Brett Jackson Probably Won’t Be Called Up in September and Other Bullets

Thirty games remain for the Chicago Cubs on the 2011 season. Not that I’m counting.

  • On last night’s poor defensive showing, Darwin Barney said this, among other things: “We’re going to get better and be more fundamentally sound. As our defense gets better, our pitching will get better. That’s the way things work. There’s a lot of room for improvement, and we’re going to work really hard to get better and clean that stuff up.” It’s August 27, dude. That ship sailed four months ago.
  • Randy Wells attributed his recent good outing to a “kick in the butt” from a teammate. Turns out, that teammate was Ryan Dempster. “We see each other pitch all the time,” Dempster said. “We have pitching coaches and managers and bullpen coaches, but I’ve seen [Wells] pitch since the time he was in ‘A’ ball. I just reiterated something he knew, but he’s the one who did it. The key now is to continue that.” I know the takeaway from this is supposed to be how great a teammate Dempster is, and how Wells might be moving in the right direction. But all I can think is how it is yet another example of the ineffectiveness of this coaching staff.
  • Bruce Miles is guessing that top prospect Brett Jackson is not called up in September when rosters expand. Before you freak out, just remember that – unlike with so many other Cubs’ decisions – there is a good reason for not calling Jackson up: to do so would require that he be added to the 40-man roster, where he would have to remain all Winter. That means there would be one less spot for the Cubs to protect players from the Rule 5 Draft (for which Jackson is not eligible, and thus not at risk).
  • Andrew Cashner went 1-2-3 in his second rehab outing at AA Tennessee last night. He struck one out, and apparently still feels good.
  • Gordon Wittenmyer says the Cubs need to go after starting pitching this Winter.
  • Sahadev Sharma argues that the Cubs might be best off waiting until after 2012 to try and add to their rotation. Not because the 2012 Cubs rotation is looking particularly bright, but because the options available this offseason are thin.
  • Another example of Jim Hendry being a nice guy. Some kid’s career trajectory was changed for the better because he accidentally called Hendry’s cell phone.
  • Former Cub Doug Glanville writes a glowing defense of Hendry’s time with the Cubs, but it actually reads more like a very familiar criticism of how the Cubs have handled their prospects over the years.
  • written by

    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.

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