Pitchers & Catchers Report Tomorrow

Tomorrow Pitchers and Catcher will officially report to Fitch Park in Mesa, Arizona! Spring Training is right around the corner. Most of the Cubs have reported early to camp. Here are the latest news and notes on the eve of the official start of the 2012 season.

• Kerry Wood, Travis Wood, Darwin Barney, Geovany Soto, David DeJesus, Matt Garza and Randy Wells have all reported early to Fitch Park.
• Cubs fan Brian Pasnik is one of the finalists for the MLB Fan Cave Contest.
• Tim Sheridan's Boys of Spring Blog is a great place for pictures and updates from Mesa. Tim has already posted some great pics from the early birds working out.
• "I don't talk about that," Matt Garza said this week about the idea of signing a long term deal with the Cubs.
• Blake DeWitt will have the option of either returning to the Cubs as a non-roster invite or testing free agency if he clears waivers.
  
• For those that missed it, Kosuke Fukudome signed with the White Sox this week.
• The Cubs are STILL waiting to hear Bud Selig's ruling on the Theo Epstein compensation case.
• Patrick Mooney breaks down ten things to watch for the Cubs this season.
• According to Cubs.com, Dale Sveum is optimistic about the Cubs pitching staff for this season.
• Carrie Muskat reports that today Kerry Wood and Rodrigo Lopez threw off the mound, Rudy Jaramillo conducted early sessions in the cages, and Darwin Barney, Bryan LaHair and Josh Vitters were practicing in the field.

That's it for now, but I'll have more tomorrow!

Day 2 in Mesa: Marmol Signs, Bruce Miles on WGN Radio and More

Happy Valentine's Day Cubs fans! More importantly to most of us, pitcher's and catchers worked out as a team for the first time today!

The biggest news of the day was that the Cubs have signed Carlos Marmol to a 3-year, $20 million deal, avoiding arbitration. Marmol is penciled in as the Cubs closer for at least the next three seasons.

Some random notes from today

• Check out Tim Sheridan's post over at BOS for some great pics.
• Carlos Zambrano would like to start on Opening Day.
• Tyler Colvin will see some time at first base this spring.
• Angel Guzman is a long shot to make the team and is still not 100% healthy.
• Carrie Muskat reports that Guzman threw off the mound today.
• Carlos Silva went home today with a 103 degree fever.
• Branden Looper, Trey McNutt, Casey Coleman, Thomas Diamond, Andrew Cashner, Kerry Wood, Jay Jackson, Marcos Mateo, Justin Berg and Todd Wellemyer are all scheduled to throw off the mound tomorrow.
• Mike Quade on Ron Santo, "We'll win one for him and I'm not talking about Opening Day."
• Santo's patch is already being sported on the Cubs uniforms.
• According to Bruce Miles, Randy Wells says he lost focus at times last season.

Cubs beat writer Bruce Miles was on WGN Radio Sports Night with Noonan and Koz tonight. Here is what he had to say:

• The Carlos Marmol signing is a very, very good one. This is a nice deal for Marmol and the Cubs and everyone seems very happy about it.
• This salary figure is more of a discount for the Cubs.
• Marmol did not want to go to arbitration. That is not something that the Cubs like to do.
• Carlos is not worried about his control, he is only worried about getting three outs before a run is scored against him.
• Carlos Zambrano would love to start on Opening Day, but if it doesn't happen it doesn't happen.
• The first day of Spring Training is a lovefest that is all about optimism.
• It is a big spring for Carlos Silva, who is fighting for a job.
• There was a lot of stretching, throwing and bunting practice today.
• There are a lot of position players in camp that have reported early.
• The hitters that have reported early work with Rudy Jaramillo and work on conditioning.
• Miles likes going to Spring Training because it is the start of a new season, you get back into the routine.
• Baseball is a sport where you develop a rhythm.
• There are about 18 guys competing for 12 spots on the pitching staff. Those decisions will go down to the very last day of camp.
• Bruce thinks that this team is capable of winning 85-90 games.
• Mike Quade is a guy who cannot sit still that lays the law down in a very nice way with his players. He is a "hands on" manager that brings a certain energy.

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

Getting Set for Camp Quade

First of all, I apologize for the lack of posting during the second half of this week. Things have returned to normal and we should be able to be a regular posting schedule leading up to the start of Spring Training. Don't look now, but we are only 2 days away from pitchers and catchers reporting! Infact, many Cubs players are already in camp.

Let's catch up on the latest from Mesa and more!

• The Cubs regular season TV broadcast schedule has been released. Opening Day on April 1 against the Pirates will be on WGN!
• Bench coach Pat Listach will plan and run the day-to-day activities during Cubs camp, starting with the first workout next Monday.
• Bruce Miles reports that Mike Quade and Jim Hendry will meet with the media on Sunday (tomorrow).
• Brett Jackson does not have a good chance to make the club out of Spring Training, but he could get an opportunity later in the season.
• Bleed Cubbie Blue has had an in depth interview series with Tom Ricketts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.
• Buster Olney reports that if Albert Pujols becomes a free agent, the Cubs could be the top bidders for him.
• HoHoKam Park public address announcer Tim Sheridan has been blogging daily from Mesa.
• Jeff Samardzija will not compete for a spot in the rotation. His only chance to make the team will be in relief, according to ESPN Chicago.
• Bruce Levine previewed the Cubs pitching staff on his blog. The fourth and fifth spots in the rotation are up for grabs with Carlos Silva, Randy Wells, Todd Wellemyer, Braden Looper, Casey Coleman, Andrew Cashner and James Russell all battling for them.
• Both Chris Carpenter and Jay Jackson will get long looks this spring.
• Levine also previewed the Cubs infield. During Spring Training, Blake DeWitt, Darwin Barney, Jeff Baker and Augie Ojeda will all see time at second base. The Cubs would love for DeWitt to win the job outright. Ojeda and Barney will battle for a roster spot.
• It doesn't sound like Levine thinks that Max Ramirez or Welington Castillo will have a shot to challenge Koyie Hill for the backup catcher's job.
• Guys that have already reported to Mesa include Carlos Marmol, Marlon Byrd, John Grabow, Carlos Zambrano, Steve Clevenger, Ryan Dempster, Tyler Colvin, Matt Garza and Casey Coleman.

That's it for now, but I'll keep you posted with all the news out of Arizona this weekend.