Marmol and Berg Make Pilgrimage to Fitch

Carlos Marmol threw a nine-pitch 1-2-3 1st inning (K, F-9, P-5), Jose Valdez singled, tripled, stole two bases, scored two runs, and drove-in another, and D. J. Fitzgerald clubbed a two-run HR onto 8th Steeet, leading the Daytona Cubs to a 4-1 victory over the Inland Empire 66ers (Angels Advanced Class “A” affiliate) on Field #3, while Justin Berg allowed three runs on two hits and two walks in his one inning of work, as the Cedar Rapids Kernels (Angels Class “A” affiliate) drubbed the Peoria Chiefs 9-1 on Field #2, in Cactus League Minor League action at Fitch Park this afternoon. 


Marmol and Berg had their scheduled outings rained-out yesterday, which is why both threw in games at Minor League Camp today.



Cubs 2010 7th round draft pick RHP Ben Wells (Bryant HS – Bryant, AR) was the most impressive pitcher at Fitch Park today, following Berg to the mound on Field #2 and throwing three shutout innings for Peoria, allowing just an infield hit, a bunt single, and a walk, while striking out two, and doing it all on just 29 pitches.


Conversely, RHP Tarlandus Mitchell had a very poor outing for Peoria, getting just one out while allowing a single and walking the bases loaded before getting pulled from the game. Although he throws in the mid-90's, the 5'8 Mitchell has struggled with his control since signing with the Cubs and has yet to pitch in a full-season league.


Pitching for Daytona on Field #2, RHP Justin Bristow (2008 5th round draft pick out of East Carolina) saw his first game action since 2009 (he missed all of last season with an elbow injury), loading the bases on a double and two walks before being relieved without retiring a batter.


Cuban defector Rubi Silva played CF for Peoria today and drew two walks. He also grounded out twice. The 21-year old lefty hitting Silva played for the Cuban Junior National Team prior to defecting, and he is very fast and a Gold Glove caliber CF with a plus-arm. He received a reported $1M bonus when he signed with the Cubs in December.


After a work-out on Field #4, several players from the Extended Spring Training squad (3B Wilson Contreras, OF Reggie Golden, SS Marco Hernandez, and C Brian Inoa) got some late game action with Peoria or Daytona, and two others (OF Xavier Batista and INF Gioskar Amaya) traveled with the Tennessee and Iowa squads to the AA and AAA road games at Tempe Diablo Park. Catcher Hector Suarez, INF Vismeldy Bieneme, and outfielders Dong-Yub Kim, Blair Springfield, and Oliver Zapata were on the bench at Fitch Park but did not play. (Position players from Extended Spring Training are used as late-inning replacements in the minor league games).


Catcher Yaniel Cabeza (another defector from the Cuban Junior National team who signed with the Cubs in December), 1B Richard Jones, 2B Pin-Chieh Chen, ex-Villanova football star Matt Szczur, and OF Kyung-Min Na are assigned to the Peoria squad but did not play today, and catcher Chad Noble is the only position player assigned to Daytona who did not play today. (Cabeza and Noble were the bullpen catchers for their respective squads today).


Here are today’s abridged box scores (Cubs players only):


FIELD #2 (CLASS “A” - Peoria vs. Cedar Rapids)


PEORIA LINEUP:
1. Rubi Silva, CF: 0-2 (BB, 4-3, BB, 4-3)
2. Arismendy Alcantara, SS: 1-4 (F-8, 1B, F-7, 5-3, R, SB)
3a. Anthony Giansanti, RF: 1-3 (5-3, 1B, 5-3)
3b. Brian Inoa, PH 0-1 (F-7)
4a. Ryan Cuneo, 1B: 1-3 (F-8, 4-3 FC, 1B, RBI)
4b. Wilson Contreras, PH: 0-1 (6-3)
5a. Chris Huseby, DH-LF: 2-3 (1B, K, 1B)
5b. Reggie Golden, PH: 0-1 (1-3)
6. Max Kwan, C-DH: 1-3 (P-4, 1B, 4-6 FC)
7. Dustin Geiger, 3B: 0-2 (4-3 GIDP, L-9, HBP)
8. Wes Darvill, 2B: 0-3 (F-9, 3-U, 3-1)
9. Cody Shields, LF-DH: 0-3 (5-3, K, F-8)
10. Johan DeJesus, DH-C: 1-3 (1B, 4-3, 6-3)


PEORIA PITCHERS:
1. Justin Berg: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 3 R (3 ER), 2 BB, 1 K, 23 pitches (13 strikes), 2/0 GO/FO
2. Ben Wells: 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 29 pitches (18 strikes), 3/3 GO/FO
3. Jeffry Antigua: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 PO, 33 pitches (23 strikes), 1/2 GO/FO,
4. Robinson Lopez: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 0 K, 1 PO, 19 pitches (9 strikes), 1/1 GO/FO)
5. Tarlandus Mitchell: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 4 R ( 2 ER), 3 BB, 0 K, 1 BALK, 25 pitches (9 strikes), 1/0 GO/FO
6. Larry Suarez: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 1 K, 29 pitches (17strikes), 0/3 GO/FO


PEORIA ERRORS: 2
1B Ryan Cuneo: E-3 – errant throw to pitcher covering 1st base
2B Wes Darvill: E-4 – dropped pop fly


PEORIA CATCHERS DEFENSE:
Max Kwan: 1-3 CS


PEORIA OUTFIELD ASSIST:
RF Anthony Giansanti threw out baserunner 9-5 trying to advance from 1st to 3rd on single  


===============================================


FIELD #3 (CLASS “A” ADVANCED - Daytona vs. Inland Empire)


DAYTONA LINEUP:
1. Evan Crawford, DH-CF: 1-4 (6-3, 5-3, 3-U, 2B)
2a. Dustin Harrington, 2B: 0-3 (P-4, K, F-9)
2b. Pierre LePage, 2B: 0-1 (P-5)
3. Matt Cerda, 3B-DH: 0-3 (BB, 1-3, 4-3, F-8)
4. Justin Bour, 1B: 0-3 (K, 6-3, F-8, BB)
5. Greg Rohan, DH-3B: 0-4 (K, K, 5-3, F-9)
6a. Francisco Guzman, CF: 0-1 (HBP, 6-3)
6b. Jesus Morelli, RF: 0-2 (F-8, 6-4-3 GIDP)
7a. Sergio Burruel, C: 1-2 (1B, 4-3)
7b. Micah Gibbs, C: 1-1 (1B, R)
8. Jose Valdez, RF-DH: 2-3 (F-7, 1B, 3B, 2 R, RBI, 2 SB)
9a. Elliot Soto, SS: 0-0 (BB, F-8 SF, RBI)
9b. Marco Hernandez, SS: 0-1 (K)
10a. Alvaro Ramirez, LF: 0-2 (F-8, 5-3)
10b. D. J. Fitzgerald, LF: 1-1 (HR, R, 2 RBI)


DAYTONA PITCHERS:
1. Carlos Marmol: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 9 pitches (6 strikes), 0/2 GO/FO
2. Graham Hicks: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 2 K, 34 pitches (20 strikes), 1/2 GO/FO
3. Justin Bristow: 0.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 K, 16 pitches (7 strikes)
4. Marcus Hatley: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 22 pitches (18 strikes), 2/1 GO/FO)
5. Danny Keefe: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 25 pitches (16 strikes), 2/2 GO/FO
6. Jordan Latham: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 11 pitches (6 strikes), 1/2 GO/FO


DAYTONA ERRORS: NONE


DAYTONA CATCHERS DEFENSE:
Sergio Burruel: 1-5 CS


=================================================


ATTENDANCE: 68


WEATHER: Sunny, with temperatures in the 70’s


 

Tags: 
Carlos Marmol
Cubs Minor Leagues
Justin Berg
Submitted by Arizona Phil on Tue, 03/22/2011 - 7:47pm
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Comments

Submitted by Arizona Phil
on Tue, 03/22/2011 - 9:18pm

Jim Hendry, Oneri Fleita, Gary Hughes, and Greg Maddux were present at Fitch Park today. Hendry sat with Fleita up in the tower between the fields, but Maddux was in uniform on the Daytona Cubs bench.

Hughes chauffeured Marmol from the clubhouse to Field #3 in his golf cart. Not everybody gets to ride in Gary Hughes' golf cart, though. Justin Berg had to walk to Field #2 (which is located further away from the clubhouse).

Marmol got out of the golf cart, threw about 20 warm-up pitches in the bullpen, worked his one inning (throwing nine pitches), walked off the field, gave out a few high-fives to the D-Cubs, got back into the golf cart, and was driven back to the clubhouse, all in the space of about ten minutes. (Who was that masked man?)

And a swarm of bees passed low over Fitch Park in the 8th inning. The players on the field at the time hit the ground like a "live" hand grenade had been thrown in their direction, and the fans scattered in all directions. The queen bee apparently didn't like what she saw on the ground, though, and the swarm kept moving, last seen headed eastbound toward Mesa Drive.

Submitted by Tony S.
on Tue, 03/22/2011 - 10:57pm

Hilarious!

Fwiw, I was at the big club's game from about the second through the top of the seventh. Highlights from the lawn seats? #3 for LA (Paul?) made a couple highlight reel catches in CF, Fuk helicoptered into the ground pretty bad at one point, and a startling turn of Cubbery when DeWitt tripled to lead off an inning and was followed by K, K, BB (Fuk), and K.

That said, I got to shake hands at Sluggo's after Sunday's game with Moreland, Dernier, and Willie Wilson. Class acts all of them. Granted, he's on the payroll, but Bobby D expressed a lot of enthusiasm about the youngsters coming up the next few years, told me to 'Keep the faith.' Made me wanna be able to come back here every year. Bobby Dernier was who you pretended you were stealing bases when I was a kid. Awesome people, Zonk told a great story about a death threat he got in NY in (I believe he said) '84.

Submitted by John Beasley
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 11:03am

Cubs should definitely be the team to bring back the golf cart rides from the bullpen to the mound ... but only for those pitchers hand-picked by Gary Hughes.

Submitted by toonsterwu
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 12:10am

Thanks for these updates.

Some quick questions:

How has Ben Wells velocity been this spring? IIRC, last fall, you mentioned that, since Wells was slowly working his way back, he was working only in the upper 80's/low 90's. Pre-draft reports suggested that he was able to run it up to the mid-90's on occasion. Was wondering if his velocity was better now.

Looks like a poor outing for Bristow, but how has he looked overall? I remember the end of 2009, when he was looking like a really nice prospect with some breakout potential and was running his fastball in the mid-90's. I know Fleita has reportedly said that he's good to go, but curious what your take is.

I know Gioskar Amaya has been said to be a good athlete, but not a quick-twitch type. Do you think he has a shot of sticking at short? Profile sounds loosely similar to some of the recent young Cubs Latin American middle infield talent.

Submitted by Arizona Phil
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 2:12am

Submitted by toonsterwu on Tue, 03/22/2011 - 11:10pm.
Thanks for these updates.

Some quick questions:

How has Ben Wells velocity been this spring? IIRC, last fall, you mentioned that, since Wells was slowly working his way back, he was working only in the upper 80's/low 90's. Pre-draft reports suggested that he was able to run it up to the mid-90's on occasion. Was wondering if his velocity was better now.

Looks like a poor outing for Bristow, but how has he looked overall? I remember the end of 2009, when he was looking like a really nice prospect with some breakout potential and was running his fastball in the mid-90's. I know Fleita has reportedly said that he's good to go, but curious what your take is.

I know Gioskar Amaya has been said to be a good athlete, but not a quick-twitch type. Do you think he has a shot of sticking at short? Profile sounds loosely similar to some of the recent young Cubs Latin American middle infield talent.

=================================================

TOONSTER: I don't know how hard Ben Wells was throwing today, but he is defintely throwing harder now than he was at Instructs. His fastball has good movement and he throws all of his other pitches for strikes and mixes it up pretty good. He also has lost some weight, which was a bit of an issue when he reported to Instructs last Sept.

Justin Bristow looked very uncomfortable on the mound today. He had a lot of trouble throwing strikes. I'd be surprised if he's 100%.

Gioskar Amaya played some SS at Instructs last year and he handled it OK. Not a lot of range or much of an arm, though. He looks better at 2B. I would say he will probably end up being a 3B-2B type who can play SS in a pinch.

But speaking of shortstops, Arismendy Alcantara made two outstanding stops & throws at short today. Highlight-reel stuff. Even the Angels fans who were there applauded. He is a true SS, too. A defensive Play Maker with plus range and a plus-arm. He will not have to be moved to 2B. Now he just needs to hit, and use his speed to get on base. I saw him a lot last year, and he tends to hit the ball in the air a bit too much, probably because he has above-average power for a guy his size. But he improved at the plate over the course of 2010 season, and I wouldn't be surprised if he excels at Peoria in 2011.

BTW, there will be additional downward roster movement as soon as the Cubs make their final 15 cuts and the full-season minor league affiliates get down to their Opening Day roster limits. Some players will get moved down a level, and others will get released. As of today D. J. Lemahieu (2B) and Ryan Flaherty (1B-2B-3B-SS-LF) were still with the Iowa squad, Logan Watkins (2B), Jae-Hoon Ha (CF-RF), and RHP Rob Whitenack were still with Tennessee, and RHPs Aaron Kurcz, Kevin Rhoderick, and Dallas Beeler, LHP Brent Ebinger, catchers Micah Gibbs and Sergio Burruel, 2B Pierre LePage, SS Elliot Soto, INF Dustin Harrington, and RF Jesus Morelli remain with the Daytona squad. Any one of them could open the season where they are now, and if so, that would be one level higher than where each was expected to start the 2011 season. A lot will depend on who the Cubs send down to Iowa in the coming days.

Conversely, OF Reggie Golden (with conditioning issues) has already been demoted to Boise/Mesa (Extended Spring Training), and OF Matt Szczur and RHP Robinson Lopez and LHP Jeffry Antigua were moved down to Peoria at the start of the Minor League ST games last week. R. Lopez pitched today and had absolutely nothing, but Antigua looked good. He has a really deceptive pick-off move to 1st base, too (he nailed one today - totally froze the sucker). 2010 #1 draft pick RHP Hayden Simpson was assigned to the Peoria squad when he reported to camp, and he still is assigned to Peoria.

Submitted by Jumbo
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 4:15am

Phil
Have you seen Simpson throw a pitch yet? I'm anxious to see him finally throw and see if his stuff is as advertised after the draft. Hopefully he won't feel too much pressure after being picked early and then not throwing for the team for a year.

Submitted by Arizona Phil
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 12:55pm

Submitted by Jumbo on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 3:15am.
Phil
Have you seen Simpson throw a pitch yet? I'm anxious to see him finally throw and see if his stuff is as advertised after the draft. Hopefully he won't feel too much pressure after being picked early and then not throwing for the team for a year.

======================================

JUMBO: I've seen him throw with other pitchers in the 10-PAC (10 Mounds - Pitch and Catch) bullpen behind the clubhouse, but I haven't seen him throw on a field yet, although I understand he has been throwing "live" BP in preparation for working in Minor League ST games. It will be interesting to see how he performs in games, since he hasn't pitched in a competitive situation for almost a year.

Submitted by toonsterwu
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 5:33pm

Thanks for the response. In terms of downward movement and potential releases, is there anyone in minor league camp that you've seen or heard about that might be at risk, like say a Dan McDaniel last year, who if I recall correctly, was one of the final cuts.

Disappointing to hear Lopez look bad, but not that surprising. If I recall the SAL reports, he was very inconsistent.

Quick query on Antigua - do you think he has the chance to add any velo? He's what, 88-92ish on the fastball?

Submitted by tim815
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 12:52am

You have no idea how happy I am to see these back. I'm tired of reading about Koyie Hill wasting at bats. I'm happy to hear Rubi Silva is transitioning well. The Cuban Cannon?

Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come for Ben Wells.

Burruel with Daytona's team. Maybe he'll play full season ball this year. Sweet.

Golden looking 'better' yet?

Thanks, as always.

Submitted by Hrubes20
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 9:42am

I couldn't agree more! I was needing minor league updates something fierce. I love the fact that Rubi Silva took 2 walks. BA said he was a very aggressive hitter that didn't walk much, so this is nice to see.

As always, I greatly appreciate the updates, AZPhil, and please keep them coming!

Submitted by Hagsag
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 8:54am

Thanks for the info Phil. On one of the broadcasts over the weekend Kyler Burke pinch hit for the Cubs. Bob Brenly said that he heard from probably his son Michael, that Burke hit in the worst luck ever last year. What group is he with this spring and how does he look?

Submitted by Jumbo
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 11:16am

Is Michael the mailman's son?

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 11:50am

I miss minorleaguesplits.com, but from what you can see at just a quick glance at his stats show that his HR's and walks were cut in half his K's went up about 30%, so even if he hit into bad luck last year, he wasn't good.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 12:38pm

MILB.com and First Inning have some minor league splits

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats...

http://firstinning.com/players/Kyler-Burke-a/

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 1:09pm

Cool, thanks.

You can see that he had a .271 BABIP last year, on a 19% LD and 38% GB rate, so yeah he was probably unlucky, but add .050 and .075 to his slugging his slash line comes to .262/.329/.403 - still nothing to get excited about, but not totally horrid.

Ironically, luck neutralized, he probably hit about as well as Michael Brenly last year.

I still like Brenly's chances to make it. He just does the same thing ever year - moves a step up and holds his own with the bat.

Submitted by Arizona Phil
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 12:50pm

Submitted by Hagsag on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 7:54am.
Thanks for the info Phil. On one of the broadcasts over the weekend Kyler Burke pinch hit for the Cubs. Bob Brenly said that he heard from probably his son Michael, that Burke hit in the worst luck ever last year. What group is he with this spring and how does he look

======================================

HAGSAG: He is with the Tennessee squad right now. He looks about like he did in Minor League Camp last year. I don't think he has a whole lot of future as an outfielder, at least beyond AA. He should really consider converting to LHP (he was an OF/LHP in HS, and some MLB scouts actually liked him better as a pitcher going into the 2006 draft).

Submitted by Jace
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 11:18am

Maine, Berg, Wellemeyer and Guzman sent down....
From Muskat..

Submitted by Cubster
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 11:21am

...and Max Ramirez getting an MRI on his left wrist. Apparently he's had problems with that wrist before. (per Rotoworld)

Might they be able to sneak Mighty Max to Iowa in a few weeks with a season start on the DL?

Submitted by Arizona Phil
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 12:47pm

Submitted by Cubster on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 10:21am.
...and Max Ramirez getting an MRI on his left wrist. Apparently he's had problems with that wrist before. (per Rotoworld)

Might they be able to sneak Mighty Max to Iowa in a few weeks with a season start on the DL?

============================================

CUBSTER: They actualy could just stash him on the DL for the entire season if it's that type of injury (recurring & lingering soreness).

MaxRam probably wouldn't mind, because if he were to spend most of the season on the DL (and then do a 20 day minor league rehab in August and get reactivated on September 1st), he'd get a full year of MLB Service Time and make about $415K. He could spend April-May as the DH at Extended Spring Training, and then hang-out with Angel Guzman at Fitch Park in June and July. And then he would be back in the same place this time next year, but maybe Koyie Hill will be elsewhere by then and/or the roster configuration would be different, allowing the Cubs to keep him on the 25-man roster.

If M. Ramirez can hit like he does with a wrist that isn't 100%, imagine how he would hit when it's healthy.

Submitted by tim815
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 1:16pm

Snarcasm. I love it.

Submitted by DavidP
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 1:34pm

Phil - is there any serious effort or mechanism that MLB uses to try to ensure that teams do not hide healthy young players on the DL rather than lose them? I assume that there is peer pressure against that sort of thing, but does MLB management play any type of police role to try to prevent it.

I am not saying that there is no injury to Ramirez in particular. I am just wondering about the general situation.

Submitted by Arizona Phil
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 1:57pm

Submitted by DavidP on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 12:34pm.
Phil - is there any serious effort or mechanism that MLB uses to try to ensure that teams do not hide healthy young players on the DL rather than lose them? I assume that there is peer pressure against that sort of thing, but does MLB management play any type of police role to try to prevent it.

I am not saying that there is no injury to Ramirez in particular. I am just wondering about the general situation.

============================================

DAVID P: If there is a complaint about a healthy player not being activated from the DL when he's eligible to be activated, it would really have to come from the player. It would also be more of an issue if a player claimed an injury during the course of a post-season series where the player can (with approval of the MLB Commissioner) be replaced on the Active Roster before the conclusion of the series by another player, as long as the player plays the same position (pitcher replaces pitcher, et al).
.
But if a player is placed on the DL during the regular season or prior to the start of the season and just remains there indefintely, as long as the player doesn't say anything or file a grievance, nobody will probably notice or care.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 12:44pm

No Maine? a little surprising

Rotation:

Z, Dempster, Garza, Wells, Silva or Cashner

Bullpen:
Marmol, Wood, Marshall, Grabow,

with Samardzija, Coleman, Russell, Stevens, Looper, Mateo and Silva or Cashner as the 3 other possibilities

Submitted by jacos
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 1:01pm

with Samardzija, Coleman, Russell, Stevens, Looper, Mateo and Silva or Cashner as the 3 other possibilities

BLech!

Submitted by Dr. aaron b
on Thu, 03/24/2011 - 12:58am

Angel Guzman is my dark horse candidate.

Submitted by big_lowitzki
on Thu, 03/24/2011 - 7:44am

Read above... Guzman got sent down.

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 1:15pm

The article at cubs.com says he showed up without a slider ready to go:

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?...

I am a little hazy on what he did to get voted off while Coleman and Russell get to sing another song this week, but three lefties is probably sufficient, assuming Russell makes it.

Submitted by jacos
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 1:57pm

Peter Gammons tweet-

pgammo Interesting scouting report on Chris Davis:"He is the next Carlos Pena"
19 minutes ago

Submitted by jacos
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 2:13pm

Roy Oswald hit in back of head by manny Ramirez line drive.
Walked off on own power.

/wait he's not nl central

Submitted by Ryno
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 2:23pm

Holy crap. No way he gets away without a concussion.

Submitted by Ryno
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 2:25pm

On second thought, it looks like it might have hit him below his head, more on the neck. That couldn't have felt good, though... his neck absorbed nearly all of that velocity.

Submitted by navigator
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 2:50pm

Forbes out with an article online that will appear in the April 11 issue of Forbes Magazine "Inside Baseball's Debt Disaster" ( http://blogs.forbes.com/monteburke/2011/03/23... ) which for some reason doesn't feature the Cubs and their 75% Debt to Value ratio, worst in Major League Baseball, as exhibit "A."

The Cubs' franchise page can be found here ( http://www.forbes.com/lists/2011/33/baseball-... ). They have the Cubs worth $773 million. If they're right and that's questionable since they got other things wrong like the Ricketts' purchase price wrong (Ricketts' paid $845 million not $700 million) then the club is worth $72 million less than it cost them.

What surprised me (besides claiming Ricketts' paid $700 mil):

Forbes' analyst doesn't seem to know that baseball head coaches are called managers.

Cubs rank 24th in tv ratings?? Is that due to CSN having no audience?

Submitted by jacos
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 3:17pm

"Cubs rank 24th in tv ratings?? Is that due to CSN having no audience?"

Did you see that team last year???!??!

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 3:31pm

They have the Cubs worth $773 million.

There's only two "real" ways to properly value a corporation, when a business isn't being sold. The first, which is the quick and dirty, is the market cap, which can only really be used if the business is pubically traded. The second, is by depreciating it's future cash flows.

The Cubs aren't presently pubicaly traded, so you can throw the market cap method out. That means to get a value for them, you're going to have to use the second method, and you're going to have to do it without things which are pretty important to actually know, like say, income.

The "stock market" moves up and down, and stocks move up and down based on what full time analysts think of the dispartiy between market capitlization, and net future cash flows. So every time you see a stock traded, you have someone in the "know" thinking that the company is over or under valued, and again, these are companies that have to release quarterly reports to the public.

The idea that anyone without inside financial information "knows" what the Cubs books look like, is well, naive at best. Even if all the information was available, you would still have full time experts give you divergent values for the team, and I am talking like $200 million differences.

Not to say the Forbes stuff isn't interesting, but take it with a grain of salt. It should not be treated as gospell. It's not like the Ricketts walked in with a copy of Forbes when they went to buy the Cubs.

Submitted by jacos
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 3:37pm

good stuff, TRN.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 3:47pm

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2011/03/twins-w...

Twins would move Slowey for relief help.

Marshall for Slowey?

I'd probably do it.

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/free...

Submitted by jacos
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 3:52pm

or make Marshall a starter?

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 4:02pm

seems that ship has sailed with the Cubs...

never gonna happen, just throwing it out there

Submitted by jacos
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 4:05pm

i hear ya

Submitted by Jace
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 4:01pm

Yeah, this crossed my mind this morning, though I can't say I had thought specifically of Marshall. Slowey certainly seems more attractive than our current 5th starter options...

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 4:01pm

Hell, you'd trade the Jackson twins, Castillo and McNutt for him ; )

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 4:17pm

I would trade J. Jackson and Castillo probably, but I'm a pretty big Slowey fan. I guess his health would be the big issue that I can't answer.

Twins I assume are looking for an impact reliever, so I figured Marshall would be the asking price.

Be great if Grab-Ass would get it done with the Cubs throwing in $2M.

Submitted by jacos
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 4:05pm

Desperate times call for higher socks

tweet-PWSullivan Carlos Silva has pulled his socks up to just below the knee, apparently in his effort to change his luck.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 4:14pm

working so far

2-1 Cubs right now through 4, retired something like 15 of 16 last hitters

hello 5th starter

wonder if Cashner goes to pen or Iowa

Submitted by crunch
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 4:21pm

socks for pitching coach!

silva's lowered his ERA by 4 points...ha.

Submitted by crunch
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 4:34pm

make that 5 points...neat...kinda...sorta...

Submitted by Jace
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 4:29pm

4 innings = 12 outs... Silva must be pitching really well to have retired that many in 4 innings...

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 4:37pm

I messed up the innings of course

only rough spot was the 1st inning where he gave up a leadoff single and a one out double.

6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K for the day

retired 15 of 16 after the 1st with a lone single to Ryan Sweeney in the 3rd with 2 outs.

Submitted by Jace
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 4:40pm

I don't know what to make of this, aside from, as crunch points out in a lower post, the Oakland Lineup sucks... Maybe this does open some trade doors, though...

Submitted by crunch
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 4:46pm

i'm being a bit hard on oakland...especially since im not even watching the game.

i just can't believe this is year #2 that oakland has cheaped-out on their bats with such good pitching backing up the club.

that said, there's not a lot exciting about who he faced today. at least his 3Ks came vs. regular season starters.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 4:52pm

well he was 9-2 with a 2.96 ERA as of July 6th last year

Maddux seems to have some faith in him, wouldn't be surprised if he said he still deserves a shot in yesterday's meetings.

Submitted by Jace
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 5:03pm

The guy makes MILLIONS! Can't he at least show up for camp in shape? Especially after having problems with his heart last year?

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Thu, 03/24/2011 - 9:39am

Hendry?

Submitted by Ryno
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 6:29pm

I missed a lot of the second half of last season because I lost interest, but the half I did watch, Silva's game appeared to be to keep the ball low, throw strikes, and make the batter earn it. It's not inconceivable that he'd be rusty and leave some pitches up the first few starts of spring training and he's not a guy that can make an occasional mistake. I'm not saying I've pre-ordered my Silva jersey and I definitely don't expect a 9-2 2.96 ERA in July this year, but he's probably good enough for this team's #5 pitcher. Silva isn't going to be the guy preventing a Cubs playoff berth. Sigh.

Submitted by Ryno
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 6:36pm

But don't get me wrong... I mean if it were up to me, he'd be a goner. I'd eat the contract and let some AAA douchebag pitch.

Submitted by jacos
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 4:30pm

Hello trade partner, hopefully.

Submitted by Jace
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 4:32pm

I don't know if this available online or not, but is anyone watching or hearing the game that might be able to note what is different about today's start, other than his socks or that he is getting outs...

Submitted by crunch
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 4:36pm

it probably helps when you're pitching to one of the most piss-poor lineups known to man. oakland keeps amazing me with how they refuse to address their hitting. it's all singles, walks, little-speed, and the occasional (but not occasionally enough) homer.

this is year 2 with amazing pitching and "really?" hitting.

Submitted by jacos
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 4:38pm

MONEYBALL!!!!!!!!!!!!

/joe morgan

Submitted by The Real Neal
on Thu, 03/24/2011 - 9:43am

They added Crisp, Matsui, Willingham and tried to get Beltre.

Submitted by crunch
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 5:09pm

okay, wtf?

intentionally walking s.moore in a f'n spring training game with 2 out?

lame.

hope w.castillo makes oak pay for that bush crap.

-edit- and welly walks...loaded. and soriano hbp...loaded.

Submitted by Jace
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 5:11pm

Walking a guy intentionally to get to a guy that is hitting .700 this spring = questionable?

Submitted by navigator
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 6:22pm

For Your Viewing Pleasure: I'm guessing some of you haven't seen this yet. Rare footage of Ruth and Gehrig together

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2011/03/22/mul...

Submitted by navigator
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 6:39pm

It's a rainy evening here. Has everyone seen this yet---Baseball America's organizational ratings. Cubs' farm system ranks 16th by their reckoning.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospect...

Submitted by Rob G.
on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 6:49pm

thanks

through the years

2011: 16th
2010: 15th
2009: 27th
2008: 20th
2007: 18th
2006: 15th
2005: 10th
2004: 7th
2003: 3rd
2002: 1st

http://wiklifield.thecubreporter.com/Cubs_Org...

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