Some folks around the Cublogoverse are pretty excited that Jose Contreras has not landed on the Chicago Cubs. I was fairly ambivalent about the prospect of landing Contreras, thinking that he would get a minor league deal and an invite to Spring Training. Apparently he actually got a big league deal. Jose Contreras has signed […]
Apologies to recently re-signed minor league veterans Mark Johnson and Scott “John” McClain. They were signed to minor-league deals earlier this week, and we were remiss in reporting it. Each got a Spring Training invitation, but to the minor league portion. The Cubs have signed a couple of familiar faces to minor-league deals and invited […]
Everyone’s got an opinion on former slugger Mark McGwire’s recent admission that he used steroids during his playing career. For a variety of reasons, the “admission” was deficient, and a few folks have called McGwire on it. But none better than former Chicago Cubs ace and Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins. “How many pitchers do […]
Despite reports earlier this week that the Chicago Cubs had decided to remain in Mesa, Arizona for Spring Training, pending a city vote on Monday, things may not actually be official. At least Florida doesn’t think so. “Where we are today is in the running,” Crist said from the pitcher’s mound during a press conference […]
Last year, Mike Fontenot was anointed the Chicago Cubs’ starting second baseman out of Spring Training following a 2008 season where he was dominant at the plate in a part-time role. He struggled. The Cubs responded to his struggles (and Aramis Ramirez’s injury and Aaron Miles’ totally unpredictable sucking) by acquiring second baseman Jeff Baker from the […]
Add another name to the list of possible fourth outfielder options for the Chicago Cubs: Jonny Gomes. After raking for the Cincinnati Reds last year, Gomes was non-tendered for fear that he’d bring in too much money for the small-market club in arbitration. Gomes, 29, was presumed to be looking for a starting gig, but […]
Free agent starter Ben Sheets threw for several teams including the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your perspective, the session was widely well-received. Sheets’ fastball hung around his normal range, and his breaking ball looked crisp. He’ll throw again next week for teams – if he’s not already signed. For now, Buster […]
The Chicago Cubs have chosen to stay in Mesa, Arizona for Spring Training, according to a report. The Mesa City Council will soon vote on a financial package necessary to support various improvements, which will keep the Cubs Springing in the city.
The Chicago Cubs are widely known to be looking for a reserve outfielder and a right-handed reliever. And that’s it. Right? The representative for free agent Adam Kennedy said he remains in talks with three teams about the infielder. Two clubs are interested in Kennedy as their everyday second baseman, Paul Cohen said. Another has […]
The Chicago Cubs, along with at least seven other teams, watched free agent pitcher Ben Sheets throw on Tuesday in Louisiana. Apparently, he looked pretty good. The Louisiana native threw all of his pitches, topping out at 90 mph with the fastball. Sheets threw 20 pitches in each simulated inning, before fading and stopping his […]
It’s almost an obsessive watch, but we’re not quite there yet. Among the candidates for the Chicago Cubs’ fourth outfielder job is former Tampa Bay Ray prospect Rocco Baldelli according to the St. Petersburg Times. Baldelli, 28, was a breakout star as a young man in Tampa (though he was somewhat overhyped because of his young […]
No, it should not be a surprise that the Chicago Cubs were not players for starting pitcher Joel Pineiro, despite repeated national reports that the Cubs were involved. Buster Olney even went so far as to once state the Cubs were the leader. We did our best to debunk these reports, but alas, we remained […]
The Chicago Cubs may be close to landing their veteran right-handed reliever. According to s a source of Jon Morosi’s the Cubs are in negotiations with free agent Kiko Calero. Calero, 35, was all kinds of awesome for the Florida Marlins last year – 1.95 ERA over 60 innings – but he largely did not […]
While the Chicago Cubs were able to sign just five of their eight arbitration-eligible players yesterday, the team is hopeful it can finalize contracts with the other three before going to arbitration – something the team has successfully avoided for more than fifteen years. The three remaining are shortstop Ryan Theriot, closer Carlos Marmol, and […]
Hooray! The Chicago Cubs are looking at a starting pitcher! Oh … it’s Mark Mulder? The Cubs, Dodgers and Cardinals are among the teams still monitoring the progress of left-hander Mark Mulder, one major league source said. Mulder hasn’t remained healthy over a full season since 2005. He is 6-10 with a 7.73 ERA in […]
Fortunately, in their search for a fourth outfielder, the Chicago Cubs appear to have many options. Of course, each option is flawed in some respect – otherwise they’d be in line for a starting gig. One option continues to be Xavier Nady. Scott Boras, the agent for Xavier Nady, said in an e-mail that the […]
Today was the last day for arbitration-eligible players and their teams to exchange their proposed salaries for the upcoming season. Unsurprisingly, it also makes for a very popular day for teams to sign the aforementioned arbitration-eligible players. So, too, it was with the Cubs, who today signed second basemen Mike Fontenot and Jeff Baker to […]
Ted Lilly’s offseason has been one of surprise and fear. For Cubs fans. When the Chicago Cubs announced that Lilly had undergone a minor shoulder surgery in November, it seemed to come out of nowhere. Some knee issues had been reported, but nothing more than a mention of knee stiffness here and there had been […]
As we noted earlier, the Chicago Cubs have two primary directives remaining in the offseason: get a fourth outfielder, and get a veteran reliever. To the latter directive, a new name has surfaced. According to Bruce Levine, the Cubs are taking a look at San Diego Padres reliever Luke Gregerson. Gregerson, 25, was very good in […]
In case it wasn’t clear already: the Chicago Cubs do not plan to make many more moves this offseason. Disappointing as it may be, there are no more stars in the cards (though the Cubs will be scouting Ben Sheets today, along with no fewer than nine other teams). But that doesn’t mean the Cubs […]
Depending on how you interpret the prior reports of the Chicago Cubs’ interest in Jermaine Dye to serve as their fourth outfielder/platoon-mate for Kosuke Fukudome, this may or may not be old news. To the extent the prior reports only intimated interest on the Cubs’ part, then things have progressed to the next stage: talks. […]
Without too many moving parts from last year to this, the batting order for the Chicago Cubs is not as prone to questioning as it has been in years past. In fact, the main question – why in the sweet hell is Alfonso Soriano still leading off – mercifully faded away, for good, last year. […]
Occasionally, you stumble across a rumor that knocks you on your backside. Sometimes, the rumor is nothing more than a single statement – one that you hadn’t seen anywhere else. And sometimes, the statement is in a publication not intimately tied in with the team you’re following. But you let yourself get excited anyway. The […]
General Manager Jim Hendry has presided over an unprecedented – in modern times – era of success for the Chicago Cubs. So you’d think that fans would be satisfied, and would be looking forward to many years of Hendry in charge. Not so. Hendry’s success has coincided with an unprecedented shift in Cubs’ spending habits, […]
Conditioning in baseball is a funny thing. For every athletic freak, there are plenty of David Wells and Cecil Fielders out there who don’t really need to do the whole “being in shape” thing in order to be successful. For the Chicago Cubs, conditioning issues popped up repeatedly in 2009: Alfonso Soriano’s legs turned on […]
Chicago Cubs general manager Jim Hendry continues his search for a right-handed veteran reliever, and one name that has popped up from time to time is Kiko Calero. It’s popping up again because the Cubs are interested if the money is right. Calero, 35, is a free agent after putting together a very good 2009 […]
