Not only has Jake Fox been called up from Iowa and Neil Cotts been
sent down to AAA, but the Cubs did a whole lot more.
Jake Fox, who is hitting .423 with 17 home runs and 50
runs batted in for Triple-A Iowa over 40 games, was called up. Joining
the infielder from Iowa is shortstop Andres Blanco and left-handed
reliever Jason Waddell. Blanco is hitting .314 with 4 home runs and 25
RBI. Waddell has made 18 appearances for Iowa and has a 5.40
earned-run average.To make room for Fox, Blanco and Waddell, the Cubs put Aaron Miles on
the 15-day disabled list and sent down fan-favorite Bobby Scales and
lefty reliever Neal Cotts, who has struggled to get out left-handed
batters this season.
Hardball.
Frankly, I don’t expect Waddell to be a huge improvement over Cotts,
but anything will do at this point. Blanco will back up several
infield spots, and Fox will probably come off the bench a great deal.
Don’t be surprised to see him start a game or two at third base (or
first base while Derrek Lee is out with the flu), just to see how it
goes.
Love to see Fox get the call, but taking away Miles and Scales in
one-fell swoop to be replaced by Fox and Blanco will diminish the
Cubs’ versatility in the middle infield.
