Cubs Organizational Report Week 11

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 06/20/2005 - 9:05am
Team Records updated through 6/19/05; Individual Stats updated through 6/19/05
Organizational Records
TeamW-LGB/Pos.Last 10Ex W/LW/L (2003)W/L (2004)
Chicago Cubs34-339.5/2nd4-635-3237-3037-30
Iowa Cubs29-429.0/4th4-628-4332-3941-30
West Tenn Diamond Jaxx*44-250.0/1st5-543-2633-3637-32
Daytona Cubs34-316.0/3rd6-433-32N/AN/A
Peoria Chiefs35-354.0/4th6-436-34N/AN/A
Boise HawksJune 22ndN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A
AZL CubsLate JuneN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A
* West Tennessee clinched the first half North Division title of the Southern League
MLB TRANSACTIONS/INJURIES P - Rich Hill promoted from AAA on 06/15/05 P - John Koronka demoted to AAA on 06/15/05 P - Dave Crouthers has retired from baseball at age 25; Cubs placed him on waivers for the purpose of giving him his unconditional release on 06/15/05 P - Mark Prior placed on 15 day DL with a right non-displaced fracture of the lateral epicondyl (elbow) on 05/28/05; Threw some simulated games over past week; May skip minor league rehab program and be ready to pitch this week or next P - Kerry Wood diagnosed with supraspinatus muscle strain in his right shoulder; Placed on DL on 05/02/05; Threw 48 & 69 pitch rehab outings last week for Iowa; At least one more before returning to majors P - Chad Fox transferred to 60 day DL on 05/17/05; Has "nerve issues" in his right elbow; Still undetermined whether he'll attempt another comeback SS ñ Nomar Garciaparra out with left groin avulsion of the adductor longus muscle; placed on 15 day DL 04/21/05; Transferred to 60 day DL on 05/29/05; Rehabbing in Arizona P - Scott Williamson placed on 60 day DL 3/31/05; Recovering from October 2004 Tommy John surgery; Currently rehabbing at Extended Spring Training; Return anticpated by end of July AAA (IOWA) TRANSACTIONS/INJURIES P - Rich Hill promoted to MLB team on 06/15/05 P - John Koronka demoted to AAA on 06/15/05 P - Bobby Brownlie activated from DL (elbow tendonitis) on 06/18/05 AAA (IOWA) Notables Ronny Cedeno .350/.400/.503 Jermaine Van Buren 1-1 9 Saves; 1.88 ERA/12 BB/37 K Mike Fontenot .287/.395/.480 Jerome Williams 1-1 2.22 ERA/6 BB/17 K Jon Leicester 0-2 1 Save; 5.76 ERA/12 BB/20 K Phil Norton 2-4 6.27 ERA/18 BB/27 K Will Cunnane 1-1 6.32 ERA/17BB/33 K Dave Kelton .286/.331/.448 Geovany Soto .265/.382/.347 Scott McClain .247/.306/.490 Russ Rohlicek 2-1 3 Saves; 3.90 ERA/22 BB/32 K AA (W. TENN) TRANSACTIONS/INJURIES INF - Jemel Spearman has not played since 04/26/05 because of wrist injury P- Angel Guzman out with stiff forearm; Supposedly began throwing this week; Likely not to pitch in a game until July P ñ Rocky Cherry left game on 4/21/05 after 1/3 of an inning. Tommy John surgery performed on 05/05/05 AA (W. TENN) Notables Matt Murton .357/.420/.496 15/20 SB opportunities Felix Pie .304/.349/.554 13/22 SB opportunities Dwaine Bacon .322/.400/.416 14/20 SB opportunities Ryan Theriot .316/.379/.421 15/18 SB opportunities Brandon Sing .274/.397/.543 Buck Coats .322/.391/.427 Casey McGehee .314/.368/.459 Richard Lewis .310/.431/.429 Ricky Nolasco 6-0 2.51 ERA/26 BB/84 K Carmen Pignatiello 5-4 2.68 ERA/28 BB/77 K Andrew Shipman 1-3 2.67 ERA/14 BB/31 K Talley Haines 4-2 13 Saves; 1.78 ERA/2 BB/20 K Reynel Pinto 3-0 1.48 ERA/22 BB/52 K David Aardsma 2-0 1.37 ERA/11 BB/15 K John Connolly 2-1 2.95 ERA/7 BB/16 K Yorkin Ferreras 2-4 2 Saves; 5.52 ERA/6 BB/31 K Jae-Kuk Ryu 5-3 3.66 ERA/28 BB/57 K Adam Greenberg .253/.369/.360 A ADVANCED (DAYTONA) TRANSACTIONS/INJURIES SS - Carlos Rojas placed on DL on 05/26/05 P - Brad Stiles placed on DL on 4/27/05; reason unknown FLORIDA STATE LEAGUE ALL-STARS P Carlos Marmol P Sean Marshall P Randy Wells OF Chris Walker DH/3B Scott Moore A Advanced (DAYTONA) Notables Scott Moore .304/.385/.587 Sean Marshall 4-4 2.74 ERA/26 BB/61 K J.R. Mathes 5-2 2.95 ERA/18 BB/53 K Carlos Marmol 6-2 2.99 ERA/37 BB/71 K Thomas Atlee 1-3 8 Saves; 2.61 ERA/8 BB/15 K Juan Mateo 4-1 2 Saves; 2.65 ERA/11 BB/42 K Brian Dopirak .249/.299/.382 Anderson Tavares 2-5 5.83 ERA/18 BB/48 K Jonathon Johnson .286/.333/.447 Kevin Collins .278/.363/.532 Jake Fox .279/.345/.404 Chris Walker .287/.348/.426 29/37 SB opportunities A (PEORIA) TRANSACTIONS/INJURIES P - Matthew Webber left game on 06/05/05 after being hit by line drive on the pitching arm; Returned to action this week INF Ryan Norwood placed on DL 04/07/05 with severe ankle sprain; Out 6-8 weeks MIDWEST LEAGUE ALL-STARS 2B Eric Patterson 1B Alberto Garcia OF Ryan Harvey P Sean Gallagher P Chris Shaver P Matthew Weber A(PEORIA) Notables Eric Patterson .366/.444/.545 17/24 SB opportunities Luis Montanez .306/.375/.483 Aaron Sisk .331/.398/.610 Sean Gallagher 7-2 1.56 ERA/26 BB/82 K Ed Campusano 2-2 1 Save; 2.63 ERA/14 BB/23 K Alan Rick .169/.248/.246 Sam Fuld .243/.338/.339 Jerry Blevins 1-5 11 Saves; 6.47 ERA/16 BB/37 K Johnathon Hunton 0-2 6.35 ERA/16 BB/27 K Alberto Garcia .316/.366/.378 Oscar Bernard .289/.326/.333 Bo Flowers .276/.320/.389 Ryan Harvey .255/.316/.442 Matt Weber 3-7 3.16 ERA/12 BB/47 K Chris Shaver 3-6 4.30 ERA/36 BB/53 K A SHORT SEASON(BOISE) TRANSACTIONS/INJURIES/NOTABLES None to report ROOKIE LEAGUE (AZL Cubs) TRANSACTIONS/INJURIES/NOTABLES None to report OTHER NOTABLE INJURIES OF - Nic Jackson had more surgery to clean out his shoulder; Probably out until 2006 P - Chadd Blasko - shoulder surgery; Probably out until 2006 P - Jason Wylie - shoulder surgery; No update on his return P - Matt Clanton - shoulder surgery; Had 2nd shoulder surgery during off-season, probably out all season MINOR LEAGUE LEADERS Hitting HR - Scott Moore (15) RBI - Scott Moore (49) AVG - Eric Patterson (.366) OBP - Eric Patterson (.444) SLG - Scott Moore (.587) SB - Chris Walker (29) Pitching IP - Matt Weber (82.2) ERA -Sean Gallagher (1.56) WINS - Sean Gallagher (7) SAVES -Talley Haines (13) K - Ricky Nolasco (84) * The AB and IP cutoff for rate stats is rather arbitrary
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Comments

Submitted by Tom C  on Mon, 06/20/2005 - 9:18am  
Just a quick note to all at TCR. I love this org reports and game matchups. Ruz really knew what he was doing, b/c I have to tell you, derek & alex are putting out some really lame stuff over at baseball toaster and hardly ever post regular entries. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK & GO CUBS! Oh and can someone please tell me why Enrique is on 1st instead of Grieve? Please? Why? God, why?

Submitted by Eric S  on Mon, 06/20/2005 - 9:30am  
Felix Pie hasn't played in a game since playing one game in a doubleheader last Thursday. Anyone know the reason for this? Injury, promotion, etc or perhaps he just needed a break after the team clinched the 1st half title?

Submitted by Rob G.  on Mon, 06/20/2005 - 9:44am  
I haven't heard of an injury, my guess, and it truly is a guess, is that they gave him a few days off after they clinched the first half title. Although it wouldn't surpise me the least bit if Pie gets the call to AAA soon. I mean, I understand that Trenidad Hubbard is having a great year in AAA and i would really hate to lose someone with all that talent, but you know, let the kid play. Don't get me wrong, I think being patient with Pie is the right move and he should stew in AA for the rest of the year, but it's not like I'm fully confident the Cubs know how to develop position players. If anyone gets called up a level it should be Matt Murton in my opinion (followed by Eric Patterson to Advanced A).

Submitted by Rob G.  on Mon, 06/20/2005 - 10:00am  
I hadn't noticed this but apparently 1B stud Brandon Sing has been trying his hand in the outfield over the last year on occassion. He says he prefers right, but still considers 1B his primary position. I wonder if the Cubs may actually have plans for him with the big club. The power and patience he's shown over the last 2 years has been outstanding, although he's been a bit old for both leagues. He's 24, 6-5, 215 lbs and has been raking the ball the last 2 years. Fell just short of the Florida State League record for homers last year and has belted another 12 so far this season in what is generally known as a pitcher's league. His peripherals aren't too bad either.. 2003 84 BB/101 K/408 AB's 2004 44 BB/ 63 K/ 208 AB's Strikes out at a horrid pace but I can live with it, if it means he's going to keep up those walk rates. Local kid too, went to Joliet Township

Submitted by John Hill  on Mon, 06/20/2005 - 10:20am  
Felix Pie injured his ankle trying to stretch to run out a triple the other day. Apparently the injury isn't serious, but with the Diamond Jaxx playing meaningless games the last few days (because they'd already wrapped up the first half division title, wooo!), they gave him some time off. Or at least that's the story.

Submitted by SaxFax  on Mon, 06/20/2005 - 10:50am  
Hearing through the grapevine (not Vineline) that Marshall and Marmol have been promoted from High A to AA and that Pignatiello is headed for AAA from AA. That would give the Diamondjaxx one heck of a starting rotation for the second half (Pinto, Nolasco, Marshall, Marmol, Ryu and Connolly) barring further promotions to Iowa.

Submitted by Eric S  on Mon, 06/20/2005 - 10:55am  
Thanks for the info John Hill and Rob G. Hope Pie's ankle is okay. I agree with Rob re: promoting Murton to AAA over Pie ... would be nice to see a high OBP guy with speed at the top of the Cubs lineup. I can't imagine Murton's approach to facing MLB pitching right now could be much worse than Kpat's at this point. Not so sure Sing isn't the Cub's #1 1B prospect (again?) now. Dopirak's mediocre hitting at Daytona is not that surprising for his first year there at such a young age ... its the 11 errors at first base which are troubling.

Submitted by Eric S  on Mon, 06/20/2005 - 11:33am  
SaxFax - If your sources are true, I hope Pigs fares better than Nolasco and Pinto's run with Iowa.

Submitted by John Hill  on Mon, 06/20/2005 - 11:49am  
Sax's sources are true. Relievers Thomas Atlee and Talley Haines were also promoted (Atlee from High-A to Double-A, Haines from Double-A to Triple-A), and relievers Federico Baez and Yorkin Ferreras were demoted from Double-A to High-A. That's on top of the moves involving Marmol, Marshall and Pignatiello. The Marshall move is unexpected, he's been thoroughly brilliant at the lower levels of the system. The promotion of Marmol though is much more surprising. He's only two years removed from being converted to the mound, and while his stuff is very promising (as reflected by his line at Daytona this year of 72.1 IP, 60 H, 7 HR, 37 BB, 71 K, 2.99 ERA), those 37 walks reflect the fact that his control, still, is not up to the required level. But the move has been made, and it'll be interesting to see how things play out, not just in terms of Marmol's performance, but also in terms of how the Diamond Jaxx construct the rotation around him and Marshall. Prior to the move, the rotation in West Tenn was Nolasco (who's performance has receeded a little), Pinto (who, after a terrible time at Iowa, has gone back to West Tenn and basically been the dominant but still a little wild pitcher he was there last year), Ryu (great stuff, reasonable results), Pignatiello and Connelly (both "soft-tossers" with great control and plus off-speed stuff). Pignatiello has obviously been promoted to Iowa, but that still leaves six into five, so something's got to give. The options would appear to be either Pinto or Nolasco getting another shot at Triple-A, Ryu or maybe Connelly moving to relief, or one of Pinto, Nolasco, Ryu and Connelly being traded.

Submitted by Eric S  on Mon, 06/20/2005 - 12:32pm  
John Hill - thanks for the detailed breakdown of the Cubs moves in the minors. Also, it will be interesting to see how things shakeout at West Tenn above and beyond the pitching situation. There seems to be a "3's a crowd" situation at both the middle (Lewis, Theroit, Coats) and corner infield positions (McGehee, Craig, Sing). It could be a coincidence, but it seems Sing's bat has taken a downturn with more regular playing time in the outfield instead of 1b (they were bound to come down from those absurdly good heights at some point). Not having seen these guys play in person, I have no idea if Sing is a viable player in the outfield (is he worse than Dubois?). From what I can tell checking the daily boxscores, at least Sing is not racking up errors in the outfield.

Submitted by John Hill  on Mon, 06/20/2005 - 12:56pm  
Also interesting that as a result of those moves the Jaxx are down a player, and they're down to just five relievers (David Aardsma, Randy Wells, Jon Searles, Thomas Atlee, Andrew Shipman, all righties). Now Ryu or Connelly (who's a lefty) could move to relief, but they'd still be one short. Looks like there's more to come in this reshuffle.

Submitted by SaxFax  on Mon, 06/20/2005 - 1:48pm  
One move I'm glad the Cubs didn't make is promoting Gallagher a level. His performance has gone from absolutely superhuman to still-better-than-the-rest, and it looks to me like he could stand to play a complete season at one level. If Daytona makes the FSL postseason, however, I wouldn't be surprised if Gallagher got called up for a start or two then.

Submitted by RQPS  on Mon, 06/20/2005 - 3:21pm  
Did i see Nic Jackson in this article?? I thought the Cubs released him long ago?? Has he been injured this whole time?? Any info anyone has i would love to hear, he 'WAS' my favorite minor league Cub a couple years ago...

Submitted by Hawkeye  on Mon, 06/20/2005 - 3:27pm  
Talley Haines' K:BB ratio is sick. By doing some cursory research I see that we got him from the Red Sox. Anyone know how the details that brought Mr. Haines to the organization?

Submitted by Rob G.  on Mon, 06/20/2005 - 3:49pm  
I don't know anything about Haines, other then he's 29 and dominating at AA, so I'm not so excited. But hey, maybe he'll be the next Borowski. the blip I read about Jackson sounded like he was still a part of the Cubs organization. He's been struggling with this shoulder injury since 2000 and hasn't played an uninterrupted season since 2002, so hopes are not high for him.

Submitted by Rob G.  on Mon, 06/20/2005 - 4:02pm  
haines was a 25th round pick of the D'Rays in 1998 and was released by the Red Sox sometime this year. (It was listed at BA.com on May 25th, but he's been pitching for the Jaxx since April 29th). he was a rule 5 draftee(i believe the minor league phase) of the blue jays last year and signed as a minor league free agent by the red sox this off-season.

Submitted by John Hill  on Mon, 06/20/2005 - 4:02pm  
FAO Hawkeye Basically the Red Sox cut him (he's a career minor leaguer and they wanted to make room for actual prospects), the Cubs offered him a minor league deal.

Submitted by Eric S  on Mon, 06/20/2005 - 4:04pm  
Saxfax - Absolutely concur re: Sean Gallagher. I've got a rooting interest for Sean beyond the Cub factor as he's a fellow St. Thomas Aquinas HS grad from Ft. Lauderdale. Tyler Greene, the Cards first round pick this year, also is a STA grad ...

Submitted by Hawkeye  on Mon, 06/20/2005 - 5:51pm  
Not to gush, but I love you guys. How cool is it that I was able to ask that question, and get multiple valid answers so quickly? The answer: very cool. John, Rob, thanks much...

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  • Arizona Phil 1 hour 37 min ago (view)

    The fact hat the Cubs have not run him through waivers by now tells me the Cubs know Duane Underwood Jr is a lock to get claimed and so they are hoping to find a club that would be willing to give the Cubs something more than the $50,000 waiver price in return for Dunderwood (either more $$$ and/or a player). 

     
  • Arizona Phil 2 hours 19 min ago (view)

    Today's pitchers, most of them the same guys who threw last Tuesday: 

    Alec Mills:
    FB: 89-91 
    SL: 81 
    CH: 81-82 
    CV: 67-70 
    COMMENT: This just in: Mills heater now sitting at 91!!!!... had two easy innings and looked very good... threw only a handful of his "Bugs Bunny curves" but they are fun to watch because hitters don't know how to deal with it... ... 

    Craig Kimbrel: 
    FB: 93-96 
    CT: 87-88 
    SL: 82-84 

     
  • Arizona Phil 2 hours 53 min ago (view)

    DJL: Jason Adam sustained a right elbow fracture a few years ago and missed two full seasons, and when he returned to action he started using a "short-arm" delivery. 

     
  • crunch 2 hours 53 min ago (view)

    baez "soft tissue injury"...no biggie...it's spring.  he'll be back in a day or 2.

     
  • crunch 5 hours 2 min ago (view)

    kimbrel...K, single, HBP, 3 more hits...inning called due to pitch count.  4 earned.

    also, baez removed after being HBP on the hand.

    neat.

     
  • First.Pitch.120 11 hours 15 min ago (view)

    Cotton McKnight: In 23 years of broadcasting I thought I'd seen it all, folks. But it looks like Peter La Fleur has actually blindfolded himself.

    Pepper Brooks: He will not be able to see very well, Cotton. 

     
  • First.Pitch.120 11 hours 16 min ago (view)

    Yes! Exactly... I'd love to be able to watch coverages in football or just key-in on a great WR to watch them work.

     
  • First.Pitch.120 11 hours 19 min ago (view)

    Wow... this is the most engagement I have ever received on any topic on social media platform. Please stay tuned for my opinions on the Oxford Comma, the APA Style Manual for Academic Writing, and the auto-correct on my iPhone.  

    I am an awesome guy at parties.... 

     
  • bradsbeard 21 hours 43 min ago (view)

    I watched some of the Puerto Rican Winter League games that Miguel Amaya played in this winter. At least one broadcast had a super wide shot for balls in play that let you see the OF and the baserunners at the same time. It was awesome. 

     
  • Wrigley Rat 1 day 49 min ago (view)

    3 dots on this evening's Cubs-Dodgers game - makes sense & they do color in the 3rd dot as they're going to commericals (Spectrum Sportsnet).

     
  • crunch 1 day 3 hours ago (view)

    3 dot crew represent.  i didn't have an opinion, but now i'm 100% on board.

     
  • Charlie 1 day 3 hours ago (view)

    I agree on most of this, but I especially support three fillable dots for the outs--and fill in the third before cutting to a commercial!

    Not doing homework on the players in a Spring Training broadcast is pretty forgiveable, but ESPN is really bad about it pretty much all year. It would be nice if they made a habit of picking up a local color commentator and sort of interviewing them throughout games.

     
  • George Altman 1 day 7 hours ago (view)

    The single thing I want in a sports broadcast is to become smarter about the sport,  to learn something from the broadcast crew.

    Stone does that, Romo does that, Eddie O on hockey, and that's about it. I watch sporting events with the sound down very low or off. I forgot more about baseball than most broadcasters will ever know, and I'm always shocked when I see something in a football game that the crew doesn't,  and I know about NOTHING about football. 

     
  • First.Pitch.120 1 day 9 hours ago (view)

    Also... what is with only having 2 dots as the outs counter? I know that you don't really need the 3rd dot, but I find it counter-intuitive. If the dots fill in, then only having 2 throws me off b/c it's natural to subitize "3" associated with outs. You quickly see 0/3, 1/3, 2/3.  If the graphic does not have fill-in dots, then just put the #.  eg - OUTS: 1  It's minimalism for the sake of minimalism, not graphic design for effective communication.

     
  • crunch 1 day 10 hours ago (view)

    tight shots + insane amount of screen real estate being taken up with graphics is a bit of a plague...especially the ones with a non-stop bottom news ticker.

     
  • First.Pitch.120 1 day 10 hours ago (view)

    General comment on baseball broadcasting... I think that the color comentator (CC) needs to talk about 30% more & the PBP about 30% less. I would love a more stream of consciousness from the CC outlining what they would be looking for in a given situation. To that end, why not have 2 CC for national broadcasts - one a pitcher & one a position player. Would love for them to banter back & forth on micro strategy from their perspectives. I think this would turn the game's pauses between action into more of an asset.

     
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