Aaron Cooks Cubs Goose

Reggie Golden smacked a solo HR and Matt Loosen threw four innings of one-run ball as the EXST Cubs and EXST Rockies played to a 4-4 tie on Red Mountain Field, and Rockies RHP Aaron Cook (60 day DL - broken ring finger on pitching hand) threw 2.2 IP (35 pitches) of one-hit shutout ball with no walks and three strikeouts, leading the other squad of EXST Rockies to a 7-2 victory over the other squad of EXST Cubs on Dust Storm Field, in a Cactus League Extended Spring Training doubleheader played simultaneously on adjacent fields this morning at Salt River Fields at the Talking Stick Resort east of Scottsdale.


Both games were pre-scheduled as seven-inning affairs, but the game on Red Mountain Field was extended an extra half-inning to allow all of the Rockies pitchers who were due to throw today to get their scheduled work.



Augie Ojeda saw his first game action since suffering a back injury in Spring Training, getting an AB in each of the first five innings of the game played on Red Mountain Field, and going 0-5 (two ground outs, two fly outs, and a called third strike).


Once Augie has completed his rehab assignment at Extended Spring Training, he will likely assume the starting SS job at Iowa, and be available in case anything happens to Starlin Castro or Darwin Barney.


Here are today’s abridged box scores (Cubs players only):


DUST STORM FIELD


SQUAD “A” LINEUP:
1. Vismeldy Bieneme, 2B: 2-2 (1B+E-1, BB, 1B, RBI)
2. Yaniel Cabezas, C-DH: 2-3 (K, 1B, 1B)
3. Marco Hernandez, SS: 0-3 (F-7, F-7, F-8)
4. Wilson Contreras, 1B: 0-3 (1-3, K, K)
5. Chad Noble, DH-C: 0-3 (F-9, P-4, K)
6. Jesus Morelli, RF: 0-3 (K, K, 5-3)
7. Dong-Yub Kim, DH #2: 0-3 (5-3, K, F-8)
8. Oliver Zapata, CF: 1-2 (4-3, 1B, R, SB)
9. Blair Springfield, LF: 0-2 (K, K)
10. Gregori Gonzalez, 3B: 1-2 (4-3, 3B, R, RBI)


SQUAD “A” PITCHERS:
1. Yao-Lin Wang: 2.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R (3 ER), 3 BB, 3 K, 1 WP, 1 GIDP, 61 pitches (36 strikes), 3/2 GO/FO
2. Jin-Young Kim: 3.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R (3 ER), 1 BB, 4 K, 45 pitches (33 strikes), 5/1 GO/FO
3. Luis Villalba: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HR, 21 pitches (13 strikes), 0/3 GO/FO


SQUAD “A” ERRORS:
SS Marco Hernandez - E6 (throwing error allowed batter to reach base safely)


SQUAD "A" CATCHERS DEFENSE:
Chad Noble: 0-1 CS


=========================================


RED MOUNTAIN FIELD


NOTE: Augie Ojeda was a DH and had five AB (one in each of the first five innings), batting third in the top of the 1st inning, second in the top of the 2nd inning, and first in the top of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th innings.


SQUAD “B” LINEUP:
X. Augie Ojeda, DH #1: 0-5 (6-3, F-9, K, F-7, 4-3)
1. Kyung-Min Na, CF: 1-3 (F-8, 1-3, 1B, RBI, SB)
2. Pin-Chieh Chen, 2B: 1-3 (1B, P-6, F-9, R, SB)
3. Reggie Golden, RF: 1-3 (HR, F-8, K, R, RBI)
4. Dustin Harrington, 3B: 2-3 (2B, 2B, 5-3)
5. Wes Darvill, SS: 0-2 (F-8, BB, 5-3)
6. Johan DeJesus, C: 0-3 (F-7, 6-4 FC, F-8)
7. Dustin Geiger, 1B: 0-2 (5-3, BB, F-7, R)
8. Xavier Batista, LF: 1-3 (4-3, 2B, 5-3, R, RBI)
9. Brian Inoa, DH #2: 1-3 (F-9, 1B, K, RBI, SB)


SQUAD “B” PITCHERS:
1. Matt Loosen: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, 57 pitches (36 strikes), 4/4 GO/FO
2. Santo Rodriguez: 2.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 0 K, 1 GIDP, 25 pitches (15 strikes), 3/1 GO/FO
3. Colin Richardson: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R (2 ER), 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HBP, 17 pitches (12 strikes), 1/2 GO/FO


SQUAD “B” ERRORS: NONE


SQUAD “B” CATCHERS DEFENSE
Johan DeJesus: 2-2 CS


==========================================>


ATTENDANCE: 6


WEATHER: Mostly sunny and VERY breezy with temperatures in the 70’s


 

Tags: 
Extended Spring Training
EXST Cubs
Reggie Golden
Matt Loosen
Augie Ojeda
Submitted by Arizona Phil on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 4:14pm
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Comments

Submitted by BoiseHawks
on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 4:34pm

Phil - thanks again for these great posts...it gives us in Boise a great opportunity to see what may be coming this way in a month. Will you be posting cumulative stats for Extended this year - it was interesting to see how they correlated with their numbers in Boise last summer.

Submitted by Arizona Phil
on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 4:45pm

Submitted by BoiseHawks on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 3:34pm.
Phil - thanks again for these great posts...it gives us in Boise a great opportunity to see what may be coming this way in a month. Will you be posting cumulative stats for Extended this year - it was interesting to see how they correlated with their numbers in Boise last summer.

============================

B HAWK: I really would like to do that, but the problem is that this year for the first time the Cubs are sometimes playing two Extended Spring Training games at the same time at different facilities (miles apart), and while I am able to watch and score two games played simultaneously on adjacent fields, I am unable to do it when the games aren't played at the same facility.

So any stats provided would be incomplete, because there already have been (and will be) a number of 2011 Extended Spring Training games that I just won't be able see and score.

Submitted by Koyies Bansaw
on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 4:59pm

To go along with the Boise part of that, any predictions as to who will be on Boise's roster? Also, I know Brandon May is in injury rehab, but has there been a Ryan Cuneo sighting?

Submitted by Arizona Phil
on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 5:35pm

Submitted by Koyies Bansaw on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 3:59pm.
To go along with the Boise part of that, any predictions as to who will be on Boise's roster? Also, I know Brandon May is in injury rehab, but has there been a Ryan Cuneo sighting?

==================================================

K BANSAW: As I recall, last year there were only two players selected in the 2010 June draft who signed fast enough to make the initial Opening Day Boise Hawks roster, (RHP Joe Zeller and catcher Jeff Vigurs), and the rest of the original Hawks roster came out of Extended Spring Training. Then as more players selected in the June draft signed, some of the players originally asigned to Boise were moved down to the AZL Cubs to make room for the new guys at Boise.

So if that happens again this year, and without knowing who might get moved up to Peoria or Daytona over the next month, I would say the Boise Hawks roster will probably look something like this:

* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS:
* Hunter Ackerman
* Kyler Burke
Dustin Fitzgerald
Jin-Young Kim
Luis Liria
Matt Loosen
Austin Reed
Colin Richardson
Jose Rosario
Larry Suarez
Charles Thomas
Yao-Lin Wang
Ben Wells
Joe Zeller

CATCHERS:
Yaniel Cabezas
Chad Noble

INFIELDERS:
# Vismeldy Bieneme
* Pin-Chieh Chen
Wilson Contreras
* Ryan Cuneo (presently on DL)
* Wes Darvill
Dustin Harrington
Brandon May (presently on DL)

OUTFIELDERS:
Reggie Golden
Jesus Morelli
* Kyung-Min Na
Blair Springfield
# Jose Valdez

However, I really doubt that Jose Valdez will actually end up at Boise. It's far more likely that Valdez will be at Peoria or even Daytona by this time next month.

And I don't think Larry Suarez will actually be assigned to Boise, either. Either he moves up to Peoria by this time next month, or he gets released.

If I had to make a prediction of what might happen over the next month, I could see Evan Crawford moving up to Tennessee from Daytona, and Jose Valdez getting assigned to Daytona as the D-Cubs 4th OF.

Jesus Morelli could very well go up to Peoria and play LF, and then (if he doesn't start hitting pretty soon, or maybe even if he does) D. J. Fitzgerald might end up at Boise, or he could even get released, and/or Chiefs player-coach Smaily Borges could get placed on the DL with some vague injury to open up a Peoria roster slot for Morelli.

If he is healthy enough to get some playing time down here, Brandon May could go up to Peoria without stopping first in Boise, with IF-OF Anthony Giansanti maybe getting assigned to Boise from Peoria.

And pitchers like Luis Liria and Matt Loosen certainly could be at Peoria by NWL Opening Day, if not sooner.

Once the MLB regular season starts and the full-season minor league teams (Iowa, Tennessee, Daytona, and Peoria) begin play, the "roster pressure" changes from being top-down (as it is throughout Spring Training) to bottom-up. As they get healthy, players (mostly pitchers) who have been rehabbing at Extended Spring Training are moved-up to where they were expected to be, and other players who got squeezed out of an Opening Day roster slot on a full-season affiliate force their way up the pipeline, as so-called "roster filler" and players who don't have a future are pushed aside.

The pressure from below increases even more after the June draft, as players begin to sign and are assigned to Boise (and sometimes even Peoria), usually after getting their feet wet at AZL Cubs (Mesa) for a few days.

Submitted by skokiejoe
on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 5:01pm

Any Wells or Cashner sightings???

Submitted by Arizona Phil
on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 5:41pm

Submitted by skokiejoe on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 4:01pm.
Any Wells or Cashner sightings???

==============================

SKOKIE JOE: Both Randy Wells and Andrew Cashner are here, and they probably threw in a sim game yesterday. I would expect to see one or both pitch in an EXST game later this week.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 6:24pm

on that note, Muskat says they threw batting practice on Monday and Wells will throw in a game on Thursday.

http://twitter.com/CarrieMuskat/status/680693...

Submitted by crunch
on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 6:08pm

STL@CHC on MLB Network + WGN tonight, btw...should reach a large audience.

Submitted by Paul Noce
on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 6:28pm

Reaching a large audience and having a large audience are two different things. I'm sure Fox or NBC has some C list celebrities nobody gives a crap about on who will dance/sing/cook/eat raw fish and get fired and draw more viewers.

Submitted by crunch
on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 6:56pm

yeah, it was more for a TCR people notification for those looking the game, but i left it vague as hell.

it's also one of the 2 HD night MLB EI (pay subscription) featured games, too.

Submitted by Paul Noce
on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 7:11pm

Wow. Night crowds are usually a little late getting into the park, but there's a ton of empty seats right now. I figured for sure this series would be close to a sellout because of the Cards fans coming up (then again, probably a lot less can come up for a weeknight series).

Submitted by Paul Noce
on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 8:05pm

Soto hurt something and is being PH for by Koyie in the 1st, who weakly pops out on the first pitch with the bases loaded. Ugh.

UPDATE: Soto has a left groin strain. Paging Max Ramirez...

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 8:27pm

Welington Castillo time probably, was hitting better than Ramirez anyway and that's not saying much.

Submitted by VirginiaPhil
on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 9:07pm

If you want a catcher who is hitting, Clevenger's your man. .953 OPS, etc.

Submitted by jacos
on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 9:09pm

He would slide right into Soto's 8th spot

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 9:25pm

well yes, if the Cubs want a single between first and second, Clevenger is the guy.

He's on the Chirinos road to dominating a league in his third season there (although he has about a full season of at-bats there).

if Soto goes on the DL, I'm sure it would be be Castillo as he's already on the 40-man although they do have an open spot.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 10:05pm

Muskat says Castillo pulled from Iowa Cubs game in 8th inning fwiw.

Submitted by Arizona Phil
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 10:16am

Submitted by Rob G. on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 9:05pm.
Muskat says Castillo pulled from Iowa Cubs game in 8th inning fwiw.

==============================

ROB G: Actually Chris Robinson PH for Welington Castillo in the top of the 3rd inning of the Iowa game, all the more indication that W. Castillo was pulled from the lineup and told to get his ass to the airport ASAP and catch a flight to Chicago.

Submitted by Dusty Baylor
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 10:24am

Az Phil: Is Steve Clevenger just a non-prospect? Even as a back-up C-3B-1B? I

Submitted by Arizona Phil
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 10:40am

Submitted by Dusty Baylor on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 9:24am.
Az Phil: Is Steve Clevenger just a non-prospect? Even as a back-up C-3B-1B? I

===================================

DUSTY B: Steve Clevenger was assigned to AA again this season only so he could get more regular playing time than he would have gotten as the back-up catcher at Iowa.

But Clevenger does project as an MLB back-up C-1B-3B-LHPH.

Submitted by Paul Noce
on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 10:44pm

Assuming Soto does go on the DL, Castillo gets to come up and sit on the bench for two weeks while our proven veteran catcher keeps us in contention. LOL.

Submitted by Arizona Phil
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 10:12am

Submitted by Paul Noce on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 9:44pm.
Assuming Soto does go on the DL, Castillo gets to come up and sit on the bench for two weeks while our proven veteran catcher keeps us in contention. LOL.

=====================================
PAUL N: The catchers who really like Koyie Hill are Ryan Dempster, Carlos Zambrano, and Randy Wells, so I would think Welington Castillo might get the start behind the plate when Casey Coleman, Doug Davis and Matt Garza are pitching.

Submitted by Paul Noce
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 2:17pm

If Castillo does come up it will be interesting to watch what pitchers he does start for.

Submitted by Dusty Baylor
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 8:13am

Looks like over that full season Clevenger's hit pretty well at AA ball....pretty pedestrian in his 1 season at AAA. I'd take any kind of hitting out of the catcher position while Soto is gone..
Koyie Hill.....ugh.. I hope Castillo get to play some at least...

Submitted by Ryno
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 8:54am

If you need to call up a catcher to replace Soto, minor league hitting statistics should be a very, very small consideration. I would ask these questions:

1. Is he on the 40-man roster?
2. Does the guy have good plate discipline? (i.e.- not hacktastic)
3. Does he have a strong, accurate arm?

If he more or less meets most of this criteria, then he's your guy.

Submitted by Dusty Baylor
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 9:22am

Castillo is on the 40 man, and has a strong arm...not sure on accuracy...
Hacktastic? well...did I mention the he's on the 40 man roster? I still would like to see a couple weeks of Castillo over the Koyie Hill Experience....which I liked the first time as the Tim Blackwell Experience....

Submitted by Ryno
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 11:43am

The Cubs organization loves their free swingers.

Submitted by Dusty Baylor
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 12:01pm

.....for the last 4 decades apparently....

Submitted by VirginiaPhil
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 9:01am

"well yes, if the Cubs want a single between first and second, Clevenger is the guy."

Clevenger has a .547 slugging percentage in 97 PAs this season. Only Soriano beats that among Cub starters, by 3 percentage points.

Not sure what your point is, anyway, about a guy who hits singles. Doesn't a single drive in the runs that the Cubs keep stranding on second and third? Clevenger has 17 RBI, more than any Cub except Soriano, in fewer PAs than any Cub regular.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 10:10am

my point is he is still in AA for his fourth straight year and his slugging percentage right now is as accurate as Darwin Barney's.

Cubs haven't had many problems hitting singles so far, it's the XBH's that have been the problem.

Anyway Castillo is coming up like expected.

Submitted by Dusty Baylor
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 10:23am

That's absolutely true Rob! No question.
I'd still rather have singles, than no hits at all from the catcher.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 10:25am

well of course, but there's no reason to believe he'd be a better option than Castillo right now.

Submitted by Paul Noce
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 2:14pm

It doesn't really matter since Quade will have Koyie Hill start every game Geo misses.

Submitted by Paul Noce
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 2:15pm

As of 2PM Chicago time, Geo is getting an MRI today and hasn't been put on the DL yet.

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?...

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 2:45pm

If they need a catcher, they can option Colvin or Dewitt as well

Submitted by crunch
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 2:50pm

as much as i hate to say it...colvin could probably use some regular ABs and he looks so behind right now that the majors probably isn't the place to do it.

even his OF defense seems stiff. at 1st, it didn't help j.baker stole his backup role there with his hot bat.

Submitted by VirginiaPhil
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 1:27pm

Two more doubles this afternoon by Clevenger. My point is just that he's a big part of the hitting machine at Tennessee this year. Again today, they're down 4-1 in the sixth, no problem--two in the sixth, four in the seventh, now it's 7-5 in the ninth. Spencer hit his 6th, Flaherty his 8th.

They do this quite often. They get the steamroller going in the late innings. Can you imagine a Cub team where they're down three or four in the sixth, and you don't feel like the game is over?

Too bad there's no pitching machine at Tenn. Rusin with another underwhelming performance today. At least he's better than Raley.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 1:45pm

My point is he's finally doing it in AA on his third or fourth attempt.

Submitted by Dusty Baylor
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 1:54pm

Clevenger:
2008 AA 104 PA's.247/.316/.360 1 HR, 15 RBI
2009 AA 89 PA's .364/.443/.532,1 HR, 10 RBI(promoted)
2010 AA 294 PA's .317/.367/.461, 5HR, 47 RBI

We all get it that Castillo is coming up, and is ahead of the food chain, and rightfully so. However, it looks like Clevenger has raked in AA in 2009-2011

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 2:12pm

babip over those years

.269, .370, .340, .370

And from what I briefly saw, he pulls just about everything which isn't going to be tough to figure out in the majors.

when your ceiling is fringe back-up, nothing to get excited about

Submitted by Dusty Baylor
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 2:24pm

Eh...not for Castillo either. Let's just hope for a quick return from Soto.

Submitted by VirginiaPhil
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 3:52pm

Smokies lost that game, by the way. Blake Parker couldn't go two innings without giving up 7 runs. After the 2-run HR that tied it in the 9th, Harper left Parker in for four more runs. Harper's job is just not to wreck any young pitchers with all the high-scoring games they play.

The pitching problems have been worsened lately with McNutt missing starts due to blisters and closer Cales going on the DL.

Submitted by big_lowitzki
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 4:22pm

Not sure what your point is, anyway, about a guy who hits singles. Doesn't a single drive in the runs that the Cubs keep stranding on second and third?

This is funny... considering that you are the one who has bashed Fukudome for hitting singles.

Submitted by VirginiaPhil
on Thu, 05/12/2011 - 7:20am

I don't think your starting right fielder should be given too much credit when he's slugging .395. (Clevenger is slugging .567 at the moment but that will almost certainly come down.)

The context of my remarks was people wanting a backup catcher who hit better than Hill, not Fukudome. I do think Clevenger is a better hitter than either of them.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Thu, 05/12/2011 - 7:58am

In the minors Clevenger has had a .784 OPS, Fukudome has had a .783 OPS in the majors. Hill has had a .757 minor league OPS which has converted into .585 in the majors. There's certainly a lot of elements that come into play, but based on what we've seen, there's about 0% chance that Clevenger would match Fukudome's production, and when facing major league pitching he'd be a lot closer to Hill as a hitter than you'd apparently think.

Submitted by VirginiaPhil
on Thu, 05/12/2011 - 9:46am

You're comparing a starting right fielder with a guy who projects as a backup catcher (for two reasons: not enough pop and not a particularly good throwing arm).

Clevenger is a career .308 hitter so far. I just have no reason to believe that he's suddenly going to drop to Fukudome's .259 in the majors, let alone to Hill's .214.

Sometimes there's a big conversion factor, sometimes not. Career minor leagues, Soto was .280/.360/.429/.789. Career majors, he's .265/.357/.464/.821.

Clevenger's OPS was .829 last year and it's much higher this year. He's getting stronger, for one thing. He's a converted shortstop, so you have to give him a few years to beef up.

Submitted by Dusty Baylor
on Thu, 05/12/2011 - 8:09am

Hill in minors: .279/.346/.411
Clevenger: .308/.368/.416

Meh....Hill went 2for 4 last night...so that will buy him 2 months...
Clevenger is a backup catcher, and should probably not be compared with the RF.

Submitted by Arizona Phil
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 10:18am

Submitted by Rob G. on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 7:27pm.
Welington Castillo time probably, was hitting better than Ramirez anyway and that's not saying much.

==============================

ROB G: One of the main reasons the Cubs released Max Ramirez was that he wasn't getting much PT with W. Castillo and Chris Robinson sharing the catching duties and Bryan Lahair firmly ensconced at 1B.

If the Cubs had just waited another week they almost certainly wouldn't have released him.

Submitted by jacos
on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 8:32pm

he also swung at first pitch after a four pitch walk.

He'll make a great coach.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 7:40pm

Roy Halladay vs. Josh Johnson

woohaa...

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 7:52pm

no one does less with more singles than the 2011 Cubs

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 8:29pm

through 4.5

Team LOB: 2 for Cards, 6 for Cubs

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 8:32pm

Soriano is to defense what Koyie Hill is to hitting

Submitted by crunch
on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 8:38pm

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v441/Renfro...

Submitted by Paul Noce
on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 9:21pm

Soriano is to defense what Koyie Hill is to hitting
==============================

Fabulous?

Submitted by dc60124
on Thu, 05/12/2011 - 5:27am

he adds 5 mph to other team's line drives.

Submitted by jacos
on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 8:41pm

sorry to pile on, but Hill is wearing his cap underneath his hockey goalie catchers mask.

cmon.

Submitted by springs
on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 8:56pm

Hayden Simpson left the game early tonight...1 ip, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 K. Not sure what happened, though he hasn't been impressive and not sure he has been at 100% so far.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 9:04pm

one tweet says he was topping out at 87 mph fwiw.

I'm sure we'll hear something tomorrow.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 9:03pm

this is gotta be some kind of record...

Submitted by jacos
on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 9:21pm

That double tag on the berkman fo, shows why cards always in contention and the cubs are the cubs.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 9:26pm

Missed the promo schedule that said Kerry Wood Implosion Night

Submitted by Andy
on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 9:34pm

You guys are on fire.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 9:58pm

Cards should walk Castro here, Koyie Hill has to hit.

Submitted by QuietMan
on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 11:09pm

From Bruce Miles:

Pitching at Colorado Springs for Iowa, Doug Davis went 3.2 innings, giving up 4 hits and 2 runs. He walked none and struck out five, throwing 59 pitches, 41 strikes.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 1:34am

3 days rest if he goes Saturday

Submitted by Arizona Phil
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 10:10am

Submitted by QuietMan on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 10:09pm.
From Bruce Miles:

Pitching at Colorado Springs for Iowa, Doug Davis went 3.2 innings, giving up 4 hits and 2 runs. He walked none and struck out five, throwing 59 pitches, 41 strikes

===========================

Q MAN: Obviously pitch count was held below 60 so he can start Saturday.

Submitted by toonsterwu
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 1:47am

AzPhil,

I might have missed past commentary on this, but was wondering on your general take of the XST crop this year. Outside of some intriguing, but raw arms, and a couple intriguing positional players (Golden, still intrigued with Darvill), this seems like a fairly pedestrian crop at best. How does this compare to recent history down there (I don't recall last year's XST crop as that exciting either)? Would the top 5 prospect talents down there be something along the lines of Liria, Reed, Wells, Golden, and maybe JY Kim?

Also, two side questions - what's your take on Cabezas in general, but specifically, the bat? Also, do you have any opinions on the explosion in performance that Bour and Ridling are having this year? I'm just not sure what to make of it, particularly Bour's power (considering past reports). Heck, I thought I liked Cuneo more out of college than Bour.

Submitted by Arizona Phil
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 10:29am

Submitted by toonsterwu on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 12:47am.
AzPhil,

I might have missed past commentary on this, but was wondering on your general take of the XST crop this year. Outside of some intriguing, but raw arms, and a couple intriguing positional players (Golden, still intrigued with Darvill), this seems like a fairly pedestrian crop at best. How does this compare to recent history down there (I don't recall last year's XST crop as that exciting either)? Would the top 5 prospect talents down there be something along the lines of Liria, Reed, Wells, Golden, and maybe JY Kim?

Also, two side questions - what's your take on Cabezas in general, but specifically, the bat? Also, do you have any opinions on the explosion in performance that Bour and Ridling are having this year? I'm just not sure what to make of it, particularly Bour's power (considering past reports). Heck, I thought I liked Cuneo more out of college than Bour.

============================================================

TOONSTER: As the Cubs have expanded their operation in Latin America and the Pacific Rim, the EXST Cubs roster has become very heavy with young Latin players ans Asian players who may or may not be ready for this level. For instance, 18 players who played in the DSL last year (about 40% of the EXST roster) are at Fitch Park right now. This is the highest percentage of Latin players at EXST than anytime in the past, and some of them (especially the pitchers) have struggled.

Watching the EXST Cubs play the other "east-side" teams (Angels, A's, Brewers, Diamondbacks, Giants, and Rockies) a lot, it is pretty clear that the best EXST teams down here are the Angels, Rockies, and Giants. The Cubs are down toward the bottom (with the D'backs), possibly because they have over-emphasized speed over hitting skills and power/slugging when signing Latin players in recent years.

Yaniel Cabezas has looked OK both in the field and at the plate. He is a very "bossy" catcher and likes to run the game for the pitchers (something he probably learned in Cuba), but his arm and receiving skills are just average. He has a nice opposite field stroke, though, and usually hits 2nd in the batting order.

As for Rebel Ridling and Justin Bour, Ridling got a late start last season after missing Minor League Camp after undergoing an appendectomy (with complications), and never really seemed to get his stroke and strength back. But this year Ridling appears to finally be 100%, and what you are seeing is what he is capable of doing. Ridling is also a good defensive 1B and can play LF (although he has a below-average arm). I would describe him as a RH Micah Hoffpauir.

Justin Bour came to Instructs last year to work on developing a power (HR) stroke, and it sure has worked out beautifully (so far). Prior to that Bour was a lumbering 6'4 250+ behemoth with good plate discipline and a line-drive stroke, but if he can consistently hit HR without losing either his plate discipline or the ability to hit line drives when needed he becomes an MLB prospect. Of course he will have to continue to slug as he has moves up the line, and he must improve his defense around 1B, too.

Submitted by Ryno
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 7:17am

Sam Fuld watch- Last multi-hit game was April 22 when he was hitting .366... Hitting .085 since (last 15 games).

Submitted by VirginiaPhil
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 9:08am

Hayden Simpson left the game after one inning yesterday, complaining of shoulder tightness.
.

Submitted by QuietMan
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 9:52am

Doh!

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 4:12pm

article says he just felt tightness and no pain. Muskat blog says he was out doing pitching fielding drills today, so doesn't seem too serious.

Yet.

Submitted by Mike Wellman
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 9:18am

nice play on the sac liner to short right, koyie...

Submitted by billybucks
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 12:32pm

Meanwhile, Sam Zell laughs and laughs.

"I put some lipstick on that pig, then sold it to some sucker at the absolute peak of the market! Bwahahaha!"

Ah, Mr. Ricketts? Your banker is on line one. He wants to know why you are not returning his call.

Submitted by navigator
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 1:02pm

Since you mention it, 4 bankers were talked about when the deal was made: $425 million from Joe Ricketts and $450 million from JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Bank of America.

Tom convinced his dad to invest by telling him the fans would show up even if he put a shitty team out on the field (uh oh). And the big banks came onboard (albeit with short term financing) when the Ricketts subordinated their debt.

Submitted by Newport
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 1:34pm

Links?

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 1:48pm

Well Zell had to knock off $200M+ cause he waited too long and kept trying to get more bidders. A large part of the financing of the deal was per Zell's tax dodging request.

-edit- $150M+, I overestimated

Submitted by navigator
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 2:38pm

Youtube, Crains Chicago, Investment News...

Lemme summarize some things Joe said about the deal.

Joe didn't know Tom was a Cubs fan. Joe wasn't a fan at all. Doesn't watch sports.

Tom didn't finish his degree on time because he was hanging out in Wrigleyville. The family came to graduation and Tom had to tell them he wasn't getting his sheepskin.

When the Trib let it be known that the Cubs were for sale, Tom told his dad they should buy the team. His sale pitch was, "Dad they sell every ticket to every game, win or lose."

Tom's bond business wasn't profitable until recently, but Joe insisted he hand it off to another CEO and spend 100% of his time running the Cubs 24/7. Joe wasn't interested in doing it himself. So Tom got his "dream job."

Joe thinks (or used to) that Tom is doing a great job selling himself to the fans. And that "the plan" is to get to the playoffs every year because, according to Tom, the Cubs have the players they need and a great organization.

Joe has to be having second thoughts right now...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac6h2wczxGA&fe...

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 8:52pm

There's little to nothing in that about financing.

Submitted by Newport
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 9:54pm

Joe Ricketts sounds like a fucking idiot. Maybe he should have done some research on Wrigley attendance trends before he sold $400M in stock to buy this trainwreck. Way to scam your dad, Tom. I can't say I wouldn't have done the same though!

Submitted by Rob G.
on Thu, 05/12/2011 - 12:10am

wait, you folks don't really believe they're going to lose money on the Cubs, do you?

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Thu, 05/12/2011 - 8:07am

Nor do I think they used short-term financing. If they were given short-term financing they must have been able to show the the Cubs are making a shit-fuck-ton of money... if the Cubs were making that much money, a million of the lower price seats going unsold isn't going to kill them. Once Pujols/Fielder comes on board in November the ticket sales will be fixed, at least for a year.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Thu, 05/12/2011 - 10:05am

One of those links I posted said some loans were due in 2013, but they sold some bonds that make them due in the 2020's

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 9:11pm

here's some

financing of deal
http://www.investmentnews.com/article/2010010...

Zell's tax dodging
http://money.cnn.com/2009/09/21/news/companie...

all the degrees Tom Ricketts holds
http://www.structuredinvestments.com/en/About...

Submitted by Jace
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 3:18pm

From Muskat -
http://muskat.mlblogs.com/

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 3:42pm

Fukudome RF, Barney 2B, Byrd CF, Ramirez 3B, Peña 1B, Castro SS, Soriano LF, Hill C, Garza P

Submitted by crunch
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 3:42pm

fuke, barney, byrd, rami, pena, castro, sori, hill, Gaza

via...gordo witty

Submitted by Jace
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 4:12pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTSIJzvNIM8

I would imagine most of you have seen this. I hadn't.. pretty hilarious footage of a groundscrew's battle with covering a field during heavy rain...

Submitted by JoePepitone
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 9:40pm

Nicely done. They couldn't look a little more silly, could they?

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 4:21pm

Chris Archer with another meh start

5 IP, 4 R, 3 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 4 K and the loss

Guyer was optioned back to AAA two days after the one game he played in

Hak Ju Lee at 407/451/604 in Hi-A

Fuld mentioned in comment #37, it's not pretty

Chirinos at 190/261/202 and striking out 27% of the time, he's usually been in the 11-15% range.

Submitted by Arizona Phil
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 4:49pm

Hak-Ju Lee is presently leading the FSL in hitting, is 2nd in OBP, 3rd in SLG, and 10th in SB (despite missing the first ten days while on the DL with chicken pox).

Submitted by jacos
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 4:34pm

Now this is funny-
http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=...

Submitted by JoePepitone
on Wed, 05/11/2011 - 9:47pm

No, it's not.

Submitted by Ryno
on Thu, 05/12/2011 - 9:30am

The grass was probably still wet... I'd cut him a little slack on that one. He was in good position had he been standing up.

Still funny, though.

Submitted by VirginiaPhil
on Thu, 05/12/2011 - 10:00am

Where's the funny video of the other guys in left field who had to run on wet grass lately?

Anyway, I don't think he had to move an inch to catch the ball, so not sure why his wheels were spinning in the first place.

He made another goofy play last night. (Because it wasn't nearly as goofy, he was actually charged with an error.) This one was more his usual hand-to-eye coordination problem.

They catch balls better in bush leagues. He's like a little leaguer out there.

Submitted by Ryno
on Thu, 05/12/2011 - 1:20pm

I'm not going to defend Soriano's defense. Everyone knows he's terrible.

I'm just trying to be a bit understanding in this instance.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Thu, 05/12/2011 - 1:57pm

video was from Tuesday night, wasn't it? Think the rain was Wednesday.

Submitted by jacos
on Thu, 05/12/2011 - 3:50pm

wasn't slippery, he 's just bad

Submitted by Ryno
on Fri, 05/13/2011 - 11:53am

Oh... in that case no slack required.

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