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.
Guys Getting a Taste
The Cubs have a number of farm hands that have been given a shot this year in big league Spring Training. There were five former first round picks in camp. Brett Jackson and Josh Vitters have already been assigned to minor league camp.
Brett Jackson, an outfielder, was the Cubs top pick last June. Last season he hit well at three different Class-A stops: Mesa, Boise, and Peoria. This spring he showed patience at the plate drawing four bases on balls. Outside of the walks, Jackson went 1-for-3 with an RBI triple.
Josh Vitters, who the Cubs drafted with their third overall selection in 2007, went 4-for-9 with four RBI and four runs scored before being sent back to Fitch Park. Two guys that survived the first round of roster cuts are outfielder Tyler Colvin and pitcher Andrew Cashner.
Since being drafted by the Cubs in the first round of the 2006 draft, it's been a long road for Colvin. He underwent Tommy John surgery in October of 2008, but bounced back quickly last season. After hitting .300 under Ryne Sandberg with Double-A Tennessee, Colvin earned a September call-up. He struggled at the plate but made several great defensive plays in his six-game cup of coffee. This offseason, Colvin bulked up, putting on 20+ pounds of muscle. He has opened a lot of eyes by hitting .533 with six RBI so far in 11 Cactus League games.
Andrew Cashner has surrendered one earned run in his five innings of work this spring. The fifth former first round draft pick in camp is Brad Snyder, a left-handed hitting outfielder who the Indians selected in 2003.
Snyder tore it up in winter ball, hitting .379 in 211 trips to the plate. He launched nine homers and drove in 48 runs. Brad is hitting .417 in Spring Training. Snyder and Colvin are fighting for a spot on the roster with Sam Fuld.
Everyone's heard about top prospect Starlin Castro, and for good reason. Castro has lived up to the hype this spring, but Lou Piniella and the Cubs have decided that he will be better off starting the year at the minor league level. Don't be surprised if Castro is the starting short stop at some point this season. Castro's hitting .435 in ten spring games.
There are a number of young pitchers in camp fighting for spots in the bullpen as well. John Gaub, Mitch Atkins (optioned to Triple-A Iowa on Sunday), Justin Berg, Mike Parisi, Blake Parker, Jeff Stevens, J.R. Mathes, Thomas Diamond, James Russell, and Casey Coleman are all in the mix. Those that do not win spots in the bullpen will likely factor in to the AAA Iowa Cubs pitching staff (apart from Parisi who was a Rule 5 pick).
Minor League Camp
Reporting early was a theme throughout the Cubs organization this year. We heard all about how many of the big league guys reported to camp a week or two early, and it was the same case with the young Cubs, who were working in Mesa long before the pitchers and catchers report date of March 4 and the mandatory report date for all minor league players of March 9.
Since the Cubs were still holding their workouts at Fitch Park, the farmhands' early practice took place down the street at HoHoKam. Minor League practices were led by former Cubs catcher Jody Davis, who will manage the Class-A Short Season affiliate Boise Hawks this season. Now that the Cactus League games have started, minor league practices are taking place at Fitch Park. Minor League Spring Training games get underway later this week.
Vegas Weekend Call-ups
With the split squad games in Las Vegas and Arizona last Friday and Saturday, some minor leaguers got the chance to play in a few spring games with the Cubs because they needed some extra guys to come off the bench.
On Friday afternoon Junior Lake, Nelson Perez, Brandon Guyer, and Smaily Borgues all went 0-for-1 against the Brewers.
Second baseman Logan Watkins singled on Friday, which earned him another at bat on Saturday. He struck out in Saturday's game against the Reds. Logan was drafted in the 21st round of the 2008 draft and hit .326 with the Boise Hawks last season.
Ty Wright took advantage of his chance to play at HoHoKam Park with an RBI single on Saturday.
D.J. LeMahieu, the Cubs second round pick out of LSU last June, spent some time playing shortstop in the two games against the White Sox in Las Vegas. He singled once in each game. Kyler Burke, who was the Cubs' minor league player of the year in 2009, went 1-for-1 on Friday and 0-for-2 with an RBI on Saturday. Burke came over from San Diego in the Michael Barrett trade in 2007.
Ryan Flaherty also saw action at Cashman Field. As far as pitchers are concerned, Jeremy Papelbon, brother of Jonathan, retired one of the two Brewers he faced on Friday while Jay Jackson struggled against the White Sox.
Minor League Free Agents That Did Not Resign with the Cubs
- Doug Deeds - OF
- Matt Craig - 1B
- Casey Fossum - LHP
- John-Ford Griffin - OF
- Jose Pina - RHP
- Luis Rivas - 2B
- Nate Spears - 2B
Minor League Opening Days
Ryne Sandberg's Iowa Cubs play an exhibition against the Iowa Hawkeyes on April 7, a day before their season opener. Here is the list of Cubs' minor league teams opening day games with last year's record in parentheses. All games are on April 8.
- Triple-A Iowa Cubs (72-72): vs Nashville
- Double-A Tennessee Smokies (39-31): @ Mississippi
- Class-A Daytona Cubs (30-38): @ Brevard County
- Class-A Peoria Chiefs (29-38): @ Clinton
More on Me
I am thrilled to have the chance to cover the minor league system for the CCO this season! I'm a long time reader and big fan of the site. I've been blogging on the Chicago Cubs since 2008 over at www.everythingcubs.blogspot.com, so I invite everyone to check it out. Also, I update the Cubs Farm Updates Twitter daily during the regular season and from time to time during the winter.
Follow me there at www.twitter.com/cubsfarmupdates
Questions/Comments: cubsblogmailbag@aol.com.
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Brandon, welcome aboard!
Brandon, nice job!!!
good job Brandon!
Thanks guys! I'm glad to be a part of the team!
Brandon:
Great job!
At some point, do you see Tyler Colvin in CF with Byrd/Fukudome platooning in RF? It seems like Colvin might have a chance to be a full time player.
At some point, I do see Colvin starting at the big league level. Once Byrd and Kosuke get a few years older, if their production starts to decline, platooning them may be the best bet. It is also possible for the Cubs to platoon the left handed hitting Colvin with Byrd in center at some point.
So far Colvin looks great, but I don't think he's ready to take over starting duties just yet. It'll be interesting to see if he starts at AAA or as a backup outfielder.
Cubs will not platoon Byrd and Colvin, because it'd be admitting a mistake (signing Byrd), even though he's making just $3 million this year. He was the only real addition to our everyday offense, and as we've seen in years past, it's difficult for Hendry and Piniella to admit they were wrong about any given player until they're absolutely out of it.
Byrd is signed for the next 3 years, and Fukudome for the next 2 (obviously I'm counting this year). At that point, guys like Colvin in our system will be too old to even be considered true prospects anymore. I've said this on multiple occasions...The best plan is to get your prospects up to the MLB level everyday by the time they're 24 years old. The reason for that, is usually it takes 2 years to fully adjust to the grind of MLB. At that point, your prospect is 26 years old, and as we know from the research of Bill James, a player's prime is typically defined as age 26 to age 32, where they see a precipitous drop-off in production. That gives you 6 full seasons of good-to-great production. Colvin is already at that stage, and given the muscle weight he put on, it appears he's turned the corner, and needs to start everyday (something I personally thought I'd never be saying about Colvin...until he put on the muscle)
I could see the Cubs benching Byrd next season if he struggles this year, but that's still unlikely, and as far as this season is concerned, I think you'll still see a lineup with Soriano in LF, Byrd in CF, and Fukudome in RF, no matter what, and if Soriano or Fukudome struggle, it'll be Nady, not Colvin, subbing for them on occasion.
It's too bad Nady isn't healthy yet, because the best OF we could run out there in my opinion given what we already have, is Nady in LF, Byrd in CF, and Colvin in RF with Soriano and Fukudome riding the pine.
Aaron, don't you think JH and Lou might handle things just a little bit differently this year...since they know their jobs are on the line?
Yesterday, talking to Texas reporters, Byrd said "It's World Series or Bust in Chicago."
With guys like Colvin and Snyder and Castro opening even Lou and JH's eyes...
onje would think if our outfield struggles...(as it likely will)...even Lou and JH will make the changes quicker this year...and not hang their hats on ego or ceremony....Even though history tells us different.?????
Why should we think anything will be different this season? We have a manager who slept thru last season, but is still viewed as an exceptional manager in the eyes of his boss. And that same boss did nothing to improve the team in the offseason besides off-loading Mr. Troublemaker, which acquisition was a collosal mistake by Mr. GM. When guys like Fukodome and Soriano are assured opening day lineup spots, this all just smacks of typical old world management. Baseball is ever evolving into a young mans game...the Cubs (and their manager) don't define that. Aaron pegged it 100% right on getting solid prospects up onto the major league roster by age 24. Instead our prospects rot in the minors, or worse yet, rot on Lou's bench in the rare event of a callup.
nope...they're too stubborn. In all actuality, their jobs were technically on the line last year with new owners coming in, and there was no certainty there, and yet Piniella acted like he was COMPLETELY senile in the dugout, and Hendry looked as lost as ever trying to come up with a winning strategy in the front office. There was gaffe after gaffe after gaffe. If they didn't learn last year, you sure as hell can't expect them to learn this year.
Byrd said "WS or bust," because that's what he HAS to say. Plus, he realizes that with Lilly and Lee coming off the books, Fukudome in the last year of his deal after this season, and FAR more tradeable if we eat half his contract, Nady only on a one year deal, as well as Theriot and Fontenot, who are in arbitration years right now, the time to win is now or never with the group they have. I think he's well aware that if they fail to reach the playoffs this year, there will be a complete overhaul of the front office and coaching staff, and even he might not be around to see it, as he'll make $5.5 million and $6.5 million respectively in the next 2 years, so his contract is very tradeable as well, provided he doesn't implode like Aaron Miles did last year. (and we even somehow offloaded him too...albeit, we had to trade a very useful Jake Fox).
But Suzy, you're a VERY intelligent fan, and you've seen this team for LONG time. Do NOT be fooled by Hendry and Piniella. They're still the same guys, who ran a nearly 100 win team into the ground. They have absolutely no idea what they're doing.
We're also going against the Reds, who have a much improved rotation with the likes of Chapman, Cueto, and Bailey, plus the veterans in Arroyo and Harang, and later this year, Volquez. Plus, a lights out closer in Cordero. Then, they have the likes of Gomes, Bruce, Votto, Phillips, Rolen, Stubbs, and this Francisco kid to supply excellent power.
Then, you look at the Cards' rotation with Carpenter, Wainwright, Penny, and Lohse, plus the always dangerous Pujols, Holliday, Ludwick, Rasmus, Molina, and now Lopez....
Then, you look at the Brewers lineup that includes Braun, Fielder, Hart, Edmonds (who is lighting it up in ST thus far), Escobar, and the one that got away from us, McGehee, PLUS, a rotation that now includes Wolf and Doug Davis (2 guys that have absolutely OWNED us), to go will Gallardo...
and you begin to see that the Cubs very well might finish in 3rd place this year..or, worse, 4th place.
Here's all you need to do:
Pujols vs Lee *advantage Cards
Fielder vs Lee *advantage Brewers
Votto vs Lee *advantage Reds (provided Votto doesn't go MIA again with anxiety issues)
Shumaker vs Fontenot *advantage Cards
Weeks vs Fontenot *advantage Brewers
Phillips vs Fontenot *advantage Reds
Ryan vs Theriot *advantage Cubs
Escobar vs Theriot *advantage Brewers
Cabrera vs Theriot *advantage Cubs (at this stage in Cabrera's career, anyhow)
Freese/Gotay vs ARAM *advantage Cubs (even if ARAM is hurt)
Rolen vs ARAM *advantage Cubs
McGehee vs ARAM *advantage Cubs
Holliday vs Soriano *advantage Cards
Stubbs/Gomes vs Soriano *advantage Reds
Braun vs Soriano *advantage Brewers
Rasmus vs Byrd *advantage Cards
Dickerson vs Byrd *advantage Cubs (not by much)
Edmonds vs Byrd *advantage Brewers
Ludwick vs Fukudome *advantage Cards
Bruce vs Fukudome *advantage Reds
Hart vs Fukudome *advantage Brewers
Molina vs Soto *advantage Cards
Herandez vs Soto *advantage Cubs
Zaun vs Soto *advantage Cubs
Carpenter vs Z *advantage Cards
Cueto vs Z *advantage Cubs
Gallardo vs Z *advantage Brewers
Wainwright vs Dempster *advantage Cards
Arroyo vs Dempster *advantage Cubs
Wolf vs Dempster *advantage Brewers (based on Wolf owning us)
....anyway, so on and so forth. Once you put things like that into perspective, you can see how the Cards, Reds, and Brewers dominate us in terms of quality of players.
If we were competing based on experience, we'd win hands down, with a lineup with an average age of 32, but when you stack each player against the other team's players, you begin to see how slim our chances of winning the division this year really are.
I hope I'm wrong, but I just laid everything out for you to see. I could've gone into 4th, 5th starters and pen, but we don't know those yet, and even if we did, we'd still probably lose that battle, when the Cards have Penny/Lohse for their back-end, the Reds with Bailey/Harang, the Brewers with Davis/Capuano...and then you get into closers, where the Cards have Franklin, the Reds have Cordero, and the Brewers have Hoffman, and we have the erratic, but dominant Marmol.
Aaron and Bryan,
I'm basically on board with your point
of view...but baseball is baseball...and has to be played...Injuries, timing,call-ups...the hot hand...balls lost in the ivy all play a hand...It's likely we do finish 3rd ot fourth...but we could also finish 1rst...not likely, but very, very possible.
Aaron...I see Franklin imploding for the
Cards...Hoffman as a question mark because of age...but Cordero flat out beats us.
But in general, there's no argument with your viewpoint.
For the Cubs to win...some of our youngsters HAVE to be utilized, brought up and produce...be it Castro/Colvin/Snyder or the like and probably one of our young pitchers needs to come up...and be lights out.
So far...Lou and JH have gone in the opposite direction of that.
RE: Franklin. I believe you might be spot on, given his 4.07 career ERA
RE: Hoffman. There's nothing to suggest he'll decline next year given his 2.73 career ERA, and 1.83 ERA last year
RE: Cordero..You're right...we can't compare
Aaron...re Hoffman...he'll be 43 in October...that's the only thing that
makes you wonder...he's an anomaly in the baseball world...like Rivera....
so he could be great...or he could break down....Granted, Marmol's a risk with his walks ratio....but he HAS indeed earned the right to try.
Aaron is on fire today!
I'm not trying to defend the Cubs as worthy of a higher projected standing in the division - I think they'll finish 2nd and easily could be 3rd (if not for Baker in Cinci)...but I just have to object to a few of your position match-ups:
Votto over Lee? the kid is studly, but this is just your persistent prejudice against Lee.
Stubbs/Gomes over Soriano? maybe, maybe not, this is push to me.
Escobar over Theriot? eeeeh...perhaps.
Molina over Soto? uh-uh. His avg. is higher, but that's it. He is not a run producer and I am going to give Soto the benefit of doubt - since he's had 1 good year and 1 bad - rather than just the doubt.
Cueto over Z? really? I may be one of the biggest critics of Z, but Cueto isn't even in the same room, no yet.
Wolf over Dempster? Not on my roster.
I have a hard letting things like that go undefended. Carry on!
to respond to your points...
**You're correct on my prejudice against Lee, but it's only because he really is a fraud, with just two 100+RBI in 13 seasons...(five 90+RBI in 13 seasons). Votto, with his career .310 avg, .388 OBP, and 25 hr, 85 RBI in just 3 seasons, I believe firmly that he will surpass Lee's production, PLUS, he dominates us completely like others do, which I'll get to in a moment...
**Stubbs/Gomes over Soriano? It's not a push when Gomes averages 20 hr, 50 RBI in a little over 100 games. Anything Stubbs adds is gravy on top, and I'm sure you'd agree that Stubbs could must 10 hr, and 20-40 RBI, in which case the two of them surpass anything Soriano has ever given us
**Escobar over Theriot? ABSOLUTELY!!! In just 38 games last year, Escobar had a .304 avg, .333 OBP, 1 hr, and 11 RBI. In ST thus far he has a .448 avg, .452 OBP, 1 hr, and 9 RBI. He has far better range than Theriot at SS, and thus, he gets my full vote for being better than Theriot
**Molina over Soto? You bet your ass Molina is better than Soto, and it's not just his improved hitting. It's because he single-handedly shuts down opponent's running games
**Cueto over Z? I never said Cueto was better...here's what I said "Cueto vs Z *advantage Cubs"
**Wolf over Dempster? Indeed. But please note that I added (because Wolf owns us). If you were to look at both of their careers as a whole, I think you'd pick Wolf, but if you were to look at the last 2 years, you'd pick Dempster
dude... those are some pretty whack comparison man...
Wolf is not better than Demp
(he may be solid against the Cubs but its too bad he still pitches about 30 times a season against other teams and Demp is more consistent too)
Edmonds is not better than Byrd
(hell theres a reason the guy didnt play at all last year and is lucky to make the roster besides the fact that his BA will top out at NO HIGHER THAN .240!!
Byrd is more than BARELY better than Dickerson
(Lemme remind you that dickerson hit .275 with a whopping 2 HRs)
HOWEVER...if Rasmus is better then it IS barely
(Rasmus hit only .250 with an OBP of like .300)
Gallardo is no advantage over Z.
(Gallardo has like 20 career wins and in his only complete season he had virtually the same ERA as Z in a down year AND had 12 losses which is only one less than Big Zs career worst in Ls...only diff was when Z had 13 losses, he had 18 Ws, and when gallardo had 12 losses he only had 13 Ws...with a great offense)
Escobar is no advantage over Theriot
(and if you really wanna make a comment like bla bla bla based on his 100 somethin ABs last year he hit .304....WELL lets try and think a few years back, remember Riots first season...he had exactly 134 atbats and hit .330 so there goes that whole dumb argument)
Stubbs/Gomes are NO BETTER THAN SORIANO...
(just wait until Soriano is hitting .265-.270 with 30 bombs this year) lol and even if he doesnt he is still better than those scrubs
And how come you dont include #3-4 starters where Lilly and Wells are clearly better than any of the brewers/reds/cards options...
Bottomline is the time for bein a crybaby hater is over... This team is going to be much better than last year. Obviously Guzman goin down hurts bad
but Ricketts has already approved them to add payroll if they are close at the deadline and if they were close with how bad/injured they were in august last year then there is NO reason to think they wont be this year...
PEACE.
This is what I think will be the 25 man roster come opening day:
Lineup:
1) Ryan Theriot SS
2) Kosuke Fukudome RF
3) Derrek Lee 1B
4) Aramis Ramirez 3B
5) Marlon Byrd CF
6) Alfonso Soriano LF
7) Mike Fontenot 2B
8) Geovany Soto C
9) Pitcher P
Starting Rotation:
1) Carlos Zambrano
2) Ryan Dempster
3) Randy Wells
4) Carlos Silva
5) Tom Gorzelanny
( The 4th and 5th starters can be switch.)
Bullpen:
Closer-Carlos Marmol
Set-up lefty-John Grabow
Set-up righty-Esmalin Caridad
Long relief-Sean Marshall
RP-Jeff Gray (taking gamble when he has not even pitch)
RP-James Russell
RP-Blake Parker or Andrew Cashner or Mike Parisi
Bench:
1) Koyie Hill C
2) Kevin Millar 1B/LF
3) Jeff Baker U
4) Xavier Nady 1B/RF/LF
5) Tyler Colvin
I think Colvin will be on the major league roster until Nady can play the field then he will be send down to the minors to play everyday. The Cubs will then call up U Chad Tracy.
Players who will/might get sent down to minors but will be called up eventually during the season due to injuries or players not producing while they are.
1) Starlin Castro SS
2) Tyler Colvin OF (depends if he makes team out of spring training)
3) Andrew Cashner P
4) Blake Parker P
5) Brian Lahair 1B/OF (possibly)
6) Micah Hoffpauir 1B/LF/RF (possibly)
7) Chad Tracy U (same as Colvin)
To start season on DL:
1) Angel Guzman RP
2) Ted Lilly SP
3) Possibly Mike Parisi if he does not make team and they do not want to give him back.
So that is mine, thoughts on it.
Waldo:
Your roster prediction is probably spot on.
I concur with SuzyS. I prefer Tracy over Millar.
your lineup is spot on...
I had a few comments about the remaining roster though...
your rotation is spot on, though it could all change if Gorzelanny and/or Silva have poor outings again, which would mean Marshall and Samardzija would take over, but right now, it looks like your rotation will indeed be what we see on Opening Day, even though Marshall is the best so far out of all the options (he's more valuable in the pen to us at this point)
Your pen also is pretty spot on, except Gray (injury), Parker (ineffective), and Cashner (Cubs prefer him to be a starter) have almost no shot at making the roster. I think it'll all come down to: Marmol, Caridad, Grabow, Marshall, Berg, Russell, and Parisi
The bench is also spot on, given Piniella's recent comments regarding Millar, where he basically assured him of a roster spot. Hill, Baker, and Nady are guaranteed spots. It comes down to Tracy vs Millar (I'd choose Tracy because of his pinch hitting stats, and he's younger than Millar, and would surely be picked up by the Twins, who are looking for a 3B if we didn't take him North), and Snyder/Fuld/Adduci vs Colvin. That's a tough one, because I love Snyder, and what I've seen from Adduci, but Colvin has completely dominated Spring Training, so you have to go with the hot hand.
Your list of guys that might be called up is pretty good too, but I'd add this about your list:
1) Starlin Castro SS
2) Tyler Colvin OF **unless he implodes, he's locked up a spot on the MLB roster**
4) Blake Parker P **unless he lights up AAA, he's not coming up. His performance thus far has not been worthy of 40-man status**
5) Brian Lahair 1B/OF **possibly, if Lee gets hurt, but only if Lee is hurt**
6) Micah Hoffpauir 1B/LF/RF **will be traded or released, even though he has an option**
7) Chad Tracy U **will be signed by the Twins, most likely, as I believe he has an "out" clause in the minor league deal he signed with us**
**I would also add:
Blanco-if he's not claimed, and opts to resign with us after he's cut
Mateo-if he has good stats in AAA
Dolis-if he has good stats in AA/AAA
Fuld-if Colvin struggles, and if we need speed
Adduci-(see above)
Snyder-if there's an injury to Fukudome, Soriano, or Byrd. He's more of the type that needs to start everyday, or he scuffles, so I believe that might be the route the Cubs take with him, rather than put him on the bench like they might do with Colvin, Fuld, or Adduci.
Samardzija-he starts in the minors for obvious reasons...he needs a full season of doing nothing but starting, and I believe he goes to AAA to start the year, then if Gorzelanny, Silva, or injuries happen, he'll be the first in line to nab a call-up.
Papelbon-call me crazy, but I think if our pen sucks, and Grabow gets injured (likely), or is ineffective (and they just give him the DL for mercy), then I believe Papelbon might just replace him, even though he's not even on the 40-man
Gaub-will get call probably before Papelbon, but Papelbon's still my dark horse candidate
Waldo, It's a well thought out 25 man roster...reflecting what seems to be Lou's thinking right now.
I abhor the thought of Millar making the team.,..but it seems likely.
It's also possible the Cubs leave Nady behind to strengthen is arm in AZ to start the season...for a few weeks.
Fuld could possibly still make the team...if his bat picks up at all...it
all depends on how Lou values a late inning replacement for Soriano...if it's mainly for defense...then Fuld will get the nod...
Tracy SHOULD make the team over Millar...
but it doesn't seem that way right now.
In any case...nice post.
Warning...Don't read this if you like your Cubbie Goggles on...it's Rosenbloom:
http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/rosenblog/2010/03/running-down-piniellas-lineup.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rosenblog+%28ChicagoSports-+RosenBlog%29
btw...Erin Go Bragh to everyone!!!!
(You know...Green Beer,Corn Beef and Cabbage Day...even if you are Polish.)
Ouch...I hate it when he's right, especially when I've been saying the same things...just because, in general, I think he's a turd...but he's absolutely spot on with his evaluation the last 2 years of the Cubs
Thanks but it all can change time ST comes to an end. Right now Millar is hitting better Tracy but like I said he can still make the team. I think Millar has more power than Tracy and that is why I think he could be a good bat off the bench. We should just wait and see. The coaching staff is going to have a couple hard decisions.
So in today's online Tribune Lou discusses how the team will score more runs by doing more "first to third" and second to home" running. I'd like to truly ask him (our genius manager) who in his magical lineup has the skill sets to do that. There is not one single person in his starting makeup that has the speed, athleticism or proven base running skills to ever be considered aggressive on the base paths. This is truly going to be a station-to-station club that'll be abysmal on the bases.
Sorry Lou, but you're sending to AA-AAA the players to pull off your running strategy. I guess he figures Millar's addition will fulfill Lou's fantasy. What a joke.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-0317-cubs-chicago-spring-training-20100316,0,143359.story
yeah, I read that too...laughed my ass off.
Theriot is the only one in the everyday lineup with decent speed. Sorry, Lou, you must be living in a dream world
I know I'm not a Pinella supporter/fan, but truly you just can't help but laugh (or cry) when you hear him make these kind of comments to the press. He is so out of touch with baseball reality with this club. We all know how to craft a roster if you're looking to inject speed and aggressiveness on the bases. How come the guy making around a $1m a year doesn't get it. I'm just so worried that Lou will get extended beyond this year, and (a) we'll miss another potential opportunity with Girardi, and (b) Sandberg will get pissed off and bolt the organization.
Bryan...Pinella, at his age is year to year...no matter what.
I'm pretty sure the Ricketts will wait until after the season to make that decision.
Then it comes down to 2 things:
1)Did he win the World Series?
2)If not, we can save some money...what are we paying him for?
Top of the mornin to ya...
A beautiful 65 degree day in WI has me thinking baseball...
So It appears as if Silva will be in the rotation to start the year. It appears Millar will be on the team.
I am pulling for Snyder to be the back up OF off the bench. With Colvin in AAA to get regular AB's. Colvin can come up whenever the inevitable slump/injury occurs. I may have to trek to Iowa, Ryno, Colvin, Castro...good times in Iowa.
The beauty of all of this is last year we were clamoring for the team to get younger and more athletic and to do so via trade. Well it is starting to look like we are not too far away from younger and more athletic and we are doing it in house. Big ups to the Ricketts Family for moving in that direction and showing us results.
This is going to be a VERRRRRRY interesting year. I am far from predicting greatness, but I do see this team pulling one more good run out of it's you know where. If not, that'll be OK too as the house cleaning can begin.
And lastly, I am predicting Xavier Nady to be the key offseason signing and a Major contributor to this team. And if he does not fit into the long term plans, he could net us more prospects at the deadline.
And I have put in my annual vacation day for opening day, it should be a National Holiday :)
GO CUBS GO!
I'll consider this year a success if we win the overall series against the Brewers, Reds, and White Sox. Cards would be nice, but I don't want to mistaken for a "fan"...heh.
No, seriously...I'm excited about the X and Byrd addition, and also that we don't have the target on our backs like we did last year. Since we're sorta getting written off by most everybody, then it feels like we're playing with house money this year. It's like the Gin Blossoms said: "If you don't expect too much from me, you might not be let down"
lol!
Tracy is one of the keys to our success this year. He will be very valuable when Lee and Rami go down plus he is one of the best options pinch hitting in all of the mlb. Think Ward 3 years ago but agile and better. He has to brake camp with the team or the Cards or Brewers will get him. [not kidding]
not to mention the LH thunder.
Agustin,
Good catch my man...I was so focused on the Twins, because I just read an article about their 3B situation, and even though I did a station-by-station analysis of our guys vs their guys, I didn't even think of the Cards and Brewers.
The Cards really have no options, and one of the reasons given for their signing of Lopez was for him to play 3B. Freese and Gotay don't inspire confidence at all. As for the Brewers, McGehee was on fire last year, but maybe, like Soto, that was all a mirage. Given his spring stats, perhaps he's in for a sophomore slump. Since the waiver rules give precedence to inter-division teams, it would appear that the Brewers have the inside track if they want him, then the Cards, and I believe either of those teams would jump on him.
Good catch!
tks Aaron...I'm just terrified at the Idea of any of those 2 teams getting him because it would prob. mean the division for us.
Agustin, I really believe that our offense will bounce back a bit with a healthy Nady being the main difference along with solid contributions from Soto and Byrd doing about what he did last year in Texas...without the divisiveness of Bradley to contend with. Fontenot and Theriot may start strong...but will fade with the dog days of summer...but Baker will oiffset that with consistant play...and we may get a boost from Castro/Colvin/Snyder and others.
I include the Baseball Reference in this post so you can look at our historical
team batting statistics....Whay really stood out last year was not just the drop in team average...but the increase in DP's we hit into...and the drop in hrs.
Also look at the sb's/cs...a major change from the year before.
I'll leave it to you guy's to crunch the numbers...team speed and power are key
in the offense.I believe power has been addressed...speed has not...but could be
with the simple inclusion of inhouse options like Castro/Fuld/Adduci....and a few others like Barney.
BUT/BUT/BUT It's our pitching...specifically the pen or lack thereof that will tell the tale...If the pen performs...we'll win...if not...we'll lose...it's that simple.
So how about that? lol a post all about hitting...and then proclaiming it's all about pitching...isn't that fun?
Baseball Reference...Cubs Hitting History:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CHC/batteam.shtml
Exactly SuzyS! Its a crazy game.
I got to tell you Hon...[as in honey with all due respect to Mr.SuzyS and yourself lol] We are only past mid Spring Training and you are already ove .500 in avg correctly posting the links!!! You see...practice makes perfect! I say you more than make the team, with great daily grind information, solid posts and now the power of the link! you rock Suzy!
Thanks. Augustin...I always enjoy your posts as well...Funny how you get better at something when someone takes the time
to teach you...I chalk the link success to Neil...my Rudy J of links lol.
Fair enough, I misread the Cueto/Z. I still do not agree on Lee/Votto...and I'll still take Theriot because of the fact that Escobar only has 38 games under his belt. You know better than to try to argue that those 38 games will project evenly across 150. I'd take him for the future though, but not this year over Theriot.
meant that as reply to Aaron above in our position debate...
I think I figured it out. Once the Cubs get going,there's no way you can stop them.
http://www.chicagobreakingbusiness.com/2010/03/cubs-want-huge-illuminated-billboard-at-wrigley-field.html
Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! Why doesn't Ricketts just buy the building across the street and either put up the Budweiser sign again...or turn the roof into "exploding
signage"...Heck, the fire station is halfway down the street.
They could turn the downstairs into
"The Ricketty Club" and pack em in like the Cubby Bear...or Murphey's.
If they bought the building next to that,
They get additional seating...albeit rooftop...downstairs they could do a thriving business renting out gloves and lawn chairs to the ballhawks on the street...some cool soft drinks and stadium refreshments could add tothe "Street ballhawk experince".
See...not so hard to envision additional
revenue "streams".
Yabba Dabba Doo...the true Toyota experience!!! :)