to do more tests.

man, is there anyone else other than me that is getting tired of being a fan of this team?... if DLee did indeed break his wrist, then this team is cursed - and i don't even believe in curses but if there ever was a curse on a team it would be this team.. someone please post updates as news develops on this

By the way, looking at the replay, Furcal was so far out of the baseline running to first it was ridiculous. I'm not sure that it contributed to the injury, but Lee probably wasn't expecting him to be so far inside the line -- Furcal hit first base on the extreme inside (left side) of the bag.

By the way, looking at the replay, Furcal was so far out of the baseline running to first it was ridiculous. I'm not sure that it contributed to the injury, but Lee probably wasn't expecting him to be so far inside the line -- Furcal hit first base on the extreme inside (left side) of the bag. You can see the replay from several angles at Cubs.com.

I know lots of runners get stress fractures in their legs that don't show up with X-Ray and require and MRI. It is very possible that nothing showed up on the X-Ray and they want to check for stress fractures or other structural damage to make sure it is just a sprain. I think the only way an X-Ray can be considered conclusive is if it gives a positive result. There are many, many things and X-Ray leaves out.

I think the only way an X-Ray can be considered conclusive is if it gives a positive result. There are many, many things and X-Ray leaves out. Great point, Jason R. In addition, what if the Cubs had come out and said "initial x-rays are negative"? Everyone, despite the sensibility of doing so or not, would have breathed a sigh of relief. Sure, there'd be a chance that future examinations might reveal something, but it would be good news thus far. However, if those future examinations did reveal a fracture (clean, multiple, hairline, stress, etc.), the Cubs would have again gotten slammed about being disingenuous, untrustworthy, etc. I think they're playing it safe, as they should. Perhaps the inconclusive means there's a hazy line or two they're worried about. Perhaps it means they want to do a bit more checking before they say something definitive. It's just too early to know.

Regarding 433's comment: It sure looked like Furcal took an angle from the infield grass and checked DLee into first base. It looked like premeditated assault. __________________________________________________ - Ronny Cedeno is the 3rd best hitter in the NL against right handed pitchers - Ronny Cedeno is the 2nd best hitter in the NL at night and more Ronny Cedeno had the third highest batting average among all MLB shortstops going in to Tuesday night's game Ronny Cedeno had hit safely in all six games the Cubs have played on the road. (now 7 safely) Well let's see, Derek Lowe, right hand pitcher. CHECK Tuesday, night game. CHECK Cedeno starts season on a hot hitting streak. CHECK Cedeno's "D" won't get better on the bench. CHECK Cedeno is young and doesn't need special rest IN APRIL. CHECK Today is an OFF-DAY anyway. CHECK CHECK CHECK Cubs lost one run game Tuesday. CHECK CHECK CHECK CHECK CHECK* *This is not to say that benching Cedeno on Tuesday cost the Cubs the game. That we will never know. This is to say that Carlos Zambrano owns the Dodgers, he has a lifetime ERA below 2.00 vs them, his best versus any team. Worse, he has an ERA below 1.00 in four career starts vs LAD and yet he is only 1-1. ---- Z needs more runs. The problem is the Cub offense, not the defense. And Neifi Perez is a much worse hitter at night. He hits for 30 or 40 more points in day games. At night the last four years his .OBP (much less his BA) has been 2006 - .200 2005 - .279 2004 - .291 2003 - .259 So how did it make any sense to bench Cedeno Tuesday night of all nights in favor of a defensive replacement. Aren't there enough day games on the schedule to do that? (note to boob, these are rhetorical questions)

From what I remember Lee was on the bag, all 6'5" 225 lbs of him. Hard to miss him with so little room. I wouldn't blame Furcal, this is not the Braves runner who hit Karros in the 2003 NLDS.

Certainly not blaming or accusing Furcal, CWTP's silly sarcasm aside. Just pointing out something I saw.

I agree jacos, doesn't matter what side of the bag Furcal took, Lee was in the way. Human nature is to try to assign blame, but I don't think anyone was to blame here.

If the DLee injury proves the Cubs are cursed, what does the Sean Casey injury say about the Pirates?

I have seen the Furcal replay, and it was by no means intentional. If you'll notice Lee is in good posistion for Eyre's throw. It just so happened that the the trow was a waste of effort by Eyre. His errant toss made Lee move over the base and into the baseline (of which Furcal is entitled to). The play was sad, and it could be seriously detrimental to the season, but it was as clean as it could be.

About Casey....it proves the Pirates are a small-market team who reached out for a player who was past his prime. DLEE's injury hurts because we just shelled out the money to lock him up past the 100 year anniversary of 1908.

Let me say that there was no intent on Furcal's part to injure or even collide with Lee. He seemed very surprised when he looked up and Lee was in his face. All I am saying, though, is that Furcal was way out of the baseline, and that put him in a position inside of where he would have been if he had been in the baseline. Would this have put him in a better position to be able to avoid Lee? We'll never know. Clearly Furcal was doing what a lot of guys do on bunts on the first base side -- cheating inside the baseline in hopes that he will distract the pitcher or run into the ball on the throw. (Umps miss that call all the time.) It's a common aggressive baseball move, and I think it's interesting that it may have contributed to the collision by putting Furcal in a place where it was impossible for him to avoid Lee. No intent -- and again, it was a clean play -- but it was surprising to see it on the replay.

Ryno, I'd guessetimate anywhere from 1-3 weeks depending on the severity of the sprain. Let's remember that even if he didn't break any bones, he could have torn a ligament or too. Jacos, I could be wrong, but isn't Lee 245 lbs?

whats also bad is with Lee out we are about to see some more very wierd lineups from Dusty. I came online today to see if they won. Woohoo they did. Then I read more and got very depressed. The world is coming to an end.. Again.

I wasn't being silly 433, just describing the view of the collision that ESPN showed following the game. It was a different camera than the one used on MLB.com's Daily Rewind. It was a closeup and showed the angle Furcal took to the bag from the infield grass.

According to our friend Carrie Muskat, no results until Friday. Like Prior was--waiting an extra day. Jeez when I start getting exciting, I want to cry. I fell asleep last night during the 6th. I woke up at 3:30 hearing Len Kasper yelling about something. He then said, "we lost two guys, maybe we can get a win." Or something. I hoped he was just talking about Prior and Wood. No such look. I was on the internet afer that looking for updates. Yes, I'm nuts, but very sad. I won't go for the the curse stuff, but you wonder when they will be healthy. The White Sox never seem to get hurt (Pods excepted now)...this was freak thing clearly. It makes you sad. This team has plenty of promise and Dusty hasn't gotten too nuts yet. Except John Mabry hitting 5th. Anyway, there isn't much point to this post, just wishing D-Lee good luck and Leon Lee for that matter (did they ever settle that exposing himself in NY thing?)... I keep hoping that the "inconclusive" results mean that it is a less than serious injury. I think back to '93 (?) when Sammy broke his hand--he wasn't the same until the next year. There is so much torque on those $65 million wrists, I hope that will be ok. Walker at first? I like that bat in there. Pie? Who the heck knows. Damn, good luck D-Lee. Are there any doctors who speculate here?

According to our friend Carrie Muskat, no results until Friday. Like Prior was--waiting an extra day. Jeez when I start getting exciting, I want to cry. I fell asleep last night during the 6th. I woke up at 3:30 hearing Len Kasper yelling about something. He then said, "we lost two guys, maybe we can get a win." Or something. I hoped he was just talking about Prior and Wood. No such look. I was on the internet afer that looking for updates. Yes, I'm nuts, but very sad. I won't go for the the curse stuff, but you wonder when they will be healthy. The White Sox never seem to get hurt (Pods excepted now)...this was freak thing clearly. It makes you sad. This team has plenty of promise and Dusty hasn't gotten too nuts yet. Except John Mabry hitting 5th. Anyway, there isn't much point to this post, just wishing D-Lee good luck and Leon Lee for that matter (did they ever settle that exposing himself in NY thing?)... I keep hoping that the "inconclusive" results mean that it is a less than serious injury. I think back to '93 (?) when Sammy broke his hand--he wasn't the same until the next year. There is so much torque on those $65 million wrists, I hope that will be ok. Walker at first? I like that bat in there. Pie? Who the heck knows. Damn, good luck D-Lee. Are there any doctors who speculate here?

Let's face- even if Lee's wrist isn't broken, that won't stop the Cubs PR machine from drudging up the built-in excuse for the Cubs not making the playoffs this year. "We don't like to make excuses, but it's hard to win with so many injuries." Maybe not a direct quote, but something close will be coming out of Cubs camp if they start to flail any time soon. I hope Walker plays first- we need his bat and his defense isn't as big of a priority at first than at second base. Hairston could bat #2 and play second, putting Neifi in the backup role. I know, Dusty will be starting Neifi everyday probably, but at least having Walker in the lineup leaves Mabry on the bench, which is where he's needed most.

the cubs PR machine... neifi will start everyday... dusty kicks puppies... hendry started WW2... doooooooooooom glooooooooooooooom

oh yeah, heard on XM this morning that former Cubs pitching coach Oscar Acosta died in a car crash this morning. He was in charge of the pitching dept in the Yanks new Dominican complex which is where the crash occurred.

seriously, though...shame about acosta...he was a heck of a pitching coach, imo.

For those who are speculation on Lee's injury, I will say that if its NOT broken, he will NOT go on the DL. There is no time table for a sprain. If it hurts real bad and he can't flex it to swing, he will sit. If it's loose enough he will play. He is no wuss. If he can swing a bat, he'll be in the lineup.

crunch says: "the cubs PR machine... neifi will start everyday... dusty kicks puppies... hendry started WW2... doooooooooooom glooooooooooooooom" Hey Crunch why is it whenever you state something you whine like a baby and say people misquote you and distort your views (which largely blindly deify the decisions of an organization in complete chaos who haven't won in 98 years and who Baseball American calls the most dysfunctional team in MLB) BUT when someone makes a clear and consise statement about the Cubs' defiencies you not only misrepresent htem but throw in sarcastic sophomoric statements like the above. WHy don't you try that old Golden rule you heard about as a kid.

"Let's face- even if Lee's wrist isn't broken, that won't stop the Cubs PR machine from drudging up the built-in excuse for the Cubs not making the playoffs this year. "We don't like to make excuses, but it's hard to win with so many injuries." Well, the reality is that if DLee is out/reduced effectiveness for an extended period of time, it will be hard for the Cubs to win. He's a huge portion of their offense and a huge part of their defense as well. How many more errors would the Cubs have without his fantastic. ANd without him, Prior and Wood, the Cubs are a shell of the team they could be. Could the Astros win if they were without Oswalt, Pettite and Berkman? That's no PR spin...its the truth. Here's hoping he just misses a week or so.

"Hairston could bat #2 and play second, putting Neifi in the backup role. I know, Dusty will be starting Neifi everyday probably, but at least having Walker in the lineup leaves Mabry on the bench, which is where he's needed most." I agree with this though...100%

sometimes this fan base really sucks. some of you probably only like the cubs so you can bathe in self-pity and martyrdom. you don't know more about baseball than dusty baker, jim hendry, andy mcphail or neifi perez. you're just a whiner who thinks he "deserves" something from a professional ball team you choose to follow. grow up, life doesn't owe you anything.

Clearly Furcal was doing what a lot of guys do on bunts on the first base side -- cheating inside the baseline in hopes that he will distract the pitcher or run into the ball on the throw. (Umps miss that call all the time.) A lot of guys cheat on the inside of the baseline on bunts, not because they are trying to get hit by a throw, but rather because that's where they are supposed to go to avoid getting hit. If the batter/runner is on the fair side of the line and is hit by the throw, he can be called out for interference, he can't if he is running in the runner's lane on the foul side of the baseline. That's the whole reason the 3 foot lane is painted onto the field. Furcal was exactly where he was supposed to be, this is just baseball.

I'm wondering why there has been so much whining about Marshall coming out early. The Cubs seem to be working his pitch counts up each time, toward the magic 100 number. 1st start -- 65 2nd start -- 79 3rd start -- 86 He's done very well--- his ERA is inflated by some very mediocre middle relief.

He's done very well--- his ERA is inflated by some very mediocre middle relief. Agreed. And even though it has irked me each time he's done it, because I'd love to see Marshall work himself out of a jam, I understand why Dusty has pulled him. There's a good chance that Marshall will be needed again this year, even after P, W, and M return and thus it's sensible to be careful with him with that in mind.

Chris, " some of you probably only like the cubs so you can bathe in self-pity and martyrdom." I call this being a self loathing Cub fan. There are many out there. They can't handle coming close to winning but having their hearts ripped out again so they actually hope the Cubs don't do well to keep them from hurting. It's so sad.

Geez, Marshall loaded the bases against the Cards and Wuertz gave up a groundball to Pujols that snuck through. A matter of fact Wuertz struck out Encarnacion before the hit to Pujols. Nothing mediocre about it, just lucky it wasn't worse. Wuertz did give up a homer to C. Wilson with J. Wilson on 1st who singled off Marshall, I'll give you that run. So instead of 6.28 he should maybe have a 5.66 ERA. The kid's been fine so far, nothing special. Some nice flashes of brilliance and it's invaluable experience he's gaining. Him, Guzman and Hill are going to force some tough decisions by Hendry next year with Maddux and Wood's contract, not to mention the possibility of going after a FA. Hell Rich Hill had a 3.78 ERA (16.2 IP) after his 4th outing last year (2nd start). It wasn't until he got rocked by the Mets and then Reds that his ERA spiraled out of control.

cubswinthepennant: [Marshall's] done very well--- his ERA is inflated by some very mediocre middle relief. He has done well, I wouldn't blame the entire ERA on middle relief... he did, after all, put those runs on base. Derek Smart @ Cub Town (http://cubtown.baseballtoaster.com) made a really good point about Marshall: But then, in the third, something remarkable happened. Marshall, who had looked terribly uncomfortable up until then, throwing 46 pitches to get 6 outs, settled down and started taking care of business. His last three innings of work were perfect, taking only 40 pitches to complete, and featured four groundouts and two strikeouts. It was, in many ways, more encouraging than if he had gone out and had stellar stuff the whole time. That makes sense. Imagine Z with Marshall's poise, or Marshall with Z's stuff. Very scary thought for NL batters.

Chris, The "you don't know more about baseball than Dusty Baker" doesn't hold much water, because it attempts to overthrow the whole basis for criticism. I doubt Siskel & Ebert could make a film half as good as Spielberg. I doubt Peter Gammons could ever hit a two-seamer. That said, yes, the Cubs fan base does have both merited and unmerited whining. People are often either overly harsh or, in one well-documented case, overly supportive of Baker. Some people scream "curse" every time Cedeno airmails a throw. But some people see it for what it is: a bad play in a series of bad plays over a hundred-year span. The truth is, the Cubs have been an unfortunate cocktail of unlucky and ungood over the years. But there is nothing that makes me more of a Cubs fan than the honest criticism and support of our beloved squad.

Quote: He was in charge of the pitching dept in the Yanks new Dominican complex which is where the crash occurred. How big is this complex that people are driving around fast enough to cause a fatal collision? Quote: I doubt Siskel & Ebert could make a film half as good as Spielberg. Well maybe they could, but Siskel wouldn't be much help now-adays.

Wuertz has allowed 3 of 4 runners he's inherited from Marshall to score. Anyone want to argue that's not mediocre? If Wuertz gets Marshall out of the jam instead of giving up 2 hits in 2/3 of an inning in one case, and a home run with a man on first in the other, Marshall has an earned run average of 4.40 today instead of 6.28!

Hey, Rob. Sat way above you in the nosebleeds with the wife and kids. Left (kids got cold and tired, please no grief about leaving early) right before the Cubs rallied to win. Still I feel good about karma as Cubs took the two games I attended. Was kind of funny that at Monday's game we actually discussed whether we had caught a foul ball. Sorry about the outcome, but perhaps you will now have more sympathy towards Todd Walker. Let us pray for the wrist of DLee.

Bleeding Blue said: *A lot of guys cheat on the inside of the baseline on bunts, not because they are trying to get hit by a throw, but rather because that's where they are supposed to go to avoid getting hit. If the batter/runner is on the fair side of the line and is hit by the throw, he can be called out for interference, he can't if he is running in the runner's lane on the foul side of the baseline. That's the whole reason the 3 foot lane is painted onto the field. Furcal was exactly where he was supposed to be, this is just baseball.* Bleeding Blue -- have you seen the replay? Because you are proving my point. Furcal wasn't anywhere near the runner's lane -- which you correctly point out is "exactly where he was supposed to be." He was way over into fair territory, which meant he wasn't in position to get out of the way of Lee. Check out the replay.

After looking at the replay, I see what you are saying now. I misunderstood your discription, Furcal was on the wrong side of the line. However, the collision happened on top of the bag as Derrick moved his body toward home plate. Even if Furcal had been in the running lane, I don't think the collision would have been avoided.

"Hey Crunch why is it whenever you state something you whine like a baby and say people misquote you and distort your views" superj...shouldnt you be coming up with more conspiracy theories rather than worrying about a piece of humor? are you seriously disputing the fact that hendry started WW2? i see no reason not to believe that's true.

Ebert wrote the sequel to "valley of the dolls" with Roger Corman. He also approached Johnny Rotten about doing a film with Corman about the Sex Pistols in the late 70's. Rotten said all Ebert cared abouthaving in the movie was "women with big t1ts."

criticism, I don't mind. the "OMG DUSTY WILL PROBABLY BAT NEIFI CLEANUPS BECAUSE THE TRIBUNE DOESN'T CARE AND GRISSOM WILL GET A 4 YEAR CONTRACT FROM HENDRY AND I HEARD KERRY WOOD TRIED TO BOMB STEVE STONE'S HOUSE!" nonsense is what I tire of. it's criticism for its own sake; unprompted and devoid of any rational justification. when the cubs do well, it's in spite of baker/neifi/hendry/whipping boy #15321. when they lose, it's entirely because of some combination of the aforementioned scapegoats. it's hypocritical and stupid.

Wuertz has allowed 3 of 4 runners he's inherited from Marshall to score. If Wuertz gets Marshall out of the jam instead of giving up 2 hits in 2/3 of an inning in one case there's more to a game than a boxscore sometimes (There's play-by-play data). Wuertz came in with the bases loaded and one out. He struck out Encarnacion, then gave up a single that Cedeno just missed that scored 2 runs. Not even a very well-hit ball. The 2nd hit of the inning was to Rolen and nobody scored. He then got Edmonds on a ground out. There's no magical middle reliever who would be expected to do a better job in that situation especially considering the 4 batters he faced. I wasn't in the parachat that day, but I'm going to guess there was a whole lot of "we got out of that with only 2 runs, whew!" type behavior.

Hey, Rob. Sat way above you in the nosebleeds with the wife and kids. Left (kids got cold and tired, please no grief about leaving early) right before the Cubs rallied to win. Damn kids get in the way of all the important things. :) That's alright, you didn't miss much. During the top of the 8th, I had the feeling of "Damn, the Dodgers really want to lose this game" rather then "way to battle back Cubs!"

As Blue said, Furcal had nothing to do with it. Lee backed up to try and stab the errant throw. He backed up right over the bag. Lee was in the way. Furcal couldn't have reacted that fast AND still tagged the base. Maybe he could have dove out of the way but he could have then been forced out.

"I wasn't in the parachat that day, but I'm going to guess there was a whole lot of "we got out of that with only 2 runs, whew!" type behavior." No kidding, I bet they did, after all Wuertz was pitching. But you are acting like you've never seen a pitcher get out of a one-out bases loaded situation unscathed. In fact, half the time they do. With one out and the bags loaded the average result...average... is 1.65 runs score. With two outs it's 0.8 . In Marshall's case two runs scored. Which, by definition is mediocre. In the other case Marshall gave up a home run and a single and was lifted for Wuertz. In that situation the average is 0.9 more runs score. Wuertz gave up a home run and Marshall's runner scored. Again, a man on first and nobody out. Would anyone be surprised to get out of that situation without a run scoring? Would anyone really say, wow, we were lucky to get out of that situation with only one run scoring?

Again, a man on first and nobody out. Would anyone be surprised to get out of that situation without a run scoring? Would anyone really say, wow, we were lucky to get out of that situation with only one run scoring? READ COMMENT #50 But you are acting like you've never seen a pitcher get out of a one-out bases loaded situation unscathed. In fact, half the time they do. What I'm acting like is that to get out of bases-loaded one out situation with only 2 runs scoring when you face the heart of the Cardinals order isn't so bad. And that letting the 3 crappy Cardinals get on in the 1st place was the bigger problem in the inning. And it's not like Marshall goes from crap to gold cause of those 2 runs anyway and in no way does even the best of bullpens stop every inherited runner from scoring. Whatever, Marshall has done his job so far and kept us in games. Hopefully he can keep it up...

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    madrigal at 3rd...morel at DH.

    making room for madrigal or/and masterboney to get a significant amount of ABs is a misuse of the roster.  if it needed to get taken care of this offseason, they had tons of time to figure that out.

    morel played almost exclusively at 3rd in winter ball and they had him almost exclusively there all spring when he wasn't DH'ing.

    madrigal doing a good job with the glove for a bit over 2 chances per game...is that worth more than what he brings with the bat 4-5 PA a game?  it's 2024 and we got glenn beckert 2.0 manning 3rd base.

    this is a tauchman or cooper DH situation based on bat, alone.  cooper is 3/7 with a double off eovaldi if you want to play the most successful matchup.

    anyway, i hope this is a temporary thing, not business as usual for the rest of the season.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    There are two clear "logjams" in the Cubs minor league pipeline at the present time, namely AA outfielders (K. Alcantara, C. Franklin, Roederer, Pagan, Pinango, Beesley, and Nwogu) and Hi-A infielders (J. Rojas, P. Ramirez, Howard, R. Morel, Pertuz, R. Garcia, and Spence, although Morel has been getting a lot of reps in the outfield in addition to infield). So it is possible that you might see a trade involving one of the extra outfielders at AA and/or one of the extra infielders at Hi-A in the next few days. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    18-year old SS Jefferson Rojas almost made the AA Tennessee Opening Day roster, and he is a legit shortstop, so I would expect him to be an MLB Top 100 prospect by mid-season. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Among the relievers in the system, I expect RHRP Hunter Bigge at AAA Iowa and RHRP Ty Johnson at South Bend to have breakout seasons on 2024, and among the starters I see LHP Drew Gray and RHP Will Sanders at South Bend and RHP Naz Mule at ACL Cubs as the guys who will make the biggest splash. Also, Jaxon Wiggins is throwing bullpen sides, so once he is ready for game action he could be making an impact at Myrtle Beach by June.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    I expect OF Christian Franklin to have a breakout season at AA Tennessee in 2024. In another organization that doesn't have PCA, Caissie, K. Alcantara, and Canario in their system, C. Franklin would be a Top 10 prospect. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The Reds trading Joe Boyle for Sam Moll at last year's MLB Trade Deadline was like the Phillies trading Ben Brown to the Cubs for David Robertson at the MLB TD in 2022. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Javier Assad started the Lo-A game (Myrtle Beach versus Stockton) on the Cubs backfields on Wednesday as his final Spring Training tune-up. He was supposed to throw five innings / 75 pitches. However, I was at the minor league road games at Fitch so I didn't see Assad pitch. 

  • crunch (view)

    cards put j.young on waivers.

    they really tried to make it happen this spring, but he put up a crazy bad slash of .081/.244/.108 in 45PA.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Seconded!!!

  • crunch (view)

    another awesome spring of pitching reports.  thanks a lot, appreciated.