March 2009
You are browsing the archive for March 2009.
The Second Cut is the Deepest
The Chicago Cubs made their second round of red tag roster cuts yesterday. The Cubs also sent five players back to the minor league camp: Pitchers Brian Schlitter, J. R. Mathes and Matt Smith, catcher Steve Clevenger and outfielder Richie Robnett. Their roster stands at 53 before the expected Koskie signing. Hardball. None was expected [...]
Spring Training Battlewatch: March 13, 2009
The Cubs played two games yesterday – won one, lost one. It was battletastic. Sean Marshall dominated again, and everyone is annointing him the fifth starter. He probably is, but I stick to my thesis: if it’s even close between he and Aaron Heilman – and right now, it is close, because Heilman has been [...]
Cubs Sign Esteban German, Who is Not German
The Sun Times is twittering that the Chicago Cubs have signed Esteban German – who was recently waived by the Royals (always a good sign) – to compete for a back-up infielder role. As we recently said, the Cubs are going to look for a back-up infielder throughout Spring Training. Maybe German is the guy, [...]
Zambrano Will Start Opening Day, but How About the Rest of the Rotation?
Although there had been a small chance Lou Piniella would give the ball to last year’s ace, Ryan Dempster, to start on Opening Day, he’s going to go with Carlos Zambrano for the fifth straight year. As we know, Zambrano has had mixed success on Opening Day, but I tend to think this is a [...]
Cubs Still Looking for Another Infielder and What It Means for the Bench
One of the few unsettled questions this Spring is who is going to end up on that 25th spot on the Chicago Cubs bench. The prevailing wisdom has the Cubs carrying a five-man bench, with one spot going to the back up catcher, one going to Aaron Miles (or Mike Fontenot, depending), one going to [...]
Rumors Floating that Carlos Zambrano Will Join Venezuela in WBC
Oh the drama that surrounds whether or not various Chicago Cubs players – mostly those named “Carlos” – will play in the World Baseball Classic. With Venezuela moving on in the tournament, recent internetty rumors had Carlos Zambrano leaving Cubs camp to join Venezuela for the later rounds. Sun Times writer Chris DeLuca is putting [...]
Spring Training Battlewatch: March 12, 2009
The Chicago Cubs are turning Japanese again – they took on the Japanese team yesterday. The Cubs lost by a run, but it was probably fun or something. Mike Fontenot continues to do nothing but hit. Another couple hits, and it’s starting to become clear that, at a minimum, getting the majority of the second [...]
The 25th Man Likely to be Koskie or German
By Brett on March 14, 2009
Lou Piniella all but confirmed yesterday what we’ve openly speculated: the 25th man is probably going to be an infielder, and it’s probably going to be Corey Koskie or recently signed Esteban German. “We’ve been looking for another infielder, so we’ll see how [Koskie and German] do and we’ll give them every opportunity,” manager Lou [...]
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