Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

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

28 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, and twelve players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors. 

Last updated 3-26-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 15
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Jameson Taillon
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

OUTFIELDERS: 4
* Cody Bellinger 
Alexander Canario
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

OPTIONED: 12 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Ben Brown, P 
Alexander Canario, OF 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Keegan Thompson, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 
Hayden Wesneski, P 

 



 

Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Short Story

A compelling aspect of Wednesday’s Cubs-Brewers game, apart from the fact that the Cubs actually won, was Lou Piniella’s decision to start Ryan Theriot at short. As Lou explained:
"We need a lift. We need somebody who hopefully can get us going a little bit. I've been trying to figure out where to play him. He's been getting work at shortstop. We'll put him out there at shortstop and let him play."
Theriot, naturally, was elated to get the opportunity and said he wasn’t intimidated about moving over from second.
"The only [difference] is the throw. It takes a little getting used to. Two years ago, that's where I was every day. It's something I'm comfortable with and excited about."
In fact, during minor league stops at Daytona, Lansing and West Tenn, Theriot played a fair amount of shortstop, 189 games total, handling 777 chances successfully, but making 40 errors. That adds up to a woeful .951 fielding percentage. For comparison’s sake, National League shortstops had a combined .972 fielding average last season and the Cubs haven’t had an everyday shortstop who fielded anywhere near .951 as far back as I had the energy to check. Could be because shortstops with .951 fielding percentages soon cease to be shortstops. Theriot clearly gives the Cub offense a boost that Cesar Izturis and Ronny Cedeno are incapable of providing. But to justify his place in the lineup Theriot is going to have to dramatically improve his glovework. Or be one helluva hitter.

Comments

Hopefully Lou gives him a real chance at short. The day before Lou claimed the lineup that game was going to be the everyday lineup most of the time. Then he changes it completely.

Not a fair comparison, Cubnut, because at Iowa manure gets all over the ball and makes it hard to handle.

hey, hey, easy on the Iowa jokes!! =) I like Theriot a lot, and I'm glad to see him in the lineup. My solution was start him at 2B and not sign Derosa, but since that didn't happen... I'm really curious to see how he handles it, but The Riot really seems like a class act so far, and he's played damn near every other position on the diamond. I'd take at least *passable* D for his bat and energy everyday. Thanks for the article, nut.

He's hit better at the Major League level than he did, generally speaking, in the minors. I know this is a stretch, but maybe glove work will be better as well. I agree that's it definitely worth a try and I'm happy to see him out there.

CWTP-- I hadn't considered the manure angle. :) Seriously, it did occur to me that minor league fielding averages might tend to be lower because the field and lighting conditions, especially at lower levels, are probably a bit erratic. Still, .951 is on the scary side.

Has anyone thought about DeRosa at short (I'm pretty sure he has played there before) and Theriot at second? DeRosa's range may not be what you would expect of a ss, but his arm certainly is. Cubnut, you wouldn't have a similar fielding percentage comparison for DeRosa at short, would you?

It's pretty cool that Lou is not afraid to make a bold move like this. I only hope he's not being too reactionary. Sure I look at Izzy's BA and him GIDP in big spots and I say to myself, "that dude has to go". But, I also recognize that, as a fan who wants them to win now, I'm somewhat reactionary myself. No doubt, we've seen some of our other bats scuffle early this year, what's to say Izzy isn't doing the same and eventually he would contribute with the bat and on the field? Like I said, I like this move, I just hope it's a good move.

Surely .974 works very well for SS then. No sign that Lou will make this move it seems though.

Let me hit you with some Parachat style knowledge. 1.076 OPS > .951 fielding percentage

Wes, that is awesome chat. If Eckstein can make the throw from the "hole" well enough to win a World Series, then surely Theriot can too. Plus, it's fine if Floyd, sorry Soriano, sorry Murton, sorry Jock is behind him in Left! Umm, oh no, wait a minute...

Izturis' lifetime OBP is one point less than Shawon Dunston's. One of the problems with this team may end up being it's saving grace, if only they can just start winning enough to all stay behind each other. And that it is, for the most part, most of the guys on the bench could start for other teams. I like the experimenting, too, and as long as Theriot keeps hitting like this Lou will have to find a way to keep him in the lineup. But I'd contend DeRosa is one prolonged slump away from being permanently replaced by Theriot.

Izzy can be d replacement late in games. If the real hitters start hitting then maybe you can ease izzy back in or platoon. No more Ronny Cedeno.

Trammel. It could be that a relationship forged between a terrific mentor who was an outstanding shortstop, and Theriot, will make a difference in improving Ryan's fielding percentage. Apparently this is one of "Tram's" responsibilities, to coach the infield positions. And for this, his value will be alot more than freakin' Dick Pole who never saw a meal he didn't like.

This is a lot different than Dusty's bench-the-hot-bat theory. jacos:
No more Ronny Cedeno.
Ever since September 2006 Ronny's defense has been as good, if not better than Izturis's, finally living up to the reputation of being a defensive shortstop. He's also shown better power this year than the other two SS options. If I sound defensive about Ronny, it's because he's really worked hard and improved, IMO.

#13 Old and Blue "Isturis' lifetime OBP is one point less than Shawon Dunston's. Dunston is not a Cub shortstop that you can point with pride to. Next to CPat he was probably the most undisciplined hitter I can remember. Also Dunston had some power, hitting 107 home runs as a Cub, This is still a poorly constructed ball team with abundant talent at some positions and a bare cupboard in others. I guest lecture a college management course and I often to use the Cubs as an example of the use of poor executive management principles.

"If I sound defensive about Ronny, it’s because he’s really worked hard and improved, IMO. " Well, imo, yes and no. He has the ABILITY, and DOES make spectacular plays, yet routine ones he can have issues with. I was at the Cards game with Marquis pitching last weekend and he made two errors on two consecutive plays. He called for a pop-up, then blew it; he muffed a fairly routine grounder on the infield grass not hit terribly hard. The play when he almost crashed into Soriano a couple weeks ago also comes to mind. I'm sorry, in spite of the "work" you say, it is not that evident in what he's done in the real season on the field. And yes he has ONE HR, but an OBP of .125. HE SUCKS ASS! Rynox is right. He needs to go.

E-Man, it's hard to disagree with that. Except, of course I will...lol. I am a Cedeno apologist, it's true. He has struggled at the plate this year. Howver, how much of a rhythm can you get into at the plate playing every 3-4 days? That being said, he might be better off playing everyday in Iowa, and the Cubs could bring up Fontenot, Pagan, or someone like that....a true bench player.

Actually, E-man, I was the one defending him, jacos said "No more Ronny Cedeno." Just wanted clear that up.

Cubnut- Thanks for that nugget on Theriot's fielding percentage of .951. Yeah for a SS that is woeful. Definitely something we need to keep an eye on.

I think Ronny excels in non-pressure situations (Winter League, Spring Training) and then tends to push too much in the season. And the ball 4 caught stealing kind of sealed it for me.

Fred Merkle had a pretty decent career after "Merkle's Boner" in 1908.....Cedeno's gaffe was a minor screw-up....it happens. Like a hoe run off Canseco's head, or Larry Walker throwing a ball into the stands after 2 outs...

Jacos: "And the ball 4 caught stealing kind of sealed it for me." What sealed it for me was last year when he was hitting atrocious late in the year and he had that play at 2B where he went to field a ball and then backed away as he was afraid to get hit by the runner. He showed no heart right there, IMO. Cedeno is horrible and does not deserve to even be a utility IF. Send him to WASH with the rest of our shitty players.

"Like a hoe run off Canseco’s head, or Larry Walker throwing a ball into the stands after 2 outs…" Did hoe's run off Canseco's head - or other body parts? If Cedeno had already had an established career with success as part of it, the things you reference are excusible. However, as a complete disappointment to this time, he has NO cred and no room for errors when he keeps making dumb plays. Let him play in the minors for another year or two.

"2B where he went to field a ball and then backed away as he was afraid to get hit by the runner." Yeah, MANNY! It was against the METS! We all talked about this last year. He was afraid to get spiked!

Hahahaa...I know Canseco had some "ho's" flitting about as well, but it was a Home run off the head... Sending Cedeno to Iowa is a good idea.

# 2 CWTP True story......my first sales territory was the fine state of Iowa. One day, back before cell phones....dates me no....was at one of those drive up pay phones in Tama, Iowa. A livestock truck got jammed trying to turn around, and backed up.......I was honking my horn.....trying to get him to stop cuz it looked like he was going to hit my car. At the last second, he jammed on his brakes......inches from my hood......and a bunch of cow crap and pee came sliding out the back of the trailer on to my car. LOVE IOWA!!!! If Cedeno can't field the ball in cow shit, he shouldn't be in the bigs. Those kids from the Dominican Republic grow up playing on fields with rocks, poisonous snakes, milk cartons for gloves....what's a little cow shit in the grand scheme. Joey, from Iowa...soon to be from Mankato, MN

#17 Guest Lecturer: cough up some specifics from the world of business lingo, as presumably you've been presenting 'material which ended up on their exams'. Just presenting the TribCo as "patently incompetent business management" because of the Cubs W-L record seem a little shallow, unless its acceptable to judge a business's management by whether or not they show a profit. Hmm, may have talked myself out of my own argument.

Dusty- That was not the only head scratcher he had, I can't remember them all (Manny and E-Man might) but that was not his first gaffe. The only time I ever saw Dusty chew a player out in the dugout was Cedeno last year after a baserunning gaffe.

Very funny, Joey. You wanted your car simonized or winterized and he thought you said fertilized!

Reyes and his 5.63 ERA tonight. I really truly hope we tee off on the Cards. Especially given Josh Martin's rant.

Plus, I think Reyes is a tool with his flat hat and super fantastic high striped socks.

Joey, as interesting as your life stories are I think that as someone who has played in some level of pro ball knows that the field at any level in the minors is far from the perfection found in the bigs. Consequently, the .951 fielding percentage needs to be compared with fielding percentage of SS in the minors. You are comparing apples to oranges otherwise.

what's more important than that .951 is how he got it...footwork, arm, glove? i mean, t.walker can catch and his arm isnt exactly poison...UNTIL you get a man on base and he has to make his footwork go fluid. at that point his arm seems to get slow while he fumbles to catch/pivot/cover/throw. bad/decent/good/great middle IF'rs tend to make/break their play not as much on the catch/throw as much as how quickly everything between that is taken care of.

manny & crunch..and everybody else I guess, Want to pick your brain on something. I know shortstop is the most important defensive position on the field. But, at the same time, at what point do you deal with 3 more errors per 100 chances in favor of greatly improved offense? Izzy's a career .979 at short. Theriot is currently hitting almost TWICE what Izzy is hitting. (Riot 339/362/375, Izzy 184/259/265). I am not a believer that Riot is the long term solution, but he's almost got to be the short team solution as long as this team is scoring runs. He won't hit .340 all year and Izzy won't hit .180 all year (I guess I dunno either or those.. it could happen), but I think it's the best idea for a team that either scores 9 or scores 0.

On the Theriot 0.951: I don't know how many of his errors are throwing errors, but having a baseball vacuum catching for you at 1st base instead of some minor-leaguer has got to help cut down on those types of errors. As an example, I think that having Lee at 1st base has made ARam a better fielder.

as long as this team....isn't... scoring runs.

Wes - And the other thing that is a factor here is what his range is. I don't know how his range compares to Izzy's which I think is supposedly very good, but if his range is smaller than Izzy's what you're not seeing reflected in those F% numbers is the number of balls that is unable to even make a play on.

Wes, don't be fooled by fielding percentage. Fielding is more about the play you make over the plays someone else can't. Izturis will make more plays than Theriot and save more hits. It's not just about errors. You can't make an error on a ball you can't get to.

#41 Bryan.....Best post of the day. There are so many variables outside of the player being evaluated that contribute to baseball statistics. For example, Ernie Banks ( who I loved) led the league several times in fielding percentage but was far from the best shortstop because of his limited range.

re: 40 errors have little to do with it. a guy like todd walker can blow double plays all day without a single negative stat popping up. general stats just dont give a "time from player makes contact to when/how effectively he gives up the ball to a teammate and where that ball is for the other person to complete the play cuz defense in a baseball game isnt a 1-person thing especially when you're talking about the middle IF"...or TFPMCTWHEHGUTBTATAWTBIFTOPTCTPCDIABGIAOPTEWYTATMIF% clumbsy and/or non-fluid costs time which costs outs which leaves people on base. as far as how they make up with it on the bat...im not concerned about that. im not advocating playing either izturis or cedeno over theriot, but im not gonna pretend just cuz theriot made some errors that its beginning and end of how he or anyone plays the position.

The next outstanding play Izzy makes this year will be his first as well. The team is not hitting enough right now to have him in the lineup. He is not the player he was in 2004.

izzy's made more than few "woah" plays this year...more recently an awesome izzy/derosa DP. derosa's so damn skilled in the field...he's pretty damn amazing. he can throw straight and with velocity no matter which way his body is moving. izzy just seems to "be there" a lot more than SS's of the past when a ball is hit...too bad his bat isnt there. he's got like 4 gidp this season in semi-limited action...meh.

Here's a John Sickels piece I came across that discusses the challenge of judging minor league players' defensive skills. http://www.minorleagueball.com/story/2007/2/15/15013/7071 Here's the relevant passage: "Defense is difficult to measure using statistics, at least the minor league level. Reliability can be measured fairly well using traditional fielding percentage. But range is more important, developmentally, than reliability, and it is hard to measure range at the minor league level. Range factor is a flawed stat since it doesn't account well for team context. Zone ratings are more useful, but we don't have access to these at the minor league level yet. Generally, I rely on scouts for information about arm strength and range, since the numbers are not consistently reliable at this point."

if, in 2 months, the Cubs' bats have warmed up and the offense is clicking, you can live with the automatic out from Izturis's slot in the order. until then, he'll continue to infuriate.

Rory: "Joey, as interesting as your life stories are I think that as someone who has played in some level of pro ball knows that the field at any level in the minors is far from the perfection found in the bigs. Consequently, the .951 fielding percentage needs to be compared with fielding percentage of SS in the minors. You are comparing apples to oranges otherwise." You are kidding, right?? i work in minor league baseball and I can tell you from first hand experience that while the fields are not the same, they are only slightly worse. it is not like they are playing on some sandlot somewhere in the Dominican Republic.

john sickles...a man that knows how to marry stats and scouting. i dont always agree with some of his assessments but he generally explains himself without a bias toward either stats or scouting (which using both) to fully predict what a player is capable of...something which embarrassingly shows itself in other places. bit ballsy how he "grades" prospects, but the dude lays it out on the line without getting vague with his reasonings.

a guy like todd walker can blow double plays all day without a single negative stat popping up. ------ I agree with this. The don't credit anything negative for a fielder's choice for the defense, but we all know when it's a blown double play. I wonder if the John DeWan fielding bible addresses this in any way?

Not to worry. If the ball goes between Theriot's legs, Felix will be there to back him up and throw the guy out at first.

Do you REALLY think that there are that many balls that Izzy gets to that Theriot would not to make up for a 105 point drop in OBP? I mean really.. what are we talking here, one or two per day at the most?

I guess it's feasible that you might actually think that, on second thought. And, I'll say it again, I think a lot of us agree that this isn't the best idea for a long term solution. We need somebody at short who can catch and throw and actually you know, hit the ball to the outfield grass.

"Izturis will make more plays than Theriot and save more hits. It’s not just about errors. You can’t make an error on a ball you can’t get to." Well, we have already SEEN what Itsturis can do. Including his three-in-one-game day. Since Theriot has played one game there, with no incidents, let's give him a chance. He has earned it. Itz-TURD-is has not. Apparently the manager agrees.

Anyway - I think in CHAD's head he really thinks of Izzy as the IZZY of 3-4 years ago. He ain't that fast now, has put on weight, and double-clutches the ones he gets to. I think CHAD is really over-rating Izzy's value and difference where range is a factor here - based on the old Gold Glove version. Sorry to bust the bubble, CHAD, but we didn't get that version. Theriot is faster, and does have range too, imo.

the old rookie/A ball parks were pieces of f'n work...seen better looking little league fields in some places. the hickory crawdads (low-A) used to play on a field that was in worse condition (not by much at all, but really a condition of the soil it was on) than the little league field i played on. it also looked like a field you could just walk onto and play a pickup game. the practice fields were even worse. they got a nice "real" looking ballpark now that was built in the early 90s. there's minor league park factors in weird ways...more than a few southern parks, especially the low-minors parks have less than quality IF/OF soil causing both running/fielding problems and affecting how the ball acts. out in arizona/mexico some of those infields are so rock solid its not uncommon for a bunt that would die in the Sally League to bounce to 3rd in the Cal League. there's also the PCL vs. IL power advantage to the PCL...also an assumed batter's advantage for parks like Col Springs, Tucson's, etc... all in all its no different than handicapping someone's stats who's playing 1/2 their games in TEX/COL...its just harder to get solid/useful info to the general fan about how parks play and how you should handicap things.

Khalil Greene...contemporary, generally considered a good glove man, right? http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/G/Khalil-Greene.shtml had a fielding percentage over .950 once... Bobby Crosby is pretty similar too... I'm not going to compare him to Vizquel or something, but I'm not going to put much merit into his minor league numbers. On the other hand, I will put merit into Piniella saying in spring training that he's probably better suited for the right side of the infield. Like Barrett, he's going to have to hit to keep his job. If anything, I'd move him when Marquis and possibly Z pitch. Hill and Lilly as lefties are worrisome too, but there more flyball pitchers.

and I know crunch already mentioned the part about when Marquis pitches, so don't want to act like I'm claiming ownership on that one.

Listening to WSCR, and they just mentioned something that I had not realized. Theriot spent most of his time in the minors as a switch hitter. That means that probably at least two thirds of his AB's in the minors were left-handed, a side which he has now abandoned. I would really like to see these stats. Does anyone have a link to minor league stats that might show Theriot's stats from each side of the plate?

I guess you'll have to forgive me for approaching this as a pitcher. And I think Joey would agree with me. If you'll get me more run support, and you'll get on base so the sluggers can drive you in, I'll settle with you not making fantastic plays. It's considerably less frustrating for me to watch you not be able to come up with a ball that was hit in the hole as opposed to you GIDP'ing or never getting a hit with 2 outs and keeping us from from scoring. Making a great play is just icing on the cake maybe once or twice every other start. You make the routine plays on a regular basis and you're fine in my book. I'll even deal with a few more errors here and there if you're getting on base a lot. I can work around a missed play here or there by inducing a couple more ground balls with a splitty or two. It's when I have to do that when I'm constantly behind 3-1 or 2-0 every inning when I go to the mound that gets me upset. In what is quite likely a related story, there aren't very many pitchers that are/were great managers.

I wish they would break out these stats by whether he was hitting from the left or right side...

Anyone noticed that they don't have any fielding records for Theriot's 2004 season at Daytona, yet he racked up 330 AB, supposedly playing 2b-SS? Weird...

Wes, there are a lot of ex-catchers and ex-shortstops as managers, so defensive experience is pretty important. Heck, I wouldn't have minded if the Cubs had hired an ex-catcher last winter! Why there aren't more ex-pitchers is a good question, but I gather that the pitching coach is second in command in the dugout, and he's always an ex-pitcher.

Let's clarify somethings, Wes, I am not saying that Izzy's defense makes up of the lack of production. I am also not saying it does. I am saying that you cannot compare fielding percentages to determine fielding ability. Rob, I no way, shape or form is my opinion Sabremetric. I prefer to evaluate defense in the very subjective manner of watching them play. Evaluation by eye. This goes against the very core of Sabremetrics.

Wes: "I know shortstop is the most important defensive position on the field. But, at the same time, at what point do you deal with 3 more errors per 100 chances in favor of greatly improved offense?" Like someone mentioned above having Lee at 1B should help Theriot a bunch, so with that in mind, I would take the offense over the defense until the point comes when the defense is just killing you. Also, Izturis has not impressed me thus far this year. He has had a couple very nice plays, but overall he hasn't been anything close to GG caliber.

I no way, shape or form is my opinion Sabremetric. I prefer to evaluate defense in the very subjective manner of watching them play. Evaluation by eye. This goes against the very core of Sabremetrics. so you say...you're wrong, but so you say. It's been the "sabermetric" stance that old-school fielding statistics are pretty useless that it's better to figure out how many plays a fielder makes in a field as opposed to how many he botches which is essentially what errors and fielding percentages do. I'm oversimplyfing it of course, but there are number of advanced defensive metrics which certainly not perfect, measure defense by the plays made. and then of course there's Dewan's new "Fielding Bible" which (and you'll love this Chad), they watch EVERY play of every game and basically assign a +/- rating for each fielder. There's no reason you can't marry observation with objective analysis.

and I'm not getting into a sabermetric argument with you today so you're welcome to respond, but I'm already done with it...

I never thought I'd think this, but I kinda miss Ol' Silent Towel. On those days when time was limited I used to scan for his entries just to see what he'd have to say THAT day, and read the responses to him. Very entertaining.

Word on the street is that Theriot tried switch hitting a little bit in the minors. If that's true, then it probably seriously impacted his batting numbers. ANOTHER word on the street is that Theriot played SS at LSU. I don't know if it's true, but it might be. I really don't think there's any way to know for sure. They generally don't keep records about either one of those things.

"I really don’t think there’s any way to know for sure." Was this supposed to be funny? Are you a professional comic or something?

"I never thought I’d think this, but I kinda miss Ol’ Silent Towel." Please speak for yourself.

yeah, maybe the cubs can go sign ryan jorgensen from where the hell ever he ended up and bring up fontenot to play with theriot..have a cubs/lsu reunion. at least do it vs. the rockies when brad hawpe comes to town. =p

I know you probably won't respond but the definition of Sabremetrics is the objective analysis of baseball through statistics. They purposefully invented this as a way of combating subjective analysis. So I don't know you can call my opinion Sabremetric, when I explicitly base it on subjective analysis.

Some other subpar minor league defensive showings (all seasons that said player accrued at least 50 games) level in parenthesis THERIOT - .956(A), .967(A), .953(AA),..should also be noted that in 2002, 2003, and 2005 Theriot started games at both SS and 2B during those seasons...the other guys haven't jumped around that much. C.Izturis - .951(A), .949(AAA) he never played in AA O.Vizquel - .938(A), .948(AA) twice, .959(AA) Jeter - .889(A), .961 (AA), .955(AAA), .953(AAA) Jose Reyes - .964(A), .940(A), .969(AAA) never played AA Alex Gonzalez(CIN) .932(A), .943(AA), .960(AAA) Renteria - .934(A), 959(A), .944(AA), .959(AAA) Juan Uribe - .938(A), .961(A), .960(AAA) K.Greene - .949(AA), .967(AAA) Jack Wilson - .940(A), 943(A), .941(A), .966(AAA) Furcal - .912(A), .961 (RKball) O.Cabrera - .964(A), .942(A), .964(AA) M. Tejada - .930(A), .926(A), .948(AA)

Look at you, Bogey. Excellent stuff.

Theriot's SS FP's at each level: 2001 Daytona - 0.944 2002 Lansing - 0.956 2003 Lansing - 0.909 2003 W. Tenn. - 0.953 2004 Daytona - Data missing 2005 W. Tenn - 0.953

"yeah, maybe the cubs can go sign ryan jorgensen from where the hell ever he ended up and bring up fontenot to play with theriot..have a cubs/lsu reunion. at least do it vs. the rockies when brad hawpe comes to town. =p" ================= I grew up in Baton Rouge, so I'd love this. And something we shouldn't suggest (because Hendry's likely to do it) is to bring back Ben McDonald.

I'm just glad our writers at TCR are "classy" enough not to go around talking shit in their competitions comments. I mean, that would be a real douchebag thing to do, right?

"Theriot’s SS FP’s at each level: 2001 Daytona - 0.944 2002 Lansing - 0.956 2003 Lansing - 0.909 2003 W. Tenn. - 0.953 2004 Daytona - Data missing 2005 W. Tenn - 0.953" need to note the small sample size in some of those season though. Theriot only played 30 games at SS in 2001, 7 games in 2003 Lansing for that .909%...and only 36 games in 2005. Injured in 04.

It says higher up in the page that he had 330 AB's, playing in 103 G's in 2004. That is why I said data was missing.

Yeah, Bogey. I know that the sample size is small, but I just wanted to serparate out the numbers from him when he was playing 2b, because I don't think that those number really apply to him playing SS. Just like I would like to separate out the number from when he was hitting left-handed earlier in his career... Oh well...

Vorare: I was going to flame the shit out of that assclown but I didn't want to be the first person to every post there. How sad.

Cardinal blog- No wonder he came over to the Cubs blogs he has move zero comments then Paris Hilton watching Jeopardy. And Rob G why don't you guys put your mugs on the homepage?!?!? ;-) What happen to using the 1978 Cubs starting rotation as the pictures?

I am not following this discussion about the guy who writes the Cards' mvn page...

And Rob G why don’t you guys put your mugs on the homepage?!?!? See the Cardinals MVN site...

I saw NDM, the moral of the story is don't make fun of the commissioner's notes when you're in last place.

Is the Cards guy allowing comments this weekend, or did the chicken-shit close them off like he did last weekend? I said it before, but it bares repeating, what kind of giant douche goes to another website to taunt fans of a rival team, writes "bring it" on his own blog, and then deletes comments by Cub fans and closes his own comments when they do in fact "bring it"? I'll take drunken yuppies throwing trash onto a baseball field over that kind of cowardly nonsense any day of the week.

I wasn't making fun. I was rallying the team. And, according to my page, I'm in second place.

BOGEY: You STAT GURU! But - we wanna see RFs! In the minors and compared w/LSU. JACE wants to know. Its killing him! ;)

ah, but you and NHF were making fun of the Nick Johnson note, hence my reply. I have powers that reach beyond your wildest imagination.

Ahhh...GOTCHA. I was wondering why we were singled out. I mean, I know why JOE was singled out, but my staff's gonna lead me straight to the top. It all makes sense now. I make so many dumb comments that I can't even keep track of them. And don't you worry. The NDM has nothing but respect for the Commish.

All minor leaguers field worse than they do in the bigs. 1. That's what the minors are for, learning 2. The fields are worse 3, The other players are worse. (Lee vs Haufpauir for example).

Recent comments

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Javier Assad started the Lo-A game (Myrtle Beach versus Stockton) on the Cubs backfields on Wednesday as his final Spring Training tune-up. He was supposed to throw five innings / 75 pitches. However, I was at the minor league road games at Fitch so I didn't see Assad pitch. 

  • crunch (view)

    cards put j.young on waivers.

    they really tried to make it happen this spring, but he put up a crazy bad slash of .081/.244/.108 in 45PA.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Seconded!!!

  • crunch (view)

    another awesome spring of pitching reports.  thanks a lot, appreciated.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Here are the Cubs pitchers reports from Tuesday afternoon's Cardinals - Cubs game art Sloan Park in Mesa:

    SHOTA IMANAGA
    FB: 90-92 
    CUT: 87-89 
    SL: 82-83 
    SPLIT: 81-84
    CV: 73-74 
    COMMENT: Worked three innings plus two batters in the fourth... allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits (six singles and two doubles) walked one, and struck out six (four swinging), with a 1/2 GO/AO... he threw 73 pitches (52 strikes - 10 swing & miss - 19 foul balls)... surrendered one run in the top of the 1st on a one-out double off Cody Bellinger's glove in deep straight-away CF followed one out later by two consecutive two-out bloop singles, allowed two runs (one earned) in the 2nd after retiring the first two hitters (first batter had a nine-pitch AB with four consecutive two-strike foul balls before being retired 3 -U) on a two-out infield single (weak throw on the run by Nico Hoerner), a hard-contact line drive RBI double down the RF line, and an E-1 (missed catch) by Imanaga on what should been an inning-ending 3-1 GO, gave up another run in the 3rd on a two-out walk on a 3-2 pitch and an RBI double to LF, and two consecutive singles leading off the top of the 4th before being relieved (runners were ultimately left stranded)... threw 18 pitches in the 1st inning (14 strikes - two swing & miss, one on FB and the other on a SL - four foul balls), 24 pitches in the 2nd inning (17 strikes - three swing & miss, one on FB, two SPLIT - six foul balls), 19 pitches in the 3rd inning (13 strikes - seven swing & miss, three on SL, two on SPLIT, one on FB - three foul balls), and 12 pitches without retiring a batter in the top of the 4th (8 strikes - no swing & miss - four foul balls)... Imanaga throws a lot of pitches per inning, but it's not because he doesn't throw strikes...  if anything, he throws too many strikes (he threw 70% strikes on Tuesday)... while he gets a ton of swing & miss (and strikeouts), he also induces a lot of foul balls because he doesn't try to make hitters chase his pitches by throwing them out of the strike zone... rather, he uses his very diverse pitch mix to get swing & miss (and lots of foul balls as well)... he also is a fly ball pitcher who will give up more than his share of HR during the course of the season...   
     
    JOE NAHAS
    FB: 90-92 
    SL: 83-85 
    CV: 80-81 
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day... relieved Imanaga with runners at first and second and no outs in the top of the 4th, and after an E-2 catcher's interference committed by Miguel Amaya loaded he bases, Nahas struck out the side (one swinging & two looking)... threw 16 pitches (11 strikes - two swinging)...   

    YENCY ALMONTE
    FB: 89-92 
    CH: 86 
    SL: 79 
    COMMENT: Threw an eight-pitch 5th (five strikes - no swing & miss), with a 5-3 GO for the first out and an inning-ending 4-6-3 DP after a one-out single... command was a bit off but he worked through it...   

    FRANKIE SCALZO JR
    FB: 94-95
    CH: 88 
    SL: 83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 6th inning... got the first outs easily (a P-5 and a 4-3 GO) on just three pitches, before allowing three consecutive two-out hard-contact hits (a double and two singles), with the third hit on pitch # 9 resulting in a runner being thrown out at the plate by RF Christian Franklin for the third out of the inning... 

    MICHAEL ARIAS
    FB: 94-96
    CH: 87-89
    SL: 82-83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and allowed a hard-contact double on the third pitch of the 7th inning (a 96 MPH FB), and the runner came around to score on a 4-3 GO and a WP... gave up two other loud contact outs (an L-7 and an F-9)... threw 18 pitches (only 10 strikes - only one swing & miss)... stuff is electric but still very raw and he continues to have difficulty commanding it, and while he has the repertoire of a SP, he throws too many pitches-per-inning to be a SP and not enough strikes to be a closer... he is most definitely still a work-in-progress...   

    ZAC LEIGH: 
    FB: 93-94 
    CH: 89 
    SL: 81-83 
    CV: 78
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and tossed a 1-2-3 8th (4-3 GO, K-swinging on a sweeper, K-looking on another sweeper)... threw 14 pitches (11 strikes - one swing & miss - eight foul balls)... kept pumping pitches into the strike zone but had difficulty putting hitters away (ergo a ton of foul balls)... FB velo is nowhere near the 96-98 MPH it was a couple of years ago when he was a Top 30 prospect, but his secondaries are better...   

    JOSE ROMERO:  
    FB: 93-95
    SL: 82-84
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 9th (14 pitches - only six strikes- no swing & miss) and allowed a solo HR after two near-HR fly outs to the warning track, before getting a 3-1 GO to end the inning... it was like batting practice when he wasn't throwing pitches out of the strike zone...

  • crunch (view)

    pablo sandoval played 3rd and got a couple ABs (strikeout, single!) in the OAK@SF "exhibition"

    mlb officially authenticated the ball of the single he hit.  nice.

    he's in surprisingly good shape considering his poor body condition in his last playing seasons.  he's not lean, but he looks healthier.  good for him.

  • crunch (view)

    dbacks are signing j.montgomery to a 1/25m with a vesting 20m player option.

    i dunno when the ink officially dries, but i believe if he signs once the season begins he can't be offered a QO...and i'm not sure if that thing with SD/LAD in korea was the season beginning, either.

  • crunch (view)

    sut says imanaga getting the home opener at wrigley (game 4 of the season).

  • crunch (view)

    cubs rolling out the who's who of "who the hell is this guy?" in the last spring game.

  • videographer (view)

    AZ Phil, speaking of Jordan Wicks having better command when he tires a bit, I remember reading about Dennis Lamp 40 years ago and his sinker that was better after 3 or 4 innings when he would tire a bit and get more sink with a little less speed on the pitch.  The key for Lamp was getting to the 4th inning.