Category: Cubs

Well, Cub fans are in the doldrums.  Mark Prior has a shoulder injury that will keep him from starting the season.  The Cubs management is full PR form saying this really isn’t as bad as it really looks. 

“I’m very pleased,” Cubs team trainer Mark O’Neal said of the initial report. “There’s bad news, extremely bad news, that could come out of it.”

Whaaa?  Maybe that first sentence didn’t come out the way he intended.

O’Neal continues:

“Right now, if this is a posterior shoulder strain, we’re going to deal with it like you would a hamstring strain. Unfortunately, it’s in the shoulder. So yes, for us, it’s pretty good news,” he said.

Good news, bad news, maybe that rumored Tejada/Prior trade that everyone was pooh-poohing earlier this year doesn’t sound so bad in retrospect.

 

Stop me if you’ve heard this one. 

Kerry Wood is scheduled to have surgery, this time on his knee.  The Cubs organization is charactistically optimistic on the outside, blowing happy smoke about how they’re glad it happened now instead of later etc. etc.

On other hand, the jaded rumor mill at MLB Trade Rumors foresees Wood out till June. 

Dare I say it, maybe the Cubs management should learn not to put too much stock in a ptcher who has never won 15 games in a season.  With each passing year and the injury that comes with it, his “potential” seems to be dwindling. 

Followup:  Ballpark Frank has an idea which isn’t new but I certainly agree with… put Wood in the pen.  It was tried out in the past with some mixed success. 

 

 

Carlos Zambrano is looking forward to a “fun” season.  As a Cub fan, I like hearing that.

Especially coming from Zambrano.  I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that he’s one of the Cubs’ most important assets.  Not only that, he’s only 24. 

Cubs’ pitching coach Larry Rothschild on Zambrano:

“I think he’s gotten better and better,” Rothschild said. “I think he’s much more aware of it and the impact it has and the fact that he is under the microscope at this level a lot more. He’s worked at it. There are still going to be days — I hope the energy is there the same way. I don’t want him to lose the energy, just channel it enough that the concentration stays on getting hitters out and winning games, and that’s the end of it.”

Carlos allowed a hit in three innings in the Cubs’ win against the A’s.

Sosa, after rejecting the Nationals $500,000 offer,  is apparently retiring.  Nothing is for sure, of course with players retiring and un-retiring these days but it seems like the writing is on the on the wall.

Cubs Manager Dusty Baker had some gracious words:

“I’ve seen some greats leave the game, and you never want to see them leave, and you’d rather see them leave on their terms and on top,” Cubs manager Dusty Baker said Thursday. “Sammy’s been one of the great players in the game for a long time and a guy who meant a lot to Chicago and a lot to the game. He and Mark McGwire did a lot after the ’94 strike to bring the game back…”

But he concluded his comments with:

“…I just hope he does get a job soon.”

That one made me giggle just a little.   

 

The Cubs signed Carlos Zambrano to a one-year deal for 6.5 mil.

The Cubs have now signed all their arb-eligible pitchers.

 

The Cubs and Jason Simontacchi agreed to a minor league contract.  From mlb.com (emphasis mine): 

Simontacchi, 32, made 83 appearances, including 40 starts, for the St. Louis Cardinals from 2002-04, compiling a 20-10 record with a 4.77 ERA. He underwent surgery to repair the labrum in his right shoulder following the 2004 season and missed all of 2005.

I’m beginning to see a dangerous trend here.

Followup:  For some opinions of some Cub fans, check out a thread on Bleed Cubbie Blue discussing the Simontacchi pickup.  Like the pickup itself, the jury is out on how Cubs fans feel on the topic though I think it’s safe to say that no one is really excited about the signing.

 

Jay Jaffe of Futilty Infielder posted a “quote” from Cubs’ GM Jim Hendry regarding Wade Miller that had me chuckling:

“He can hold down the fort in between the time that Kerry Wood blows out his elbow and the point where Carlos Zambrano’s arm finally falls off,” said Jim Hendry, the Cubs’ general manager, noting that manager Dusty Baker’s usage patterns have all but guaranteed the latter. “After that, we’ll cannibalize Miller for his organs. Dusty’s been wanting a new pair of kidneys for awhile, and I know somewhere there’s an ump in need of some eyes.”

 

Now, that’s funny.

There seem to be two camps on the Wade Miller deal. 

1) What are the Cubs doing signing yet another injury-prone pitcher especially one that won’t be ready on opening day?  This is just another case of the same-ol’ same-ol’.

2) Miller’s asking price ($1 million + incentives) is a drop in the bucket so if he gives the Cubs any production, it will be worth the price.  And if he comes through everything healthy, it will be a steal.

As an eternally hopeful Cub fan, I opt for #2…

…but don’t count on it.

 

Not sure what her source is or even how they tabulate such stats but Carrie Muskrat, MLB beat reporter claims that the Cubs had the highest attendance at visitor’s parks among NL teams averaging 36,465 attendees on the road.

The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox led all teams in the MLB.