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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 60 Recap: Cubs 5, Braves 9

Short Starts

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

W -Moylan (2-1), over-umpiring.

L - Marquis (5-3), equal-opportunity plunking.

Things to take from this game

1. The First Pitch Hudson drilled Soriano with a fastball in the armpit, which more likely than not was purposeful. Tim Tschida immediately issues a warning to both teams, and the game progresses without incident. (Other than Lou getting a bit worked up when Sean Gallagher gets hit with an errant curveball) 2. Quick exits Marquis got the quick hook after 1.2 ineffective innings. Hudson left the game after 2+ equally poor innings, but in his case due to taking a line drive off the foot. 3. The Relievers Basically, their crew was better than ours. Gallagher pitched well in his first MLB performance, save an opposite field wall-scraping HR by Renteria. But Peter Moylan shut us down for 3 innings, and three others contributed for a scoreless inning each. Eyre pitched a couple of innings as he continues to try to work out the kinks. They need some more work, as he didn't have much control. The long-awaited resumption of observational goodness, below.
  • Well, if you were at the refridgerator or in the bathroom, the first pitch of the game is a Hudson fastball that hits Soriano on the left tricep, up near the armpit. That's what you get for a leadoff triple, then leadoff home-run in a three-homer game, I guess. Crew chief puts the warning on for both teams. Marquis hasn't thrown a pitch, and presumably has now been neutered by the umps.
  • and several close pick-off attempts then immediately follow at first.
  • Pie walks, when Hudson finally gets around to throwing some pitches.
  • and now, a pickoff attempt of Soriano at Second! What has Hudson got against Soriano? Brenley claims it's a form of disrespect for Soriano's, ah, powers of concentration on the basepaths....
  • finally, some real action. Lee singles to the right of the second-baseman. Soriano scores, Pie takes third, Lee takes second on Francouer's throw in to third.
  • Runners on 2 and 3 no outs in the 1st, and Barrett K's. Jones intentionally walked to load the bases, and DeRosa up. 3-2 count, DeRosa fists a single into shallow right-center. Pie and Lee score. 3-0 in the first, still just one out.
  • Fontenot gets his first career RBI on a single to right, through the right-side hole, but DeRosa is thrown out at third as he tries to advance on the play at the plate. 4-0. Izturis then makes sure that the inning doesn't last forever, because that would be sort of inconvienient.
  • With one out in bottom of first, Willie Harris singles, steals second on a strike three call, and goes to third on a very wild pitch, a spike-curve in the dirt.
  • 3-2 2 outs in the 1st, Andruw hits a 2-run HR. 8 for 11, 5 HR career against Marquis. Wonder if Jones will get plunked at some point, in response to Soriano. Brenley points out that, without that warning, this would have been the obvious place for a retaliatory plunking - the other team's star OFer, who clobbers you, with 1st base open and 2 outs...
  • Marquis with a throwing error to start the bottom of the second. Throw sails on him, Lee has to jump above the bag to catch it. A walk and a Hudson sac bunt, and it's runners on 2 and 3 with one out. Ground ball out scores one. Renteria single scores another. Ugly inning. Jones singles, scoring another, and we're now behind, 5-4. Very ugly. Marquis out, Gallagher in. He basically looks good, with zip on the fastball and break on the curve, but McCann nubs one off the end of the bat for a run-scoring single. 6-4 before the inning is over. Egads.
  • Top of the third, and the Cubs in need of run. Lee singles to lead off, Barrett singles with Lee going to third on a bad throw. Jones then smokes one off of Hudson's shin or foot. Hudson recovers, tries to get Lee at home, but it's offline and Lee tiptoes around the tag. Hudson now has to come out of the game, due to injury on the batted ball. This is shaping up to be a wild game. 6-5 Braves, top of the third, both starters out of the game.
  • Why is DeRosa showing bunt in the third inning, no outs, runner on first, and Izzy and Gallagher up behind him, when we're down by a run and facing a new pitcher? Winds up flying out, after getting to two strikes
  • Fontenot rolls into a potential 6-4-3 DP, and Barrett, from second, takes an aggressive turn around third. Too aggressive, as Fontenot beats the throw to first, and Barrett now finds himself in the middle of a pickle for having rounded third too far. Being in the middle of a pickle rarely is a good thing, and Barrett is out, to end the inning. That's what you get for attending the Ruben Rivera school of base-running. [note- upon further message board discussion and reflection, this might just as easily be Quade's fault.  Either way, somebody is channeling Rivera.]
  • Gallagher walks Peter Moylan, the opposing pitcher with 2 ABs all year, with two outs in the third. Otherwise, a very nice third inning.
  • Gallagher gets the Adam Greenberg treatment, and is hit by a pitch in his first ML at bat. It's a curveball that gets away from the sidearmer Moylan, but it still drives Lou nuts, who raises his hands and asks what's up. (Remember, there was a warning issued after the first pitch of the game.) You can hear the ump, Tim Tscheta (SP!?!?!?!?) yelling at Lou "Put your arms down! Put them down!" to tell him he wouldn't tolerate gestures designed to express frustration and contempt... Interesting, and stupid.
  • Larry the Cable Guy, among others, will do the seventh-inning stretch on the up-coming homestand. Do southerners understand that what makes Larry funny is that he's lampooning southerners? I'm not sure. Oh yeah, Edgar Renteria hit an opposite field HR. It hits the yellow HR line, bounces over. Jones was running flat-out after it, leapt for it, and went crashing into the wall. Seems a bit shaken up.
  • The middle innings of this game suddenly have become spectacularly uninteresting. A shame, after the wild start
  • Eyre is now pitching, and throwing lots and lots of balls outside the strike zone. Renteria doubles in a run. 4 RBIs for him now, on the night. Game starting to get out of hand, 9-5 Braves
  • If you're reading this far into my recap, please prove it by using the word "salami" in a message board post.
  • Soriano with another assist, as he guns a runner down at home. Not even close, keeping that all-essential tenth Braves run from crossing home plate.
  • According to Bob Brenly, Bob Melvin used to email pictures of his feet to Brenly. This easily is the most twistedly funny and disturbing thing ever mentioned on a Cubs telecast.
  • Game ends not with a bang, but a whimper. Too bad, it was pretty fun through three.
Parachat Recap Inning 1 The rookies dancing around before the game. The Soriano beaning. Pie/Patterson. The merits of intentional walks. What smells? Early Cy Young candidates. The Office of the Commissioner. "Belly full of breaking balls." Where was the 420 goat? Who are we plunking, when, and with whom? Inning 2 Bizarro league MVPs. Retaliation. Rubber and Glue. Adjectives we associate with Lou Piniella. Must a lanky person be tall? The Lojack Caught Stealing inning: most stereotypically Southern promotional tie-in we've yet seen in baseball? Gallagher's sledgehamered watermellons. Crap on a stick.' Inning 3 Marquis' deceiving ERA, given that the runs in the second were unearned due to his own throwing error. Trading with the Marlins. Our opinions of Michael Barrett. Roster options. Playing out of position. Inning 4 Bad umpiring. More potential Cy Youngs. Moneyball. Potential theme-nights at U.S. Cellular (mullet, trans-am night, etc.) Inning 5 What's Pat doing in the TV booth? What if Pat and Bob made out? Who is assisting Santo over on the radio side? Why does Pat's voice sound different, on TV? Thinking about TCR when alone at night in a strange hotel. Rank the broadcasters. Inning 6 Joe Morgan's "Baseball for Dummies." More on broadcaster preferences. Cubs lineups. Dancing at the Cubs Convention. Keith Moreland drunk. Keith Moreland drunk and dancing at the Cubs Convention. the Cubs Convention has a dance? Is Nebraska alive or dead? Brainstorming your red-headed Cubs. Scott Eyre. Buddy Carlyle, who is he? Typing backwards. Fat Tire. John Smoltz's weekend plans. Inning 7 Bob Brenley's team meetings in Arizona. Buffalos. Inappropriate Mascots. Speaking in Trans. Beating yourself. The 2010 Cubs. Spoonerisms. The Bereavement list: who doesn't like a good bereaving? That guy who played R2D2. Really bad sexual euphemisms. Inning 8 Bob Wickman groupies. Ramirezes and Horatios better than Horatio Ramirez. Elementary school jokes. Puns. More Puns. So many puns, it hurts. Inning 9 Death by puns.

Comments

why in holy hell did Piniella use Gallagher at the end of the inning? When's the last time Gallagher came into a game with runners on and pitching out of the stretch? meh... use Eyre or someone else there to get out of that inning... and then go to Gallagher in the 3rd

That didn't really bother me as much as the salami rotting in the back of the fridge did. I mean, we know we have 7.1 IP to cover on the night, why blow a reliever on .1 IP? Gallagher made a good pitch on McCann, easily could have been an out.

well you also know that you're going to your bullpen and this is a big moment of the game with runners on. Who cares if you use one guy here instead of the 7th? You've got 6 others guys for the rest of the game and the pen was rested. Just dumb, horrible situation to put Gallagher in...

~shrug~ He seemed to handle it well enough. You'd really rather have Eyre come in to (what was then) a close game?

In other news, whoever is with Brenneman in the D-Backs booth tonight (not Grace) just said that radar guns and pitch counts are the worst things that have happened to baseball

I'd have anybody, kid's first game and you're putting his feet to the fire? In a situation he's possibly never ever had to face before for all we know. Didn't seem to handle it well at, left a fastball up to McCann and gave up a rocket that went to Derosa.

All I can say is: given his contract, and our team needs, and that as far as we know he doesn't kick puppies.... I hope Eyre gets it figured out... Must suck to wake up one day and not be able to play the way you used to...

anyway, had to leave after that inning, how did his pitches look? seemed to roll his curve up there in the brief part I saw...

The fastball was supposed to be up to McCann, Barrett was nearly standing. McCann hit it off the very, very end of the bat. The Curve that led to the DeRosa-rockett was a bit high, but it wasn't a roller. Anyway, I appreciate the qualms with bringing in a first-time rookie to that situation, but it still seems like a defensible situation and a defensible result.

Couldn't locate his fastball well but the curve and the slider were there. Overall, he looked pretty good. Also, I learned tonight that he's currently the second youngest player in the majors, after Felix. Impressive.

I think he looked all right. Zip on the fastball, bite on the curve. Didn't see the pitch Renteria hit, but again, it wasn't a moonshot, it was a wall-scraper.

hmm... to bad I am a psuedo-vegetarian - some salami kinda' sounds good. and why is scott eyre still on this team? and could anyone tell if the barrett run down/baserunning blunder was actually quade's fault? i know that quade as half way down the third base line - it should be his job to hold the runner or send him. and i know that I have been a supporter of jock jones, but didn't it seem like jock had no clue about where the ball or the wall were on the renteria homerun?

Just got home from the game. Not much to offer in terms of analysis -- it was standing room only, and I had no idea before I got to the ballpark. Wound up wandering around a lot and going back and forth to the beer stand. Did get to see the outburst in the first inning from behind the last row of CF bleachers. Then, Marquis happened. Ugh. Oh well. It was exciting for a while, although I did catch myself groaning when Eyre came in. I really don't like doing that.

Brenly suggested it might be Quade's fault. Not that I know, but I am inclined to agree. But still, what the hell is Barrett thinking there? I just don't get it. Didn't look like Jones was lost, to me. Seemed to be running all-out for it.

what the hell is Barrett thinking there? I am thinking that he was thinking that he was supposed to do what his 3rd base coach said. Seemed to be running all-out for it. maybe... but he jumped too late, both in terms of timing and in location to the wall. oh well... it would have had to be a helluva' play for him to catch it. he would have deserved some salami if he could have made that catch.

Fair enough. To revise, "what the hell was barrett and/or quade thinking?" It's like their brains were made of salami!

It’s like their brains were made of salami! maybe the braves bribed them with salami.

i don't know... as soon as i saw the play, i thought, "wtf is quade doing?" and immediately after that i thought, "this should be fun on tcr - barrett is going to get roasted for quade's mistake."

Santo had a nice groan when Barrett didn't hold on to a third strike foul tip from Androo Jones in the first. Of course, a couple of pitches later, home run.

Santo had a nice groan when Barrett didn’t hold on to a third strike foul tip from Androo Jones in the first. catchers drop foul tips all the time. that doesn't bother me so much. but too bad there are not stats for foul tips...

Eyre couldn't find the strike zone. Willie Harris was trying to give away an out on the sac bunt and it took Eyre 3-4 attempts to let him do it. Barrett should've really held, but Quade was directing him and sent him to his death. Barret runs pretty good for a catcher, but he had no chance unless someone threw the ball away.

dave: catchers drop foul tips all the time. that doesn’t bother me so much. Yeah, but in the catcher defense stat, Barrett gets a 1.00, as in piss-poor.

Tough game. Michael Barrett drove me insane, as usual. Yet another brain cramp on the basepads, this time getting caught in a run down because he over ran 3rd base. Barrett hurts this team in so many ways. It really is too bad that Jim Hendry can't swing a deal for a reliable catcher. The addition of one would really help this team the remainder of the season.

Final question of the night. How many more times do we need to see Scott Eyre pitch in a big league uniform? If this were any other quality organization, Eyre would have been dumped by now. The Cubs would just as soon keep a terrible player and have him kill the team as opposed to swallowing salary. Hendry was a moron for getting caught up in a bidding war for middle relief pitchers when he signed Bob Howry and Scott Eyre. How many awful relief pitching signings does that make? Mike Remlinger, LaTroy Hawkins, Eyre, Howry...

Yet another brain cramp on the basepads First... what the hell are "basepads?" Two... I am pretty convinced that the run down was the fault of Quade. Barrett definitely did not just overrun 3rd - he was heading home, which probably came from directions of his third base coach. f this were any other quality organization, Eyre would have been dumped by now. Name one... give me an example of a similar situation where the player was just "dumped."

Dave, I'll stay up 5 extra minutes just for you. Look, I'm not going to engage in debate about Michael Barrett. Fact is I believe he is a liability on this ballclub. And has been ever since he arrived in 2004. The Cubs haven't been the same ever since Damian Miller, a true professional catcher, left town. But members of the Barrett fan club (which I suspect includes you) only want to look at the guy's offensive game. He is wretched behind the plate, simply can't throw and has never worked particularly well with a pitching staff. But he's Jim Hendry's pet, so he stays. Scott Eyre is awful. Like a lot of veteran middle relief pitchers, he was able to piece together a nice couple year run. Then he hit the free agent market, and cashed in. Well, the pixie dust has worn off. Everytime he goes out there his pitches are dead looking and he gets lit up like a Christmas tree. Why keep a guy like that around? At some point you are better off either putting him on the DL with a phantom Wade Miller-ish injury problem, either that or cutting him outright. Consider the remainder of his contract a sunk cost and move on. And people wonder why its been 99 years in between World Series victories in this town.

Fact is I believe he is a liability on this ballclub. That is fine... but that is not what I was saying, and as you always do, you slightly change the topic to avoid dealing with the topic at hand. You are using a specific play to further bash Barrett, and I am saying it is not a valid reason to bash him. The responsibility in that situation lies with the 3rd base coach. Scott Eyre is awful. I agree. But again, you didn't answer the question, and changed the topic. Eyre has been terrible, and I don't want him to pitch another inning for the Cubs. But that is not what we are discussing. You said that an other "quality organization" would just "dump" Eyre. And I want you to name me another organization who has done that in a similar situation.

holy f'n a.jones in the 7th. glad i missed this one from the looks of it. i might know what 'salami' is besides a deli meat and the occasional baseball brain, though.

"How many awful relief pitching signings does that make? Mike Remlinger, LaTroy Hawkins" Remlinger had a 3.91 ERA as a Cub, with a 111 ERA+. I really wouldn't call that an awful relief signing. Hawkins was also a pretty good signing; it wasn't his fault that he was misused by a (expeletive) manager. 2.76 ERA as a Cub. 150 ERA+.

Crunch, were you the one who was wondering a year ago what childhood game it was that gave Vlad his bat control? Well, he used to play baseball with beer bottle crowns as a kid in the Dominican Republic. I guess that's what gave him his ability to reach for, and drive, balls well out of the strike zone.

It was either you or MikeC. But yeah, knowing another tidbit of fascinating baseball history can't hurt.

the erye situation is pretty bad...honestly, to me his main issue seems to be his control rather than his stuff. either way all this playing with his control is causing little relief to his control issues while making him more hittable. he's really reaching back this year, less of a compact motion. think the batters just *might* be seeing the pitch earlier outta his motion. his motion is longer in reach, but i dunno how much it opens itself up for viewing on the hitter's end. jeff weaver still has a job, btw...amazingly. i think his situation and stuff are both in another class of "worse" than eyre, though. weaver is just falling apart up there...

oh yeah...and about what to do about eyre...hell, he can only "work it out" in the majors for so long. he's got more bad outtings than good ones and its getting near "shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic" territory. hell, they gave him a week off recently supposedly just to give him rest.

I still plan on beating Lou Pinnella about the head with some sort of deli meat. Perhpas, salami.

I watched the first couple of innings-- I thought for sure with DeRosa up in the first we'd see a Grand Salami. We didn't, but it seemed good enough at the time. I did wonder, however, if DeRosa getting thrown out at third would cost us-- I hate seeing that kind of play in an inning like that. Not a bad play really, DeRosa just got beat by a good throw from Francouer and a good relay from McCann. And Pie with TWO walks. Encouraging. Let's shake this one off (Marquis was toast, but he didn't help himself with the throw to first on Thorman) and go get Buddy Carlyle. 3 out of 4 from the Braves at Ted would be awesome. GO CUBS!

Couldn’t locate his fastball well but the curve and the slider were there. Overall, he looked pretty good. Also, I learned tonight that he’s currently the second youngest player in the majors, after Felix. Impressive. Gallagher is younger than Pie and is the youngest player on the Cubs' 40-man. Homer Bailey is ~6 months younger than Gallagher and now on the Reds active roster.

i have a theory. if we had won this game and lost tomorrow's, we would have been pissed because we did not sweep. BUT, since we lost tonight and if we win tomorrow, we'll be happy as whores in Riyadh, just because. whadya think?

"Hawkins was also a pretty good signing; it wasn’t his fault that he was misused by a (expeletive) manager. 2.76 ERA as a Cub. 150 ERA+." Carlos, he was not misused. Jobo went down with injury and what was Baker supposed to do?

Henry, the reason is that its great to win going away. It's all about momentu....waaaaaitaminute! You almost got me to say that word that will get me flamed here.

Blue-eyed Monster, I'm pretty sure he was referring to Felix Hernandez.

If the Cubs are in the thick of it come trading deadline time and I was Hendry (aside from spending most of my waking hours on a stairmaster) I'd go get an actual catcher (you know, one who has a Little Leaguer's understanding of concepts like the rundown, one a pitcher feels comfortable bouncing a 1-2 curve up there to with a man on base etc.) The guy would have to hit like Willie Stargell to justify having him directly involved defensively with every pitch a Cub throws in a game.

The guy would have to hit like Willie Stargell to justify having him directly involved defensively with every pitch a Cub throws in a game. Funny... because he wasn't hitting like Stargell last year, but few complained about his defense, at least to the extent that few made the claim that he didn't belong on the field. And I still say the run down was Quade's fault.

The good news is, Gallagher is on the team, got his feet wet, and may stick. Best case, during the course of the season he switches places with Marquis and Marquis moves to long relief. That will be a promising young staff assuming Z stays. I don't think that a struggling Marquis would make him a bad acquisition. The Cubs were buying time for people like Marmol, Marshall, Guzman, Gallagher. Bad news, there are no other Gallaghers (except maybe the rumor of Juan Mateo) to be had in double- or triple-A. For now, this is all the Cubs have in the way of starters.

Jones and Barrett to appear on Oprah next week. Topic: "Can a ballplayer suffer a mid-life crisis?"

Hendry has done some good things, but he's going to have a tough time explaining to his boss why he's had to eat the contracts of Howry, Eyre, Jones and Blanco, all signed through next year. No one expects a 37-year-old catcher (his age next year) to recover from back and arm problems, so Blanco might be off the list. Not that the Cubs won't have to pay him, but his downtime won't make Hendry look bad. Howry can still throw hard, at least, so he may find a taker. But Hendry desperately needs to pump some air into Eyre and Jones (in case anyone here is wondering why they still appear in games). With Fontenot up, Izturis is more irrelevant than ever, but I assume that he too is being fattened up for a trade. At least his contract expires this year.

guys like izturis keep jobs a while if for nothing else but a glove off the bench. given the lack of skill of theriot/fontenot at SS (derosa is better but for some reason he's not allowed to play SS while theriot plays 2nd...though with his arm 3rd is proper for him right now) izturis might stick around a while while the team is competitive. if everyone is healthy a late-inning izturis sub at SS, especially with a guy like dumpster pitching, isnt a bad tool to have around since the tool has already been paid for...for better or worse.

.269/.330/.344 - good enough at 2nd, spotty at SS .245/.306/.299 - great D at SS and above average 2nd we're not too far apart from mr "sure thing no worries or complaints" theriot and mr "useless to the world" izturis. if there was some way to put theriot's bat patience with izzy's glove there'd be a perfect singles-hitting middle IF'r type there. i'll let the cubs borrow a 5 gallon bucket of stem cells i got at Sam's Club for the cubs to mess around with and see what they can do.

btw...i'm all about a SS of derosa and a 2nd of theriot...its steady enough. i dunno what's up with derosa and SS, though...maybe he's lost a step there or he's not as comfortable/fluid. he hasnt played there this year and i barely remember seeing him there the past couple years. he's a damn fluid and practically automatic 2nd...

I am so pleased with the amount of salami delivered to this thread. Thanks.

I'm not sure why people keep talking about Theriot's lack of skill at SS when there is nothing to show Izzy has played any better this year and most stats show them playing about the same.

eye sight can tell you izzy plays a better SS than theriot, especially when theriot has to throw or there's a smack toward/down the middle. theriot plays pretty deep SS, too...causes aram to field more that a few balls that theriot should be getting. that's not gonna show up in the stats.

theriot's groundball D reminds me of a 'goal keeper' style...he stops and traps...pauses on some stuff he could charge...falls into the play rather than accelerating the play. he's not inept...just not slick.

And yet more then a few people have mentioned to me they've noticed Izzy double clutching quite a bit, moving slower to balls, not looking very comfortable out there. I simply don't trust most people's eye sight when it comes to baseball, because biases and judgement calls play way too large a roll. Defensive statistics have weaknesses, but most of the stats I've seen show Izzy's D has taken a pretty large hit the past couple years and Theriot is pretty much comparable at this point. While again D stats certainly aren't foolproof, it at least shows that Izzy certainly isn't lighting up the world defensively, not enough to outshine Theriot. Since D is the only reason you'd have Izzy around, a defensive falloff to me basically negates any advantage to having him on the team.

Was awfully busy after the game last night and this morning, so here are a few of my quick thoughts on Gallagher last evening: I had seen the kid in Spring Training, but it's clear he's had some coaching since then. He seems smarter. Didn't do silly things like groove fastballs when he was ahead in the count. He obviously didn't have good control of his fastball, which is something he's going to need to be successful. That thing's only 93-94, so if he isn't finding the corners, Edgar Renteria going oppo happens. The curveball is very sharp and is excellent for a right-hander. There aren't many righties in the show that throw a knee-buckler like that thing. If he can continue to throw that thing at the knees, he's going to be extremely successful against right-handers. I thought he controlled the deuce very well, especially considering how hard it is to throw a curve like his when you're nervous as all get out. The slider was decent as well. He's going to have to start throwing it more often. I didn't watch every pitch of the game last night, but it seemed to me that he didn't throw it with much regularity. I think I compare him to what we said about Rich Hill a year ago or so. Rich only had the fastball and the curve so he learned the change, and now he's sprinkling that in some. Gallagher is going to have to do the same thing with the slider. It has to be a bigger part of his arsenal, especially against good lefties.

Carlos Rubi — June 9, 2007 @ 9:04 pm In other news, whoever is with Brenneman in the D-Backs booth tonight (not Grace) just said that radar guns and pitch counts are the worst things that have happened to baseball ==================================== CARLOS: That was Joe Garagiola Sr, the 80-something ex-big league catcher who spent many years on the Today Show on NBC and doing NBC's MLB Game of the Week. Joe has lived in Phoenix for many years, and fills-in for Mark Grace whenever Gracie has a previous commitment with Fox. Also, that wasn't Thom Brennaman doing the game with Joe. That was Brennaman sound-alike Daron Sutton (Don's son), who replaced Brennaman this year after Thom moved to Cincinnati to broadcast Reds games (his dad Marty also is a Reds broadcaster). BTW, Joe Garagiola Sr--who was a childhood buddy of Yogi Berra and a big league player for about ten seasons post WWII (including a stint with the Cubs) got his start in broadcasting as Harry Caray's sidekick on KMOX in the 1950's, before moving on to NBC in NYC. Joe is the guy behind "BAT" (Baseball Assistance Team"), an organization that helps old ball players who are down on their luck. Joe also is a crusader against the use of chewing tobacco. Also, Joe's son Joe Jr was the GM of the Diamondbacks under AZ owner and founder Jerry Colangelo, and is credited as being the architect of the D'backs World Series Championship team of 2001. If Chicago-native Colangelo (and associates) were to purchase the Cubs, look for Joe Garagiola Jr to be the new Cubs GM.

Recent comments

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

  • Arizona Phil (view)

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

  • Arizona Phil (view)

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

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Javier Assad started the Lo-A game (Myrtle Beach versus Stockton) on the Cubs backfields on Wednesday as his final Spring Training tune-up. He was supposed to throw five innings / 75 pitches. However, I was at the minor league road games at Fitch so I didn't see Assad pitch. 

  • crunch (view)

    cards put j.young on waivers.

    they really tried to make it happen this spring, but he put up a crazy bad slash of .081/.244/.108 in 45PA.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Seconded!!!

  • crunch (view)

    another awesome spring of pitching reports.  thanks a lot, appreciated.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Here are the Cubs pitchers reports from Tuesday afternoon's Cardinals - Cubs game art Sloan Park in Mesa:

    SHOTA IMANAGA
    FB: 90-92 
    CUT: 87-89 
    SL: 82-83 
    SPLIT: 81-84
    CV: 73-74 
    COMMENT: Worked three innings plus two batters in the fourth... allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits (six singles and two doubles) walked one, and struck out six (four swinging), with a 1/2 GO/AO... he threw 73 pitches (52 strikes - 10 swing & miss - 19 foul balls)... surrendered one run in the top of the 1st on a one-out double off Cody Bellinger's glove in deep straight-away CF followed one out later by two consecutive two-out bloop singles, allowed two runs (one earned) in the 2nd after retiring the first two hitters (first batter had a nine-pitch AB with four consecutive two-strike foul balls before being retired 3 -U) on a two-out infield single (weak throw on the run by Nico Hoerner), a hard-contact line drive RBI double down the RF line, and an E-1 (missed catch) by Imanaga on what should been an inning-ending 3-1 GO, gave up another run in the 3rd on a two-out walk on a 3-2 pitch and an RBI double to LF, and two consecutive singles leading off the top of the 4th before being relieved (runners were ultimately left stranded)... threw 18 pitches in the 1st inning (14 strikes - two swing & miss, one on FB and the other on a SL - four foul balls), 24 pitches in the 2nd inning (17 strikes - three swing & miss, one on FB, two SPLIT - six foul balls), 19 pitches in the 3rd inning (13 strikes - seven swing & miss, three on SL, two on SPLIT, one on FB - three foul balls), and 12 pitches without retiring a batter in the top of the 4th (8 strikes - no swing & miss - four foul balls)... Imanaga throws a lot of pitches per inning, but it's not because he doesn't throw strikes...  if anything, he throws too many strikes (he threw 70% strikes on Tuesday)... while he gets a ton of swing & miss (and strikeouts), he also induces a lot of foul balls because he doesn't try to make hitters chase his pitches by throwing them out of the strike zone... rather, he uses his very diverse pitch mix to get swing & miss (and lots of foul balls as well)... he also is a fly ball pitcher who will give up more than his share of HR during the course of the season...   
     
    JOE NAHAS
    FB: 90-92 
    SL: 83-85 
    CV: 80-81 
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day... relieved Imanaga with runners at first and second and no outs in the top of the 4th, and after an E-2 catcher's interference committed by Miguel Amaya loaded he bases, Nahas struck out the side (one swinging & two looking)... threw 16 pitches (11 strikes - two swinging)...   

    YENCY ALMONTE
    FB: 89-92 
    CH: 86 
    SL: 79 
    COMMENT: Threw an eight-pitch 5th (five strikes - no swing & miss), with a 5-3 GO for the first out and an inning-ending 4-6-3 DP after a one-out single... command was a bit off but he worked through it...   

    FRANKIE SCALZO JR
    FB: 94-95
    CH: 88 
    SL: 83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 6th inning... got the first outs easily (a P-5 and a 4-3 GO) on just three pitches, before allowing three consecutive two-out hard-contact hits (a double and two singles), with the third hit on pitch # 9 resulting in a runner being thrown out at the plate by RF Christian Franklin for the third out of the inning... 

    MICHAEL ARIAS
    FB: 94-96
    CH: 87-89
    SL: 82-83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and allowed a hard-contact double on the third pitch of the 7th inning (a 96 MPH FB), and the runner came around to score on a 4-3 GO and a WP... gave up two other loud contact outs (an L-7 and an F-9)... threw 18 pitches (only 10 strikes - only one swing & miss)... stuff is electric but still very raw and he continues to have difficulty commanding it, and while he has the repertoire of a SP, he throws too many pitches-per-inning to be a SP and not enough strikes to be a closer... he is most definitely still a work-in-progress...   

    ZAC LEIGH: 
    FB: 93-94 
    CH: 89 
    SL: 81-83 
    CV: 78
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and tossed a 1-2-3 8th (4-3 GO, K-swinging on a sweeper, K-looking on another sweeper)... threw 14 pitches (11 strikes - one swing & miss - eight foul balls)... kept pumping pitches into the strike zone but had difficulty putting hitters away (ergo a ton of foul balls)... FB velo is nowhere near the 96-98 MPH it was a couple of years ago when he was a Top 30 prospect, but his secondaries are better...   

    JOSE ROMERO:  
    FB: 93-95
    SL: 82-84
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 9th (14 pitches - only six strikes- no swing & miss) and allowed a solo HR after two near-HR fly outs to the warning track, before getting a 3-1 GO to end the inning... it was like batting practice when he wasn't throwing pitches out of the strike zone...