It’s an off-day for the Cubs, who head out West to San Francisco for a series starting tomorrow. My kickball game last night went well enough (like the Cubs, we came back from being down early, scored three in the top of the final inning to take the lead, and then got out of a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the half to seal the win (our closer is Carlos Marmol)), and our team improved to 5-0 on the year. The bummer? My OBP finally slipped under 1.000, as I grounded “out” on a totally blown call at first base.
Tony Campana hasn’t started since May 21, and, to me, doesn’t sound too thrilled about it. “I guess it’s all right,” Campana said. “Everybody wants to play but we had to make a change. You can see that we had to do something and Joe brings a little more thump and he’s been having really good at-bats so he gets his chance. I’ll just come off the bench, do what I do off the bench and try to bring some excitement.”
Sveum added that Campana didn’t so much lose his job as others claimed playing time. “It’s just one of those things where [Campana] didn’t do anything to lose his job,” Sveum said. “He was kind of more of a victim of doing a good job but the offense not scoring runs so I thought put somebody in there that might juice the team with a home run or a three-run homer or two-run double, something like that. Unfortunately for Camp, like I told him, he’s just a victim.” Since May 21, Mather is hitting .250/.294/.344. Just sayin’.
Ryan Dempster was sufficiently pissed about his poor outing yesterday that he put a hole in the wall between his locker and Alfonso Soriano’s. Thankfully, he apparently used something wooden, rather than his hand.
Darwin Barney said that yesterday’s walk-off homer was the first of his career at any level. Barney, you’ll recall, added 15 pounds of muscle at Camp Bussy (formerly Camp Colvin) this offseason, and it seems to be working. His IsoP this year is a healthy .155 after being just .077 last year. His .274/.326/.429 line on the year is excellent for a quality defensive second baseman, and, at the moment, he’s looking like an above average starter at second base. I should caution that his numbers can fall rapidly, and this kind of offensive improvement at the big league level is quite rare, but I’m happy to enjoy the ride while it lasts.
It sounds like Anthony Rizzo is expected back in the Iowa lineup as early as today, after missing some time with a sore wrist. Speaking of Rizzo, Kevin Goldstein has an ESPN Insider piece on the slugger.
Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here.
Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.
CUBS LINEUP — The Cubs have won two games in a row - but just barely (and against the worst team in MLB). Let's see if they can deliver a more convincing victory in the first of four games against...
[Ankin_law] Whether you felt he should be sent back down to Triple-A Iowa or not, and whatever you think of his future role with the Chicago Cubs, I don't think you can feel anything but bad about what happened to...
Hand up. I didn't think Yan Gomes would be this big of a problem 2024. In fact, I was pretty excited about the guidance and leadership he was likely to provide — in addition to the actual in-game value —...
Paul Skenes is a SoCal native who watched Shohei Ohtani play for the Los Angeles Angels for the last half-decade. On Wednesday, he squared off with him for the first time. That and more in today's MLB Notes. Skenes vs....
Cubs vs Reds — The Cubs did not have a great time facing the Reds last weekend, squeezing out just one win over three games despite Javier Assad and Justin Steele both throwing in that series (as well as Ben...
There was no shortage of offense for Iowa in a doubleheader split with Toledo, and the Smokies topped the Barons thanks to a solid day for James Triantos. That and more in today's Cubs Farm Report. Cubs Farm Report |...
I knew it'd been a rough start to the year for new Giants lefty Blake Snell and new Diamondbacks lefty Jordan Montgomery, but it kind of came to a head in Montgomery's last outing. It was bad, bad, bad: https://twitter.com/BNightengale/status/1798454426551959906...
Nico Hoerner not only has a very good sense of the strike zone, he almost never beefs too much even when that strike zone gets expanded by a generous home plate umpire. Sure, he'll express some frustration about a bad...
I don't know how much special-ness you could ascribe to a two-game sweep of one of the worst teams in recent memory, but it certainly would've been a nightmare if the shoe had been on the other foot. So obviously...
Just like the night before, maybe the Chicago Cubs shouldn't have HAD to pull off a big comeback against the Chicago White Sox - quite literally one of the worst teams in baseball in the last 50 years - but...
The 2023-24 NBA Finals is already one for the record books. When the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics tip things off at TD Garden on Thursday night, history will be made on the sidelines. Doris Burke will be on the...
Here's how peaceful things are at Halas Hall: Caleb Williams, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, has yet to sign his rookie contract. And yet, there have been no whispers of a holdout and no buzz...
Summer break is underway for the Chicago Bears. Next up, training camp! The Bears just announced their training camp schedule, so clear your calendars. Chicago Bears 2024 Training Camp Practice Schedule These are the dates in which Chicago's football team...
[Ankin_law] Whether you felt he should be sent back down to Triple-A Iowa or not, and whatever you think of his future role with the Chicago Cubs, I don't think you can feel anything but bad about what happened to...
The 2024 season promises to be an entertaining one for the Chicago Bears and their fans. This team has games on Sunday Night Football, Monday Night Football, and Thursday Night Football on its schedule. It also has a trip to...
Draft season is officially upon us, and it’s a big one for Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley. Not only is their team stuck in the mud after back-to-back losing seasons, but this year will mark only their third first-round pick...
We're one step closer to a name for the new NHL franchise in Utah. The artist formerly known as the Arizona Coyotes announced the six finalists for the new name of the team, which it will assume for the 2025-26...
CUBS LINEUP — The Cubs have won two games in a row - but just barely (and against the worst team in MLB). Let's see if they can deliver a more convincing victory in the first of four games against...
Paul Skenes is a SoCal native who watched Shohei Ohtani play for the Los Angeles Angels for the last half-decade. On Wednesday, he squared off with him for the first time. That and more in today's MLB Notes. Skenes vs....
The San Diego Padres (32-33) and Fernando Tatis Jr. (four hits last time out) are favored (-121) on the moneyline for their matchup with the Arizona Diamondbacks (29-33) on Thursday at 9:40 PM ET on ARID.Randy Vasquez will get the...
NEWSLETTER
It’s an off-day for the Cubs, who head out West to San Francisco for a series starting tomorrow. My kickball game last night went well enough (like the Cubs, we came back from being down early, scored three in the top of the final inning to take the lead, and then got out of a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the half to seal the win (our closer is Carlos Marmol)), and our team improved to 5-0 on the year. The bummer? My OBP finally slipped under 1.000, as I grounded “out” on a totally blown call at first base.
