Cashner and Wells update, team update

Both Andrew Cashner and Randy Wells have begun bullpen sessions since being injured the first two weeks of the season.  The sessions were monitored by Cubs Pitching Coach Mark Riggins and trainer Mark O’Neil.  This was the first time either right-hander has thrown off the mound since April 8, when both were put on the disabled list. Cashner is recovering from a right rotator-cuff strain while Wells is recouping from a right forearm strain.  To refresh everyone a forearm strain is an injury to the muscles or tendons connected to the bones in the lower arm.  As for a rotator-cuff strain is the network of four muscles and several tendons that form a covering around the top of the upper arm bone (humerus). These muscles form a cover around the head of the humerus. The rotator cuff holds the humerus in place in the shoulder joint and enables the arm to rotate.

If things go as planned both will be assigned to the minor leagues to work their way back to the major league.  "They're both doing well," Cubs General Manager Jim Hendry said. "They're both healthy. If they get a couple of good bullpen sessions and a simulated game, then it's time to go pitch."

The recent injuries that occurred to Cashner and Wells the Cubs have struggled with the fourth and fifth starters, Casey Coleman and James Russell.

The suspension and the rehab that Carlos Zambrano had in the 2010 season has helped him as a player.  His record since his return is 11-1.  Zambrano leads the team with three wins this year.  The second best pitcher this year is newly acquired pitcher from Tampa Bay, Matt Garza.  As for the Cubs Pitchers, Ryan Dempster has struggled since he was named the number one starter.  Dempster’s record this year is 1-3 with a 9.58 ERA (Earned Run Average).

Now that the month of April is over so far the Cubs MVP would have to be shortstop Starlin Castro.  Castro is currently batting .336 and has 12 RBI (Runs Batted In).  Starlin has hit only one homerun this year also.  Alfonso Soriano has also had a successful spring in hitting ten homeruns and 20 RBI (Runs Batted In). 

Each of the past few years the Cubs have started slow, I’m still hopeful that they can pick it up and have a successful year in making the playoffs.  GO CUBS Go

Cashner and Wells headed to Disabled List

Two Cubs players have been recently been assigned to the DL (Disabled list).  For those who don’t know what the DL is, it is a non-roster players are assigned to for injuries.  There are two types of DL: there is a 15 day disabled list, where the injury is day to day, but the player could be back relatively fast.   The 15 day DL injuries could include a sprained ankle, shoulder soreness and concussions depending on how bad the concussion is diagnosed.  The 60 day disabled list, is for more serious injuries where the player will be out for more than two months.  The two players that recently went to the DL are starters Andrew Cashner and Randy Wells.  Andrew Cashner strained his rotator cuff during his first game on April 5^th against the Arizona Diamondbacks.  The rotator cuff is the network of four muscles and several tendons that form a covering around the top of the upper arm bone (humerus). These muscles form a cover around the head of the humerus. The rotator cuff holds the humerus in place in the shoulder joint and enables the arm to rotate.  Randy Wells strained his forearm during the April 4^th game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.  A strained forearm is an injury to the muscles or tendons connected to the bones in the lower arm. Forearm strain is common because of the many tendons that glide together in the same or separate sheaths. Muscles, tendons and bones comprise units. These units stabilize the elbow and wrist joints and allow their motion. A strain occurs at the weakest part of a unit.

 Cubs manager Mike Quade said he is not counting on either pitcher for three to four weeks.

"The way I'm looking at it now is over the next three weeks we need a line of three Tuesdays, where we need pitching," Quade said. "Whether that's [reliever James Russell] coming out of the chute or whether someone takes the bull by the horn in the minor leagues and establishes themselves, we need somebody three times in three weeks."

The Cubs plan is to recall Casey Coleman from Triple-A Iowa and he will become the fourth starter.  He will pitch Sunday against Milwaukee at Miller Park.  The Cubs are also trying to decide on a starter for Tuesday in Houston, and James Russell is being mentioned as a possibility.  General Manager Jim Hendry will consider other minor leaguers such as Thomas Diamond, who was a starter and reliever late last season.  Cashner and Wells won’t go on the disabled list until Wednesday and the Cubs will make a move or two on Friday. 

Until the next post, Go Cubs Go.

Opening Day, Cubs vs. DiamondBack result

This past Friday I attended Opening Day at Wrigley Field on April 1.  The Chicago Cubs played the Pittsburgh Pirates.   It was a good game with the Cubs leading 2-0 heading into the fifth inning until one pitch cost that bit the Cubs the rest of the game happened.  This one pitch was a grand slam hit by Neil Walker of the Pirates found the street on Sheffield Avenue.  Then again in the seventh inning another Pirate hit a two-run homer into the left field bleachers. 

The debate of who the Opening Day starter for second base went to Darwin Barney.  Both Barney and Starlin Castro combined for five hits.  Castro made two impressive defensive plays.  On the first play of the game, Castro went up the middle and made a great play to rob Pirates player Jose Tabata of a hit.  When Carlos Pena saw the play that Castro made he said he didn’t know of many shortstops that could make that play. 

Opening day for me was a day that I will remember for a long time.  It was a chilly, windy and rainy day.  It was a sellout and many true Cubs fans were out in full force.  Even though the game didn’t turn out the way I wanted it was still a day to remember.  In one of my other blogs I predicted the Cubs would win their Opening day game but I predicted wrong.  That now makes the Cubs 1-8 in the last nine years for Opening Day. 

On Tuesday the Cubs played the Arizona Diamondbacks and won the game 6-5.  Since Carlos Pena had a sprained thumb, Tyler Colvin started at first base.  This was Colvin’s first Major league game as a Major league first baseman.  Colvin had a two-run homer in the third inning, his first homerun of the 2011 season.  Colvin handled the eleven chances in the field flawlessly.  This was Colvin’s first homer since September 15^th of last year.  Last season, he was hit in the chest by a broken bat that collapsed his lung on September 19^th against the Florida Marlins Andrew Cashner also had his first big league start and left the game early due to shoulder stiffness. 

After a 3-2 start the Cubs continue to get better and look better than they did last year at the beginning of the 2010 season.  As long as the injury bug doesn’t continue to haunt the Cubs they could possibly be looking at playing in October now that the team is younger and don’t have as much pressure

Silva released from Cubs, Garza update

This past weekend the Chicago Cubs released Carlos Silva and the management of the Cubs didn’t mince words describing the verbal attack that Silva unleashed on the Mark Riggins the pitching coach and the organization.  In a statement addressed by Cubs General Manager Jim Hendry, he said “Silva is not willing to face the facts and what has he really done and accomplished as a player, outside of the two months that he pitched well in the 2010 season.”  When Carlos Silva learned on Saturday that he wouldn’t make the Cubs’ 25 man roster, the outraged Silva blasted Riggins and said that Riggins wasn’t honest with him on the role he would play on the team.  Silva also said that the competition for the fifth starting position was always against him.  Hendry defended the decision saying that “Silva basically wasn’t good enough to make the team and backed up by saying that from July 10^th of last year he had an ERA (Earned Run Average) of over 14 and came to spring training thinking he would have the fifth and final starting position handed to him. 

Hendry added:  “Silva’s comments about pitching coach Riggins were inappropriate and unacceptable.  It’s a sign of weakness for somebody that doesn’t perform up to standards to blame someone else on the way out.”

On Sunday morning, the Cubs manager Quade said that it was his decision and only his decision to cut Silva from the 12 man pitching staff.

The 2011 spring training has been quite rough for newly acquired Matt Garza and the Chicago Cubs will be forgotten quickly come Sunday when he pitches the final game of the Cubs and Pirates.  The team’s third starter ended his 2011 spring training by giving up seven runs in three innings in a 15-8 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.  Garza, who won a career high 15 games last in Tampa Bay had a Carlos Silva like ERA of 10.38.  While be asked if he had any concerns going into the 2011 season, he seemed more happy to leave Arizona more than anything.  Garza said his struggles were griping his pitches in Arizona.  He also said that he was still used to the heavy air in Florida, since spring training was in Florida for his previous team.  Garza said that coming from Tampa Bay was a huge transition.  His last spring game was more of a diagnostic checkup than a final tune up for his Sunday start.  The opening day is April 1^st on Friday, until then GO CUBS GO.

opening day roster update, Cashner's bad outing

Spring Training is coming to a close for the Chicago Cubs as roster decisions are becoming finalized.  Cub’s manager Mike Quade expects there to be disagreements while finalizing with General Manager Jim Hendry and assistant General Manager Randy Bush.  Quade has a strong idea when it comes to players he wants to take to Chicago, he knows the front office has information that sometimes he doesn't possess.  The Cubs’ main decisions will center around the fourth and fifth starter positions, two bullpen pitching spots, second base and the fifth outfielder.   So far based on Spring Training results, Randy wells will be the fourth starter, since he has had one of the lowest ERA (Earned Run Average).  The five bullpen spots have been secured by Sean Marshall, Kerry Wood, John Grabow, Carlos Marmol and Jeff Samardzija.  The Cubs’ also have the possibly could decide to take a third left-hander, that spot will either go to James Russell or Scott Maine.  Last year James Russell had a great campaign at the end of the season last year to possibly have that spot.  Last week’s blog said that the fifth outfielder position was between Reed Johnson and Fernando Perez but has since been locked up by Reed Johnson.

The current debate on who plays second base is still up in the air, since Blake DeWitt is having a horrible spring.  Jeff Baker and Darwin Barney are impressing Quade, but the new Cub’s manager has said that DeWitt is still trying for the position.  Quade has stated that will continue to give Blake DeWitt the opportunity to improve.  DeWitt is in a current slump with the bat.  Quade has said that his batting isn’t as good as they’ve seen it in the past but figures DeWitt will work out of the slump and get more confidence every day.  Right now DeWitt does have a spot on the roster, but is getting pushed by Baker and Barney to take his starting spot away from him.  If DeWitt doesn’t make the team, it opens doors for Scott Moore or Bobby Scales, who has played for Baltimore Orioles.  Since Augie Ojeda has a bad back, either Moore or Scales could get a shot.  Since Barney has been a surprise to all he has all but locked up a spot either being a back up to Starlin Castro or starting at second base.  That could also change if Jim Hendry picks up a veteran infielder off waivers.

After a bad outing yesterday by Andrew Cashner the Cubs are back to the drawing board for the fifth and final starting pitcher.  Cashner felt he pitched well but the wind, rain and mud didn’t help his cause vying for the final spot.

Opening day is less than ten days away.  Do you think they will win their opening day game or will they loose and go 1-8 for opening day over the past nine years?   My personal opinion is they will win.  

18 players moved to minors, Spring Training update

The Chicago Cubs just recently made their first roster move by sending 18 players down to the minor league.  Of those who were sent down are impressive enough to be called up during the season if needed.  Centerfielder Brett Jackson, third baseman Josh Vitters, pitchers Jay Jackson, Chris Carpenter, and Trey McNutt are all the future of the Cubs franchise after all the high priced players go to free agency in the next few years. Vitters, a former number one pick, has improved his overall game since last year.  His progress has greatly improved compared to the 2010 season.

 The players that will be free agents at the end of the year are Carlos Silva, Carlos Pena, and Kosuke Fukudome.  With another start today (Tuesday) Randy Wells has the opportunity to claim the fourth spot in the rotation.  So the fifth and final spot in the rotation leaves Andrew Cashner, James Russell, Braden Looper and Carlos Silva as the only contenders.   If Cashner doesn’t make the rotation then that means that he will be in the bullpen with Casey Coleman and Todd Wellemeyer, but that also doesn’t mean that Coleman won’t be in minors to start the year.  Silva will most likely be in the bullpen in the fifth and final spot doesn’t go to him.

Also up for grabs is second base.  Blake DeWitt nor Jeff Baker has the spot locked up but Darwin Barney is impressing the coaching staff with his Ryan Theriot like batting at the plate.  Barney is also the better defender than when Theriot was with the Cubs at certain points of their career.

The battle in the outfield that is still evolving since current backups Fernando Perez nor Reed Johnson have hit with a consistent average this spring.

Currently the Chicago Cubs are 8-11 in Spring Training.  The first four games were a struggle for them as they had 14 errors.  Also in the first few games Carlos Silva and Aramis Ramirez got into a dugout brawl over Silva giving up two homeruns and Ramirez having two errors.  This also happened last year when Carlos Zambrano and Derek Lee also had similar incidents.  Today (Tuesday) the Cubs are playing a split squad games against the Colorado Rockies and the Oakland A’s.  For those of you that don’t know what spilt squad is; Split squad is where the manager splits the team up and they both play at two different stadiums to help figure out who will make the opening day roster.  The roster will be cut to the top 25 players by April 1^st.  Until next week blog comes out.  GO CUBS

Dempster Opening Day Starter, Soriano possible comeback

Recently, Cubs manager Mike Quade named Ryan Dempster as opening day starter.   Quade choose Dempster over Zambrano and newly acquired Matt Garza.  For Zambrano this breaks a streak of him starting for 6 straight years.  When Garza and Zambrano found out through meeting with manager Quade they both accepted their roles.  Zambrano went on to say that “nothing lasts forever” and he also said that Dempster has pitched better than him the past 2 years.   Zambrano says his problem isn’t to be a good person but be able to solve his issues on the field when situations go south on him.  Zambrano also states that “off the field he considers himself a nice guy and that’s something he can talk about in public.”  As for Dempster he is excited about his third opening day start in his career.  Dempster, a fan favorite, may be the most popular teammate on the Cubs. He's always been about team first. But he admits an Opening Day assignment at Wrigley Field will be a thrill.  "It's going to be exciting," Dempster said. "It's going be more nerves of anxiousness than nerves of being nervous."  Dempster will have his hands full when they take on the Pittsburgh Pirates.  In the 2010 season Dempster had a 0-3 record and had a 6.88 Earned Run Average (ERA).  “They beat us up pretty good," Dempster said. "We'll have to be ready Opening Day to go out and play hard."

Hitting Coach Rudy Jaramillo was considered the top hitting coach when he was hired away by the Chicago Cubs from the Texas Rangers.   Rudy has said recently when asked if Alfonso Soriano will improve, falls on Soriano not Jaramillo.  Jaramillo is saying if Soriano wants to get better as a hitter he needs to put the time and effort in.  Jaramillo said when he works with Soriano in the batting cages he needs to put mechanics to the side and focus on swinging the bat.  The production in the 2010 season was down for Soriano but Jaramillo sees him making a comeback.   "When you're new it's going to take time -- the fact that you've got to win these kids' respect. That's what I was trying to do last year and get used to the approach we are trying to use mechanically and mentally," Jaramillo said. "This year now in spring training I can tell they've got a grasp. They can believe in it so I'm expecting some big things out of my hitters."

What’s everyone’s opinion on how the Cubs will do this year?    Also will Mike Quade be the one that brings us back to the when the Cubs made the playoffs back to back years?