The Chicago Cubs surprised many across baseball by finishing with 97 wins, third most in all of baseball. The ascension of young hitters like Kris Bryant, Addison Russell, Kyle Schwarber and Anthony Rizzo take much of the credit, but the pitching as a staff deserve more praise. As a whole, ten players made a start for the Cubs and pitched to a 3.36 ERA, ranked third overall. Despite the strong numbers, the rotation depth fell short in the playoffs and the front office has made it their top … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 11/19/15
Pitching Analysis – Triple-A Iowa After covering every position in the Cubs’ system, it’s time to move to the position analysis series to pitching side of the organization. Today, the focus is on the pitching staff at the Cubs’ highest minor league level, Triple-A Iowa. Triple-A Starters and Relievers Iowa Cubs: The Cubs’ organization is in a precarious situation with the parent club in need of pitching, but the current front office’s best prospects are still far down the chain. What is left … [Read more...]
The Daily CCO: Rizzo and Bryant Hit Homers, Papelbon Speaks Out, Rafael Soriano and Other Cubs News
Major League Baseball literally and figuratively hit one, actually several, out of the park Monday night. The revamped Home Run Derby is widely being viewed as a success and the rules that were altered at seemingly the last minute due to the pending weather tweaked The Derby even more and has made the annual event a must see for fans of the game again. The Reds’ Todd Frazier won The Derby, beating the Dodgers’ Joc Pederson. And Frazier joined Ryne Sandberg (1990) as the only two players to … [Read more...]
Cubs Weekend Headlines: A Win, An MVP, Top 10 Prospects and Rumors
The Cubs wrapped up the weekend and the first half with a win over the South Side in what was a typically busy three days heading into the break. Jake Arrieta had a career-first while completing his second game of the season. Kyle Schwarber went home and made headlines on the National stage. Carl Edwards Jr. had a good showing in the Futures Game, too. Baseball America released its Midseason Cubs’ prospect ranking. And the rumors picked up as baseball shifted its attention to Cincinnati … [Read more...]
From the Wire: Cubs Reinstate Mike Olt from DL and Option to Iowa, DFA RHP Donn Roach
The Cubs made two roster moves prior to Friday’s game against the White Sox. Mike Olt was activated from the 60-day disabled list and optioned to Triple-A Iowa. To make room for Olt on the 40-man roster, RHP Donn Roach was designated for assignment. With the two roster moves, the Cubs’ 40-man roster currently stands at 40 players. Mike Olt started the season on the 25-man roster. In six games, Olt was 2-for-15 with one home run, no walks and six strikeouts (.133/.188/.333). Olt was hit … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 07/06/15
While perhaps a little late to the party, the Cubs made their midseason reshuffle of their personnel over the weekend. Myrtle Beach is back after scuffling for a while, thanks to the red-hot hitting of Jeimer Candelario. Another player who is swinging it well is Jacob Hannemann, who helped ignite the Tennessee offense. Pitching was also in the spotlight as South Bend’s Michael Wagner, Iowa’s Donn Roach, and Dylan Cease of the AZL Cubs all had outstanding efforts. So take a look at Down … [Read more...]
From the Wire: Cubs Acquire LHP Clayton Richard from the Pirates, Option RHP Donn Roach to Iowa
The Cubs announced after Friday’s game with the Marlins the team had acquired LHP Clayton Richard from the Pirates for cash considerations. Clayton Richard will make his Cubs’ debut on Saturday night against the Marlins. To make room on the active roster, the Cubs optioned RHP Donn Roach to Triple-A Iowa. The Cubs have not announced the roster move necessary to add Richard to the 40-man roster. The Cubs currently have 40 players on the 40-man roster. The easy move would be to transfer INF … [Read more...]
Talkin’ Cubs Live – Cubs vs. Marlins – 07/03/15
Game Seventy-Eight: Cubs (42-35) vs. Marlins (34-46) Game Time – 1:20pm CDT Coverage – TV: Comcast SportsNet, ESPN 2 – Radio: WBBM 780, Cubs Radio Network, XM Radio Channels 183, 844 Location – Wrigley Field, Chicago Jason Hammel (5-3, 2.92/0.97/2.89) vs. Tom Koehler (6-4, 3.66/1.26/4.54) The Cubs begin the holiday weekend with the first of a long, 10-game homestand leading up to the All-Star break. The Cubs host the Marlins for the next three days then welcome the Cardinals (July … [Read more...]
The Daily CCO: Maddon’s Rotation Plans, Soler Back This Weekend? And Cubs News and Rumors
It’s time for baseball, fireworks and a long homestand at Wrigley Field. The Cubs return from the road (3-3) and will spend the next 10 days leading up to the All-Star break at home. The Cubs were on the road for a majority of June, the team just finished a stretch of playing 20 out of 29 games outside of Wrigley Field. Over the last 47 games, the Cubs are 27-20 and 19-12 in the 31 games against teams with a record above .500. On the flip side, the Cubs were 8-8 in the other 16 games against … [Read more...]
Cubs Month in Review – June 2015
As the Cubs near the halfway mark of the season, we are starting to get a clearer picture of who this team is and where they may be going. It's clear that the club is much improved over a year ago, but after a sweep at the hands of division leader and rival the St. Louis Cardinals, this is a team with a ways to go before they are full-blown contenders. Let's take a look back at June. 2015 Team Record: 14-13 Team Average: .250 Team ERA: 3.15 Top Hitter: Chris Coghlan Top Pitcher: … [Read more...]