Second Half Minor League Report In looking at the Cubs' minor league system for the second half of the 2012 season, one can break things down into three phases. First there are the AZL Cubs and the Boise Hawks, which received the greatest influence of the Cubs' new front office team. With their rosters heavily populated by players from the 2012 draft and international free agent signings, both ended up in the playoffs at the end of the season, with Boise losing in the finals. Next there were … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 09/10/12
The CCO's post-season minor league awards continue with the Minor League Player of the Year. Tim Saunders and Daury Torrez were named Short-Season Player and Pitcher of the Year last week. Several players took positive steps forward in the Cubs' system this season as a new philosophy was implemented throughout the organization. But one position player stood out from the rest and delivered a strong, consistent season from the beginning to the end. The Boise Hawks season came to an end on Sunday … [Read more...]
Cubs Finalize First Roster of the Season … and Set Iowa Cubs Roster
A lot is made about a team's Opening Day roster but the fact is that a big league roster is a work in progress throughout a 162-game schedule. And this season could feature more roster changes for the Cubs than in years past. The Cubs filled out their 40-man big league roster prior to Thursday's opener against the Nationals. Marcos Mateo was placed on the 60-day DL with a sore right elbow and John Gaub was claimed off waivers by the Tampa Bay Rays. The move of Mateo and the loss of Gaub opened … [Read more...]
Leaping Toward Exhibition Season … and Other Notes from Cubs Camp
The Cubs were back at work Tuesday in one of their final days of the spring at Fitch Park. After Thursday's workout, the Cubs move down Center Street to HoHoKam Park. The Cubs announced Tuesday they added two intrasquad games to their 35-game exhibition schedule. The Cubs will square off against the Cubs on Friday and Saturday at HoHoKam Park. The five to six-inning contests begin at 1:00pm local time (2:00pm CST) and are open to the public. Gates open at 11:00am with limited seating. Dale … [Read more...]
Cubs Announce Minor League Managers, Coaching Staffs and Coordinators for 2012
The Cubs announced their 2012 Minor League managers, coaching staffs and coordinators on Wednesday. Dave Bialas moved from minor league field coordinator to manager of the Iowa Cubs. The I-Cubs will also have a new hitting coach. Dave Keller, who was on Mike Quade's staff last season will replace Von Joshua as Iowa's hitting coach. Jeff Fassero received a promotion to the Double-A Tennessee Smokies. Fassero was pitching coach in Peoria last year. The Cubs also shifted Bill Dancy for the third … [Read more...]
The Front Office, Fielder, Marshall, Compensation … and Other Cubs News, Notes and Rumors
The player moves the Cubs are rumored to be working on continued making noise on Tuesday. According to a report late Tuesday night from Ken Rosenthal, the Cubs and Reds are discussing a deal that could send Sean Marshall to Cincinnati for Travis Wood. It is unknown if there are other players involved in the talks. Marshall is under contract through the 2012 season and is one of the Cubs most valuable trading chips. Theo Epstein has hired two more front office personnel and another could be … [Read more...]
Weekend Update … No More Excuses for the Cubs
Dale Sveum's introductory press conference continued making headlines. Sveum did not pull any punches on Friday and did not sugarcoat what is and has been wrong with the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs' front office knows they have a lot of work ahead of them, not only at the big league level but throughout the system as well. As for Sveum's part, he has the challenge of trying to correct things that were overlooked, and in most cases ignored, by previous managers and coaching staffs. Dale Sveum on … [Read more...]
Cubs Announce Minor League Coaching Staffs and Coordinators
The Cubs announced their 2011 Minor League coaching staffs and coordinators on Thursday. While five former Cubs remain in the system, Jody Davis is no longer with the organization as both sides decided to go in different directions. Bill Dancy received a promotion to Triple-A after earning Southern League Coach of the Year honors last year with the Smokies. Mark Johnson will manage the Boise Hawks. Frank Castillo will serve as one of the Mesa Cubs' pitching coaches and Jason Dubois will begin … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 03/29/10
Today, we continue our look at the coaches in the Cubs minor league system. Be sure to check out Part 1 and Part 2 of the series if you haven't yet. So far, the coaches that we've profiled stay with one team throughout the year. There are other coaches in the system, called roving instructors, who travel to all the different affiliates to check in. These guys are the coordinators for their area for the entire organization. … [Read more...]