Former Cubs in the Championship Series

Tonight the American League Championship Series begins with Game 1 between the Rangers and Tigers. The National League Championship Series, which begins tomorrow, is a matchup of two NL Central clubs with the Brewers taking the Cardinals. Cubs fans will be forced to decide which is the lesser of the two evils (most will pick the Brewers) to root for.

The Major League Baseball playoff run has been fun to watch thusfar, starting with that compelling final day of the regular season. Three of the four Division Series took five games to complete and one went to extra innings in game five. To make it even more fun for Cubs fans to watch the rest of the way, here is a list of guys with Cubs connections competing in the LCS.

• Al Aburrquerque, Tigers: never played in the big leagues for the Cubs but was the farmhand traded to Colorado for Jeff Baker.


• Josh Hamilton, Rangers: drafted by the Cubs in the Rule Five draft but was quickly shipped to the Reds.


• Ryan Theriot, Cardinals: Played for the Cubs from 2006-2010


• Corey Patterson, Cardinals: Has landed on his feet with St. Lou after bouncing around for a few years. Roamed the outfield at Wrigley during the early part of the 2000s.


• Kyle Lohse, Cardinals: Cubs farmhand who was traded to the Twins


• LaTroy Hawkins, Brewers: Was always better as a set-up man than a closer during his time in the Cubs bullpen


• Casey McGehee, Brewers: Briefly played with the Cubs during the 2008 season before he was shipped to Milwaukee. The Cubs regret letting the talented third baseman go.

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

Breaking News: Cubs Claim Max Ramirez

John Paul Morosi tweets that the Cubs have claimed catcher Max Ramirez off waivers from the Boston Red Sox. Ramirez was only in the Red Sox organization for a week after being claimed from Texas.

Max will be added to the 40-man roster, which now stands at 39. He is expected to compete with Koyie Hill and Welington Castillo in Spring Training for a spot on the team.

Here are some notes on Max Ramirez:

• Positions: First Base and Catcher
• B/T: Right
• Height/Weight: 5'11'', 175 lbs
• Age: 26
• Birthday: Oct. 11
• Signed: by the Braves as an undrafted free agent in 2002
• Organizations: Atlanta (2002-2006), Cleveland (2006-2007) and Texas (2007-2010).
• Traded: From the Braves to the Indians in July of '06 for Bob Wickman; again in July of '07 from the Indians to the Rangers for Kenny Lofton
• MLB Debut: June 22, 2008
• Career Big League Stats: 2 seasons, 45 games, .217 AVG, 4 HR, 17 RBIs and a .343 OBP
• 2010 Big League Stats: 28 games, 2 HR, 8 RBI, .217 AVG
• 2010 Minor League Stats: .286 AVG, 3 HR and 29 RBIs in 56 games for AAA-Oklahoma City.

The Cubs made another minor roster move that took place last week. Most of you have read this elsewhere by now because it slipped though the cracks and was never posted on this site. Brian Schlitter was claimed by the New York Yankees, leaving the Cubs organization. The right handed pitcher originally came to the Cubs in the Scott Eyre trade with the Phillies in 2008. He had a 12.38 ERA in 7 appearances for the big league team in 2010.

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

Updates from Day 1 in Indy

• Lou Piniella said today that he's going to do the best job he can, then at the end of the year we'll see what happens as far as his return in 2011.
• Bruce Miles points out that the nobody that the Cubs acquired last offseason will return in 2010, beside the prospects from the DeRosa trade.
• Tampa Bay still appears to be the destination of choice for Milton Bradley.
• According to Cubs.com, the Cubs have gotten good reports on players this offseason including Alfonso Soriano, Geovany Soto, Ted Lilly, and Carlos Zambrano.
• Lou Piniella says he "has the utmost respect" for Mike Cameron, who the Cubs are chasing.
• Jeff Baker will play some outfield this spring. He will also serve as a backup 3rd baseman.
• The Cubs are not looking for another front of the rotation pitcher.
• The Cubs are set with Carlos Marmol as the closer, but Lou thinks adding another veteran reliever will "help stabilize things".
• Starlin Castro is expected to start the 2010 season in the minors.
• Alfonso Soriano will bat 6th in the Cubs' lineup.
• Bruce Levine tells us that the Cubs are considering bringing Reed Johnson back.
• The Cubs are not close to signing a free agent outfielder.
• Trading Milton Bradley is still the top priority.
• The three teams talking to the Cubs about Bradley are the Mets, Rangers, and Rays according to Muskat.
• Cubs catcher Koyie Hill host a successful Make-A-Wish foundation event on Saturday. They raised more than $180,000. Ryan Dempster, Mike Fontenot, Randy Wells, and Rick Sutcliffe all participated in the event
• Tim Brown says that the market for Free Agent Kevin Gregg includes the Rays, Nationals, Tigers, and Rockies.
• Marc Topkin reports the Cubs are confident that they'll get Bradley traded, but if it's going to be to the Rays for Burrell it will take some "serious negotiating".
• The Rays are growing less hopeful of sending Burrell to the Cubs according to Joel Sherman's tweet.
• Sherman adds that the Cubs "may like Melky Cabrera", and the Yankees may want Mike Cameron.
• Joel is hearing that the Mets are not interested in Milton Bradley.
• We've heard that the Cubs could trade Bradley to the Rays for Burrell, then sent Pat to the Mets for Castillo, but David Lennon says that New York shows no interested in Burrell either.
• Jerry Crasnik expects the Cubs to offer Mike Fontenot a contract soon.
• Gordon Wittenmyer says that the Cubs have not met with Kansas City about Milton Bradley. Some sources say the Cubs have had talks about him with clubs outside of Texas and Tampa. Bruce Levine had reported a Bradley for Gil Meche swap being talked about.
• The option of keeping their short fused outfielder is not being discussed.
• Any Bradley trade will depend on the Cubs picking up a good part of his salary.

That's it for now, I'll keep updating throughout the night.