March 2009 Archives

Game Thirty-Five - Cubs 4 Angels 8
WP - Nick Adenhart (3-0) LP - Sean Marshall (3-1) Save - None

Sean Marshall's last spring tune-up started poorly and went down hill from there. Marshall struck out Chone Figgins to begin the game but the ball got away from Geovany Soto. Figgins reached and scored after a walk and two fielder's choice groundouts. Marshall settled down and put turned in a solid second and third inning.

After making six starts, seven appearances, this spring and allowing only five earned runs, Marshall was knocked out by the Angels offense after allowing eight runs, all earned, in 3 1/3 innings.

Sean Marshall could not make it out of the fourth after serving up a leadoff home run to Torii Hunter. Seven of the first eight batters Marshall faced in the fourth reached base and before he was pulled in favor of David Patton, he dug his team a 6-0 hole. Patton gave up back-to-back singles to Vladimir Guerrero (a bloop to right) and Torii Hunter (solid single to left), which allowed two more runs to score. On the day, Marshall allowed a total of eight runs on eight hits with two walks and five strikeouts.

David Patton did not allow another hitter to reach after the Hunter single. He retired the last two batters in the fourth and sat down the Angels in order in the fifth....with two strikeouts. Patton struck out three (Kendry Morales, Nick Adenhart and Gary Matthews, Jr.), allowed two inherited runners to score on two singles in 1 2/3 innings.

Derrek Lee and Kosuke Fukudome were the Cubs' offense until Micah Hoffpauir hit his sixth home run of the exhibition season in the eighth. Lee hit two doubles, drove in a run and scored another. Lee finished 3-for-3 on the afternoon.

Kosuke Fukudome was 2-for-3 with a run scored. Fukudome tripled with two outs in the fifth and scored on Lee's second double of the game. Fukudome recorded the first hit of the game but was picked off first by catcher Jeff Mathis.

Micah Hoffpauir continued his Cactus League onslaught. Hoffpauir added Scott Shields to the list of quality pitchers he's taken deep this spring. Hoffpauir's sixth was a 2-run shot to right with Aaron Miles on board for the ride. Hoffpauir has driven in 26 runs in 29 games.

The long spring training schedule is nearly complete...and on Tuesday it appeared like the team is looking past the remaining exhibition games to Monday in Houston.

Spring Training Game Thirty-Five: Cubs (17-15-1) vs. Angels (22-6-1)
Game Time - 3:05pm C.T.
Coverage - TV: MLB Network, MLB.TV - Radio: Gameday Audio (MLB.com)
Location - HoHoKam Park, Mesa

Sean Marshall (3-0, 1.93/1.03) vs. Nick Adenhart (2-0, 3.26/1.09)

Countdown to Opening Day...6 days. The last day of March and the next to the last game at HoHoKam Park for the Cubs in the 2009 Cactus League schedule. Sean Marshall will make his final spring start today. Depending on how the Cubs handle Rich Harden, if they skip Marshall the first time through the rotation, today could be his last start until at least the Cardinals series at Wrigley (April 16-April 19).

David Patton is also expected to pitch today.

After the two roster moves on Monday, the Cubs 25-man Opening Day roster is all but complete. Koyie Hill will backup Geovany Soto and Micah Hoffpauir will fill Daryle Ward's role from the past two seasons. With that said, the 13 position players, barring a trade, are set. The Cubs' 40-man roster stands at 36 players.

According to multiple reports, Lou Piniella will have his bullpen set before camp breaks on Thursday and the team heads east to unofficially open the new Yankee Stadium. The final two spots on the Cubs' 12-man pitching staff are down to five candidates...and Jim Hendry is working on trading at least one of them.

According to a report from Paul Sullivan, the Cubs will leave Kerry Wood's corner locker at Wrigley Field vacant for the 2009 season.

Tom "Otis" Heilman, the Cubs' clubhouse man, made the decision out of respect for Kerry Wood's career with the Cubs.

Game Thirty-Four - Cubs 8 Royals 8 - 10 innings

For the first time this spring Lou Piniella's crew did not win or lose on Monday afternoon, the game was called after 10 innings with the Cubs and Royals tied at eight. Rich Harden made his third start of the spring and gave up only four hits...but three of them were home runs that accounted for four of the five runs he allowed in 4 2/3 innings.

Alex Gordon hit a pair of dingers off Harden and Mark Teahen added one to lead off the fourth. Rich Harden, for the most part, pitched a good game, but was inconsistent...as his line would indicate. Harden gave up five runs on four hits with two walks and four strikeouts on Monday.

Aaron Heilman struck out the only batter he faced in relief of Rich Harden. Heilman threw four pitches to Mark Teahen.

Carlos Marmol responded to not being named the team's closer with his best outing of the spring. Marmol was his old nasty self. He retired the Royals in order in the sixth with two strikeouts...Mike Jacobs and Billy Butler swinging. Marmol threw eight pitches, all strikes.

Angel Guzman, Jeff Samardzija and Kosuke Fukudome allowed three runs in the bottom of the eighth. After Samardzija allowed the go ahead run to score, Fukudome called off Reed Johnson in right center then dropped the ball. Fukudome's error cost the Cubs two runs.

Kosuke Fukudome made up for his error in the top of the ninth. He hit his first home run of the spring, a 2-run shot off of Joakim Soria that cut the Royals lead to 8-7...it was the first two runs of the spring allowed by the Royals closer.

Milton Bradley put together a perfect day at the plate and his double of the ninth led to the tying run. Bradley finished 4-for-4 with a walk and a run scored in five trips. This just in...Milton Bradley can hit.

Micah Hoffpauir added to his Major League leading RBI total with a 2-out, 2-run single in the fifth that tied the game at three.

The Cubs knocked another game off the exhibition schedule and have only three left in Arizona...

Spring Training Game Thirty-Four: Cubs (17-15) vs. Royals (12-16-3)
Game Time - 3:05pm C.T.
Coverage - TV: Comcast SportsNet, MLB.TV - Radio: XM Channel 177
Location - Surprise Stadium, Surprise

Rich Harden (0-0, 5.79/1.71) vs. Kyle Davies (1-0, 3.00/1.24)

Countdown to Opening Day...7 days. Lou Piniella's crew will begin the last week of Spring Training with their final trip to Surprise. Rich Harden will make his first start in a big league game since March 15 today. Harden was lights out in the first two innings against the Diamondbacks before leaving in the third after allowing three runs and recording only two outs.

Harden threw in a minor league game at Fitch Park last Wednesday. After a very effective outing and reportedly feeling great afterwards, Harden will make his penultimate start of the spring today...Harden is scheduled to face the Yankees in New York on Saturday in the Cubs final exhibition game.

Cubs Release Paul Bako and Mike Stanton

According to a report from the Sun-Times, the Cubs released Paul Bako on Monday morning, along with veteran reliever Mike Stanton.

With releasing Bako, Koyie Hill will serve as Geovany Soto's backup.

While most were paying attention to college basketball, the Cubs had a very busy weekend. On the field they rolled over the White Sox, lost late to the Rockies and Mark DeRosa powered the Indians over Ted Lilly on Sunday.

Lou Piniella named Kevin Gregg his closer on Sunday...Carlos Marmol was disappointed. Brad Snyder was outrighted to Triple-A Iowa on Friday, their 40-man roster stands at 37 players. The Cubs cut their spring roster to 30 players on Sunday after they optioned Kevin Hart and Randy Wells to Iowa. So Taguchi was re-assigned to minor league camp, along with Mark Johnson, Andres Blanco, Brad Snyder and Esteban German...and the Cubs cut ties with another first round draft pick.

Here's a quick recap with links to all of the full articles on the CCO, plus possible trade interest in Chad Gaudin and Angel Guzman according to Bruce Miles....

For the second time in a week the Cubs released a former number one draft pick. According to a report on Cubs.com, the Cubs cut ties with left-handed pitcher Mark Pawelek, the organization's number one pick in 2005 (20th overall) out of Springville High School in Utah.

Pawelek never made it past High A ball in four seasons and posted a career record of 6-12 with a 3.86 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP in 54 games, 29 starts.

Game Thirty-Three - Cubs 5 Indians 7
WP - Fausto Carmona (4-0) LP - Ted Lilly (1-1) Save - Rafael Perez (1)

Whoever said Spring Training games are meaningless forgot to tell Mark DeRosa. DeRosa made more than a statement to the team that dealt him in the off-season on Sunday afternoon. DeRosa was a one-man wrecking crew. He hit two long home runs off of Ted Lilly, a 2-run shot and a solo, and just missed a third homer in the fifth. Mark DeRosa hit three balls for a total of around 1400 feet off Ted Lilly. DeRosa added a sacrifice fly off Chad Gaudin in the seventh for good measure.

Mark DeRosa finished the day 3-for-4 with two home runs, a double, three runs scored and four RBI.

Other than the damage by Mark DeRosa, Ted Lilly had a good day in only his second Cactus League start. Lilly shut down the rest of the Indians' lineup and struck out eight while issuing just two walks...both to the last two batters he faced in the sixth. In between the DeRosa's blasts, Lilly retired eight in a row.

Lilly's line for Sunday...four runs, all earned, on seven hits with two walks and eight strikeouts in five-plus innings.

Kerry Wood made his return to the HoHoKam Park mound and other than issuing a walk to Ryan Theriot, he retired the Cubs with little difficulty. Wood struck out Milton Bradley looking to end the seventh.

Milton Bradley hit his fourth home run of the spring off Fausto Carmona in the third inning. Bradley's two-run dinger cleared the bullpen area beyond the right field wall at HoHoKam. Bradley drove in the third Cubs' run with a fielder's choice in fifth.

After Chad Gaudin allowed the game to get out of hand in the seventh, Reed Johnson made it a little more interesting in the eighth. Johnson hit his second home run of the spring (both pinch hitting), a 2-run dinger to left, off of Masa Kobayashi.

The day belonged to Mark DeRosa...hopefully his former teammates will remember he is wearing a different uniform when they see him again in June.