Game Fifteen - Cubs 3 Dodgers 7
WP - Charlie Haeger (1-0, BS 1) LP - John Grabow (0-1) Save - None

In front of the largest crowd in the history of the Cactus League (13,391), Lou Piniella's crew dropped their sixth game of the spring.

Ryan Dempster completed his longest outing of the spring. Dempster allowed his first two earned runs and walked his first batter of the spring in four innings of work. Dempster gave up a two-run homer to Manny Ramirez, his first of the spring, in the first inning. After dodging a big inning in the second, Dempster did not allow another run on Thursday afternoon.

Geovany Soto drove in the Cubs' first run in the second inning off of Chad Billingsley. The Cubs tied the game in the sixth on a RBI single by Tyler Colvin. But the Dodgers' scored five runs off of John Grabow and John Gaub in the sixth and seventh innings.

Carlos Marmol pitched a scoreless fifth. Marmol did not allow hit, struck out Matt Kemp but issued a two-out walk to Rafael Furcal.

John Grabow had another poor outing on Thursday. The Dodgers scored two runs on three hits with a walk during Grabow's inning of work. All three hits allowed by Grabow were to left handed hitters and the only lefty he retired plated a run ... James Loney drove in Xavier Paul on a sacrifice fly to center.

The other southpaw that pitched for Lou Piniella did not fare much better than the first. John Gaub gave up back-to-back singles to start the seventh. Reed Johnson stepped in and ripped a three-run homer over the wall in left. Gaub allowed three runs on four hits without a walk or a strikeout in one inning.

The Cubs slipped to 9-6 on the exhibition season with Thursday's loss ...

Spring Training Game Fifteen: Cubs (9-5) vs. Dodgers (4-6-1)
Game Time - 3:05pm CDT
Coverage - TV: MLB TV.com (Dodgers Feed) - Radio: MLB.com
Location - Camelback Ranch, Glendale

Ryan Dempster (1-0, 0.00/0.20) vs. Chad Billingsley (0-0, 1.80/0.80)

Lou Piniella's crew returns to work this afternoon following their only scheduled day off of the spring ... the Cubs next day off is April 4 before the season opener in Atlanta. Today is the first of back-to-back games for the Cubs at Camelback Ranch. The Cubs play the White Sox for the final time in Arizona on Friday.

The Cubs will face the Dodgers for the first time this spring. The Dodgers only trip to HoHoKam Park was rained

Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez are expected back in the lineup this afternoon. The Cubs' regulars should begin receiving more playing time with just over two weeks remaining on the Cactus League schedule.

Kevin Millar does everything off the field the Chicago Cubs need in the clubhouse. He keeps his teammates loose. He entertains them when the team bus breaks down and reminds them baseball is just a game. Millar has lived up to his reputation in his short time with the Cubs. He has said and done everything the Cubs expected off the field.

Millar has outperformed expectations on the field this spring. He has listened to Rudy Jaramillo and has hit the ball. After nine games and 15 at bats, Millar is hitting .333/.545/.600 with seven walks, a double, a home run and three RBI.

Several of the veterans are "rooting" for Kevin Millar to make the team and the feeling is Millar could break camp on the Cubs roster. But when the games actually count, can Kevin Millar help the Cubs win games?

For those of us that enjoy keeping tabs on the minor league system, the 2010 Cubs Spring Training season has been a fun one. We've finally starting to see some progress with developing homegrown talent in the Cubs' organization. With a mostly veteran starting eight at the big league level, it's important to know that there are some young guys on the way.

Let's jump right into the first "Down on the Farm" report of 2010.

Game Fourteen - Cubs 4 Rangers 1
WP - Carlos Silva (2-1) LP - Neftali Feliz (0-1) Save - James Russell (1)

In front of the largest crowd of the spring at HoHoKam Park (13,157), the Cubs made quick order of the Texas Rangers in two hours and eight minutes on Tuesday afternoon. The Cubs pitching staff limited a Rangers' lineup of mostly backup players and minor leaguers to one run on three hits.

Carlos Silva tossed four innings of shutout ball. He retired the last seven batters he faced ... and 10 of the last 11. Silva surrendered only two hits, hit a batter but did not issue a free pass. Esmailin Caridad did not allow a hit in his two innings of work. Caridad walked a batter but faced the minimum when Geovany Soto threw out Joaquin Arias attempting to steal second to end the fifth inning.

The Rangers lone run came in the eighth inning. Justin Smoak launched a solo home run over the right field wall off of Marcos Mateo. Mateo struck out three in his 1 1/3 innings of work.

James Russell stuck out two of the three batters he faced in the ninth for the save.

Xavier Nady had a very good day at the ballpark. Nady hit a pair of doubles (left and right center), drove in two of the Cubs four runs and scored another in four trips to the plate. Nady delivered a two-out, two run double in the third inning that plated Ryan Theriot and Kosuke Fukudome. Nady then scored the Cubs' third run on a two-out single by Marlon Byrd.

Jeff Baker hit his first longball of the spring in the seventh for the Cubs final run.

Ryan Theriot (2-for-3 with a run scored) and Tyler Colvin (1-for-1) continued their hot springs.

With the win, the Cubs improved to 9-5 in the Cactus League ...

Spring Training Game Fourteen: Cubs (8-5) vs. Rangers (4-7)
Game Time - 3:05pm CDT
Coverage - TV: None - Radio: 720 WGN, XM Radio Channel 183
Location - HoHoKam Park, Mesa

Carlos Silva (1-1, 10.80/2.40) vs. Neftali Feliz (0-0, 13.50/1.00)

Updated 12:00pm CDT - The Cubs optioned Rafael Dolis to Double-A Tennessee on Tuesday. Cubs Spring Roster Reduced to 50 players ...

After a very long beginning to the week, the Cubs return home to HoHoKam Park this afternoon to face Rudy Jaramillo's old team, the Texas Rangers. Lou Piniella will begin the game with Carlos Silva ... today should be a good test of how much improvement Silva has actually made since his start against the White Sox.

The Cubs, without Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez, will see Neftali Feliz and C.J. Wilson for eight of the nine innings ... both pitchers are penciled in for four-inning outings this afternoon.

The biggest news out of Cubs camp on Monday, other than Kevin Millar's comedy act, was Lou Piniella announcing Ryan Theriot would be the Cubs leadoff man ... at least when the season starts. Piniella said he is 80 percent sure Theriot will hit at the top of his lineup with Kosuke Fukudome hitting in the two-hole.

As for the rest of the Cubs lineup ... Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, Marlon Byrd, Alfonso Soriano, Mike Fontenot/Jeff Baker and Geovany Soto will round out the first eight spots in the Cubs lineup.

Mike Fontenot is leading the battle for the Cubs' starting second baseman's job. Piniella would like to begin the season with a left-handed hitter in the second and seventh spots in his lineup against right-handed pitchers.

According to a report from the Sun-Times, the Cubs plan to make a smaller amount of roster cuts by Tuesday. Here's the rest ...

Game Thirteen - Cubs 2 Rockies 5
WP - Jhoulys Chacin (1-0) LP - Mike Parisi (1-1, BS 1) Save - Franklin Morales (1)

Lou Piniella's crew made their final trip to Hi Corbett Field on Monday ... and the trip took a little longer than expected. The Cubs bus broke down less than an hour outside of Mesa, a clamp came off the radiator line. A majority of the team was an hour late to the park and they were unable to take batting practice due to the delay.

Kevin Millar reportedly entertained the team.

Once the Cubs got to the park, a starting lineup stocked with backup players, Ryan Theriot and Carlos Zambrano were beaten by the Rockies.

Carlos Zambrano was happy with the way he threw the ball. He kept the ball down, allowed one run on five hits, four doubles, in four innings of work. Big Z is hopeful he can pitch the way he did on Monday throughout the season. Zambrano threw 43 pitches, 28 for strikes ... and recorded seven groundball outs to just two fly ball outs.

Zambrano also drove in one of the Cubs' two runs with a double in the second off of Jeff Francis.

The Cubs sloppy play in the field continued on Monday. They committed three more errors (Mike Parisi, Sam Fuld, Starlin Castro) and gave the opposition another free run.

The Cubs slipped to 8-5 on the spring with Monday's loss ...

The Cubs are 8-4 after twelve Spring Training contests and have twenty-one exhibition games remaining on the schedule. So where do the Cubs stand after the first two weeks of Cactus League games?

The Cubs reduced their 60-man Spring Training roster to 51 players on Sunday. Mitch Atkins (Triple-A Iowa) and David Patton (Double-A Tennessee) were optioned to minor league camp. Seven other non-roster invitees were assigned to minor league camp ... Brett Jackson, Josh Vitters, Vince Perkins, Matt Camp, Steve Clevenger, Blake Lalli and Jeff Kennard.

The Cubs have a lot of work to do before the games count again. With Opening Day in Atlanta three weeks from Monday, here is a look at where the Cubs stand at almost the halfway point of Spring Training ...

According to a report from Nick Cafardo in the Boston Globe, Kerry Wood is drawing interest from the Chicago Cubs. Cafardo listed the Twins and the Cubs as possible destinations for Wood.

Kerry Wood is owed a lot of money for the upcoming season ($10.5 million) and has a rather large vesting option for the final year his three-year contract. Wood's $11 million club option for 2011 becomes guaranteed if Wood finishes 55 games in 2010. Carfardo pointed out the Indians would have to pick up a good portion of his remaining contract to trade him to either the Twins or Cubs.

Game Twelve - Cubs 8 Angels 7
WP - Andrew Cashner (1-0) LP - Rich Thompson (0-2, BS 1) Save - Thomas Diamond (1)

The Cubs won their fourth game in a row and finished the long five-game weekend with a 4-1 record. Two non-roster invitees played a role in the victory against the Angels.

Kevin Millar drove in the Cubs first run with a double to left center in the first ... and hit a two-run homer over the wall in left in the third. Millar finished the game 2-for-2 with a walk, a double, a home run, two runs scored and three RBI.

Starlin Castro (2-for-2 with a double, a run scored and two RBI) continued his impressive spring on Sunday afternoon. Castro reached base with a double and a single in his only two trips to the plate. Castro doubled in James Adduci with the tying run in the seventh and scored the go ahead run on a double by Micah Hoffpauir.

Castro also showed off his range and arm on Sunday with mixed results. Castro was shook up a little in the ninth on a grounder up the middle. Castro appeared to lose his footing and hit the dirt as he flipped the ball to Darwin Barney. Reports after the game indicated Castro's knee was okay.

The Cubs offense pounded out 12 hits, six for extra bases, and scored at least a single run in five of the nine innings.

After being just short of perfect in his first two outings, Randy Wells struggled mightily in his third start of the spring. Larry Rothschild said Wells' performance on Sunday might be a good wake-up call for the young right-hander.

Wells was hit rather hard in the second inning. The Angels sent 11 batters to the plate, scored six times and seemed to rattle the normally calm, cool and collected Randy Wells.

While the Cubs pen on Sunday allowed only one run after Randy Wells left the game, the questions surrounding the bullpen continue to be justified. Carlos Marmol was effective but struggled with his command and walked a batter. John Grabow, like Marmol, struggled with throwing strikes.

The Cubs pen allowed only four hits over the final six innings but they walked nine batters, five in the last two innings, with only seven strikeouts. Lou Piniella was visibly upset at the performances by Blake Parker and Thomas Diamond in the eighth and ninth.

With the win, the Cubs improved to 8-4 in the Cactus League ...

Spring Training Game Twelve: Cubs (7-4) vs. Angels (2-6-2)
Game Time - 3:05pm CDT
Coverage - TV: WGN TV - Radio: XM Radio Channel 176
Location - Tempe Diablo Stadium, Tempe

Randy Wells (1-0, 0.00/0.20) vs. Joel Pineiro (0-0, 4.50/2.00)

Updated - 11:08am CDT - Cubs announced first round of cuts on Sunday morning. Nine players removed from Spring Training roster ... two optioned and seven assigned to minor league camp.

Mitch Atkins was optioned to Triple-A Iowa and David Patton was optioned to Double-A Tennessee. Steve Clevenger, Blake Lalli, Jeff Kennard, Josh Vitters, Matt Camp, Brett Jackson and Vince Perkins assigned to minor league camp.

The Cubs travel to Tempe for the first time this afternoon to face the Angels ... one of two games for the Cubs against the defending AL West Champions in the Cactus League this year. The Cubs will send Randy Wells to the mound against the ex-Cardinal, Joel Pineiro.

Aramis Ramirez left Saturday's game against the Reds in the third inning with soreness in his right triceps. Ramirez is listed as day-to-day. The Cubs have downplayed the injury ... he is expected back in the lineup in a couple of days.

After X-rays showed no damage in Derrek Lee's left foot, the Cubs said he would be out for a couple of more days with a bruised left foot. Lee is not expected back until Tuesday.

The Cubs are expected to announce their first round of cuts following today's game ...