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40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full), plus two players are on the 60-DAY IL 

26 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, ten players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, two players are on the 15-DAY IL, and two players are on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-17-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 13
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Colten Brewer
Ben Brown
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Mark Leiter Jr
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
Keegan Thompson
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

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

OPTIONED: 10 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Luke Little, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

10-DAY IL: 2 
Seiya Suzuki, OF
Patrick Wisdom, INF 

15-DAY IL: 2
* Justin Steele, P  
Jameson Taillon, P 

60-DAY IL: 2 
Caleb Kilian, P 
Julian Merryweather, P
 




Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Name That Double-Play Combo!

Submitted by Transmission on

Cubs fans, an opportunity presents itself that we cannot afford to ignore.  The starting middle-infielders on our team are:

  • Short
  • Skinny
  • "Scrappy"
  • Teammates since college
  • Own last names that rhyme with each other
  • Are generally just sort of adorable

And, someone surprisingly given Hendry's penchant for gathering unto the Ark two of every no-hit utility man, these guys are, most importantly

  • pretty good baseball players!

It's time to give Ryan Theriot and Mike Fontenot their own nickname.  Something that, after the Cubs win the World Series this year, will echo throughout the marbled halls of Cubs lore like "The Daily Double." 

More important, it should be something we can slap on a T-shirt and hawk outside of Wrigley, allowing the yet-unknown Adam who names this new creature in the Cubs garden to take home a generous 3% cut of TCR's profits on the venture.1

Of course, there already is a nickname in circulation, "The Cajun Connection."  That nickname however

  • is the name of several businesses
  • sounds like it could be a Sourthern escort service
  • is a bit of a mouthful
  • seems to have first been used by Paul Sullivan in a 2007 article
  • hasn't yet caught on to the point where it's cemented as their nickname

Follow me below the fold, wordsmiths, to discuss nicknames for our mighty middle infielders.

I propose we use this thread to brainstorm nicknames for our double-play combinations.  I'll sift through the suggestions,2 and we'll reconvene on Monday, April 20th, which 

  1. is a Monday, when our traffic generally is highest
  2. is an off day for the Cubs
  3. is April 20th, which will amuse a few of our more morally degenerate readers

At that time I'll post a poll listing as many finalists as the poll will allow, and we'll vote on the nominees.  The nickname with the most votes at the end of Sunday the 26th wins, and, on pain of certain and immediate death,3 we're all obligated to use the nickname for the rest of the season. 


1The three percent is negotiable. I'd hold out for 3.15% if I were you.

2 And by "sift" I mean I'll drunkenly glance at a few of them and, after factoring in bribes, come up with a short list

3 If certain and immediate death would inconvienience you, we might be able to arrange for you to instead receive season tickets to the Pirates.

 

Tags
TCR Contests; Nicknames

Comments

Submitted by Transmission on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 04:00 am

There were a good series of initial ideas when I first broached this idea at the end of an old game recap. 

 

2 Scrappy 2 Quit by Jackstraw

"2-Short" and "The Not" by The Joe

The Ot Couple by T-Dubs

"Two from LSU" and "Scrap Incorporated" from The Real Neal

 

What else do you have?

Submitted by Lawhide on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 04:12 am

Fontherinot (Fon-ter-i-no)? Seems a little unwieldy. the Gruesome Twosome Mike n Ike the Scarecrow and Mr. King (not sure which is which) Bosom Buddies (a la the old Tom Hanks show) the Tabasco Kids Hot n Spicy (a little creepy, no?)

Submitted by WISCGRAD on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 04:15 am

Scrappy Squared (I would suggest making this Scrappy raised to the two power, but I don't know how to put in superscript)

Submitted by John Beasley on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 04:09 pm

The Tiger Cubs - because they went to LSU and because they're tiny enough to be carried from the mouth by a mama Cub aka Big Z

Submitted by Romero on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 04:53 pm

"Scraptastic". (or "The Scraptastics" if it needs pluralzing). "The T-Men". (in South Louisiana, when something's diminutive, it's given the prefix "t", as in "T-Boy" for "little boy" or if a father (i.e. "Mike") has a son with the same name, the son will be called "T-Mike"...one current sports example of this is "T-Bob Hebert" who is Bobby Hebert's son. "T" could also, doubly, stand for "Tigers").

Submitted by Paul Noce on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 04:02 pm

Some with strange, uncomfortable meanings: French Kiss Cajun Penetration Double Penetration The Fur Trappers Frenchy and the Man Frylock and Shake Can I Borrow a Quarter for the Suicide Booth? (long but catchy!) or I think this is probably the best one out there yet: DoublePlayEnot

Submitted by Transmission on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 04:03 pm

These are seriously cracking me up. I can't include all of these options, so as you brainstorm new ideas, also flag some choices here that you would like to see appear when the poll goes up next week

Submitted by Wes on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 04:21 pm

I had one in parachat on that particular day and I can't remember what it was. It was really good, too. Going to bother me all day. Also, this blog still needs more madlibs.

[ ]

Submitted by The Real Neal on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 04:00 pm

I can't get behind that one, though I love puns, because if it's the 'Ott Couple' then it doesn't bring to mind their names, but rather Mel Ott. If it's the 'Oh Couple' then it's a not as reminiscent of the play. At first glance, it's good but I think 3 years from now people would be wondering 'what the hell is an 'Ott Couple'?' when they see the T-shirts.

Submitted by O.Julius on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 04:22 pm

Short and Shorter (double entendre, as their Louisiana brethren might say, with one of the positions played) I also liked the Tiger Cubs.

Submitted by The Joe on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 04:29 pm

Maybe we can get the entire list from the thread in a neat order...so some don't get missed. Then the poll can be based upon nominations? It'd also be cool if we could vote in ranking system. Top five in order of favorite or something. I'll, of course, vote 5 times for the Battin' Deluge.

Submitted by WISCGRAD on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 04:02 pm

"The Scrap Brothers" They don't hit homers like the A's did, but they help their team in different, scrappy, ways.

Submitted by The E-Man on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 04:30 pm

Etoufee Elves Bayou Brothers The Crawdaddy Twins Prudhomme's Neglected Gumbo Guppies Wendy Rice-a-Roni Guys Trolly Trouble Twins

Submitted by Dr. aaron b on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 04:43 pm

The Kajun Keystone Konnection We can shorten it to 3 K's for T-shirt formatting purposes. Maybe Carlos or Chad and get the T-shirt stand set up at Clark and Addison with that baby?

Submitted by OmarLittle on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 04:52 pm

I refuse to endorse any nickname that would not be passable as a tag-team name were Theriot and Fontenot professional wrestlers. Therefore, my humble suggestions... The Vanilla Midgets The Cajun Shrimp

Submitted by neal on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 04:18 pm

les rouges dangereux (or les dangereux de 'rouge) The fonti-riot (silent t, hard t) The Ot Face Scrap Bastards Ryan-not-mite

Submitted by Hawkeye on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 04:13 pm

Favorites so far: Breauxmance... or Breauxmiscuity? Tiger Cubs and a modification of a previous post: Derrek and the Deux-Men-Ots.

Submitted by Ryno on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 04:00 pm

I'm uneasy with all these projections showing the Cubs winning the division. Like it's a forbidden thought to think the Cubs are the favorite. I'm not superstitious, but I am a compulsive worrier, maybe that's it, but it's like the very act of thinking it will damn the Cubs to an injury-ridden season.

Submitted by Charlie on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 04:14 pm

Jake Fox has 2 homeruns, a double, and five RBI in 3 at bats tonight. I'm all atwitter in anticipation of someday taking part in a collaborative naming of a Micah Hoffpauir / Jake Fox platoon.

Submitted by Ryno on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 04:29 pm

Milwaukee bullpen doing that walking thing again. I have to admit, it's much more amusing when it's another staff's bullpen. McClung on pace to pitch in 140 games this year.

Submitted by JoePepitone on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 04:33 pm

My favorites off the top of my head are: Short and Shorter Scrappy Deux-ot Short and Stop the dinky deux

Submitted by granolaCUB on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 04:37 pm

What about simply, 1. the Po-Boys 2. the Ot-Boy Po-Boys (silent 't' of course) 3. the Gator Bites 4. Red Beans and Rice (Fontenot has Strawberry hair, yes?)

[ ]

Submitted by The E-Man on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 04:43 pm

Po-Boys! HA! I still think the Cardinals will be there at the end of the year. La Russa can field a team of Iraqi burka-clad women and Pujols, and be in the thick of it. I believe he has had above .500 seasons 7 of the last 10 years, including a WS ring. Their pitching staff is looking very good in the early going, to my extreme displeasure.

[ ]

Submitted by Wes on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 04:23 pm

Agree. I'd be very afraid of both the quality and quantity of my rotation pitchers if I were a Cardinal fan. I'd also be VERY nervous about how TLR is handling the 9th inning right now. Not putting a lot of confidence in anybody. I'd also be concerned that I was lying to myself about my sexuality if I were Cardinal fan. Thankfully that's not an issue.

Submitted by Andy on Tue, 04/14/2009 - 04:01 pm

Double-ot Heaven (on Seven)...at least it would come with an automatic sponsor. My favorites so far: Tabasco Kids Oui Men Scrappy Deux-ot Hammerin' Hobbits Ot-Boys Scrap Bastards Cajun Shrimp

Submitted by John Beasley on Wed, 04/15/2009 - 04:26 am

" ... Marquis has no idea what the reception will be like from the Cubs’ fans. “Only they’ll know, so I try not to worry about that,” Marquis said. “It’s out of my hands. I know I gave every ounce of effort every time I took the ball every situation. If hard work and hundred percent effort every time out isn’t appreciated, then it’s out of my hands.” " http://www.insidetherockies.com/2009/04/14/marquis-returns-to-wrigley/ Here's a tip, Jason: If they boo you, it's not because they think you didn't try.

Submitted by Jeff_Pico on Wed, 04/15/2009 - 04:30 am

Marquis gave effort I don't see any argument that he didn't, but he at times had an aversion to the strike zone at certain times and at other times couldn't get us through some games with big leads, but I guess Ted Lilly has had a few games like that too. Marquis 2008 was actually alot better than 2007 if my memory serves me right. I'm just glad to be on the other end of him instead of having to watch him in blue. Of course he will probably give one of his 'great' games and we'll all be cursing him...again. Also I hate to be happy about injuries but I'm not crying over Carpenter going on the DL.

[ ]

Submitted by Q-Ball on Wed, 04/15/2009 - 04:57 am

During the 2 years Marquis pitched in Chicago, the Cubs were 36-25 in games that he started; just about .600 baseball. He isn't Cy Young, but that stat alone should show the value of what Marquis is: An innings eater who takes the ball every 5th day, and most of those days keeps you in the game. Marquis was an OK starter, and terrific as a #5 pitcher, which is what we had him for Anyone who dogs Marquis doesn't understand baseball, or expects the Cubs to have aces up and down the rotation. BTW, Cubs record with Carlos Zambrano on the mound, same time period: 38-26, almost identical

[ ]

Submitted by Ahone Ahtwo Ahthree on Wed, 04/15/2009 - 04:27 am

I think the problem is that when Hendry signed Marquis before 2007, we were paying him #2 or #3 starter's money. We have improved our staff since then (Dempster back to starting, Harden, etc.) and he became the 5th best pitcher making a lot more $$ than a 5th starter should, which isn't his fault, so he gets a bad rap for that. He was in the right place at the right time with the Cardinals when they won the World Series, and he cashed in. Unfortunately for Marquis, I think he and his big contract were also a roadblock during the failed attempt to get Jake Peavy, which left a bad taste in the mouth of a lot of Cubs fans. I know I was hoping to upgrade from Marquis to Peavy for just a little more money in 2009 (even though we would have taken on another backloaded contract)... For these reasons, I think he will get booed more than he should. Based on performance, he was a very serviceable pitcher, but sometimes that doesn't matter.

Submitted by Ahone Ahtwo Ahthree on Wed, 04/15/2009 - 04:09 am

I LOVE Ot Face, or it could be Ot-Ot-Ot Face, in reference to Office Space, with a picture of the guy from the movie saying it on the shirt. Of course, we would have to include some reference to or a picture of our guys, or people wouldn't know what the fontenot we were talking about... For a slogan, how about "We lost our Wood, but we still got our 'Ot Face" with a picture of both guys on the shirt? Most people buying this would know the reference to Office Space anyways...

[ ]

Submitted by Jackstraw on Wed, 04/15/2009 - 04:04 pm

With as many choices as the consumer is getting these days, I'm looking forward to the day when I get to choose which announcers mikes are "hot". I think listening to Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN hearing just Jon Miller wouldn't be too bad. Watching the Sox and just hearing Stoney's color. For now, I watch 95% of sports on TV with the sound down. How many guys tell you something you don't already know? Stone, yes. McCarver (for me only, maybe), yes.

Submitted by Tony S. on Sun, 04/19/2009 - 04:56 pm

Shake and Bake. Sells itself. Catchy, not overtly referencing the cajun thing, although fried chicken maybe. And a clear reference to one of the best movies ever made.... At least by Will Ferrell.

Recent comments

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