Cubs MLB Roster

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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

Game 63 Recap: Cubs 8, Indiginous Persons 7

Single in the Gloamin'

 

W - Gregg (2-1), the bullpen, hopes for a good second half, belief in the Ex-Cub Factor, TCR authors who predicted "seven runs shall not win this game."
L - Vizcaino (1-3), anyone who went home early. 

 

Things to Take from This Game

 

1. Cleveland Scores Seven Unanswered
Harden didn't have it today, and gave up three-run homers to Luis Valbuena and Victor Martinez in the second and third.  DeRosa added an RBI single in the fourth.

 

2. Cubs Score Eight Unanswered
The Cubs began their comeback in the fifth with a solo HR by Johnson, and another by Lee in the sixth.  They scratched out four in the eighth, featuring a two-run single by Blanco, but the highlight of the game had to be Derrek Lee's second homer of the day, a game-tier in the bottom of the ninth off of Kerry Wood.  The game ended in the tenth with Luis Vizcaino giving a two-out walk to Soriano, who then stole second and scored on a generous "hit" as Theriot smashed one off of Victor Martinez at first base.

 

3. Signs of Life
Patton and Heilman gave us three easy innings of relief, Marmol worked out of a jam of his own construction and Gregg one of the defense's construction, for five shut-out innings total.  Soto and Soriano looked a lot more comfortable today, and of course Lee is red hot. Blanco also looked surprisingly good at the bat.

 

The exciting details, below

Game Recap
Pregame
  • Rain Delay.  Game pushed back 85 minutes, to 2:45 start time.
Inning 1 - Top
  • Game starts with Harden firing a strike to Jamey Carroll, fastball.  Another, 89 mph, outside.  Changeup over the corner, 1-2 count.  Fourth pitch, Carroll hits an outside fastball to shallow center, and Johnson makes a nice diving catch on the sinking liner.
  • DeRosa gets a stnading ovation from the Cubs fans.  Very classy.
  • DeRosa with a much easier fly-out to Johnson.
  •  Victor Martinez with a lazy fly out to Soriano.  Easy inning. 
Inning 1 - Bottom
  • first pitch swinging, Soriano flies to just short of the warning track in Left.
  • And we see video of the bleacher bumbs and babes cheering DeRosa as he takes left field.
  • Full count to Theriot, he pulls off of a changeup on the outside corner, striking out.
  • 2-2 count to Bradley, looks at a slider for strike three.
Inning 2 - Top
  • 89 mph fastball, low, to start Choo.  Comes back to 1-2 count, and K's choo on a check swing at a splitter.
  •  Peralta with a fly out to center, Johnson gets a bad jump, then takes a bad route, and it tips off the edge of his glove on the over-the-shoulder effort.  They give Peralta a triple, not so sure about that.
  • Fastball on the low outside corner to Shoppach on a 3-2 count, and Marsh calls it a ball.
  • and on the next pitch, Luis Valbuena (who?!?!) hits a three-run homer.  Ouch.  First row in straight-away right.
  • Francisco bounces to Fox, who handles the play at third.  0-3 Cleveland.
  • And Lee grounds out to Blanco at second.
Inning 2 - Bottom
  •  2-2 count to D. Lee, strikes out looking at a fastball on the outside corner.  3 Ks in a row for Cliff Lee.
  • Pretty much the same thing to Soto.  Called strike 3 to Soto, fastball down the middle.  Not sure what Soto's doing taking that one.
  • and Fox bounces out to third.
Inning 3 - Top
  •  Leadoff walk to Carroll.  Missing with the fastball.
  • DeRosa again gets a nice cheer.
  • Fastball outside and it's a 3-0 count.  A fastball high for ball four.
  • 1-0 count to Victor Martinez, fastball down the middle and Martinez launches one deep to straight away right for a no-doubt 3-run homer.  0-6 Cleveland
  • Choo with a solid single to right.
  • David Patton warming up in the third:  never a good sign.
  • Peralta lines out to Soriano.
  • Shoppach with a fly ball that drifted alarmingly close to the ivy in left.  Soriano with the catch.
  • Valbuena with a sharp liner down the first-base line, Lee makes a nice spinnig grab to snag it.
Inning 3 - Bottom
  • Johnson K's looking
  • Blanco, hitting right-handed, lines sharply out to Francisco in center.
  • Len announces that Lee "has no-hit stuff today."
  • Harden hits a little blooper towards the Cubs' bullpen, and DeRosa crashes into the edge of the padding where it means the bullpen phone box.  Catches him in the left thigh.  Painful.
  • DeRosa stays in, and Harden breaks up the no hitter, taking a high fastball opposite field into left-center, dumping it in.
  • Soriano rolls one into the left-side hole, Valbuena gets to it and makes a strong throw to easily get Soriano.  Valbuena is ruling our world.
Inning 4 - Top
  • Francisco singles to center
  • Lee with a nice bunt towards third, Fox makes the play at first.
  •  Carroll flies to right, Francisco advances to third.
  • 2-2 to DeRosa, inside-outs a single to right, scoring Francisco.  0-7 Cleveland
  • Martinez flies out to left.
Inning 4 - Bottom
  •  Theriot flies out to right.
  • Bradley grounds out to Carroll.  Two first-pitch outs to start the inning.
  • 1-2 to Lee, he drops one just fair by the left-field bullpen, for a double.
  • 3-2 to Soto, fastball high and outside for the walk.
  • Fox with a sharp bouncer up the middle, Carroll makes a fantastic stop directly behind the bag.  Flips to Valbuena, who gets to the bag just before Soto.  At first it looked like Soto was in there, but his feet-first slide seems to have seriously slowed him down.  Inning over.
Inning 5 - Top
  • Something of a high change-up, but it's a called strike three to Choo. 
  • Peralta sneaks a single between short and third.
  • Shoppach bounces one at Harden, who misses it, perhaps on purpose, and it becomes an easy 4-6-3.
Inning 5 - Bottom
  • Reed Johnson swings at a first-pitch fastball down the middle, and hits one to the top of the bleachers just left of center.  1-7 Cleveland
  • Blanco bounces out to second.
  • Hoffpauir in to hit for Harden. Bounces one wide of third, Peralta cuts it off and makes the play.
  •  Soriano walks.
  • Theriot pops into shallow left, Valbuena makes a nice over-the-shoulder running catch.
Inning 6 - Top
  • Patton in for Harden.
  • Valbuena bounces out to Blanco. 
  • 3-1 fastball misses inside, and Francisco walks.
  • Lee bunts right out in front of the plate.  Soto might have gone to second, but doesn't pick the ball up cleanly.  Instead goes to first for the out.
  • Nice curve from Patton to K Carroll, swinging.
Inning 6 - Bottom
  • Bradley hits a big chopper up the middle, and Carroll makes another nice play to get to it, get the big second-hop, turn and throw.  Really nice game by Cleveland's middle-infield.  Bradley running hard, fwiw.
  •  Lee hits a line drive that just does get into the bleachers right of center-field.  Cliff Lee seems amused that the ball got out, thanks to the wind blowing straight out.  2-7 Cleveland
  • 3-2 to Soto, and ball 4 is a fastball high and outside
  • and 2-0 to Fox.  Pops up a 2-1 to Valbuena.
  • Johnson rolls into a 6-4 force.
Inning 7 - Top
  • DeRosa ahead 3-1, Patton comes back to K him on a sharp breaking pitch out of the zone.
  •  Martinez K's on three straight, looking at a nice curve for strike three.  Patton pitching quite well.
  • Choo bounces to Blanco
  • Matt Forte, Bears running back, does the stretch. Mlb.tv is kind enough to let me watch it.  Tone-deaf, but a workmanline effort.
Inning 7 - Bottom
  •  Blanco with a nice inside-out line-drive single to right field.
  • Miles up to hit for Patton.  Flies out to center
  • Slider, I think, in the dirt, Shoppach with a weak effort at blocking it, and Blanco goes to second.
  • Soriano pops one into shallow right, and eventually it's the right-fielder, Choo, who makes the sliding catch.
  • Theriot lines out to Valbuena.
Inning 8 - Top
  • Heilman in to pitch.
  •  Peralta with an easy grounder to Theriot.
  • Shoppach  grounds an inside fastball to third, Fox makes a solid play to his left.  Hasn't realy been challeneged at third, but has made all the plays.
  • The first 10,000 men 14 years and older get free golf club covers at some upcoming game.  Because women and kids don't golf.
  • Valbuena flies out to Soriano.
Inning 8 - Bottom
  •  Lee starts the inning at 107 pitches thrown.  Bradley takes a 1-0 fastball and bounces it up the middle for a hit.
  • and that brings in Joe Smith (seriously?!?!) to relieve Lee.
  • Lee K's on three straight, struggling with these sidearm stuff.
  • Soto lines one just out of the reach of DeRosa, getting to the left-center wall.  Bradley to third on Soto's double.  Two walks against Lee, now a double against a side-arming righty, good signs for Soto.
  • Fox chases one and K's.  Smith looks like he could be a decent ROOGY.
  • Johnson walks, bases loaded for Blanco, some confusion on the Cubs side about who is going to take this at bat.  Looks like it will in fact be Blanco hitting from the left side against Smith.
  • Smith taking his sweet time with Blanco, gets a very, very generous strike-2 call on a slider outside.  0-2 count.  Blanco fouls one off, then a pitch sails way wide of the right-handed batters box.  another wide, and it's 2-2.  Fastball inside, Blanco breaks his bat and drops a single down the right field line.  Two runs score, Johnson to Third, and it's 4-7 Cleveland
  • Fontenot in to hit for Heilman, and Rafael Perez in to counter.
  • and Hill in for Fontenot.
  • Fastball, strike one to Hill.  Pitch in the dirt, inside, Shoppach with a nice save. Weak chopper foul, 1-2 count, and another weak foul chop.  
  • Hill hits a hard liner right at Peralta at third, short-hopping him.  It bounces off Peralta to Valbuena, who throws to first, but Hill beats it.  Error on Peralta, run scores, runners at 1 and 2, 5-7 Cleveland.
  • 2-0 on Soriano, a broken-bat hit to left-center, and it's 6-7 Cleveland.
  • Herges in to pitch to Theriot.  2-0 on Theriot.  Looks at a sinker for the strike.  Chopper to third, just foul, 2-2.  Theriot reaches to protect, and hits a fly to center, ending the inning.
Inning 9 - Top
  •  Marmol in for Heilman.
  • 1-2 count, Francisco pops to Lee.
  • Hafner pinch-hits for Herges, swings at a slider that hits him in the shin.  Moves to a full-count, and he walks on a slider that doesn't break.  Josh Barfield (he's still in the majors?) runs for Hafner.
  • 0-2 to Carroll.  K's swinging on a 2-2 fastball, low and outside corner.
  • 3-0 to DeRosa, Sean Marshall warming up.  3-1, and a walk to put a RISP for Victor Martinez.
  • 2-0 on Martinez.  Comes back to 2-2 with a nice called slider.  K's Martinez on a check-swing, may ahve foul-tipped.
Inning 9 - Bottom
  • Trever Crowe to center, Ben Francisco to left, DeRosa out, and Kerry Wood in to a modest cheer, given that he's protecting a one-run lead for Cleveland.
  • Fastball in to Milton, he takes a big rip and fouls it off.  three straight balls, 3-1 count.  Another big swing at an inside fastball, fouling it off.  Kerry hitting 96 mph.
  • Wood challenges him with another fastball, and it's popped to Peralta, who makes a nice catch going into the outfield.  Bradley running hard, again, as it looks like it might drop.
  •  1-0 count, inside fastball to Lee, and he squeaks a home run just inside the left-field line, a few rows into the bleachers.  Very quick swing on a fastball for the line-drive home run, and the Cubs come all the way back, 7-7 tie game.
  • Soto with a well-hit ball into the right-center gap, Choo makes a fine sliding catch.
  • We see Wood's reaction to the HR, he's pretty ticked.
  • From 0-2 to a full count on Fox, Fox walks on an outside slider.
  • Johnson misses getting hit by a soft curve, should have leaned in to it.  Instead, pops out to center.
Inning 10 - Top
  •   Gregg in.  Fukudome to center for Johnson on a double-switch
  • I miss it, but Choo singles to center.
  • Peralta smashes one to Blanco's right, he makes a fine diving, spinning catch, gets the force at 2nd, but Theriot can't turn the DP in time.   Nice snag by Blanco
  • Shoppach pops foul, near the visitor's dugout, but Lee thinks Soto might be going to take it, and when Soto doesn't, Lee misses the basket catch.  Shoppach given another gift, as he hits a sinking liner just in front of Soriano.  It bounces out of the heel of Soriano's glove, and Shoppach reaches, thanks to two errors.
  • Full count to Valbuena, Gregg blows a fastball by him, swinging strike out.
  • 2-2 to Francisco, and a fastball gets away, getting him on the elbow.  Bases loaded
  • Garko to hit for Wood.
  • Nasty slider, Garko tries to check his swing, but it's strike 2, 1-2 count.  Another slider outside in the dirt, solid block by Soto, 2-2.
  • It's getting very dark, stormy looking at Wrigley
  • Garko hits a liner into center, Fukudome overruns it, has to make an awkward adjustment to catch it, saving what would have been a catastrophe.  Inning over, no harm done.
Inning 10 - Bottom
  •  Luis Vizcaino in to pitch.
  • Blanco tries to bunt toward second base for a it, but it's not far enough to Vizcaino's left, easy out.
  • Fukudome hits a fastball towards left, and Francisco makes a fine leaping catch as he crashes into the vines. 
  • Soriano's showing some patience today, and takes the walk.
  • Soriano gets a two-step running start on Vizcaino and steals second easily.  2-1 count to Theriot.
  • Generous strike 2 call on an outside fastball.  Nuts.  A foul, a slider outside, and it's 3-2.
  • Theriot inside-outs a sharp grounder right at Martinez at first.  It bounces off of him and scampers into shallow right field.  Soriano comes around and easily beats the throw home.  The game ends, 8-7 Cubs, and everyone piles out of the dugout.
Parachat Recap
Pregame
  • Parachat consoles and advises me as I experience my first glitch on the new computer: firefox won't establish a connection to to today's game on mlb.tv.  Thanks, Parachat, for the support.
  • Waiting.  and Waiting....
  • Operating Systems.
  • And it looks like I'm watching Len and Bob via Safari, while everything else is in firefox, including a Pat and Ron mlb audio broadcast.  We'll see how this goes.
Inning 1
  • Rob thinks he saw some fans (guys) flash their chests at DeRosa.
  • Fantasy trade offers
Inning 2
  • Fox would've caught it. 
  • How wasn't that a strike to Shoppach?
  • The Joe needs to exfoliate.
Inning 3
  • How often is Carlos having birthdays? 
  • Did the homer clear the fence, or did Bradley throw it over? - CT Steve
  • Rob quits.
  • Whip greets us, we greet Whip.
  • Whip uses an emoticon.
  •  Me and the spy.  Accusations of whom I might resmeble.
Inning 4
  • A love-fest breaks out between Whip, Carlos and Me.  Those jackasses.
  • The Daily Show's reports from Iran.
  • A very, very good day for hot-babe shots at Wrigley.
  • Sascha Baron Cohen
  • Do born-again Christians get to celebrate two birthdays?
  • Birthday suits.
  • Where Are They Now?  TCR Edition.
  • Female Versions of Me
    • Sadly, there are none.
Inning 5
  •  Soto's approach last year compared to this.
  • BJB tells us that the Cubs have "no straight right-handed hitters" on the bench.  Oh my.
Inning 6
  • What's YOUR sorry excuse for not being in parachat yesterday?
  • hitting back-to-back three-run homers.
  • Jesus Gotter Did.
  • I hear my first Johann's Mom joke since my return.  It's a pretty good one.  And it won't be reprinted, here.
  • 5, 6, Bobos and Bees
  • Sickness, health and prayer. 
  • Gardner Jesus.
Inning 7
  • Get well, you jackass. 
  • Pauline theology and tattoos.
    • and Baconaise
    • and shellfish and homosexuality
      • and gay mollusks
        • and Witch Christians.
          • and Gay Witch Christian Mollusks.
  • Oral Torah
Inning 8
  • Gay pig-fucking.
    • That, right there, is why I still insist on using a pseudonym at TCR. 
  • More theological discourse at a level beyond my ability to recap.  Midrash and Tanakh and Bees, Oh My.
  • Other rashes.
  • Pshat, remez, drash, or sod.   This wins for both the most profane and profound inning of parachatter in quite awhile.
  • People who need to pee, but don't want to miss a rally.
  • The Joe prays to Jesus that Whip won't wet himself.  Whip doesn't.  Jesus, power of prayer, proven to be real.
  • Jokes about the second coming of Jesus.
    • and further demonstration of why I keep my pseudonym.
  • Cheering on the rally.
  • I say very mean things to Whip.  Lova ya, Whip.  You jerk.
  • Where's Wood?
Inning 9
  •  More on Tattoos, and a bizarrely thoughtful conversation on this.
  • Cheering for a rally. Observing Wood's cheers compared to DeRosa's.
  • Going nuts for the Lee HR.  Mocking my mlb.tv lag.
  • Trade Wood.
  • How Hot is Lee?
Inning 10
  •  The Cubs' sad D.
  • I get caught up.
  • Things dramatic and complex.
  • Recipes
  • Sexual Identity
  • Women problems.
  • Sosa
  • 555.
  • Cub player most likely to listen to Moby?
    • eh.
  • Carlos tries to feed me recap lines.
  • Hollywood Rob knows all the big stars.
  • Big Birds
  • Gassy the Clown vs. The Day the Clown Cried.
  • Bad called strikes.
  • Wild celebration.
Cubs' record in games recapped since Rob G let me out of re-education camp moves to 2-1.
Tags

Comments

Gassy the Clown. This is why I use a pseudonym here. Wow. Sometimes I even shock myself. For those that don't know "The Day The Clown Cried," it's apparently an unfinished movie starring Jerry Lewis about a clown imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp. Gassy the Clown. {shakes head at self}

Man, it was so refreshing to see the team show some grit tonight. They were sorely lacking of any kind of grind this season so it's good to see it, finally. And I know they're not that far out of first place, but I'm convinced that good teams: teams that win divisions don't play like the Cubs played this last month. I'm resigned to that fact. Still, I wouldn't mind seeing some good Cubs baseball the rest of the season. Milton Bradley is still pressing like crazy. Every swing he puts on the ball is ridiculous hard. When you're pressing you grip the bat tighter and pull the top hand a little too much. If he ever starts making contact, watch out.

It is Lee's first two-homer game since September 11, 2006. All Cub fans like Derrek Lee and would be happy to see him flash his old form, like he did when he got around on that inside fastball.

Tyler Colvin seems to have given the Tennesee Smokies a lift. Colvin hit a 3-run homer last night in their second straight win against first-place Carolina. It was Colvin's third homer in four at bats. Tennessee was a bat short when Brandon Guyer was playing center, hitting in the .170s.

with DBacks at $1.4M...supposedly below slot.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

I don't how the hell you're going to tell me Springsteen walks 5 members of the Wu Tang Clan in 9 innings. Did induce 3 GIDP's though. Master Killa went nuts... 2-4 HR, BB, SB. I get that's it a joke, but I'm still amused that Springsteen's line does not match the box score for the Wu Tang side. Wu Tang accumulated 11 hits, but the Boss only allowed 4 hits in his 9 innings.

Poor Kerry, you can't escape your Cubbery.

Blanco is out out options and as much as I don't care about the guy, great glove and doing the fundamental stuff for now, probably not gonna cut Miles...leaving either optioning Fox or cutting Freel.

It'll clearly be optioning Fox, since they've done that already this year. I expect Freel to be released by August though, assuming ARam comes back close to 100%. Poor Woody. If last night's meltdown brought a sidebar picture of some logs on the fire, tonight's should get us one of a burning forest or a giant bonfire.

ah bert bly...speaking his mind. announcer 1: Tejada went "160+" ABs without a HR blah blah blah... How surprising is that? bly: Well, it's not really. He's off the juice. announcer 1: *silence* for reference...most ex-players and ex-player-announcers just want the whole thing to chill out and go away. bert wants this, too, but he want everyone outted on these "lists" going around instead of hearing about this for the next 1-5-10 years. also of note...bly is IRL friends with adam piatt who "allegedly" supplied tejada with PEDs.

Farney is really liking AAA. Freel was 2-5 with 2 steals and 2 runs scored yesterday. After a week where the bullpen needed every live body it had...I'm not sure who is the odd man out when they bring Freel up. I thought it would be Ascanio (since they obviously aren't losing Patton) but now, who knows. Fox probably will stay at least until after the AL road trip with the DH. So Farney gets another week in AAA?

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    madrigal at 3rd...morel at DH.

    making room for madrigal or/and masterboney to get a significant amount of ABs is a misuse of the roster.  if it needed to get taken care of this offseason, they had tons of time to figure that out.

    madrigal doing a good job with the glove for a bit over 2 chances per game...is that worth more than what he brings with the bat 4-5 PA a game?

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    There are two clear "logjams" in the Cubs minor league pipeline at the present time, namely AA outfielders (K. Alcantara, C. Franklin, Roederer, Pagan, Pinango, Beesley, and Nwogu) and Hi-A infielders (J. Rojas, P. Ramirez, Howard, R. Morel, Pertuz, R. Garcia, and Spence, although Morel has been getting a lot of reps in the outfield in addition to infield). So it is possible that you might see a trade involving one of the extra outfielders at AA and/or one of the extra infielders at Hi-A in the next few days. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    18-year old SS Jefferson Rojas almost made the AA Tennessee Opening Day roster, and he is a legit shortstop, so I would expect him to be an MLB Top 100 prospect by mid-season. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Among the relievers in the system, I expect RHRP Hunter Bigge at AAA Iowa and RHRP Ty Johnson at South Bend to have breakout seasons on 2024, and among the starters I see LHP Drew Gray and RHP Will Sanders at South Bend and RHP Naz Mule at ACL Cubs as the guys who will make the biggest splash. Also, Jaxon Wiggins is throwing bullpen sides, so once he is ready for game action he could be making an impact at Myrtle Beach by June.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    I expect OF Christian Franklin to have a breakout season at AA Tennessee in 2024. In another organization that doesn't have PCA, Caissie, K. Alcantara, and Canario in their system, C. Franklin would be a Top 10 prospect. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The Reds trading Joe Boyle for Sam Moll at last year's MLB Trade Deadline was like the Phillies trading Ben Brown to the Cubs for David Robertson at the MLB TD in 2022. 

  • 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.