Breaking News Roundup: News from the Organizational Meetings

Lots of Cubs news coming out of Mesa the past few days. Let's get caught up!

Sandberg Leaves Organization
Ryne Sandberg will not return as the manager of the Triple-A Iowa Cubs. He was offered his position back but decided to move on after losing out on the managerial position. Bob Nightengale tweets that Ryno was offered the bench coach position but turned that down as well. Hendry said that the decision was entirely up to Sandberg but he did not want to return to the minor league level.

Mesa Vote Approved
The city of Mesa has approved funding for a new Chicago Cubs spring training complex. The city will pay up to $99 million for the complex, which will be located two miles southwest of HoHoKam Park.

Aramis Ramirez Exercises Option
As expected, Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez has exercised his 2011 player option. The Cubs knew during the season that Ramirez intended to take the option and the news was officially announced earlier this week. He will make $14.6 million next season.

Dave Keller Rounds Out Coaching Staff
Mike Quade's full coaching staff was officially announced on Tuesday. Dave Keller will be the special assistant to the staff, a role previously held by Matt Sinatro. He has been in the organization as the minor league hitting coordinator since 2004 so he has a knowledge of the players coming throughout the system. One of his jobs will be to assist Rudy Jaramillo. Larry Rothschild, Rudy Jaramillo, Lester Strode, and Ivan DeJesus all return to the staff while Bobby Dernier enters his first full year on the big league staff and Pat Listach joins the club as the bench coach. Interesting to note that the Cubs do not have any former catchers on their staff to work with Geovany Soto and Koyie Hill.

Guzman Outrighted, Signs Minor League Contract
The Cubs outrighted Angel Guzman, removed him from the 40-man roster, and then signed him all in one day. According to Bruce Levine, has inked a minor league deal with the club that includes an invite to Spring Training. Guzman missed all of 2010 with an injury that took place during Spring Training. The 40-man roster is now at 37.

Minor League Coaching Staffs
Full minor league coaching staffs most likely will not be announced for another month, but some of the Cubs' farm clubs' staffs are starting to take shape. Bill Dancy, who led the Tennessee Smokies to the Southern League title game this season, will most likely be promoted to Triple-A to take over for Ryne Sandberg. Tom Beyers is set to replace Keller as the hitting coordinator. Beyers was the Tennessee hitting coach this past season.

Giants Win the World Series
A late congratulations to the San Francisco Giants for becoming the champions of the baseball world on Monday night. The Giants included former Cubs Mark DeRosa, Mike Fontenot, and Andres Torres. Shawn Dunston is a special assistant for the Giants, so he will get a ring as well. Fontenot appeared in eight postseason games, one in the World Series.

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

Fontenot Traded, Barney Called Up

As many of you read or heard yesterday, Cubs infielder Mike Fontenot has been traded to the San Francisco Giants. The deal is odd in the sense that Mike just had to walk across the field into the Giants dugout to wear his new uniform for the third game of the series between the two clubs.

Fontenot did not make his Giants debut last night, and he is not in the starting nine for today's game either. However, he could come off the bench this afternoon as a pinch hitter.

In return, the Cubs got a minor leaguer by the name of Evan Crawford. Here is some information about him:

• B/T: Right
• Position: Outfield
• Age: 21
• Level: Class-A Advanced
• 2010 Stats: .255 AVG, 4 HR, 29 RBIs, 109 games
• Drafted: By the Giants in the 9th round of the 2009 draft
• Height/Weight: 6'2''/167

The Cubs have called infielder Darwin Barney up from Triple-A Iowa to take Fontenot's place on the roster. Barney has joined the team today and could come off the bench even though he is not in the starting lineup. Darwin is set to make his big league debut either today or in St. Louis.

More on Fontenot's time with the Cubs later.

Trade Deadline Countdown: Will the Cubs make a move?

The Major League Baseball trade deadline is coming up at 3:00pm CT. There are no shortage of rumors, but will any moves be made by Cubs GM Jim Hendry?

If will update this post throughout the day with more info as it comes out.

Updated at 11:30am CT- Scroll down for the latest.

Here is the latest from the mill:

• The Yankees are not going after Ted Lilly according to Buster Olney.
• Ken Rosethal writes that a deal with the Dodgers was fairly close last night. The Dodgers, Twins, Tigers, and Yankees all have interest in the Cubs southpaw.
• Rosenthal also reports that the Cubs have gotten "minor sniffs" on Xavier Nady and Mike Fontenot.
• Ryan Theriot is still a possibility for the Dodgers or Yankees. A Theriot for Kelly Johnson swap has been discussed.
• Carlos Zambrano said yesterday that he wants to stay a Cub, but he would accept a trade if the organization asked him to do so.
• Jon Heyman of SI tweets that the Mets offered the Cubs Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo for Zambrano, but the Cubbies said no.
• Bruce Levine reports that the Cubs could send Ryan Theriot and James Russell to Arizona for Kelly Johnson.
• The Dodgers are in the mix on Lilly, but Rosenthal tweets that the two sides are still apart on money and players.
• George Ofman of WGN Radio also says that a Lilly deal to LA is still alive but it's all about how much the Cubs will pay the Dodgers.

Updated at 11:30 CT- The latest on Lilly:

• Tim Brown of Yahoo tweets that the Dodgers are growing more optimistic that they can acquire Lilly.
• Ken Rosenthal says that the Cubs and Dodgers are still working the phones hard.
• Rosenthal adds that the trade is not done, but Theriot could be involved as well.

I will keep you posted, updating often with more rumors or whenever news breaks!

Series Preview: Cubs VS Reds

June is history! The Cubs will welcome in July today after going 10-16 last month. They've had their chances against last place teams, but they've lost to the likes of Pittsburgh and Seattle. Perhaps a good opponent is just was the doctor ordered.

Can the Cubs step up their game against the first place Cincinnati Reds, who come into play today 0.5 game ahead of the Cardinals in the NL Central? The Reds are fighting for first, and they will do their best to take advantage of a meager Cubs offense. The Cubbies are ten games under at 33-43, which means they need a win today to avoid setting a new low water mark for the year. In fact, the Cubs have not been 11 under .500 in four years under Lou Piniella.

Speaking of managers, whenever these two teams meet it's a reunion of sorts. Sweet Lou spent three years in Cincinnati, including the World Series champion 1990 ballclub. Current Reds skipper Dusty Baker is returning to Wrigley Field, where he managed from 2003-2006. Piniella is in the final year of his contract and is in a situation similar to the one Dusty was in in '06. Chris Speier (bench coach, former Cubs third base coach) and Juan Lopez (former Cub and current Red bullpen coach) are still a part of Baker's staff.

The Cubs have fallen to forth place, 9.5 back of the Reds and 1 game behind the now third place Brewers. The Crew open a series with the Cardinals today. Cincinnati is in town for four straight day games that wraps up the seven game homestand at Wrigley.

The Cubs are coming off losing two of three to the Pirates to fall to 3-9 against the Bucs this year. In the three games, they scored a total of just four runs. The series finale, a 2-0 loss despite five shutout innings from ex-Pirate Tom Gorzelanny, was particularly frustrating. Andrew Cashner continued his recent struggles as he has gotten the loss in each of his last three appearances. The Cubs bats were silent, Aramis Ramirez made a costly error on defense, and Sean Marshall walked in a run.

The Reds just concluded a six game stretch at the Great American Ballpark where they went 4-2. The beat a good Phillies team 4-3 on Wednesday to take the series and finish the month 13-13. When the first place club had an average month and the Cubs had an "easy" schedule, you know Lou's crew missed a chance to make up some ground. From now on, they will have to do it against the good teams.

The Cubbies hope to finally put an end to their struggles in series openers today. They have dropped ten straight game ones and haven't started off a set with a win since May 25 against the Dodgers. Alfonso Soriano is a guy that needs to heat up. When he gets hot, he can carry the team on his back. Sori has showed some signs of getting hot with two solo-homers in Tuesday's win and a deep fly ball to the warning track that would have left the yard on most days on Wednesday.

John Grabow was placed on the DL with a knee injury during the last series. The Cubs now have four rookies in the bullpen in Andrew Cashner, Jeff Stevens, James Russell, and Brian Schlitter, but youth is not necessarily a bad thing. Grabow will wait for the swelling in his knee to lessen a may miss as long as a month.

Yesterday, Mike Fontenot got the start at second base and Ryan Theriot received the day off. According to FOX Sports, the Red Sox had talks about acquiring Little Mike before they settled on Eric Patterson. Could the Cubs be showcasing Fontenot for a possible trade? Will he see a few starts in this series?

On a quick note... the Major League Baseball All-Star voting ends tonight at 10:59 CT. Be sure to log on to MLB.com or Cubs.com and give the Cubs players your votes! You can cast your votes 25 times per email address.

After only winning one series in the month of June, the Cubs will look to get that first series of July out of the way right off the bat this weekend.

Game 1: Thursday at 1:20 CT
Cubs Starting Pitcher: Carlos Silva, RHP (8-2, 3.01 ERA)
Reds Starting Pitcher: Travis Wood, LHP (MLB Debut)
TV/Radio: CSN/WGN Radio 720

Games 2: Friday at 1:20 CT
Cubs Starting Pitcher: Ryan Dempster, RHP (6-6, 3.58 ERA)
Red Starting Pitcher: Bronson Arroyo, RHP (7-4, 4.49 ERA)
TV/Radio: WGN-TV/WGN Radio 720

Game 3: Saturday at 12:05 CT
Cubs Starting Pitcher: Randy Wells, RHP (3-6, 4.96 ERA)
Reds Starting Pitcher: Johnny Cueto, RHP (8-2, 3.74 ERA)
TV/Radio: CSN/WGN Radio 720

Game 4: Sunday at 1:20 CT
Cubs Starting Pitcher: Ted Lilly (3-6, 3.12 ERA)
Reds Starting Pitcher: TBA
TV/Radio: WGN-TV/WGN Radio 720

The Cubs will look to avoid giving guys their first big league debut on back-to-back days. Travis Wood was called up from AAA after Sam LeCure was sent down. Wood, a former second round pick, was 5-6 with a 3.12 ERA at Louisville before the callup.

The Chicago Cubs will finish up the first half on the West Coast against the D'backs and Dodgers. After this weekend, they will not return to Wrigley until July 15 after the All-Star break. Dusty's club will continue their road swing in New York, and then finish up the first half in Philly. They will return to the Windy City August 6-8 and the Cubs go to Great American the final weekend of August.

Are the Cubs Selling?

With about a month and a half until the July 31 MLB Trade Deadline, the question that all teams are asking themselves is Do we have a chance to win this year or are we better off building for the future? For some teams, the answer to this question comes easily, if you're in first place or less than 5 games out of first, you're buying. If you are in 4th/5th place or more than ten games out of first, get out the For Sale sign. However, for the clubs like the Cubs that are stuck in the middle, it will be interesting to see what they decide to do.

The Cubs have a record of 28-35 but they are in third place and just 7.5 back of first in the NL Central. The Wild Card will not help the Cubs this year, as they are in 9th place and eight games back.

So, the North Siders have three options-

A) Try to add some pieces that will help turn this thing around.
B) Dump some salary, add some prospects, and build for a brighter future.
C) Don't make any major moves and just finish out the season with the team we have.

Mostly likely, Hendry will wait and see what transpires on the field over the next two weeks. Then he will have a full month before the deadline to make some moves. Hopefully, no matter what happens, Jim will choose "C" because that will not help the Cubs this year or in the future.

Here are some names that could be on the market:

• Xavier Nady: Today is June 15, the first day free agents signed last offseason are allowed to be traded. Nady could be one of the first guys to go since the Cubs have too many outfielders in need of playing time. The Angels were connected to Xavier a few weeks ago.
• Ted Lilly: The Bulldog is a free agent at the end of the year, and in my opinion he should be re-signed. However, if the Cubs do not think Teddy fits into the team's plans beyond this season, it makes sense to try to get something in return. The Cubs do not want to let another pitcher leave for nothing when they could have had some value in a trade a few months prior like they did with Harden a year ago.
• Bobby Howry/John Grabow: These guys are taking up spots in the pen that could be used to get some young arms adjusted to the big leagues. If the Cubs continue to lose, I'd expect one or both to be released or traded.
• Soriano, Lee, Ramirez: The Cubs would love to trade all three of these guys, but the fact of the matter is that they all have big contracts and no-trade clauses. There is no doubt that Sori is untradeable, but there are some teams interested in D-Lee.
• Ryan Theriot: With Starlin Castro taking over at short stop, it makes sense for the Cubs to try to move Theriot. He is one of only a handful of guys on this team that the Cubs can get a good package of prospects in return for.
• Mike Fontenot: If they don't trade Theriot, either 'lil Mike or Jeff Baker has to go when Ramirez comes off the DL. There are a few teams that could be interested in Fontenot as a utility infielder.
• Tom Gorzelanny: Gorzo has shown improvement this season, and needs to be in the starting rotation somewhere. He could be a solid back of the rotation start. Most likely, either Tom will take Wells' spot in the rotation or be traded. He does has value on the market.
• Kosuke: The Cubs probably cannot get much in return, but it might be worth getting some younger outfielders more playing time. However, first they have to persuade Kosuke to waive his no-trade clause.
• Carlos Silva: A lot of teams need starting pitching, and flopping this guy again could make sense if the Cubs are waiving the white flag. However, I think they'd be best hanging onto him since there is still another year left on his contract.
• Randy Wells: Randy has lost much of his trade value with his poor performance on the hill this year. Trading Wells now would be like panicing and selling your stocks when their value is at the lowest instead of waiting until the stock market improves!

Will Jim Hendry overhaul this team, or will he stick with the same crew for the rest of the year???

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

Catching Up Quick Hits: Cashner Called Up, A Possible Trade, & More

First of all, sorry for the lack of posting this week! It's been a crazy week, so I was forced to take some time off from the blog. I assure you that daily posting will resume!

Let's catch up on all the news and notes in the Cubs word this week:

• David Kaplan and other sources have reported that the Cubs may be involved in trade talks that could send Derrek Lee to the Angels.
• Gordon Wittenmyer tweets that L.A. is instead targeting Xavier Nady.
• Carrie Muskat chimed in today and said that there is no truth to these rumors. Muskat says that the Cubs still feel they're in the race in the NL Central.
• Carlos Zambrano has moved back into the rotation. He was scheduled to start on Wednesday, but the Cubs game in Pittsburgh was rained out.
• Z will start tomorrow instead of Carlos Silva. The rest of the rotation for the weekend in Houston is still TBA.
• The makeup game against the Pirates will be tacked onto this road trip. The game will start at 11:35 next Monday.
• The Cubs called up top pitching prospect Andrew Cashner. John Grabow was placed on the 15-day DL to make room for the 2008 top drafted choice on the roster.
• Speaking of the first year player draft, it starts next Monday! The Cubs could be focussed on adding an arm to the organization with their 16th overall pick.
• The city of Mesa has announced a new financing plan to try to keep Cubs' Spring Training there.
• Ron Santo returned to Chicago yesterday and is feeling better after spending Monday and Tuesday in a Pittsburgh hospital. The heat in the booth got to Ronny on Monday. Dave Otto will sit in on the radio broadcasts in Houston this weekend.
• Xavier Nady is starting to swing the bat much better. He went 4-4 with a 2-run homer in Tuesday's loss.
• Piniella will toss Cashner into low-pressure spots to start out.
• Mike Fontenot was inserted in the lineup at second for a few games in place of the slump Theriot. It looks like The Riot is set to return to the starting nine.
• Former Cubs pitcher Milt Pappas thinks instant replay would be perfect for Major League Baseball.

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

Sunday Morning Quick Hits: Grabow's Injury, Gorzo's Help, and More

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there! Let's hope the Cubs can go get a win for you against the Reds at 12:10!

Now, let's take a look at all of the latest Cubs news and notes:

• Esmalin Caridad has been activated from the DL. To make room for him on the roster, Jeff Gray was sent to AAA-Iowa.
• John Grabow went back to Chicago yesterday to have an MRI on his left knee. No damage was revealed. Piniella thinks the knee injury has contributed to John's recent struggles. Grabow will get a few more days of rest.
• Starlin Castro is the first player in history to drive in six runs in his MLB debut. Castro also became the sixth player in franchise history to hit a home run in his first career at bat.
• According to Cubs.com, Carlos Silva's neck was feeling better on Saturday afternoon. He complained of soreness prior to his start on Friday.
• Lou Piniella thinks that Jim Hendry made a good move by calling Castro up on the road. It is easier adjust to the big leagues when there's not 41,000 fans at Wrigley.
• Mike Fontenot hit his first career Grand Slam on Friday night. He will still be used as the Cubs' backup short stop, because Lou doesn't want to mess with moving Theriot back and forth between second and short.
• Mike was frustrated when he heard the news that he had been benched.
• There were reports that Aramis Ramiez will not listen to hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo, but Rudy told Paul Sullivan that the slugger has not resisted help in any way.
• David Kaplan and Fred Mitchell report that Tom Gorzelanny is having more success this year becuase he has become very close to Greg Maddux. The two talk regularly and text daily. After each start, they break down Gorzo's performance.

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

Radio Recaps: Stone & Holly on 670 the Score

Steve Stone on Boers & Bernstein to talk Castro

• In the short term, Castro is a very promising young player.
• Stone saw him in the Arizona Fall League and noticed his hand-eye coordination.
• He puts a lot of "pitchers' pitches" in play.
• The one thing that baffles Steve about this is that Ryan Theriot and Castro did not work together as a double play combo in Spring Training.
• Ryan had not played second base in some time.
• The Cubs have 11 stolen bases as a team, while Juan Pierre has 15 by himself. The Cubs have a slow team. When you go to big ballparks or the wind blows in at Wrigley, you cannot win without speed.
• Barry does not think this timing makes any sense. Steve says that the Cubs didn't want to bring him up this early, but there are some things that are difficult to explain with this team.
• The Cubs continue to stock their lineup with right handed hitters.
• A five man rotation in a Major League Baseball outfield does not work.
• Sitting Colvin on the bench is not doing him a lot of good.
• With Gorzelanny throwing the ball very well, Carlos Zambrano may not have a chance to move back into the starting five.
• Randy Wells admits that he was goofing around with Geovany Soto in the bullpen before the game. Steve's question is, "Where was Larry Rothschild?"
• Losing three games to the Pirates just doesn't look good.
• Lou Piniella has only one thing in mind for the Cubs, winning games.
• Mike Fontenot and Jeff Baker do not have much value on the trade market.
• Ryan Theriot is a guy you want to keep.
• If you could move Aramis Ramirez, Stoney believes you should do so.
• The Cubs are very limited as to who they can trade and when you can trade them. They will have to eat a lot of money to dump so big players.
• A guy who can only play second is not very valuable if he is not starting (Fontenot).
• Carlos Zambrano's bat is not a factor in the decision to move him to the bullpen.

Todd Hollandsworth on the Danny Mac Show to give his take on Castro

• Todd thinks that Aramis Ramirez's problems are mental. Rami's body language is just awful right now.
• Ramirez looks defeated and unsure of himself. He is "out and around" everything at the plate, meaning that he's trying to crush the ball.
• The best action for Lou Piniella might be to sit Ramirez down for awhile.
• Todd is seeing a guy who's trying to get it all back with one swing. A couple days off to clean his head and refresh his mind might be the right thing for Ramirez.
• Mike Fontenot has been "solid enough" this season. The starting pitching has been pretty good, Soto is off to a good start, Soriano has gotten his act together, Theriot is hitting well, but they are still losing.
• Hollandsworth is looking for a "spark plug" or "lighting in a bottle". Starlin Castro could be that guy who shakes things up.
• They have a veteran team, but something is missing.
• Moving Zambrano to the 8th inning was a "wow factor".
• Todd doesn't want to put the word "critical" on any game. As a player, you have to look at everyday as an opportunity to beat the opponent.
• The Cubs are certainly not out of it, but they need a spark.
• They do not have much flexibility with their roster because they do not have a lot of guys who can be sent down to AAA.

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

Starlin Castro Called up to the Big Leagues

Starlin Castro is now a Chicago Cub. The story was first reported via twitter this morning, and now it is official. Castro is the Cubs' top prospect in the organization. The 20-year hold short stop was hitting .376 with 20 RBIs at AA-Tennessee this year. He will make the jump from double-A to the big leagues without making a pit stop in Iowa.

Ryan Theriot will shift to second base so that Castro can take over everyday duties at short. Both middle infielders were working on the field in Cincinnati today at 2:00 with coaches Alan Trammell and Ivan DeJesus.

To make room for Castro on the roster, the Cubs sent Chad Tracy to AAA-Iowa. Chad had been struggling in his pinch hitting and backup role. Jeff Baker and Mike Fontenot are effected by this move as well, because both will see less playing time.

Starlin will become the youngest Cubs short stop ever and the youngest player to make his Cubs debut since Oscar Game (19 years, 250 days) in 1969. Castro is in the starting lineup for tonight's game. Here's the rest of the starting 9:

1. Ryan Theriot, 2B
2. Kosuke, RF
3. Derrek Lee, 1B
4. Marlon Byrd, CF
5. Aramis Ramirez, 3B
6. Alfonso Soriano, LF
7. Geovany Soto, C
8. Starlin Castro, SS
9. Carlos Silva, P

The Castro callup lead to a string of roster moves in the Cubs' organization:

• Andrew Cashner promoted to AAA-Iowa.
• Josh Vitters promoted to AA-Tennessee.
• Marwin Gonzalez promoted to AA-Tennessee.
• Mike Parisi optioned to AA-Tennessee.
• Ryan Flaherty optioned to Class-A Daytona.

Our new short stop will sport jersey number 13. The last Cub to wear that "unlucky" number was Andres Blanco last season. Before that, it was last seen on Nefi Perez's back in 2006.

If nothing else, this gives Cubs' fans a reason to tune in! I'll keep you posted.

Tuesday Quick Hits & Radio Recaps

• Today Aramis Ramirez returned the lineup as the DH in a game against the Royals. Ryan Dempster's outing was solid, but Carlos Marmol came in an allowed a 2 run homer. The Cubs bullpen couldn't hold on to several leads, and the game ended in a 5-5 tie.
• Ted Lilly will start in a minor league game on Saturday. If there are no setbacks, Lilly could be into the Cubs' rotation by mid-April. He is expected to start the year rehabbing with a farm club.
• Xavier Nady will not start the season on the DL. He should be playing some outfield in the next 10 days.
• The Chicago Tribune reports that Jeff Samardzija will likely start the season in the bullpen. It appears that Carlos Silva and Tom Gorzelanny will get spots in the rotation. Lou will announce his final rotation decision on Friday after he gets one more look at Marshall and Gorzelanny.
• Lou Piniella met with his staff on Sunday night to discuss the roster. He likes the way things are shaping up.
• Right now the Cubs have 40 guys in camp, but that number will be cut down to the 30 by the end of the week.
• Greg Maddux has been contributing to the team in a variety of ways this spring.

This past weekend Len Kasper joined the Danny Mac show to talk Cubs:

• The Cubs offense needs to pick it up in 2010. They have hit the ball very well this spring.
• The hitters seem to be responding to adjustments made by Rudy Jaramillo.
• The area of concern has switched to the pitching staff with the injuries to Guzman and Lilly.
• Len likes to wait to get enthusiastic about a young kid until he is in a big league uniform, but Starlin Castro stands out and looks like a major league ready player.
• Kasper thinks that Marshall and Samardzija can help the club best as relievers, and you'd like to be able to get as much value out of Carlos Silva as you can.
• The most likely scenario is Silva and Gorzelanny in the rotation.
• He is not sure how much of an effect a hitting coach can have on veteran players, but some hitters mesh with certain hitting coaches and clash with others.
• Len would like to think that Jaramillo will have positive effect on this team. Rudy spending 15 years on one coaching staff shows you how good he is. Larry Rothschild is in his 9th year on the Cubs' staff.
• Lou Piniella thinks the game 24 hours a day. Nothing gets past him even though he sometimes acts as if he doesn't see things.

Mike Fontenot joined Waddle and Silvy this morning:

• Fontenot had fun watching the Saints win the Super Bowl this offseason.
• The guys are having a good time, but they are looking forward to the start of the season. Other than some rain, it's been a good spring.
• Last year did not turn out the way Mike wanted it for him at the plate, but he is going to try to learn from it and not put any extra pressure on himself.
• In 2009 he didn't adjust very well to pitchers and things like that. "It just kind of snowballed," he said.
• Rudy is always very aware of what is going on. He's made a few adjustments to Mike's swing.
• The Cubs have some great guys in the clubhouse this year. Everyone is having a lot of fun in camp.
• Derrek Lee, Alfonso Soriano, and Tyler Colvin are guys who have looked especially good to Fontenot this spring.
• Starlin Castro is going to be a good player.

Bruce Levine was also on Waddle & Silvy on ESPN 1000 today:

• If Alfonso Soriano plays 135 games, you should pencil him in for 30 home runs and 90 RBIs.
• Soriano is going to have less pressure on him and more people on base to drive in hitting sixth.
• Levine thinks that they'll be men on base on front of Sori and that will work to his advantage.
• We'll find out the rotation situation on Friday. There is still a question as to whether Samardzija will go to bullpen or AAA-Iowa if he does not make the starting five.
• The battle between Micah Hoffpauir, Chad Tracy, and Kevin Millar will likely go all the way to the end of camp.
• Jim Hendry said that the Cubs will not let Tyler Colvin rot on the bench. Colvin will likely start the year getting every day playing time at the minor league level.
• The Cubs are counting Mike Fontenot and Kosuke Fukudome to hit well from the left side.

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

Sunday Evening Quick Hits: Castro Cut, The Roster, and More

• Yesterday the Cubs made two more cuts from big league Spring Training. Top Prospect Starlin Castro and outfielder Brad Snyder were sent to minor league camp. I'm a little surprised that Castro didn't stay with the team a little longer, but in the end it's probably the right decision to send him down for a little more seasoning.
• The Cubs now have 40 guys left in camp, which means there's 15 more cuts to make. The first few will be to move some guys to the DL and to send down guys like Chris Robinson and Robinson Chirinos, but then there will be about eight or nine hard decisions on guys.
• Mike Fontenot got the start at short stop today in the spring game against the Reds. Kevin Millar was given a chance to play left field. Both these guys will be much more valuable if they can play multiple positions.
• Andres Blanco played short in minor league camp today.
• Most of the Cubs' regulars stayed back at HoHoKam Park to work with Rudy Jaramillo instead of going to today's away spring game. Fontenot was the only regular in the lineup.
• There is still no timetable set on Aramis Ramirez.
• Carlos Silva left after two innings today with a tight quad, but he appears to be OK.

Now let's take a look at where the Cubs' 25-man roster stands!

Pitchers:

1. Carlos Zambrano

2. Ryan Dempster

3. Randy Wells

4. Tom Gorzelanny

5. Jeff Samardzija

6. Carlos Silva

7. Sean Marshall

8. Carlos Marmol

9. John Grabow

10. Justin Berg

11. Esmalin Caridad

12. Open (Mike Parisi, Marcos Mateo, John Gaub, and James Russell in the mix)

Position Players (Numbering cont.)

13. Derrek Lee

14. Mike Fontenot

15. Ryan Theriot

16. Aramis Ramirez

17. Geovany Soto

18. Marlon Byrd

19. Alfonso Soriano

20. Kosuke Fukudome

21. Xavier Nady

22. Koyie Hill (Robinson Chirinos and Chris Robinson are still in camp, but Hill has the backup catcher's job won)

23. Jeff Baker

24. Open (Tyler Colvin, Jim Adduci, and Sam Fuld still in camp for last outfield spot)

25. Open (Bobby Scales, Darwin Barney, Andres Blanco, Micah Hoffpauir, Kevin Millar, and Chad Tracy still in camp for last infielders spot)

Thoughts?

Position Battle Updates

Happy St. Patrick's Day Cubs fans! Today is the one Cub off day of Spring Training, so we'll use it to get you caught up on this spring's position battles!

Starting Rotation
The top three men in the starting five have been penciled in. Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, and Randy Wells have all already earned the right to start games this season. However, with Ted Lilly set to start the year on the DL and Rich Harden leaving via free agency, there are two spots open to start the year. This leaves Carlos Silva, Tom Gorzelanny, Jeff Samardzija, and Sean Marshall battling for rotation spots.

Carlos Silva: 2-1, 6.00 ERA, 9 IP
*Jeff Samardzija: 0-1, 9.00 ERA, 4 IP
Tom Gorzelanny: 5.40 ERA, 5 IP
Sean Marshall: 2.57 ERA, 7 IP

*Samardzija worked 3 innings during an intersquad minor league game at Fitch Park today. He did not allow a hit to the AA guys but alarmingly walked 3.

There's no doubt that Marshall's pitched the best of the four, but he is held back by his value to the bullpen. At this point, I would say the best bet is to use Marshall in the rotation. If Silva continues to pitch like he has in the last few starts, he very well could take the starts that Lilly misses.

Starting Second Baseman
Lou has hinted that Mike Fontenot has an edge over Jeff Baker at this point. Fontenot was terrific coming off the bench for the Cubs in 2008, which very well could have lead to the team dealing Mark DeRosa. Last year, when Mike was given a chance to take over the every day job, his production declined. Hopefully he can bounce back. Baker, who came over midseason last year from the Rockies, is also going to be a key even if he is only used as a backup infielder. Let's take a look at their stats:

Mike Fontenot: .409 AVG, .440 OBP, 22 ABs
Jeff Baker: .158 AVG, .238 OBP, 19 ABs

Sorting Out the Bullpen
Who knows who will be in the Cub bullpen come Opening Day. Esmalin Caridad, a young talented right handed pitcher, has been tossed into a setup role. Veteran lefty John Grabow will be the other setup guy, with Carlos Marmol handling the ninth inning duties. After that, there are four openings. Let's assume that the first two vacant spots will go to those that lose out on the rotation battle. After that, there's 2 more long relief roles up for grabs. Here are the spring stats of some young pitchers that are in camp vying for jobs.

Mike Parisi: 1-1, 4.05 ERA, 6.2 IP
Casey Coleman: 5.68 ERA, 6.1 IP
James Russell: 0.00 ERA, 5.2 IP
Andrew Cashner: 1-0, 1.80 ERA, 5 IP
J.R. Mathes: 10.80 ERA, 5 IP
John Gaub: 1-0, 3.86 ERA, 4.2 IP
Thomas Diamond: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 4.1 IP
Justin Berg: 1-0, 2.25 ERA, 4 IP
Jeff Stevens: 0-0, 9.00 ERA, 4 IP
Blake Parker: 0-1, 10.60 ERA, 2.2 IP

Diamond is a very underrated guy who could see the diamond at Wrigley as at some point this season. I would say Diamond, Berg, Russell, and Gaub are the favorites for winning spots.

The Fifth Outfielder
Piniella always does a lot of hinting regarding the roster during Spring Training, especially during his pregame WGN Radio interviews with Ron Santo. Lou and Ron sometimes seem to forget that they are on the air because Lou sees Ronny as a friend and not as the media. Based on what we've heard, the Cubs will be keeping five outfielders: Byrd, Kosuke, Soriano, and Nady for sure plus a younger guy who can be used as a defensive sub. Here are the 4 guys competing for that open spot on the bench:

Tyler Colvin: .533 AVG, 6 RBIs, 30 ABs
Brad Snyder: .417 AVG, .533 OBP, 12 ABs
Sam Fuld: .150 AVG, .227 OBP, 20 ABs
Jim Aducci: .348 AVG, .400 OBP, 23 ABs

Jim is a good looking prospect, but he's a long shot to make the team this year. Without question Colvin has the edge, but I wouldn't be totally surprised if the Cubs went with Fuld based on past performance at the big league level. Either way I hope whoever wins this spot gets some playing time and a chance to be a young spark plug.

The Pinch Hitting Utility Man
The Cubs need some leadership off the bench. A guy who has pop, can come up to the plate late in the game and do damage, and who will also provide some leadership. Kevin Millar could fit the bill. Let's check out the stats of Millar and his competitors for the final spot on the bench:

Chad Tracy: 18 ABs, .222 AVG, .300 OBP
Kevin Millar: 15 ABs, .333 AVG, .545 OBP
Micah Hoffpauir: 25 ABs, .120 AVG, .185 OBP

However, when you've had full careers to see these guys play in the case of Tracy and Millar, it does not make sense to base the decision on just a few Cactus League at bats. I still believe Kevin will take this spot because the Cubs like his leadership and his bat. He also brings a better glove than Hoffpauir. Andres Blanco and Brian LaHair are also still in the mix.

My Debut at CCO
I'd like to encourage everyone to check out my first minor league Cubs post over at Chicago Cubs Online. I will be covering the farm system with posts on this site every Monday and Thursday throughout the season! Thanks to Neil for giving me this opportunity! As always, I'll still be posting here on Everything Cubs daily!

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

4 Games in 2 Days for the Cubbies

It's a busy weekend for the Chicago Cubs with a total of 5 games, one each day that is on TV. Yesterday the Cubs took on the Brewers in Maryvale while the other half of the team played in Las Vegas against the White Sox. Today, the Cubs have two more game, which we'll preview later in the post.

Brewers 12, Cubs 3
Yesterday it was almost like a day-night double-header since the first game, which started at 2:00 CT, was available for listening on MLB.com and the second game, starting at 9, was on TV. It was a great day of baseball to see a lot of guys in the organization. In game 1, Jeff Samardzija took the hill against Milwaukee in Maryvale. He struggled through 2 innings, giving up 2 longs balls and a total of 4 ER on 5 hits and a walk. One of the homers the Shark allowed was to former Cub Jim Edmonds, who's with the Brewers on a NRI.

Marcos Mateo's wildness cost the Cubs in the 5th when he gave up 5 ER, 5 BB, and 2 H. Mateo, who's the brother of former Cub Juan Mateo, still has an outside chance of making the team as a reliever, but he'll have to bear down the rest of the way. Rafael Dolis got his first appearance of the spring and surrendered 2 ER in 1.1 IP.

Most of the Cubs also had bad days at the plate. Starlin Castro went 0-3, Alfonso Soriano 0-1, Bobby Scales 0-2, and Koyie Hill 1-2. The most concerning story of the day was that Derrek Lee was scratched from Lou Piniella's lineup just before the start of the game. Lee has a bruise on his foot after fouling a ball off it Thursday. He could be back in the lineup today. Brian LaHair, who took Lee's place, went 0-4.

There were some positives in the Cubs' blowout loss at the hands of their division rivals. Tyler Colvin went 2-3, which actually lowered his beastly average to .556. Colvin had a triple against Doug Davis. Aramis Ramirez ripped an RBI double. James Aducci also had a 2-bagger, one of two hits for the young outfielder on the day. John Grabow allowed 2 hits in his inning and an error lead to an unearned run. Grabow didn't look bad and was able to get out of it with minimal damage. James Russell, who's hoping to catch the eye of Lou and his staff, still has an ERA of 0.00 after working around 2 hits and a walk today in 1.2 innings.

Because of the Split Squads, there were a number of guys from the minor league camp that got the chance to dress for the major league games. Jeremy Papelbon faced 2 men, one singled but the other was retired. Second baseman Logan Watkins singled in his only AB. Blake Lalli, Junior Lake, Nelson Perez, Smaily Borgues (who?), and Brandon Guyer all also got into the game. All of them recorded outs in their only ABs.

Cubs 6, White Sox 5
Last night the rest of the Cubs team took the field against the White Sox in Las Vegas at Cashman Field, which is the home of the Pacific Coast League's LV 51s. Tom Gorzelanny, another guy competing for a spot in the rotation, took the mound. Despite one bad inning, Gorzo out-pitched Samardzija by far yesterday. He pitched 3 innings and did not allow a hit, but 3 second inning walks and a wild pitch accounted for a White Sox run against him. Allan Trammell (acting manager) and Lester Strode (acting pitching coach) couldn't have been happy watching 3 straight walks and a wild one, but overall Tom pitched well. Ryan Theriot reached base 3 times out of the leadoff spot with a single and pair of walks. Kosuke was 0-2 but walked twice. Kevin Millar, who was the cleanup hitter, also went 0-2 with 2 walks. He was gunned downed trying to score on a tag play to end the first inning. The Cubs did score 2 runs in the frame before it was ended on the play at the plate.

Geovany Soto and Mike Fontenot also had big games. Fontenot went 3-4 with 2 RBIs, while Geo was 2-3 with a walk. Thomas Diamond allowed only 1 baserunner in his two scoreless innings of work to keep his ERA at 0.00. Sam Fuld has not hit well in Spring Training yet. He dropped a couple of almost-nice plays in foul territory to go along with his 0-5 day at the plate. Fuld's average dipped to .143. Jeff Baker got his first hit of the Cactus League, going 1-4 with an RBI. Xavier Nady (0-3) struck out twice.

After Diamond, the ball was turned over to some minor league hurlers. The Cubs had a 4-0 lead after 5, but that evaporate quickly when Jay Jackson gave up 3 ER in 0.2 IP. Mitch Atkins would come in to get out of that inning, but not before he allowed a base hit that brought in 2 of the runs that were charged to Jackson. The Cubs' bats went back to work in the top of the 7th, scoring 3 more runs. Hung-Wen Chen put a zero on the board in inning number 7. Brian Schlitter, a righty whom the Cubs acquired in the Scott Eyre deal several years back, allowed a run in the 8th to make it 6-5. Blake Parker walked 2 in the 9th to make it interesting, but he was able to get out of it to notch the save.

The only extra base hit for the Cubs was a triple by Josh Vitters, part of the 7th inning rally, that plated 2. DJ LeMahieu, the second round pick from '09, singled in his only trip to the plate.

Today's Games
Today, the Cubs have another split squad. In Las Vegas, they will look for the 2 game sweep of the White Sox at 3:05 CT. Ryan Dempster will pitch against Lucas Harrell. Sean Marshall will make his first start of the spring when the Cubs face the Reds, who are the newest members of the Cactus League, in Mesa. Marshall has pitched better than any of the other 3 rotation options at this point, so we'll see if he can keep it up. Today's game in Mesa is at 2:05 CT, but after the time change here tonight all the rest of the Spring Training games will start at 3:05 central. The game in Vegas will be on CSN with White Sox announcers, while the game against the Reds is available on MLB.com's Gameday Audio package.

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

The Cubs Pull One Out

It wasn't pretty, but the Cubs got the job done today holding on for an 8-7 win against the San Diego Padres.

Most of the Cubs regulars stayed back in Mesa to work with hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo instead of making the trip to Peoria. While the every day guys were getting their work in, we got the chance to see some guys who are fighting for roster spots compete.

Carlos Silva got his second Cactus League start. Coming off an awful first outing, Silva was able to bounce back with 3 scoreless innings. He really needed this strong outing today to stay in the race for the rotation. He did allow 4 hits and a walk, but managed to work around them.

The Cubs jumped right on Jon Garland early, sending him to the showers after just 1.2 innings. They chased him by scoring 2 in the first and twice more in the second. In the middle innings, the Cubs continued to add on and they felt comfortable with an 8-0 lead at the 7th inning stretch.

Then the defense fell apart. The Cubs made 4 errors on the day, and the sloppiness caused them to surrender 7 unearned runs in the final 3 innings. Jeff Stevens allowed 3 of those runs in just 0.2 innings. Stevens has a shot at making the roster, but so far has not pitched well this spring. Esmalin Caridad got rocked in the 9th for 3 runs on 4 hits. Caridad is going to be the Cubs primary right handed set-up man this season unless Hendry is able to add a piece to the bullpen.

Carlos Marmol's stuff looked sharp today as he worked a perfect 4th. David Patton and Vince Perkins both finally got into game action making their spring debuts. Patton, who made the club because of his microscopic ERA last spring, has continued his Cactus League success, while Perkins allowed 1 run. Lefty J.R. Mathes put a zero on the board in the 6th.

Chad Tracy, Josh Vitters, Bobby Scales, and Mike Fontenot all commited fielding errors today, leading to the 7 unearned runs. Fontenot did have a walk, a hit, and an RBI at the plate to help makeup for his miscue. Starlin Castro continued to live up to the hype today by going 2-3 with a solo homer, 3 runs scored, 2 RBIs, and a base on balls. Castro is hitting .571 so far in Cactus League action.

Brian LaHair and Tyler Colvin both started the game in the outfield. They had two hits a piece. Sam Fuld did not have a good day going 1-4 with 3 Ks. Catcher Robinson Chirinos hit a two run homer in the 6th inning. Josh Vitters reached base both times he came to the plate with a single and walk.

Micah Hoffpaur is another guy who has not helped his cause. He is fighting for one of the final bench spots, and is hitting just .083. He was 0-2 today.

Earlier this week, Lou used the following lineup and hinted that it very well could be the one we see on Opening Day:

Theriot, SS
Kosuke, RF
Lee, 1B
Ramirez, 3B
Byrd, CF
Soriano, LF
Fontenot, 2B
Soto, C

Piniella did mention that Jeff Baker could still earn a starting job, but Jeff is hitting .000 in Cactus League play.

Time For Vegas
Lou Piniella and part of the team will stay behind to play two games in Arizona, but Alan Trammell will lead half of the squad to Las Vegas to play the White Sox twice this weekend. Tomorrow the Arizona split squad Cubs take on the Brewers at 2:05 CT. That game is not on Chicago TV or radio, but you can hear it if you have MLB.com's gameday audio package. The Vegas part of the team will take center stage in the nightcap, which starts at 9:00 CT on CSN Chicago. Jeff Samardzija will pitch against the Brewers tomorrow afternoon while Tom Gorzelanny faces the White Sox tomorrow night. The Cubs also have a split team on Saturday. Ryan Dempster will start in Vegas and Sean Marshall will get the nod against the Reds in Arizona. The Cubs will need 5 starting pitchers in the month of April, so the outings for Gorzo, Marshall, and Shark this weekend are very important as they battle for rotation spots.

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

Saturday Pregame Notes

The Cubs received some very bad news today. Angel Guzman has a significant tear in a ligament in his right shoulder. Whether or not he will have surgery has yet to be determined. This injury could be career threatening. The Cubs bullpen already lacks depth, and now it would seem like Jim Hendy needs to add several solid arms to the mix before Opening Day if he wants the Cubs to have a chance. Relief pitching is always an important aspect of a ballclub. Now if Marmol were to struggle or go down, there is really no plan "B". John Grabow and Esmalin Caridad are expected to serve as primary set-up men, but beyond that it will be up to all young guys to try to win jobs, unless Hendy can make a move.

Today's game against te White Sox will be broadcast on WGN TV and Radio. Carlos Silva will be on the hill for his first outing in a Cub uniform. Here is there rest of the Cubs' lineup:

Theriot, SS
Kosuke, RF
Lee, 1B
Ramirez, 3B
Byrd, RF
Soriano, LF
Hoffpauir, DH
Soto, C
Scales, 2B

Alfonso Soriano will be making his spring debut. Xavier Nady was expected to be the DH today, but he has been pushed back a day to tomorrow's game against the Dodgers. Daniel Hudson will be the Sox starting pitcher.

Although it's only Spring Training, when it's a game against the White Sox bragging rights are always on the line. Marmol, Grabow, and Cashner are among the other pitchers that will get into today's game.

Mike Fontenot took ground balls today and could play in tomorrow's game.

"I don't care who wins, as long as it's the Cubs."

Make it 2-0: Cubs 8, Arizona 7

Game Recap
Besides Carlos Zambrano, who was the starting pitcher, the Cubs that took the field at HoHoKam Park today were essentially the "B" team. Big Z retired all six batters he faced in his two innings of work.

Starlin Castro was batting leadoff and starting at short stop. He went 2-4 with a double and a single. Early on, the game was low scoring. After Casey Coleman worked the 3rd and the 4th for the Cubs, the Cactus League battle was scoreless. Then in the bottom of the 5th, the Cubs bats came to life against former Cub Aaron Heilman. Jim Hendry sent Heilman to the D'backs in November, and so far the move looks like a good one. Aaron allowed 4 ER on 5 hits in his inning of work. A Brett Jackson triple was the highlight of the frame.

In the 6th, Arizona got the runs right back, scoring 5 against Jeff Stevens. The Cubs acquired Stevens in the Mark DeRosa trade with Cleveland. He pitched a good fifth, but after one inning of work he fell apart, and was unable to make it through the 6th. Stevens was replaced by another hurler that came over in the DeRo deal, lefty John Gaub. In 1.1 innings, Gaub allowed just two hits but one was a solo homer to make it 6-4.

The Cubs then put a rally together to tie in up, but in the top of inning number 9 the D'backs untied it with a run against Justin Berg to take the 7-6 lead. Brad Snyder came through for the Cubs, cracking a double in the bottom of the 9th to bring Scales and Fuld home to win the game 8-7.

The Cubs have started off the Cactus League with a 2-0 record and have played fairly well in both games. Marcos Mateo, an underrated pitching prospect, also looked good in his one inning on the hill. Josh Vitters was the starting third baseman. The former first round pick had 2 hits and scored twice.

Tyler Colvin has really impressed Cubs brass early on in camp. He has three things going for him:
1. Last year he played great defense when he was called up in September, and the Cubs are hoping to improve their outfield defensively.
2. He put on 20+ pounds of muscle this offseason, and Piniella took notice.
3. He's played great in the Cactus League's first two games, going 2-3 with 2 RBIs today.

Koyie Hill was the starting catcher today. He drove home a run with an RBI single. The Cubs top pick from the 2009 draft, Brett Jackson, reached base all three times. Jeff Baker got the start at second base and went 0-2.

Bullpen Health Update
Carlos Marmol has the closers' duty locked up, but beyond that everything is up for grabs in the Cubs' bullpen. Now, Angel Guzman will most likely not be ready to go on Opening Day. He still has discomfort in his shoulder, and he was going to undergo an MRI today. Jeff Gray is also still sidelined, and he may not be ready to go for the start of the season either. Hendry is working the phone lines, but if he does not bring in any help this bullpen could be in trouble. However, that would give guys like Jeff Stevens, David Patton, Mike Parisi, Mitch Atkins, Andrew Cashner, Thomas Diamond, and John Gaub a chance to make the 25 man roster. Hopefully somebody can step up and become a dependable relief option for Piniella.

Looking Ahead
Tomorrow the Cubs take on the White Sox at 2:05 CT on WGN TV and Radio. Carlos Silva, who reported to camp out of shape, will take the mound for the Cubs. Carlos is trying to prove that he's worthy of a spot in the rotation after coming over for Milton Bradley this winter.

Alfonso Soriano will get into game action tomorrow for the first time since being shut down because of a knee injury late last year. Sori is expected to start in left field, with Xavier Nady serving as the Cubs' DH. Both the Cubs and Sox have agreed to use the DH despite the fact that the game will be played at HoHoKam Park.

Bruce Miles has posted the list of all the pitchers that will go this weekend. Tomorrow afternoon Silva will be followed by Carlos Marmol, James Russell, Andrew Cashner, Jeff Kennard, and John Grabow.

On Sunday the Cubs will play a split squad, with Jeff Samardzija pitching against the White Sox on WGN-TV and Tom Gorzelanny going against the Dodgers. Both games get underway at 2:05.

Other Notes:

• Lou Piniella will not go to Vegas when the Cubs travel there for two games against the White Sox March 12-13. Instead, Piniella will stay with the half of the split squad team that will play in Arizona both of those day. Alan Trammell will manage the team that is Las Vegas.
• Mike Fontenot has a minor shoulder injury suffered while running the bases on Thursday. He will not play again until Sunday.
• Sam Fuld's homer on Thursday landed near his wife Sarah and his young son Charlie. A women picked up the ball, and the Fulds tried to bargain with her for it, offering photos and autographs. However, the lady wanted no part of that and kept the ball.

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

Cub Roundup Befored Heading over to HoHoKam

Tomorrow the Chicago Cubs will head over to HoHoKam Park, where they will have a regular practice. Then, Spring Training games get underway on Thursday, when the Cubs take on the A's at 2:05 CT.

Cubs Poll
Thanks to everyone who voted on our last Cubs poll here on Everything Cubs Blog. Here are the results:

Who will become the Cubs' 5th starter?
1. Jeff Samardzija: 46%
2. Tom Gorzelanny: 40%
3. Marshall/Silva: 6% each

Now we have a new poll up on the right sidebar of the blog mainpage!
Who should be the Cubs starting second baseman?
A) Jeff Baker
B) Mike Fontenot

Please vote! Also, feel free to comment on any posts with your thoughts (it's quick and easy!) or email me at cubsblogmailbag@aol.com.

Cactus League Pitching Rotation
Thursday- Randy Wells; then Sean Marshall, Mike Parisi, J.R. Mathes, and Esmalin Caridad.
Friday- Carlos Zambrano
Saturday- Carlos Silva (VS White Sox on WGN)
Sunday (ss)- Tom Gorzelanny, Jeff Samardzija
Monday- Ryan Dempster

Each starter is expected to go two innings.

Thursday's Lineup
Today Lou announced the starting lineup for Thursday's game against Oakland. This very well could be the same lineup we see on Opening Day with Soriano taking Colvin's place.
1. Theriot- SS
2. Kosuke- RF
3. Lee- 1B
4. Ramirez- 3B
5. Byrd- RF
6. Colvin- LF
7. Fontenot- 2B
8. Soto- C

Starlin Castro is expected to get into the game in the 4th or 5th inning as a replacement for Theriot.

Boycott
Four clubs- the Dodgers, White Sox, Reds, and Angels, boycotted the Cactus League breakfast, which is supposed to be a friendly event to kick off the new baseball season. The reason these four clubs did not show is because they are upset about the proposed "Cubs tax" that would charge fans of all teams in order to keep the Cubs in Arizona. The South Siders in particular have been very vocal about their dislike for this idea.

Injury Updates
Ted Lilly has been back on the field working out and stretching. He's been dealing with a shoulder injury, a knee problem, and a high fever. Geovany Soto missed Monday's practice because he was sick with the flu. Jeff Gray is expected to throw off the mound tomorrow. He has not pitched yet this spring because of a groin injury. Angel Guzman tossed about 60 pitches from 45 feet on Monday, but is not expected to throw off of flat ground until next week.

Practice Updates
Thomas Diamond has pitched well in batting practice so far, but he let one pitch slip away and nailed Alfonso Soriano on Monday. Sori was OK and joked about the HBP. Arizona Phil of The Cubs Reporter tells us that John Grabow was hit hard in yesterday's practice. Phil also observes that Kosuke, Soriano, and Soto have all hit well in BP. Ryne Sandberg and Alan Trammel worked with Starlin Castro at Fitch Park and both were impressed. Tim Sheridan has been posting some great photos over on his blog. The is a lot of young talent in camp that will get playing time in Cactus League games.

Toast to Harry
The 12th annual world wide toast to Harry Caray took place yesterday, which would have been the Caray's 96th birthday. At 7:40, Cubs fans in Harry Caray's Restaurants all over the world toasted to Caray. The newest part of the restaurant family, Harry Caray's Tavern, opened yesterday. The Tavern is in Navy Pier, where the toast was held. Special guests included Dutchie Caray, Ernie Banks, Richard Dent, Bobby Hull, Len Kasper, Bill Kurtis, Harold Ramis, and Otis Wilson. We miss you Harry, and may you help make this be the year!

Other Notes

• The Cubs "We Believe" DVD that was filmed during the 2008 season will finally go on sale on April 13.
• The Cubs and the Northwestern Wildcats are working out a plan to have a college football game at Wrigley Field.
• Soriano's only wish: Good healthy.
• Ryan Dempster is hoping to see Chad Tracy make the team.

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

Weekend Roundup: Cactus League Baseball is Near!

• The Cactus League schedule opens this week! The first Spring Training game for the Chicago Cubs is on Thursday afternoon at 2:00 PM CT. Randy Wells will get the nod as the starting pitcher in this game. He will go about 2 innings before the ball is turned over to the bullpen.
• Sean Marshall, J.R. Mathes, Esmalin Caridad, and Mike Parisi will all see action in relief in Thursday's game, which is against the Oakland A's. Former Cubs Jake Fox, Eric Patterson, and Mike Wuertz will all be with the A's for this game at HoHoKam.
• Today's workouts at Fitch Park were cut short because of rain. John Grabow was the only pitcher to toss some BP.
• Angel Guzman threw 25-30 pitches in the batting cages from 45 feet today and says his arm felt OK.
• Lou Piniella will make his ideas about the Cubs' batting order public tomorrow. Carrie Muskat says that we should look to see Alfonso Soriano in the 6 slot.
• Tomorrow is photo day for the Cubs.
• Cubs LHP Ted Lilly will most likely miss the entire month of April according to Bruce Levine. This leaves an extra opening in the Cubs' rotation to start the year, as now the 4th and 5th spots are up for grabs.
• Lilly did some running and playing catch yesterday.
• Larry Rothchild has been working on throwing with outfielder Xavier Nady, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery. The rehab is going well, but whether Nady will be ready for Opening Day is still up in the air according to Cubs.com.
• Aramis Ramirez sat out live BP against Carlos Marmol yesterday. Rami doesn't like taking live BP, but instead chooses to hit off pitching machines and coaches.
• Mike Fontenot has been taking grounders at short stop. He wants to be able to handle that position as well as second base.
• Lou Piniella says that there are two jobs open on the Cubs' bench. Koyie Hill, Xavier Nady, and the loser of the Baker/Fontenot competition for the starting second base job will fill the first three spots. ESPNChicago.com reports that there are also four open spots on the pitching staff, 2 each in the rotation and the pen. This means that Grabow, Guzman, Marmol, and Caridad have already been penciled into spots in the bullpen.
• Sweet Lou went to a chapel today and prayed for our Cubbies.
• Many of "the kids" will get a chance early on in Cactus League play.
• Derrek Lee hasn't had talk of a contract extension with the Cubs, so he fully expects to become a free agent at the end of the season according to the Sun Times.
• Jim Hendy is trying to make a move to bolster the bullpen before Opening Day. Bruce Levine has been reporting for at least a month that Jason Frasor and Luke Gregerson are options, but so far nothing has come of those potential trades. With the recent injuries to Gray and Guzman, the need for relief pitching depth has become apparent.
• Gordon Wittenmyer takes a look at the state of the Cubs' minor league system.
• Cubs legend Greg Maddux has been on the field working with pitchers so far, but once games get started on Thursday, Greg will travel with Randy Bush and Gary Hughes to scout opponents.
• Paul Sullivan reports that Kosuke has made a minor change to his batting mechanics.
• Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald breaks down the Baker/Fontenot battle.
• Andre Dawson was on ESPN talking Cubs and Hall of Fame induction!
• Kevin Millar's chances of making the team improve by the day.
• Marlon Byrd told Bob Nightengale that he doesn't like all the comparisons to his friend Milton Bradley.

And now let's dive into some TV and Radio Recaps, starting with Lou Piniella on Mully and Hanley on Thursday:

• Lou likes that fact that the Cubs are not picked to win the division. It takes some pressure of the team.
• Last year, the Cubs couldn't afford too many injuries, and that's what hit them.
• They know their system a lot better now that they got a chance to play some kids last year.
• The pitching was the mainstay of the team in 2009. Randy Wells came out of no where, Carlos Marmol pitched well when he got in the closer's role, and other guys like Caridad and Berg did nice jobs.
• The Cubs need a bounce back year from Zambrano, they need to get Ted Lilly healthy, and "go from there".
• One thing is for certain according to Piniella- the Cubs are going to score more runs in 2010 then they did last season.
• The biggest jobs the Cubs have in Spring Training is sorting out the back end of the rotation and looking for an experienced right handed reliever.
• The more a manager can rest his team, the better.
• Lou really likes this baseball team. "We're gonna be a nice ballclub," he said.
• Carlos Zambrano is his own worst enemy at times.
• Lou says that there's not reason why Z can't win 17-18 or even 20 ballgames.
• Team chemistry is not overrated, but obviously the more you win the more chemistry you have.
• At the start of 2009, there were 11 new faces on the 25-man roster. Then when the rash of injuries occurred, more new people came in. This could have been the cause of the lack of chemistry.
• Piniella is proud of his club for keeping it together last season.
• He watched Starlin hit the other day, and saw that Castro had really nice hands, hitting line drives all over the place.
• Theriot is going to be the Cubs short stop. Castro needs a little more experience.

Jim Hendry joined Bruce Levine and Jonathan Hood on Talkin' Baseball on ESPN Radio Saturday:

• Bruce Levine celebrated his birthday on Saturday, prompting Jim to joke that Levine was one of the oldest guys left in the media.
• Hendry thinks it was unfortunate that they had to go to arbitration, but it's not going to be an issue with Theriot.
• Jim is hoping he won't have to go to a hearing again.
• The Cubs need to swing the bats more consistently this season.
• He is going to keep his eye on bullpen pitchers. The free agent market is thin, but they will try to work out a trade. They will try to make a move before Opening Day if something good comes along, but it won't be a failure if they don't.
• Aramis Ramirez is being counted on to be healthy again. Jeff Baker could shift over to third to backup, and Chad Tracy can also play the hot corner if Rami were to go down.
• Ted Lilly has a little irritation in his knee, and that is normal. Ted is not going to need a procedure.
• Marlon Byrd has become a really good offensive player. Byrd has made a lot of progress the last few years in Texas. Jaramillo gave the Cubs a really good review of Marlon. Byrd also plays good center field and is a great team guy.
• In a perfect world the Cubs would have liked to have added a left handed bat, but Byrd hits righties well.
• Jim is "not really" disappointed in the way that Carlos Silva has reported. Silva knows that he needs to get 10-12 pounds off before Opening Day. Carlos has thrown the ball well.
• Hendy has a great relationship with Lou, but both sides are going to worry about 2010 first. They are not concerned about Piniella's contract beyond this year yet.
• He thinks it's a great idea by MLB Network to do the reality TV show on the White Sox. It will certainly make for a great story.

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

Spring Training Preview: The Starting Position Players

Aramis Ramirez- 3B
Rami is coming off a season in which he was held back by a shoulder injury that occurred on May 8 diving for a ground ball down the third base line in a game against the Brewers. Aramis has been productive since coming to Chicago in 2003, with an average of exactly .300 over that time span. The loss of the cleanup man for a significant period of time would hurt any club, and the lineup was not the same without Aramis, especially with Soriano, Bradley, Soto, and Kosuke struggling. A healthy 2010 is critical for the club, because without A-Ram the Cubs batting order would be like a doughnut (hole in the middle). He worked hard in his home country of the Dominican Republic this winter, but we'll see if it pays off.

Ryan Theriot- SS
Theriot became the first Cub to go to an arbitration hearing since Mark Grace in 1993. He lost the hearing and had to settle for the amount of money that the Cubs were offering him, $2.6 million, which would not be considered a loss for most Americans. Ryan and the club appear to be on the same page once again, and The Riot will turn his focus to trying to keep his job as the starting short stop. He is going into this season with something to prove, because top prospect Starlin Castro is waiting in the wings. There was talk this winter of Theriot moving to second base to make room for Castro at short, but Lou Piniella has said that Ryan is his short stop for now. However, the Cubs' skipper says he would feel comfortable with Starlin as the starting SS if an injury were to occur to Ryan. Theriot will hit somewhere at the top of the order, but it is still up in the air whether he will lead off or bat second.

Derrek Lee- 1B
Ask any member of the team who their leader is, and they won't hesitate before saying Derrek's name. Lee is the calm, cool, and collective type, who leads by example. He doesn't fight teammates, scream at umpires, or complain about the media; but instead just acts professional and takes care of business. D-Lee was one of the only regulars who did not have a down year in 2009, hitting .306 with 35 long balls (his most since his stellar '05 year). The 2009 season was Derrek's third base numbers wise in his 13 year big league career, just behind '05 and '07. In addition to his bat, Lee helps the team on defense saving countless base runner and picking up his teammates when he scoops throws out of the dirt. Derrek is in the last year of his contract and would like to stay with the team beyond this season, but doesn't want those talks to distract from the task at hand.

Geovany Soto- C
After being named the NL Rookie of the Year in 2008, things went downhill for the young Cub catcher in 2009. Soto's suffered from several injuries and other distractions, which resulted in a .218 batting average and a drop in games played. Geo has admitted that he was overweight last season, and he took it upon himself to change that over the winter. Geovany dropped 40... count 'em 40... pound over the offseason mostly through diet along with some exercise. The new, slim downed Geo does not have to deal with playing in the World Baseball Classic this spring as he did in '09, so he will have plenty of time to get his work in in Cactus League games to get ready for what we hope will be a bounce back year. Soto will probably fit in somewhere in the bottom part of the order, but if he hits to his potential he could end up batting 5th or 6th.

Alfonso Soriano- LF
Alfonso Soriano was a major factor in the Cubs' 98 win 2008 season, but then he scuffled through an awful 2009. He hit .241 with just 20 home runs (his lowest total in that category since 2001) before being shut down in September with a knee injury. Sori's knee is feeling better, despite the fact that he did not run 100% on it this offseason. His days as a lead-off man are now behind him, and the sixth spot in Lou's lineup could have his name written all over it. He cannot afford too many slumps at the plate because he is already a minus defender in left. New Cub hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo, who worked with Alfonso in Texas, could help him return to 2008 form.

Marlon Byrd- CF
Last offseason, the Cubs major acquisition was an outfielder signed as a free agent from Texas with the initials M.B. This year, the Cubs major addition is inking a free agent outfielder from Texas with the initials M.B. However, that's as far as the similarities between Milton Bradley and Marlon Byrd go, as Byrd is a very positive and team oriented guy. Marlon is a very good friend of Jaramillo, as both spent time together with the Rangers and now are happy to come to Chicago together. A familiar face should help make the transition to a big market club a little easier. On the field, Byrd is a right handed on base guy, who's power numbers were up in 2009. Marlon is also expected to help the Cubs defensively in the outfield, but he does not have the range of Sam Fuld or Reed Johnson.

Kosuke Fukudome- RF
Kosuke was pretty much just there in 2009. He did not play very well, but there were so many Cub hitters slumping that he did not receive as much attention as he did in 2008, his first year in Major League Baseball after starting his baseball career in Japan. Kosuke's '08 and '09 seasons were very similar, but hopefully now he has fully adapted to life and baseball in the states. The Cubs do have many other outfield options, so if he goes in any elongated slumps, he could find himself limited to platoon or bench duties. Kosuke's defense is expected to be better this year, because he moves back to right field, where he played in his first season with the Cubs. Kosuke is more comfortable in right than in center, where he moved last year to make room for Milton Bradley in right. Kosuke will hit either first or second in the lineup to start the year, and has a chance at beating out Theriot for the coveted lead-off role. The Cubs had a better record in 2009 when he was atop the lineup than they did with Soriano or Theriot, so maybe that stat will be taken into consideration by Piniella.

Mike Fontenot- 2B
Fontenot excelled as a bench player in 2008, earning him the right to take over the job as the starting second baseman when Mark DeRosa was shipped to Cleveland last winter. However, "Little Babe Ruth" scuffled all year in '09, hitting just .236 with 9 home runs. Due to his struggles as the every day man, there is a chance that Fontenot will be moved back to part-time duty. He will have to go out and earn the job in Spring Training again this year. He has also been taking ground balls at short stop, so he may end up being Theriot's backup as well.

Jeff Baker- 2B
Second base is the only position on the diamond that is up for grabs. Fontenot's main competition for the starting job will be Jeff Baker, who the Cubs acquired from Colorado last summer due to the struggles of Fontenot and Aaron Miles. Baker hit .305 in 69 games after the trade, catching the eye of Cubs' brass. Baker will also serve as a backup to Aramis Ramirez at third, something the Cubs lacked at the start of last season. Just because you got a few good months out of the guy doesn't mean he should be penciled in as a starter, so Lou Piniella will let Baker and Fontenot "battle it out" this spring.

Sometime before Cactus League play begins on Thursday, I'll wrap up our Spring Training Preview series with Part 6- the bench. This post will cover all other position player on the 40-man roster!

Mid-Week Cubbie Quick Hits

It's been awhile since we checked the rumor mill, so here's the latest.

• On Tuesday, the Cubs signed 5 players to one year extentions, avoiding arbitration with Mike Fontenot, Koyie Hill, Tom Gorzelanny, Angel Guzman, and Jeff Baker. Ryan Theriot, Carlos Marmol, and Sean Marshall have yet to reacher agreements with the Cubs. If the Cubs cannot come to terms with these players, than they will have to go to an arbitration hearing, which will be held February 1-21. The Cubs have not gone to a hearing since Mark Grace in 1993.
• Carrie Muskat reports that the Cubs are looking at Jermaine Dye and Xavier Nady as possible fourth outfielders.
• The Cubs are in negotiations with reliever Kiko Caleron, according to a report from Jon Paul Morosi. Caleron is seeking a 2 year deal, but so far the Cubs have only offered him one year.
• The Cubs were on there to see Ben Sheets throw on Monday. A source out of Toronto reported that Sheets was "all but signed" by the Cubs, but that rumored appeared to be false. None the less, the Cubs are one of 8 teams with real interest in the right hander.
• Click here to see a video of Sheet's bullpen and his interview with MLB Network afterwards.
• The Cubs are taking a look at free agent left Mark Mulder according to FOXSports.
• Bruce Levine blogs that Padres pitcher Luke Gregerson could be a fit for the Cubs bullpen.
• Ryan Theriot is asking for $3.4 million, while the Cubs are offering $2.6 million. Bruce Miles speculates that this one could go to a hearing.

Let's turn our attention to the always informative Bruce Levine chat on ESPNChicago.com. Here are the highlights from Tuesday:

• Levine likes Jeff Baker better than Fontenot as a starter.
• Randy Wells is working hard to make sure there's no sophomore jinx for him.
• The Cubs would be much stronger defensively with Theriot at 2B and Starlin Castro at SS. Ryan is ready to make that move if the team asks him to.
• If Rick Ankiel's stock continues to fall, the Cubs will consider signing him.
• The Cubs are still looking at San Diego and Toronto relievers.
• Levine thinks Dye would be perfect for the Cubs.
• Jermaine is a terrific clubhouse guy.
• If ownership has any say so, former Cubs from the '80s and '90s will be favored for positions on the coaching staff after Lou is out.
• Hendry will be creative in shelling out money to free agents, so that he is able to bring in all the pieces that he needs.
• Orlando Hudson really faded last year, to the point where he lost his job in LA.
• It doesn't appear that many other clubs have made money offers to Dye.
• The Cubs have fielder offers for Angel Guzman, because they are worried about his health.
• Orlando Cabrera is not a bad idea, but the money would be a factor.
• Next offseason, the Cubs will start major renovations at Wrigley.
• As far as the Cubs outfield, the priority at the moment is Dye.
• Not much is expected from Carlos Silva.
• Geovany Soto is not at the perfect weight for him to start the season.
• Pedro Martinez is not on the Cubs' radar.
• The Cubs will NOT consider shopping Jeff Samardzija at this point.
• Helping Alfonso Soriano was one of the main reasons Rudy Jaramillo was hired.
• Bob Brenly will be in the Cubs' booth for a long time, unless he gets that managers job he wants.
• Bruce doesn't see Andres Blanco as an every day player.
• The Cubs will have a better idea of how much money is left to spend after they sign Theriot, Marshall, and Marmol.

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