Was Wednesday a turning point or just another in a long line of dramas that always surrounds the Chicago Cubs?
Prior to Wednesday, the biggest news was all of the errors and miscues over the first three games. But that changed after three more errors in the first inning that led to a scuffle in the dugout between Carlos Silva and Aramis Ramirez.
14 errors in four games, Spring Training or not, that is horrible defense. To put that into perspective, the offense has scored only four more runs (18) than the 14 errors the defense has committed.
Mike Quade is expected to meet with his team before Thursday’s game against the Rangers. Quade said he would address the scuffle in the dugout and the sloppy play on the field.
Here’s the update … Mike Quade on the Scuffle and the Sloppy Play
Mike Quade said he will address the team prior to Thursday’s exhibition game. Quade indicated he talked to the team after the scuffle between Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Silva.
“You’ve got two [ticked] off people. It was a brutal first inning, plenty of blame to go around, and people get frustrated. Maybe that’s what we frickin’ need. Maybe we need to get [ticked] off. It’s day four of Spring Training and I have no business getting fired up after four games. Today was tough to watch. It hasn’t been fun to begin with but today was tough. Guys get upset and we’ll handle it in-house.”
“Silva was frustrated and made a general comment defensively, and I think ‘Ramy’ took issue with it. Ramy had a bad inning and he knew Silva was upset and decided to tell him, ‘Hey, I don’t need to hear that.’ It was an unfortunate deal but it’s not a big deal.”
The Cubs said there would not be any disciplinary action taken against Carlos Silva and the incident would not affect his chances of making the rotation.
Quade said he was happy with the way camp went but is not happy with the way the games have gone.
Quade appeared frustrated watching the game against the Cubs and Brewers and admitted afterwards it was tough to watch.
According to a report from Bruce Levine, Quade is ready to get back to baseball.
News and Notes
According to a report from the Tribune, Aramis Ramirez called Wednesday a misunderstanding between him and Carlos Silva. Ramirez said he’s never had a problem like that with a teammate, not even in Little League.
Matt Garza will make his first start and second appearance of the spring Friday. Mike Quade announced Garza would face the Royals in Surprise. The A’s hit Garza pretty hard in the spring opener. Garza threw only fastballs and changeups in his first outing.
Andrew Cashner will get his first start of the spring Saturday against the Padres. Cashner gave up a pair of runs to the Brewers in his first game Monday. Cashner said he felt he had good stuff, the ball just did not go where he wanted it to.
Angel Guzman was excited about his results throwing BP on Wednesday. Guzman said he still needs to throw more but he was able to throw all of his pitches … fastball, changeup and cutter. Guzman threw 20 pitches in Wednesday’s session.
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Well, there’s the update … and the Cubs infield just booted another ball!