Rotation Battle: Though it may have actually began when they started throwing bullpen sessions at the beginning of camp, the battle for the fourth and fifth spot in the Chicago Cubs rotation officially began today when candidate Randy Wells started against the Milwaukee Brewers. And it went pretty well for Wells. Though nothing is guaranteed, Wells, who pitched two scoreless innings, is almost a lock for one of the two spots. After being something of a revelation in by winning 12 games with a 3.09ERA in his rookie season of 2009, Wells stumbled to just an 8-14 record with a 4.26ERA in 2010, his first full season in the Bigs.
Other Notes: Reed Johnson was 2-3 in his return to the Cubs. Johnson who spent 2008-2009 with the Cubs returns after spending the 2010 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is signed to a non-guaranteed Minor League contract. Also re-debuting for the Cubs was Kerry Wood. Wood who spent the last two season with the Indians and Yankees returns to the team where he spent the first ten years of his baseball career. Wood, who burst onto the national scene in 1998 after striking out 20 Houston Astros won the 1998 NL Rookie of the Year Award. However, he was never quite the same, save for the 2003 season when he took the Cubs to the NLCS. He gave up two runs on three hits in one inning of work while striking out two and walking none.
Looking Ahead: The Cubs face the 2010 World Series Champion San Francisco Giants on Tuesday followed by another match-up against the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday.
2.28.2011
Cubs Spanked in Spring Opener
Though there were several positives in the Spring Opener today against the Oakland Athletics the Cubs were downed 15-7. Here are some of the particulars.
Positives
Carlos Zambrano: Big Z threw two hitless innings, striking out two while walking one. Zambrano is hoping to build on the strong finish he had last season. After a tumultuous first half that included a stint in the bullpen and a suspension, Zambrano was superb down the stretch and started his spring of on a good note.
Alfonso Soriano: 3-3, Double, 2RBI. Soriano, known as a streaky hitter is coming off a season in which he played in 147 games, his most since 2006. After signing a mammoth contract with the Cubs, he has not lived up to the billing. Though relatively productive, injuries have hampered his time in the Windy City. Soriano is hoping to turn things around in Chicago and a hot start would be nice.
Starlin Castro: After a great rookie campaign, the young gun was 2-3 with a run scored. The big thing for Castro this season will be correcting some of the problems that deterred him on defense.
Offense in General: The Cubs offense exploded for four runs in the bottom of the first against potential AL Cy Young candidate Trevor Cahill. The Cubs racked up 16 hits, and showed glimpses of a potentially explosive offense.
Negatives
Tyler Colvin/Blake DeWitt: A personal favorite of mine, Colvin was 0-3 at the plate and left three men on base while DeWitt was 0-3 with five men left on base. The pair accounted for all three Cubs fielding miscues, with DeWitt making an error at second and Colvin making two in the outfield.
Matt Garza: Making his spring debut for the Cubs, Garza surrendered five runs on five hits while walking one and giving up a grand slam. Nothing to worry about here. Garza did however collect his first hit in professional baseball of any kind.
Pitching in General: The Cubs used eight pitchers in the spring opener and half of them gave up runs. Garza-five, Jeff Samardzija-one, John Grabow-two, and Justin Berg-7.
The Verdict: Some Good, Some Bad. It's way too early to jump to any conclusions but this-It's Baseball Season.
Positives
Carlos Zambrano: Big Z threw two hitless innings, striking out two while walking one. Zambrano is hoping to build on the strong finish he had last season. After a tumultuous first half that included a stint in the bullpen and a suspension, Zambrano was superb down the stretch and started his spring of on a good note.
Alfonso Soriano: 3-3, Double, 2RBI. Soriano, known as a streaky hitter is coming off a season in which he played in 147 games, his most since 2006. After signing a mammoth contract with the Cubs, he has not lived up to the billing. Though relatively productive, injuries have hampered his time in the Windy City. Soriano is hoping to turn things around in Chicago and a hot start would be nice.
Starlin Castro: After a great rookie campaign, the young gun was 2-3 with a run scored. The big thing for Castro this season will be correcting some of the problems that deterred him on defense.
Offense in General: The Cubs offense exploded for four runs in the bottom of the first against potential AL Cy Young candidate Trevor Cahill. The Cubs racked up 16 hits, and showed glimpses of a potentially explosive offense.
Negatives
Tyler Colvin/Blake DeWitt: A personal favorite of mine, Colvin was 0-3 at the plate and left three men on base while DeWitt was 0-3 with five men left on base. The pair accounted for all three Cubs fielding miscues, with DeWitt making an error at second and Colvin making two in the outfield.
Matt Garza: Making his spring debut for the Cubs, Garza surrendered five runs on five hits while walking one and giving up a grand slam. Nothing to worry about here. Garza did however collect his first hit in professional baseball of any kind.
Pitching in General: The Cubs used eight pitchers in the spring opener and half of them gave up runs. Garza-five, Jeff Samardzija-one, John Grabow-two, and Justin Berg-7.
The Verdict: Some Good, Some Bad. It's way too early to jump to any conclusions but this-It's Baseball Season.
2.27.2011
Pre-Season Predictions
This post will be the first of many predictions this spring training. We will cover both individual and team predictions. I figured there was no better way to get this started than with the biggest individual awards, AL and NL MVP. So without further ado...
AL: The AL MVP for the 2011 Season will be Alex Rodriguez. I am in no way a New York Yankees fan, but he is bound for his 14th consecutive (15th Overall) 30HR/100RBI season. After a down season for the New York Yankees (by their obscene standards) this team will come back healthy, led by their All-Star Third Baseman. After slimming down (his body fat is down 3% according to recent media reports) A-Rod has declared that he will have a better season than last (30HR/125RBI). 2010 AL MVP Josh Hamilton had 32 HR and 100 RBI. If Rodriguez actually follows through on his plans to improve, he could win the award in a land slide.
Honorable Mention: Evan Longoria, Adrian Gonzalez
NL: The NL MVP for the 2011 Season will be Albert Pujols. He has finished 1st or second in each of the last 7 seasons in MVP voting, and not that he ever needs any extra motivation, but he is officially set to become a free agent after the summer of 2011. Precedent has been set for players to have big seasons in contract years. Adrian Beltre and Alfonso Soriano come to mind. If Pujols were to have an “extra-big” season (2010 Season: .312BA, 42HR, 118RBI) there is no doubt that he will win the award.
Honorable Mention: None, Pujols will win the award unanimously.
2.23.2011
Cincinnati Reds Overjoyed by Division Rival's Injury. Everyone else, not so much.
Jonny Gomes, the man who once drank tequila out of his Jock Strap is proving yet again that he is lacking in the class department.
Apparently, when news broke of Adam Wainwright's elbow injury this morning, Reds outfielder Jonny Gomes walked into the clubhouse giddily singing about Wainwright's misfortune, according to Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News.
Reds Manager Dusty Baker, leading by example, was also apparently in a very chipper mood, though one would wonder why. Though I won't blame him for Edinson Volquez's elbow problems, Dusty was the manager of the Cubs during the Mark Prior and Kerry Wood era and many also attribute Jason Schmidt's when he was in San Francisco. So, he should know a thing or two about these types of situations.
As my roommate reminded me, the Reds are the same team that were involved in a fight with Cardinals at the end of last season. A fight in which Johnny Cueto kicked Chris Carpenter in the back with his cleats on and another player-or possibly Cueto- ended Jason LaRue's career with a kick to the head.
As a die hard Cubs fan, I understand that this is catastrophic to the Cardinals organization and significantly enhances their opponents' chances in the division. But come on, you do not root for or celebrate injuries, regardless of whether you're a fan, coach, or an All-Star. Its unacceptable. Period.
I know I said that I don't like to unnecessarily rip into people, but really...really.
I was at Adam Wainwright's start last season against the Milwaukee Brewers when he hurled his first career complete game shut-out, and he was dominant. Here's wishing him a speedy and smooth recovery, because even though I'm a Cubs fan, he is an awesome pitcher and he is fun to watch... except for about 3 or 4 starts per year.
Apparently, when news broke of Adam Wainwright's elbow injury this morning, Reds outfielder Jonny Gomes walked into the clubhouse giddily singing about Wainwright's misfortune, according to Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News.
Reds Manager Dusty Baker, leading by example, was also apparently in a very chipper mood, though one would wonder why. Though I won't blame him for Edinson Volquez's elbow problems, Dusty was the manager of the Cubs during the Mark Prior and Kerry Wood era and many also attribute Jason Schmidt's when he was in San Francisco. So, he should know a thing or two about these types of situations.
As my roommate reminded me, the Reds are the same team that were involved in a fight with Cardinals at the end of last season. A fight in which Johnny Cueto kicked Chris Carpenter in the back with his cleats on and another player-or possibly Cueto- ended Jason LaRue's career with a kick to the head.
As a die hard Cubs fan, I understand that this is catastrophic to the Cardinals organization and significantly enhances their opponents' chances in the division. But come on, you do not root for or celebrate injuries, regardless of whether you're a fan, coach, or an All-Star. Its unacceptable. Period.
I know I said that I don't like to unnecessarily rip into people, but really...really.
I was at Adam Wainwright's start last season against the Milwaukee Brewers when he hurled his first career complete game shut-out, and he was dominant. Here's wishing him a speedy and smooth recovery, because even though I'm a Cubs fan, he is an awesome pitcher and he is fun to watch... except for about 3 or 4 starts per year.
2.22.2011
About Myself
My name is Jake. I am a 2011 graduate of Indiana University's Sports Communication program. I have been involved in baseball my entire life and am very passionate about the game. I played in High-School, and as you probably guessed by the title of this blog, I was a stocky, slow, but fundamentally sound back up outfielder. After I finished playing (the aforementioned qualities do not translate to playing past High-School) I decided I would still stay involved in baseball. I have spent the last five seasons as a youth baseball coach, and also work at my father's baseball and softball training facility.
This blog is a baseball blog dedicated to the Chicago Cubs, but will discuss other topics related to baseball.
I hope you enjoy this blog. First post to come shortly. I have a mid-term tomorrow morning that I have to study for so it will probably be tomorrow afternoon.
If anyone ever has an idea for a post please drop a comment.
This blog is a baseball blog dedicated to the Chicago Cubs, but will discuss other topics related to baseball.
I hope you enjoy this blog. First post to come shortly. I have a mid-term tomorrow morning that I have to study for so it will probably be tomorrow afternoon.
If anyone ever has an idea for a post please drop a comment.
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