The off-season is (thankfully!) over and it's time to play baseball again at Fitch Park.
The pitchers & catchers reported last weekend, and a lot of the position players have now arrived, too.
At this point, morning workouts are consisting of half of the pitchers throwing "bullpen" sessions in the ten-mound bullpen each day, Pitchers Fielding Practice (known as "PFP") on Fields #1, #2, and #3, Pitchers Bunting Practice on Field #5 (the half-field infield), catchers fielding practice on Field #5 and catchers early batting practice (before the pitchers throw in the ten-pen) on Field #4, "traditional" BP for the remaining position players (with coaches throwing soft-toss from in front of the mound) on Fields #1 & #2, and then infield & outfield fielding practice for the position players.
Despite the new regime's anticipated increased emphasis on order, discipline, and accountability, everybody seems pretty loose. The workouts are fairly spirited, and the players and coaches all seem to be very positive about their various activities.
FWIW, I think the most-impressive hitter so far in the BP sessions has been Dave Sappelt, the outfielder acquired from the Reds in the Sean Marshall deal. Sappelt is only 5'9, but he really packs a wallop with a short RH stroke with HR power and plus bat speed. I suspect Sappelt will probably start the season at AAA Iowa, but he looks to be (at the very least) the Cubs eventual "4th OF."
Here is the up-to-the-minute Cubs Spring Training Roster with uniform numbers. In addition to the previously-reported uniform number changes that were made during the off-season (Matt Garza switching from #17 to #22, Jeff Baker switching from #28 to #3, Tony Campana switching from #41 to #1, etc), there were also a couple of last-minute number switches/assignments (Alfredo Amezaga switched from #48 to #99, and recently-acquired INF Adrian Cardenas was assigned #45 - Sean Marshall's old number).
1 Tony Campana, OF
2 Ian Stewart, 3B
3 Jeff Baker, IF-OF
4 Pat Listach, 3rd Base Coach
5 Reed Johnson, OF
6 Bryan LaHair, 1B
7 Rudy Jaramillo, Hitting Coach
8 Jamie Quirk, Bench Coach
9 David DeJesus, RF
11 Blake DeWitt, INF
12 Alfonso Soriano, OF
13 Starlin Castro, SS
15 Darwin Barney, INF
16 Joe Mather, OF
17 Dave Sappelt, OF
18 Geovany Soto, C
19 Rodrigo Lopez, RHSP
20 Matt Tolbert, INF
21 Andy Sonnanstine, RHSP
22 Matt Garza, RHSP
24 Marlon Byrd, CF
25 Chris Bosio, Pitching Coach
26 Billy Williams, Spring Training Instructor
27 Casey Coleman, RHSP
28 Paul Maholm, LHSP
29 Jeff Samardzija, RHRP
30 Travis Wood, LHSP
32 Chris Volstad, RHSP
33 Dave Sveum, Manager
34 Kerry Wood, RHRP
35 Lester Strode, Bullpen Coach
36 Randy Wells, RHSP
38 Jason Jaramillo, C
39 Dave McKay, 1st Base Coach
40 James Russell, LHRP
41 Bobby Scales, INF
43 Trever Miller, LHRP
44 Anthony Rizzo, 1B
45 Adrian Cardenas, INF
46 Ryan Dempster, RHSP
47 Blake Lalli, C
49 Carlos Marmol, RHRP
50 Esmailin Caridad, RHRP
51 Steve Clevenger, C
52 Lendy Castillo, RHRP
53 Welington Castillo, C
54 John Gaub, LHRP
55 Edgar Gonzalez, INF
56 Casey Weathers, RHRP
57 Scott Maine, LHRP
58 Mike Borzello, Catching Coach/Bullpen Catcher
59 Brett Jackson, OF
60 Manny Corpas, RHRP
61 Josh Vitters, INF
62 Marcos Mateo, RHRP
63 Jim Adduci, OF
64 Franklin Font, Infield Coach
65 Jay Jackson, RHSP
66 Rafael Dolis, RHRP
67 Blake Parker, RHRP
68 Jeff Beliveau, LHRP
70 Dae-Eun Rhee, RHSP
71 Trey McNutt, RHSP
72 Matt Szczur, OF
73 Junior Lake, INF
74 Marco Carrillo, RHRP
75 Jonathon Mota, INF
76 Alberto Cabrera, RHSP
77 Dave Bialas, Spring Training Instructor (Iowa Manager)
78 Michael Brenly, C
79 Jae-Hoon Ha, OF
80 Carmelo Martinez, Spring Training Instructor (Dominican Academy Coordinator)
81 Brian Harper, Spring Training Instructor (Daytona Manager)
82 James Rowson, Spring Training Instructor (Minor League Hitting Coordinator)
83 Brandon Hyde, Spring Training Instructor (Minor League Field Coordinator)
84 Dave Keller, Spring Training Instructor (Iowa Hitting Coach)
85 Mariano Duncan, Spring Training Instructor (Tennessee Hitting Coach)
86 Mike Mason, Spring Training Instructor (Iowa Pitching Coach)
87 Lee Tinsley, Spring Traiuning Instructor (Minor League Outfield/Baserunning Coordinator)
88 Chris Rusin, LHSP
89 Dennis Lewallyn, Spring Training Instructor (Minor League Pitching Coordinator)
90 Jeff Fassero, Spring Training Instructor (Tennessee Pitching Coach)
91 Marty Pevey, Spring Training Instructor (Minor League Catching Coordinator)
92 Tom Beyers, Spring Training Instructor (Assistant Minor League Hitting Coordinator)
93 Bill Dancy, Spring Training Instructor (Minor League Infield/Bunting Coordinator)
94 Buddy Bailey, Spring Training Instructor (Tennessee Manager)
95 Andy Lane, Bullpen Catcher
99 Alfredo Amezaga, IF-OF
Rick Sutcliffe, Spring Training Instructor
Comments
Re: Pilgrims Progress at Fitch Park
Arizona Phil, you may think I am crazy, but I see my old friend Edgar Tovar isnt listed. Is he a goner?
Re: Pilgrims Progress at Fitch Park
Wed, 02/22/2012 - 2:42pm — Hagsag
Arizona Phil, you may think I am crazy, but I see my old friend Edgar Tovar isnt listed. Is he a goner?
==============================
HAGSAG: I believe he is a goner. At least he's not at Spring Training.
Re: Pilgrims Progress at Fitch Park
tovar's probably chilling at home in FL...with so many kids and coaches in camp they probably don't need him catching right now.
i can't imagine the cubs giving him up given how much people (players and fans) like him and how small of a role he plays with the club. unless he moved on to another team or retired i can't imagine him being asked to leave.
Re: Pilgrims Progress at Fitch Park
I was at a Cubs game in Houston (2006 maybe?) and I'll always remember a fan just going nuts trying to get Tovar's auto. I commented on it and the twenty-something young man looks at me and says: "He gets paid league minimum to play catch all day, I love that guy!!"
And I was sold on Tovar ever since.
Re: Pilgrims Progress at Fitch Park
THANK YOU PHIL! WHOOOOO! First Live Report from the AZ PHIL!
Now...what about the weather , PHIL?
Re: Pilgrims Progress at Fitch Park
Indeed--like blooms on the trees and birds returning, this is a much-welcomed annual first sign of spring.
Re: Pilgrims Progress at Fitch Park
Sappelt: The New Reed Johnson.
Or, for short, The New Johnson. As such, he'll be a very popular man over the next few years.
Re: Pilgrims Progress at Fitch Park
Thank you Arizona Phil. I always look forward to your expert posts. The universe in now in sinc with Campana being #1. There really is no other number for him. I blame last season's dismall performance on him not being #1.
Re: Pilgrims Progress at Fitch Park
teams with the brightest future for their rotations
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php...
nope, the Cubs are not listed
DBacks, Braves, Pirates, Mariners, Royals, A's, Padres, Rays, Blue Jays
Bunt Tourney Seeding
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-...
seems random...
Beliveau, Lake, Mather, T. Wood are 1 seeds
Dempster a #10 seed, but Garza a #6
Soriano is a #15 seed though
Re: Pilgrims Progress at Fitch Park
ha...tim buss and SWAIN are participating.
Re: Pilgrims Progress at Fitch Park
I'm ready to fill out my bracket, my money's ready, but Yahoo and ESPN haven't launched their apps yet. =-\
Re: Pilgrims Progress at Fitch Park
everyone's favorite topic, lineups!!!
http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/i...
Sveum not looking to platoon.
~shrug~
Re: Pilgrims Progress at Fitch Park
about time someone bothered to ask...even if it's too early in spring to nail anything down.
Re: Pilgrims Progress at Fitch Park
Probably good. Platoons are one of those things that seem to work better in theory than in practice.
Re: Pilgrims Progress at Fitch Park
Platoons work pretty good until the starting pitcher gets replaced by a guy who pitches from the other side.
Re: Pilgrims Progress at Fitch Park
2012 cubs...the star of the team doesn't wear a uniform and many fans want that guy to trade the best pitcher (and probably best or 2nd best player) on the team away.
sigh.
it's been a long offseason. someone out there in spring camp please become the face of the club. too bad castro don't give many interviews.
Re: Pilgrims Progress at Fitch Park
many fans want that guy to trade the best player on the team away.
What fans want Garza traded away?
Re: Pilgrims Progress at Fitch Park
i can point you to pretty much every blog under the sun that's cubs-related. it's not been a hot topic in here for a while, but there was a good chunk of people here pushing for it, too.
there's enough that i dunno if the "keep him" or "trade him" crowd is actually bigger.
Re: Pilgrims Progress at Fitch Park
you're confusing "want to trade him" with "trade him if the Cubs get a great package of 2-3 young players that's obviously a good deal for the Cubs".
Re: Pilgrims Progress at Fitch Park
it's all the same to me in my broad statement.
i was just generally musing about the tone of the offseason in a twitter-sized comment.
Re: Pilgrims Progress at Fitch Park
When the expected return was Jacob Turner and Nick Castellanos, then yes. Otherwise, give him a 4 or 5 year deal.
I think you're confusing the media trying to manufacture news in the offseason for what Cubs fans actually wants. Seamheads know what Garza is worth, and casual fans don't give a fuck about Jacob Who?.
Re: Pilgrims Progress at Fitch Park
I don't know... there is a big difference between yelling "Trade Garza" and saying, "If you can trade Garza and get 1 stud and 1-2 other impact arms, you should think about it."
I just don't see that many people begging the Cubs to trade Garza. But there are some that say if you can get a great return, you should go for it considering the how unlikely it is for the Cubs to compete this year, and maybe in the 1-3 years beyond that.
I don't want to see Garza traded, but I see the logic behind it and wouldn't be opposed to getting a good package of players in return.
Re: Pilgrims Progress at Fitch Park
maybe crunch meant Soriano as the Cubs best player :)
Re: Pilgrims Progress at Fitch Park
i was just making a general comment about the offseason.
castro is arguable the best or 2nd best depending on how you feel about garza. i still think anyone who bought into the j.turner rumors were smoking crack cuz DET would have to be enjoying mad rocks on the daily to trade him for almost anyone. between j.turner and s.miller (unfortunatlely in STL) they're on a tier only over-shaddowed by moore in TB. super-studs...not just "good"
Re: Pilgrims Progress at Fitch Park
Castro's busy moonlighting here:
http://www.valleysleepcenter.com/vsc_mesa.html
It would probably be best for him to lay low for a while.
Re: Pilgrims Progress at Fitch Park
another "why hasn't this guy signed yet" goes down...
"Angels signed RHP Jason Isringhausen to a minor league contract."
dlee and j.damon are still waiting around for something...and j.vazquez might have sneaky retired or something...
Comp for Hoyer
links in twitter box
teams have agreed on list of 12 players, will settle at end of spring training, low level minor leaguer as mentioned from the beginning.
Brandon McCarthy is hard not to like
https://twitter.com/Athletics/status/17273140...
you have to follow his twitter feed, but amusing and relatable guy
Re: Pilgrims Progress at Fitch Park
bunting tourney has started, follow the updates in the twitter box as best I can keep up
Return to Homepage