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?

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

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 ...

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.

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 ...

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 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 ...

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.

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 ...

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 ...

Game Eleven - Cubs (ss) 8 White Sox (ss) 7
WP - John Gaub (1-0) LP - Jeffrey Marquez (0-1, BS 1) Save - Justin Berg (1)

The Cubs got their work in on Saturday in Mesa and Las Vegas ... with some solid performances but with a little injury in Mesa.

Lou Piniella's crew beat the Reds in Mesa by a lopsided 11-4 score. Sean Marshall put together a good start. He allowed only one run in three innings, a solo home run by Juan Francisco. The Cubs managed only one run off of Homer Bailey in his three innings of work ... his first start of the spring. After the Reds built a 4-1 lead, the Cubs offense scored 10 times in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings.

Bryan LaHair (2-for-4 with a double, a home run, two runs scored and three RBI) tied the game with a three-run homer in the fifth ... and Hak-Ju Lee added a two-run double in the sixth. Tyler Colvin (3-for-5 with a run scored) and Darwin Barney (2-for-4 with a walk, a run scored and a RBI) had good days at the plate.

Aramis Ramirez left the game against the Reds in the third inning with right triceps soreness. Ramirez is listed as day-to-day and the Cubs downplayed the injury.

Alan Trammell managed the Cubs to a two-game sweep of the White Sox in Las Vegas. For the second time in less than 24 hours, Josh Vitters drove in the game winner against the South Side. Vitters grounded into a fielder's choice in the eighth that broke a 6-6 tie.

Ryan Dempster was solid once again. The White Sox managed one unearned on one hit against Dempster in three innings of work. Dempster did not walk a batter and stuck out a pair.

With the wins on Saturday, the Cubs improved to 7-4 in Cactus League play ...

Sean Marshall (0-0, 2.25/1.00) vs. Homer Bailey (0-0, -.--/-.--)

Spring Training Game Eleven: Cubs (ss) (5-4) vs. White Sox (ss) (4-4-2)
Game Time - 3:05pm CST
Coverage - TV: Comcast SportsNet - Radio: 670 The Score, MLB.com (White Sox feed)
Location - Cashman Field, Las Vegas

Ryan Dempster (1-0, 0.00/0.00) vs. Lucas Harrell (0-0, 9.00/2.00)

Another split-squad day for the Chicago Cubs ... half of Lou Piniella's roster will face Dusty Baker and the Reds at HoHoKam while the other half completes the "Big League Weekend" at Cashman Field in Las Vegas.

The Reds joined the Cactus League this year and today will be the first time the Cubs have played the Reds in a Spring Training game since 1945 ... today will also be the first appearance for Dusty Baker at HoHoKam Park since 2006.

The Cubs will be the home team at Cashman Field this afternoon.

The Cubs took an early lead in the first of two against the Sox in Vegas. Marlon Byrd and Mike Fontenot drove in the first two runs of the game in the first inning. Tom Gorzelanny did not allow a hit in his three innings of work. But Gorzelanny walked the bases loaded in the second and his wild pitch allowed the White Sox to score a run.

Jay Jackson surrendered the White Sox first hit in the sixth before giving up the lead. The Sox scored three runs off of Jackson and took a 4-3 lead into the seventh.

Marlon Byrd reached on an error by Brent Lillibridge to start the seventh. Brett Jackson pinch ran for Byrd and advanced to second when Kevin Millar walked. Micah Hoffpauir took over for Millar on the bases.

Josh Vitters ripped a 1-1 pitch from Jhonny Nunez into right center. The ball rolled to the wall. Jackson and Hoffpauir scored on Vitters' triple. Mike Fontenot drove in his second run of the night with a single to center ... and gave the Cubs a 6-4 lead.

The Sox cut the Cubs' lead to 6-5 in the eighth with a single to right by Alejandro De Aza. De Aza took too wide of a turn at first, Kyler Burke threw behind him and Micah Hoffpauir tagged him out to end the inning ... with the tying run at third.

Blake Parker labored through a 28-pitch ninth inning (14 strikes) to pick up the save.

Several of the Cubs' top prospects contributed to the win on Friday night. The Cubs improved to 5-4 on the spring with the victory over the White Sox ...

Tom Gorzelanny (0-0, 9.00/1.00) vs. Carlos Torres (0-0, 2.25/1.00)

For the sixth year in a row, the Cubs will participate in "Big League Weekend" at Cashman Field in Las Vegas. The Cubs annual trip to Sin City will have them face their Crosstown rivals ... who beat them rather soundly at HoHoKam Park, 15-3, last Saturday.

Alan Trammell will manage a Cubs' split-squad this weekend that will feature the likes of Tom Gorzelanny, Micah Hoffpauir, Kevin Millar, Mike Fontenot, Jeff Baker, Ryan Theriot, Matt Camp, Josh Vitters, Geovany Soto, Robinson Chirinos, Welington Castillo, Sam Fuld, Marlon Byrd, Brett Jackson, Kosuke Fukudome, Brad Snyder, Xavier Nady, Thomas Diamond, Blake Parker, Justin Berg, Jeff Kennard, Mitch Atkins, John Gaub, and J.R. Mathes.... Ryan Dempster will take the ball against the Sox on Saturday afternoon.

Tom Gorzelanny will make his first start, second appearance, of the spring tonight.

The Cubs long weekend of exhibition games got off to a bad start on Friday afternoon. The Brewers lit up Jeff Samardzija in the first inning and Doug Davis continued his domination of a team in blue pinstripes.

Granted it is "just Spring Training" but the performance from Jeff Samardzija on Friday was very similar to his outings from a year ago. Samardzija gave up four runs, all earned despite an error by Starlin Castro in the first inning, on five hits in two innings. Samardzija walked a batter, struck out two and served up back-to-back jacks in the first to Jim Edmonds and Gregg Zaun.

Samardzija turned the game over to the pen in the third ... and the pitchers Lou Piniella did not send to Las Vegas did not fair any better than 'The Shark.'

John Grabow surrendered an unearned run in his inning of work, but one of the two hits he allowed was a double by Jim Edmonds. Marcos Mateo could not find the strike zone. He walked five batters in the fifth, uncorked a wild pitch and served up a two-run homer to Jody Gerut. Jeremy Papelbon, called in from minor league camp, allowed two of Mateo's runners to score.

Rafael Dolis and James Russell closed the game. Dolis was solid in his first inning but struggled in his second and both runs he was charged with scored with James Russell on the mound.

The Cubs offense was non-existent. They managed nine hits, but scored only three runs and two of those came in the seventh inning. Tyler Colvin continued his hot spring and finished the game 2-for-3 with a triple, a run scored and a RBI. Aramis Ramirez doubled in the Cubs' second run in the seventh.

With the loss, the Cubs slipped back to .500 in the Cactus League (4-4) ...