Catching Up After a Week Away

Sorry about the lack of posting on the site all week! Let's jump right in with a little discussion on what is going on in the world of Cubs baseball! Let's break things down into ten important questions for the Cubs to answer if they want to get back on the winning track.

• Can Ryan Dempster perform as at least a middle of the rotation starter? The Cubs openeing day hurler has pitched poorly in nearly every outing this season. With two starters injured, the other three must step it up. The "ace" of this staff has not being doing that. He hit rock bottom in his last start allowing 7 runs in 1/3 of an inning.


• Will Starlin Castro and Darwin Barney keep up this pace all season? Right now, the offense is depending on two of its youngest players to shoulder the load. The chances are that the Cubs fine middle infield duo will not be able to carry the team on its own.


• Will Carlos Pena hit .200 once again?


• Who is going to hit third? Marlon Byrd did not have a good first month, and he is not really a No. 3 hitter to begin with. The answer to this question seems to be Starlin Castro.


• Who is going to hit lead-off? Mike Quade continues to shuffle around his lead-off men. Castro, Kosuke, Baker, DeWitt, Barney and Byrd have all seen time in the top spot this season. Could a Brett Jackson call-up be on the horizon?


• Can starters go deeper into games? The Cubs bullpen has been taxed way too much early in the season. The James Russell rotation plan has failed. The Cubs need to find an arm that can eat some innings until Cashner and Wells return.


• Will Wells and Cashner give this team a lift? The Cubs are hoping that both guys come back at nearly 100%. They are depending on Cash to prove himself in the rotation and Wells needs to bounce back from his sophomore slump.


• Can Castro play defense? We know the kid can hit, but he must improve his glovework to help keep this team in some games.


• Is Q the right guy? So far Mike Quade's managing has been mediocre at best. If the Cubs continue to lose, fans will become more and more vocal about the fact that they would have liked to see Ryne Sandberg get a shot.


• Is Carlos Marmol the real deal? Going into the season, it seemed like the back end of the bullpen was the strength of this team. But they have already blown several games and have not been as strong and advertised. Hopefully Marmol can fix some of his control issues and pull it together as the closer.

Tomorrow we'll take a look at the good and the bad of the week in Cubs baseball.

Weekend Quick Hits Before 3 with LA

Here are the latest news and notes concerning the Cubbies!

• Starlin Castro is in the No. 3 slot in the lineup for the game against the Dodgers today. It is his second straight game in the spot.


• Ryan Dempster will pitch against his former Cubs team Ted Lilly on Saturday afternoon.


• Randy Hundley is scheduled to sing the 7th Inning Stretch today.


• Today is 22q Awareness Day at the ballpark, hosted by Ryan Dempster.


• According to the Tribune, Bud Selig is not concerned about the lack of attendance at Wrigley Field or in baseball in general.


• Andrew Cashner and Randy Wells are both set to start their throwing programs today. Wells is expected to return to the rotation sooner than Cashner.


• Bruce Miles tweets that the tarp is on the field at Wrigley. The weather forecast is iffy for today, but I would expect them to get the game in.


• Heading into action today, the Cubs and Brewers are tied for third in the NL Central, just 0.5 games out. The Reds and Cardinals are locked in the top spot. All five other teams in the division play under the lights tonight. It's only April, but the Cubs have a chance to move into first place this weekend.

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

Cubs/Padres Game 2 Postponed

Tonight's Cubs game against the Padres scheduled to start at 7:05 at Wrigley has been postponed due to the weather and field conditions. A day/night double header is now scheduled for tomorrow.

The Cubs will send Matt Garza to the hill for the first game and James Russell will start the nightcap tomorrow. Tickets for tonight's game will be honored for the night game tomorrow. The Tyler Colvin bobblehead promotion will also carry over to the nightcap.

I'll keep you posted!

Remembering Ronnie Roundup

Throughout the 2011 season, we are going to spend a lot of time here on Everything Cubs blog remembering the legendary Ron Santo. Remembering Ronnie Roundups will pop up every once in a while on significant days or when there is a lot of Santo news to report. There were two big events this weekend that were Santo related.

On Friday night prior to the start of the Cubs/Rockies game, Santo was remember with a special program on WGN-TV. It was a quality 30 minute program titled "Ron Santo: In His Own Words". Bob Vorwald did an excellent job producing it and Bob Brenly did the narration. Highlights of Ron's playing days were mixed in with video clips of Ron talking about his baseball career from several different interviews. One of the funniest parts featured Santo leading the rest of the Cubs All Century Team in rehearsal for a 7th Inning Stretch performance. Santo's speech from his number retirement ceremony was replayed to close the show.

On Sunday afternoon, an exciting announcement was made by Ronnie's partner Pat Hughes during the WGN Radio broadcast of the Cubs/Rockies game. A commenter on the Cubs Radio Facebook page inquired about a Ron Santo Baseball Voices CD. Hughes announced that he does indeed plan on creating one of his CDs for #10. He is going to start working on it after this season ends. It is expected to be released at some point next winter. Pat is also writing a book called Ron Santo: A Perfect Ten, expected to come out June 19.

I'll have much more on Santo right here on this blog all summer long.

The Good & The Bad: Week 2

The Cubs lost a tough one today 9-5 at the hands of the Rockies, with the game tied at 5 entering the bottom of the eighth. With the loss, the Cubs finished the road trip at 4-5 and are now 7-8 on the season. Let's start with the good from this week.

• Starlin Castro is a stud. He collected seven hits on Saturday and Sunday alone! Starlin is looking good in the lead-off spot.


• Darwin Barney has slid comfortably up to the No. 2 spot in the order. He, too, had a big week. Bob Brenly on Darwin today, "You can't teach instincts."


• Jeff Samardzija looked sharp today, sending down all six men he faced.


• The Cubs showed some signs of life on Saturday and Sunday, playing a couple of close games against a tough Rockies team.


• Koyie Hill notched his first hit of the season.


• The Cubs finally tallied their first stolen base this season. (Castro)


• Casey Coleman pitched a great game on Saturday.

And now the bad...

• The Cubs middle of the order has a grand total of one home run this season.


• No. 5 hitter Carlos Pena is 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position.


• No. 3 hitter Marlon Byrd is 3-for-20 with men in scoring position.


• The Cubs bullpen day on Tuesday in Houston was a total failure. James Russell was hammered and the 'Stros extended the lead against guys like Samardzija and Stevens.


• Tyler Colvin is still slumping.


• This team has lacked both speed and power, not a great combo.


• Marcos Mateo's eighth inning today in which he nearly escaped a second and third with no out spot, but ended up giving up four two out runs.

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

Weekend Quick Hits: Santo Special, Kosuke's Health, The Rotation and More

Here's the latest in the world of Cubs baseball!

• WGN-TV will air a Cubs special tonight before the Cubs game against the Rockies. "Ron Santo: In His Own Words" starts at 6:30 CT.


• WGN Radio has announced a seven part series of one-hour interviews featuring Cubs players which will air on the network. The hosts of WGN Sports Night, David Kaplan and Brian Noonan, will also host the series, which is called Cubs Corner. The debut on Tuesday, April 26 at noon features Andrew Cashner and Kerry Wood.


• Patrick Mooney tweets that the Cubs have not yet decided who will start on Tuesday. James Russell and Jeff Samardzija are possibilities, or the Cubs could decide to call-up Ramon Ortiz or Roberto Coello.


• Carrie Muskat reports that Mike Quade is open to bringing a player up from Triple-A to start, but only if they are ready. He wants to talk to his coaches first.


• Kosuke Fukudome, who has been out with a right hamstring strain, did some light running and took batting practice last night. He is close to returning to the lineup.


• Andrew Cashner has no pain and full range of motion in his right shoulder. Muskat reports that the rehab is going well.


• Carlos Zambrano apologized to Mike Quade for leaving the mound too early when he was yanked from a game earlier this week.


• Paul Sullivan says that Sean Marshall is not an option for the rotation.


• The Tennessee Smokies have placed top pitching prospect Trey McNutt on the disabled list.

Sorry about the formating issues on some of the posts lately. We are trying to resolve that problem. That's it for now, but I'll keep you posted!

Getting to Know Doug Davis & Ramon Ortiz

In the past week, the Cubs have added two veteran pitchers to their organization. Yesterday, James Russell's debut in the rotation did not go so well. The Cubs could be in need of some pitching help. Here is the little bit of information of the two hurlers inked by the Cubs.

Ramon Ortiz

37 years old

RHP

Signed a minor league contract with the Cubs and assigned to Triple-A Iowa

Spent 2010 with three different organizations (LAD, NYM, TB), making 16 big league appearances and two starts.

Has also played with the Angels (1999-2004), Reds (2005), Nationals (2006), Twins (2007) and Rockies (2007).

Career ERA of 4.93 with a record of 85-82 in 10 seasons.

Pitched 5.2 innings in his Iowa Cubs debut on Monday, allowing 2 earned runs on 5 hits and 3 walks.

Doug Davis

LHP

35 years old

Signed a minor league contract with the Cubs to a pro-rated salary of $900,000 if he pitches in the major with a chance to earn close to #2 million in incentives.

Will report to Fitch Park and work in extended spring training before heading to Iowa

Coming off elbow surgery

Has played for the Rangers (1999-2003), Blue Jays (2003), Brewers (2003-2006, 2010) and D'backs (2007-2009).

Went 1-4 in only eight games for the Brewers last season

Career ERA of 4.38 with a record of 91-101 in 12 seasons

We'll see if these guys can help the Cubs as some point!