Cubs MLB Roster

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

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

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

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

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

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

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

 



 

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Game 44 Recap: Cubs 1, Padres 2

Aww, Hell's Bells.

Game Center, Play by Play, Box Score, Photos, Game Chart

W - Wells (2-2) , fat, white, middle-aged, millionaire men. L - Marshall (0-1) , Fairness S - Hoffman (13) Things to take from the game 1. Marshall's first start of the year It's odd. Marshall hasn't really impressed me with my one eye on the TV, and yet I look up, and he's pitched six shutout innings with 2 hits, 2 BB and 5 K. The Padres got some good swings at him that wound up being harmless outs, and there's no disputing the results. 8 K's when he leaves the game after 7, with really only one mistake. And he leaves on the hook for a loss.... 2. The Seventh Cubs load the bases on Wells, and the inning ends with a 4-6-3 GIDP by Izturis. Marshall puts one runner on, just his fifth runner of the night at that moment, and Kouzmanoff crushes one into the upper deck in the left field bleachers. We go from a 1-0 lead, and a chance to blow the game open, to a 2-1 deficit. Len mentioned, at the start, how the Cubs scored 9 runs in his 9 losses, last year.... 3. DeRosa's good night DeRosa and Murton were the only guys who seemed able to handle Padres' pitching. DeRosa's fourth hit of the night came with two outs in the ninth, an opposite-field triple off Hoffman that was within 3 feet of going out of the park. Jones comes in to pinch-hit, works a 3-2 count, and lines out to RF to end the game. We gave Hoffman a good scare, but missed a crucial chance to avoid Hoffman, entirely, in the 7th. 4. Brevity You don't need many points, when it's a 2-1 game won on a home run. More tough luck for Marshall. More interesting things than you thought could be squeezed from this game, below.
  • It takes David Wells all of seven pitches to prosecute the top of the first.
  • It takes Sean Marshall one batter to yield a walk.
  • Marshall nearly throws a tap-back into right field, but Lee with a big stretch saves an error, and a run, in the first.
  • There's a very visible "33" etched into the dirt behind the pitchers' mound. This is David Wells' number. Is this some ritual of his, writing his number in the dirt, in case fans at home have any question of what that number is on the back of his jersey?
  • Brenley reporting the grounds crew is responsible for the 33.
  • With two outs in the second, Murton singles, steals second, and scores on a DeRosa double into the Left-center gap. 1-0 Cubs.
  • Wells and Marshall quickly settling down. Neither looks dominant, but both getting the job done.
  • Murton and DeRosa smack a couple of solid singles to start the fifth. Izturis then hits a sinking line drive in to Right, which Cruz catches with Murton almost standing on third. Murton doubled off. Not good running from our favorite red-head.
  • Wells is working a VERY fast pace, and we're letting him.
  • This is why I like Bob Brenley - he can be genuinely unconventional in his thinking, and in a funny way. In the fifth he speculates about intentionally walking David Wells in some game, to make the rotund 40-somethinger run the bases.
  • Cameron blasts yet another one, but Soriano makes a nice running catch on the warning track, before bumping into the scoreboard.
  • one out in the seventh, and Wells walks Barrett and Murton back to back. De Rosa then lifts a blooper over Marcus Giles, who races out with Cruz Jr. racing in. Giles tries to make an over the shoulder sliding catch, misses, and collides with Cruz Jr. It could have been much, much worse of a collision than what it was. Phew. Bases loaded on wells, one out, and Izturis up in the seventh. Izturis GIDP, 4-6-3
  • Linebrink with a single to Soriano, and then a walk to Lee puts runners on 1st and 2nd with two outs, for Aramis. Pop-up to end the inning.
  • and Len with a nice "volume to eleven" reference.=
  • I think that's the first time I've seen the full "Hell's Bells" Hoffman entrance. It's quite impressive. In a slightly corny way.
  • With 2 outs in the ninth, DeRosa got just out in front of a change-up and hooked it foul down the left field line, maybe ten feet from tying up the game.
  • a couple pitches later, DeRosa comes within maybe three feet of hitting it out, opposite field, into the porch that juts in closer to the field. Ball bounces away, and he gets a two-out triple! Four-hit game for DeRosa
  • Jones in to pinch hit for Izturis.
Parachat Recap Inning 1 Witty commentary regarding C. M. Wang going to his mouth while on the mound, the other night. Ash or Maple? Updates from the minor leagues. Who put the 33 (Wells' number) into the back of the mound? What should Marshall do, to mess with the number? Inning 2 Can there really be any winners in American Idol? Sean Marshall trivia. Chicagoans. What is the proper term for a person from Massachusetts? From Columbus? Stealing from the boss. Fantasy updates. Inning 3 Remembering Les Walrond. Euphemisms for David Wells' body-type. Giles brothers. Backwards names. Tacos and Salmon. The Cincinatti Reds. Fish fertilization. Lesbian fish. Sociopaths. Fertilizing lesbian sociopathic fish. Sister Sledge. Inning 4 Anne Heche. Kittens are Cute. that Dick's sporting goods commercial. Cats and Bunnies. Ultrasounds. It is not a tumor! Face AIDS. Griffey. Athletic trainers. Murton makes us happy. Inning 5 David Wells sans goatee. Objectifying Sean Marshall. Second-favorite teams. Inning 6 What design should be drawn in the OF for Pagan, a la David Wells' 33? Things to do to your daughter's dates. Chain-yanking Inning 7 Free Beer. Milky Way bars. Herman Hesse and Herman Munster. Mexican Donkeys. Borat. The NL Central's collective asses. Expressing our disappointment with Izturis. Emancipation and Emasculation: how to avoid confusing the one for the other. Really bad suggestions for how I can get kicked out of TCR. Making further use of urbandictionary.com. Marinades. Car insurance. Inning 8 Hint of lime nacho chips. Southern California Fan Cams. Neifi = Izturis? More on auto insurance. Gift suggestions for celebrating Soriano's 1000th career game tomorrow. A sentence containing both Eric Patterson and Lucy Liu. The Elijah Dukes divorce situation. Stoner jokes. ADD jokes. The laws of narrative, coherence and conversational structure are suspended. Russian babushkas. Inning 9 RALLY CAPS. Trevor Hoffman's foreplay techniques. Frustration. Excitement. Frustration.

Comments

I really don't want to see Pizza Pizza nor Jock in a Cubs uniform again. Ever. And I really hate Jim Hendry right about now. Can't wait for Mark Cuban to fire that pig. Too bad the Cubs suck, you deserved better Sean Marshall. Good job.

Regardless of Jones' greater issues, I really can't hold a solid line-drive to right, after working a full count, against him. He had a good AB, other than the whole making the last out of the game thing.

My money is on sweet Lou to get this team turned around. We are still a few games ahead of last year.

I moved to San Diego late last year and tonight was my first Petco experience. I have to say -- the whole Hoffman/Hell's Bells thing is pretty impressive in person. I had a ball. Anyway, the Padres fan I was at the game with totally called Koooooozmanoff's home run while Piniella was on the mound. He knew Kouzmanoff had been crushing the ball the last week or so. Actual quote: "Piniella better pull him now, 'cause I got a feeling this kid's gonna go deep." Two pitches later... "Petco. Where (most) homeruns go to die."

i just find it funny that the cubs who are susposed to be this homerun hitting ball club havent hit 1 yet and San Diego who has very little power has 5 including that shot by kooozmanoff which was crushed you cant blame Jacque Jones for this game if anything Blame izturis and or Pinella for not pinch hitting in that situation. another sad showing with the bases loaded, its almost a foregone conclusion that we will hit into a double play if we have the bases loaded with one out. i dont even get upset anymore, ive come to expect it. Oh and if we get the bases loaded, 9 out of 10 times someone who we dont want to be up with the bases loaded will be up, for example tonight with Izturis i cant blame Pinella for not pulling Marshall, he after all struck out the side (i think) the inning he gave up that home run.

Barry thats not saying much at all. we are only 2 games (4 in the loss colum) better through 47 games than last year.

the good thing is Mil and Hou are having as much trouble as we are now. Win tommrrow and we are only 6 back with 117 to play. We would have to make up a game every 19.5 we play then.

"Tonight really was one pitch that cost us the game, and it's unbelievable," said Mark DeRosa, who went 4-for-4. "It's a tough one to swallow, especially when the kid pitched really well." sigh... DeRosa went 4/4 with a triple and never crossed the plate. . Sean Marshall didn't cost the Cubs the game.

Meanwhile, down on the farm, Eric Patterson moved out to LF and Mike Fontenot was back at 2B, battting 3rd. He had three hits... now hitting .374 Fontenot vs. RHP .366/.415/1.031 LHP .400/432/1.090 with runners in scoring position: .415/.468/1.224

When Izturis GIDP'ed with the bases loaded, the count was 3-1. If Izturis had done anything other than GIDP, Marshall was up next and would have been lifted, and Kouzmanoff would have batted against a righty in the bottom of the inning. So why doesn't Theriot bat for Izturis? Lou's not stupid, he knows Theriot is a better hitter. His thinking must be, if Izturis pops out, Wells is still pitching and Theriot has to bat for Marshall. It's really the Blanco problem again: a one-dimensional player (signed through 2009) taking up a roster spot, depriving the manager of late-inning options.

I have to agree with BigZ and Kevin. I disagree with Barry, who says at least our record is a few games better than it was last year at this time. That, Barry, is no consolation. This team is playing terrible baseball. Overall, it is the hitting that is our downfall. We don't get enough timely hitting. I was very, very surprised when we actually got a run driven in last night when there was two outs. How often does that happen on this team? Is there a stat on the team's batting average with two outs and runners in scoring position? I would say our average would have to be abysmal. Anyway, it seemed like a miracle that we got the run we did under those circumstances and but for that miracle we would not have scored at all last night. This team has a lot of hitters who are great at getting a single or double when no runners are on base. As soon as a runner gets on base though, he rarely gets to home plate. Is there a cumulative stat on runners left on base up to this point? We must rank very hight in at least that category. I think we have all seen this show before. It is basically a re-run. It is a pity. The division was there for the taking this year.

Expressing our disappointment with Izturis. Thank you, Trans. This gave me a crystal clear picture of what was being said in Parachat last night.

Regarding the #33 on the mound, that's the groundskeeper. He puts the number of the Padres starting pitcher there before every game.

I think the Soriano at leadoff experiment should be over now that we've scored 1 run in the past 2 games with him back up there. I know Theriot has struggled a little bit the past couple of weeks but he still works the count on pitchers better.

What are the Cub's going to do with Izturis? A guy that comes up and makes an out in his AB is one thing, but a guy that comes up in key situations and makes two outs is a serious drain on offense. I don't think Cedeno is the answer, either. I seriously found it difficult to be shocked when Izzy hit into that DP. It was more like... "oh that's just Izzy being Izzy". Jones isn't much better. Jones & Izzy are two of the least clutch guys I have ever seen in my life.

Well - I'm off to LA today. Rob - wanted to talk to you re an "industry" question regarding the class I'm teaching, specific to what you do. I am disappointed I will miss Big Z on Saturday, and instead will be seeing the newly stinky Rich Hill on Sunday. At this rate - the Cubs will be lucky to win 2 games on the road trip, and as we know, Wild Card will be out for 2007. The only saving grace as a possibility, is if the team goes on a huge win streak against Div. opponents. While not really what their record shows, the Brew really is a better TEAM. I truly believe that 2008 will finally be the year.

someone wake me up when watching cubs baseball is fun again The changing tone on this site is hilarious. No one had fun on Friday and Saturday when the Cubs beat the Sox? The Cubs got shut down on Tuesday by the best starter and the best bullpen in the NL. Last night they couldn't beat a "crafty lefty." No surprise there. Marshall was fun to watch last night - he was not dominating, but he threw a good game. If anything, the starts from the young guys on the this team have been nice: Guzman, Hill, Marshall, Theriot.

Izzy will be traded, hopefully soon. Unusual for the Cubs, he's a utility player whose contract expires in our lifetimes! (That's because he's working on a contract he signed with the Dodgers.) I assume Izzy's out there to be showcased. Theriot is the real SS. Dempster must be on the block, too. I can't think of any other explanation for that funny business about the bullpen last weekend. When rumors spread about Dempster moving back to starter last week, a GM must have called the Cubs about Dempster's availability. So Dempster stays in the pen while they hammer out a trade.

Izzy starting everyday is a JOKE. There is no reason Theriot is not there everyday until he proves he can't handle the job. Izzy is basically a .260 hitter with a sub .300 OBP with no power and defense that is not close to what it once was. It was a bad trade by Hendry, and let's hope he doesn't take as long to admit the mistake as he did with Rusch.

how about this? PLAY THERIOT AT SS AND DEROSA AT SECOND UNTIL THEY CAN'T WALK ANYMORE!!!!

Want to fix the Cubs? Me, too. Here's how I would do it. Do whatever's necessary to shed this list of players: Jones, Floyd, Ward, Izturis, Blanco. Trade Murton for relief help. Theriot plays short, Fontenot second, DeRosa super-sub. Soriano in left, Pie in center. Right field is a platoon of Hoffpauir and Jake Fox. Koye Hill is backup catcher and actually spells Barrett a couple of times a week, adding a lefty bat to the lineup. Can Fox play right? Nobody could be worse than Murton in NY last week. Fox is a catcher, so he must have an arm. There are plenty of stiff rightfielders with good arms around the league. And Fox murders the ball: they'll have to hire a guy to repair the dents in the scoreboard at Wrigley. The only guy I'm not sure is a major leaguer is Hoffpauir. Recently he's opened up a little bit of a lead (41 to 37) in RBIs in the PCL. He hits with men on base and he has some pop. But it doesn't really matter, with Tyler Colvin waiting in the wings. As soon as Colvin gets promoted to AA and shows he can hit there, he'll be a phone call away. All of this would be easy except for the extra year in Jones's contract and the extra two years in Blanco's, but that problem can be solved by the Cubs chipping in some dough.

Recommended moves by mid-season: - Make DeRosa/Theriot the everyday DP combo. Either dump Izzy or keep him purely as a backup. Let these guys know they will be in the lineup, at the same position, every day - Trade Murton. He needs to play every day to hit. With Floyd here, he won't play, and if he's only going to play against lefties, that's maybe tiwce a week. A young talent is wasting on the bench. - The team is stale and lifeless. Bring up Pie to play CF -- improve the defense, add speed and bring some energy the team. - Shake up the pen (already under way). Expecting the same tired, lifeless guys to suddenly turn things around is silly. - Let Pie and Floyd play against lefties. The all RH line-up isn't working, and hasn't for several years. Try something different. - Get luckier. It does seem the Cubs have hit in some bad luck in key situations this year -- several hard line drives have been caught. In theory, they are due for some bloopers to drop in with men on base. OK, Lou -- there's the plan. Get going.

Dave, sure, we had "fun" on Friday and Saturday. So what? We won two games. The ten games before those two games, we were 3-7. Since those two games we are 0-3. So by my count that makes 5-10 in the last 15 games. Yuck! Say what you want about the Padres' pitchers. A top tier team finds ways to win one of the last two games. Clearly, we are not a top tier team.

Let Pie and Floyd play against lefties. Have you seen Pie and Floyd's numbers against lefties?

The ten games before those two games, we were 3-7. Since those two games we are 0-3. So by my count that makes 5-10 in the last 15 games. Yuck! Sure... but nice arbitrary line. What about the ten games before that? Wasn't it 8-2 or 7-3?

the sox series are an exception, sure we had fun saturday, but overall that is the bizarro cubs playing, not the real cubs. It is just a tease, a part of the curse that keeps us watching. If we are > 7 games back at the deadline and 2 or more teams in front of us, I say dump, dump, dump and lets get all the youngsters up.

the sox series are an exception... So anytime the Cubs play well it is an exception, but when they play poorly it is the "real cubs." So right not 45% of the Cubs games are the exception, right?

Dave, sorry, no arbitrariness present. Yeah, we cleaned up against a terrible Cardinals team, an awful Pirates team, and a pathetic Nationals team. When the schedule then turned tougher, we have sucked. So, yeah, I will give you that. We dominated awful teams. So what? How is this? By my count, going back to opening day, we have won a grand total of two three-game series against teams with better than .500 records, namely, we took the series against the Brewers the first week of the season, before they found their footing (they have flogged us since then) and we won the series against the White Sox. Hooray!

dave: Sure… but nice arbitrary line. What about the ten games before that? Wasn’t it 8-2 or 7-3?" Is 20-24 arbitrary? Cause that is what the Cubs record so far this year and that is in the shit NL Central. While I admit when they went on that little run, I started to get a little excited, but now we are back to reality. This team is basically a .500 team, I said it before the season and I say it now. I just don't see how they can be much better, even in this horrible division.

pretty disheartening past few games...but it beats last year...from the Sun Times: SHORT HOPS: The four home runs the Padres hit against Hill on Tuesday were the most off a Cubs pitcher in a game since Mark Prior and Roberto Novoa allowed four each in the same game against the Detroit Tigers last June. Yikes!

Is 20-24 arbitrary? Of course not Manny... did I say it was? It is an accurate look at the Cubs current season. And it is MUCH more accurate than saying, "look, the Cubs suck and are no fun to watch, because they are only 5-10 in their last 15 games!" That is arbitrary. Don't get me wrong - I don't think this is a great team. I do think that this team is better than 20-24, and my guess is the still end up winning somewhere between 82-90 wins, but probably in the lower end of that spectrum. I just think it is incredibly amusing how the tone changes around here. And I find it especially amusing that certain people whine and moan about the bad things but never say anything about the good things.

Winning a majority of series is key, not getting swept is the other key. Winning teams sweep once in awhile too. the reason last year was trashed so early was two long losing streaks early including may 06 on the west coast (Pitt, @AZ, @SD and @SF - 8 games and then the 9 of 10 losses including Wash, @WSox, @Fla and Atl). this year isn't trashed (yet) but it's been extremely disappointing that we lose when the competition involves the better teams like SD, Mets and Phils.

dave: "Of course not Manny… did I say it was?" No, nor did I say you did. "And I find it especially amusing that certain people whine and moan about the bad things but never say anything about the good things." Maybe because there are many more bad things than good things to look at. When things are going great with the Cubs (I know it is very rare), people rarely talk about bad things. If the Cubs score 10 runs, there isn't 25 posts about how Izturis went 0-5 and is 3 for his last 15. The best way for the Cubs to get fans to stop talking about the bad things, is to stop doing the bad things and actually win more games than you lose. That would be a good start.

I thought it was funny last night the way DeRossa slid into 3rd base on that triple, he looked completely spent.

Cubster: "Winning a majority of series is key, not getting swept is the other key. Winning teams sweep once in awhile too." Very good points... Also, like you mentioned, avoiding long losing streak helps too. So far this year, the Cubs have had stretches of: 4-11 8-1 5-10 Not very consistent, that is for sure.

Hey, Izzy is beating his lifetime OPS with .658! Oh, and his RFg is 3.50, which is the same as Theriot's. I'm not seeing the great upside he brings with the glove here, even though he costs us more then 4 million. I'm actually more pissed about this season then a lot of others because we have spent a lot more money, and it hasn't gotten us anywhere. Izturis is also so the new Mookie Wilson to me. The guy I just hate with a passion, which there aren't many of. Unfortunately he plays for my team:-(

I just don't get it. The offensive production on this team seems extremely erratic, despite the relatively hight OBP and average. Is it the lack of power, for once?

ARM The cubs are actually 6th with RISP and 2 outs with a average of .270. Boston is the best followed by the tigers, Braves, As and Yanks

Wild Thing If you wouldve told me that San Diego would have more home runs than the cubs, i wouldve laughed at you. If you wouldve told me that by this point in the season Derrek Lee would have 3 Home Runs, Soriano 3 (or 4). Outside of Aram and Barrett, the people we expected to be going out arent. That had a lot to do with Wrigley Field and the win blowing in hard most of April. that is not a excuse though, its going to be blowing in again if they hope to play in october

mannytrillo That 8-1 was against the Nationals, Cards and Pirates, of which they easily couldve lost 2 of 3 to the Nats and 2 of 3 to the pirates

of which they easily couldve lost 2 of 3 to the Nats and 2 of 3 to the pirates This is just silly. If you are going to attack the Cubs for games they "couldve [sic] lost", then you should also look at the games the Cubs "couldve" won. Why don't we look at the Mets and Phillies series? There were several games that Cubs "couldve" won. I guess that means they are better than they played, right?

Kevin: "That 8-1 was against the Nationals, Cards and Pirates," Very true... Those teams are 3 of the 4 worst teams in the NL.

Cliff Floyd has 6 extra-base hits in 89 at bats. Even though he's had a fair number of singles and is hitting .292, his slugging percentage is .404, 83 points below his career number. In 2006 his SLG was .407, similar to his current number but 100 points below 2005. He has not been historically a slow starter. His career SLGs in April and May are .466 and .505.

Manny, you hit the nail right on the head in # 34. Hard to tell but a dig apparently was directed at me by someone else to the effect that some people never have anything positive to say. I have posted plenty of favorable things about the Cubs - when there has been a reason to. For example, I have been highly complimentary of Marquis and Lilly. But you hit the nail on the head. Now that the team is playing very poorly again, what is there to say that is good? Most of us comment on the last game or two games or three games. During that period, we have sucked. Sorry, I know that some will say that is tantamount of being against the equivalent of an FCC regulation, that we cannot comment on just three games because it is arbitrary. But that is what most of us do here, talk about the last few games. I just love it when people read one or two posts by someone and suddenly become authorities on everything that someone has posted. I also love it when I say that the Cubs have sucked since the schedule turned tougher and I get incorrectly quoted as saying that the Cubs suck period. If my new critic here is gonna quote me, then quote me accurately, at least.

Hard to tell but a dig apparently was directed at me by someone else No... it wasn't directed at anyone specific. And if you really think that I have only read one or two of your posts, you are wrong. I have been reading this site for a few years no, as many can attest to.

Honestly, if I have watch Murton try to play RF one more game, or run the bases my brain is going to explode. Most Little Leaguers know a line drive has to go through with less than 2 outs, and by the time most OF's get to HS or College every fly ball isn't an adventure. The Cubs are playing a marginal LF in RF and no matter what hat or dress you put on a pig, it's still a pig. I don't give a crap what Pie's stats are against LHs at this point. I settle for someone who can play a defensive position, run the bases, and I'm sure he can hit 240-250 if they give him a chance. Get rid of the other dead weight (Izturis) and put Theriot at SS, and you can bat Pie 8th unless Z or Marquis are pitching and then you can bat him 9th.

Honestly, if I have watch Murton try to play RF one more game, or run the bases my brain is going to explode. Sorry... but this is odd. Murton is not a poor base runner. He made a mistake last night, but he tends to be a very intelligent base runner. He has not shown a consistent pattern of poor base running. But I do agree about him in right field...

Murton has RF fielding #s just a bit below average (1.67 RFg compared to league average of 1.82 RFg), so it's not like he's sucked. He made a bone headed play on the bases, but he has an OBP of .343 (which is above league average, if not by much), which is 5th best among Cubs starters and will doubtless improve further if he's allowed to start. I'd be more worried about the OBPs of Cliff Floyd (.337), Izturis (.328), Jones (.303) and Barrett (.290) right now. That's a horrific combination and when those four are all in the lineup together as has happened, it's no wonder we can't get anything started. Lee's AVG was also bound to drop

I know Izturis had a terrible at-bat last night in a key situation, but come on, he's not the reason why the offense is so inconsistent. How much production do teams expect from their 8th hitter anyway? Isn't the fact that Soriano/Lee/Jones are on pace to have a total of 30 homers more of a problem? The Cubs line-up isn't built to manufacture runs, so, as usual, if they don't hit homers, they're in trouble. I think that it wouldn't hurt for Lou to settle on a line-up, though. It can't help the timing of the guys revolving through rf/cf/2b/ss that they don't play everyday for any sort of stretches. Of course, it's tough to have a set line-up everyday when you have a guy like Jones who is helpless against lefties.

Murton's a good baserunner? Didn't his recent freeze at third on a wild pitch cause the Cubs to summon baserunning genius Bob Dernier? "OK, guys, nwo lister -- if you're on third, and the ball gets a fair distance away from the catcher, then try to run very, very fast towards home plate. Hopefully, you will be safe. My work here is now done."

dave You cant compare the Nationals, Cards and Pirates to the Mets and Phillies. If the cards played in any other division outside the NL central they would be dead but everyone sucking keeps them in the race.

Kevin... I am not saying the two sets of teams are comparable. What I am saying is that if one makes the argument that the Cubs "couldve" lost games, then one should make the same argument that one "couldve" won games, don't you think? If you try to say that the Cubs are bad because they almost lost games to Pitt. and Washington, then you must also say that the Cubs are at least decent because they almost won games against the Mets and Phils. You can't really have it both ways. They either won or lost; for the most part it does not matter how they get there.

all im saying is that the reason they went 8-1 in those games was because they were facing really bad compeition and they easily couldve lost some of those games. if you can just barely win against bad teams, chances are you arent good enough to win a lot of games against good teams 1-3 against the mets 1-2 against the phillies (can you call them really good) 1-3 against San Diego 3-3 against the pirates who lack any sort of offense 2-4 against a crap reds team

outside of Washington the only teams the cubs have a winning record against this year so far St Louis 3-2, Washington 3-0 and the White Sox 2-1

Kevin, I've played or coached this game for some 30+ years and I have never seen a formula that ever insures that good teams beat bad teams by any bigger margin than they do good teams. When I was a high school coach we were a "bad" team because we had many inexperienced players. Many good teams barely beat us because we were blessed with a couple of pretty good pitchers. I don't think baseball can be compared with football or basketball in this light. The ease of victory means nothing here. All that matters is whether you win. It's funny to discuss this because one of the complaints about the Cubs has always been that we play the good teams tough and we lose to the bottom-feeders. The championship teams win a large percentage against the weak teams and they win more than they lose against the good teams.

I find it funny that after every game that someone on the Cubs makes a bad play on the bases, in the field or fails to driveinthe run all we read is that we should run the culprit out of town. The team that just beat us twice has several players who have really sucked early in the year, ie: Kouzmanouf, Cameron etc. The Padres have stuck with them and they are the ones that killed the Cubs. I think the Cubs (organization and fans) have always had a tendency to give up on players who start poorly. The last time we stuck with someone that I remember is Sandberg in his rookie year as a 3rd baseman. Wow, just tihink if the manager had had to listen to all of the criticism that we hear these days. A future HOF player would never have been from again.

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  • 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.