Cubs MLB Roster

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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 

 



 

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Game 79 Thread / Orioles @ Cubs (3 of 3)

Game Chat | Press Pass | BR Preview

SP Radhames Liz SP
Jason Marquis

1-0, 6.27, 14 K, 9 BB, 18.2 IP

6-3, 4.43, 41 K, 31 BB, 81.1 IP




2B
#Brian Roberts LF
*Eric Patterson
SS
#Alex Cintron
SS
Ryan Theriot
RF
*Nick Markakis
1B
Derrek Lee
1B
Kevin Millar
3B
Aramis Ramirez
3B
*Aubrey Huff
CF
*Jim Edmonds
LF
Jay Payton
C
Geovany Soto
CF
Adam Jones
RF
Mark DeRosa
C
Guillermo Quiroz
2B
*Mike Fontenot
P
Radhames Liz
P
*Jason Marquis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sure, baseball is a 162-game marathon and one individual game generally means very little in the grand scheme of things. But once in awhile a key game comes along that can define a team and a season. The Orioles threaten to take the series today, which would mark the Cubs first series loss at home since the end of April to the Brewers. We shall not stand for this threat against our beloved Friendly Confines So rise up, my beloved Cubbies against this island of misfits led by the Cubs' bespectacled cast-off.

WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE!

Cubnut: All I know is, the Orioles' scheduled starter last night, Brian Burres, was scratched because of a "stomach illness," and his replacement, Matt Albers only lasted five batters before he was pulled thanks to a "sore right shoulder."

It's pretty clear to me that Burres, contemplating what it would be like to go up against the NL's mightiest offense, suffered a disabling case of pre-game nervous diarrhea. Then Albers, after summoning the courage to actually take the mound, was the victim of a psychosomatic shoulder problem.

At least, that's how I see it.

Interesting item from Len & Bob's Baseball Blog:

With a victory today, the Cubs will become the first club to win 50 games in 2008. Of the teams that have accomplished that feat since 1999, only one—the '05 White Sox—went on to win the World Series.

The '06 Tigers made it to the Series, but lost.

Four clubs, including the Angels last season and Lou Piniella's 116-win Seattle team of 2001, won their division, but were stopped short of a pennant.

And three of the first-to-50 teams never even made it to the post-season: the '03 Mariners, the '02 Dodgers, and the team that won its 50th game on the same day as Los Angeles—the Seattle Mariners managed by the aforementioned Piniella.

Comments

What's ominous about that is the 2002 Dodgers finished the season with a fine 92-70 record. Unfortunately the Giants won 95. Worse yet, Arizona won 98 and took the division. Things are shaping up similarly in the NL Central this year.

'Something brewing: Here at World Rumblings Headquarters, we're hearing the same noises that our buddy Buster Olney has been hearing -- that the Brewers loom as one of the most serious potential bidders on Sabathia, even if he's just a rent-a-starter. The Brewers have a deep system. And principal owner Mark Attanasio has made it clear to his baseball operation that it's time to go for it. So if Sabathia winds up somewhere other than Milwaukee, said one baseball man who has spoken with GM Doug Melvin, "it won't be because they're afraid to give up their prospects."' http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&page…

I once saw an article which I swear was at the Onion (searches since have turned up nothing) this was the headline: Portly man in athletic gear demands: "WE MUST PROTECT THIS WAFFLE HOUSE!!"

Radhames Liz... I think that was the foreign exchange student from Basque Country that I dated a few times in high school. Crazy gal, and not necessarily in the good way...

Usually one of the teams mails it in on a getaway day, but damn,it's not like to Cubs have to catch a plane. This is pathetic. On a different note,I too am afraid that Milwaukee might grab CC from us. They have more prospects to offer. I thought C.C. stood for Chicago Cub Sabathia. That's what I heard. This game sucks. I wonder how many Cubs get beaned during the Sox series? Any over/unders on that one?

Who said the Orioles were light hitting? They've been a hitting machine in this series. Maybe Lou should start asking DLee to bunt when Theriot gets on ahead of him. Is he leading the league in GDIP?

I was just about to suggest that DLee get the hook after his productive 3 ABs, where he got out three times in 5 total pitches, even GIDP on the last AB. Sit his droopy ass on the bench.

I thought the Peoria Chiefs weren't supposed to play at Wrigley until July 29.

Cubs get 3 in the 6th to make it 11-3. 3 an inning will do it. Rally cap time. DLee and ARam get to sit -- why doesn't Deros ever get a rest. If only there were a slap-hitting, orange-tinted outfielder to take his palce.

[ ]

In reply to by Tito

I don't think anyone's panicking. But this loss is indicative of some of the Cubs' problems -- reliance on sluggers, power outages, Marquis' streakiness, iffy relief pitchiing, poor ABs from the bench. Despite the best record in baseball, this team still has a lot of room to improve. -edit That's Murton's second straight weak GO on the first pitch. He's done that every recent AB I can remember, minus the AB late Tuesday night when he flied out weakly to left after a few pitches. I have to think he's trying to get traded.

Of course there's room to improve, especially now with some of the injuries. One loss is now "indicative" of problems of a team that's, what, 18 games over .500 and swept the Sox prior to this series. (Would you say the sweep, where we crushed them, was also "indicative" or was that a blip...or is losing 2 of 3 the blip?) And someone actually used the words "please no June swoon". Just a different worrying philosophy, I guess...

[ ]

In reply to by johann

not sure how much Marshall is going to improve, all he has is youth on his side. His peripherals suggest he's of the same average pitcher as the rest.

As for Lilly, his biggest struggle this year is the long ball.

1.64 HR/9 and 13.0% of the flyballs he's given up have landed in the seats. Those are quite high. His career HR/9 is 1.38 and career HR/FB is 11.2%. I believe most pitchers give up HR's on their flyballs in the 10-12% range. Of course he could just end up having a bad year that way.

My thoughts are that the Cubs have had the best pitching in the league this year with more than they expected from Z and Dempster, less than they expected from Hill and Lilly and what they expected from Marquis. I think Gallagher has been a little less than what expected to get from Hill. Overall that suggests to me, expect much of the same the rest of the way.

And somehow land CC Sabathia...

[ ]

In reply to by Chifan

I don't think there is anything wrong with Blanco and I don't think the Cubs will look to replace him. He is a great defensive catcher and one of the best in the league at throwing out potential base runners. He is also an experienced veteran who plays a key role in mentoring the younger guys. There is a reason guys like Greg Maddux and Zambrano want to throw to him.

[ ]

In reply to by WISCGRAD

In a pefect world I would like to get a better bat in the spot, if the defense is equal. Blanco's OK but if we could upgrade there without giving up anything of value I'd be for it.

[ ]

In reply to by Chifan

Who is giving away good game callers with strong, accurate arms (and a quick release) who have a good bat--for nothing? Henry Blanco has a defensive-minded catcher's OPS, which suits him. If you've got Geovany Soto hitting well, you don't give much up to improve the offense you get from your backup. Backup catcher is way down there on list of needs for the Cubs.

But isn't the reality also that we're playing over .600 ball? I guess I just find it kind of amusing that a loss like this really brings out the negativity. It's not that it's not there always, it just seems to really come out on days like this.

[ ]

In reply to by Tito

Speaking for myself (and I realize you're not only talking to me), I don't really think I'm being that negative. Hell, see comment #36 in response to #35. I still really like this team and am more optimistic about their chances than any other team I remember. With that said, I think there is a difference between whining about one loss and bitching about some consistently bad trends. DLee's fallen off a cliff since April. Soto's really cooled off. Marquis, although decent of late, is still prone to horrific outings. The bench still isn't all that great. These are things that need to be amended, or I doubt we'll keep winning at a .600 clip. And yes, we don't have to win at a .600 clip to still have a really good team which is why I for one am not panicking but just pointing out some things. If you want to call that a Chicken Little analysis, fine, whatever.

[ ]

In reply to by big_lowitzki

*Sigh*. I don't really feel like getting into a prolonged argument about this, but I'll answer your points. Marquis may be an average 5th starter thus far, but as was previously pointed out, look at his post-ASB stats. Not good. Is our goal to have an average 5th starter or is to win in the post-season? If we're just trying to make it to October, we did that last year. I would like our bench more if Murton and Fontenot weren't around anymore. Murton may be talented but he's clearly either trying to get traded or is seriously f*ed in the head. Fontenot just isn't that good. I like Johnson and Blanco fine, but it'd be nice to have another righty or switch power bat coming off the bench. Not trying to bitch here. Just replying to Dave's points.

[ ]

In reply to by Andrew

Marquis may be an average 5th starter thus far That is not what I said. Marquis is just like every other 4th or 5th starter - prone to both good and bad starts. Jason Marquis currently has an ERA+ of 101, which is league average, which is more than adequate for a 5th starter. it'd be nice to have another righty or switch power bat coming off the bench. Like who? Again... name a better bench than the Cubs. And name a better 5th starter than Marquis. Again - are there better pitchers than Marquis? Sure. Are there better pitchers available? Maybe... thought I am not sure that the Cubs have the talent to get Sabathia, and I am not sure that Burnett is a huge upgrade. Remember this. As Rob said... your 5th starter doesn't pitch in the playoffs. So if you are worried about winning the post-season, you don't need to find someone better than Marquis. You need to find someone better than Lilly/Gallagher. Burnett is not that guy right now.

[ ]

In reply to by big_lowitzki

I don't understand why the best team in baseball should be settling for "league average" and "adequate" out of the 5 starter compared to other 5 starters. Average numbers out of our 5 shouldn't be good enough. That's fine if we're an average baseball team, but we're not. Why are we settling for average all of a sudden? Are we not used to actually being good? Yeah, sure, he's alright. Better than Estes or Rusch or Wade Miller. But I don't want alright. I want to win the division and win the World Series.

[ ]

In reply to by Wes

I think most people were referring to Marquis as a League Average Starting Pitcher - not a league average 5th starter. Given 5 starters per team, a league average starting pitcher would be somewhere between a 2 and a 3 starter on the average team in the league. To have that player as your 5 is a good thing, and perhaps one of the reasons the Cubs do have the best record in baseball. Hell, a lot of teams don't even have a 5th starter, but instead have tried a host of guys there all year.

[ ]

In reply to by big_lowitzki

Also - I'll take you to task on 5th starters. Here's the 5th starters better than Marquis and his 4.96 on both leagues. I should probably add some fraction of a run to the AL numbers, but I'm too lazy. I did not include struggling starters who are the one, two, or three according to the team's depth chart (and common sense): ATL - All are lower than 4.96. BOS - Masterson 3.83/Colon 4.03 CHW - All are lower than 4.96. LAA - Garland's the highest ERA at 4.05. LAD - Their five is Kershaw at 4.36. Penny is broken worse than Lilly, but he's not the 5. NYY - 5th for them right now is Rasner at 4.50. Hughes and Kennedy both suck, but aren't in the NYY rotation right now due to injury/ineptitude. OAK - A's worst is Blanton at 4.58 PHI - Kendrick 4.59/Eaton 4.86. Again, Myers is over 5, but he's the 2. (Listed as the 1 on phillies.com) STL - Pick one. I'll take Welley at 3.46. Looper is the rotation's highest at 4.22. TB - Sonnanstine isn't all that much better, but is still better at 4.85. TEX - Kayson Gabbard also has a 4.96, so not necessarily better, but it's the same. Worth noting. TOR - Listch/Marcum/McGowan are all under 4.96. Burnett isn't, but he's not the 5. That's 11 teams that get better production from the back-end of their rotation than we have received from Jason Marquis in 2008 (and 1 tie from a .500 Texas ballclub). And some of those teams aren't getting 1.6 HR/9 from their #2 starter. As you said, the Lilly problem is a different one entirely, and isn't particularly relevant to the 5th starter discussion.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

That's fine if you disagree. The discussion was about 5th starters. I went through every 5th starter in baseball and looked at their ERA. I'm sorry Marquis' ERA went up a bazillion after yesterday because of one outlier. It's still his season numbers, and his sample is still approximately the same as most other MLB starters. That's part of getting rocked. It happens. You're correct that making every start is important, and some 5's are already not making starts because they've been removed due to extreme suck. But, some of those teams have taken measures to replace them with someone who sucks less/isn't broken. And I did not use some starters as you mentioned, because they aren't fives. It isn't random or abritrary. We all know Myers isn't the Phillies 5. He sucks, but he isn't their backend guy. Burnett's not a 5, either. If you want to talk about the worth of #2 starters, then Myers and Burnett are both light years worse than Lilly right now, but that wasn't what we were talking about. Our rotation is good this year as a whole. Better than a lot of others and much better than a lot of other Cub rotations of the past. But there's room for improvement at the backend. There are 11 teams who have better back ends of their rotation than we do. It's that simple.

I think that as soon as some people read that someone is not happy about how the team is doing on that particular day, they immediately think that this means people are jumping off the bandwagon. I am just pissed about today, and how the Cubs did not appear to even show up at the park. Days like these are much fewer and far between than they have been for as long as I can remember, but they still grate on me from the moment they begin, thanks to nearly 30 years of repetition. I do NOT, however, think suddenly that this team is shitty, and will never be successful. This team has a great chance to win this year. One of the ways they can follow through on this chance is to try and avoid days like this as much as possible. I have already moved on, and am looking forward to the weekend.

Marquis gave up 7 two out runs. While less then inspiring and highly frustrating to watch, a single pitch or a lucky break and there is little damage. Bottom line, Cubs were out played and lost bad, but it's not something that exposes many long term weaknesses to me. Cubs were competitive in 44 games since losing 9-0 to Cincy on 5/7. There are going to be games like this. The fact that there haven't been more is pretty amazing if you think about it. Big road trip coming up.

woah! jon lieber exists! he sure pitched today like a guy who's worked 4ip the last 20-something days, too. guess he finnally finished that 5-story house of cards him and blanco been working on. -edit- 5.2ip my bad...

Marquis had pitched well the last few outings, but today he was just bad. Its no surprise that we lost this series with Marshall and Marquis taking the losses. What was suprising today is that the offense didn't get anything going vs Liz. This team will be ok in the long run.

I'm not sure Marquis is a fifth starter when Zambrano comes back. Maybe a sixth starter. Zambrano, Dempster, Gallagher, Lilly, Marshall. That's five. One thing for sure: Marquis is the worst $7 million fifth or sixth starter in the league. I blame it on Rothschild, who sold the Cubs on Marquis, and McDonough, who signed off on all of Hendry's exorbitant contracts.

[ ]

In reply to by VirginiaPhil

Randy Johnson: 4-6 with a 4.94 ERA for $15.1 million (and missed time due to injury) Doug Davis: 2-3 with a 3.68 ERA (below 500 winning percentage for career with 4.31 career ERA) for $7.7 million Mike Hampton: hasn't pitched in a game since 2005 for $15.9 million Javier Vazquez: 7-6 with a 4.24 ERA (career 3 games over 500, with a 4.28 ERA) for $10 million. Jake Westbrook: 1-2 so far but has been injured (career below 500 WP with 4.31 ERA) for $10 million Paul Byrd: 3-8 with a 5.21 ERA, for $7.5 million Jeremy Bonderman: 3-4 with a 4.29 ERA for $8.5 million Kenny Rogers: 5-5 with a 4.60 ERA for $8 million Dontrelle Willis: 0-1 with a 10.32 ERA, Rich Hill for $7 million If you can't tell I am going alphabetical by team and am only at D. I don't have the time to keep going. But Marquis is paid on par with other veteran, around .500 for their career pitchers to fill backs of rotations in the majors. He has bad games once in awhile, but he doesn't implode for whole seasons like some of these guys (didn't even get to the Mariner's overpaid rotation) and he does not get injured like a lot of these guys.

[ ]

In reply to by WISCGRAD

The vast majority of those guys on that list got their paydays because they had great years in the past (RJ, Hampton, Vazquez, Rogers, Dtrain) or had the potential to (Bonderman and Westbrook). Marquis was an average 29 year old pitcher when we gave him that deal. What you saw was what you were going to get. It was dumb to give him a 3 year deal, especially one that gives him 10 million next year. It should have been a 1 year deal, as Gallagher and Marshall were ready for spots at the start of the year.

[ ]

In reply to by Chifan

Jarrod Washburn 10 million, Miguel Batista 9.5, Carlos Silva 8.2. You are going back pretty far to find good years in these guys' pasts. Marquis was 15-7 with a 3.71 ERA in 2004. He had just as much potential to duplicate that season as some of the turds getting paid even more. The list is endless. This is what starting pitchers get paid. Also, I will reiterate something I posted above. An AVERAGE starting pitcher would be a 2-3 starter, depending on the team - defintion of average with 5 starters per team. Yes Marquis is average, and was 29 when signed, I concede both of those points to you. But signing a 2-3 starter for your 5 spot, for an average of 7 million per year was a good deal. Not a steal by any means, but not raked over the coals either. He also probably wouldn't have signed a one-year deal, that would have been dumb for him to do. He will give you a 4-something ERA over 200 innings across 30+ starts. He can also pinch run, hit, and field his position. Also, we have learned in the past that you can't pencil in guys like Marshall and Gallagher for those kind of stats over a given year. Rich Hill should be exhibit A. If we had gone into this year with Z, Lilly, Hill, Marshall, and Gallagher as our rotation we would have been screwed. Instead we had all of those guys plus Dempster, Marquis, and Leiber, and when someone gets hurt or loses the strike zone, we have back-ups.

[ ]

In reply to by WISCGRAD

I like your list of expensive mistakes, although I must say that Vazquez looks a lot better to me than Marquis, though maybe that's a 'grass is greener' thing. You're overlooking the real problem with expensive lower-tier players. It's not my money, so i don't care, but there are two problems: the guy with the big paycheck plays; and you can't trade guys who are overpaid, because you're trading the contract. Marquis or Lieber, who is better? I would say Lieber. Who does Piniella like better? I would say Lieber. Who gets to play? Marquis. You can say that Marquis is as good as the four or five guys who might replace him, but without Marquis, at least you get to pick the guy, and then change your mind, and pick a different guy. Piniella is really good at that sort of thing, but Hendry has tied his hands. Piniella doesn't want to make his boss look bad by benching Marquis. As for pinch running, I honestly think Piniella puts him out there so he'll end up on the DL. It's too bad Eyre can't run.

[ ]

In reply to by VirginiaPhil

Marquis or Lieber, who is better? I would say Lieber. Really? If Liber took the ball every 5th day I would guess that you would have a different opinion. The last two years Lieber had a 98 (2007) and a 95 (2006) ERA+. Marquis' last two years were 101 (2007) and 74 (2006). They actually are at pretty similar levels of quality. Lieber has a career ERA+ of 103, Marquis has a career ERA+ of 96 - not much gap, and Marquis has the relative youth on his side. Who does Piniella like better? I would say Lieber. Who gets to play? Marquis. How do you know who Piniella likes better? If Piniella likes Lieber so much, why does Piniella never let Lieber pitch?

So the club made a mistake in a FA SP - lots of those types of mistakes going around the league these days. You could make a counter - argument that in relation to some of the other signings at that dollar level, they've wound up better than some others. Say, how's that curveballing phenom doing out in SF right now? Is he still even in the league? It could be a lot worse, when you consider the possibilities. A whole lot worse.

Come on guys, we all know what Marquis is... we knew it even before he put a Cubs uniform on. You can expect games like the one yesterday. '05 13-14 '06 14-16 '07 12-9 '08 6-4 If he's your #5 pitcher you have a pretty good rotation.

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.