Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
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 

 



 

Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Game 71 Thread/Cubs @ Rangers (Last of 3)

Game Chat Ted Lilly (5-4, 3.69) vs. Vicente Padilla (3-8, 6.57) Longtime American Leaguer Lilly is 4-4 lifetime against the Rangers, 1-1 last year as a Blue Jay. Padilla, the former Phillie, is 3-4, 4.40 lifetime against the Cubs, though no current Cub hitter has done much against him (D-Lee, 4-for-20; DeRosa, 3-for-16). Beginning with Tuesday night's series opener, 20 of the Cubs' next 26 games were/are against teams with sub-.500 records. Hard to slice it any other way--it's a drag to be coming into this game hoping to merely take two of three instead of trying to complete a sweep. Plus it was hell last night having to watch all of those clips of Good Sammy at the post-game press conference, spreading happiness and light.

Comments

Soriano LF Fontenotpie 2B Lee DH Floyd 1B DeRosa 3B Bowen C Pagan RF Pie CF Theriot SS

Floyd at first? Hmm. Thought Ward was playing today. Bowen's first start too. Sweeps are nice (I hear) but two of three on the road isn't bad, even if it's the worst team in baseball. At least they beat our No. 5 starter (through 2009, shudder).

Odd, Len and the beat writters all had Ward playing 1b. I guess this means Ward either gets DFA'd tommrrow as AZ Phil suggested or he "reaggrivated" his injury to give Jimbo enough time to deal Jacquestrap.

Derosa should be hitting 8th or 9th in case his migranes come back and Izturis has to replace him again.

Guys lets not get nuts about Marquis right now. 5-4 3.38 If he comes close to keeping that up we will be fine. I know you guys don't like wins (and I'm not a huge fan - but i think its still an important stat) he can expect to win 12 - 14 games. Maybe we are overpaying for it, but that's not bad for a fifth starter. The reasons I like wins is that you look at your starters, get an idea of how many wins you can get out of them and you have a good idea of how many games your team can win. After all, there is a reason they give wins to pitchers and not position players.

Chad - Yes the overall numbers are obviously good. He had a stunning April. But as long as we're taking a snapshot of a period of time, how about Marquis in the last 12 months? Anyone have that handy?

the real batting order Soriano, LF Fontenot, 2B Lee, DH Ward, 1B DeRosa, 3B Bowen, C Pagan, RF Pie, CF Theriot, SS

I was just thinking this morning that Pie should move down and Fontenot up. It's nice to have a manger that thinks most of the time and changes things rather than one that stays with the same old ideas until they rot.

Milton Bradley just got DFA'd by the A's. I wonder what he did this time.

I just noticed this is game #71... what a long ways to go. Baseball is not for the impatient.

Lots and lots of trade rumors concerning the Cubs floating around today. Unfortunately every one I hear concerns the the Cubs getting another "over the hill" washed up outfielder.

its rumor season...so many become nothing...we're in for a few weeks of it. this is the time of year, along with signing season, where the paper writers and TV talking heads get to play "what if" and "sources say supposedly maybe kinda-sorta" along with the current health of ferris bueller in relation to his ice cream choices.

don't know if this has been mentioned already, and if it has, i am sorry. ESPN mentioned a rumor of Griffey going to the Cubs. They didn't say who would go the other way, but one of the commentators on the show said that he thought it would take Lee, Soriano, and Zambrano. He was obviously joking, but if we could get Jr. for JJ and some minor leaguer, then I would be very happy.

"Chad - Yes the overall numbers are obviously good. He had a stunning April." Yes he did and his numbers are starting to normalize. All I think we need him to do is post a low 4 era and hang around in enough games to keep us close and possibly win 12 -14. I think that's realistic.

jones pull power could have been attractive to CIN (more than some other teams) thanks to jones' low price tag and how much the park LOVES left handed pull hitters (ball flies out of the right-right/center alley). problem is jones isnt elevating like he used to. a lot of bad contact popups, groundouts, and "not enough pop" warning track outs. its been so damn ugly...its not the jones that was here last year.

ZHL: "But as long as we’re taking a snapshot of a period of time, how about Marquis in the last 12 months? Anyone have that handy?" I think we can see the return to the norm with Marquis that most of us expected this year after April... April: 3-1, 2.35 ERA May: 2-1, 3.38 ERA June: 0-2, 5.19 ERA

Good moves NOT made by Hendry: Schmidt 3/44 Bradley Padilla (I was for this guy!) JD Drew

i was for padilla, too...surprised how ineffective he is (and it isnt his park's fault). i was wondering why schmidt wasnt being followed til he showed up in spring STILL throwing 80s. scarey stuff...surprised the dodgers took that chance after seeing him work out.

"JD Drew" He seems to be out of his slump and has found the power that was missing in April (291/344/582 in June).

Watching the game on gameday....this umpire is calling some balls way outside strikes. Hope fully that works in our favor...

So let me get this straight. It's June 21st and the Cubs have are several games under .500 and 8 games out of first place. Yet the solution is to go out and acquire a severely broken down Ken Griffey Jr.?!? And sometimes I wonder why this team hasn't been to a World Series since 1945. Jim Hendry has his head so far up his ass. I am counting the days until this idiot is gone.

The E-Man: BTW - Without Peeking - WHo is Older: Jr. seems the natural choice. I didn't look.

yeah, a rumor is fact...run with that silent...go man go. btw, tejada is just a phonecall away and BAL cant wait to unload him.

Memo to Jim Hendry Dear Jim, Instead of wasting time trying to pry Ken Griffey Jr. away from the Cincinnati Reds, instead why don't you concentrate on fixing your broken down farm system and actually making deals that improve the ballclub for the long-term. I don't know if you picked up the paper today, but your Chicago Cubs are under .500 and 8 games out of first place despite your pissing away huge dollars on lousy free agent signings, etc. Trade for Jason Saltamacchia from Atlanta. Package Sean Marshall and a top 5 prospect (Sean Gallagher? ) within the organization to get him. Yours truly, A disgusted fan

Yet the solution is to go out and acquire a severely broken down Ken Griffey Jr.?!? Define "severely broken down." Because at last check, this is Griffey's line: .285/.384/.566 with 19 HR. He is third in the NL in home runs, 15th in OBP%

Silent Towel: I don’t know if you picked up the paper today, but your Chicago Cubs are under .500 and 8 games out of first place despite your pissing away huge dollars on lousy free agent signings, etc. See my earlier post about this... Rynox: I just noticed this is game #71… what a long ways to go. Baseball is not for the impatient. The Cub's are far from out of this. 8 games back after only 71 games doesn't justify rebuilding the team. Trading 5 top prospects for Saltamacchia? Are you sure that really helps the organization long term? That fixes the farm system?

despite your pissing away huge dollars on lousy free agent signings, Like who? Soriano has been lousy? DeRosa? Lilly (who, btw... you said was going to win the cy youn)? Marquis? All have been been quite good signings at this point.

TOWEL: Do you send these to 1060 W. Addison too? "Broken Down" farm system is a push now, ST evidenced by the players who have been helping give life to this dead-ass team. Perhaps at the position player area to some degree, but the pitching side has been pretty damned decent, and continues with nice prospects in AA. Neal Cotts did not come from our "Broken Down Farm System".

Glad I only saw that on scroll and not TV or radio ... because I just about exploded as is.

I'm going to severely challenge anybody who thinks the Cubs should go after Ken Griffey Jr. How on God's green earth does acquiring Griffey magically transform this team into a World Series contender in 2007?!? What kind of arrogance does this organization have where they think they are good enough to compete in 2007 even though they are several games UNDER 500 as of 6/21 and have a highly dysfunctional lineup, a lousy shortstop situation, no catcher and one of the most wretched bullpens in baseball?!? Teams like Detroit or Boston or the Yankees or Dodgers go after a guy like Griffey, because they are already good teams on the cusp. But 2007 version of the Cubs?!? Good grief no. An intelligent GM, a visionary GM, a GM in the mold of John Schuerholz or Billy Beane....he would be looking to tear this thing down and build it properly for the long-term...he would be aggressively hunting the market for a legitimate long-term solution behind the plate...he would be doing everything in his power to facilitate the development of a gifted prospect like Felix Pie. Instead, we are saddled with the dim witted Jim Hendry, whose days are consumed trying to shed the roster of his ill-fated previous moves. Hendry can't see the forest through the trees. Hendry is a fucking idiot on all dimensions. He is a dim witted high school baseball coach trying to masquerade as a big league GM.

I guess we missed the memo that scoring three runs is easy. I took a short walk around the office to cool down, sit back down and bam.

wow, Santo overheard right now on WGN talking in the background after Cubs fall behind 3-0.... "it's like watching (garbled) every fucking night, and I'm tired of it"

I have to agree to say no to Junior. He is 37 year old, and has suffered a rash of injuries over the last 3-5 seasons. If the Cubs were hanging onto a 1st place lead, or were looking to push themselves into 1st, that's one thing. This team is not one player away. No dice.

Yes, a broken down farm system. Ryan Theriot and Mike Fontenot are each 27 year old aging suspects, as opposed to long-term answers. The league is rapidly catching up with Theriot, and they will soon do he same with Fontenot. Matt Murton was a vastly overrated slap hitting singles hitter who the GM convinced himself could be an answer in the outfield. Felix Pie is the only "quality" out of this farm system in a very long time in terms of position players. And in the case the jury is still out on whether he is going to be a special ballplayer or merely a poor man's version of Juan Encarnacion. I'm not going to argue with a bunch of mamby pambies who think everything is hunky dory with the Cubs right now. The proof is overwhelming it is not so.

Jace, lol. I've changed my mind ST, you've convinced me. JH is responsible for each and every rumored trade involving the Cubs, not to mention the Iraq War, Global Warming and Paris Hilton.

he would be doing everything in his power to facilitate the development of a gifted prospect like Felix Pie. How would Griffey get in the way of the development of Pie?

It is interesting how ST tries to diffuse other's valid refutations of his arguments by either not acknowledging them, or averting and switching to another argument. GO ST!!

Dave, what does Ken Griffey Jr. do to enhance the prospects of this ballclub actually becoming good and competitive within the next couple of years? Answer is nothing. The Cubs are a bad team right now. In my view, the season officially ended June 1st. Yet Hendry is incapable of pulling his head out of his asshole and is so desperate to win this year in order to save his job, that he's actively pursuing ancient broken down players like Griffey?!? Please. It's a framing issue. Hendry frames the current situation and stubbornly insists the Cubs can win big in 2007. He's out of his frocking gord! And the last thing I want is for this lame duck pile of crap GM to go making moves that further compromise any sort of positive future.

Yes! 4 hits and 3 walks in 3 innings, and no runs. As Jack Nicholson asid in "Cuckoo's Nest" -- what a ballclub! Did Gerald Perry tell them not to hit HRs this year?

What do you expect from an offense that includes Alfonso "swing from my asshole at every pitch" Soriano, a power neutered Derrek Lee, a still developing Felix Pie and an assorted bunch of veteran and younger crap?!? Seriously, who on God's green earth would delude themselves into thinking this is the type of lineup associated with a good competitive ballclub.

Season over after June 1st? Jesus christ, that's tossing in the silent towel a bit too early. I'm morbidly curious... ST your hired as GM of the Cub's... you have unlimited resources, what do you do?

Yeah Big John, because acquiring Ken Griffey Jr. is the missing piece of the puzzle for getting this team fitted for World Series Championship rings this fall. So lets act like typical Luvable Loser frocking Cub fans and delude ourselves into thinking that we are on the cusp of greatness right now. Pardon me while I go barf.

what does Ken Griffey Jr. do to enhance the prospects of this ballclub actually becoming good and competitive within the next couple of years? Well... first of all, I never said anything about what you are asking. Second of all, I do think that Griffey is, and can continue to be, a productive player for a couple of years. The Cubs have a very strong core - Lee, A-Ram, Soriano, Lilly, Hill that will be productive for the next couple of years at least. You may as well try and win with those players. that he’s actively pursuing ancient broken down players like Griffey?!? Once again, you have yet to define "broken down," as Griffey has been one of the most productive hitters in baseball this year. But go ahead and ignore Griffey's actual production; it is easier to just make up things and pretend the guy is "broken down."

I don't know if that level of self delusion is anywhere near the level a certain wash cloth who thinks anyone wants to read six of his diatribes a day.

you really have to be special to lose 2/3 to this stinking pile of a Texas team. kudos to you, cubs!

Silent Towel already told us he was trading Murton and Gallagher for Dye last week. end o' subject

Trading for Dye…..great idea…(shudder) Yea... good point. So Griffey (.285/.384/.566) is "broken down," but Dye (.232/.289/.427) would be a great player for the Cubs to pick up. Ah... the Silent Towel school of logic.

The cubs have a very strong core?!? Huh? Alfonso Soriano has been an extreme disappointment to this stage and appears to be a stats whore ala Sam-ME Steroid during his Cubbie days. How many times has Soriano struck out or squelched a rally? How many times does Soriano do his damage when the game isn't on the line? Derrek Lee isn't anywhere near the ballplayer he was in 2005, which leads me to believe his wrist injury is still an issue and/or problems at home with his daughter are taking a toll. Rich Hill is a major league average pitcher (at least I hope so). Ted Lilly is simply okay. And again, the proof is in the pudding. Some of you really ought to read the NL standings column in the newspaper from time to time.

2007, the first year that the final standings were decided on June 21st! Why even play the rest of the season?

I think if Griff could play CF that would add a lot of offense to this lineup. Pie can "develop" in AAA. I'm not all that impressed with Pie, never have been. I like him, but his swing is ridiculous. By the way... It's amazing how pitchers have the best outings of their career against the Cub's. How does that happen?

Dave, Real Neal and E-Man... Pull you head out of your assholes. Are you watching today's lovely contest against the dynasty that is the Texas Rangers?!? Vincente "Cy Young" Padilla is mowing down the Cubs. Meanwhile, the Cubs have already stranded 72 baserunners. Etc, etc. Seriously, I'd like to know what in the heck some of you young people are smoking. How on earth do you continue to defend this steaming pile of dung on the field?!? And newsflash all of you Ryan Theriot lovers....he's rapidly morphing back into the career triple A ballplayer that he has always been and will always be.

Felix Pie needs to reconstruct that swing of his. There are simply too many ways to get him out with that long, loopy swing and the manner in which he stands in the batter's box. God help us if he's Corey Patterson reincarnate.

Are you watching today’s lovely contest against the dynasty that is the Texas Rangers?!? Vincente “Cy Young” Padilla is mowing down the Cubs. Great argument... Have you seen the game today? The Cubs suck! But yea... I guess I should pull my head out of my ass and start making up shit like you do. That would make everything better. And I would still like to know how someone who puts up this line of .285/.384/.566 is broken down. But you will never answer it, because you never respond to anyone corrects your made up assertions. How are Jones and Izzy doing, by the way?

It took me a while but Cubfan has returned. His name is Silent Towel. Anyone remember Cubfan? I thought he was long gone. But he tricked us. He just changed his name. It's unreal how truly clueless you are. You want to tear this whole thing down? And do what exactly? You seem to have a problem with every player on the team. So let's get new ones. Your plan sucks and will never work. You see that is simply not how things are done. Give it up already. Oh and as far a Griffey Jr. goes, depending on what we would have to give up for him, may not be a bad move. If we can trade away Jock Jones and some middle of the road prospect, I'm all for it.

I agree with the Silent Towel - A move for Griffey makes no sense -- we are not World Series Ready. Griffey would help a team like the Angels or Dodgers, but he'd be a 2 year guy for the Cubs, which in the long run, would only put us back a few years. Instead - focus on Right Field and Catcher, and perhaps a top notch closer. I'm thinking Stallamachia for Hill or Marshall (plus a prospect) would be a great move -- OR go out and get Brad Lidge while his value has diminished. (if houston would trade him in the division?) -- perhaps patterson and Smarjzia would do it?

The problem is, Chad, the Reds have a history of asking for too much in trades. There's no way in actual reality they're going to give away Griffey for a struggling outfielder and a midlevel prospect from a barebones minor league system. Any trade the Reds would actually make for Griffey would probably involve us giving up much more than Griffey will be worth to us.

As for Right Field -- i would like to see Milton Bradley come over for Jacque Jones. Heck, M.Bradley is an absolute mess - but he would play a much better defensive Right Field -- bring some intensity --- and is a good middle of the order switch hitter. Laugh away ...... but i'm serious.

silent could use a few dozen more identies...and a new blog...obviously no one here is as obviously intelligent as he obviously is and the rest of us cavemen over here banging on rocks will obviously never meet his obvious standards where obvious opinions become obvious facts and people obviously have no idea how to handle who's obviously deciding what obvious opinions are obvious facts...obviously.

the problem with Chad is -- all his moves proposed moves result in the cubs finishing at .500. it takes ingenuity to get to the next level. Heck, the Florida Marlins have won the WS 2x.....and have had 2 firesales to get them there! Think Different you mongaloid.

"Dave, Real Neal and E-Man…" Whad I'd DO? I did not "defend" shit! Except stating a fact that the young pitchers who were/are from our "Broken Down Farm System" as you stated, have been the positives during Hendry's litlle spending spree - and should be considered a nice bonus. I do not condone getting Griffey, and never did! Get your head out of your OWN asshole.

I love the fact that so far this inning we've scored 4 runs on 6 consecutive hits, but is anyone else concerned that the last 5 of those hits were all singles, including from the 3-5 guys in our order?

dave, sorry, i'll clarify - griffey will play for another 2 years. 1) this year - which we won't compete for the WS, and 2) next year --- who knows ----but our money is probably better spent on zambrano --- afterall, our window with griffey is WS bound in the next 2 years ---or bust.

Hey... how do the Cub's rank in GIDP? I'd look it up, but I'm at work and I don't want to waste the companies resources. *g*

Was anyone watching? Did Pie try to break up the DP sliding hard into 2nd? Damn those fundamentals...

next year — who knows —-but our money is probably better spent on zambrano Supposedly, according to the Sun Times, Griffey is only owed 6.5 million next year, with a 6.5 million team option for 2009. That is better than great value for a guy like Griffey.

I don't know how anyone can call the Cubs' farm system "broken down." Theriot Fontenot Pie R. Hill Marshall Marmol Gallagher K. Hill While you, ST, may not see any superstars in that bunch, each and every one of them has contributed in a positive way to this ballclub in 2007. What's the point in constantly being so negative and angry? I mean, what the fuck, have you ever had a positive thought about this team you're supposedly a fan of?

Doug-- I agree that each of those guys has contributed in various ways to this season this season, but Fontenot and K. Hill weren't developed in our system.

wow thanks neal...i didnt notice my head was there. hell, now it all makes sense. actually, according to him i'm a "fuc**ng moron". he so nice! *warm fuzzy*

"but Fontenot and K. Hill weren’t developed in our system." Valid point, but they were brought over to our farm system, so I consider that part of the overall package. Along those same lines, I'll add Angel Pagan to that list as well.

"cubfanbudman — June 21, 2007 @ 1:37 pm the problem with Chad is — all his moves proposed moves result in the cubs finishing at .500. it takes ingenuity to get to the next level. Heck, the Florida Marlins have won the WS 2x…..and have had 2 firesales to get them there! Think Different you mongaloid." Your baseball ignorance knows no bounds. Do you know anything about the Marlins at all? The 1997 was a purchased World Series. They traded their whole future for a near dream team. Instead of keeping it together. The blew it up FOR NO DAMNED REASON. They weren't trying to reload. They sold off all the pieces cause they got what they wanted. A World Series. So no need to pay those players. In 2003 the team was all but dead. They fired the freaking manager. The odds of a team doing what they did was 1,000,000 to 1. They didn't 'rebuild' a winner. It was a fucking fluke. This isn't the Marlins. Its a real team. Real teams like the Braves, Cards, Yanks, Mets and Red Sox go through bad spells but they sure as hell don't just blow up and entire team. You need to think different. At least I know something about baseball. Be like the Marlins? You're the mongoloid!

You've convinced me fellas. The Cubs are a fantastically terrific ballclub with strengths everywhere. How dare I direct criticism at Jim Hendry or the state of the farm system or the current construct of this roster.

Ryan Theriot needs to hop on the first bus to Des Moines to join his pal Matt Murton. Permanently. The Towel has spoken.

the more attention he gets the bolder and more his ego comes out. well, guess we know why you're here towel.

The Cubs are a fantastically terrific ballclub with strengths everywhere. Wait... can you point out who said that for us?

"The blew it up FOR NO DAMNED REASON" Well they were making no money and a high pay roll. Boy Dlee just sucks.

jacos... if D-Lee was a "proven" run producer, he would have hit home runs instead of RBI singles.

Mongoloid - with all due respect. the marlins winning the world series was not a fluke -- the marlins built the team up with the likes of D Lee, Castillo, Alex Gonzalez, Mike Lowell, Miguel Cabreara, Juan Pierre, Josh Beckett, Brad Penny, AJ Burnett, Carl Pavano, Ugie Urbina, Dontrelle Willis, Braden Looper.---all young talent -- plus they through in a leader like Pudge through FA. This team had WS talent. and they were well assembled. your point runs null and void ----You are a mongoloid.

I would like to direct this to the distinguished members of the panel: You lousy corksuckers. You have violated my farging rights. Dis somanumbatching country was founded so that the liberties of common patriotic citizens like me could not be taken away by a bunch of fargin iceholes... like yourselves.

Dave-- Griffey has a ton of money that is deferred till after the contract expires... not sure how its stacks up but i remember when he signed here he cut the Redlegs a break...

Griffey has a ton of money that is deferred till after the contract expires Yea... I kinda' figured that out, but I am not sure how much of that Cinci would be on the hook for and how much the Cubs would be on the hook for. I am just going off of what the Sun Times said on the 6.5 million.

WOW...........If Silent Towel would be silent.........how nice it would be. Silent Towel learned so much playing in his one year of T-Ball. Now he feels the need to impart his wisdom on the rest of us.

I think the breakout is, $6.5M this season and $6M deferred, not sure who would pay what. It actually probably depends on how the trade would be structured, if made. By the way, given the manner in which we got to 300 comments after the Barrett/Bowen trade, how has no one jumped all over comment #111?!

Theriot has looked pretty shitty offensively the last 2 months. Not sure what the alternatives are, however.

10 K's for Lilly today? At least he's hung in there for today. 11 left on... Could stand some support, here...

The Big Unit had a bunch of money deffered when the DBacks shipped to the Yanks, i can't remember he they did it though...

ST said "Dave, Real Neal and E-Man… Pull you head out of your assholes. Are you watching today’s lovely contest against the dynasty that is the Texas Rangers?!? " Baseball games are not decided in the fourth inning and baseball seasons are not decided in June. Jane, you ignorant slut.

Don't know if this has been covered yet or not, but what's with the TX radio play-by-play guy? I've listened to the last two games on XM, and this guy is clearly insane. He gives more random facts about the ballgame than any announcer I've ever heard in any sport. He not only calls the usual stuff, but describes, in detail, EVERYTHING. Example: most announcers would say something like, "the visiting Cubs are wearing their grey road uniforms." This guy describes the uniform, the patches on the sleeve, the length of the sleeve, the color of the shoes, the shoelaces, the mitt, what's written on the mitt, what color t-shirt is underneath, how the SP picks up the rosin bag, how the tosses it down, where the sun is on the field, how bright it is, the number of clouds he can see, the shape of the clouds, etc. That description gets him through about 2 batters into the first inning. The top of the first. It's insane. Just my two cents. -CTMike p.s. Padilla sounds like the slowest pitcher in the history of baseball.

What exactly happened during Wilkerson's ab? How did he reach first on a fielders choice when there were no other put outs. Why did the fielder just choose not to get Wilkerson out?

lofton was caught in a rundown...lofton won the rundown. another creative way to lose...

What exactly happened during Wilkerson’s ab? How did he reach first on a fielders choice when there were no other put outs. Howry had Lofton caught in a run down, and Howry waited to long to throw the ball to second and Izzy made a poor tag.

ball hit to howry, catches Lofton between bases Howry runs at him and makes him commit to 2nd, for some reason Howry holds on to the ball till Lofton is sliding and Izturis isint in position to make the tag

isint it a bit odd that seemingly everytime we come back with a lot of runs, Howry is in the game when we lose it

ST - What was that character's name? I can see his face, just not his name... I laughed hard when i saw that post!

Dear Mr. Douchy: My point is not null and void. My point proves that to find success like they did, it's a fluke. the only way to ensure success is to use the proven model of you get talent, you hold talent, if you lose said talent, replace talent. It has worked for such teams at the Yanks, Red Sox, Cardinals, Braves and Dodgers. Or maybe we can wait til we catch lightning in a bottle like the Marlins did.

Cubs lose 2 out of 3 to the Texas Rangers and are 7 games under .500. Yeah, sure. Let's "go for it" and go get us Ken Griffey, Jr.!!!!!!!!!!

"You have violated my farging rights" There is no free speech on the internet, it is privately owned and they can make the rules as they see fit

Ehhhh, that's all the more reason we should've beat Texas 2 of 3...can't really justify losing by saying someone else lost too. Win and you don't have to justify anything.

The schedule-makers hand the Cubs a gift -- 3 games against a terrible team, with 3 starting pitchers with ERA over 5.00! -- and the Cubs make a total mess of it. Not the best way to start the "easy" stretch of their schedule. Ted Lilly should only pitch at Wrigley, and only when the wind is blowing in. The lack of power in 3-4-5 is absolutely killing the Cubs. Ramirez needs to get back soon and start going yard. 8.5 back, and (once again) with bad mojo. Cubs now 0-2 in the post-Barrett era. Bummer.

Lee was 3-4, with 2 RBI. Not sure how that is killing the Cubs. Cubs now 0-2 in the post-Barrett era. Bummer. hmmm... you mean it may not have been Barrett's fault?!?!?

what the crap... my previous post was missing a line. oh well... What I am saying is that Lee (#3 hitter) is definitely not "killing" the Cubs due to his lack of home runs.

Theme of the year -- the Cubs had more hits and drew more walks, but the other team scoerd more runs. Well, guys -- go sweep the Sox and we'll just forget this little mishap in Texas.

Silent Towel, Griffey is under contract for next year and there are not good Free Agent corner outfielders. It is a move for next year also unlike your boy Dye who is a free agent. I have no problem with offering Marshall, Murton, and a project prospect for him. Stat wise he's been the best NL outfielder, gee I wonder what kind of stats he would have if he were not. You might want to go to a hospital and have that mouth in your rectum stiched up.

well someone has to go tomorrow if aram comes back earlier i thought pagan but he did have a good game. theriot is definately slumping but then who would play short yikes i would prefer to have derosa get some starts in right. so who does go?

What I am saying is that Lee (#3 hitter) is definitely not “killing” the Cubs due to his lack of home runs. UNLESS you think league average RBI production is just dandy from our #3, HE IS and IT IS.

AA Tennessee RHP Mark Holliman just threw a seven-inning no-hitter in Game #1 of the Smokies DH versus Huntsville.

UNLESS you think league average RBI production is just dandy from our #3, HE IS and IT IS. ___________________________________________ Derek Lee is hitting .409 with a .474 OBP, a .636 SLG and a 1.110 OPS with runners in scoring position. Those are incredible numbers from a #3 guy and proof that judging a player by his RBI's is the biggest crock of shit ever.

Rishi — June 21, 2007 @ 5:15 pm And Holliman homered! Why was the game stopped after 7, AZ Phil? ============================== RISHI: In the minor leagues, they only play seven-innings in each game if it's a double-header.

rokfish — June 21, 2007 @ 4:42 pm well someone has to go tomorrow if aram comes back earlier i thought pagan but he did have a good game. theriot is definately slumping but then who would play short yikes i would prefer to have derosa get some starts in right. so who does go? ============================== ROKFISH: I suspect the Cubs would like to move Jacque Jones ASAP, but they might not be able to do so before Aramis Ramirez is ready to be reactivated. So Daryle Ward could get DFA'd, although the Cubs could also option Angel Pagan to Iowa for ten days (minimum) while meanwhile Hendry tries harder to deal JJ. If the Twins are really indeed serious about acquiring Jones, the Cubs would probably have to pay a good part (at least half) of Jones' remaining salary (which is about $2M remaining in '07, plus $5M in 2008), as was the case when the Cubs traded Michael Barrett to the Padres. BTW, after going 24-52 over his last twelve games at AAA, I-Cubs SS Ronny Cedeno is now hitting 368/444/530 (974 OPS) with a 16/16 BB/K. And those those numbers are better than the ones Mike Fontenot put up at Iowa before he got recalled. So I would think Hendry will be trying to find a taker for Cesar Izturis, too, or Cedeno might even replace Ryan Theriot on the roster (with Theriot getting optioned temporarily to AAA, while Cedeno plays SS every day and Izturis functions as the Cubs utility middle-infielder until Hendry can trade him, at which point Theriot would be recalled from Iowa to assume the utility middle-IF job).

Chad, Back to my point - don't trade for the likes of griffey -- have a plan. we are 7 games under .500 and next year isn't looking any brighter --- knowing zambrano is walking --that situation needs to be addressed: 1) if we plan on signing Z --(which with the given ownership situation will be tough) --- then sign Z -- but then trade a pitcher like Hill or Marshall for the likes of Stalmaccia / McCann. 2) if we can't sign Z --- then go to optio 2 - Trade his ass for the likes of Stalmaccia or to the mets for Miledge -and Pelfrey / Heilman - and Ramon Castro - find a way to make it hurt the mets while addressing key positions -- 1) RF, 2) catcher 3) replentish pitching My point is --- build the system --- don't tie up a bunch of money on aging vets if it doesn't get us any closer to the finish line. if z is going to walk -- make the most out of it.

Sean Marshall for Ken Griffey Jr.????? Good Lord no. Not in a million years. I swear, some of you are deluded into thinking the Cubs are on the cusp of greatness in 2007 and only a player move or two away from reeling off a 50 game winning streak. I'm dealing with morons here.

I drive over to Des Moines almost every week and catch some Iowa Cub games. Cedeno has really looked good. He has 6 errors but has made some excellent plays in the field. He really looks like a different player than we saw last year. Cedeno is playing a much better shortstop than Theriot has for the Cubs. Much more range and is hitting about .370. At this point in his career, he needs to be brought up or traded to a club where he will play.

I, too, question the wisdom of acquiring Griffey. Not because he's "severely broken down". That's ridiculous and evinces a lack of current knowledge, at best. He's having a great offensive year, albeit in a hitter's park. The problem is that the Cubs appear unlikely to contend, even with the addition of Griffey. They'll be improved - no question. But how many games will the Cubs be improved by replacing Floyd with Griffey? How many more games will they win this year if this lineup switch happens? There's a way, sabremetrically, to arrive at a reasonable approximation. I doubt that it's more than a few games. Enough to win the division? Maybe. Winning the NL Central won't require a team breakout season. And of course, once you get in the playoffs you got a chance. Questions to ask: Do the Cubs play for this year? Or next year, hoping things go better? Or is this time to try to get younger and hopefully better in three years? Questions which Hendry should not be asking (but probably is): Will acquiring Griffey help me keep my job?

anybody remember the last time theriot hit a ball hard and/or to the left of the pitcher's mound?

Silent Towel: "I swear, some of you are deluded into thinking the Cubs are on the cusp of greatness in 2007 and only a player move or two away from reeling off a 50 game winning streak. I’m dealing with morons here." Who is saying this? Seriously...specifically name a moron that you are dealing with. Maybe you should head on over to your Mensa meeting so you can have a sophisticated discussion.

Classic strawman argument he's using Joe. Generally if you ignore trolls they go away.

by the way JAOCF, another way of putting it might be that cedeno looks a lot like he did the last time he was in des moines for an extended period...we should figure out a way to share an i-cub game sometime - just how old a cub fan are you?

judging a player by his RBI’s is the biggest crock of shit ever. Hilarious!! and a non-sequiter as well. A double-play. Side retired.

"Back to my point - don’t trade for the likes of griffey — have a plan. we are 7 games under .500 and next year isn’t looking any brighter —" Which is why I said you must look at the price tag. If it won't cost us much and may make this year's team better go for it. I am not ready to call it a season yet, however, I don't advocate selling the farm system for anyone other than Miguel Cabrera. Having said that, if you want to sell off pieces for good looking minor league talent, we don't have it to give. The only possible player to trade would be Z. Lee, Aram and Soriano are going nowhere. Everyone else is not that great. Sure if we can dump Jacque or Cliffy, fine, but I don't see much return there.

Hendry should have brought in Joe Girardi...I'm just not sure that Sweet Lou is the right manager to take the Cubs to the next level...Hendry loves to spend the big dollars (on the Sorianos and Pinellas) but that doesn't guarantee that you're really putting together a winner.

Common sense reality check: A Rumor is NOT a fact. Nice to see nearly 100 posts arguing about a rumor as if it were true.

Matt Stairs just tagged up to third base on a shallow fly ball to Juan Pierre. I'm so glad we got rid of that clown.

No kidding Carlos, thank goodness we don't have weak-armed OF'ers anymore...

But Pierre brings "weak armed OF" to a whole new level. I mean, Matt friggin Stairs? He's the second slowest player in the majors, after Frank Thomas.

I know, just kidding. We actually don't have weak-armed OF'ers now that I think about it, just not the best aimers. By the way, Matt Stairs is fat.

I'm so tired of blaming underwhelming results on the manager. I hate that more than anything else that gets discussed here. Blame a manager for poor lineup construction (I'm looking at you, Dusty). Blame a manager for stupid double switches and bunting at stupid times (see above). I'll give you that. That's 100% on the skipper. No doubt about it. He's not free from blame. He can make decisions that can win or lose a ballgame. I don't think Lou's done that very much yet. Felix isn't hitting, so he hit him 8th today. Fontenot is, so he hit him second after hitting him fifth yesterday. Jacque hasn't hit at all, so he went away from the Jacque hitting 2nd experiment pretty early. Theriot hit so he found him AB's. Blame poor bullpen pitching and poor hitting late in games on players. I don't think Girardi, LaRussa, Bobby Cox, Sparky Anderson, or Connie Mack could make a change that would have us hitting .300 after the seventh inning. Girardi wouldn't make Soriano or Lee hit 15 homers by now. I think that's yet another "completely made up by the media so there's somebody to blame" idea. Maybe that's the player in me and I'm way off base here. I'd be willing to accept that. I didn't care if I liked/didn't like/hated/had no respect for my skipper. I still went out and tried to get guys out. Just the same way as I did for any other skipper. The manager I had did not change that mental procedure any. I had skippers I could not stand. Hated 'em. The last thing I wanted to do every day was go the park and get bitched at for hours and hours about stupid shit like tying my cleats correctly and drinking too much gatorade during the game. Yet, I still went out there when he called for me and tried to get guys out. At approximately the same rate as I did with other managers, no less. I just wish players would be held accountable for player things and managers would be held accountable for manager things. You guys have no problem holding the GM accountable for GM things.

Silent Towel, Griffey is NOT a RENT-A-PLAYER. He is under contract for 08 and has a club option for 09.

Sweet Lou has had enough of this losing and the culture of bad ballplayers and excuse making. His biggest move to date was telling Jim Hendry to shove his pet project Michael Barrett up his ass. Bravo Piniella. Those of you critical of the manager don't know jack scratch about professional sports, let alone the Chicago Cubs. Joe Girardi is a black-balled ego maniac. Fredi Gonzalez is providing down in Florida that is GM Larry Benifast and the good young talent that is reason why the Marlins do surprisingly well. Piniella is 50 times the manager Joe Girardi will ever be. And it is so bloody damned idiotic to be suggesting that Piniella is part of the problem.

Fredi Gonzalez is providing down in Florida that is GM Larry Benifast and the good young talent that is reason why the Marlins do surprisingly well. So Fredi Gonzalez has nothing to do with it?

*Sweet Lou has had enough of this losing and the culture of bad ballplayers and excuse making. His biggest move to date was telling Jim Hendry to shove his pet project Michael Barrett up his ass. Bravo Piniella.* Yay! At this rate Piniella will have exactly the team he wants at 15 games under .500 come October 1. Huzzah! Good on ya, Lou!

Very fiery today. Especially offensive and prickish. Didn't know ST could go to another level. It's like he just picked up the turbo boost in the middle of Turn 3. He's got a whole other gear that I didn't know existed.

Geepers Wes. I make no apologies for being peeved off at the Cubs. This team is the laughingstock of baseball. $100 million plus payroll, $300 million offseason shopping spree, a packed stadium, 99 year losing streak...and still the same old same old thanks largely to Jim Hendry. The Cubs aren't unlucky. They aren't suffering from a key player injury or two. Rather they stink, pure and simple. The offense remains the most dysfunctional and maddening in all of baseball. The defense is a mess. The rotation suspect. The bullpen an absolute clusterfuck. And you want me to be whistling zippidity doo da.

The defense is a mess. Since when? The rotation suspect. Not really. The bullpen an absolute clusterfuck. Not really.

My Padrefan employee told me that he let another one get away and cost the Dads 2 extra runs. He said it was 2 passed balls but maybe they ruled it a wild pitch. In fact the way he described it was a wild pitch but according to him, one that should have been blocked.

Dave, I can't argue with somebody who continues to defend the indefensible. If you can muster a rationale for the performance of the Cub bullpen, then no doubt I'm sure you have an excuse for lots of other cataclysmic happenings as well. I mean my goodness, this team is giving regular playing time to the likes of Koyie Hill/Rob Bowen, Ryan Theriot, Mike Fontenot, Angel Pagan. That's REALLY bad boys and girls. A $100 million plus payroll and the Cubs have been reduced down to this?!? The Cubs are the Kansas City Royals, only with 4 times the payroll.

I'm not asking for whistley zippity wtf ever you said. I'm not really asking for anything. Don't believe there was a request for anything there. Nor was I commanding. Or pleading. I think personally attacking somebody for a having an opinion different than your rather stubborn one is a bit immature, however. Probably why I thought you were 14 years old. And a Cardinals fan.

44 years old. Live in the northern burbs of Chicago. Travel to St. Louis weekly for work. In fact, work in an office down there that is two blocks from Busch and overlooks the stadium. Diehard Cub fan since 1977. Never a Cardinal fan. But I do respect that organization. I walk by Busch and cry when I see the listing of 10 World Series Championships plastered over the joint.

Pagan: .313/.371/.516 Fontenot: .348/.367/.652 ST...you lose me every time you bitch about a player that is playing well. Jones has sucked...Izzy sucks, Barrett couldn't catch me if I was in the dirt, and Eyre stinks too. Those 2 have actually hit a little, in a very small sample size, to be sure, but they have hit.

At the risk of entering into the poo - flinging fight currently ongoing, I would hate to see Marshall go. The kid looks like he's figuring out what it takes to last a full season in the bigs, and his development reminds me of what Hill went through after he was sent back down to the minors.

Dusty, if you honestly believe that it is a good thing and exciting that Angel Pagan, Mike Fontenot and Ryan Theriot are getting routine playing time on the Chicago Cubs, then you and I don't see the Cubs through the same lens. Pagan, Fontenot and Theriot are journeyman types destined to bounce between the bigs and Triple A for several ballclubs. They are the type of cheap roster filler you would expect to see in Kansas City or Washington.

Dmac- I agree. Marshall had a tough outing in Texas...that happens to a lot of pitchers. He's looked really solid so far. I'd hate to trade a LHP who is 25 and pitching well. It's not like the Cubs have a surplus of starting pitching.

I absolutely agree ST. I am not excited about Pagan, Fontenot, or Theriot...no in the least. I'd much rather have Grady Sizemore, Chase Utley and Jose Reyes. I merely pointed out that Pagan and Fontenot have played well when called upon. They may be bench players eventually, but they are playing well for now. Hell..if Fontenot could come close to his minor league career #'s of .287/.364/.427, I'd take that at 2B.

AZ Phil- What's the word on Holliman? He got off to a great start, then cooled a bit, now tosses a 7 inning no-no. Doesn't seem to be much of a strikeout guy.

C'mon Silent Towel, admit you used to go by the moniker Cubfan. Anyway, why go to Busch and cry? Just join them. We don't really need your doom and gloom here anyway. If it were up to you we would trade the whole damn team and wait and hope that all the young kids would blossom into to the next Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez and Alfonso Soriano... Oh wait, we already have those guys. Three guys who are among the best at their postion. Just wait til next year for you, huh? The funny thing is that next year never comes. Rather than just talk about blowing up this team, lay out your plan. Who would you trade? And for what? You don't need to name the player/players coming back. Just an idea of what you, Silent Towel, GM of the Cubs would do.

I forgot to add: "You say you got a real solution Well you know We'd all love to see the plan" - John Lennon

I agree on bringing up Cedeno and inserting him in the starting lineup. Theriot is hitting .195 in the past 30 days + last night the Cubs got a "room service" double play ball and barely turned it. I think the 6 errors + the hitting stats are very promising...Theriot is sub, not a starter. I would trade for Griffey it we gave up Jock Jones or Matt Murton. He's the perfect #5 for this lineup but definetely not worth Sean Marshall...I would consider Milton Bradley but would also consider Sean Gallagher + Matt Murton for Jermaine Dye... Now that Barrett is gone we do have a bit of a lineup problem. The way I see it, here's the best scenario with what we have: Soriano Cedeno Lee Ramirez Floyd Fontentot/DeRosa Pie Bowen Gotta get a number 5 that can play rightfield...

I'll say this-stealing from billy beane and steve stone: "You take the first 2 months of the season evaluating what you have, the next 2 months getting what you need and the last 2 months executing the plan". That said, Lou obviously felt our defense needed fixing first. I expect a slugger and another relief pitcher soon. I am encouraged that we went to Iowa to bring up Pie, Marmol, Marshall and Fontentot-and next Cedeno. Keep the faith. Our hitting the past 30 days is down, but we've missed Ramirez. The concept of Hendry working for Lou is much better in my opinion.

I'll wait for Ronny to actually get hits at the big league level before I get too excited. That's something he hasn't really ever done. And then I'll wait even longer before I let him hit second. Fontenot had never been here at hit at soon as he got here. Ronny's been here twice and, may I remind you, is a career 252/283/344. He's even been through stretches like this at Iowa before. 65 games in '05 before his first call up: 355/403/518.

Guess that wasn't completely correct. After his 05 call up, he went 41 games with a 300/356/375. Wonder where in the heck that went.

My goodness, how many more times do we need to see Ronny Cedeno in a Cub uniform to know that he is terrible. He's a AAAA ballplayer. His opportunity at the big league level is over, or at least it should be in terms of a Cub uniform.

Oh Silent Towel, won't you lay some wisdom on me? "Sean Gallagher + Matt Murton for Jermaine Dye" Love where you are going here but too much for a aging free agent to be.

Dye will come around and he's already slugging almost 100 points higher. But you can't give up Murton and Gallagher.

Yikes, I agree with ST. Ron Ce is 4A material, what's good about him mashing in Iowa is not that he's the Next Answer at SS for the big league Cubs, it's that he's building a tiny amount of trade value to another team. If only we had a GM smart enough to exploit it, that is. Buy low, sell high; a rough concept for Donuts, I know....Note: I'd be packaging Josh Kroeger in trade deals RIGHT NOW as well. His value will never be higher.

Sean Gallagher will never be a big league starting pitcher, he has middle relief written all over him. And my opinion of Matt Murton is very low--as it should be for a judy-hitting OF with no defensive skills to speak of. Having said that, Jermaine Dye?? Seriously???? What part of "the right-hand hitting Jock Jones" does Jim Hendry not understand? Great, Dye had a big season for the White Sox...in the past. Old news. He sucks eggs, he's old, he is NOT the direction this lousy organization needs to be looking. God I hate being a Cub fan. Rooting for the Blackhawks is about the only thing worse, I guess.

"Having said that, Jermaine Dye?? Seriously???? What part of “the right-hand hitting Jock Jones” does Jim Hendry not understand?" It is ST who think Dye is the answer, not JH. "And my opinion of Matt Murton is very low–as it should be for a judy-hitting OF with no defensive skills to speak of. " It's "punch and judy" and it doesn't apply to Murton, it applies to the likes of Pierre, Izturis and Theriot. He was also one of the top three or four defensive left fielders in the league last year. But your mind's made up so no use bringing up facts.

What part of “the right-hand hitting Jock Jones” does Jim Hendry not understand? Hmmm... did you actually read the above comments? There is no rumor about Dye coming to the Cubs. There are only ST's and carmefanzone's dreams to get an aging outfielder with significant injury history who is hitting almost Jock Jones like.

And Chad... not sure why we can expect Dye to turn it around. It is not like he is getting better each month: April: .221/.315/.442 May: .252/.291/.466 June: .213/.254/.344 HIs career numbers are also pretty mediocre: .275/.337/.483 For contrast, Matt Murton's career numbers: .294/.363/.441 While Dye has the advantage in power (though not a huge one), Murton has the advantage in ave and obp. But yea - Murton sucks and Dye is the answer for the Cubs as a three month rent-a-player for RF.

By the way... having watched the Lofton/Howry run-down a few times now, that play was not Howry's fault. Sure... he may have waited a little too long to throw the ball, but if Izzy was in proper position, Lofton would have been out. Izzy wasn't anywhere close to being in the right position to make that play.

Some of you are right, some of you are wrong, but you're pretty much all assholes. =) Let's try not to get swept by the Sox, eh?

Futures Game... Cubs players: Soto - C (World Team) That is it. Interestingly Soto is listed as an infielder and not a catcher.

Glad to hear Ram is back. We f-ing need him. Obviously. If I was writing on the card today: LF Sori 2B Font 1B Lee 3B Ram DH Floyd C Bowen RF Pagan SS Izzy CF Pie

Sean Gallagher came from AA-Tenn...so essentially he got a net promotion if they sent him to Iowa instead of Tennessee

Ronny Cedeno - -- yikes. Anybody remember his play last year? He made Michael Barrett look like a head's-up baseball player with great instincts. Love The Riot as a super-sub, but maybe his RF-only hitting style has been figured out by the league.

Dav- I usually agree with you on the Murton issue, but this: "While Dye has the advantage in power (though not a huge one), " is kinda silly isn't it? Dye has 247 career HR's, and 4 100 RBI seasons. Murton is nowhere near the player Dye was. Right now, I'll take Dye...but that doesn't mean that I don't like Murton. Dye is 33, and struggling this season. No more getting rid of younger players for fading veterans please.

Dye has 247 career HR’s, and 4 100 RBI seasons. In 11 seasons, that is only slightly more than 20 homeruns per year. And 100 RBI seasons are not that special anymore, and 4 in 11 seasons does not say that much either. Don't get me wrong - Dye has been the better hitter over the last couple of years, but the last couple of years are way out of line from the rest of his career numbers.

My bottom line is this: I am a Cedeno apologist from way back. It's true...it's true. He did not get much of a shot this season, and deservedly not. However, the Cubs options at SS are not so good right now. I like Theriot, but can he hit anywhere near enough? His fielding is a C at SS. Izturis is disappointing. He has a good arm, and is solid in the field mostly, but certainly not a Gold Glover anymore. .250/.305/.311 is terrible. The Cubs are not contenders folks. They just aren't. Cedeno is hitting .368/.444/.530 at AAA Iowa. Bring him up and see if, at 24 years old, he can settle in and relax, and become a major league SS. Izturis is gone after this season, barring a miracle, and Theriot, I fear, isn't a full-time major league SS. It can't hurt to give Cedeno another shot, because the Cubs are getting squat out of their SS position right now. Flame on everyone.....

Dusty... I too think that Cedeno can be a successful major league player. And I would have very little problem with the Cubs giving him another chance. His issues do not seem to be talent - his issues seem to stem from mental issues and poor handling of the pressure from being in the Bigs. With that said, I would REALLY like to see DeRosa given a chance at SS, though I would be really surprised if it happened. A lineup of this would be nice: Soriano DeRosa Lee A-Ram Floyd Fontenot/Theriot Pie Bowen Pitcher And I wouldn't be opposed to seeing to swapping DeRosa and Fontenriot. BUt I would be pretty shocked if we ever saw DeRosa at SS.

What I'd like to see: 1. The Cubs get sold to an owner who is a multi-generational Diehard, who is a multi-billionairre, and can't stand losing. 2. This owner should surround himself with a mix of "baseball people" and "sabremetric MBA" types. I marvel at the Red Sox, and how they stay in it while in the same division with the Yankees. Why can't the Cubs (I mean I KNOW why, currently, but...) 3. The complete organization should be reassessed, and a real plan, based on the pecularities of the dimensions of the MLB park AND the conditions the players play in should be implimented. 4. A GM with a tremendous track record of building consistently winning teams should be wooed in the worst way. Why the FUCK should a City as great as Chicago, have to endure mediocrity, or worse, 9 years out of 10 from the NL club? 5. Wait on a "Fire Sale", until such new ownership is established. 6. However, Cesar Itzturis and Jacque Jones, still must go. 7. If Lou stays, I believe, 2008 will be a very good year for this team - it will be entirely HIS team - and I would think that this years' "training and acclimation" will make everyone better. 8. Personally, as a season ticket holder, I wouldn't be opposed to rebuilding Wrigley - or blowing it up and starting from scratch. 9. We ALL want the SAME THING here - a Cubs World Series title while we're still around to enjoy it!

A GM with a tremendous track record of building consistently winning teams... Rumors are swirling that Walk Jockety wants out of St. Louis...

Listened to Jim Hendry on the radio with WGN's Spike O'Dell this morning. Hendry stated that obviously he is very disappointed with how the season has progressed. When asked about Michael Barrett, Hendry said his defense significantly deteriorated over the last year. While he really likes Michael and his work ethic, the feeling was it was best for both parties to go in a new direction (that's code speak meaning that Sweet Lou wanted his butt out of town). O'Dell asked Hendry if he was surprised with all the young guys being on the roster. He said yes, but added that the organization likes Ryan Theriot in a utility role and have been dutifully impressed with the defensive improvement made by Mike Fontenot at 2nd base. He also said the plan will probably be to go with Ryan Bowen and Koyie Hill the remainder of the year at catcher, and that at some point Geovany Soto may enter the picture.

Ok...Dave. In 11 seasons, 247 career HR's. In 7 full seasons, 1999-2002, 2004-2006, he had 208 HR's, an average of 29 a season. Please try to remember that Dye's first 3 seasons he averaged about 250 AB's, and then missed time from a broken leg mid-career. Murton has never sniffed 20 HR's, been an All-Star, or had 100 RBI's in a season. 100 RBI's is still pretty special Dave. About 35 players in MLB did it last season. That's still pretty select company...

Murton has never sniffed 20 HR’s, been an All-Star, or had 100 RBI’s in a season. Yea.. I know - but he has only one one full season (where he only got 455 at-bats), but he still hit 13 HR and had 65 RBI. Being that an average "full season" is more like 600 at-bats, that would mean that Murton would have 16-17 HR and 85 RBI. Again - Dye has been a better hitter over the last couple of years, but I would guess that Murton out produces Dye from here on out (if Murton ever gets a chance).

FYI... Dye didn't have more than 20 HR until his 4th season, and has only had 20+ HR seasons in 6 of his 11 seasons. And yes, I know that injuries played a part in that. All I am saying is that Dye is not that much better of a hitter than Murton. Dye definitely hits for more power, while Murton hits for a better average and obp.

Dave, let the Matt Murton thing go. His days in a Cub uniform are, for all intents and purposes, over. He will be gone by next offseason, if not sooner. The best he can hope for is to eek out a major league career where he stands in for a team that lost its left fielder to injury and to bounce around between Triple A and the bigs. I'll be surprised if he still is in the majors in 5 years. And I suspect he will wind up playing for 4-5 different organizations.

Again, if Murton ever gets a shot, he will be a good hitter. Until he shows that is is a better hitter, He cannot compare to Dye. I hope Murton gets a shot thouogh...he showed enough last season to warrant a shot somewhere.

billybucks — June 21, 2007 @ 9:09 pm AZ Phil- What’s the word on Holliman? He got off to a great start, then cooled a bit, now tosses a 7 inning no-no. Doesn’t seem to be much of a strikeout guy. =============================== BILLY BUCKS: A polished college pitcher when the Cubs drafted him in the 3rd round of thev 2005 draft out of Ole Miss, Holliman signed too late to pitch in 2005, but the Cubs liked him enough in ST 2006 that they jumped him all the way to Daytona on Opening Day '06 for his pro debut. His best attribute is that he throws strikes, commanding a low-90's fastball, a curve, and a slider (his best pitch). Biggest question is if he has the stamina to be a rotation starter or will end up in bullpen, because he started off great at Daytona last season, and then hit a wall just after mid-season, possibly because he had never pitched more than 111 IP at Ole Miss. So it will be intetresting to see how he fares in July-August this year. If he can stay strong, he will probably remain a starter. At this point (so far), he would probably be rated as one of the top three starting pitcher prospects in the Cubs system (maybe even number one if you go strictly by performance), although he is rarely mentioned in the media. I had him pegged as a trading chip come July, but the way the Cubs are playing right now, they might not be making any stretch drive deals for veterans...

Murt ain't dead yet! When Murton was sent down to AAA he was told to work on his power at the plate and his defense in RF which makes sense if he's still in their plans. Coincidentally, the I-Cubs have been starting him in RF and I noted yesterday they have him batting clean-up.

AZ Phil- Thanks -- I had heard about al ot of the Cubs young arms before this year, but Holliman's name was never mentioned. Maybe now it will be.

ST - Whether or not he will ever be a big contributor does remain to be seen, but Murton is only down in AAA until this logjam of Jones, Floyd and Pagan is cleared up. I have little doubt that he will be back up in the majors later this year, and he will be given a chance to play more often.

I don't think there should be discussion of trading Gallagher or Holliman--certainly not Gallagher. I mainly look at box scores at Iowa and Tennessee, but there are no other major league prospects starting games there except Veal, who will be good when he sharpens his control, but who knows when that will be. He is likely to be a minor-league pitcher through 2008 at least. And until one of the current starters is traded, another lefty is not likely to be called up. Meanwhile, we're on the lookout for a guy who can be a better fifth starter than Marquis. Gallagher is the best bet and one of the only ones. There are also the three outpatient arms, Mateo, Guzman and Prior.

Murton and Theriot are just in bad slumps, what used to be referred to as the sophomore slump. Experience says that a slumping Theriot is better than a streaking Cedeno. At some point Cedeno will probably turn into a pretty good player. But when?

Maybe it was the "sophomore jinx." Second-year players were thought to be jinxed. They get over it.

Any thoughts that Lee should drop appeal after facing Buerhle today? Sitting out remainder of Sox and then Colorado. Get it over with asap, he's not going to get a game taken off in appeal.

Good suggestion Jacos - if we're going to get back in this thing we need to sweep the Beermakers next weekend and in order to do that we need Derrek.

Well, Jim Hendry himself said on the Spike O'Dell radio show this morning that the organization views Ryan Theriot as a utility player. Theriot is in a slump, but he also is being over-used. And I shall continue to insist he has no business playing shortstop AT ALL. He's bad at the most vital defensi.ve position the field

Okay, so back to the news of Gallagher being sent down to clear way for Ramirez... Where is he going? Is he going to AAA or AA? Even if he is going to AAA, I would imagine he will still feel good about being higher than where he started. It appears, too, that the I-Cubs are in need of some pitching.

For those of you who did not catch Bruce Levine on WLUP, ESPN 1000, Chicago, he basically stated: A contributing factor in Barrett being gone was he was the "leak" in the story to ESPN re "dissention in the clubhouse" over Lou. This was NOT appreciated by management, and, according to the reporter, probably the last straw. Regarding Jr., he really does not think that Hendry will be making a trade for another aging veteran with profound DL issues. I felt assured that barring something pretty unusual, the Cubs will not be making any trades for Griffey.

Spike O'dell-WGN So they are blaming the player only meeting where "several vets " slammed Lou on Barrett?

Oh, just as an aside, Theriot has a .844 zone rating at SS and Izturis has a .818. Thought that was interesting.

And everything is blamed on Barrett jacos. Just remember that every game we lose from this time on is Barrett's faul and you'll be a happier person.

Is Bruce Levine on at a regular time on ESPN 1000? It would be nice to be able to tune into hear him, if only I knew when to do so...

I want to clarify my points: 1. Cedeno deserves his second chance. If he fails, we're done. Essentially, there is no one in front of him right now. My proposed lineup had hit hitting second because a) Pie needs to move down in the order and b) we don't have a pure #6 so that would have to be the Fontenot/DeRosa platoon. Cedeno can't hit 6th... 2. Despite their record, I believe the Cubs will make every attempt to make the playoffs this year. The division is just too crappy to give up. That said, I think they try to build around what they perceive as "core" talent and trade off the young guys they don't see as part of the future. Unfortunately, Murton is not a rightfielder, nor is he a true #5 hitter. The risk/reward of trading for someone like Dye is absolutely worth it. His career numbers suggest that, unless he's hurt, that he will hit better in the second half. We've already seen where Lou will not put up with the defense displayed by Jones, Floyd or Murton in right. If we had a better option in Iowa or TN, I'd bet they'd already be here but you have to remember this rightfielder has to hit in the 5 or 6 spot-so slugging % is crucial. The Griffey rumor is seriously flawed for this reason: He's pissed because they moved him to rightfield. If he comes to the Cubs where would they play him-rightfield. Why not just play rightfield in your hometown? Its not like being traded to the Cubs puts him on a first place team. Last but not least, what are the chances that the Cubs/Sox make a larger deal involving Uribe and Izturis and possibly Eyre and McDougal? I know that outs there, but lets face it, they're both organizations that are frustrated by their underacheivments.

Is Bruce Levine on at a regular time on ESPN 1000? He has a show on Saturday mornings, and also hosts Chicago Baseball Tonight from 9-11 a couple of nights a week. Other than that he just does baseball updates and the occasional guest spot.

"So they are blaming the player only meeting where “several vets ” slammed Lou on Barrett" Actually, management researched the leak to the press, on what was thought to be a "family" matter. It was traced to Barrett (according to to Levine). A breach of trust, fwiw.

His career numbers suggest that, unless he’s hurt, that he will hit better in the second half. Hmmm... from 2004-2006, Dye had a lower OPS in the second half of each year than the first half of the year. From 2004 - 2006, here are Dye's numbers: Pre-All Star: .291/.357/.556 OPS - .913 Post-All Star: .278/.340/.504 OPS - .844

"Cedeno deserves his second chance" Wouldn't this be his third or fourth chance? Dye is old and bad, imo.

This isn't mentioned very often but Ronny Cedeno was handed a job with the Chicago Cubs after only 245 AB's in AAA. He had a hot bat at the time, but this was his career minor league line: 265 *.316 .376 *692 Based on that, the Cedeno we saw last year is the real Cedeno.

It probably would take more than Jones to get Kemp, now that I have thought about it for a little while. He's only 22, so he still projects to have a better ceiling than he is currently showing, and he currently showing quite a bit. His only obvious flaw, which I believe will endear him even more to Hendry given his record, is that he strikes out too much.

ESPN 1000 just said that Levine reported the Cubs HAVE NOT spoken to the Reds about Griffey.

Griffey is intriguing, and would help this year becuase teh CUbs are terrible in RF, but he is 37 years old with a brutal history of injuries.

JACE: "ESPN 1000 just said that Levine reported the Cubs HAVE NOT spoken to the Reds about Griffey." I just stated this in #253. Why the redundant post?

I think that anyone could read your post, and then read my post, and come away with two different pieces of information. I don't think it's redundant.

Where did everyone go??? I see all this discussion about trades going on earlier this morning, then I get involved, and here I am arguing with E-man about whether or not one of my posts is redundant... Hello?

Yeah, jacos, I saw that a little while ago... I think that may quelch those rumors for awhile...

Hmmm... Bowen has bad cs% because of SD pitchers, but Barrett throws out a runner stealing in his first game with SD.

Care to the mention the other three stolen bases against Barrett and his pass ball in his first game?

"Care to the mention the other three stolen bases against Barrett and his pass ball in his first game?" Yeah Dave. Hmmm. Plus three K's at the plate? Care to mention...?

Care to the mention the other three stolen bases against Barrett and his pass ball in his first game? Umm... I was the first one to mention his pass ball. Thanks though. And even with 3 other sb's - Bowen threw one guy out... all year!

"If the Cubs didn’t already have 37 right fielders on their active roster, I would probably take a chance on the guy."(Milton) ---Well - the cubs do not have 6 right fielders-----they actually have ZERO true right fielders and about 6 left fielders. there is a huge difference in team defense as the RF and CF slots shut down opposing teams running and aggressiveness. Milton is that defensive guy. He's a fit for 80+ games --- we have nothng to lose -- see if Oakland would bite on Jacque or Floyd--

Actually... Wild Thing mentioned Barrett's pb during the game. I followed up later with the mention that he had a pb AND 3 k's. So I don't want to take credit that Wild Thing deserves.

Bowen had some nice CS% in the minors according to Bob on the Wednesday broadcast, 40-50% range. Towers on XM radio this morning said he likes guys who show some fire on the field, who are competitive. Obviously a team willing to employ Piazza last year behind the plate could care less about catcher defense. Lo and behold the Padres keep making the playoffs. Cubs will not trade for Griffey Jr, they're not taking any money on past this year. I'd love to get Matt Kemp from the Dodgers though.

Actually scorer ruled the pass ball as a wild pitch. But you and I know the truth. ;-)

Actually scorer ruled the pass ball as a wild pitch. No... I believe there was a pass ball AND a wild pitch.

At last, a constuctive response to my posts! Rob -Do you have the same glowing opinion of Matt Kemp that Heyman obviously does? What would you guess that they would want back for him?

Unless a winning streak hits real damn soon, I fully expect the Cubs to be making moves for the next couple years rather than take their shot this year. Some guys I'd like to target if the Cubs trade Z (and getting a first round pick isn't terrible if they can't deal him). Tulowitzki (Rockies) Iannetta (Rockies) Humber (Mets) Mike Pelfrey (Mets) Phil Hughes (Yankees) Andrew Miller (Tigers) Saltamacchia (Braves) it'll be tough though since teams are far less willing these days to trade the farm system for walk year guys.

I would be pretty shocked if the Yanks were willing to trade Hughes. They supposedly are not interested in trading Hughes for 1.5 years of Texeira - not sure why they would trade him for a couple months of Z.

Just watched the mlb.com condensed game from yesterday. If you've seen Pagan make good plays in the outfield, fine. I must have missed them. But people say he's a good outfielder based on the fact that he should be, because of his speed. He missed two catchable balls yesterday. One you've heard about. The other was Hairston's double in the third inning that led to two runs.

VA Phil - I would say that somewhere around 90% of mlb right fielders do not make the play in the 9th that Pagan missed. I haven't seen the Hairston double, so I can't comment on that.

I have no idea what the Dodgers would want for Kemp, my guess is there holding him for a deal to try and get Teixeira or Miguel Cabrera or Adam Dunn or even Griffey (who probably wouldn't approve a trade to LA). Dodgers probably want a power stick in their lineup and I'm not sure we have anything to offer them right now. Unless they make a play for Zambrano, then maybe we could coax Kemp and Billingsley but I wouldn't expect much. The only thing we'll get for JJ at this point is minor league fodder.

dave- Yahoo only lists wild pitch. ~shrugs~ "I fully expect the Cubs to be making moves for the next couple years rather than take their shot this year." I believe they will stand still, they will not diminish this team in any way for a new owner. Why would they give a flyin leap about anything pass this season?

Wild disagreement here about what Jones is worth. People talk about actually getting major-league value in return. The Cubs will trade him, since you can give a player away for free by agreeing to pay his entire salary and accepting nothing in return. I think the Cubs will get a minor leaguer, single or double-A, and pay 80-90% of his salary. After all, they're paying 60% of Barrett's!

just a list of the type of talent and positions I think the Cubs should target for Z. Obviously there's a whole other GM on the other side who may or may not be willing to trade their top talent. I'm sure Salty isn't available either.

I don't expect the Cubs to be huge sellers, don't get me wrong. JJ, Izturis, Eyre, Howry, Z and possibly Dempster are about it. None of those would make any impact on the sale of the team except Z and well that ship has sailed. Thank you Trib/Hendry/McDonough (whoever you feel like blaming).

dave-, he's a defensive substitute. The ball was a foot from his nose, maybe less, when he missed it. It was one of those Corey Patterson dives where you don't actually extend for the ball. He's actually the guy that people should be comparing to Corey Patterson. Fast and a strong arm. After that, you take your chances. Of course, he's more patient than Patterson, but he's patient to a fault. I know, I know, he got three hits yesterday. I'm just surprised at how bad an outfielder he is, considering that that's supposed to be his value-add.

Oh, don't get me wrong. I am not a Pagan defender. I just think that the winning hit in the 9th was an extremely tough play, and one that most right fielders do not make. And I don't recall anyone really praising his defense. I think it is more this - he is better defensively than Floyd or Murton, and has a better arm than Jones. So he looks like he is good defensively in comparison the rest of the options.

what did Pagan do on defense yesterday except that last play? because that last play he ran about 10,000 feet to even get close to it, ridiculous to get on him for not making that play. It was a full out dive that bounced off his glove. How many RF'ers even get close enough to make that play?

Well, Rob, I see on your list, that you have two Rockies. Despite what they may say publicly, EVERY player on the Rockies roster is available.

Well, Rob, I see on your list, that you have two Rockies. Despite what they may say publicly, EVERY player on the Rockies roster is available. why do you say that? I'm not sure if the Rockies are ready to trade prospects quite yet for a run this year. I guess it depends on where they're at in July. I'm sure they wouldn't mind moving Atkins for a LOT since they have Ian Stewart. But I don't know where they're minds are right now. I wouldn't mind Brad Hawpe either. Z, Murton, bullpen arm or pitching prospect for Hawpe, Tulowitzki, Iannatta?

alright, scratch my crazy trade idea to the Rockies, no way they'd take out 2 regulars in the middle of a playoff run. Maybe one if they'd have a replacement somewhere. They do have Jeff Baker to replace Hawpe. I'm not sure what their SS situation is though. Iannatta isn't doing much right now so maybe he's available.

Rob - It never ceases to amaze me how frequently the Rockies adjust their overall team strategy. When they get to respectability, they have a strong tendency to over-tinker, which then starts them down a slippery slope that results in taking a few steps back. What's more, any time they have an expiring contract looking them in the face, they will rarely even consider extending contracts.

Rob said: what did Pagan do on defense yesterday except that last play? see #287 And yes, he made a good run on that last hit. I give you his speed. Exceptional speed--although he's a timid baserunner as well as a timid batter and flycatcher.

"Thank you Trib/Hendry/McDonough (whoever you feel like blaming)." Z and his agent, of course, totally blameless.

Recent comments

  • 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.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Here are the Cubs pitchers reports from Tuesday afternoon's Cardinals - Cubs game art Sloan Park in Mesa:

    SHOTA IMANAGA
    FB: 90-92 
    CUT: 87-89 
    SL: 82-83 
    SPLIT: 81-84
    CV: 73-74 
    COMMENT: Worked three innings plus two batters in the fourth... allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits (six singles and two doubles) walked one, and struck out six (four swinging), with a 1/2 GO/AO... he threw 73 pitches (52 strikes - 10 swing & miss - 19 foul balls)... surrendered one run in the top of the 1st on a one-out double off Cody Bellinger's glove in deep straight-away CF followed one out later by two consecutive two-out bloop singles, allowed two runs (one earned) in the 2nd after retiring the first two hitters (first batter had a nine-pitch AB with four consecutive two-strike foul balls before being retired 3 -U) on a two-out infield single (weak throw on the run by Nico Hoerner), a hard-contact line drive RBI double down the RF line, and an E-1 (missed catch) by Imanaga on what should been an inning-ending 3-1 GO, gave up another run in the 3rd on a two-out walk on a 3-2 pitch and an RBI double to LF, and two consecutive singles leading off the top of the 4th before being relieved (runners were ultimately left stranded)... threw 18 pitches in the 1st inning (14 strikes - two swing & miss, one on FB and the other on a SL - four foul balls), 24 pitches in the 2nd inning (17 strikes - three swing & miss, one on FB, two SPLIT - six foul balls), 19 pitches in the 3rd inning (13 strikes - seven swing & miss, three on SL, two on SPLIT, one on FB - three foul balls), and 12 pitches without retiring a batter in the top of the 4th (8 strikes - no swing & miss - four foul balls)... Imanaga throws a lot of pitches per inning, but it's not because he doesn't throw strikes...  if anything, he throws too many strikes (he threw 70% strikes on Tuesday)... while he gets a ton of swing & miss (and strikeouts), he also induces a lot of foul balls because he doesn't try to make hitters chase his pitches by throwing them out of the strike zone... rather, he uses his very diverse pitch mix to get swing & miss (and lots of foul balls as well)... he also is a fly ball pitcher who will give up more than his share of HR during the course of the season...   
     
    JOE NAHAS
    FB: 90-92 
    SL: 83-85 
    CV: 80-81 
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day... relieved Imanaga with runners at first and second and no outs in the top of the 4th, and after an E-2 catcher's interference committed by Miguel Amaya loaded he bases, Nahas struck out the side (one swinging & two looking)... threw 16 pitches (11 strikes - two swinging)...   

    YENCY ALMONTE
    FB: 89-92 
    CH: 86 
    SL: 79 
    COMMENT: Threw an eight-pitch 5th (five strikes - no swing & miss), with a 5-3 GO for the first out and an inning-ending 4-6-3 DP after a one-out single... command was a bit off but he worked through it...   

    FRANKIE SCALZO JR
    FB: 94-95
    CH: 88 
    SL: 83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 6th inning... got the first outs easily (a P-5 and a 4-3 GO) on just three pitches, before allowing three consecutive two-out hard-contact hits (a double and two singles), with the third hit on pitch # 9 resulting in a runner being thrown out at the plate by RF Christian Franklin for the third out of the inning... 

    MICHAEL ARIAS
    FB: 94-96
    CH: 87-89
    SL: 82-83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and allowed a hard-contact double on the third pitch of the 7th inning (a 96 MPH FB), and the runner came around to score on a 4-3 GO and a WP... gave up two other loud contact outs (an L-7 and an F-9)... threw 18 pitches (only 10 strikes - only one swing & miss)... stuff is electric but still very raw and he continues to have difficulty commanding it, and while he has the repertoire of a SP, he throws too many pitches-per-inning to be a SP and not enough strikes to be a closer... he is most definitely still a work-in-progress...   

    ZAC LEIGH: 
    FB: 93-94 
    CH: 89 
    SL: 81-83 
    CV: 78
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and tossed a 1-2-3 8th (4-3 GO, K-swinging on a sweeper, K-looking on another sweeper)... threw 14 pitches (11 strikes - one swing & miss - eight foul balls)... kept pumping pitches into the strike zone but had difficulty putting hitters away (ergo a ton of foul balls)... FB velo is nowhere near the 96-98 MPH it was a couple of years ago when he was a Top 30 prospect, but his secondaries are better...   

    JOSE ROMERO:  
    FB: 93-95
    SL: 82-84
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 9th (14 pitches - only six strikes- no swing & miss) and allowed a solo HR after two near-HR fly outs to the warning track, before getting a 3-1 GO to end the inning... it was like batting practice when he wasn't throwing pitches out of the strike zone...

  • crunch (view)

    pablo sandoval played 3rd and got a couple ABs (strikeout, single!) in the OAK@SF "exhibition"

    mlb officially authenticated the ball of the single he hit.  nice.

    he's in surprisingly good shape considering his poor body condition in his last playing seasons.  he's not lean, but he looks healthier.  good for him.

  • crunch (view)

    dbacks are signing j.montgomery to a 1/25m with a vesting 20m player option.

    i dunno when the ink officially dries, but i believe if he signs once the season begins he can't be offered a QO...and i'm not sure if that thing with SD/LAD in korea was the season beginning, either.

  • crunch (view)

    sut says imanaga getting the home opener at wrigley (game 4 of the season).