Post Holiday Quick Hits

• Brandon Webb, who was being targeted by the Cubs, signed a one-year contract with the Rangers.
• Click to enjoy a great article on Ron Santo by Barry Rozner.
• Carrie Muskat has an update on former Cubs pitcher Mark Prior.
• Bruce Miles broke down his Hall of Fame ballot, which includes Lee Smith and eight others.
• Bruce Levine says that the Cubs are still in the mix for Matt Garza.
• Rick Sutcliffe is very interested in joining Pat Hughes in the WGN Radio booth. Mark Grace is not expected to leave Arizona, but Keith Moreland, Dave Otto and Randy Hundley are also in the mix.
• Andrew Cashner will have a shot at the Cubs rotation next season.
• Last week I broke down the Cubs schedule for April and May.
• According the Vineline, a special Ron Santo tribute will take place at the Cubs Convention.

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

Former Cub Updates: 8-10-10

Many former Cubs have been on the move lately, so let's take a look at the ex-Cubs that have found new homes over the past few weeks.

• Ryan Theriot: traded from the Cubs to the Dodgers on July 31. Stats with new team: 8 games, .258 AVG, 2 RBIs
• Ted Lilly: traded from the Cubs to the Dodgers on July 31. Stats with new team: 2-0, 2.77 ERA, 13 IP.
• Jim Edmonds: came to the Reds in a waiver deal with the Brewers yesterday. He's not in the starting lineup for the Reds game against the Cardinals tonight. Jim has now played with four different NL Central teams.
• Will Ohman: traded on July 31 from the Orioles to the Marlins for Rick VandenHurk. Stats with new team: 0-1, 3 games, 3 IP, 3.00 ERA
• Kerry Wood: traded from the Indians to the Yankees for a PTBNL at the deadline. Stats with new team: 4 games, 4.1 IP, 2.08 ERA
• Kyle Farsworth: traded from the Royals to the Braves along with Rick Ankiel for Gregor Blanco and Jesse Chavez. Stats with new team: 4 games, 2.2 IP, 16.88 ERA
• Chad Tracy: Signed with the Marlins on August 5. Stats with new team: 1-for-4, 3 games
• Mark Prior: Signed with the Orange County Flyers of the Independent Golden Baseball League on August 3. Stats with new team: 1 IP, 0 R
• Randall Simon: Signed with the Gary Railcats of the Independent Northern League on July 29. Stats with new team: 11 games, .286 AVG, 5 RBIs
• Francis Beltran: Drafted by the Cubs and spent two seasons in the bullpen. He was part of the trade that netted the Cubs Nomar Garciaparra. Signed with the Kansas City T-bones of the Independent Northern League on August 4.

That's it for now, but I'll keep you posted on these ex-Cubbies.

End of the Week Quick Hits: Minor League All-Stars, Tracy Released, Dusty on the Cubs, and More

• According to a post from ESPNChicago.com, Chad Tracy cleared waivers and opted for his release instead of reporting to AAA-Iowa.
• Jeff Dickerson reports that Carlos Zambrano will need a minor league tune-up start before rejoining the Cubs pitching staff after the All-Star Break.
• On Sunday at Noon CT, the MLB All-Star Selection Show will be live on TBS. One player from each team has to be named to the Midsummer Classic, so there will be at least one Cub. Carlos Silva, Marlon Byrd, Carlos Marmol, and Alfonso Soriano are the four Cubs that have a shot.
• Phil Rogers of the Tribune tossed out the name Sean Marshall for the NL team, but it's tough for a middle relief guy to be an All-Star.
• Dusty Baker says that managing the Cubs is tough because the fans are restless after 100+ years without a World Series.
• Writer George Castle thinks the Lou needs to make three changes: move Castro to the two hole, move Colvin to the middle of the order, and move Cashner to the rotation.
• The Cubs and the City of Mesa are holding meetings in effort to reach a formal agreement to keep the team in the city for Spring Training, according to the Tribune.
• Ryan Theriot is out of the lineup again today, making it three straight days without a start. Mike Fontenot is batting second and playing second, with Koyie Hill behind the plate and Tyler Colvin leading off in left.
• Former Cub Sean Gallagher was DFA'd by the Padres yesterday.
• Mark Prior's agent says that one club wants to sign him after his workout this week. Tom Krasovic tweets that 15 scouts were there and Prior hit 90 mph.
• A GM poll conducted by ESPN.com says that most general managers think that Jim Hendry is the easiest guy to make a deal with.
• The Padres are looking to add some offense, so MLBTR speculates that Xavier Nady could be an option for San Diego.
• Dan McNeil thinks that Carlos Zambrano is a lost cause.
• The Cubs are 11 games under .500 for the first time under Lou Piniella.
• Iowa Cubs Darwin Barney (SS) and Thomas Diamond (RHP) have been named to the Triple-A All-Star Game, which is Wednesday July 14 at 6:00 on MLB Network.
• The Tennessee Smokies send nine guys to the Southern League All-Star game on July 12. Blake Lalli, Tony Campana, and Robinson Chirinos are all in the starting lineup. Steve Clevenger (catcher) and pitchers Austin Bibens-Dirkx, David Cales, Ryan Butcher, and Hung-Wen Chen are also on the squad. Outfielder Ty Wright was selected as well, but he has been replaced because of his promotion to AAA-Iowa.

That's it for now, but I'll keep you posted on Everything Cubs as always.

Cubs 2010 First Year Player Draft Preview

Coverage & Times
Tonight the 2010 Major League Baseball first year player draft will get underway at 7:00pm CT. The first round will take place tonight televised on the MLB Network. The draft will resume tomorrow at 11am and finish on Wednesday.

This year, the Cubs have the 16th overall pick, which is the highest they've picked in the first round since 2007. All week I will provide you with full reports and updates on the draft on www.twitter.com/cubsfarmupdates!

Recent Top Picks
Here is the list of the Cubs' first round selections from the last ten years and where they are now!

2000: Luis Montanez (SS, #3 overall pick)- finally broke into the big leagues with Baltimore in 2008. He never panned out in his seven seasons in the Cubs' organization. Left the Cubs as a minor league free agent after the 2006 season.

2001: Mark Prior (P, #2 overall pick)- I don't think I need to update you on him. Prior was a good pitcher before all the injuries. Mark hasn't pitched in a big league game since 2006 despite several tries to come back in the Padres organization.

2002: Bobby Brownlie (P, 21st overall pick)- Has a career ERA over four in seven pro seasons. Brownlie pitched in the Cubs' organization until 2007, when he signed a minor league contract with the Nationals. Last season he pitched in 14 games with the Braves' AAA team and 11 Independent League games for Newark.

2003: Ryan Harvey (CF, 6th overall)- Now Harvey's playing in the Rockies organization. He hit .246 for AA-Tulsa last year. The Cubs finally gave up on him after the 2008 season.

2004: The Cubs did not have a first round pick, so their first selection was Grant Johnson, a pitcher out of Notre Dame, who was the 66th overall pick.

2005: Mark Pawelek (LHP, 20th overall)- left the organization at the end of the 2008 season. Currently, he's pitching in the Reds' chain.

2006: Tyler Colvin (OF, 13th overall)- Colvin became the first Cubs' top draft choice since Mark Prior to play in the bigs with the Cubs when he made his debut last September. So far Tyler is having a great season as the Cubs' extra outfielder.

2007: Josh Vitters (3B, 3rd overall)- Vitters was recently promoted to Double-A Tennessee,where he is hitting just .219 in 23 games. Josh is still adjusting to the pitching after his call-up from the Florida State League.

2008- Andrew Cashner (RHP, 19th overall)- Just got called up from AAA to join the Chicago bullpen. He made his big league debut last Monday against the Pirates. So far Cashner has not allowed a run in 3 innings of work.

2009- Brett Jackson (OF, 31st overall)- Enjoying a great season at Class-A Daytona, where he's hitting .274 with a .394 OBP.

What Are They Looking For?
As you can see, the Cubs have started to do a lot better in the department of drafting and developing young players over the last four years. Tim Wilken is reportedly focused on drafting the best athletes that are available. The Cubs are expected to look for some pitching depth. They also will look at the high school crowd a lot this year.

Prediction Time
Most experts think the Cubs will use their first round draft choice on a pitcher. Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com predicts that the Cubs will take RHP Asher Wojciechowski from The Citadel. Wojciechowski, who most writers think will make a big league reliever, is also the guy that www.mymlbdraft.com expects the Cubs to take. Baseball America thinks the Cubs will pick Karsten Whiteson out of Chipley High School in Florida. Whiteson has a lively fastball to go along with his nasty slider and solid change-up.

Rounds 2-50 will have coverage only on MLB.com, starting Tuesday at 11 (Rounds 2-30) and continuing Wednesday (Rounds 31-50).

I'll will have full coverage of the draft all week right here on Everything Cubs Blog!

Quick Hits: Piniella, Zambrano, and More

• Carlos Zambrano will eventually return to the starting rotation. Lou Piniella is going to use Zambrano in long relief instead of setup duty to start getting his arm stretched out for the time being.
• Lou is not sure how long it will take to get Z back into the rotation.
• Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports thinks that the Cubs should fire Piniella and replace him with bench coach Allan Trammell. Rosenthal writes, "It could happen. I'm guessing it will happen."
• Jim Hendry responded to Rosental's article by saying that Lou is safe for the 2010 season. He does not think the manager is at fault for the team's slow start.
• Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe says that the Cubs would trade Derrek Lee if they could.
• Steve Stone said Monday on 670 The Score that the next Cubs' manager should be Joe Girardi.
• Mark Prior recently started throwing in hopes of making one last comeback, but Prior took a line drive off his pitching shoulder and is injured again.
• Another injured former Cub is Jim Edmonds, who was recently placed on the DL by the Brewers.
• Phil Rogers suggests that the Cubs take a chance on bringing Bob Howry back. Howry was released by Arizona.
• Rogers also reports that bullpen help could be on the way in the form of Jay Jackson.
• Ryne Sandberg succeeding Lou is not a sure thing according to Paul Sullivan.
• The chances are slim to none that a team would take Zambrano off the Cubs' hands.

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