Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full) 

28 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, and twelve players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors. 

Last updated 3-26-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 15
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Jameson Taillon
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

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

OPTIONED: 12 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Ben Brown, P 
Alexander Canario, OF 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Keegan Thompson, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 
Hayden Wesneski, P 

 



 

Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Were You Expecting A Warning?

As you can see, we've got a whole new design to the website and we're adding a writer from "Behind the Ivy", Graham Funk. There are obviously some kinks to still work out and I imagine the redesign will go through a few more versions before we settle on anything. And no, I had nothing to do with any of this. So be patient, we'll hopefully get this all fixed up in no time. And yeah, I want the comments in their own pop-up box too.

Comments

We want the funk, we want the funk! We want the funk, gotta have that funk... Welcome aboard.

Ahh, now we're talking. Still some work to do, but thanks to Evan & Co for taking our suggestions seriously.

Hmm.. Test1 123 456 789 Test2 123 456 789 Test3 123 456 789

The new site is still pretty much the TCR equivilant to "New Coke" , but at least there's been some improvements so far. Is Ruz even going to pretend to still be apart of TCR, or has he "officially" abandoned it?

woo...rough. hey, since you guys are taking suggestions on site redesign, how about disabling the static window popup size or at least making it able to resize? its something i wanted pretty badly on the old site popup.

See they are tweaking the comments. If possible bold the "Comment by..." to distinguish better from post to post. If possible a line break between each post such as ------- or _________ Just things that make it easier to read.

I'd like to see the "comment by" line moved to the top of the comment, if possible -- makes it easier to know whose comment you're reading. Making it bold would be nice too.

The new look is OK, I am sure I will get used to it. But the readability of the comment section is poor so far: (1) we need the popup window back and (2) there needs to be more delineation between posts. A rating system for posts (or even posters) would be interesting too. Also needs some blue and red and some pinstripes. As an alternative to the above changes, I would accept $50 in cash sent to my home.

I like the new design..but Black/Grey/White? This isn't a Sox site. Lets get some cubbie blue in there. I know, people have said this before, but well, i just had to voice my opinion.

Evan, what's the IE bug and what's the fix? This happens at another site I go to regularly, and the owner would like to fix it if he could. You can email me if you don't want to glop up the comments any further with this - hboswell AT kudzufiles.com

Ha, I thought I was taken to one of those spam search sites when you mis-type the web address.

Nice looking site, wtg. ESPN News is reporting that Cubs sign Cuban pitcher Yoslan Hererra to a 3 yr deal.

The Randy Bush promotion won't be official until later in the week. I'd also like to pluck down a vote for the comment pop-up window...surely MVN is part of the Chicagoland Democratic machine...all voices need to be heard.

Uh oh, I wonder if someone will smash Soriano's boom box.... "He's real loud in the clubhouse," Ward said. "He likes for everyone to know he's around. Ward was asked if Soriano carried a boom box, as did another former Cubs outfielder from the small town of San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic. "I don't know," Ward said, laughing. "I'm pretty sure he likes to play his music loud."

100% sure it said Cubs, since it makes no sense for ESPN News to use "Bucs".

Like the redesign so far, good work. Please, no popup windows. Hate the popup.

I can live with this style with the bold names. As long as it isn't the BCB style, that one confuses my little brain.

Nice job MVN - must have taken a lot of work for the redesign. In terms of feedback, I would suggest as others have some Cubbie blue and red but I would also like to see some more pictures as well. Finally, one feature that would really be cool would be to have a search feature so if I just wanted to read ceratin comments say from Rob or AZPhil I could capture them easier. Also a mute feature so those commentators who we don't care much about can be eliminated.

"Also a mute feature so those commentators who we don’t care much about can be eliminated." lol

The redesign is fine, the switch to the new URL bothers me not at all. But YEAH, I would have liked a warning. I follow TCR via RSS newsfeed, so rather than suddenly seeing a new site, I suddenly got nothing but a broken link warning in my newsreader. I'm not mad or anything, just sayin' ...a little heads-up woulda been nice.

Z, no the Marquis deal is not done yet. He apparently has not gone in for his "physical." Maybe they had him submit to an MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) and Hendry still is trying to decipher the results.

Please, no popup windows. Hate the popup. The popup has never been mandatory. Under the previous design, clicking on the permalink (or the "read more" link if there was one) would give you essentially the same view we're looking right now.

What I like: - No more waiting for "360 the pitch" ad server to load an image, constantly. - Black and white with no banner ad format allows me to size the window to fit into my preview pane of Outlook at work for low-visibility comments board scrolling. A toolbarless pop-up window would restore convenience - A new writer What I don't like: - kennylofton is still here - a warning that the URL (and RSS feed) locations were changing would have been nice. - the stupid MVN site icon in the address bar

Joe Hamrahl reporting the Tigres locked up Bondo for 4 years. He's only still only 23 and two years away from FA.

I heard the Randy Bush news on ESPN 1000. ESPN was also reporting that J.D. Drew failed his physical and is seeking a second opinion. I liked the Comment numbering at the old site. It made it easier to pick up where I stopped reading the last time.

Maybe they had him submit to an MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) and Hendry still is trying to decipher the results. "I feel my average success has been damaged in the past year due to callous decisions by my superiors. TRUE/FALSE/CANNOT SAY"

I also need the popup. This is too big to have up at my computer at work. The popup is nice and small so I can hide it in the corner... We need a more friendly, use it at work, site.

This still blows. Chad, you have another caveman club? I wanna swing one around and grunt at this new design too. Maybe bang on my keyboard... MVN had a nice layout and now it looks like a jumbled newspaper website.

ability to resize the popup would be nice, especially with the current wraparound of the comment/date/time line. currently i copy/paste long posts in a new browser window just so i can escape the stylesheet resize constraints. dunno what other people think or the site designer or if all the sites use a common style sheet for such things...etc...adam dunn.... btw, cubs supposedly have a deal on the table for schmidt 3/44m

RORY: "Finally, one feature that would really be cool would be to have a search feature so if I just wanted to read ceratin comments say from Rob or AZPhil I could capture them easier." If you want to keyword search, simply use "Apple+F" on Mac, and "Ctrl + F" on Windows mach.

Olney is saying Alex Rios is on the block. I wouldnt mind a Hill and Cedeno for Rios trade and then send Murt to Pit for Maholm.

chifan: Why? Bats and Throws right. Give up Rich Hill, so early? For these guys? Go the fantasy route and let us know how it works out for ya.

I don't really get that trade idea. Maholm seems like a downgrade from Hill and Rios looks like a downgrade from Murton. I haven't seen much of either player beyond stats -- what am I missing?

#57 BJS I don't get your post. Are you slamming me or supporting me? Seems like both.

Yeah, count me among those who doesn't see how Rios/Maholm would be an improvement over Hill/Murton.

More Japanese pitchers? So - are there any more Japanese pitchers you folks think Hendry would pursue? Any Marquis "Drew" problems foreseen?

Evan. Can you take us through some of the html functions that are allowed? ie.

You guys can't be serious about the logo in the address bar? Why would that bother anyone? I like the way the comments are shaping up now and if you haven't noticed, each comment gets it's own URL now if you ever want to reference something. They're making progress...

"You guys can’t be serious about the logo in the address bar? Why would that bother anyone?" When you bookmark the site, the ugly logo shows up on your bookmark menu. Always. Never goes away. And yeah, I was half-joking.

Wow! Big improvements from this morning. Nice work Evan & co. Thanks for keeping a cool head whilst we bellyached about all your hard work. Some Cubs type colors would be nice, but I'm sure they're coming. Also, I like the option is easy for the pop up window (for work on PC) or drop down (for home on Mac) for the comments. In other news, I'd like to add to the chorus of people who would much prefer to hold on to Hill/Murton over Maholm/Rios. Our two guys started showing what they were really capable of the last part of the season, and not Angel Guzman, Felix Pie showing what they are capable of, but putting up legit major league numbers. I firmly believe long run they put up better production than their Pittsburg & Toronto counterparts.

Do we really need "Comment by"? Wouldn't the name of the commenter be adequate enough?

Rios and Murton are about equals at the plate, but Rios is hell of a better defensive outfielder and basestealer/runner. As for Hill I think his Semptember was a fluke.

I wouldn't mind Rios but Tor is looking for starting pitching and I think they can easily swap Rios for a guy like Dan Haren. We really got nothing to offer Toronto for him. (oh and to the webmaster/designer of this. Make the "Your Comment" section fit the window or expand the window. You guys are doing a hell of a job, got numbers on the posts, bold "comment by", a little breaker between each post. Add a splash of subtle color and some free beer and I think we got a site.)

Hi guys, the new site looks decent, but I agree with some of the other posters, we do not need to see "Comment by" in front of every comment, it's not as easy to pinpoint someone's post with it like this.

And the "Comment by" section is off.... you guys are on top of this !! How about the "Preview" button? Is that a goner?

I'm kidding, Chad. I don't much like the new layout either, so I was agreeing. This will have to shape up a whole lot for me to like it as much as the old format. Why the huge empty space at the top of the page? TCR should start at the top of the page, with a link to other team sites on the side or in a drop down box. Also stretch out the left hand column to fill more of the page. Good job on getting rid of the "Comment by" at each post.

Rios and Murton are about equals at the plate, but Rios is hell of a better defensive outfielder and basestealer/runner. As for Hill I think his Semptember was a fluke. Except that Murton has much better plate discipline. Hill probably has a better chance of repeating his 2nd half than Rios does of repeating his fluke 1st half. Murton/Hill are much better than Rios/Maholm.

What's to like about Maholm? The .295 BAA... The 1.61 WHIP?

Big John -- "Why the huge empty space at the top of the page? " It's a bug. The guys who designed the page don't know enough about CSS (a style language for web pages) so it's hosed on IE. Generally, most web developers work in a sandbox before they push major changes out to poor, unsuspecting users.

What if Drew can't pass a physical, how stupid will Boras look for having JD turn down 3/33 guaranteed from the Dodgers? Surely if Drew is hurt, Boras knew about that before advising him to opt out from LA. Until the Drew situation is resolved, I guess that means Boston sits on Wily Mo for awhile longer. My thoughts were that Pena would be very attainable, perhaps for a lefty reliever like Ohman and some middle infield insurance like Cedeno. I wouldn't mind seeing Pena platoon with Floyd in RF if the Cubs can move Jock.

Good job, Evan & Co. for making the changes to the comments quickly. I'm still having a problem with the fixed sized of the comments pop-up. I want the text to either wrap-around or have the window re sizable so that a scroll bar doesn't appear at the bottom.

also when you click the name of each person to follow the website link i'd rather it opens in a new window that is fullscreen withe the regular toolbars than in this little crowded pop-up box.

Abbr tag, huh? ADIDAS
Block Quote, that's very cool.
What is this? What is the em tag do? Strong tag?

Links gone? Hey Rob - This blog template does not have a listing of links of any of the worthwhile Cubs Blog bretheren like the old site. I occaisionally enjoy tuning into some of the "other guys" to see their spins on things. Is this planned for the future?

10Man: "Good job, Evan & Co. for making the changes to the comments quickly." I agree... Lots of improvements from this morning. Good job....

We're getting there, I believe if you click on the "friends" link, each author can tailor their own links. in due time....

how do you close italicizing/bolding, etc.?

The comments section is looking great. The only thing I miss is the preview. It was nice to be able to test your html tags without creating a post.

comments show up a lot faster and they automatically puts you at the end without much of a reload, that's nice. It'll make it easier to keep up when the comments are flying fast and furious.

So I guess the new addition makes it official that John Hill is gone. No eulogy or anything. I almost shed a tear...ALMOST. He wasn't that new "Jack the Ripper" wannabe guy in England that is killing those prostitutes, was he?

john hill's gone? hell, i blame hendry. this new layout has to be dusty's work, too. i have no proof of this, but i feel strongly enough about it to present it as fact. anyway, once the team trades for arod it'll all work out.

The old site had the "double-post" feature, where your comments would sometimes show up 2-3 times. Will the new site design retain this?

crunch: "john hill’s gone? hell, i blame hendry." No, it can't be Hendry's fault. It was that MacPhail was not willing to pay for him.

"The Cubs aren't looking for a new left fielder -- they're looking for a left-handed bat. Murton is expected to get the majority of the playing time. Floyd batted .266 against right-handers, .179 against lefties. The Cubs are doing extensive checks on Floyd's medical reports before finalizing a deal; he had problems with his Achilles." from ms. thang's new mlb.com cubs mailbag. seems floyd is just a matter of a medical report and some paperwork by that rant.

Nope.

I think I'm being left out of the executive committee decisions, when DID John Hill leave, and Graham Funk join? In any case, welcome, my surprise new colleague! I wish I had the time to actually, you know, do my fair share of work!

I'll try not to add too much to the chorus of critique as I'm sure a lot of work went into the upgrade. By and large I feel that the stylistically the site has been improved by the redesign. Nice job. What I'd find most helpful is a brief list of additional functionality that comes with the site redesign. You have some professionals who deal a fair amount in web application development and design--many of whom have made suggestions regarding functionality. I'm excited to see if any of it has found its way in on this phase of development.

Yeah, what did happen to John Hill? Did he give up on the Cubs? I thought it was the French that surrendered so easily.

i hired a private investigator to look into the john hill situation. so far, he's not been located, but 4 separate charges totaling $382.27 has been charged to his credit card for cardinals gear. he was also spotted at a bar a few weeks ago celebrating with other cardinals fans laughing at cubs signings...til they stopped to cry realizing their offseason pitching upgrade so far has been giving kip wells 4m. what a fair weather cubs fan...what a bum...

btw...wonder how much suppan/weaver are worth...that should be interesting.

In John's defense, he seems to have been very caught up with life as a college student. It's something I can sympathize with. That said, for all I know, he was fired for getting the Denny Neagle treatment from some Ladies of the Evening in St. Louis.

...so far, he’s not been located, but 4 separate charges totaling $382.27 has been charged to his credit card for cardinals gear. ------- So he's being accused of impersonating Mark Buerle?

For reference: Yes, the site is a bit glitched up right now. I, not knowing anything about web admin, had to go into to fix something for an emergency. It's fixed, but it glitched other stuff. It'll be done tommorrow.

FWIW, I like the re-design. I (vaguely) remember the look of TCR BEFORE the design that just got replaced. To be honest, the design that we're leaving behind was my least favorite. One question: where did that nice button go that I could click on and see site traffic patterns? anyone?

Rob's got mail. BTW Heya Trans. Guess who has the first pick in next years' draft and is going to pick Matzusaka?

~grin~ I turned in my grades this morning, decided NOT to drive to Omaha tomorrow but the next day, and am celebrating the end of a very, very difficult semester. Oh god it's been brutal. So glad to be able to watch MNF and hang out here.

Heya Carlos. IT was a very interesting couple of decisions that resulted in the first pick falling to you. I'm disappointed, but not surprised, to hear that you'll go with Matsuzaka. Is there ANY young prospect that might get added to the yahoo system that you'd take before him?

433? Are you around here? I'll be in Omaha for awhile, give me an email if you'd like to meet up for a drink.

I've seen two different sites list Dukes as a top 20 prospect, and two other sites refuse to list him at all, due to behavioral issues. I wouldn't take him. Then again, my OF is loaded.

And Evan, thank you for the fix and the improvement to the website. You've done a very nice job building the mvn network.

My OF is wafer-thin. I need at least a top flight SP and a good to great OF. BTW, I love fantasy baseball. The Gagné flier I took last month looks a lot better now.

Oh wow, I forgot: did you acquire Gagne for keepers? My decision to keep Saito is ALSO looking a lot better now.... I am very pleased with how I managed my 20 keepers. Wafer-thin reminds me that I haven't watched Monty Python's The Meaning of Life in a long, long time. I love the snooty french waiter from that scene. I've borrowed that accent on several occassions to do impersonations of Dead French Men for my students.

Kudos for getting the reference :) and yeah, I thought Gagné would get a cheap contract to set up Benítez or Otsuka, but no! He got a guaranteed closer job, his to lose, on a league that doesn't know him. Woot.

how the hell did you make that smiley face? I'm just hoping Burrell gets traded. He might not be able to run or field, but he's still an asset on offense for a team that appreciates what he has to offer.

Ok, here's a question. A Tribune article mentioned that something like eight pitchers wore Maddux's (and before him, Jenkins') number 31 before Maddux returned in 2004. Are there numbers in baseball that tend to correspond to specific positions, the way that there are in football? (where WRs get the 80s, Linebackers get the 50s, etc)

what the hell? I try to make a parentheses, and instead I make a winky yellow face man? wtf????? and yeah, where's parachat? it's not TCR without parachat....

>:(

:O

;)

:/

ok, what have we learned: colon followed by right parenetheses gets you :) and semicolon followed by right parentheses gets you ;)

no parachat is the only way I contributed to TCR after last july. and it's one of two things that kept me alive.

nope

Transmission: ;( can you wink and frown? Winking is very rarely sad. Can you give an example?

I started winking a lot, a few years ago. I'm not quite sure why. With time, I've started to wink in order to share sad experiences where I and the other person know we'll just have to get through it. I'm also probably sociopathic. The real question is, how do we make the ninja?

:l

In Field of Dreams, when Kevin Costner's dad walked away after they played catch, I think his dad may have winked while being sad. Also in Ghost when Demi Moore said "Ditto" I think she may have winked while being sad. There may be others.

:o :o :0

from http://www.computeruser.com/resources/dictionary/emoticons.html !-( Black eye !-) Proud of black eye #-) Wiped out, partied all night #:-o Shocked $-) Won the lottery, or money on the brain %(|:-) Â Propeller-head %*} Inebriated %+{ Got beat up %-( Confused %-) Dazed or silly %-6 Brain-dead %-\ Hung over %-{ Ironic %-| Worked all night %-} Humorous or ironic %\ Hangover >>:-- Female >-> Winking devil >--) Devilish wink >:) Little devil >:-> Very mischievous devil >:-:-:-( Annoyed >:-) Mischievous devil >=^ P Yuck Devilish expression Devilish expression .. ) alienated (( )):** Hugs and kisses ((())) Lots of hugging (initials or a name can be put in the middle of the one being hugged) () Hugging (-: Left-handed smile, or smiley from the southern hemisphere (:& Angry (:- Unsmiley (:-& Angry (:-( Unsmiley (:-) Smiley variation (:-* Kiss (:-\ Very sad (::()::) Bandaid, meaning comfort (:| Egghead * Kiss *--->--- A dozen roses 2B|^2B To be or not to be 5:-) Elvis 7:) Ronald Reagan 7:^) Ronald Reagan 8 Infinity 8 :-) Wizard 8) Wide-eyed, or wearing glasses 8-# Death 8-) Wide-eyed, or wearing glasses 8-o Shocked 8-O Astonished 8-P Yuck! 8-[ Frayed nerves; overwrought 8-] Wow! 8-| Wide-eyed surprise : ( Sad : ) Smile : [ Bored, sad : | Bored, sad :( ) Loudmouth, talks all the time; or shouting :* Kiss :*) Clowning :**: Returning kiss :+( Got punched in the nose :,( Crying :- Male :-# My lips are sealed; or someone wearing braces :-& Tongue-tied :-> Smile of happiness or sarcasm :-> What? :@ What? :C Astonished :e Disappointed :P Sticking out tongue :X Hear no evil :x Kiss :\' Crying :\'( Crying :\'-( Crying :\'-) Tears of happiness :^D Happy, approving :`-( Shedding a tear :{ Having a hard time :~) A cold :~-( Crying :~/ Confused ; ) Wink ; P Wink with a raspberry ;( Crying ;-( Angry, or got a black eye ;-) Winkey ;-D Winking and laughing = O Surprised = X My lips are sealed =):-)= Abraham Lincoln =:-) Punk, or hosehead =====:} Snake =^* Kisses =^D Big grin ?( Black eye ?-( Black eye @>--->--- A long-stemmed rose @== Atomic bomb @}->-- Rose B:-) Sunglasses on head d :-o Hats off to you! IOHO In Our Humble Opinion M-) See no evil M-), :X, :-M See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil M:-) A salute O 8-) Starry-eyed angel O :-) Angel O+ Female O-> Male O8-) Starry-eyed angel O:-) Angel P* French kiss Q:-) College graduate X-( Just died [:-) Wearing a Walkman [:-] Square head [:-| Frankenstein [:] Robot [:| Frankenstein [:|] Robot [[ ]] Hug Insert a name in the brackets of the one who is being hugged, as: [[Marcia]] [] Hug \') Winky \'-) Winky \_/ Empty glass \~/ Full glass ]:-> Devil ]:-) Happy devil ][ Back to back ^ ^ ^ Giggles ^5 High five `:-) Raised eyebrow {{ }} Hug; the one whose name is in the brackets is being hugged Example: {{MJ}} {} No comment |( Sleepy (on late night email message) |- Puckered up for a kiss |-( Sleepy, struggling to stay awake, or sleeping badly |-D Big laugh |-O Yawn |-{ Good grief! |-| Asleep |I Asleep |^o Snoring }-) Wry smile }: [ Angry, frustrated }{ Face to face ~ :-( Steaming mad ~:-( Flame message ~:-\ Elvis ~:o Baby ~:\ Elvis ~= Lit candle, indicating a flame (inflammatory message) ~== Begins a flame (inflammatory message) ~~:-( Especially hot flame message ~~:[ Net flame ~~~~8} Snake ~~~~~8} Snake

Oh gawd, not smiles. Anything but that! Seriously, nice jobs by the MVN folks taking what had been a practically unreadable redesign this morning, listening to suggestion, and having a pretty nice little page up 12 hours or so later. I can't say that it's really any better than what we had yesterday, but its not any worse anymore either. Sometimes, that's all you can ask for.

lol Ryno :P Btw I just realised that Crunch is gonna love that tongue emoticon.

Emoticons? Hey guys, 1998 called and they want their ideas back. Is there an emoticon for 'gay'?

Trans: That site is awesome! IIRC, the fantastic dudes at Brew Crew Ball are the masterminds behind it.

As in, happy to be gay! Wait a minute. I'm neither happy, nor gay. Nevermind. I need to check out Brew Crew, I guess, Carlos!

yeah, 2007 is supposed to be the new 1998, according to all the Fashionistas! Dust off your Chumbawumba CDs!

OH SNAP 433. BUUUUUUUUUUURN! You da man!!! If emoticons are back the consider me NOT LOL and :( this next one probably wont show up right but =:::( thats crying tears

What is the emoticon for "I love Fun Dip"? Because I am having some right now and loving it.

In case you missed it, 433, I'll be in Omaha for awhile. Drop me a line? Do our email addresses still show up in comments?

Among the many, many things lacking in my current town, Good Nachos are near the top of the list. Pass them over, Carlos.

Oh, is fun dip that thing that leaves a colored stain on your tongue? I think we have equivalents in Mexico.

nuts, I was going to make enchiiladas, but I'm out of tortillas. And there isn't a store in town open after ten. arge.

hmm, it's not appearing in chat b j r u s w i c k (without any spaces) at gmail dot com Carlos - nope. I live in a barren wasteland. God, I'd die for some shredded cheese and spicy salsa melted in a tortilla, right now. damnit.

Ok, I did the next best thing. Grabbed left over crackers that a guy brought over to an end-of-semester drink-fest, and shredded some cheese and salsa onto that, and nuked in. God bless being a bachelor who doesn't have to go to work tomorrow.

Trans-- Re: 193 Are you trying to talk like a (non-Pittsburgh) pirate (argh) or just mis-spelling "argue?"

Good Evening All!! Thanks for the well wishes, and I'll do my best to bring it and live up to what this page has already established within the Cubs Blogosphere. I certainly like the moves the Ivory Tower has made to this point, and am looking forward to get this thing started in Spring. Talk to you soon, G Funk

Look at the new guy. Still all eager and enthusiastic. Good to see he hasn't been beaten into cynacism and derrision just yet. But don't worry fish, we'll get to you. We get to everyone here in what I call Northside Oz.

Thanks for the Nutty Buddy link Trans. I hadn't seen that before. To me, the funniest part of the whole thing is Chris Sabo's pronounciation of the word "testicles". I've never heard anyone say it that way before. Someone needs to give that guy a job doing color.

Nothing is funnier than ex Major Leaguers enthusiastically talking about getting hit in the groin.

Hey, I know it is still a month away, but anyone going to the Cubs Convention in January? I will be going for my 5th straight year.

That emoticon discussion was riveting! I think we should now have a meta-chat about the discussion of emoticons. Is it ok to talk about emoticons? Is it Cub Reporter worthy? Well at least with John Hill gone we got a replacement with a very English name. It doesn't get much more English than Graham. Just wait until the new guy gets hammered for being pro-stat/stat-opposed or for being a fan of LouPa/LouPa hater, being a political lefty/political righty, etc., etc. ad nauseum, ad infinitum. Ah, good times are ahead.

You are right, the current Cubs pitching staff is far from the caliber of a contending World Series team. The offense is there and the relief pitching, but a starting pitching staff of Zambrano, Lilly, Hill, Marquis, & #5 (Marshall, Miller, Prior, & others) wow, are you serious. Zambrano is the only real lock on the staff, Lilly if he stays healthy should give the Cubs innings, Hill and Marquis are ??????? Unless the Cubs acquire some quality starting pitching and a centerfielder, the 2007 season will still be better than last year, but finishing ahead of Houston, St.Louis, Milwaukee, and Cincy will be very hard unless you believe in miracles.

Hey Manny, Im going to be going this year, it will be my 5th year going. BTW I was DFA_Neifi in parachat for most of the season. We'll be going on Thursday afternoon, as always, to beat the rush(we're staying at the hotel until Sunday morning anyhow.)

From Maller's site, the Boston Globe article on J.D. Drew... The Red Sox have questions about the condition of J.D. Drew's surgically repaired right shoulder, questions that have kept them from finalizing a deal for the free agent right fielder two weeks after Drew's agent, Scott Boras, announced at the winter meetings that the Sox and Drew had come to terms on a five-year, $70 million contract. Until the parties sign off on the deal, Drew remains a free agent, according to Gene Orza, chief operating officer for the Major League Baseball Players Association, who confirmed that the Sox raised questions about Drew's shoulder after he underwent the physical upon which the deal was conditioned. For now, Orza said, the issues are more the subject of an inquiry by the Sox than at the center of a dispute between the parties. "We [the union] are not involved in it yet," Orza said. "Apparently, the parties are talking about the consequences of a procedure J.D. had, that in the opinion of the doctor, was designed to help further the rehabilitation of the shoulder." Click Here for full story.

You are right, the current Cubs pitching staff is far from the caliber of a contending World Series team. The offense is there and the relief pitching, but a starting pitching staff of Zambrano, Lilly, Hill, Marquis, & #5 (Marshall, Miller, Prior, & others) wow, are you serious. Yes, the Pitching staff is the relative weak link. However, is Zambrano, Lilly, Hill, (Marquis/Miller/Prior/Marshall/etc) really any worse than Carpenter/Suppan/Reyes/Weaver in terms of a "contending World Series Team" The Cubs are the only team in the NL Central who have improved their team this offseason. Everyone else has either made no significant moves or taken a step backwards - in what was already a very weak division. While the Cubs certainly aren't guarenteed anything, to say they need a miracle to compete in the NL Central is just being pessamistic regardless of reality.

Casey (DFA_Neifi)- Yeah we stay at the hotel too. It makes it so much easier. We won't be getting there until Friday around 11AM. We will have to talk before then to try and set a time to meet up.

Bleeding Blue: "While the Cubs certainly aren’t guarenteed anything, to say they need a miracle to compete in the NL Central is just being pessamistic regardless of reality." While I agree we aren't a miracle away from competing in the NL Central, I can say honestly that for a team with a $125 million payroll (3rd highest payroll in MLB), I would of been expecting us not to be just hoping we can compete in a division where a .500 team can possibly win the division. And also where each of the other teams really haven't improved much. I would be expecting us to be comparing ourselves with the NY Mets for the NL crown. But I think that has some to do with the hole we have dug the last two offseasons. MikeC always talked about we shouldn't sit back and expect other teams to get worse, so thus we get better: addition by subtraction kind of thinking, and I agree with him. Now Hendry has been amazingly active this offseason, gotta give him that, I just don't think he has added enough quality players, especially the pitchers, to take a 66 win team to an 86-90 win team yet. Just my opinion

I think we are improved dramatically. Adding Soriano was huge for the top of the lineup. And having Lee back for a full season is going to help also. That is atleast 80 HR's and 200 RBI between those two that didn't exist on last years team. The rotation while not sexy is going to be solid. Which is better than the "hope and prayer" we have lived with over the last couple years. A team can win 100 games with 1 Ace and 4 average pitchers in the rotation. Provided you have a decent consistent offense and a good bullpen to salvage as many leads as possible and turn them into wins. Then the team has wildcards who can put you over the top. Matt Murton, a lot of people seem hell bent on casting this guy aside but I would not be shocked in the slightest bit to see him become a major RBI threat next season. Rich Hill, seems to finally turned that corner. People want to say fluke and they may well be correct but it isn't like he came into the league fooling people like Zach Duke and then becoming mediocre after the league figured him out. Hill sucked when he came up and now has adjusted to the league. That is a much better sign than the Zach Duke route. Kerry Wood, the next dominate closer in baseball? I pretty much guaranteeing that Ryan Dempster will not be on this team by the All-Star break and Wood will be our closer. If that happens, yikes, watch out MLB. That is going to awesome Mark Prior, if he can get back on the wagon and give us atleast 150 innings at 4.00 ERA, that would be huge. Yes we still have alot of IF's but the team isn't built around those IF's now. That is the difference. The team has the talent to win next year, they have enough talent to be dominate. They could also crash and burn and be the biggest flop team in the history of professional sports. Unlike the last couple years where I kept seeing a gradual decent into mediocrity I see a team now on the rise. And the key to all of this could very well be how Piniella lights a fire under the team to give it 110% each and every day.

Welcome Graham. If you don't already have a TCR handle, consider "G-Funk"

Welp, mark me down for first bone headed comment nominee of the new format. I can see, now that G Funk is already G Funk. I'll retreat now into my lurker cave.

Re: Starting Pitching - consider last year... our starting staff combined for a 5.19 ERA. Sean Marshall 24 GS, 6-9, 125.2 IP, 5.59 ERA Carlos Marmol 13 GS, 5-6, 67.2 IP, 5.99 ERA Angel Guzman 10 GS, 0-6, 42.2 IP, 9.28 ERA Juan Mateo 10 GS, 1-3, 43.2 IP, 5.56 ERA Glendon Rusch 9 GS, 3-6, 37.2 IP, 8.36 ERA That's 66 GS, 14-30, 315 IP, and a whopping 6.50 ERA. That, likely, none of these pitchers will be starting for us next year is a huge plus. Marquis, Lilly, and Hill can be expected to yield ERAs ranging from 4.00 - 5.00 (yes, I believe Marquis's year was a fluke - his 3 year ERA is 4.60), which is a HUGE improvement over the aforementioned pitchers. Hill, Lilly, Prior and Marquis all have tremendous upside - all are young and have shown flashes of brilliance.

btw...its not even a 100m team yet and yes, its cuz of the bonus loot breakdown. some players have already received their bonuses, lilly gets his in a few weeks. bonuses toward payroll, if you choose to count that toward payroll, is calculated and applied to payroll over the course of the contract for mlb "luxury tax" purposes. once Z signs it will be. including the bonuses the team should break with a 110-115m team, unless c.floyd or the "random lefty bat" costs more than 5m. once Z signs the 2009 payroll liability on the books from 2007 might sting a bit, though. go health go.

Crunch- That might be the way MLB looks at it from a "luxury tax" point of view, but I am calculating how much money they are actually spending (salary and signing bonuses) this season. That will be roughly $125 million.

"Is it ok to talk about emoticons?" Mr. Whip, NO. real men do not talk about their emoticons. Or ever show them. MikeC, you're point is on the money. If the Cards can do it with that rotation, we can do it with ours.

A new layout. A new writer. MikeC being optimistic. This is too much. I'm just so overwhelmed ;)

MikeC: While I share some of your pitching optimism (one can only have optimism after last year), I do not know why you and others are annointing Kerry Wood a closer before ST even starts. 1. We do not know WHAT he'll be pitching like during/after this long rehab - how many is this now? 5? 2. While he certainly could have the stuff to be a short inning closer - he WALKS alot of hitters! Not good in the 9th inning facing the better hitting teams. Also, again related to his rehab, no one knows what his arm will feel like on consecutive days pitching - or 4 days a week for that matter. Again, I understand your entusiasm, but maybe chill.

"but I am calculating how much money they are actually spending" hate to see what you'd do with the rsox payroll. would the payout bid count as well as money paid to mats' personal trainer? and what if that bonus money's implication means a couple fewer international scouts and the loss of a company dental plan (sup steinbrenner/cashman, we're talking about you on a cubs board)? money out doesnt always mean its coming from the same pool of universal resources/money.

"but what happened to John HIll?" dunno if anyone knows...assumed to be busy. i was just ragging on him for the hell of it with stupidity and some others, too. he's in for a hell of a surprise when he shows up again to see the page looks like a blog for the NY Times business section.

and no, i dont got a problem with the new layout and the new popup is a lot more easily read than yesterday. CHANGE BAD...*bangs on his computer with a caveman club*

"That’s 66 GS, 14-30, 315 IP" wow...now that's painful...never looked at those breakdowns. that's not even 5ip per start (4.7).

Well, good thing I am not an accountant for any of MLB's teams, right? :) I stopped counting payroll at salary and signing bonuses. One could go on and on (per diem, incentive bonuses, etc.). But nothing is "official", just the way I am looking at it. I am sure others will look at things differently. And that's all good.

hey, its your right to break down payroll as you see fit, but if you insist on presenting the payroll as 10-15m more than it is going to be officially reported you're gonna have a lotta people going "huh?" on this board when they release official payroll opening day figures. myself, im a lot more concerned about 09 over 07 when it comes to payroll panic, but if anyone told me in 05 that the club would be spending out 115-125m in 07 (bonuses or not) i'd be skeptical of that bold, but probable, statement.

I love the blog that you have. I was wondering if you would link my blog to yours and in return I would do the same for your blog. If you want to, my site name is American Legends and the URL is: www.americanlegends.blogspot.com If you want to do this just go to my blog and in one of the comments just write your blog name and the URL and I will add it to my site. Thanks, David

3.25 for m.giles with a club option of 4m. not bad for a midget fatass. incentives could make both years worth appx. 8.25m.

Why do people think Spamming other people's blogs is a good way to advertise for their blog?

Wow, Graham Funk is in the house! I remember years ago, the first vinyl LP I bought was Grahams' Red Album...what?...oh, nevermind... Nice job to all who contributed to re-working the site. It looks much better than it did 24 hours ago.

Wow, Giles had to take a paycut to go to SD? He must really want to play with his brother. The way his stats have crashed the past few years, playing in that park isn't gonna help much.

Crasnick is calling the Cubs’ shot at resigning Zambrano 50-50. Cubster is calling for a 90-10 chance of Crasnick being a dufuss.

Is he saying the Cubs won't resign Z at all or just before the start of the season? I could easily see Z wait to the end of the season and test FA like ARam did and make a few extra million, but yet still resign with the Cubs. I think it is clear over the past few years that if you are a Cub and Hendry wants to keep you he will pony up the money. It just comes down to if Z wants to stay here. He might want to see how this year goes and how he likes playing for Piniella too.

Ranch, nice reference. Graham Funk Railroad.

Ranch, nice reference. Graham Funk Railroad. Is Graham Funk his real name? I assumed that was a pseudonym.

Not really news but I read this in the AP article about Marquis' physical today... did know the part about Maddux's recommendation: "But the Cubs hope pitching coach Larry Rothschild can help Marquis regain the form he had in Atlanta. The two met after the World Series on the recommendation of Greg Maddux, who pitched with Marquis in Atlanta and was with the Cubs for 2 1/2 seasons before being traded to Los Angeles last July. " I would think Marquis would be an excellent litmus test of Rothschild's coaching ability.

Yeah, I am too stupid to figure out what is probably pretty clear instructions for the html tags. I need monkey basic like at ddo.com/forums Which of those smiley faces is for sarcastic smirk? MikeC, "That is atleast 80 HR’s and 200 RBI between those two that didn’t exist on last years team. " Not really, probably more like 50 and 80, but still an improvement. "Hill and Murton for Rios and Malholm" no thanks. No need to trade for a right fielder until we know we need one, plus what other people said about those two guys. The Giles contract looks a lot better than the Lemke I mean McElmore err, DeRosa contract, but that's spilled milk at this point. "Hill's September was a fluke" Hill's August ERA would be have put him 5th in the NL in ERA.

Not really, probably more like 50 and 80, but still an improvement. You think Derrek Lee and Alfonso Soriano are going to combine for 50 HR and 80 RBI?

No, I think they're going to combine for 50 HR's and 80 RBI's more than the guys who they're replacing did last year.

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    yeah, for me this isn't about who's better at 3rd.  it's madrigal, period.  for me it's about who's not hitting in the lineup because madrigal is in the lineup.

    occasional play at 3rd for madrigal, okay.  going with the steele/ground-ball matchup...meh, but okay, whatever.

    seeing madrigal get significant starting time...no thanks.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Yeah I am very disappointed Madrigal is starting. He has no business as a starter. He is AAA insurance, a back up at best. Sure his defense looks fine because he plays far enough in that his noodle arm isn’t totally exposed. It comes at the cost of 3B range.

    He’s garbage, and a team serious about winning would NOT have him starting opening day.

  • crunch (view)

    in other news, it took 3 PA before a.rizzo got his 1st HBP of the season.

  • Eric S (view)

    With two home runs (so far) and 5 rbi today … clearly Nick Martini is the straw that stirs the Reds drink 😳

  • 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.

    morel played almost exclusively at 3rd in winter ball and they had him almost exclusively there all spring when he wasn't DH'ing.

    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?  it's 2024 and we got glenn beckert 2.0 manning 3rd base.

    this is a tauchman or cooper DH situation based on bat, alone.  cooper is 3/7 with a double off eovaldi if you want to play the most successful matchup.

    anyway, i hope this is a temporary thing, not business as usual for the rest of the season.  it will be telling if morel is not used at 3rd when an extreme fly ball pitcher like imanaga is on the mound.

  • 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.