Cubs MLB Roster

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40-Man Roster Info

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

42 players are at MLB Spring Training 

31 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE at MLB Spring Training, and nine players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors. 
11 players are MLB Spring Training NON-ROSTER INVITEES (NRI) 

Last updated 3-17-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 17
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Hector Neris 
Daniel Palencia
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Jameson Taillon
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

NRI PITCHERS: 5 
Colten Brewer 
Carl Edwards Jr 
* Edwin Escobar 
* Richard Lovelady 
* Thomas Pannone 

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

NRI CATCHERS: 2  
Jorge Alfaro 
Joe Hudson 

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

NRI INFIELDERS: 3 
David Bote 
Garrett Cooper
* Dominic Smith

OUTFIELDERS: 5
* Cody Bellinger 
Alexander Canario
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

NRI OUTFIELDERS: 1 
* David Peralta

OPTIONED:
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Ben Brown, RHP 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, RHP 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Keegan Thompson, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

 



Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Game Of The Weak

So Maddux & Beuhrle came in below my prediction, and the game ended in 2:07. For the Cubs offense, it ended about two hours before that, though, as they managed to put only one run on the board, and that happened as the result of a single, a sacrifice, an error, and a sac fly. Dusty must be absolutely aglow at this fantastic smallball execution. The White Sox countered by taking what Greg Maddux was giving them, which was walks. Two hours later, it was another loss. Today's starter, Rich Hill, certainly appears to be in line for a demotion once Mark Prior returns to the rotation. If, at the beginning of the year, the question was which of Hill or Sean Marshall was ready for the big leagues, the answer now seems clear. Hill has walked 10 in 15 1/3 innings, and that, combined with a .310 BAA, leads to a 7.63 ERA. GAME FORTY-TWO IN-GAME DISCUSSION THREAD [PARACHAT] CHICAGO CUBS (17-24, 5th, 9.5 GB) AT CHICAGO WHITE SOX (27-14, 1st, 0.0) U.S. Cellular Field, 12:20 PM CDT Weather: Sunny, 63 degrees, wind 10 mp out to left TV: FOX Radio: WGN, XM 180
Freddy Garcia, RHP 6-1, 4.56 ERA, 49 1/3 IP 28 K, 16 BB, 5 HR 242/301/389 against, .261 BABIPRich Hill, LHP 0-3, 7.63 ERA, 15 1/3 IP 9 K, 10 BB, 3 HR 310/400/621 against, .326 BABIP

*Juan Pierre, CF Ronny Cedeno, SS *Todd Walker, DH Michael Barrett, C *Jacque Jones, RF Aramis Ramirez, 3B *John Mabry, 1B Matt Murton, LF Jerry Hairston, 2B*Scott Podsednik, LF Tadahito Iguchi, 2B *Jim Thome, DH Paul Konerko, 1B Jermaine Dye, RF *A.J. Pierzynski, C Joe Crede, 3B Juan Uribe, SS Brian Anderson, CF
Cubs vs. Garcia: Todd Walker: 5-14, 357/438/429, 2 BB Jacque Jones: 7-36, 194/237/389, 2 HR, 1 BB, 7 K Jerry Hairston: 1-17, 059/059/059, 1 K

Comments

For some reason I'm optomistic about Rich Hill today. Hopefully he can give us one good one before being demoted. Could just be gas though.

Wow, somebody can read, and thinks that signing another washed up ballplayer is a good idea. Good thinking MPLS. I can't wait for more insight from you.

Lighten up, PD. We're all grumpy here.

Lee will be back in about 3 weeks, no sense looking for 1B now. He is getting his last cast off May 31 and he said he will be ready in 7-10 days after that. Hendry has dropped the ball on this team in many facets and this is what us fans have to deal with. Thanks Mr. Hendry!!! Enjoy your extenstion and raise...

Rich Hill vs. CHW = BLOWOUT!!!! And this is the guy that was the most asked about Chicago Cub player in the system?? And Hendry didn't sell high??

Could be the worst sportswriter in the world? I don't really think there is a question there. I wish I could get that minute of my life back

Are we losing yet..? I'm more interested in the Mets v. Yanks. Bleh.

After this BS play by Barrett, I just cannot watch this crap anymore. What a bunch of frigging losers.

Ron Santo: "Well, these things happen when a team's struggling." The Cubs are embarassing. Thanks Jim Hendry.

lee out...aram not hitting...barrett/j.jones the only slugging showing up with consistancy... and barrett goes about getting himself suspended. total 100% pure b/s... this is not the time for that crap. bah....

Mabry and Barrett have been ejected from the game...Hmmm...Can the Cubs learn how to control themselves...? We can't afford to loose key players. Talk about giving the White Sox a huge gift. Ron Santo: "You hate to see this...you really do."

the fact that it was pierzynski is the only saving grace from the debacle.

What happened?

Iguchi grand slam! Yay team! The depths just keep getting lower and lower, but just wait till Wood, Prior, Lee, this year's first round draft choice, and next year's crapptastcic veteran signing get back in the lineup...

aj bowled barrett over and scored, slapped the plate, got up. barrett grabbed him and threw a haymaker, brawl ensued. mabry got hosed a bit -- didn't deserve the heave as he was attacked by anderson(?)

I don't care what you say, I'm a Cubs fan and I say it was Pierzynksi's fault.

this is really, really embarassing. its like your son is the town child molester.....

Rich Hill walks players like they're going out of style and then he gives up a grand slam...The Cubs have lost 16 of the last 20 games...How can Hendry watch this happen...? This is a team with close to a $95 Million payroll and you can't blame it all on injuries.

Don't worry, we have Dusty to lead us out of the wilderness.

Dear Rich Hill - You suck. Really bad. Love-- Cubs Fans

GO Barrett!!! Someone showed some life...How cares if we lose him for 5-7 games? The team is not scoring anyways. Maybe this can spark them. AJ rightfully ran Barrett over, AJ got up slapped the platye in celebration, then walked purporely into BArrett 5-7 feet towards teh Cubs dugout, then barret grabbed him and punched him. If AJ walks staright to his bench none of this hpppenes. I have no problem with Barrett standing up for himslef and not letting AJ run him over then bump him. Obvioulsy, it was frustration by Barrett, but they can't play much worse, can they>??

Any way they can suspend the whole team for the rest of the year?

Seems MLB (or some higher power) has already suspended the Cubs' bats, so, why not the players themselves? TribCo could replace them with the company 16" softball team. Bigger question is, would anyone notice just by looking at the box scores?

Yup. It was gas.

losing 1/3rd of your power potential and a .290 hitting consistant bat isnt fire, gusto, etc. its stupid... this team kinda needs him since not only is he 1/3rd of the power potential, but one of only 3 bats even hitting at all with any consistancy. he's gonna see 5+ games over this...even with appeals he'll be missing time along with d.lee. horrid timing for a temper tantrum no matter how AJ knows better. it effects the cubs, not AJ, after this game.

You know you're a bad team when: Neifi Perez is batting cleanup

Crunch, how good were they doing with that 1 RBI in the past month bat you are praising????

You're right, Crunch. It was stupid on Barrett's part. He's made it even tougher on a team that is already struggling. And I've got to believe that the fight will bring the Sox together, but will drive the Cubs further apart.

Anyone besides mannytrillo looking forward to Henry Blanco starting every day?

good heavens - look at what a 95M outlay gets the cubs and their fans: Neifi, Blanco, Hairston, Rich Hill and two rookies who don't combine for more than 1% of that payroll. ours is not a good organization...

How is it going to being the CHW any closer? They are defending WS champs and have teh 2nd best record in baseball. As for teh Cubs, how could it make them any worse? They have lost like 15 of 20?

Blanco has a batting average of .057 -- a bit below the team average right now. Murton just strikes out when we really needed a clutch hit -- WGN said he has not had an RBI since May 1st. I don't think I've ever seen the Cubs in a slump this bad. Hmmm...

#35 -- "Ours is not a good organization." That's really what it boils down to. With the revenue that the Cubs produce and the deep pockets of the Trib Co., the Cubs should probably have a payroll in the $125 - $150 million range. Unfortunately, there is no commitment on the part of the Trib Co. to put a winning team on the field. $95 million is a lot of money, but when it's not spent wisely, it just being wasted.

Unfortunately this is probably the most inspiring baseball the Cubs are capable of....if you can't beat them.....try to beat them up. Here's a newsflash for you...when you try to beat up the other guys who are whipping your ass (most of MLB these days)....you better have the advantage of Kyle Farnsworth when you do it....Mabry was tossed around like a hand puppet and Barrett was plowed over on a completely fair play....and Barrett punched him with everything he had and AJ was laughing...... I am not looking forward of what's to come...alah the Alou, Sosa, Merker rants......Barrett and co....are surely going down this path. It is an indictment of your "crapiness" that Barrett is the real team leader....sad days indeed.

Unfortunately this is probably the most inspiring baseball the Cubs are capable of....if you can't beat them.....try to beat them up. Here's a newsflash for you...when you try to beat up the other guys who are whipping your ass (most of MLB these days)....you better have the advantage of Kyle Farnsworth when you do it....Mabry was tossed around like a hand puppet and Barrett was plowed over on a completely fair play....and Barrett punched him with everything he had and AJ was laughing...... I am not looking forward of what's to come...alah the Alou, Sosa, Merker rants......Barrett and co....are surely going down this path. It is an indictment of your "crapiness" that Barrett is the real team leader....sad days indeed.

6-0, One brawl and about 8,000 walks too late, Dutsy has lifted Rich Hill. Why can't somebody come out and lift Dutsy? He is the sorriest excuse for a leader we've had lately. I'd love for him to leave. And he can take Hendry, McFail,Pierre, Jones, Perez, Bynum, Hill, Hairston, Mabry,and Blanco with him. It's caled addition by subtraction. This looks like the White Sox vs the Little Sisters of the Poor.

Manny -- Why is everything so black & white with you? Crunch says it is going to hurt the Cubs to lose Barrett and you want to argue that it won't matter because the Cubs can lose without him. Are you suggesting that the Cubs don't have a better chance of winning with Barrett than without him? Then you respond to my post suggesting that the Sox can't be brought closer together and the Cubs can't be driven further apart. Do you really believe all of this or are you just trying to be controversial?

I'm with manny here... AJ deserved every bit of it. He backed away like a little bitch and then acted tough walking off the field.

IN DUSTY WE TRUSTY.... Hey if your team is loaded up on the illegal juice as Johnny B's teams were in SF you are going to win more than you lose. Now that steroids are being tested for Johnny B suddenly has no significant advantage over any other major league manager and may actually be a liability. Dusty knows how to manage juice (just look away when the needles come out and watch your guys smash homers)....he doesn't know how to coach players playing without artificial insemination.

Sweet Lou: "With the revenue that the Cubs produce and the deep pockets of the Trib Co., the Cubs should probably have a payroll in the $125 - $150 million range." And so what if we did. The Hendry signs plaeyrs we would still suck!! Team can win with much less than the CHC have as a payroll right now. The CHW did last year and are winning this year. It is time to stop blaming the Trib. hendry has enough money to win and doesn't.

I don't think you meant artificial insemination.

Manny your logic is ridiculously insane. It is time to stop blaming the Trib. hendry has enough money to win and doesn't. Who the hell just re-upped Hendry to a two year contract extension??? The tribune company!! Don't blame them though... Open your eyes.....You are just going after a PR stunt as the "best cub fan in the world"...good times and bad...in sickness and in heatlh....like a solid marriage...Manny and the Cubs. You can still be a good fan and not be one bit impressed with the horseshit they've given you, I blame Hendry...I also blame Baker because he's gotten everything he's wanted from Hendry. He's told him what he needs what he has in mind that is available and Hendry has fielded Baker's team..... continue on with your flawed insane logic Manny in response....we all expect nothing less.

Sweet Lou: "Are you suggesting that the Cubs don't have a better chance of winning with Barrett than without him?" No, it will hurt them, but I think the chances of it bringing them together and sparking them outweighs the loss of Barrett (I RBI in a month) considering they have lost 15 of 20. It can't get much worse.

Manny -- You and I agree on that one. I do believe the Trib co. should be spending more, but you are right that $95 million should be enough to put a winning team on the field. Hendry just doesn't spend it wisely.

essentially this Cubs team is a AA/AAA type minor league club.... You aren't going to rally behind a Barrett punch and turn it into wins....you just don't have the talent (with or without Lee and unproven pitchers of Wood and Prior) to do it...

essentially this Cubs team is a AA/AAA type minor league club.... You aren't going to rally behind a Barrett punch and turn it into wins....you just don't have the talent (with or without Lee and unproven pitchers of Wood and Prior) to do it...

Sweet Lou- Also, hendry has said if the Cubs are in it and he feels they need to add someone down the stretch, the Trib has never said no.

I have to agree with Manny here. While what AJ did wasnt a dirty play in the sense that it was uncalled for, he also didnt need to do it. Also combining that with slapping the plate and he had what was coming to him. This team could have used a fight to see if that could have waken them up. Just look at their sked for the next month they arent going to do much winning regardless of who is playing catcher.

Any baseball team should be able to lose two starting pitchers and a star offensive player for 2-3 months and be competitive....on a .500 level IF that team is truly a championship caliber team WITH those injured players healthy. Losing 3 key players is NOT going to plummet a team to .400 or sub.400 baseball. Last year the Cardinals lost Rolen, Sanders, Walker, Ishringhausen, Williams and a few other players (many at the same time) and continued leading the division. They lost more than the Cubs have lost this season. The difference is the Cardinals were a championship caliber team and the Cubs were not and are not. The Cubs are a .500 or so ballclub and without their stars they are falling to .400 and below. The product with all the players healthy simply is substandard.....all for 95 million dollars. I think 50 million would have accomplished the same thing.

Manny -- I think the point you are making about the Trib Co. is legit, but I don't think it equates to having a commitment to winning. It seems to me that the goal at the Trib is to maximize profits while trying to keep the peace as much as necessary with the fan base. Nothing wrong with making money. I'd just like to see more focus on winning. IMO, profits could be even greater if the Cubs were winning.

Realistically, I'd much rather thave the Florida Marlin organization right now than ours... They aren't afraid to back up the truck like we are.

Sweet Lou- But even if they upped teh payroll to $120 million what good does that do if the GM is signing shitty players and putting together a horrible roster. The problem is Hendry is friends with McPhail and he won't let him go.

Kicking the Cubs' ass is even fun anymore! It's just too easy.

Said it before today's game, and think it bears repeating after today's game (which is essentially already over) #119 of 123: By Dave_in_Pittsburgh (May 20, 2006 10:54 AM) With our fearless but faithless leader out front at press conferences conceding that essentially "We suck," I think we've passed that watershed moment when the troops have been convinced not only that "we suck," which everyone realizes, but that "we'll probably suck all year." When Todd Walker himself is de-escalating expectations *for the season* IN FREAKIN MAY, then its over, man, its way way over, as far as the clubhouse is concerned. No matter what is said by the front office, and any TribCo employees they might still browbeat into toeing the positive-spin company line.

If Dusty isn't fired on Monday, he'll be here all year--and then some.

Sm, then he will be here all year then. Get used to it. His firing has been stated on here 10 times since the end of 2003 and never happened.

PD, I agree with you that we would be better off being the Marlins organization. This is shameful that the organization feels no obligation to have a winning team. Hendry gets the players that Crusty wants and then when they don't pan out he continues to play them. Somehow I feel Crusty is happy that Mabry will be suspended. Now he doesn't have to hear him bitching about being the only legimate 1st basemen on the team but is only starting once a week. Barrett and Walker are the only players showing any fire! In 2004 the team lost it's energy in September, 2005 they lost it in July, and in 2006 they lost it in May! This is a direct reflection on coaching and the manager.

Whether or not Dusty hangs around for the last two-thirds of this season is a non-issue, as the only thing the Cubs are playing for is draft position. (Indeed, this is probably a good argument for keeping Dusty around until the bitter end.) The only real question left is how and when to blow it up and sell off, at a minimum, the pending FAs. Maddux and Walker should find takers as starters go down and benches need reinforcing, and it might even be possible to find a greater fool for Pierre. This'll be yet another good indicator as to whether Hendry can plan beyond 90 days out. If the Cubs manage to rattle off another 3-9 or so stretch, maybe he'll realize they're not the Astros.

is everyone tired of hearing about "well Houston was 15-30 and .......?" Sell! Sell! Sell! Give us some hope for 2008!

From Yahoo!: "'I think the fight is going to bring us together and (make us) tougher,' White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said." Looking forward to the next 4 games against the talented, angry, and unified CHW. Should be a breeze. I'd say the Cubs were playing with targets on their backs, but they've already got knives stuck in them, so who cares? Not even CHW can kill the dead.

When Sosa was traded they should have unloaded even more payroll dollars and gone into a rebuilding mode. You couldn't compete last year with 20 million dollars tied behind your back....so get rid of expensive talent and REBUILD. The Cubs biggest mistake was thinking the 2003 Cubs were anything BUT over-achievers. They were. They thought they were ready to dominate the division and they were no where near the best. They had potential in future years but had nothing in the current tank. So instead of rebuilding the franchise they went into a hold and maintain mode. Problem is they went backwards while others continued getting better. Rebuilding is something Hendry and Baker want no part of. Baker would have to lead and Hendry would have to rely on the farm system. Unfortunately you need more than just pitchers aned even they were over hyped by Hendry. MLB teams are more than just the major league club and Hendry simply hasn't committed to a solid farm system....solid baseball coaches.....solid attitudes. It's a sick organization with no idea what works and what doesn't. You only need to look no further than the AZ Diamondbacks and the FL Marlins. They went from nothing to WS in very little time. There was COMMITMENT there. FL was willing to dump it all to rebuild it again....and they did it. The Cubs have no idea how to do that.

Anybody else think of Harry Doyle in Major League during that melee? "Good news, fans, the Cubs are finally showing signs of life!"

Way to stand up for your catcher, Dusty: ìI asked Michael what happened and Michael said he (Pierzynski) hit him without the ball, but thatís baseball to me,î Cubs manager Dusty Baker said during an in-game TV interview. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12887621/

i just saw the play. game blacked out here. i thought it was clean. sure aj slapped the plate, but that's a total heat of the moment thing. it even looked as if he tried to go around barrett. frustration build up. but with a lost season already barrett led it fly. barrett's fault completely. still don't understand why aj was tossed. i'm a cubs fan, but i gotta blame that one on frustration. but that's the way the season's going.

This tantrum by Barrett should birng them together...exactly as it brought the Cubs together when the Cubs had a 6 game lead on Houston in late August when Barrett chose to follow Oswalt down the line and talk shit to him. Cubs fall apart, Astros win the next 2 against the Cubs and fly past them. I really don't think there is any excuse for what Barret did. That's not the way to fire a team up...it's not sometyhing where everyone on the team is going to come rally behind you and say "Great job michael". I think it was a bush league move by an immature player who thinks he is a leader of the team...yet no one on the pitching staff wants to pitch to him. In the scheme of things...I'm not horribly concerned about the suspension...we suck with or without him. But I think it does reflect badly on the organization and makes are team look like more of laughing stocks then they already were. You want to motivate the team...show it on the field, throw some runners out, hit some clutch homers...don't throw a punch qat someone on a team that is about 13 games ahead of you in the standings. I was very pleased to see Baker for once NOT support one of his players...he knows Barrett didn't help anything. "I asked Michael what happened and Michael said he (Pierzynski) hit him without the ball, but that's baseball to me," Cubs manager Dusty Baker said during an in-game TV interview. "I think Michael is frustrated. Everybody is frustrated and everything broke out."

can dust win? he's either making excuses or not standing up for someone... =p reguardless...unless dusty suddenly decides he can match barrett's production with a bat and get himself added to the 25 man roster...well...meh. i cannot believe a key piece of the offense is gonna be out a week because of this...at least he didnt break his hand i guess. injury is one thing, but barrett signed himself up for what's gonna happen to him. injuries are bad luck to a team, but this is putting the team into a worse situation needlessly...

Meanwhile I'd hate to be a Mets fan right now. Wagner comes in the 9th, with a 4 run lead, 2 hits, 3 walks and a hit batter...and now the mets are down 5-4 in the 11th. I hate the mets...but I love seeing the Yanks lose.

great comparison blockhead. great comparison. i remember barrett mouthing off over and over and the astros shut him and the cubs up repeatedly. that did nothing but fire up the astros. the rose and cubs fell.

i dont care if the team goes 10-0 with barrett missing...that's just baseball, period. baseball works like that. if it didnt the playoffs wouldnt matter. you dont play baseball on paper with a spreadsheet program or AI. taking one of your most productive hitters out of the equation is not good, ever.

On WSCR Steve Stone just said he watched the tape of "the Barrett play at home" a few times...he also listened to both AJ and Barrett make comments after the game...Stone said it was a clean play and AJ was just going back to get his helmet -- Barrett had a reflexive action and it was inappropriate...Stone likes Barrett but he said you can't put any personal agendas ahead of what is best for your team...He thinks Barrett could be suspended for 5-10 games and this will cost the Cubs big time (since we know Blanco has no offensive horsepower).

so basically stone did exactly what all of us are already doing...at least he had an opinion i guess. maybe he can get an interview with...oh yeah, an interview requires someone actually willing to take you seriously as journalist/columnist/etc. *lays it on thick*

Why do the Cubs have any higher expectations than say...oh I don't know...the Pirates, the Royals....the Tigers....the Orioles...?? All of these clubs have won championships in my lifetime....the Cubs? It's ridiculous that the media, fans etc....put these high expectations on a club who is a loser Since 1970 W 2752 - L 2982 a .479 winning percentage.... Hardly grounds for high expectations....

What I don't get is how people claim how Barrett is this great guy and a leader. All he ever does is bitch and start fights with other players (Oswalt, Roberts, Pierzinski). I have never been a big fan of Barrett, I always thought he was a big P.O.S. Its old-school, hard-nosed baseball, you tool. And he just confirmed my feelings about him today. Nice work, Michael. In case there were still a few people left that didn't think this organization was a laughing stock, you just got them to change their mind. For once Dusty didn't stick up for a player that was clearly in the wrong. Finally Dusty. We all have been waiting for that.

btw..technically aj was right. by the books it was a clean play. but, catcher to catcher...that was a dirty play. that ranks up there with a pitcher throwing at another pitcher or stealing a base with a 10 run lead in the 8th...etc. there is nothing that will make barrett right, but AJ out of all those people in on that field knows better than doing what he did. he's no angel...and i'm not talking about anaheim.

Cubfan "Why do the Cubs have any higher expectations than say...oh I don't know...the Pirates, the Royals....the Tigers....the Orioles...??" -well it really has nothing to do with past championships (or lack there of) and everything to do with their $90+ MM payroll.

"great comparison blockhead. great comparison. i remember barrett mouthing off over and over and the astros shut him and the cubs up repeatedly." I'm obviously not the only one...from the mlb.com recap "Barrett has been in the middle of a fight before. In August 2004, he got into a jawing match with Houston pitcher Roy Oswalt at the plate, upset that Oswalt had hit one of his teammates with a pitch five days earlier." although, it was Barrett that Oswalt hit...not a teamate.

I personally do not have any problem with what Barrett did. As Crunch said, catcher-to-cater that is a dirty play. Sure, it's a hard nosed baseball, and that's exactly why Barrett had to do something. Think about it. The Cubs are in the midst of what has been the worst stretch of baseball most of us have ever witnessed. You're in your crosstown rivals ballpark, a club going in a completely opposite direction. Since the Cubs and Sox are from the same town, the comparisons are endless, and they are not good. You have 40,000 fans oooohhhing over a hard-nosed baseball play in which you got your ass whooped. With the bases loaded and Rich Hill about to implode, you can tell it's only a matter of time before the score gets ugly. How can Barrett just sit there and take a hit like that and make the Cubs look like the lifeless losers that we've all been calling them for the last 3 weeks? Maybe throwing a haymaker wasn't the best way to handle it, but I think in that situation, doing nothing would have been far worse and shown how truly lifeless and hopeless the Cubs are. On another note, when Neifi found his way into the lineup as the clean-up hitter after the ejections, DJ (they couldn't find anyone better to do color than DJ?) commented that this was the 4th time Neifi has been inserted into the clean up spot. 4 times?!! There were 3 other times?! How bad were those Royals teams?

In the 2004 scenario, Oswalt had beaned Barrett in the back in Houston before the episode in Chicago. Oswalt and Barrett are not angels. AJ is also a tool, and he might be right, but I have no problem with him getting punched in the face.

im all about barrett doing something...i would have had a hard time with him getting himself tossed, but the eventual suspension is beyond what i would ever hope for in that situation. i have a real problem with losing someone with his production voluntarily...he's taking himself out with that emotional/pysical outburst. that play is already on "regular" news battling for time along with barry's ruth-tying homer. wee.

you know cubs fans are tired of fringe stuff when a cubs player nearly knocks out the biggest jerk on the WSox (besides a certain conspirarcy theory pitcher) and people arent going "oh hell yeah!" heh...

Alfonzo was released by the Angels. Unfortunetly the odds are very high he will be in a Cubs uni sometime next week. Also I was on Sickels site today and found Jim Callis 1st round mock he has the Cubs taking NJHS 3b Bill Rowell. I havent been able to find anykind of scouting report on him.

what is that garbage from rotowire? is that a comment on a blog? did some writer who works for the site write it or some user? and why is it worth linking? either way its a flaming piece of crap...is he really trying to imply, without a shred or indication of evidence, that mlb might be covering up for steroid users?

wow...the clemens link in the reader comments is even worse.

not only is it a worse rumor...it isnt even how suspensions work. does the editor(s) at deadspin check their work for logic? they post some interesting stuff time to time, but if they'll print something like that for the hell of it...damn.

That was hard nose baseball, Barrett was blocking the plate with out the ball. It was not to extend a ten run lead, it was to take the lead. He got his clock cleaned, another guy famous for doing that is now managing the Angels. We just have not seen any hard nosed heads up baseball with Cubs, so we are stunned when we see it.

I'm in a pathetic, self-loathing mood. Anybody up for compiling a complete list of the bizarro/embarrassing/self-destructive things that have happened since game 6 in 2003? Seems to me that it would be easy to hit on the big stuff, like the '04 collapse. But I recall a lot of odd/embarrassing little things, too--I'm just trying to get my mind around what a completely horrible two and a half years it really has been.

man...AJ plowed his ass. AJ, being a catcher, knows that play...knows what he's doing...and knows he didnt have to go in arm up to plow his ass. he has seen that play more times than anyone on that field including barrett and AJ knows he was being overly aggressive. it was a fair/by-the-book play, but out of everyone on that field AJ knows better and barrett, also a catcher, knows AJ knows better. now, NONE of that justifies what barrett did...not the grab and definately not the punch. it blows that the club is gonna miss out on him for a while and the lineup is blanco/blanco/soto/blanco/blanco etc...uggg. hey, at least the SB/CS thing should improve =p

mercker calling a PR officer *during* a game from the clubhouse phone... sosa leaving early... farnsworth vs. the world... farnsworth vs. the lockerroom bench he fell asleep on during a game...

in the "cubs world" outside of the players you got 1- steve stone making himself a news story when he's supposed to be a color guy for a sports team telling us news, not being news 2- mcphail's incident with p.sulivan/c.tribune 3- hendry and "injurygate" w/ prior/wood

Yep. What else? Nomar's groin falling off. Steve Stone calling out Dusty on the air. Alou's pee pee on the hands. Alou running the bases like an idiot. The Cubs front office/PR conspiracy to keep everyone in the dark about the pitchers. The LaTroy Hawkins joke--which Dusty continued to force long after it became comical.

Dusty's comments about darker-skinned players handling the heat better than white players. Dusty using holy water, or whatever it was, to bless his pitchers' arms. I'm convinced this shit doesn't happen anywhere else.

"hey, at least the SB/CS thing should improve =p" As the team batting average plummets more. ugh.

Farnsworth losing the battle with the fan was one of my favorites...

Biggest Hendry Mistake: Failing to pick up Thome in 2002 when he approached the Cubs and wanted to play for the team.

You forgot Alfonseco's Belly Bump in '03 "assault with a deadly belly" Scott, if we had Thome we never would have had Lee.

does this all mean that barrett's slugging percentage increased today? or is it simply help for an offense that has been looking punchy?

Here's an interesting way to look at what's happened to the Cubs since 2003: by position. Seems like every spot on the field has had some controversy or downright bizarre circumstance--I wonder if any other team can say that? Left Field: Moises Alou--throws the temper tantrum that probably keeps Mark Prior rattled in the infamous game six. Can't run bases. Pees on hands. (Also looks like child molester, but that's beside the point. Center Field: Corey Patterson--talented youngster can't figure it out, bats leadoff despite an OBP slightly less than what Stephen Hawking could manage in the big leagues, fans make it their season goal to convince him to commit suicide. Also, Juan Pierre: Steady career hitter suddenly has trouble topping .250 in a Cubs uniform. Right Field: Sammy Sosa--perhaps the greatest slugger in team history, gets hit in the head, ends up walking out on his teammates a year later. Leaves team disgraced. Jacque Jones--cocky enough to rip fans after being a Cub for just three months. Almost gets pelted by a ball thrown by a fan. Third Base: Aramis Ramirez--has various injuries that keep him out of the lineup. This year he can't break .250. Shortstop: Alex Gonzalez--makes inexplicable error in game 6 after a stellar defensive. Nomar Garciapparra--his longtime team finally wins world serious AFTER trading him, his groin falls off. As soon as he leaves Chicago for L.A., he's a world beater again. Neifi Perez--he plays, somehow. Second Base: Todd Walker--secretely hated by management and front office to the point they wanted to trade him and play Hairston or Neifi. Has said many controversial things in two years here. First Base: D-Lee--not long after signing a huge contract extension he--get this--has a major injury. Catcher: Michael Barrett--The Oswalt incident. And now, the Pierzenski incident. Also, giving away injury information (and all the weird "Art of War" stuff that got talked about during that time). Starting pitchers: Do I have to go through this? Wood--injuries, injuries, injuries, also headhunting rumors and a fued with Steve Stone. Prior--injuries, which have been handled in strange ways by the front office and the PR department. Zambrano--can a person even list all of the absolutely weird things he's done on the mound mound? He's basically loco. Bullpen: Kyle Farnsworth--flips out on the clubhouse fan, basically explodes in any and all pressure situations (the bigger the situation, the worse the explosion). Kent Mercker--calls up to the booth to complain about comments made by announcers. Allegedly threatens said announcer. Enough said. LaTroy Hawkins: Becomes a major distraction as teammates rally behind him and support him, alienating the fans even as Hawkins is blowing 10 of every 11 save chances. Manager: Dusty Baker--constructs ridiculous lineups, ruins his pitchers, blesses their arms with holy water, gets implicated for sexual harrassment in the NY Times, makes comments about white players not handling the heat like darker-skinned players, makes ridiculous statements about "clogging the bases," etc. Third Base Coach: Wendell Kim--single-handedly loses 3 or 4 games with bad decisions. Continues to make bad decisions anyway. Pitching Coach: Larry Rothschild--helps purpotrate conspiracy about health of pitchers. HERE'S MY POINT: Is it any wonder we haven't won anything in the last couple of years? There has not been a stabalizing force on this team at all. Not a single one. Every position on the field has, at some point, had a player with a major physical/mental/character issue. Some of them are so comical as to be unbelievable. Time to blow it all up and start over.

what the cubs need is amanager who fires his team up and actually holds his players accountable for there actions. it makes me sick when i see a.j. leave the field and the first person there to high five him is who else ozzie.

rokofish- You have a short, or selective, memory. Back in 2004, I think, Tori Hunter bowled over Jaime Burke (White Sox C) in a game and teh White Sox did absolutely nothing about it. The Twins went on to continue their dominance over the CHW. Guess who their maanger was that day? Ozzie Guillen. Maybe he learned from his mistakes, but Ozzie was on the other side of todays events a few years ago and did nothing too. There is only so much anyone can do when you are so inferior in talent.

hey crunch and adam, stop drinking. stop smoking the crack rock. go watch soccer...sounds like that's more your style. i think it's on the "ocho" right now (you know where "if it's almost a sport it's on the ocho."). maybe there are other lameasses there who may take you seriously. get over it. stop being babies. it was a clean play. stony is always right. stop buying the company line. the cubs are hurting. they're frustrated. they're manager isn't helping. the team lacks fundamentals. anderson and barrett deserve to be thrown out as the only two that threw punches. barrett is so stupid he hit aj in the neck and aj got up and laughed. and anderson just created a breeze after not connecting. the team needs to prove themselves to you. don't be homers. boob 1 and boob 2 already embarass themselves doing that. don't carry on the kasper/brenly legacy.

hey edward... YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAW!!!!! you get cubs games in your trailor park? wow.

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Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    SF snags b.snell...2/62m

  • Cubster (view)

    AZ Phil: THAT is an awesome report worth multiple thanks. I’m sure it will be worth reposting in an “I told you so” in about 2-3 years.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The actual deadline to select a post-2023 Article XX-B MLB free agent signed to 2024 minor league contract (Cooper, Edwards, and Peralta) to the MLB 40-man roster is not MLB Opening Day, it is 12 PM (Eastern) this coming Sunday (3/24). 

    However, the Cubs could notify the player prior to the deadline that the player is not going to get added to the 40 on Sunday, which would allow the player to opt out early. Otherwise the player can opt out anytime after the Sunday deadline (if he was not added to the 40 by that time). 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Today is an off day for both the Cubs MLB players and the Cubs minor league players.  

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    For those of you keeping track, so far nine players have been called up to Mesa from the Cubs Dominican Academy for Minor League Camp and they will be playing in the ACL in 2024: 

    * bats or throws left 

    Angel Cepeda, INF 
    * Miguel Cruz, P
    Yidel Diaz, C 
    * Albert Gutierrez, 1B
    Fraiman Marte, P  
    Francis Reynoso, P (ex-1B) 
    Derniche Valdez, INF 
    Edward Vargas, OF 
    Jeral Vizcaino, P 

    And once again, despite what you might read at Baseball Reference and at milb.com, Albert Gutierrez is absolutely positively a left-handed hitter (only), NOT a right-handed hitter.

    Probably not too surprisingly, D. Valdez was the Cubs #1 prospect in the DSL last season, Cepeda was the DSL Cubs best all-around SS prospect not named Derniche Valdez, Gutierrez was the DSL Cubs top power hitting prospect not named Derniche Valdez, E. Vargas was the DSL Cubs top outfield prospect (and Cepeda and E. Vargas were also the DSL Cubs top two hitting prospects), Y. Diaz was the DSL Cubs top catching prospect, and M. Cruz was the DSL Cubs top pitching prospect. 

    F. Marte (ex-STL) and J. Vizcaino (ex-MIL) are older pitchers (both are 22) who were signed by the Cubs after being released by other organizations and then had really good years working out of the bullpen for the Cubs in the DSL last season. 

    The elephant in the room is 21-year old Francis Reynoso, a big dude (6'5) who was a position player (1B) at the Cardinals Dominican Academy for a couple of years, then was released by STL in 2022, and then signed by the Cubs and converted to a RHP at the Cubs Dominican Academy (and he projects as a high-velo "high-leverage" RP in the states). He had a monster year for the DSL Cubs last season (his first year as a pitcher). 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    DJL: The only players who definitely have opt outs are Cooper, Edwards, and Peralta (Opening Day, 5/1, and 6/1), and that's because they are post-2023 Article XX-B MLB free agents who signed 2024 minor league contracts and (by rule) they get those opt outs automatically. 

    Otherwise, any player signed to a 2024 minor league contract - MIGHT or - MIGHT NOT - have an opt out in their contract, but it is an individual thing, and if there are contractual opt outs the opt out(s) might not necessarily be Opening Day. It could be 5/1, or 6/1, or 7/1 (TBD).

    Because of their extensive pro experience, the players who most-likely have contractual opt outs are Alfaro, Escobar, and D. Smith, but (again), not necessarily Opening Day. 

    Also, just because a player has the right to opt out doesn't mean he will. 

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    I love the idea that Madrigal heads to Iowa in case Morel can’t handle third.

    The one point that intrigues me here is Cooper over Smith. I feel like the Cubs really like Smith and don’t want to lose him. Could be wrong. He def seems like an opt out if he misses the opening day roster

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Childersb3: Both Madrigal and Wisdom can be optioned without any restriction. Their consent is not required. 

    They both can be outrighted without restriction, too (presuming the player is not claimed off waivers), but if outrighted they can choose to elect free agency (immediately, or deferred until after the end of the MLB season).

    If the player is outrighted and elects free-agency immediately he forfeits what remains of his salary.

    If he accepts the assignment and defers free agency until after the conclusion of the season, he continues to get his salary, and he could be added back to the 40 anytime prior to becoming a free-agent (club option). 

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Phil, 
    Madrigal and Wisdom can or cannot refuse being optioned to the Minors?
    If they can refuse it, wouldn't they elect to leave the Cubs org?

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    In my opinion, the biggest "affirmative" mistake the Cubs made in the off-season (that is, doing something they should not have done), was blowing $9M in 2024 AAV on Hector Neris. What the Cubs actually need is an alternate closer to be in the pen and available to close if Alzolay pitched the day before (David Robertson would have been perfect), because with his forearm issue last September, I would be VERY wary of over-using Alzolay. I'm not even sure I would pitch him two days in a row!  

    And of course what the Cubs REALLY need is a second TOR SP to pair with Justin Steele. That's where the Cubs are going to need to be willing to package prospects (like the Padres did to acquire Dylan Cease, the Orioles did to acquire Corbin Burnes, and the Dodgers did to acquire Tyler Glasnow). Obviously those ships have sailed, but I would say right now the Cubs need to look very hard at trying to acquire LHSP Jesus Luzardo from the Marlins (and maybe LHP A. J. Puk as well).