Well, today figures to continue yesterday’s buzz about a possible Matt Garza trade. While there’s a chance something happens today, keep perspective – this isn’t like when Bruce Levine reported that a Sean Marshall deal could be completed within the next day or two with the Reds, listing a specific name the Cubs would be getting back. When a reporter gets that specific, you can be reasonably certain the foundation of a deal has been agreed to, and, at most, the periphery is being sorted out. As far as I know on Garza, the meat is still being worked out – including the trading partner and the players involved. We’ll have the latest on Garza in just a bit. Until then, Bullets…
Carlos Zambrano made his second start in Venezuela after returning from a facial injury, and was not quite as effective this time around. He gave up just one run over his 4.1 innings, but he also gave up six hits and three walks. When you only give up one run after allowing nine base runners in a little over four innings, we call that “lucky,” rather than “good.” He struck out just two. I still believe the Cubs are trying to move Zambrano, and will continue to do so through Spring Training. To that end, it sure would be helpful if he would start pitching lights out.
Everyone seems to be doing a “Top Five X Stories” article these days (if I were insane, I’d go through this year’s 162 Enhanced Box Scores and pick out the five best), and Bruce Levine is no exception. He’s got the “Top Five Cubs Stories” from 2011, which includes the Theo hire, the Santo HOF induction, the Hendry/Quade firing, the Castro emergence, and the Zambrano exit. Strange; none of these top five stories things ever seems to mention one of the biggest stories of the Cubs’ 2011 season. Namely: the team was terrible at baseball. Seems like a big story about the 2011 Cubs season, no?
There was a small electrical fire, quickly extinguished, at the Cubs’ offices at Wrigley Field yesterday, which led to a parade of terrible jokes. Cubs, on fire, burning contracts, burning down Wrigley, hot stove, and so on. We get it. Fortunately no one was hurt and there was no serious damage.
Fun facts about new Cubs pitcher Andy Sonnanstine.
BCB wraps up its three part interview with Tom Ricketts, and Ricketts concludes with this thought for Cubs fans: “I think most fans understand that to really get the organization heading in the right direction, it doesn’t happen overnight. That said, you get a few good off season moves and you have guys who stay healthy next year and anything can happen. We’re excited about next season, but we’re really excited about our future as we go forward. Some of the lower profile but very smart decisions that we make will start to pay off over time and fans should know that their baseball team is in good hands.” In other words, we’re hoping to get lucky in 2012 because our focus is almost exclusively on the future. That’s fine with me.
This is not so much a sales pitch as a head’s up: should you be inclined to purchase BN apparel, the store is currently offering a free shipping deal, now through January 2, if you buy $30 or more of stuff. Just use the coupon code: FREEDELIVERY.
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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For the second straight night, the Cubs are jumping all over the Astros in the first inning. After a couple hits from Nico Hoerner and Ian Happ to get things going, Michael Busch hit a sac fly, Christopher Morel walked,...
What a road it's been - continues to be - for Cubs outfield prospect Brennen Davis. The former top prospect was on a rocket ship to Triple-A in 2021, and then mostly lost the last two years to various injuries....
So much for all those words of optimism and negative X-rays. After colliding with the outfield wall last night, Cody Bellinger fractured his rib (Update: It's actually TWO fractured right ribs) and will hit the injured list today. Chicago Cubs...
CUBS LINEUP — The Chicago Cubs took Game 1 against the Houston Astros in convincing fashion last night. So tonight, they'll go for the quick series win against Spencer Arrighetti at Wrigley Field (it'd be a good idea to win...
Ed. Note: Since this article was published, a CT scan revealed a rib fracture for Cody Bellinger, who is now on the Injured List. You can find all the details of that news in our most recent article right here....
With Cody Bellinger headed to the Injured List with a rib fracture, the Cubs are in need of another outfielder: center field prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong is coming back up to the big leagues for the second time. https://twitter.com/670TheScore/status/1783217891195625709 Crow-Armstrong, 22,...
Hey, we're just having some early-season fun. So allow me to present the 'Mike Tauchman Is Clearly Better Than' list. As of this moment, Mike Tauchman has ... ... a higher wRC+ (151) than Pete Alonso, Fernando Tatis Jr., and...
Name a player hotter than Kevin Alcántara right now. Go ahead, I'll wait. (He's already raking again today. Literally as I type this.) More on Alcántara's big day and the Smokies home run parade last night in today's Cubs Farm...
Just three starts into his San Francisco Giants career, Blake Snell is heading to the injured list with a left-adductor strain. Oof. You hate to even say it — and who really knows if this was related — but early...
The Los Angeles Dodgers (15-11) and Will Smith (four hits last time out) are favored (-199) on the moneyline for their matchup with the Washington Nationals (10-13) on Thursday at 4:05 PM ET on MLB Network.Los Angeles' Yoshinobu Yamamoto and...
The Cubs did all their scoring in the first, and made it stand up for the win with generally good pitching and generally good defense. Jameson Taillon looked solid again in his second start, locating well, giving up no barrels,...
The Seattle Mariners (12-12) visit the Texas Rangers (13-12) at 2:35 PM ET Thursday for a sluggers' duel between two of the best home-run hitters in baseball. Caleb Raleigh has racked up six homers this season (No. 9 in the...
The San Diego Padres (14-13) are favorites (-150) on the moneyline when they take on the Colorado Rockies (6-19) Thursday at 3:10 PM ET, live on SDPA.Randy Vasquez will get the ball for San Diego while Colorado will counter with...
After winning three games in a row, the Los Angeles Dodgers (15-11) play on the road against the Washington Nationals (10-13) at 4:05 PM ET on Thursday.The probable starters are Yoshinobu Yamamoto (1-1) for the Dodgers and MacKenzie Gore (2-1)...
The Kansas City Royals (15-10) are favored on the moneyline (-121) in Thursday's contest versus the Toronto Blue Jays (13-12). Game time is at 2:10 PM ET on SNET. The Blue Jays, with +168 odds, are favored against the spread...
The Houston Astros (7-18) visit the Chicago Cubs (15-9) at 2:20 PM ET Thursday for a sluggers' duel between two of the best home-run hitters in baseball. Jose Altuve has racked up six homers this season (No. 9 in the...
The Boston Red Sox versus the Cleveland Guardians is a game to see on a Thursday MLB schedule that features 10 competitive contests.There are typically plenty of MLB player prop bets available for each and every matchup. Scroll down to...
The Colorado Rockies (6-19) face off against the San Diego Padres (14-13) at home on Thursday beginning at 3:10 PM ET.The probable starters are Randy Vasquez (0-1) for the Padres and Dakota Hudson (0-4) for the Rockies.Padres vs. Rockies Pitcher...
The Milwaukee Brewers (15-8) are set to take on the Pittsburgh Pirates (13-12) Thursday at 12:35 PM ET, airing on BSWI. The Brewers are listed as -128 favorites by sportsbooks, while the underdog Pirates have +107 odds for the contest.Freddy...
NEWSLETTER
Well, today figures to continue yesterday’s buzz about a possible Matt Garza trade. While there’s a chance something happens today, keep perspective – this isn’t like when Bruce Levine reported that a Sean Marshall deal could be completed within the next day or two with the Reds, listing a specific name the Cubs would be getting back. When a reporter gets that specific, you can be reasonably certain the foundation of a deal has been agreed to, and, at most, the periphery is being sorted out. As far as I know on Garza, the meat is still being worked out – including the trading partner and the players involved. We’ll have the latest on Garza in just a bit. Until then, Bullets…
