Jeff Pentland played with Reggie Jackson and has tutored Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Carlos Beltran and Matt Kemp, to name-drop just a few. He has advanced degrees in biomechanics. His playing days were on both sides of the chessboard; pitcher and hitter. What he doesn't know about the art/science of hitting may not be worth knowing.

No wonder the Dodgers fired him as their hitting coach last year.

It's not like there wasn't a precedent. But gurus like Pentland are never out of work any longer than they care to be. This year he signed on with the Seattle Mariners (again) as the hitting coach for their Triple A affiliate, Tacoma of the Pacific Çoast League. The Rainiers hit only .235 in April but this month they're banging away at a better than .300 clip and carrying a 13-game homer streak as Pentland settles in. He stepped away from the batting cage while the Rainiers are in Des Moines taking on the Iowa Cubs and talked with TCR.

Yasiel Balaguert singled three times, drove-in a run, and scored another, Sergio Burruel reached base three times on two singles and a walk, scored one run, and knocked-in another, and Dong-Yub Kim doubled twice and scored two runs, leading the Cubs to a 6-4 victory over the Rockies in Cactus League Extended Spring Training action this morning at Fitch Park Field #3 in Mesa, AZ.

Trey Martin belted a bases-loaded triple and Kevin Encarnacion crushed a two-run triple to highlight a nine-run 3rd, Jeimer Candelario doubled twice, walked, and drove-in a run, and Rob Whitenack threw six strong innings, allowing one run (unearned) on three hits (all singles), with no walks and seven strikeouts, to help the Cubs cruise past the Brewers 12-1 in Cactus League Extended Spring Training action this morning at Maryvale Baseball Complex Field #7 (AKA “Paul Molitor Field”) in Phoenix, AZ.

Glad tidings from breezy Principal Park where the I-Cubs climbed all over the Tacoma Rainiers and snapped a four-game skid with an 18-8 slapstick win this afternoon. Anthony (Ratso) Rizzo (who else?) paced Iowa with a record-tying performance in support of Chris Volstad's first outing for the team.

Javier Baez drove-in six runs with a two-run HR and a grand slam, Yasiel Balaguert knocked-in four runs with a three-run home run and a sacrifice fly, Dong-Yub Kim drove-in two runs with an RBI single and a solo HR, and Wilson Contreras ripped a two-run double, leading the Cubs to a 14-4 demolition of the Angels in Cactus League Extended Spring Training action this morning at Fitch Park Field #3 in Mesa, AZ.

Click to see the gif.

2/3 of the way through 2012 Extended Spring Training, here are the Cubs Cactus League game statistics.

Trevor Gretzky singled, doubled, walked, stole a base, scored three runs, and drove-in another, and Danny Lockhart belted an RBI triple to key a five-run 5th, leading the Cubs to a 7-2 victory over the Diamondbacks on Quail Field, and Jeimer Candelario and Xavier Batista each rapped a two-run single and Dustin Geiger laced an RBI double to highlight a five-run 2nd inning, but the D’backs took advantage of four Cub errors (including three errant throws on attempted pick-offs) to score seven unanswered runs en route to a 7-5 victory on Mesquite Field, as the Cubs and Diamondbacks split an Arizona Barbeque Festival Cactus League Extended Spring Training doubleheader this morning at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick Resort east of Scottsdale, AZ.

Like a bad penny, the Cubs can't seem to catch a break. Here is the list of the broken catchers:

Steve Clevenger -Oblique rib cage strain. He is scheduled to return to the batting cage this weekend and might be ready to come off the DL by next weekend in Pittsburgh.

Geo Soto - Went on the DL with a knee meniscus tear and had it repaired/ trimmed on Friday. Out at least 3 weeks.

Welington Castillo - Had an MRI of his knee this am and has a mild medial collateral sprain. Out of action about one week if things go well.

So who is left, you ask? Hint: Blake Lalli isn't in the starting lineup tonight...

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Trey Martin laced a bases-loaded triple to key a six-run 2nd inning, and Javier Baez and Jeimer Candelario each blasted a two-run home run to highlight a five-run 9th, as the Cubs rode a 21-hit attack en route to a 14-5 thrashing of the Angels in Cactus League Extended Spring Training action this morning at Diablo Park Field #3 in Tempe, AZ.

The game was extended an extra inning so that all of the pitchers who were scheduled to throw could get their work.

Click on the image for the video.

It was hinted at on twitter last night that big Cubs news was coming today and news did come.

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Waiting for the game to begin tonight I noticed that the pitchers would be throwing into a stiff breeze. A couple young scouts, I thought, sat down a couple rows in front of me to chart the game, one of them armed with a jugs gun. I sauntered down to ask them how the scoreboard speedometer compared to their readings since the last time I checked it was thought to generally register a couple mph slower than actual velocity. No, the gunslinger told me, the scoreboard readings run pretty true. In fact, he said, he doesn't really use the gun when he's charting; he just goes by the scoreboard numbers. Only then did I realize the "scout" was Randy Wells.

Rock Shoulders drilled an RBI double and scored a run to highlight a two-run Cub 1st inning, and Rob Whitenack (2011 TJS rehab) threw five innings (60 pitches) of one-run ball, in Cactus League Extended Spring Training action this morning at Indian School Park Field #4 in Scottsdale, AZ.

The game was called after nine innings with the scored tied 2-2.

Javier Baez (solo HR and a two-run single), Jeimer Candelario (two-run triple and an RBI single), and Danny Lockhart (two-run single and an RBI single) drove-in three runs a piece, Xavier Batista doubled twice, singled, and scored a run, and Micah Gibbs reached base four times on two singles and two walks and scored two runs, leading the Cubs to an 11-3 thumping of the Rockies in Cactus League Extended Spring Training action this morning at Fitch Park Field #3 in Mesa, AZ.