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 ...
The Pitching Staff
The biggest theme of Spring Training so far has been pitching, or lack of pitching. Injuries to Angel Guzman and Jeff Gray made an already questionable bullpen arguably the biggest concern for the Cubs as the season approaches.
After Carlos Marmol and John Grabow, the Cubs do not have a proven reliever in the pen. Esmailin Caridad threw the ball well at the end of last season and has pitched well this spring, but right now he is the Cubs' right-handed setup man.
The Cubs have depth from the right side with Justin Berg, Thomas Diamond, Blake Parker, Mike Parisi, Jeff Stevens and Rafael Dolis but none of them have taken advantage, yet, of the opportunity ... and separated themselves from the crowd.
John Gaub and James Russell have thrown the ball better than their right-handed competition. But unless Sean Marshall is in the rotation when the season begins, it is highly unlikely that Piniella will start the season with three southpaws in the pen.
While the performances of the bullpen over the first twelve games have done little to quiet the concern, the candidates for the backend of the rotation have not fared much better.
Carlos Silva has pitched as expected. The Cubs say they are seeing progress but he has been hit very hard in his two outings this spring. After a solid outing against the A's, Jeff Samardzija was the same old Samardzija against the Brewers. Samardzija reportedly made progress with his secondary pitches in winter ball but did not mix them in on Friday afternoon ... and Larry Rothschild did not sound too happy with his performance during an interview on ESPN 1000 Saturday morning.
Lou Piniella has stated he would like at least one southpaw in his rotation until Ted Lilly returns. After 12 exhibition games, the leaders to take the final two spots in the rotation appear to be lefties ... Tom Gorzelanny and Sean Marshall.
The Cubs are expected to announce around March 22 which two pitchers will join Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster and Randy Wells in the starting rotation.
Spring Training stats are meaningless, and performances often are as well, but the Cubs are concerned about their pitching staff.
The Injury Bug
The Cubs have dealt with their share of injuries since beginning of camp. Most notably, Angel Guzman and Jeff Gray but losing Andres Blanco has impacted the team as well. Blanco might not hit the ball but he can catch anything hit in his vicinity. The speculation is that the Grade 2 sprain to his right knee could have hurt his chances to make the team.
Blanco's injury has opened a window for Darwin Barney ... and possibly Starlin Castro.
Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee are both dealing with nagging injuries ... the Cubs and the players have downplayed both. Aramis Ramirez left in the third inning of Saturday's game against the Reds with soreness in his right triceps. Ramirez is expected back in the lineup on Tuesday.
Derrek Lee fouled a ball of his foot against the Giants last Wednesday. X-rays showed there was not any damage. Lee was expected back in the lineup on Saturday but was scratched. The Cubs say he will return on Tuesday.
Ted Lilly is the other obvious injury in Cubs' camp. Reportedly, Lilly is progressing well and could face live hitters next week. Lilly also left camp for the birth of his first child.
Xavier Nady is making progress after his second Tommy John surgery. He has been in games and reportedly the Cubs are looking for him to play in the outfield and at first base during the last ten Spring Training games. If Nady can stay healthy, he will produce. X is already hitting the ball with authority.
Tyler Colvin
While most have focused on Starlin Castro this spring, Tyler Colvin has done nothing but show up and perform. Colvin wants to break camp with the big league team as the fifth outfielder.
The Cubs need a fifth outfielder to start the season that can play all three outfield spots to be used as a defensive replacement ... especially for Xavier Nady. Colvin could fill the role. He is a solid defender with a good arm and this spring he has shown he can hit the baseball.
Of all of the players this spring, Tyler Colvin has arguably been the most impressive. The only question is ... can Colvin hit once the games count?
The Vets
In order for the Cubs to exceed expectations this season (most have the Cubs finishing second in the Central behind the Cardinals), they will need several veterans to rebound, or bounce back, from poor performances a year ago.
Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez have gotten their work in, despite recent injuries. Lee and Ramirez have not hit too much, but both know how to prepare for the season.
Kosuke Fukudome has put together a good start to the exhibition season ... and the same can be said about Geovany Soto.
One of the biggest keys to the Cubs' season is Alfonso Soriano. He has struggled so far. The Cubs have to get him on track and Rudy Jaramillo has a lot of work to do with the Cubs' left fielder.
The Bench
The Cubs have two spots open on their bench. Koyie Hill, Xavier Nady and Jeff Baker/Mike Fontenot occupy three of the available five spots ... Fontenot is the leader right now in the competition for the starting second baseman's job.
A report in the Tribune on Sunday night indicated the Cubs would like to break camp with Chad Tracy and Kevin Millar on the roster. There is not enough room unless the Cubs' carry an 11-man pitching staff, which is not going to happen. Also, with Nady's injury they need a fifth outfielder to start the season.
Millar has hit but he gives the Cubs little to no flexibility. Tracy would give Piniella some much-needed pop from the left side off the bench.
Other than Tyler Colvin, no one has taken the proverbial lead in the clubhouse.
The candidates for the two spots on the Cubs' bench remain ... Micah Hoffpauir, Chad Tracy, Sam Fuld, Kevin Millar, Brad Snyder, James Adduci, Bryan LaHair and Tyler Colvin.
Starlin Castro
Starlin Castro has impressed all that have seen him play this spring ... from Lou Piniella to Bruce Levine to Dave Kaplan, the list goes on and on. Castro can play and has shown as much over the first 12 games of the spring.
It is "only Spring Training" and Castro appears destined to begin the year with Ryne Sandberg in Iowa. Reports have surfaced that Lou Piniella likes what he has seen that it is the Cubs' front office that wants Castro to begin the year in the minors.
If Castro continues to perform he will force the Cubs to make a difficult decision ... but that is a big if. Another sign the Cubs could be thinking of breaking camp with a 20-year old starting shortstop (Castro turns 20 on March 24) would be Ryan Theriot taking grounders, or spending any time, at second base. When (or if) Castro is sent to minor league camp, look for him to be among the last of the roster cuts.
Click Here for the Cubs Spring Training Stats
Jim Hendry and Lou Piniella have a few big decisions ahead of them ... but it is only March 15 and there are still 21 exhibition games left to be played.
Countdown to Opening Day for the Chicago Cubs - 21 days
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Neil - I have 52 players on my list for ST right now. I have listed all the guys on the 40 man roster and the non-roster invitees. A couple of guys that I am wondering about.
Schlitter - He got added to the 40 man roster last week.
Patton is no longer on the 40 man roster.
Is Guzman considered out of camp?
Here is what I have for 52 players.
Pitchers - 26
Berg, Caridad, Dempster, Dolis, Gaub, Gorzellany, Grabow, Gray, Guzman, Lilly, Marmol, Marshall, Mateo, Parisi, Parker, Samardzija, Schlitter, Silva, Stevens, Wells, Zambrano, Cashner, Coleman, Diamond, Mathes, Russell
Catchers - 4
Soto, Hill, Chirinos, Robinson
Infield - 12
Baker, Blanco, Fontenot, Hoffpauir, Lee, Ramirez, Theriot, Barney, Castro, Flaherty, Millar, Tracy
Outfield - 10
Adduci, Byrd, Colvin, Fukudome, Fuld, Nady, Soriano, LaHair, Scales, Snyder
Tony, I think the 40-man roster on Cubs.com could be wrong.
I cannot find where Schlitter was offically added and the 40-man on Cubs.com does not list Welington Castillo. I do not see how he would pass through waivers.
http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/team/roster_40man.jsp?c_id=chc
I will look into this.
Tony, I looked and cannot find anything official on the Cubs changing their 40-man roster.
The addition of Brian Schlitter makes zero sense. Also, as I mentioned earlier I do not see how they could "sneak" Welington Castillo through waivers. They added him to protect him in the Rule 5 draft. A catcher with his skills and possible future would be picked up.
I will keep an eye out, but I think someone made a mistake.
Neil,
The moves were:
Removed-Atkins, Patton, W. Castillo
Added-Schlitter
Atkins and Patton make sense, as there aren't any teams out there willing to add them. Schlitter makes no sense to be added, and Castillo makes NO sense to be removed, and I hope this is simply an error.
Unless they believe Chirinos is better than Castillo (which he's not), then this makes no sense, because outside of those 2 guys, and fringe guys that are better served as back-ups in Robinson and Clevenger, we have no other "starter-types" at catcher in the minors.
Aaron, I think they made a mistake.
http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/team/roster_40man.jsp?c_id=chc
I cannot find those moves anywhere else, they would be more than in just one place.
Atkins and Patton are still on the 40-man, I think Castillo will show back up. As for Schlitter, there is no reason to add him.
I think the roster and the transactions log will be corrected soon on Cubs.com
Don't read anything into this yet ...
Tony, in your count remove Schlitter add in Welington Castillo and remove Ryan Flaherty. I think that will get you to 51.
Tony, good catch on Brian Schlitter. I did not see the move announced and neither did any of the beat writers. He is on the 40-man, as to why, I have no idea.
Patton is still listed on the 40-man.
As for Guzman, he is supposed to leave camp today and see Dr. Andrews. They will have to place him on the DL to "remove" him from the spring training roster. He will be placed on the 60-day DL.
I will correct my post and add Schlitter to the site's 40-man roster tonight.
Cubs.com had Patton and Atkins off yesterday, they have now added them back with the * to show not on active roster.
Who is Brian Schlitter? With the different players we will need to add at the end of ST to the 40 man, why is he taking up a spot?
Schlitter was the pitcher the Cubs received from the Phillies for Scott Eyre.
They should send Colvin down on the last day he needs as many AB's as possible against ML pitchers and then let him play everyday in the minors. Keep Fuld as the 5th OF and when/if one of the big 4 OF's go down bring up Colvin. He needs to keep active until they need him to play with the Cubs. Castro if he is ready why not start getting Theriot ready for second. This would improve the defense and give more flexibility on who they keep as bench players. If Tracy is healhty he would be a great keep, he can play 1st and 3rd bats left and could spot in an emergency in the OF. ARAM and LEE will miss an easy 40 games between them and Tracy would be a good bat off the bench as well. I feel it is still too early to size up the pitching but it is looking like a concern - time will tell.
Something about Millar makes me think that he's doing well b/c he's getting regular playing time, and riding the pine is going to hurt his consistency. If we do end up keeping him (which I'm about 80% sure of now), I'm starting to wonder how good he is @ 3B and RF, because the more he steps outside of the backup 1B pigeonhole, the more valuable he is to the team. I'd like to see him try a few games in those spots...
One thing I'm a little disappointed in this ST is the lack of creativity w/ the lineups/defense. I'd love to see Theriot SS/Castro 2B, or Millar @ 3B, or Barney SS/Theriot 2B...or anything like that. I guess maybe it's just that Lou doesn't want the guys to get shaky @ their everyday spots? A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds...adaptability and flexibility should be the name of the game here
Theriot/Castro at ss/2nd ( or vice/versa) would start a media fire that could not be put out.
Re Millar...I'm with jc 3-6-3...NO.
To be honest, if over the winter,you said Kevin Millar would be strongly considered fora spoton the team...I would have laughed and said you're in
Peter Pan Land.
Our pitching is a major concern...BUT there's still a lot of talent there.
The balls don't move in AZ like they will in Chicago...The kids WILL get sharper as they move along.
Maddux/Rothschild have their work cut out
for them.
You can't be serious, Mario. You want to see Millar on the bench as the 3B backup to Aramis? Mind you Aramis has played more than 150 games just once (2006) in the past 6 years. Millar has 21 innings at 3B in the past 7 years!
And having him in RF would be really ugly too. So much for late inning replacement role.
It is not hard to argue that the unraveling of the '09 Cubs began when Aramis went down and the assumption that Fontenot could handle 3B proved to be less than wise.
They have a viable option to backup 3B and 1B in Tracy. I know he is washed-up too, but 3B is his natural position, he has hit quite well in the past, AND is a lefty swinger.
I just cannot get over the old boys club mentality that is in play here with Millar.
Why should the Millar situation surprise any of us with Pinella/Hendry as the "talent assessors".
Just ridiculous.
Perhaps Niefe Perez is out there somewhere to be our infield backup.
no no no...I'm NOT saying that I want him at ALL. What I was saying was that if we are going to justify having him on the roster, then we should try him out at a few different positions...because I consider "offense off the bench" to be an oxymoron. If he doesn't play on the field any more than sporadic spot starts, then his bat isn't going to get as much practice...
I like the guy, but like you were saying: We have in-house guys who are more flexible position-wise than he is. So...in order to justify keeping him over Tracy/Colvin/Hoff/Tracy/Snyder et al, we're gonna have to see how flexible he is defensively.
Don't get me wrong...I'm about 90% sure he can't, but if his offense is "making it tough" for Lou to not bring him along (which is a mistake), then the tiebreaker should be how well he can play 3B/RF. Since these games don't matter...why not give the guy some rope to hang himself with?
Here's mlbtraderumors' review ofthe Cubs offseason...no real news...but kind of painful to read:
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2010/03/offseason-in-review-chicago-cubs.html
Although Diamond had a rough day with the walks yesterday...he could still take hold and win a spot.
Although Neil has a link tothis on the yardbarker network...I thought this was worth bringing to the forefront...it's anice aticle on Diamond.
http://isportsweb.com/2010/03/15/diamond-out-to-prove-hes-a-cut-above/
I think it would be big mistake to have Colvin make the team. He needs to play everyday at AAA.
Assuming no injuries, when would he play, if he was the 5th OF ? makes no sense.
To me, Fuld is the ideal extra OF. They don't view as a top prospect any more, so it wouldn't be big deal if sits on bench. He can run, play great defense, and is not a bad little hitter.
A look at our young outfielders to date:
Colvin .533 OBP/SLG .840/ AVE .520/ 1 HR
Snyder .520 OBP/SLG .750/ AVE .417/1 HR
Aducci .455 OBP/SLG .550/ AVE .400/ 0 HR
Fuld .167 OBP/SLG .353/ AVE .118/ 0 HR
Snyder will be 28 this year with no options...and while I like him a lot...
he is not on the 40 man roster and does not have options...(like Blanco).
Fuld has great defense but has gotten
his bat going yet...he has one option
left but would have to clear revokable waivers to be sent down.
be sent down.
Adduci has all 3 Options...his forte is speed and good defense...but Rudy has worked with him to get more pop in his bat.
I never, ever thought I would say this...
but if Colvin continues his ways...and considering he is already on the 40 man roster...perhaps the Cubs should consider
packaging Snyder and Blanco together for
the needed RHP in the pen.
Things can change in a hurry...but as
Charles Dickens once said in "A Christmas Carol" ..."if these shadows
remain...."
If Fuld does not make the team...he also should be considered for trade.
Lou announced Theriot will be his leadoff hitter, Fukudome will hit second.
Also, Cubs bus to Tucson broke down, they arrived ... just late
Here's a link to follow today's game:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2010_03_15_chnmlb_colmlb_1
Colvin drove in Theroit in the first, 1-0 Cubs
hey neil, i can't get the stupid U.S. Cellular ad off on gameday how did you do it?
nevermind
Was just wondering why no one considers Baker as a viable backup for 3rd. third base is his natural position?
Honestly, Paw, the reason Baker is considered a backup at 3B is that he's breathing, and has played 2B. That's it.
Z today had 4 IP and NO STRIKEOUTS. I think he's losing it . . . .
Keep in mind 2 things Rip...
1)Z is trying to pitch with a reduced repertoire.
2)Maddux emphasizes not to show the opposition your "out" pitch in ST.
The fact is that he only only played third in the minors and was shifted to second in the majors.
I'm very excited about Colvin as the rest of you, but before we go putting him in the HOF after a handful of spring training games, just remember one thing: our best hitter last year in ST was none other than the great Milton Bradley, and how'd that work out ?
...food for thought.
just a warning.
Per Lou...
"Piniella said his lineup probably will be Theriot, Fukudome, Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, Marlon Byrd, Alfonso Soriano, Fontenot, Geovany Soto and the pitcher.
Piniella also said he would play Kevin Millar in left field some time later in the Cactus League games. Baker will also play some outfield this spring."
Well, so much for youngsters on this roster, and open competition. 21 games to go, and this is what we get?
Just ridiculous. This is truly why we need a total overhaul of team leadership...top to bottom.
So far...it seems to be going that way...Lou seems to be trying really hard to fit Millar on the team.
As far as Baker goes...they said they were going to give him time in the OF
in the offseason...so that doesn't surprise me. Although Baker better get his bat going or he might be in danger of getting released. (Only Bobby Scales
is hitting worse at .077.)
btw...Colvin went 2/4 today...and his average dropped!!!
(from .520 to .516)
Bruce Miles on Soriano:
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=366058