Good day Cubs fans. Time for another report about the Cubs farm teams and as I have been following the games one thing bothers me. We have sent many players from Iowa up to Chicago to help out with injuries, poor performance, etc. They have all performed well and added something but what bothers me is that we still have the same trouble. We can't get a guy from 3rd base to home consistently with less than two outs.
Wednesday night, Sean Marshall pitched very well yet we lose 2-1. In the 7th inning, the bases are loaded and Cesar Izturis grounds into a double play. A sac fly and we go up 2-0 and at the very least go to extra innings. What makes it worse is that early in the season I heard a quote from Jacque Jones. I don't have the exact quote but he basically said, "If we have a runner at 2nd and no outs we will score that person 90% of the time." I have seen 2nd and 3rd with no outs, bases loaded no outs, and bases loaded with one out. We have failed miserably to get runners in on all occasions. I think the guys being called up are doing their jobs; I would just like to see the guys that have been there all season start doing theirs. With that being said, here is what is going on in the Cubs farm system.
Iowa Cubs - Record: 26-20
The I-Cubs are 2-1 in their last three games including a come from behind win Wednesday night. At the plate there were a few people to note this time around. Eric Patterson 3-of-9 with a home run, four RBI's and a run scored. Geovany Soto hit a grand slam Wednesday night to help the Cubs win the game. Mike Fontenot was 4-of-11 and Micah Hoffpauir was 4-of-9 over the last three games.
From the mound Neal Cotts made the start Wednesday and pitched three shutout innings and gave up only one hit. The Cubs sent him down when they brought up Sean Marshall. It was a solid performance for Cotts after he had struggled badly against the White Sox on Sunday.
Tennessee Smokies - Record: 24-20
The Smokies played only two games since the last update but they won both, including a 16-11 win on Wednesday that ended up a close game. The Smokies opened a 14-0 lead and led 16-4 after seven innings.
Casey McGehee 4-of-10 with a home run five RBI's and two runs scored. Issmael Salas 5-of-8 with two home runs, eight RBI's and three runs scored. Josh Kroeger 2-of-7 with two home runs, three RBI's and four runs scored.
From the mound, the best pitching performance was put in by Sean Gallagher. He pitched 5.0 innings, gave up two earned runs on four hits and three walks while striking out one. For the season he is 6-2 with an ERA of 3.51.
Daytona Cubs - Record: 21-24
The D-Cubs have lost five games in a row and with that have little to say that would be positive.
Ryan Norwood 3-of-6 with two runs scored.
From the mound, Scotty Taylor pitched well Wednesday night but the offense was shutout and the bullpen gave up five runs to ensure the loss. On the night Taylor pitched 6.0 innings, giving up one earned run on four hits and a walk while striking out five.
Jeff Samardzija has been a high profile player for the D-Cubs and has looked good but he sure didn't on Monday. He pitched only 1.2 innings, giving up nine runs, seven earned, on nine hits and a walk and he failed to strike anyone out. He now sits with a record of 0-3 and a 5.18 ERA. Don't let this performance get you down on him. He is still learning to pitch and this will happen. He has had early success with his fastball but at the major league level he needs to be able to change speeds and he is working to refine his changeup.
Peoria Chiefs - Record: 21-23
The Chiefs were 1-2 over their last three games and now sit 8 1/2 games out of first place in their division. The Chiefs did get some good performances from a few of their players over the three games. James Adducci was 6-of-13 with two runs scored while Jonathan Mota was 4-of-8 with one run scored and an RBI. Alfred Joseph 4-of-13 with two runs scored.
From the mound, Jake Renshaw has been mentioned a lot in my updates for pitching well but his outing Wednesday wouldn't fall into that same category. He picked up his second loss in as many outings after pitching 5.1 innings, giving up six earned runs on five hits and two walks while striking out five. His ERA for the year is up to 3.96.
That is the latest on the farm teams. Have a great weekend and root on the Cubs.
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