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

Rest Of NL Lets The Cubs Down

In Tuesday night's 78th All-Star Game, the American League beat the National League 5-4, the tenth consecutive ASG victory for the AL. The Cubs' Alfonso Soriano brought the NL to within a run with a two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth, but after J.J. Hardy, Derrek Lee, and Orlando Hudson walked to load the bases, the Angels' Frankie Rodriguez retired Aaron Rowand to secure the win. All in all, the Cubs acquitted themselves quite nicely. In addition to his ninth inning walk, Lee had a single and a stolen base. Soriano went 1-for-3. Total Cub production for the night: 2-for-5 with 2 RBI, a walk, a run scored, and a stolen base. The National League clearly owes the Cubs a debt of gratitude for the effort. Maybe they will grant the Cubs an automatic berth in the post-season. That would be nice. Update: Prince Albert is mad at Tony LaRussa for leaving him on the bench while Rowand flew out to end the game. Considering that "this game counts," it did seem like an odd decision.

Comments

Lee also had a couple nice defensive plays. Was a fun game, good chat and Ichiro is god.

superdave, you love the fact that possibly the best player in baseball didn't bat with the game on the line and home field advantage in the world series hanging in the balance?

(both threads) http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/story/10252843 Puljos pissed "It's the All-Star Game. He can do what he wants," Pujols said Tuesday night. "He does whatever he wants. If I wasn't expecting to play, I wouldn't have come up here."

OMG! The HOP. Hits vs. outs percentage just got introduced and they used the worst example. So funny. Did anyone see it too? I tivoed it and will put it on you tube if necessary.

Chad, I agree that it's mind-bogglingly idiotic to keep a guy like Pooholes on the bench in that kind of situation, but superdave might have a point. LaRussa and Pooholes were sort of going back and forth at each other after the game through the press, and any lingering feelings there might have a negative effect on the Cardinals in the second half of the season. When they're expecting Mulder and Carpenter back, we could use all the help we can get to keep the Cards at bay... Also, I didn't watch the game (followed it on Gameday), but I saw that it didn't start till 755pm CST. Was it really supposed to start at 7pm, and they had almost an hour of crap beforehand?! What the hell were they doing on the field during that time--calculating Pi to a thousand digits?!

So Young gives up 2 ER and Soriano gets the NL 2 right back. Can't help but Wonder if Z was in there instead of Young would we have home field? Clearly the cubs are the key to the entire NL winning or losing.

also, hopefully the pujols rift forces LaRussa and the GM to Cincy, cause SL would be losers for a long time if that happened regardless of Pujols.

Sounds like a big turd. Glad I turned off after the first inning. Tonyball is stupid. Rowand was the concensus "shouldn't have been there in the first place" guy in the game this year - so they give him the most important AB? Ha.

ZHL, if there was EVER one of those guys, it was the whole Mark Redman debacle...talk about an argument against the one-guy-per-team rule! Didn't he have like a 5.something ERA that year and only got selected because he still was the Royals' best pitcher? At least guys like Dmitri Young and Carl Crawford deserve All-Star recognition despite their overwhelmingly awful teams. (Come to think of it, Gil Meche this year hasn't really been anything to write home about either...)

I was talking about this year. You can at least make an argument for Meche, plus he was the only Royal. The Phillies already had Howard and Utley. Rowand's numbers are solid but NL All-Star worthy for an OF? Plus he's missed time. Overall there weren't too many guys to bitch about this year. Sanchez is the other one that raises an eyebrow ... should've taken Gorzalenny or Snell. Redman was definitely a terrible recent choice. Lance Carter also jumps to mind ... ERA of 6 in a year when Carl Crawford was killing the ball.

Gil Meche's WAPR1, 3.8 Young's 2.9 Crawfords' 1.8 - mostly due to some attrocious fieling nubmers according to BP

Reman got knocked around in two starts after he got named, as I recall. That was a really bad team though.

I knew there were two dreadful choices when Carter was picked ... but I was blanking. The other was Mike Williams from Pittsburgh. Another ghastly ERA made it on account of NL needing a reliever and a Pirate and he being the closer.

My concern would be that Pujols has something to prove now in the second half to Larussa. That would suck.

Rowand was the concensus “shouldn’t have been there in the first place” guy in the game this year He was? Rowand has arguably been the best CF in the National League this year. He is second in OPS behind only Hunter Pence, and has a 46 point OPS advantage over Carlos Beltran, who may just be the most overrated player in baseball.

Somehow the bottom of the 9th non-decision isn't surprising from the guy who passed out drunk at the wheel with his foot on the brake during the pre-season. Do they serve beer in the clubhouse in San Francisco?

It was interesting that when Rowand was selected by LaRussa it wasn't for his offense. He his choice of Rowand over other guys like Eric Byrnes was because he "wanted a true centerfielder on his bench for defensive purposes." What would have been great was if Pujols did pinch hit and tied the game and it went into extras, then we would have likely seen Pujols go in at 1st for D-Lee, and pinch hitter Dmitri Young stay in the game as an outfielder for Rowand. That would have been fun!

Or Pujols himself in the outfield, which would have been interesting as well.

Hey............The best part of the game was watching Bruce(I don't deserve to be here) Froemming get drilled twice with foul tips in the ninth inning. There really is a God.

Not substituting Pujols for Rowand didn't surprise me as much as not substituting Pujols for Hudson. Buck and McCarver (ugh) were discussing the fact that LaRussa had designated Pujols his "middle infield replacement" for the game. With two on and Hudson up, I was sure he would get taken down for Pujols, as LaRussa had already expressed his willingness to play him anywhere on the infield. In the end it didn't make a difference, and the way Rodriguez was pitching, Pujols likely would have gotten the same free pass. Nonetheless, he potentially could have done his damage and kept the bat out of Rowand's hands, or if he had managed to even it up, it would have kept three real outfielders in the outfield. Tonyball: You can have it, St. Louis. And way to piss off your prima donna star over a (mostly) still meaningless game.

Dave: Yep. It's the ASG. No one cares if you play CF. The defense is always a mish-mash anways. Compare Rowand against all OFs. There's plenty of guys who "Could" play CF that don't regularly do so for their regular teams. It's all about the bats. Rowand's a solid MLB player having an above-average year in a hitting-friendly ballpark, not a perennial All-Star or stud-hitting CF.

Didn't watch the game last night, as the announcing crew is way too nausea-inducing. The Cubs have been homer-less for over a week, and Alf goes yard in an exhibition? I hope he (as well as the other Cubs) can get the home runs going when the games start counting again.

Compare Rowand against all OFs. Okay... he is still 10th in the NL in OPS. When you add in his gold-glove defense, he has had a hell of a year. He is also 4th in the NL among OF in winshares. And he is 7th in VORP among OF, which doesn't include defense. He really has been one of the best OF in the NL over the first half of the season.

Hell, Cesar F@#%^&*$N Izturis made an All Star team. So did Ron Coomer. Its not exactly on-par with getting Knighted at this point.

Yes. We agree that Rowand is having an above-average year at the plate, in a hitter's ballpark. He is also an incredibly average major league for his career - 283/341/450 with 77 HRs and 301 RBIs in more than 2,500 plate appearances, while playing with two good offensive teams in two good offensive ballparks. Nothing to sneeze at, considering he's a good defender and a good guy to boot. But give me someone who's done it year in and year out, even if he's a little off his career numbers through the first 85 games this year.

But give me someone who’s done it year in and year out, even if he’s a little off his career numbers through the first 85 games this year. The ASG isn't a career award. Otherwise Frank Thomas, Sammy Sosa, and Craig Biggio all should have made the team. The ASG is about how they have played this year.

I really dislike Tony LaRussa because he's always got be "I'm making important decisions! Look at me!" about stuff. I'm smarter than you! You could never understand my genius! Let my star player be angry at me. This is America. blah blah blah Uh, skipper. You lost the game last night for the NL. Do I want the career .279 hitter with the game on the line or do I want the career .332 hitter? Do I want over 250 career home runs or do I want less than 75 career homers? Will at deadspin best conveyed my feelings about LaRussa this morning: "he's so busy thinking about how he's three steps ahead of everyone else that he walks smack dab into a pole."

Perhaps the ASG should consider doing the same rotation for the announcers? I would have liked to have heard McCarver for only the 1st maybe. Santo not at all. Pat could have done the 5th. Scully an inning if he would promise to stay away from stories like, "Wright, at an early age, collected Hot Wheels".

If you're going to make the game count, you have to eliminate the fan vote. Or at least downgrade its importance in the decision. Say, 33% fan vote, 33% player vote, 33% manager's discretion. And forget about every team being represented. Having the game's outcome decide home-field advantage is yet another extremely poor decision by Bud Selig.

If you’re going to make the game count, you have to eliminate the fan vote. Where did the fans mess up? And ZHL - my guess is most people don't see the A-Ram deal as an "offseason move" because he stayed with the same team.

hell, for value on return with surprise factor...even with the injuries hamilton has to be a #1. cheap this year...cheap next year...cheap the year after that. so far he's everything on early-returns that willie mo pena was supposed to be for 2-3 teams. crazy that an organization who's made so so so many iffy moves with it personnel can strike gold with a guy who's pretty much been outta organizaed baseball for 2+ years.

Wisc Grad, Pujols played all the corner postion when he came up and Holliday does have some CF expirence at Coors. AT&T has a small CF like Wrigley and they would have fine. If he pinch hit for Hudson, Sanchez could have played 2b his postion this year in Pit and Pujols could have played 3b where he played in the minors.

What did the rest of you think about the comments by the Fox apologist for Barry Bonds. Sometimes better to say nothing at all than to say something and come off as idiots. The gist of the comments ranged from "we don't really know if Barry cheated" to the one I liked best, which was "what gets lost in the mix in this discussion is that Barry already was a lock to be in the hall of fame before the suspicions arose." Okay, maybe, maybe not, but who cares? What, when a player gets to the point where he has a good shot to make the hall of fame, then it is okay to cheat and get records by cheating? Give me a break. Seriously. The clowns on Fox were too much to take with their lack of any journalistic integrity or objectivity on the subject of Bonds.

Hmm... 100 Million for Ichiro over 5 years. If Ichiro gets 100 million, how much does A-Rod get?

Yeah, the Bonds lovefest got to me, too. The fact that he was already en route to Cooperstown before BALCO just makes the whole thing that much worse. This wasn't a borderline player trying to compete or an aging vet trying to squeeze out a few more years with the help of the roids; this was a Hall of Fame calibre player that got greedy and wanted to see his name plastered all over the record books.

I hear ARod gets $30 million a year, and I hear the Angels, Giants and others will be happy to pay it.

my problem with the bonds thing was they spent almost an entire inning talking about 1 man and his drugs insted of the game on the field. bonds and his drugs is a legit baseball story worthy of bringing up to the public during a telecast like the A/S game from a journalistic/editorial (yeah i know these announcers arent journalists) point of view. still, they beat that dead horse down then danced around it for way too long.

Ichiro is an unbelievably gifted ballplayer. He is a 4-tool superstar. I have never seen a better outfielder in right field (he now plays center). Never. That includes Ellis Valentine and Vlad Guerrero. Ichiro has the most accurate and deadly throwing arm in baseball. I didn't say the strongest (that honor would go to Vlad), but the best. He also is a vacuum cleaner in the outfield. And his hitting is simply amazing. A nationwide audience got small taste of his greatness last evening.

The thing about the whole steroid issue is deeper than the black and white, cheat/non cheat that everyone makes it out to be. 95% of the players in organized ball, work out and use supplaments regularly. Most of these "legal" supplaments are doing basically the same thing as the "roids" Barry was alleged to use. As technology evolves in the future. The imaginary line in the sand will become harder and harder to see. The reason people make all this deal about Barry Bonds. Yet give a free pass to Gary Sheffield and Jason Giambi ( who both admitted to taking steroids). Is 100% because Barry Bonds is and has been a world class prick. Sportswriters tend to be petty and hold grudges as a general rule. If Cal Ripken was in a HR chase like Bonds is right now. I suspect that the vitrol wouldnt be nearly as bad.

bonds being a dick, bonds being near a major record, bonds giving out waaaaaaaaay too many sketchy sound bites to the press instead of shutting the hell up... he's got a mixed bag of PR things going against him from his actions, to his words, to the lack of words some in the public think they're entitled to hear... my take on this whole mlb/roids thing...its not new, players knew, teams knew, mlb brass knew...THEY dropped the ball. they screwed up. they waited too long. they stonewalled attempted changes (and im not even talking about this whole govt. probe thing). now some record is on the line and people wanna get outraged and bud "flake" selig...a man who helped cultivate this atmosphere...wont commit to go sitting and honoring a situation he had a part in creating via turning a blind eye...bond's eventual breaking of aaron's record.

Wes - I am pretty surprised that the strike zone is being called at least moderately close to the way it is supposed to be. I would have expected these measured strikezones to be much smaller than the rulebook ones... It sure seems that way sometimes... It often appears that some umpires have strike zones about the size of a cantelope....

Crunch, Do you feel that it's a conflict of interest that Aaron played for the team that Selig owned? If Bonds was breaking Frank Robinson's HR record. Would Bud Selig ultimately care?

honestly...i think this bonds/selig situation has more to do with bonds' current public image along with the fact anything bonds does after will be recorded history probably available on DVD within a year and part of a very public permanent record of history. i think this has more to do with how selig feels about his legacy rather than what his job is as commissioner.

Can someone please clarify to me why Carl Crawford got a home run in the 4th/5th inning? I was watching the game with 3 other people and we all clearly saw a fan reach over the wall in RF and grab his ball before it bounced off the wall. Are the bricks considered an automatic home run or something?

At the same time, Jace, there are umps who will ring guys up on pitches a foot outside. Some guys call it tight, some guys have a zone big enough to drive Daryle Ward through. And some guys have no rhyme, reason, or consistency to their zone. (I'm looking at you, Froemming.) What really surprised me about that article is how much larger the outside corner is, on average, for left-handed batters. Almost 5 inches further outside. That's an awful lot.

I'm pretty sure they're not because I remember the other ball that bounced straight off the bricks (and that idiot Joe Buck claimed he never saw a ball carom off a wall that way....meaning bounce straight off) which was a triple.

Coulda been fan interference, but they didn't call it.

The reason people make all this deal about Barry Bonds. Yet give a free pass to Gary Sheffield and Jason Giambi ( who both admitted to taking steroids). Not only do they give a free pass to Shef and Giambi, but people also completely ignore the fact that significantly more pitchers have been caught than hitters. Over 2/3 of those caught and suspended for PED have been pitchers. Yet all anyone cares about is home runs.

Yeah, I saw they didn't call it, in fact they didn't even comment on it, but it seemed to me to be pretty blatantly obvious. Like Jeffrey Maier blatant. In the dugout replays you can see some players going "oh shit!" and then realizing that the umpires didn't notice. If it was a real game I'm pretty sure Tony would've said something about it.

"Over 2/3 of those caught and suspended for PED have been pitchers." Most of those pitchers have been relievers, too.

I think it's a much bigger problem among pitchers than anybody has idea about. I think if the real list came out of guys who took steroids, you'd be shocked how many pitchers are on there. I'll say this. I've got a pretty good idea of about 8-10 guys in the bigs who did and suddenly stopped when the new policy went into effect. The signs are there.

Give us initials Wes, we'll guess. or email me and consider it payment for this wonderful free service we provide. :) (an no I'm not kidding, I promise to keep it quiet)

How about we randomly name, say, 150 starting pitchers and 30 closers. You nod if we happen to name one who used.

ARM, It bothered the shit out of me too. I knew McCarver (former player) and Rosenthal (not wanting to piss off any of his Giants sources) werent going to say anything bad, but Rosenthal trying to codone it was terrible. Though Buck was just as bad too giving Bonds the benefit of the doubt, I guess players fake mooning fans who have a history of actually mooning visting players is much worse than people cheating. BTW don't you find it funny that the sports media has stopped covering the Benoit stuff, just as its found out his doctor was a roid suppiler for many pro athelets.

Just by looking at numbers, Helton seems to be a roid taker. He has went from being a 40-120 to 20-80 guy since the the policy shift.

chifan - while I agree that the numbers suggest Helton, I would not say that his body has shown much change....

I did play with guys in college summer leagues and short season who have been to the big leagues and a couple who are in the big leagues now and I did see some of them take stuff. But I won't be saying anything about that. Not really my place to do so. But here's the thing. Once you see how that affects guys when they try to stop, you look at the whole deal differently. Try to think of pitchers who had no arm/shoulder/elbow problems up until the steroid deal went down a couple years ago and now are some of the most oft-injured pitchers in baseball. There's your sure ticket. Can you seriously tell yourself that there multiple guys just suddenly develop chronic arm problems at the same time and it's just a coincidence? Look at all the Tommy John surgeries. Look at all the rotator cuff problems since '04. I really don't think those are just happenstance. The way steroids work for pitchers is that they allow you recover faster. You can get more mileage out of your arm every day with less pain afterwards. It's not necessarily about building muscle mass to make your throw harder. You can make it like that if you want, but you won't gain that much. Not worth the effort. If you're forced to stop taking that stuff, yet continue your previous work load, your arm is going to fall off. You're screwed. Can you recover from those problems and return to be successful? Maybe. Not likely. But some guys can build up enough strength to get back to halfway healthy. But, I bet you won't be as good as you were. If you take that into account, it's hard for me to look at guys like Gagne, Pettitte, Washburn, Bartolo, Pavano, Timlin, and, yes, Prior and Wood and think that they just suddenly can't stay healthy for no reason. Did Woody's mechanics play a part in that? Certainly. Same goes for the rest of those guys. Did they all certainly take steroids? No. We'll never know. But they show the signs you're looking for in pitchers who stopped around the time the commissioner put his foot down.

That's just my opinion. Take it or leave it. Disagree with it if you like. I won't be mad at you. I probably won't even argue with you about it. Those are my thoughts based on what I've seen.

ChiFan . . . also, by the standard that the Fox idiots were applying to Bonds last night (what is the big deal, he was hall of fame bound even before the suspicions), Pete Rose should be in the hall of fame. I mean, wasn't Pete bound for the hall of fame before he started betting on games? Before the FOX idiots make stupid statements like it is not a big deal that Bonds maybe used drugs because he was gonna be in the hall anyway, they should stop for a moment and think if the standard they want to apply to Bonds has already been rejected by major league baseball. And, Crunch, I agree with you that they would have been lots better off last night to just not have addressed the issue of steroids at all. Sure, some might have criticized them for that but, for me, they deserve lots more criticism for the way they handled the issue. I wonder whether those guys will be at all embarrassed ten years from now if someone plays that tape back for them?

The "known" steroid crowd. 1. Mark McGwire 2. Sam-ME Sosa 3. Rafael Palmiero 4. Ken Caminiti 5. Jason Giambi 6. Barry Bonds 7. Gary Sheffield Say you what you want, but 99% of the free world believes, at some level, that these guys took illegal performance enhancing drugs. McGwire, Sosa, Palmiero and Giambi have ZERO shot ever to get into the Hall of Fame. In fact, I'll go out on a limb and make the bold prediction that none of these four ever receive even 50% of the vote of the BBWOA during their 15 year window of eligibility. And rightly so. Something tells me that Bonds will eventually get into the Hall, the argument being that he accumlated Hall worthy credentials prior to 1997 when his head and body size began to explode. Sheffield? He will be a borderline case because the link to steroids is more cloudy in his circumstance.

Barry Bonds is the lowest form of human excrement. He's a race baiter, a liar, and adulterer, a deadbeat dad, a shitty teammate, etc. He benefited greatest by Dusty Baker being his manager / enabler for 10 years. Dusty turned the other cheek to Bond's ill behavior and illegal misdeeds and is majorly responsible for the monster (both physically and metaphorically).

1. Mark McGwire 2. Sam-ME Sosa 3. Rafael Palmiero 4. Ken Caminiti 5. Jason Giambi 6. Barry Bonds 7. Gary Sheffield Nice try but Sosa is the only one on this list without any evidence against him. Everyone else has sworn testimony against them or their own admission. I know you love to deconstruct Sammy but he does not belong on that list.

Crunch, get back to me when each of the aforementioned gets shut down by the BBWOA. I'm sure you'll be the first dope in line to say Sam-ME Steroid had a brilliant career and that he didn't use steroids, didn't use a corked bat for years, didn't demand a separate set of rules for himself in contrast to his teammates, didn't play loud salsa music, didn't bunny hop and blow kisses like a freakin one man carnival act for Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey, wasn't reviled by many of his teammates (e.g., Wood, Grace),... Sosa is a piece of shit and a fraud. The majority of the baseball world believes this. In fact, the majority of Cubs fans believe this. Validation of this point will come five years after his retirement when the BBWOA vote for the Hall of Fame. I'm not going to argue the point with you or any of the other members of Captain Kirk's secret lair of baseball geeks on this board. Because I'm right. End o' subject.

"I’m sure you’ll be the first dope in line to say Sam-ME Steroid had a brilliant career and that he didn’t use steroids, didn’t use a corked bat for years, didn’t demand a separate set of rules for himself in contrast to his teammates, didn’t play loud salsa music, didn’t bunny hop and blow kisses like a freakin one man carnival act for Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey, wasn’t reviled by many of his teammates (e.g., Wood, Grace),…" That's the final straw, Sosa. I'll see you in hell before I see you in the Hall of Fame if you're going to insist on playing that loud, salsa music. There is no place in the Hall of Fame for maracas. Not now, not ever. End o' Subject

im not responding to that rant cuz i got no idea where my sudden love of sosa came from. i also didnt know that i thought sosa never used PEDs. i learn new stuff about myself everyday. im still trying to figure out how i got linked to sosa based on what i said anyway... all im saying is just cuz you want it to be a fact dont make it a fact. you cant just deem something a truth and act on it like your word is gospel. it also doesnt help defending your point by changing the point totally and loading the message/reply with insults....wait a minute...havent we had this conversation before? you seem familiar ripped towel...do you have a little sister?

"The majority of the baseball world believes this. In fact, the majority of Cubs fans believe this." Once again you show why he doesn't belong on your list. On your list he is the only one who people THINK did steroids while all the others, are KNOWN to use steroids.

In the case of Sam-ME Steroid. Think he did steroids = He did steroids The only person who doesn't think Sam-ME used performance enhancing drugs for nearly a decade is Sam-ME himself. The reason he took the 2006 season off was so he have sufficent time to rid his body of the remnants of the drug before being requested to pee in a cup. The fraud will get less than 25% of the Hall of Fame vote his first time on the ballot. And he will never get into Cooperstown. Not unless he buys a ticket.

"It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt." --A. Lincoln

That is so uncalled for, RT. I think, since we know that a game isn't going to happen until tomorrow, that what we really need is a trade to talk about. What of this righty that they are talking about bringing in?

"Thanks for the welcome back, but I won’t take the bait. Have a nice day." - Carlos Rubi Post of the year

Jace -- someone on Fox Sports said this morning that the Mariners have engaged in trade talks about Jeff Weaver. Interesting, but I don't see the Mariners moving him cheaply, because they're still in it and especially because he's had a 1.50 ERA in the past month and a half.

They were talking after the last game about the need for a righty bat to help them take on lefty pitching... The writer of the article (which I apologize for forgetting where it came from) seemed to think that it meant someone from outside the organization...

Must have missed the offending comment, not that I'm sorry about that. So did Captain Douchebag officially get himself banned?

Yeah, Rob, I would like to see that. Who knows if that is the kind of thing they are talking about...

Righty bats, probably/possibly available: Murton Cedeno Griffey T. Hunter A Jones A-Rod

Sure seems to me that the first two on that list would be by far the most probable... Who knows, though?

#110 Righty bats, probably/possibly available: Griffey huh?

I'm pretty sure you can't include Griffey in a list of righty bats, but I'd definitely like to see him in RF for the rest of the year. Even with the ever-present risk of injury, I think he's worth it. Also, I think you can probably check this out on the ESPN Radio podcasts, but Colin Cowherd went on for about half an hour yesterday about why he thinks A-Rod definitely ends up with the Cubs. He's usually kind of annoying, but I liked listening to that. His main arguments: 1) Piniella is a second father to him. 2) Only 3 teams he would consider going to: NYY, Red Sox, Dodgers. Of those, he won't go to the Red Sox because they hate him, and he doesn't want to destroy any goodwill he's built in NY this year. He won't go to the Dodgers because they aren't as high profile in their own town as the Lakers or USC football, and also their games aren't televised nationally very often due to late start times. 3) Lots of people get WGN (which the Cubs will remain on), and it offers an opportunity to further the brand of ARod. 4) Likes to not be the only star on the team so all the pressure isn't on his shoulders. Just like with the Yankees, he'll be able to blend in a bit with the Cubs with Soriano, Lee, Ramirez, possibly Z. Anyway, not really anything that's concrete or news, but it's nice to think about.

Righty bats, probably/possibly available: Griffey huh? Oops... wasn't thinking on that one. Yea - Griffey wouldn't exactly be an available righty bat. Though he may hit better righty than Jones/Pie hit lefty. :)

There is no place in the Hall of Fame for maracas. Not now, not ever. End o’ Subject ........................................................................................ Well Played Doug

There is no place in the Hall of Fame for maracas ------- I agree Jose Macias is in no way a hall of famer

We have racist comments when I'm not here? I thought I was the official TCR inappropriate comment guy?

Reggie Sanders is the right handed bat we need/should get. ARod is a pipe dream. I am a HUGE ARod fan, but I just don't see that happening. Torii Hunter. Good player but only a rental. Andruw Jones. Again a rental. but a damn good one at that. I don't see us getting him or the Braves trading him as they still have a good chance at the playoffs. Murton/Cedeno are right handed however, they are not the answer to our problems in any way shape or from.

"Must have missed the offending comment, not that I’m sorry about that. So did Captain Douchebag officially get himself banned?" If so, then 7/11 is a lucky day for us all.

"I think it’s a much bigger problem among pitchers than anybody has idea about..." You look at Prior these days, and his formerly massive calves look like toothpicks - sure he's been injured a lot, but that's quite a slimmed - down physique from what we first witnessed when he was called up from the minors. As for Sosa, his ridiculous performance at the congressional hearings went beyond farce - the guy's English skills were never a problem previously, but all of a sudden he needs an interpreter to answer a few questions? No mas, indeed.

"Word here in Seattle is that Adam Jones is about to be called up." So he gets tossed from the NFL and Adam Jones goes straight to the MLB? Makes sense, as someone probably told him that it "always rains" in Seattle. Oh wait, not Adam "Pacman" Jones? Nevermind.

I don't understand why people care that much about steroids. Honestly, who cares! It wasn't even against the rules at the time. And also, who cares!

"As for Sosa, his ridiculous performance at the congressional hearings went beyond farce - the guy’s English skills were never a problem previously, but all of a sudden he needs an interpreter to answer a few questions? No mas, indeed." You do realize that he doesn't speak english well at all, right. And he probably understands it worse. Remember all his commercials that he used to have? You know the "spicy taco" or the Pepsi commercial with Jr.? Remember how he didn't ever talk in the those commercials? The only one where he spoke was the Video Baseball game for Playstation and all he said was 'It's so reeeeeeeeeaaaaal!'

Rivera, Torre, and Posada are all in the same boat. If they were to extend him, I'd be surprised, given what Cashman has said.

article seems to state that it's a very recent change of attitude in the Yankees brass about being willing to extend Arod's deal to keep him fwiw...

were the cubs were to land ARod, you’d need to jettison ARam right? I believe that A-Rod could still play short. Others are not so sure. I would think that A-Rod would only come to the Cubs as a SS, though I would take him over A-Ram at 3b if that was necessary, which would still leave a black hole at SS.

Yeah, I think it is a change, Rob. But based on Mariano's pre-season comments and Posada's performance--not to mention Clemens' preferential treatment--I think it could be a disaster for the clubhouse. That said, I see why they would want to do it.

"You do realize that he doesn’t speak english well at all, right." That was a parody - he was always fine during interviews with the press, particularly post - game with the Cubs announcers.

I can't see how the Yanks don't keep A-Rod. They basically get a 29 million dollar discount for the next years for a guy who is one of the top 2 or 3 players in the game. And it is not like than Yankees are hurting for money anyway. A-Rod continues to say that he wants to stay in NY. If that is true, it would be foolish of the Yankees to not keep him.

Each time I think about the possibility of adding a righty bat to hit lefties, it reminds me what an awful signing Jacque was. This is really handicapping us from making any other moves. How can we add a bat, and a 12th pitcher, while still having JJ on the roster? Any suggestions? Is DFAing Izturis a viable option? Should we try to send Hill/Bowen down through waivers and bring up Soto, even though he hits righties better than lefties? Should Pie be down in Iowa? Should Hendry look to make a deal for one of the few actually attainable righty bats out there, like a Wily Mo Pena or someone of that ilk? Sort of a mess, isn't it?

"were the cubs were to land ARod, you’d need to jettison ARam right?' That doesn't really help. ARod is an upgrade of course but we would be going from an A 3B to an A+ 3B. We need help at short.

maybe Aramis to SS? I kid.... Aramis to 1b, Arod to 3b, Lee to LF, Soriano to RF? Aramis 3b, Lee 1b, Arod RF, Soriano LF? Can Arod play CF? I'm stumped.... He has seemed to lose a bit of speed just looking at his stolen base numbers and guys his around his size (think Ripken) generally move off shortstop. I'd like to think he could still play SS and hell his bat would be probably be good enough to overcome whatever he's lost there.

It's not like ARod hasn't played SS since 1997. In his last year at short (2003), he won the Gold Glove. Yeah, he's bulked up a little bit, but I'm pretty sure he'd still be able to play a passable to good short.

As fun as it is to talk about an ARAM-AROD-DLEE-??? infield, I'm sorry, but I am not going to expend any energy on it... It sounds very farfetched to me...

Jace, You mean the Fontenot-ARod-ARam-DLee infield.

Well if it's A-Rod, A-Ram and D-Lee, then we have to go with M-Font...he can't be the only one without that nicknamey thing.

How about signing ARod to play SS and then moving Sori to 2B just for the pure historic mashability of the infield lineup? Of course, three of us TCR-heads would have to play in the outfield to fund it, but we would get cool uniforms with our names on the back and probably get free tickets to share. If the Cubs average 4 wins & 3 losses each week for the rest of the season, that will lead to 87 wins, hopefully enough to win the division. Piece of cake! Baseball is easy on off days.

Why not DFA Izturis? We have better in house options. The guy literally adds nothing. That frees up a spot for the 12th pitcher. The righty bat should be Murton for Pie. Though I say this without checking Murt's Iowa numbers. How is he doing down there?

College football update: Nebraska just beat Oklahoma in 2005! What a game! Husker Power!!!!!!

Also. Is it definitely true that the Towel is banned? if so, we should mark it a tcr holiday.

"Why not DFA Izturis?" - B/c he is a Gold Glove SS - B/c Jim Hendry traded him for a HOF pitcher (so feels compelled to show how "right" he was - B/c he has a couple hits this year and a few rbi. - B/c Izzy can dribble the ball in the infield against MLB pitching, while Ronny Cedeno will still be K-ing. So Izzy will at least make contact. - B/c CHAD likes him. So he should stay.

What do people think about getting a rental this year. Somebody like Torii. We would probably have to give up an A grade prospect but could maybe somehow package a jock or an eyre into it to make it less onerous. I'm all for winning now.

Here's what we all have to realize, there are very few places that can sign ARod. Chicago is one of maybe 6 teams that could do it. if he declares free agency, we have a true shot at it. I think it comes down to whether or not he wants to leave New York.

"...it reminds me what an awful signing Jacque was. " This was the scenario as I recall, going into the season, cir. 2006. Jeremy Burnitz, was at the end of the line in RF (and MLB). After signing w/Pitt that year, he basically stunk. JJ put up much better numbers, could run (when not getting picked off early on) and was MUCH more athletic. So, the guys that were signable FA's, other than a significant trade (and Hendry still had McFail as his boss now - formerly w/the Twins) were Encarnacion (going to the Cards), Milton Bradley (not the game company) whom Dusty courted but Hendry felt was a headcase, and, Jacque Jones. Encarnacion signed nearly an IDENTICAL deal as JJ which I posted several times based on Post-Dispatch articles last season, proving that the deal for JJ was "market value" BOTH signing 3 year deals. And, it proved out that both players, Encarn., and JJ had very similar seasons through most of 2006. Edgar, of course, has a World Series ring. JJones, if he could duplicate what he did last year would be a terrific VALUE, but I certainly have not expected him to be this atrocious in 2007. You would think by being surrounded by awesome talent, and up and coming hustling youngsters, that this wouldn't be the case, but unfortunately for us, it is.

Since we're talking about trade stuff, here's what some dude at Baseball Prospectus had to say about the Cubs: "General Manager Jim Hendry’s job could be on the line if the Cubs don’t make the playoffs, so look for him to make a move, perhaps adding bullpen help, and possibly a right fielder with pop. If the Twins fall out of the race, don’t be shocked if Hendry doesn’t make a run at trading for Hunter. http://baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=6442

I MEANT JUAN Encarnacion - and in fact, Jacque Jones hit 27 HR's to Juan's 19, had more RBI's and nearly the same BA. So the signing was about what was to be expected - maybe a bit better for last year.

If I were Henry (and my arteries are grateful that I am not) I go all in. Signing Hunter would be one way to do it.

I think Hendry will wait and see on the bullpen help. If Dempster is back soon and (god help me) Wood makes it through his rehab and to the majors they probably won't do much there. An OF bat seems the most logical and possible acquisition at this point. If a some stud starting pitcher comes available I'd hop on that and use Marshall or (gasp) Hill as trade bait for something spectacular. There are just no SS's or Catchers that I see becoming available that would make much of a difference.

Nice recap, E-Man (although I think you mean Juan E., instead of Edgar E., right?). And you're right, atrocious year indeed, and not many saw it coming. So...do we just keep him on the bench? A 25th man? FWIW, AAA all star game is on ESPN 2--Patterson and Hoffpauir playing.

Sorry about the Juan/Edgar...you caught it before I was finished typing it!

yeah I know, just saying Hendry shouldn't be rushed into grabbing a bullpen arm until around the deadline at which time Wood presumably could be ready. If he's not (which he won't), then pull the trigger on a move. Someone who can hit homers regularly is on my wish list and I'm looking at Griffey Jr.

man, how many more bad trades can the Rangers make? Hafner and Myette for Einar Diaz and Ryan Drese A. Gonzalez, C. Young, T. Sledge for Otsuka, Eaton, Billy Killian Soriano for Wilkerson, T. Sledge and Armando Galarraga F. Cordero, J. Cordero. K. Mench, L. Nix for C. Lee, N. Cruz they even traded Esteban German to the Royals for a minor leaguer and he's not too bad. Better than Jerry Hairston Jr....

What would it take to get Griffey? And surely he'll get injured as soon as he wears cubbie blue...

Blog rule proposal: Any contributor who wishes to refer to the former highly-touted and disappointing Cubs pitcher, may do so only by using the following: W--! OR, Blog rule proposal 2: Until said pitcher pitches again in a MLB game, his name shall not be used, in vain, or otherwise. Any seconds?

Man... I can't wait to see how good the Cubs will be this year when W and P are ready for the stretch run.

What would it take to get Griffey? And surely he’ll get injured as soon as he wears cubbie blue… yeah probably.... Let's forget it... Tough to say on Griffey, Reds probably want to get rid as much of his salary as they can and depending on how much they're willing to pay what's left on his deal will determine what players they get back. If the Cubs could somehow talk them into taking Griffey's contract through 2009 (rest of this year, 2008 deal plus the option on 2009) and get the Reds to pay all that deferred money, I think that would be ideal. Then it's a matter of what player. i would guess the Reds would want some starting pitching ready for the big leagues or very soon. Here I'll make up a proposal.... Cubs get Griffey Jr. and take on 2007, 2008 and 2009 option year plus his balloon payment of $16 mil in 2024. Reds get Sean Marshall, Tyler Colvin and another young pitching prospect in the Gallagher/Veal/Samardzija/Guzman talent range (hey, he's not coming cheap unless Cubs take on more cash) And I'm not even sure I'd do that deal, but seems like something in the ballpark

and if we could somehow get Bronson Arroyo in that deal, that would be nice. Especially if we have to move Marshall or Hill.

Don't think I'd do that deal either. Watching crawford and torii last night made me start pipe dreaming. Guess that's a cub fan's perogative.

Arroyo would change things for me. Are you sure they won't take Wade? We should at least ask the question.

Arroyo's signed through 2010 it looks like for quite a bit and an additional cost of players. So that doesn't seem very plausible. I don't even want to think what the cost of Crawford is... Hill, Marmol, Guzman, E-pat (3-4 of our top young players at least) I still the Twins will be in it, but I wouldn't mind Hunter.

Reds are wanting to tear down to build back up. I still think its far fetched to think they trade within the division. If they are willing to trade Griffey within the divison to us. Then Hendry should be beaten with a garden hose for not putting together the Kearns/Lopez for bullpen help deal last summer.

Twins are in the race and Torii Hunter is a guaranteed Type A free agent. One would have to assume that the twins would need to be bowled over to trade him. Especially since he has been the face of the franchise for the last 5-6 years.

normally I agree with the inter-division trading but Griffey's contract isn't going to let them get too picky about their suitors on top of Griffey's NTC. If they really want to get rid of as much as his contract as possible, they're going to have to listen to all offers. Now there's no way Dunn's coming this way but I could see Griffey.

I'll tell you how Griffey is coming, after the deadline. He's very likely to pass through waivers and if we are in the hunt in August, he can get to Wrigley.

also a good point, no one would dare put a claim in on Griffey Jr. and risk taking on his contract. I really don't know who Griffey would agree to go to.... I know he'd like his to be near his home in Florida and the Cubs have spring training in Arizona but the Lou connection could help. I have no idea who else he'd be interested in going to though.

I'd love to see Junior in a Cubs uniform. Would we be willing to give up Marmol to get it? Also, if Towlie is truly been banned then I throw my gratitude to Rob. Tanks! Good riddance to bad rubbish.

maybe you have to throw Marmol or Guzman in there and try to get back David Weathers or Todd Coffey.

I'm solidly in the "get Griffey" camp. I think he is the type of impact player that could make a difference for the Cubs. His injury history is always a concern, but I think the risk is worth taking. I don't see Hunter leaving the Twins this year. They're in the hunt and need him in CF. The same probably applies to Andruw Jones, although my guess is that the Braves would be open to the right deal.

I know Jones is having a down year but he's even a more ideal fit cause we know he can play CF which right now is probably a bigger need than the corners. And a deal for him wouldn't block Pie either. Of course we'd probably have to deal Pie to get him. But Braves are very much in the race so I don't see that happening either. We could bring Kenny Lofton back! It worked in 2003!!!

If Little Caesar is DFA'd, does that mean we are off the hook for the buyout of his 2k8 salary? If so, F You Caesar, go play for the Tigers.

If Griffey goes anywhere it will be back to Seattle. He certainly should not be acquired by the Cubs in any way shape or form that would require extending his contract for 2 more years. Did we not just remove another overpaid RF from the books--don't you people ever learn? Toriiiiiiii Hunter should not be acquired. Please. Enough former Twin outfielders stinking up the joint. *I know Jones is having a down year but he’s even a more ideal fit cause we know he can play CF which right now is probably a bigger need than the corners.* So let me get this straight. Pie hitting .222 and making zilch=bad. Jones hitting .222 and making 19 million=good. It's no wonder Cub fans get the team they deserve.

He should have been released just for shoving his fist in Ramirez's ass. I would complain to my manager if someone did that to me at work.

Didn't Griffey want out of Seattle to be closer to his home? And the Mariners CEO/owner apparently still harbors some resentment towards Griffey. And why does Griffey's contract have to be extended? As far as I know he's signed till 2008 with a 2009 team option. As for Andruw, I don't think he gets $19 mill for the last 2.5 months, otherwise that's a crazy-ass deal he signed. And I'd say Andruw's got a track record that says he'll probably bat better than .211 the rest of the way. Pie not so much... But with the Braves still in it and the likely cost of players, he'll likely not be worth and deal.

Desperate times... Ken Griffey? Really? If the Cubs even touched the balloon that'd be very disappointing. The way Hendry is operating I wouldn't be surprised to watch them try to swallow the whole balloon and sneak it through airport security but we all have heard of franchises choking to death doing that. Considering the circumstances I'd rather have Bonds. Or Gagne. Hell, I'd rather have Ron Villone. At least he wouldn't involve trading blue chips to a division rival to anchor next to Josh Hamilton for the next six years. You just shouldn't help teams in your division get young and cheap. I want to win too, but not just this year.

Re #124: Don't worry about it, they'll never let Pacman Jones play in MLB...every time he's out there at night, he makes it rain! Re #145: I propose we sign A-Rod, keep A-Ram and change the name of the squad to Team Ramrod...

...and if we have learned anything from Izturis, it's that he would belong on a team called Team Ramrod...

Sheffield/Cornelia - "Team Ramrod." Effing priceless. Maybe Wrigley's concessions will start selling liters of cola.

My fantasy baseball teams are usually named Team Ramrod. But that's from Super Troopers, has nothing to do with xRods or teamate anal fisting......TAF as they call it in the bigs.

Doug--LOL Maybe fans would start lunging over concession counters then, instead of walls on the playing field...

"Man… I can’t wait to see how good the Cubs will be this year when W and P are ready for the stretch run." DAVE; Thank you for following new Blog protocol rule #2 re: use of formerly highly touted pitchers that shall not be mentioned again until pitching in a MLB game.

"has nothing to do with xRods or teamate anal fisting……TAF as they call it in the bigs. " TAF? Isn't that a Sabrestat?

"TAF? Isn’t that a Sabrestat?" If it was, Izzyturdface would be the starting SS for the A's.

How good Wood the Cubs be if they had their Prior star pitchers in addition to their existing rotation? /cracks another beer //woodashouldacoulda

I'm going to bring this up once, and then let the flaming begin. DFA Izturis, bring up Cedeno. 1)Izzy is a ZERO. He was a gold glove shortstop 3 years ago. He is not that player anymore. He is ballast...cannon fodder....zip, nada. .242/.291/.301. Yikes! 2)Cedeno is only 24. He is MASHING the ball at AAA. .383/.457/.611 at any level deserves a look. I am more impressed with 25 Walks to 24 Strikeouts. Bring him up, put him 2nd in the lineup, and tell him it's his to lose, and to do exactly what he's been doing at Iowa. Hit Fontenot/DeRosa 6th. 3) If Cedeno fizzles, go and get a SS, and use Theriot as a stopgap. Then trade Cedeno for a used jock. Also, bring up Soto and find Bowen a spot on the DL with back spasms or something.

Dusty Baylor — July 12, 2007 @ 7:16 am I’m going to bring this up once, and then let the flaming begin. DFA Izturis, bring up Cedeno. 1)Izzy is a ZERO. He was a gold glove shortstop 3 years ago. He is not that player anymore. He is ballast…cannon fodder….zip, nada. .242/.291/.301. Yikes! 2)Cedeno is only 24. He is MASHING the ball at AAA. .383/.457/.611 at any level deserves a look. I am more impressed with 25 Walks to 24 Strikeouts. Bring him up, put him 2nd in the lineup, and tell him it’s his to lose, and to do exactly what he’s been doing at Iowa. Hit Fontenot/DeRosa 6th. 3) If Cedeno fizzles, go and get a SS, and use Theriot as a stopgap. Then trade Cedeno for a used jock. Also, bring up Soto and find Bowen a spot on the DL with back spasms or something. ......................................................................... DB, I agree 100% on both points. Both C and SS are black holes that need to be addressed at some point. It looks like we MIGHT have 2 viable in-house candidates to fill those voids. It only makes sense to give Soto and Cedeno an extended look now. If it looks like they can't hack it. Then it's something to fill in the offseason from outside the organization. If they can hack it. It's 2 critical parts on the team that are filled with Minimum wage players.

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.