Milton Bradley will be back in the Cubs’ lineup as the team’s DH against the Indians Wednesday in Goodyear according to a report on Cubs.com. With a split squad game on Thursday in Las Vegas against the White Sox, Bradley will get the day off and is expected to play right field against the Dodgers at HoHoKam on Friday.
Here are a few updates including Lou Piniella on Jake Peavy, Jim Hendry on Curt Shilling and a guess on which players could be on the Cubs’ Opening Day roster from the Tribune…. News and Notes
- Ryan Theriot, Mike Fontenot, Koyie Hill, Aramis Ramirez, Reed Johnson and Alfonso Soriano are among the players expected to make the trip to Las Vegas to play the White Sox on Wednesday and Thursday.
- Lou Piniella has not named a starter for Opening Day but is said to be leaning toward Carlos Zambrano or Ryan Dempster.
- Zambrano said Ryan Dempster should get the nod because of the season he put together a year ago.
- Big Z said he lost 10-15 pounds this off-season.
Bruce Levine Podcasts
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- Lou Piniella on Jake Peavy
- Carlos Zambrano following his first start of the spring
Lou Piniella gave two different responses when he was recently asked about Jake Peavy. Piniella first said there was nothing to report. Then added, “Anything is possible, but I don’t talk about it.” Piniella said the Cubs are preparing their staff right now and if something happens down the line fine…
Jim Hendry on Sports Central
The Cubs GM joined Dave Kaplan on Monday night and discussed a variety of topics from Curt Schilling to Jake Peavy to Ted Lilly in the WBC to Corey Koskie to Carlos Zambrano’s first start of the spring.
Hendry said he has not talked to Curt Schilling or his agents about pitching for the Cubs. He added it was nice that a guy like that “if he does play would like to play for us.”
Kaplan asked about Jake Peavy. Hendry responded with he cannot talk about Peavy because he is another team’s property but he appreciates the comments he made about the Cubs’ front office.
Aramis Ramirez is in the best reporting shape of his career according to Hendry.
Carlos Zambrano’s start on Monday against the Diamondbacks was discussed and Hendry admitted he did not know what to expect from Zambrano. Hendry called his first two innings of the spring an “exceptional outing“. He pointed out Zambrano had good pop on his fastball with very good command.
Link to Podcast of Jim Hendry on Sports Central
Phil Rogers’ Guess at the Cubs Opening Day Roster
Rotation
- Carlos Zambrano
- Ryan Dempster
- Ted Lilly
- Rich Harden
- Sean Marshall
Bullpen
- Carlos Marmol
- Kevin Gregg
- Aaron Heilman
- Neal Cotts
- Chad Gaudin
- Kevin Hart
- Mike Stanton
Catchers
- Geovany Soto
- Paul Bako
Infielders
- Derrek Lee
- Mike Fontenot
- Ryan Theriot
- Aramis Ramirez
- Aaron Miles
- Luis Rivas
Outfielders
- Alfonso Soriano
- Milton Bradley
- Reed Johnson
- Kosuke Fukudome
- Micah Hoffpauir
What happened to Joey Gathright?
Well…that’s the latest and I’m sticking to it!