March 2011

Evan Crawford raked a two-run triple over the left-fielder's head to tie the game, Tony Campana followed with an RBI single (his third hit of the game) to plate Crawford, and D. J. Lemahieu capped the inning with an RBI double to score Campana, as the Cubs Minor League All-Stars rallied for four runs in the top of the 9th to defeat the Chicago Cubs 8-6 in the 2011 Cubs Spring Training Intrasquad Charity Game at Dwight Patterson Field at HoHoKam Park in sunny Mesa, AZ, this morning.

Carlos Marmol allowed three first-inning runs, facing five batters and retiring only one (BB, 2B, HBP, F-7, 2B), and a four-run 8th inning Iowa Cubs rally fell one run short (the potential tying run was left stranded on 3rd base), as the Fresno Grizzlies (San Francisco Giants AAA affiliate) almost blew a 6-1 lead but held-on to edge the I-Cubs 7-6 on Field #3, while over on Field #2, Steve Clevenger “celebrated” his assignment to AA (for the third year in a row!) with an RBI single and a double, but two baserunners were thrown at key points in the game (Josh Vitters trying to advance from 1st to 3rd on a hit & run single to CF in the 4th, and D. J. Lemahieu trying to score from 1st on double in the 8th), as the Richmond Flying Squirrels (Giants AA affiliate) edged the Tennessee Smokies 4-3 in Cactus League Minor League action at Fitch Park this afternoon

Brandon Watson (signed yesterday after getting released by the White Sox earlier in the week) doubled, tripled, and collected two RBI, Fernando Perez (just demoted from big league camp) singled, doubled, scored a run, and knocked-in two others, and Blake Lalli tripled and singled, scored a run, and drove-in another, helping the Iowa Cubs mount a fierce five-run 8th inning rally to close a 6-0 deficit to just one run, but Watson was left stranded at 3rd when Scott Moore and Matt Spencer struck out (Moore looking and Spencer swinging) and Ty Wright popped out to RF, and the Salt Lake Bees (Angels AAA affiliate) hung-on to edge the I-Cubs 6-5 on Field #3, while over on Field #2, Cubs LHRP Sean Marshall (sent to Minor League Camp to get work) threw a 13-pitch 1-2-3 1st inning (F-9, 5-3, F-9), Ryan Flaherty and Rebel Ridling hammered solo home runs (Flaherty’s a towering 450-foot job over the “Green Monster” Batter’s Eye in dead CF), and Nate Samson reached base three times (a triple, a single, and a walk) and drove-in two runs, leading the Tennessee Smokies to a 4-1 nine-inning victory over the Arkansas Travelers (Angels AA affiliate) on Field #2 (although the game was extended an extra half-inning to allow LHP Chris Siegfried to pitch his pre-scheduled inning--bumped to extra innings when Sean Marshall arrived, and the Travelers scored four runs in the top of the 10th), in Cactus League Minor League action at Fitch Park this afternoon

Darwin Barney singled and scored in the 2nd inning and sliced a two-out two-run triple into the RF corner to cap a four-run 5th, while Alfonso Soriano slugged a solo HR in the 4th and singled and scored in the 5th, leading the Cubs to an 8-7 victory over the crosstown-rival White Sox before a capacity crowd at Dwight Patterson Field at HoHoKam Park in sunny and warm Mesa, AZ, this afternoon.

Battling for the 5th starter's job and perhaps his big league career, Carlos Silva threw six innings of three-hit ball, retiring 17 of the last 18 men he faced, and Reed Johnson--also battling for a spot on the 25-man roster--singled twice and scored two runs, leading the Cubs to a 3-1 victory over the Oakland A's in Cactus League action at Dwight Patterson Field at HoHoKam Park in sunny & warm Mesa, AZ, this afternoon    

Carlos Pena crushed a three-run HR, Starlin Castro tripled, singled, scored a run, and knocked-in another, and Geovany Soto drove-in two runs with a wind-blown double, as the Cubs took a 7-4 lead after the top of the 4th inning in Cactus League action at damp and windy Tempe Diablo Stadium, in a game that was called due to rain after 3-1/2 innings before it was an official game.  

Welington Castillo continued his torrid Cactus League hitting, lining a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th inning to score Bobby Scales from 2nd base with the winning run, as the Cubs edged the San Francisco Giants 3-2 in front of an all-time record crowd of 13,465 under overcast skies at Dwight Patterson Field at HoHoKam Park in Mesa, AZ, this afternoon.  

Esmil Rogers threw five innings of one-hit shutout ball, and the Colorado Rockies defeated a split squad of Cubs 4-2 in Cactus League action at Dwight Patterson at HoHoKam Park in sunny & warm Mesa, AZ, this afternoon.

Bobby Scales had two singles, a double, two RBI, and two runs scored, helping the Cubs rally from a 4-1 deficit to take a 6-4 5th inning lead, but the Reds scored two runs in the 6th to tie the game and an unearned run in the 7th to take the lead, and then held-on to edge the Cubs 7-6 in Cactus League action at Dwight Patterson Field at HoHoKam Park in sunny and warm Mesa, AZ, this afternoon.

Both the Reds and the Cubs were playing with split squads, with each team's other half playing each other in Las Vegas.

Brett Jackson rifled an RBI single into the LF corner with two outs in the bottom of the 9th to score Jim Adduci from 2nd base with the winning run, as the Cubs scored one in the 8th and one in the 9th to edge the Cleveland Indians 2-1 in Cactus League action at Dwight Patterson Field at HoHoKam Park in sunny & warm Mesa this afternoon.

Five Colorado pitchers combined to throw a five-hit shutout, and Jordan Pacheco crushed a pinch-hit three-run home run, leading a Rockies split squad to a 4-0 whitewashing of the Cubs in afternoon Cactus League action at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick Resort on Salt River Maricopa-Pima Indian Community land located east of Scottsdale today.

Up from Minor League Camp (Fitch Park) to provide some back-up insurance on the bench, D. J. Lemahieu slugged a pinch-hit two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th to give a Cubs split squad a 5-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Cactus League action at Dwight Patterson Field at HoHoKam Park in warm & sunny Mesa, AZ, this afternoon.

You've probably read or heard about yesterday's dugout fracas between Carlos Slim and Aramis Ramirez after the first inning. The Cubs continued their defensive indifference that has plagued their early Cactus League games with 3 errors in the first inning - 5 total on the game (Yahtzee!) -  and that led to a 6-run first inning. You try not to infer too much meaning in spring training results, but despite what Carlos said at the Cubs Convention about not having to compete for a spot in the rotation, the reality is that it's between him, Randy Wells and Andrew Cashner for two of the spots. And while his hefty contract may earn him the benefit of the doubt over Wells or Cashner, both of whom still have minor league options, you hope he will have to demonstrate some modicum of success in March. Thus he was somewhat justified in his anger if he felt his teammates let him down in the first. But like his namesake has hopefully learned by now, you can't act on it in the dugout in front of witnesses.

On day five of single game ticket sales yesterday it was still possible to buy four seats together for Opening Day.

I suspect the Ricketts gang has taken notice of the fact that spit and polished pee troughs are trumped by a 5^th place team and 9% unemployment when folks sit down in February to calculate whether or not they can afford $72 bleacher tickets come summertime.

There are other causes for concern as the bean counters contemplate the 2011 schedule and project the team's prospects at the turnstiles.

The two months with the highest number of home games are April and May with 15 and 17, respectively. Not only is the weather at its poorest then, but the early returns on advance ticket sales indicate that fans are taking a wait and see approach on this year’s edition rather than banking that Mike Quade’s 24-13 audition last year was an accurate forecast of the 2011 winning percentage.

The Yankee series is the only one at home over a weekend in June.

Attendance at the first two exhibition games was spotty. Unseasonable weather may be an early factor there, but even subpar Arizona weather is likely to far surpass whatever awaits in Chicago in April and May before Wrigley has a chance to put her face on.

Has the Cub/Wrigley Field brand peaked? It appears right now that the baseball business headquartered at Clark & Addison is in danger of having its streak of three million-plus attendance seasons snapped at seven.

If that happens will the storm sewers outside the Addison Red Line station be able to handle the flood of scalpers’ tears?