With today’s 5-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers, the Chicago Cubs finish ONE GAME over .500 (17-16-2), which brings me far more joy than it really should. If the Cactus league were like the National League, and five teams made the playoffs, the Cubs would have finished (as of today) just a game out of the second Wild Card. How about that?
Your final bits of the year…
Travis Wood, who’s ticketed for AAA Iowa, finally had a good Spring outing (not that it came against a particularly potent Brewers lineup, mind you – it was a split squad with no Braun, Weeks, Ramirez, or Hart), giving up six hits and a walk in six innings of work. He allowed one run (a solo homer to Alex, er, I mean Andy Gonzalez).
Rafael Dolis came into the game for a tuneup inning after Wood, and gave up his first Spring Training run. He hasn’t officially been named to the bullpen, but, despite the two walk, one hit, one error inning, I don’t expect a surprise tomorrow.
Shawn Camp pitched the 9th inning for the save today, allowing one hit and striking out one. I have a hunch that Dale Sveum would like Camp on the team.
The positional regulars mostly tuned up with short, good days – all of Darwin Barney, David DeJesus, Starlin Castro, Geovany Soto and Ian Stewart reached base. Castro hit a monster two-run homer. Alfonso Soriano went 0-2.
A number of youngsters – like, rookie/A-ball young – made appearances today, including Trey Martin, Oliver Zapata, and Jeimer Candelario, who made an appearance at third base. He went 0-2 with a K, but you’ll likely be hearing more of his name this year, and in the future.
All in all, it was a fine Cactus league slate for the Cubs, who rarely seemed to be “trying” to win (leaving starters in late, using situational relievers, etc.), but still won more than they lost. It doesn’t really mean much of anything, but most experts agree, having a winning record in Spring Training is better than going 0-fer. How much better is debatable, but it’s probably somewhere between “incrementally” and “marginally.”
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.
Baseball's top two pitchers in the ERA department squared off last night and did not disappoint—that and more in today's MLB Notes. Shōta Imanaga Was Awesome (Again), But So Was Reynaldo Lopez I've watched a lot of Reynaldo López, given...
The Chicago Cubs minor league affiliates were off on Monday, so it's time to take stock of some recent hot (and not-so-hot) performers inside the Cubs Top 25 prospects down on the farm in today's Cubs Farm Report. Cubs Farm...
I've gotten back into baseball cards, which, among other things, sends me down a lot of Memory Lanes. You pull a particular card, you think about that player, and you have various memories. It's part of the fun. The other...
I hope your Tuesday is treating you well. So far so good on my end ... Shota Imanaga dealt with more traffic last night than he has thus far in his debut MLB season, but hey, that's a ridiculous Braves...
The Tyson Miller trade is now official, with the Chicago Cubs sending minor league utility man Jake Slaughter to the Seattle Mariners for Miller, who figures to be mostly a match-up righty/middle reliever in the bullpen. More on the trade...
I have been to more Cubs and MLB games than I could realistically remember. And not ONCE — not even once — have I caught a ball. No homers, no foul balls, no outfielders chucking it to me. Nothing. And...
We don't yet know if there's an "injury" here, but it's a pretty scary possibility, so I'm leading with it. If you didn't catch the moment in last night's game, Christopher Morel fouled a ball off his toe in the...
The Chicago Cubs are acquiring righty reliever Tyson Miller from the Seattle Mariners for minor league utility man Jake Slaughter, per Jeff Passan. The Cubs did it! An early-May bullpen trade! It can be done! ... ok, there are some...
Well that ninth inning rally started off great, with Cody Bellinger and Christopher Morel reaching, the latter on 12-pitch walk (the longest PA of his career). And then POOF. In just two pitches, the Cubs made three outs and the...
Well you don't see that very often. Craig Counsell was just thrown out of the game from inside the Cubs dugout *by the FIRST BASE umpire* after a check-swing appeal. Here's what happened. In the bottom of the fourth inning,...
The PGA Championship tee times are out and ready for your consumption. The second major of the 2024 calendar will take place at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, from May 16-19. The 106th edition of the championship will be...
For the second time this season, Rudy Gobert has been handed down a hefty fine by the NBA. During the T'Wolves' Game 4 loss at home to the Nuggets, Gobert flashed the money sign with his hands directed at officials....
The NFL's schedule release is just over 24 hours away, but we're already getting some juicy teasers this week. Here's a roundup and some upcoming NFL-related productions coming to Amazon in today's NFL Notes. Chiefs Will Host the Ravens in...
I've gotten back into baseball cards, which, among other things, sends me down a lot of Memory Lanes. You pull a particular card, you think about that player, and you have various memories. It's part of the fun. The other...
Baseball's top two pitchers in the ERA department squared off last night and did not disappoint—that and more in today's MLB Notes. Shōta Imanaga Was Awesome (Again), But So Was Reynaldo Lopez I've watched a lot of Reynaldo López, given...
You're gonna need a bigger arena ... The Chicago Sky will be quite the draw for WNBA fans across the country. But don't just take my word for it. The Washington Mystics confirmed the excitement on Tuesday, announcing that the...
Bad news for the Boston Bruins this morning. Trailing 3-1 in their second-round series with the Florida Panthers, it was revealed that captain Brad Marchand will again not be available for tonight's win-or-go-home matchup in South Florida. https://twitter.com/FlutoShinzawa/status/1790401949998706932 Brad Marchand...
The Tyson Miller trade is now official, with the Chicago Cubs sending minor league utility man Jake Slaughter to the Seattle Mariners for Miller, who figures to be mostly a match-up righty/middle reliever in the bullpen. More on the trade...
The Chicago Cubs minor league affiliates were off on Monday, so it's time to take stock of some recent hot (and not-so-hot) performers inside the Cubs Top 25 prospects down on the farm in today's Cubs Farm Report. Cubs Farm...
Heading into the Oilers and Canucks second-round series, Vancouver was thought to be the team with the bigger concern in between the pipes. Vezina Trophy finalist Thatcher Demko was ruled out for at least the first four games of the...