Spring Training Game Twenty-Three – Cubs (ss) 8, Royals 3 WP – Hisanori Takahashi (1-1) LP – Bruce Chen (1-1) Save – None While Jeff Samardzija was the story in Las Vegas, the Cubs bats were the show at HoHoKam Park on Saturday afternoon. The Cubs completed the split squad sweep with a spring win over the Royals behind five home runs off the bats of Javier Baez, Alfonso Soriano, David DeJesus and Alberto Gonzalez. Javier Baez (2-for-3 with two home runs and two RBI) put on a show for … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 09/20/12
Second Half Minor League Report - Part 2 Part two of the CCO's look at the Cubs' minor league system for the second half of the 2012 season focuses on the Peoria Chiefs and Boise Hawks. The Peoria Chiefs plodded along in the second half, as promotions and injuries to their pitching staff took its toll. Even a late influx of talent wasn't enough to save the jobs of manager Casey Kopitzke and hitting coach Barbaro Garbey, as the organization looks for a new staff to guide a new affiliation with … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 09/11/12
Special Assignment - Peoria Chiefs vs. Kane County Cougars Recently, I had the pleasure of being able to cover the series between the Peoria Chiefs and Kane County Cougars. I'd like to thank Shawn Touney, Director of Public Relations for the Kane County Cougars, as well as Broadcast and Media Manager Nate Baliva of the Peoria Chiefs for their hospitality. I'd also like to mention reporter Mike Knapp of the Beacon News, who has been an excellent resource, a great baseball conversationalist, and … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 09/04/12
Hurricane Isaac, which played havoc with the Daytona Cubs' schedule last week, moved inland and forced the cancellation of Peoria's final home game and Iowa's last series of the season in New Orleans. The Cubs' system claimed two champions, with Boise's Stephen Bruno winning the Northwest League batting title while Daytona's John Andreoli led the Florida State League in stolen bases. Tennessee used the power pitching of Chris Rusin and Nick Struck to put them in position to join the AZL Cubs … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 08/30/12
Entering the final week of the minor league season has different meanings at each level. For the players in Iowa, such as Greg Rohan and Dave Sappelt, it means their last chance to make an impression and hope for a September call-up to the big leagues. In Boise and Arizona, players like Stephen Bruno, Jeimer Candelario, Shawon Dunston Jr., and Trevor Gretzky are beginning to prepare for the playoffs. While the players in Tennessee, Daytona and Peoria are trying to show management that they … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 08/27/12
There looks to be some excitement down the stretch as the minor leagues enter the last week of play. Boise has clinched the second half pennant thanks to players such as Gioskar Amaya, Stephen Bruno, Jeimer Candelario, Willson Contreras, Tayler Scott, and Dan Vogelbach. Peoria is charging to the finish line on the bat of Tim Saunders and the pitching of Michael Jensen. While in Daytona, John Andreoli is sure to make a number of other prospects nervous with the season he is having. And Rubi … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 08/23/12
Playoffs??!! Are you kidding ME??!! Apparently, no, as both Boise and the AZL Cubs have the post season in their sights. Boise has the post-season on their minds for their second consecutive season as they ride the Northwest League's leading hitter Stephen Bruno, along with Gioskar Amaya, Dan Vogelbach, Albert Almora, and Jeimer Candelario providing the pop to the Hawks' attack. The A-Cubs have gotten contributions from Shawon Dunston Jr., Trevor Gretzky, and some very solid pitching. Peoria … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 08/16/12
Changes appear to be in the air for the minor league system, as Vice President of Player Personnel Oneri Fleita was fired on Wednesday afternoon. Long deserved promotions for pitcher Austin Kirk and outfielder Rubi Silva have finally happened, while Yoannis Negrin, Willengton Cruz, and Jacob Rogers also received a bump up in level. Tennessee has tightened up their defense, which has resulted in shut out wins for Dae-Eun Rhee and Yoannis Negrin. And Iowa actually posted a couple of wins, with … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 08/13/12
The spotlight moved to the lower levels of the Cubs minor league at the end of the week, as most of the affiliates were on the uptick. Boise put together a four-game winning streak thanks to Dan Vogelbach's five home runs and outfielder Izaac Garsez. Jorge Soler moved from the rookie league to Peoria and was a big hit, literally, with a grand slam. Excellent pitching efforts by Nick Struck and Dae-Eun Rhee were backed by the offense of Jae-Hoon Ha for Tennessee, while struggling remained the … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 08/06/12
As the dust began to settle from last week's flurry of roster moves, the minor leagues got back to the business of winning ballgames. Dustin Geiger set an RBI record for Peoria, while Christian Villanueva had a smashing debut for Daytona. Not to be outdone, Dong-Yub Kim was also going deep for Boise and Justin Bour led the system in dingers for this week. While in Iowa, Chris Rusin helped stop a losing streak with an assist from Josh Vitters. A top prospect received a promotion after being … [Read more...]