Catching Up Quick Hits

Sorry there hasn't been too much posting going on this week! It's been a very crazy and busy one. Let's get right into catching you up on all the latest Cubs news and notes:

• Chad Tracy won the final spot on the roster to start the season. He will back up Lee and Ramirez at the corner infield positions and be used as a right handed pinch hit bat with pop.
• Since Chad made the squad, there was no room for Kevin Millar. The Cubs released Millar earlier this week.
• Sam Fuld, Micah Hoffpauir, and Chris Robinson were the final three roster cuts. They will all join AAA-Iowa to start the season. Fuld and Hoff could contribute at the big league level at some point this season.
• The Cubs will honor Hall of Famer Billy Williams with a statue outside of Wrigley Field. It will be unveiled before the game on September 7. This will be the third statue outside of Wrigley, the first two were for Harry Caray and Ernie Banks.
• Angel Guzman plans to be ready to go next season.
• Carlos Silva was a nice surprise this spring. We'll see if his performance carries over in to the regular season.
• Ted Lilly is expected to toss 60 pitches in his minor league rehab start on Easter Sunday.
• Jon Greifenkamp has been added to the front office.
• There are only 3 days left until the day we've been waiting for since last September... Opening Day in Atlanta!

We'll have several posts up this weekend including:

• Season Preview
• "30 Clubs in 30 Days" Recaps
• Getting to Know the Cubs post
• And all news!

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

Quick Hits a Week Prior to the Opener

• Today, Lou Piniella told young outfielder Tyler Colvin that he has made the Chicago Cubs' Opening Day roster. Colvin will play 2-3 times a week.
• There is now one spot remaining on Lou's 25-man club to start the season. The final cuts are expected to be made on Tuesday. Kevin Millar, Chad Tracy, Micah Hoffpauir, and Sam Fuld are all still in the mix, but most likely the final roster spot will belong to either Millar or Tracy.
• Ted Lilly tossed 45 pitches in a minor league start at Fitch Park today. He is on track to join the Cubs in about 3 weeks. He could be ready to return on April 19 in New York.
• Cubs closer Carlos Marmol has sat in the same folding chair for every game since 2007.
• According to the Tribune, Carlos Silva is the number 4 starter and Tom Gorzelanny is the number five guy. One of them will be sent to the pen will Ted returns.
• The Cubs pitchers were masterful today in an 8-1 win over the Reds.
• Bruce Miles reports that Piniella and the Cubs have a pretty idea who will be the 25th man on the roster, but they want to wait until tomorrow to make it official.
• Today was the last chance for Tracy and Millar to open some eyes. Neither did. Tracy was 0-3 and Millar 0-1. Micah Hoffpauir did pick up a single and a walk.
• Derrek Lee has missed the last two games with a foot injury, but he is expected to return tomorrow.
• Be sure to check out today's Down on the Farm Report that I posted over at Chicago Cubs Online.

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

Getting to Know the Cubs: James Russell

Today we continue our series of posts that spotlight certain members of the 2010 Chicago Cubs. Last week we featured Justin Berg, so today let's stay in the bullpen with James Russell.

Before this Spring Training, many Cubs fans had not even heard of this guy, so it's important that we dig a little deeper for some info before the start of the season!

Full Name: James Clayton Russell

Bats/Throws: Left/Left

Position: Pitcher

Drafted: By the Cubs in the 14th round of the 2007 June Draft

College: University of Texas

Family: James' father Jeff played in the big leagues for six different clubs from 1983-1996. Jeff was a two time All Star and had a career ERA of 3.75.

2009 Stats: 3-3 with a 3.43 ERA in 26 games at AAA Iowa, 5.11 ERA in 11 AA games.

2009 Arizona Fall League: 1.26 ERA in 11 games with the Mesa Solar Sox

Spring Training Stats: 10 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 0.00 ERA

Role: Russell will be a part of the young Cub pen to start the season. He'll have to pitch well to avoid being bumped when Ted Lilly comes off the DL. James will be used mostly in middle relief.

Saturday Pregame Quick Hits & Radio Recaps

Update 2:55 CT: According to Judd Sirott of WGN Radio & Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun Times the Cubs have traded Andres Blanco to the Texas Rangers for a PTBNL or Cash.

To start, let's take a look at the Cubs' starting lineup for today's game against the Padres in Mesa:

Colvin, RF
Baker, 2B
Lee, 1B
Ramirez, 3B
Byrd, CF
Millar, LF
Soto, C
Blanco, SS
Silva, P

This will be Silva's first start since leaving the game against the Reds on March 21 with a tight quad. The game starts at 3:05 CT and in on WGN-TV & WGN Radio.

Now for some other notes:

• The Cubs are expected to make the final roster decisions on Tuesday according to Carrie Muskat.
• Bruce Levine reports that the Cubs still have interest in Blue Jays reliever Jason Frasor. The Jays asked for Andrew Cashner, but the Cubs will not part with the young hurler.
• Levine also says that Andres Blanco is on the trading block. The Texas Rangers have some interest.
• Xavier Nady will start in the outfield tomorrow and then play first base in a minor league game on Monday.
• The Cubs will have all the regulars in the lineup for the second and final night game of the spring when they take on the D'backs at Chase Field.
• Carlos Marmol is looking forward to the end of Spring Training. He blames his bad outing yesterday on the fact that he cannot throw his slider in Arizona.
• Bruce Miles says that Ted Lilly had no problems in the 2 minor league innings he tossed yesterday.
• Jeff Samardzija is a little disappointed that he will not be in the starting rotation.
• "Sports Central", which I use often for Cubs' info and radio recaps, will be removed from the WGN Radio lineup on April 12. Host David Kaplan will now focus on covering the Cubs for WGN 720. Kap will host an expanded Cubs postgame show called "The 10th inning". He will also host a new weekend show called "Cubs Insider" and some pregame features.

Bruce Levine and Jonathan Hood were joined by Jim Hendry this morning on Talkin' Baseball on ESPN 1000. Here's the recap:

• The Cubs pitching staff has done well in Spring Training.
• They are happy that a lot of their pitchers have come up through the system.
• The really good news is that Ted Lilly is on target to pitch in the big leagues no later than the third week of April.
• Hendry is not concerned about the lack of experience in the bullpen. They have John Grabow who has lots of experience and Sean Marshall who has been around awhile. They also think that Samardzija is ready to take the next step up.
• The Cubs also have 3-4 pitchers waiting in Iowa if somebody falters.
• Chris Robinson will not be making the club and he knows that. That leaves 29 guys for 25 spots.
• Koyie Hill, Jeff Baker, and Xavier Nady will all be on the bench to start the season. Nady will start the year playing a few days a week in the field.
• Tyler Colvin has been outstanding in camp. Kevin Millar brings other things to the table, but he hits from the right side and is limited in the amount of positions he can play.
• The Cubs feel like they'll have a really good five man bench to start the year.
• Lou and Jim have a great relationship, but at the end of the day it's the GM jobs to put the final roster together and the manager's job to manage the club he is given.
• Yesterday Lou, Jim, and Randy discussed the bench for about 30 minutes.
• The NL Central has been a very good division the last 3-4 years. The Cardinals didn't get in Lou's first two years, but they won the division last year.
• The Brewers and Cards will both be very good, the Reds will be much better, and the Cubs will be much better according to Hendry. The Astros could be factors and the Pirates are making progress.
• "Lou and I have a really good relationship, and we've never even really worried about next year."

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

Breaking News: The Pitching Staff is Set, Roster Cuts

Today, the Chicago Cubs announced the 12 man pitching staff and 5 man starting rotation that they will use to start the season.

Gordon Wittenmyer tweets that lefty James Russell will take the final spot in the bullpen unless the Cubs make a trade next week.

Gordon also tells us that Carlos Silva and Tom Gorzelanny have won the final two spots in the starting rotation. They will round out a starting five that already includes Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, and Randy Wells. Despite pitching great this spring, Sean Marshall will head to the bullpen where he will add depth. Jeff Samardzija, who lost out on the rotation because of some poor outings during Spring Training, will be used in middle to late relief to start the year. Russell, Marshall, and Samardzija are joined in the bullpen by Carlos Marmol, Esmalin Caridad, Justin Berg, and John Grabow.

The Cubs also made 7 roster cuts today. Pitchers Jeff Gray, Marcos Mateo, and John Gaub were optioned to AAA-Iowa, as was outfielder Jim Adduci. Jim made it tough on the Cubs with a three hit game yesterday to cap off a great spring, but it turns out there is no room for him on the roster. Gray was aquired from Oakland this offseason and was expected to be a big part of the bullpen. However, Jeff suffered a groin injury in an early February workout at Fitch Park which caused him to miss most of Spring Training. He could be a part of the pen at some point this year.

Darwin Barney, Bobby Scales, and Robinson Chirinos were also assigned to minor league camp. There are no major surprises among this group. Barney could help the Cubs as a utility infielder at some point this season.

Russell will have to be added to the 40-man roster since he came to camp as a Non-Roster Invite. Rule 5 Pick Mike Parisi is the "odd man out" and it appears that he will be offered back to the Cardinals.

With the seven cuts today, there are still 33 players left in camp, but that list includes two guys (Lilly and Guzman) who will start the season on the DL. That means the Cubs have five position players that will be cut. Kevin Millar, Andres Blanco, Micah Hoffpauir, and Chad Tracy are battling for a spot on the bench while Tyler Colvin and Sam Fuld are hoping to earn the fifth outfield job. The fifth cut will be catcher Chris Robinson, who will stay with the big league club until the end so that Koyie Hill and Geovany Soto are not overworked in the final week and a half behind the plate. It should be an interesting conclusion to Spring Training!

Be sure to check out yesterday's Cubs Roundup for more.

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

Cubs Roundup: The Pitching Staff, Minor Leauge Updates, Radio Recaps, & More

Rotation Decision
Lou Piniella has said that the starting rotation will be set by Friday (tomorrow). Tom Gorzelanny made his final bid for the rotation going six innings against Arizona today. Here is the stats of the four pitchers looking for spots in the starting five:

Tom Gorzelanny: 1-1, 3.07 ERA in 14.2 IP
Sean Marshall: 1-0, 1.64 ERA, 11 IP
Jeff Samardzija: 0-2, 6.75 ERA, 8 IP
Carlos Silva: 2-1, 5.73 ERA, 11 IP

Gorzo and Sean have the far better ERAs, so they're in, right? Wrong. The Cubs want to have one lefty and one right hander of this bunch stay in the rotation, and one of each go to the pen. So then Silva is in the rotation and Marshall is a no brainier, right? Wrong again. Sean Marshall's great pitching may have even hurt his chances at the rotation because he is so valuable to the Cubs as a swing man in the bullpen. With the bullpen really lacking depth, chances are he'll go out there. The two veterans, Silva and Gorzelanny, are the favorites to win rotation jobs. We'll found out tomorrow!

Roster Cuts on the Way
The Cubs are expected to cut the roster from 40 down to 29-30 tomorrow. Carrie Muskat reports that the Cubs will keep 12-13 pitchers and 16-17 position players. If Carrie's total number of pitchers is accurate, the Cubs will either have their pen set or just one cut left to make. Right now, James Russell, John Gaub, Marcos Mateo, and Mike Parisi are fighting for the last relief job. Here are the stats for those four this spring:

Parisi: 1-1, 7.45 ERA, 9.2 IP
Russell: 0.00 ERA, 9 IP
Gaub: 1-0, 7.04 ERA, 7.2 IP
Mateo: 8.22 ERA, 7.2 IP

My guess is that Mateo and Gaub will be among the cuts tomorrow. James Russell clearly should have this spot won, but I think the Cubs will keep Parisi in camp until the final weekend because of his Rule 5 status. If they try to send him to the minors, they will have to offer him back to the Cardinals. Personally, I think the Cubs should just give Mike back rather than go through the struggle to keep him on the roster like they did with Patton last year. Jeff Gray is also still in camp, but it appears he will start the year on the DL.

As far as the position players are concerned, there will be 5-6 cuts tomorrow. Two will be catchers Chris Robinson and Robinson Chirinos, who are ticketed for the minor leagues with Hill and Soto at the big league level. Bobby Scales and Darwin Barney will most likely be two more of the cuts. Micah Hoffpauir could also be sent to AAA, or James Adduci could be sent out. The Cubs will likely let the fight for the final bench spots (Fuld v Colvin, Millar v Tracy) go down to the wire. Andres Blanco is still in the mix as well. Lou has said that Colvin will be on the team if there is enough playing time for him, but they will not let him rot on the bench.

Lou & Lee Stay "Back"
Both the Cubs skipper and his first baseman are having some back pain, which caused them to skip the trip to Tuscon today. This was the final trip the Cubs will ever make to Tuscan as both teams that play (the Rockies & D'backs) are leaving next year. Piniella woke up with a sore back, so he didn't feel like taking the long bus ride. Instead, Alan Trammell managed the Cubs team today. Derrek Lee's injury is even weirder. He fell out of a chair while eating in Surprise yesterday. Surprise! D-Lee should be back in the Cub lineup when they host the A's tomorrow.

The Cubs that did make the trip topped Arizona 7-2. James Adduci and Tyler Colvin both had big days as they vie for the final spot in the Cubs' outfield. James had three hits while Colvin smacked two.

Notes from Fitch Park

• Arizona Phil from TCR posted a nice report from minor league camp on Wednesday.
• Randy Wells pitched for the Iowa Cubs in Wednesday's game to stay on schedule. He looked sharp going 6 shutout innings.
• Aramis Ramirez served as the DH to get some at bats in for the I-Cubs. He went 1-6 with a long home run, which helped Iowa to a 2-1 ten inning win over the Oakland A's farm club.
• Xavier Nady played right field in the AA game on Wednesday. He went 1-3 with a double before leaving in the 4th after being hit by a pitch. His left hand got nailed, but was OK.
• Starlin Castro is now playing for the AA squad. He made two errors for the Smokies.
• Brain LaHair went 2-3 for the AAA team.
• Scott Maine, who came over from Arizona in the Aaron Heilman trade, pitched a scoreless inning for Iowa.

Be sure to check out my Down on the Farm Report posted on Chicago Cubs Online today. This is Part 2 of my three part series on the Cubs' minor league coaches.

Bruce Levine's Report on Waddle & Silvy Today

• Even though Marshall has pitched well, it looks like he'll go to the bullpen.
• The Cubs like to use Sean's versatility.
• Bruce thinks that Gorzelanny and Silva are the 4 and 5 starters.
• It looks like Jeff Samardzija is heading to the bullpen as well.
• Jeff Gray is slotted to join the bullpen at some point.
• Levine reports that upper management wants Tyler Colvin to continue his progress at the minor league level, but Lou would like to have him on the bench. If the Cubs end up needing him, they can always call him up.
• Bruce thinks that money sometime dictates who plays, and that is the case with the Cubs' outfield.

Former Cub Todd Hollandsworth on the Danny Mac Show:

• The team's success will depend a great deal on Soriano's performance.
• There are 6-7 questions that surround this team going into the season.
• Todd thinks if you can answer 4-5 of those questions with a positive answer, this team has a chance.
• Soriano has to produce. This team isn't the deepest team, and they will depend on Alfonso.
• The Cubs are playing "team baseball" down in Arizona.
• Holly thinks that Soriano needs to get the "meaningful hits" against tough pitching.
• Geovany Soto is another big question. Geo has lost some weight and has a new hitting coach, but these questions will not be answered until the season starts.
• Todd calls Jeff Samardzija "a kid with all the potential in the world." The Shark needs a consistent role somewhere so that he can find himself some success.
• If Samardzija gets some relief innings under his belt, then his confidence will go up.
• The decision to sign Kevin Millar was affected by the situation with the clubhouse last year. Millar has a great track record, but there's no point in putting him on your roster if the at bats aren't going to be there for him.
• This team needs all the hitters they can get right now, so Chad Tracy might be the right decision.
• Hollandsworth loves Carlos Zambrano's passion and loves what he brings to the table. However, there is no defined number 1 in the Cubs rotation. Big Z needs to step up and be that guy.
• Z has to cut down on the melt downs.
• Todd is tired of overlooking the same mental problems with Zambrano. He wants to win, but he has to stop losing his focus at times.

New Poll

A big thanks to everyone who voted on our last poll on the right sidebar! Here are the results:

Q: Who would you most like to see on the Cubs bench?

1. Kevin Millar- 13 votes

2. Chad Tracy- 7 Votes

3. Micah Hoffpauir- 2 Votes

Now there is a new poll up on the right sidebar of the blog mainpage!

Q: What is the biggest area of concern for the 2010 Chicago Cubs?

A) Starting Pitching

B) Bullpen Depth

C) Defense

D) Power Bats

E) Speed

F) Scoring Runs

Please vote! Also, feel free to comment with your thoughts or email be at cubsblogmailbag@aol.com.

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

30 Clubs in 30 Days Recaps: Houston Astros

Today we continue our series previewing the 2010 season for the Cubs' NL Central foes. We have been recapping MLB Network's "30 Clubs in 30 Days", and today we will focus on the Astros' addition of 30 in 30.

Kissimmee, Florida is the Spring Training home of the Houston Astros.

Host Matt Vasgersian was joined by John Hart and Mitch Williams for this episode.

The Astros finished 2009 in fifth place with a 74-88 record. They were 17 games back of the first place Cardinals.

Additions:

• Pedro Feliz, 3B
• Brett Myers, SP
• Matt Lindstrom, RP
• Brandon Lyon, RP

Subtractions:

• Chris Coste, C
• Miguel Tejada, SS
• Aaron Boone, IF
• Darin Erstad, UT
• Mike Hampton, SP
• Jose Valverde, RP
• LaTroy Hawkins, RP
• Doug Brocail, RP

John Hart thinks that the Feliz signing was a good one because of the issues they've had at third base. Mitch thinks that Lindstrom needs to slow his delivery down.

The biggest change is that Brad Mills will take over as the Astros manager. The 52 year old Mills will be making his big league managerial debut, but he has managed at the minor league level including some time with the Cubs organization. Mills also spent 6 years as the Red Sox bench coach. Hazel Mae talked with Brad Mills:

• Brad thinks the Astros are on their way to becoming a winning environment.
• Consistancy is a key.
• Any time you have some solid veterans, the young talented guys are able to see how professionals act.
• Sitting next to Terry Francona and watching him manage for six years was "all the mentoring he could ever ask for."

Hart is not concerned about Lance Berkman's health because he thinks Lance can bounce back quickly. Mitch says that this knee cleanup will not take Berkman that long to come back from. Williams had a cleanup and was pitching 2 days later during his career.

2009 Team Pitching Stats:

• Starter ERA: 4.79 (14th in NL)
• Bullpen ERA: 4.13 (12th)
• Opp. Average: .275 (14th)
• Strikeouts: 1,144 (10th)
• Blown Saves: 26 (15th, tied with the Dodgers for NL's most)

Roy Oswalt joined the guys:

• He feels great. It's the first time in awhile that he has felt as healthy as he does now.
• The ball is coming out of Roy's hand really well.
• Oswalt likes to have a pitching coach who will correct one thing instead of throwing 4-5 things at you at one time. He doesn't like guys who harp on mechanics.
• It's tough to have a bullpen that blows a lot of games because your team never really gets on a roll.
• Some of the younger Astros' pitchers ask Roy questions. Oswalt thinks that Bud Norris will be a front line starter in the big leagues at some point. He says Bud has great stuff.
• Norris' biggest thing is location.

Projected Rotation:

• Roy Oswalt, RHP
• Wandy Rodriguez, LHP
• Brett Myers, RHP
• Bud Norris, RHP
• Brian Moeler, RHP

A lot of teams don't have a staff ace, but the Astros are one of the few NL clubs that do. If Oswalt is healthy, Mitch thinks he'll win 15-20 ballgames. Hart calls Rodriguez "filthy on left handers" and says he has one of the best curveballs in the National League. If Norris commands the ball, John thinks he'll take off. Brett Myers has great stuff when he's healthy and when his head is right.

Hazel chatted with Myers:

• Myers doesn't think that the change from the Phillies to the Astros was that big of a deal. "It's baseball," he said.
• It was an adjustment for Brett to come back from the bullpen to the rotation last year. Now that he has made that adjustment, he is looking forward for pitching with the guys in the Astros' rotation.

Projected Bullpen:

• Bradon Lyon, RHP
• Tim Byrdak, LHP
• Jeff Fulchino, RHP
• Chris Sampson, RHP
• Alberto Arias, RHP
• Closer: Matt Lindstrom, RHP

Lyon is waiting in the wings in case Lindstrom has any trouble. Williams said that Lyon is a pitch to contact guy. He does not strike out too many, but he doesn't walk guys and had a low ERA last year. Mitch prefers a power closer, so he gives Lindstrom the nod. Hart thinks the Astros setup core has yet to be settled. There are still some "lead-in" roles up for grabs.

2009 Team Hitting Stats:

• Runs: 643 (14th in NL)
• Average: .250 (8th in NL)
• Home Runs: 142 (12th in NL)
• Slugging %: .400 (11th)
• OBP: .319 (13th)
• Stolen Bases: 113 (4th)

Hazel Mae interviewed Lance Berkman:

• Berkman's health may decide the fate of the team this year.
• At the start of camp, Lance played through the knee discomfort, but the swelling continued so he went to see the team doctor.
• He decided to go under the knife now because he didn't want it to linger all year. It was better to get the situation taken care of now.
• Lance feels pretty good and is already walking on it. He plans to start swinging the bat in a week and a half or two weeks.
• He thinks Opening Day is a realistic goal, but he won't jeopardize an entire season over one game.

Projected Lineup:

• M. Bourn, CF
• K. Matsui, 2B
• C. Lee, LF
• L. Berkman, 1B
• H. Pence, RF
• P. Feliz, 3B
• T. Mounzello, SS
• H. Quintero, C

Mitch admits that two years ago he said that Bourn would never be an everyday player at the big league level because he could not hit left handed pitching. Now, he has worked his behind off and has Mitch eating his words. Matsui is a veteran guy who understands the game. He is a perfect 2 hole hitter. John says that Carlos Lee is not just a power guy, he's an all-around good hitter. Berkman is a run producer with a lot of good years left in him. Hunter Pence is a very unorthodox player but he has a bat, can run, and plays good defense. Pedro Feliz plays great defense at third base. He's one of the best guys at the hot corner in the league. Hart thinks they have a very good defensive club.

Top 10 Prospects:

• Jay Austin, OF
• Jason Castro, C
• Collin Delome, OF
• Jonathan Gaston, OF
• Chris Johnson, 3B
• Chia-Jen Lo, RHP
• Jordon Lyles, RHP
• Tommy Manzella, SS
• Jiovanni Mier, SS
• Ross Seaton, RHP

Hart's thinks that Mier has a lot of upside. Lyle was drafted in 2008 out of high school and has a lot of upside as well. John thinks that Jason Castro has all the things you want to see from a catcher. Castro could be at the big league level as soon as this year, and John thinks he'll be the catcher in Houston for a long time.

Hazel talked with Hunter Pence:

• Pence works hard and tries to win ball games.
• Being an All-Star is something you can't really put into words. Last year he felt like a young kid again playing in the All-Star game.
• The only way to get through soreness and get into game shape is to play 100% in Spring Training.

Mae also talked with radio voice Milo Hamilton:

• Milo called Hank Aaron's famous home run. Hamilton says that the homer barely made it out.
• This camp is fun because there are lots of battles for the roster.
• The coaching staff and new manager are working hard.

Baseball Prospectus predicts that Houston will finish with a 77-85 record, in 4th place in the NL Central. John Hart has the Stros at fifth, and Mitch Williams thinks they'll fall to last place. Williams points out that they lack that depth to hold up if there are any injuries.