Saturday, September 25, 2010

The Manager Search Roundup

Brenly Out of Mangerial Race
Cubs TV color man Bob Brenly has dropped out of the Cubs' managerial chase. He told Jim Hendry that he does not feel that the job is right for him at this time. The reports of Brenly's decision hit the media before today's game against the Cardinals. Bob plans to return to the booth next season.

Wakamatsu Interviewed
According to Bruce Levine, Don Wakamatsu has been added to the interview list for the open Cubs managerial position. He was fired by the Mariners on Aug. 9 in his second year in Seattle. He is MLB's first Japanese-American skipper.

Ryno Interviewed
Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg was interviewed for the position this week in Arizona. Hendry said he had a good day and a half with Ryno. The process is continued the way Jim said it would.
Ozzie on the North Side?
The Chicago Tribune has reported that if the White Sox cut ties with manager Ozzie Guillen this winter, he would list to the Cubs. Most feel that Ozzie is just talking in order to make headlines. He is in no way considered a candidate to became the Cubs manager in 2011 at this time. Guillen is still under contract with the Sox through the end of next season.
The Cubs Under Q
The Chicago Cubs are now 19-11 under Mike Quade entering the final seven games of the season. If the team has a strong final week, Mike's record will be well over .500. He has done everything he can to earn the full time gig and many feel that his stock has gone up. Jim Hendry told Bruce Levine on Saturday that Quade has created a good atmosphere, but he will not be judged based on his win-loss record.
The Cubs are not going to hurry the decision... but they would like to have a skipper in place by the organizational meetings in November.
It should be an interesting next month and a half! I'll keep you posted!

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Weekend Quick Hits: No Position Change for Colvin, Six Men in the Rotation, The Smokies Must Win ,& More

The Chicago Cubs are red hot for the first time this year! They've one five in a row and have looked sharp ever since Mike Quade took over the team. They swept the Cardinals this week and won the first game in Florida last night behind a great outing from Ryan Dempster.

By the final week of the regular season, more frequent posting is expected to resume!

For now, let's catch up:
  • Tom Gorzelanny will return to the rotation on Friday as the Cubs host the Cardinals.
  • Moving Tyler Colvin to first base has been put on hold for now according to Cubs.com.
  • Mike Quade mentioned yesterday that the younger players will see action in the final game of the series on Sunday. Sam Fuld, Brad Snyder, Jeff Samardzija, and Welington Castillo are all expected to be in the starting lineup tomorrow.
  • Today is the 51st birthday of Ryne Sandberg!
  • The Cubs Double-A affiliate in Tennessee will play Jacksonville tonight in game four of the Southern League Championship series. It is a must-win game for the Smokies, who trail the best-of-five series two games to one.
  • Brandon Guyer was named the Cubs Minor League Player of the Year and Chris Archer the Minor League Pitcher of the Year.
  • The Cubs are going with the six-man rotation for now.
  • The schedule for 2011 was released this week. Click here to check it out. The Cubs open up at home against the Pirates.

We plan to have several posts during the week this coming week, including a Former Cub Update. A soon as the regular season ends, the best time of the year for blogging starts. Come to Everything Cubs everyday this winter as we help you though your offseason with features, news, and plenty of rumors.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Catching Up Quick Hits: Call-ups, Injuries, Benchings, & More

  • The Cubs activated Carlos Silva from the disabled list and he returned to the rotation on Tuesday. Silva was decent in his first game back but the Cubs fell to the Astros.
  • Tuesday was a special day for Hall of Fame slugger Billy Williams. A statue was unveiled outside of Wrigley in his honor. He became the second Cubs player to be honored with a statue.
  • The Cubs are 9-6 under Mike Quade so far.
  • The Triple-A Iowa Cubs lost back-to-back games on Sunday and Monday to Memphis to miss the playoffs. They finished with the same record as the Redbirds but Memphis took the tie-breaker (record within division).
  • Reports earlier this week said that Iowa manager Ryne Sandberg would receive an interview from Jim Hendry for the open big league job within the next ten days, but Carrie Muskat reports that team officials denied these reports.
  • Tyler Colvin was presented with the "Heart and Hustle" award for the Cubs this week. The final MLB winner will be announced on November 5.
  • Starlin Castro was bench for a couple of days to think about some of the mental errors he has made at shortstop. Castro returned to the lineup on Wednesday, his swing as sharp as ever.
  • The Cubs made a slew of September call-ups as soon as the Triple-A team's season ended. Veteran infielder Bobby Scales, Notre Dame grad Jeff Samardzija, right handed pitcher Justin Berg, slugging outfielder Brad Snyder, and spark-plug Sam Fuld have all been added to the 25-man roster.
  • John Grabow and Esmalin Caridad were moved to the 60-day DL to make room for Snyder and Scales on the 40-man roster.
  • Tom Gorzelanny, out with a thumb injury, threw on the side but is not ready to return to the rotation.
  • Aramis Ramirez is still listed as day-to-day with a sore right quad.

That's it for now, but I'll keep you posted!

Monday, September 6, 2010

We're Not Gone for Good!

I want to apologize to everyone for our recent lack of posting. Things have been crazy the past couple weeks, and it looks like it will stay that way for a while. Everyday posting will resume at some point before the end of the season.

Within the next week posts should start popping up again.

Until then, please hand in there and Go Cubs Go!