Almora & Vitters Lead Cubs to Victory over A's
Albert Almora laced an opposite-field RBI triple into the RF corner and then scored one out later on a sacrifice fly, Josh Vitters roped an RBI double, and Jose Rosario threw four innings of one-hit ball, helping the Cubs edge the Athletics 4-3 in Cactus League Extended Spring Training action this morning at Fitch Park Field #4 (formerly known as "Field #3") in Mesa, AZ.
Almora (the Cubs 2012 1st round draft pick) saw his first game action in more than six weeks, since having hand surgery on March 16th (he broke his hamate bone at Minor League Camp on March 14th). He was a DH and hit five times in today's game, once in each of the first five innings. He lined out to CF in his first AB, then bounced out to third, reached base on an E-5 (another bouncer that the A's third-baseman tried to cut-off in front of the shortstop), ripped his RBI triple (and then he tore his pants and got a pretty good "raspberry" on his left thigh sliding home on the sac fly), and (in his last AB) grounded out to short.
Josh Conway got the start for the Cubs and went five strong innings (80 pitches), allowing two runs on four hits (all four singles) and two walks, while striking out six (five swinging). He retired nine of the first ten men he faced and then four of the last five, but in between he gave up two runs on four hits in the top of the 4th. The way he is being stretched out makes it look like the Cubs might be thinking about moving him up to Kane County or Daytona in the near future.
Jose Rosario followed Conway to the mound and threw four innings of one-hit ball (although he did walk three). He surrendered a lead-off triple in the top of the 9th, but looked like he would get out of the inning and leave the runner stranded at 3rd after retiring the next two hitters. However, a two-out fielding error by 1st baseman Mark Malave allowed the runner at 3rd to score. Rosario looks like he might be about ready to move up to either Kane County or Daytona, too.
The game was pre-planned as a ten-inning affair, and the A's did score two runs off Ethan Elias to take a 5-4 lead in the top of the 10th. However, the game was called in the middle of the 10th because the A's ran out of available pitchers, and so the score reverted to what it was at the end of the 9th inning, and therefore the Cubs won 4-3.
Here is today's abridged box score (Cubs players only):
CUBS LINEUP:
X. Albert Almora, DH #1: 1-5 (L-8, 5-3, E-5, 3B, 6-3, R, RBI)
NOTE: Almora batted five times, hitting 2nd in each of the first five innings
1a. Shawon Dunston Jr, CF: 0-1 (K, F-8 SF, RBI)
1b. Danny Lockhart, 2B: 1-1 (1B, F-7 SF, RBI)
2a. David Bote, 2B: 0-2 (L-9, 1-3)
2b. Roberto Caro, CF: 1-1 (1B, BB, CS)
3. Carlos Penalver, SS: 1-3 (E-6, 1B, F-8, R)
4. Josh Vitters, 3B-DH: 2-3 (5-3, 2B, 1B, RBI)
5. Yasiel Balaguert, RF: 1-3 (4-3, 1B, K)
6a. Jose Dore, 1B: 0-2 (L-4, 4-3)
6b. Wilfredo Petit, C: 0-1 (K)
7a. Xavier Batista, LF: 0-2 (K, K)
7b. Mark Malave, 1B: 0-1 (4-6 FC)
8a. Lance Rymel, C: 0-2 (6-4-3 DP, 4-3)
8b. Garrett Schlecht, LF: 0-0 (BB, R)
9. Kevin Encarnacion, DH #2: 0-1 (BB, K, BB, R)
10a. SLOT WAS SKIPPED FIRST TWO TIMES THRU BATTING ORDER
10b. Jesse Hodges, 3B: 0-1 (L-4)
CUBS PITCHERS:
1. Josh Conway: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 6 K, 80 pitches (50 strikes), 4/4 GO/FO
2. Jose Rosario: 4.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R (0 ER), 3 BB, 2 K, 59 pitches (33 strikes), 4/6 GO/FO
3. Ethan Elias: 1.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R (2 ER), 0 BB, 0 K, 19 pitches (14 strikes), 1/2 GO/FO
CUBS ERRORS: 2
1. 1B Mark Malave - E-3 (fielding error allowed batter to reach base safely & unearned run to score)
2. C Wilfredo Petit - E-2 (overthrow at 2nd base on SB attempt allowed baserunner to advance to 3rd)
CATCHERS DEFENSE:
1. Lance Rymel: 1-3 CS
2. Wilfredo Petit: 0-1 CS , 1 E (see above)
ATTENDANCE: 14
WEATHER: Sunny with temperatures in the 90's
Recent comments
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Arizona Phil 2 hours 42 min ago (view)
Ian Happ arbitration figures are $4.1M (player) and $3.25M (club) with hearing date TBD.
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crunch 1 day 14 hours ago (view)
* all figures stated are in a range of +/- 10m
yeah, that was me not typing info correctly. my bad.
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Arizona Phil 1 day 16 hours ago (view)
Bryant got $19.5M
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crunch 1 day 18 hours ago (view)
bryant 9.5m, contreras 6.65m, baez 11.65m, z.davies 8.63m
looks like happ is going to arbitration.
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Arizona Phil 2 days 15 hours ago (view)
RHP Edward Vasquez (2017 IFA - Dominican Republic) has retired.
E. Vasquez was one of the top SP on DSL Cubs Red in 2019 and was expected to be a SP on one of the Cubs AZL teams in 2020 if the minor league season hadn't been canceled.
He would have been first-time Rule 5 Draft eligible post-2021.
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K Dub 2 days 18 hours ago (view)
Thanks Phil!
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crunch 2 days 20 hours ago (view)
danny hultzen retires and joins the cubs as a "pitching development assistant"
shame the comeback story didn't last longer...but hey, at least he got to taste the bigs after his body failed him for so many years.
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crunch 2 days 23 hours ago (view)
theo joining the commish's front office operation as a "consultant reguarding on field matters"...basically weighing in on the possible impact of rules changes.
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Arizona Phil 3 days 2 hours ago (view)
https://www.thecubreporter.com/comment/266505#comm...
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K Dub 3 days 2 hours ago (view)
Yeah, to my calculation that suspension should be over by now unless he got caught again...
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Wrigley Rat 3 days 6 hours ago (view)
(Not Phil) - Last I saw, he was on the restricted list.
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K Dub 3 days 7 hours ago (view)
PHIL: Did the Cubs release Saul Vazquez?
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Sonicwind75 1 week 40 min ago (view)
The 2021 guaranteed amount is $7 + $3 million mutual option buyout. 10>8. Most media reports summarizes it as a $10 million deal.
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CubbyBlue 1 week 1 hour ago (view)
Thanks Eric. After I put it up I thought.. damn I'm old. I wonder if people even remember back that far. I still think about that day. Uggh. Sorry.
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Charlie 1 week 1 hour ago (view)
I'm always confused by this. They also could have tendered him and then boosted his value by trading him with a million or two in cash considerations. Obviously, that's a million or two more expensive than simply non-tendering--but couldn't you at least get an interesting prospect in return from one of these teams? They obviosuly thought it was worth their return to toss in a few million in the Darvish trade.
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tim815 1 week 2 hours ago (view)
The 2021 amount is 7.
The buyout is 3.
8>7
Comments
When you don't hustle, you
The first month of the season
speaking of...
the SB is over-rated...
Might want to think about
The batter looked a little
Kyle Hendricks starting to
ninja with 2 wild pitches in
s.hairston + c.ransom back to
heh
heh
Hairston and Ransom go back to back...better odds at winning lotto.
vidal nuno making his debut
The Unsinkable Cody Ransom
The Unsinkable Cody Ransom
Greatest Cub of all time?
him or ace closer kevin gregg
a close second to Jose Macias
a close second to Jose Macias...
Sheesh, kids these days.
welly got his 1st walk of the
Strasburg - forearm tightness
Strasburg - forearm tightness.
worked out well for you Rizzo
sorry for Strasburg if its serious...
bottom 14th, NYM/MIA...out of
mets score 1 in the top 15th.
speaking of doing weird
crazy game...going to the
b.anderson done after 5.1
j.blevins up for his 1st MLB
b.moss 2r HR ends it in the
J. Baez with his 11th error
Who is "we"? Anyway, Baez was
Sorry..."we" = seems to be a
I have it from an inside
Today is the beginning of a
Today is the beginning of a new MLB waiver period, and it is in effect until 4 PM (EDT) on July 31st. .
For the past seven months or so the Cubs have had second waiver claim priorty (because they had the second-worst record in MLB last season), but starting today waiver claim priority changes daily, based upon the standings the morning the two-day waiver-claiming period ends for a particular player. So as of this morning, the Cubs are now 6th in waiver claim priority, behind MIA, HOU, TOR, SD and LAA. (The Padres and Angels are tied in the standings, so either could have 5th waiver claim priority, depending on whether the player is waived by an American League club or a National League club).
Also, beginning with the new waiver period, Outright Assignment Waivers (once secured) are good for the entire waiver period, so (for example) a player who is outrighted during this waiver period can be sent back & forth to the minors without having to be placed on waivers each time. However, the player would have the right to decline the Outright Assignment and elect free-agency i9f he is outrighted a second in the waiver period, since he would have been outrighted at least twice in his career. But at the same time, a player on a minor league roster who is called up to MLB and is added to an MLB 40-man roster can sign a 45-day waiver that allows the club to outright the player without the player electing free-agency anytime during that 45-day period. This would be used (for example) in the case of a veteran player on the Iowa roster (somebody like Brad Nelson, J. C. Boscan, Alberto Gonzalez, Brian Bogusevic, et al) who is brought up to MLB to replace an injured player for a short period of time, where the club tells the player "we will bring you up for 15 days, but only if you sign the 45-day waiver." Sometimes a player will agree to sign the 45-day waiver (especialy if he understands his role in the organization), and sometimes he won't. And if two players play the same position and one agrees to sign the waiver and the other doesn't, the club will likely select the contract of the one who agrees to sign.
Here is a refresher on how waivers work:
For Optional Assignment Waivers, Outright Waivers, and Release Waivers, if a player is claimed by only one club, that club is awarded the claim. If more than one club makes a claim, the club with the lowest winning percentage (regardless of league) on the day the player clears waivers is awarded the claim. If two clubs with the same winning percentage make a claim, the club in the player's own league is awarded the claim. If two clubs from the same league make a claim and they are tied in the standings, the club with the lowest winning percentage from the previous season is awarded the claim. If the clubs are still tied, standings from two years back (or three years back, four years back, etc) are used to break the tie.
However, in the case of Trade Waivers (only), if a player is claimed by more than one club, the club in the player's own league with the lowest winning percentage is awarded the claim, even if that club has a higher winning percentage than the club or clubs making a claim from the other league. So a player placed on Trade Assignment Waivers must first be "waived out of his own league" before he can be assigned to a club in the other league. BUT THIS ONLY APPLIES TO TRADE WAIVERS, and Trade Waivers are only used beginning on August 1st up through the conclusion of the MLB regular season.
For the purpose of determining the awarding of waivers claims, the previous season's standings are used during the off-season and up through the first 30 days of the following season. Then beginning on the 31st day of the season, the standings as of the date the player clears waivers are used to determine the awarding of waiver claims, with the previous season's standings used to break any ties.
"Mariners signed OF Corey
"Randy Wells has announced
Cubs get $10.5M for draft
Cubs get $10.5M for draft
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130...
$3.85M for international signings
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130...
appel vs gray...and HOU gets
Bryant's bombs aren't really
appel vs gray...and HOU gets
84F night game @wrigley..
late-comers have filled to
a.rizzo just stole 3rd base
Jackson and Sori should bring
Dale,
4/52 = the new 3/44
that extra 4m a year for a
And thats putting it mildly.
Can we get a mercy rule or
mark grace update...
CRUNCH: Mark Grace was the
CRUNCH: Mark Grace was the EXST Diamondbacks 1st base coach on Jackrabbit Field in the Cubs-D'backs doubleheader at Talking Stick last week. He also is one of the hitting coaches.
He kind of gave me a double-take at one point when he saw me writing stuff down. I think he thought maybe I was working for Sheriiff Joe and was there to keep tabs on him.
But his situation (work release) is kind of like Field of Dreams, where Shoeless Joe (not to be confused with Sheriff Joe) can't walk off the field and go the house. He can go into the corn field when the game is over, but he otherwise he can't leave the field. It's sort of like that with Mark Grace,
he was corny as hell, but i'm
Seems to be a lot of dead air
JD is a lot chattier than Bob
I think with the Cubs the way
Cant wait for the wacky plays