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Looks Like Mr. Tiggy’s Goin’ to Wrigley

Jeff Vorva at The Daily Southtown reports that sources are claiming the Cubs will call-up 24-year LHP Carmen Pignatiello from AAA before tonight's game at Wrigley Field versus CIN, and that RHP Sean Gallagher will be optioned to Iowa, where he can get regular work as a rotation starter. Pignatiello was named Illinois Baseball Player of the Year by Gatorade and the Chicago Sun-Times Player of the Year in 2000, as he went 14-0 with a 0.79 ERA for Providence Catholic HS in New Lenox, before being selected by the Cubs in the 20th Round of the 2000 Rule 4 Draft. Tiggy led the Florida State League in strikeouts while pitching for the Daytona Cubs in 2003. The Cubs have been operating with one lefty in the pen (Scott Eyre) since Will Ohman was optioned to Iowa a week ago. As you can see by his stats at Iowa, Pignatiello is not just a LOOGY, but he is in fact more effective against left-handed hitters (.163 Opp BA and 0.80 WHIP) than he is versus right-handed hitters (.245 Opp BA and 1.28 WHIP). In his last eight appearances, Pignatiello has thrown 8.0 IP, allowing one run on six hits and one BB, while striking out eight. Tiggy is eligible to be a minor league FA on October 15th if he isn't added to the 40-man roster by that date, so doing it now merely keeps the Cubs from further postponing the inevitable. Pignatiello was eligible to be a six-year minor league FA after the 2006 season, too, but he opted to re-up with AAA Iowa after getting a Cubs slot in the Arizona Fall League and an NRI to Spring Training. To make room on the 40-man roster for Pignatiello, I would think the Cubs will likely transfer injured catcher Henry Blanco (neck) to the 60-day DL. Since Blanco has already spent 60+ days on the 15-day DL (and since time spent on the 15-day DL counts toward time spent on the 60), he can be reactivated at any time. UPDATE FROM ROB: Jake Fox is on his way up too, no word on the corresponding roster move.
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By Arizona Phil at Tue, 08/14/2007 - 9:27am

Dope Survives Trip on Waiver Wire, O-Dog Released from Animal Hospital

Apparently the Baltimore Orioles had some problems with their waiver wire this week, because 1B Brian Dopirak has cleared Outright Waivers without being claimed, and has been assigned outright to Hi-A Daytona.
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By Arizona Phil at Thu, 08/09/2007 - 8:10am

Cubs Sign Oscar Acosta’s Son, Still Negotiating with #1 Pick

With the signing of 12th round pick RHP Ryan Acosta (son of the late Cubs pitching coach Oscar Acosta), the Cubs have now signed 30 of their 50 selections in June's Rule 4 Draft, including 12 of their first 13, 16 of their first 18, and 21 of their first 24. The Cubs were able to convince Acosta to forgo his scholarship at the University of Georgia, where he was one the Dawgs top 2007 baseball recruits. Although he was a "two-way player" (SS/RHP) in high school, the Cubs drafted Acosta as a pitcher.
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By Arizona Phil at Sun, 08/05/2007 - 10:19am

We Got Wood Back

Kerry Wood completed his minor league rehab last night, throwing 1.2 IP (24 pitches) for the AA Tennessee Smokies at West Tenn. Wood had not thrown more than one inning or 17 pitches in any previous rehab outing. box score
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By Arizona Phil at Wed, 08/01/2007 - 9:28am

All Quiet at the Wrigley Front

The non-waiver trading deadine has passed, and nary a peep from the Cubs.
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By Arizona Phil at Tue, 07/31/2007 - 1:00pm

Cubs to Recall Murton and Cherry

Paul Sullivan is reporting in the Chicago Tribune that Matt Murton and Rocky Cherry are being recalled. It seems likely that they will be replacing Jake Fox and Billy Petrick, although it is also possible that Mark DeRosa could be placed on the DL. Murton is hitting 340/406/617 (1.023 OPS) with five HR and 20 RBI plus nine doubles and a 10/12 BB/K ratio in 106 PA this month at Iowa, including an eleven game hitting streak and 16 out of 17. Over his last seven appearances, Cherry has thrown 9.0 IP, allowing two runs (both earned) and six hits, walking one while striking out 10. Also, Kerry Wood and Henry Blanco continued their rehab assignments at Peoria last night. box score Woody went one inning (12 pitches), allowing one hit and no runs with two strikeouts, while Hank White went 1-2 with a walk. Cubs GM Jim Hendry will be attending tonight's game at Peoria, presumably to get a first-hand look at the two rehabbing players. It is expected that Wood will be continuing his rehab next week at Iowa, but Blanco could be very close to returning to the big club.
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By Arizona Phil at Fri, 07/27/2007 - 9:23am

Cedeno Gets Recalled

The Chicago Tribune's Dave Van Dyck is reporting that the Cubs have recalled Ronny Cedeno from AAA Iowa. Although it is not clear yet whether Jake Fox or Scott Moore will be the one to be sent to the minors to make room for Cedeno, DVD speculates that with Cliff Floyd back in the lineup and Derrek Lee returning from his five-game suspension, it will be Fox. Cedeno was named Pacific Coast League Player of the Month in June, as he went 446/509/782 in 25 games, with 8 HR and 20 RBI, 8 doubles, a 12/10 BB/K ratio, and four SB (0 CS), before coming back to Earth in July, hitting a more-pedestrian 294/318/341 with just one HR and a 3/15 BB/K ratio in 20 games. Cedeno had a strong Spring Training in Mesa (hitting 328/427/516 while tying for the team lead in walks) and made the Cubs 2007 Opening Day 25-man roster, but he hit just .097 (3-31) with two HR and four RBI and a 1/8 BB/K ratio in 32 PA--along with a couple of baserunning gaffes--before being optioned to AAA on May 5th. Manager Lou Piniella has expessed a desire to rotate his lineup to keep his players fresh during the "Dog Days" of the season, and with the Cubs scheduled to play the next twenty days in a row, the "Dog Days" have indeed arrived. Adding a second SS (Cedeno) will give Uncle Lou a chance to rest Ryan Theriot whenever he feels it's needed, although The Riot will likely continue to get the lion's share of the playing time at shortstop. Cedeno will be out of minor league options next season, so the Cubs will need to determine if Cedeno has a role with the club in 2008 as a utllity middle-infielder, or if he would have more value as a trading chip.
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By Arizona Phil at Tue, 07/24/2007 - 8:11am

Cubs Trade Izturis, Call-Up Jake Fox

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that the Cubs have traded INF Cesar Izturis to the Pirates for a PTBNL. Also, OF-1B-C Jake Fox has been acquired from AA Tennessee. Pirates 3B Jose Bautista is on the Pirates DL with a hand injury, so I would think Izturis will possibly play 2B for the Bucs, perhaps with Freddy Sanchez moving to 3B. Izturis is still owed about $2M for the balance of 2007, with a $5.85M salary (or $300K buy-out) for 2008. With Mike Fontenot being strictly a 2B and with Piniella apparently unwilling to play Mark DeRosa at SS, trading Izturis should result in the return of PCL June Player of the Month Ronny Cedeno to Chicago. Ryan Theriot is doing a fine job as the everyday SS, so how much PT Cedeno will get will be the big question. I figured Fox as one of the players the Cubs were going to add to the 40-man roster after the season, so this is just an early start toward that end. Of course it also means one of his options will get burned 20 days after he’s returned to the minors. Fox has as much power as any player in the Cubs organization. He is the proverbial “first-ball/fastball” hitter who never met a fastball he didn’t like. (Waveland Avenue or Bust!). He’s not quite as fond of breaking stuff and off-speed pitches, though, unless he knows what’s coming. He can play 1B-LF-RF (his best position is probably LF, although he is a defensive liability no matter where plays) and also can catch in a pinch, although his days as a front-line catcher are very likely over. Fox was Rich Hill’s catcher at the University of Michigan, so if R. Hill still misses Barrett and Murton, Fox’s arrival should help cheer him up.
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By Arizona Phil at Thu, 07/19/2007 - 9:36am

Wood Kerrys On

For those of you not tired of reading about...
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By Arizona Phil at Tue, 07/17/2007 - 2:00pm

A Look at Cubs ‘08

2008 will be the 100th Anniversary of the last time the Cubs won a World Series. This past off-season (post-2006 season), the Cubs went on a $300M+ spending spree, hoping to win a World Series (or at least maybe get into the playoffs) before the Centennial Celebration commences. But with the new owners of the Cubs yet to be decided (apparently until further notice), it appears that the club's executives may take a passive approach toward the future, as evidenced by failing to sign Carlos Zambrano to a contract extension, taking the risk that he will walk away after the 2007 season. So here is what the Cubs might look like in 2008 should the sale of the club remain in limbo, and if the Trib decides to continue taking a more passive approach to player retention and acquisition during the next off-season:
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By Arizona Phil at Thu, 07/12/2007 - 3:10pm

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