Weekend Quick Hits: Quade Leads the Pack, Wedge to Seattle, Roster Moves, & More

• Bruce Levine wrote today that the Cubs are getting closer and closer to naming their new manager. He said that Mike Quade is the leading candidate. Levine says that the announcement could come as early as next week prior to the start of the World Series. Major League Baseball does not allow managerial announcements during the Fall Classic.
• Bruce added the Ryne Sandberg is a candidate for the Toronto Blue Jays managerial position.
• Bobby Scales and Blake Parker have been outrighted to Triple-A Iowa, reducing the Cubs 40-man roster to 38.
• Josh Vitters has started for the Mesa Solar Sox twice so far this fall, once at first base and once at third base.
• The Mesa Cubs finished up the Arizona Instructional League with a mark of 7-9-4.
• There was an Internet rumor going around that Mike Quade was set to be named the manager with Ryne Sandberg as his bench coach, but several Chicago media members were quick to shoot down the report.
• Eric Wedge has been named the new manager of the Seattle Mariners, reducing the list of possible Cubs skippers even further. The Sun Times reports that the Tom Ricketts will not lose any sleep over Wedge going elsewhere.
• Gordon Wittenmyer reports that Joe Girardi continues to have interest in the gig.

That's it for now, but if news breaks on the Cubs managerial search we'll let you know!

Coaching Staff Roundup: Rothschild Takes Option, Tram Expected to Move On, & More

Rothschild Exercises Option
Cubs pitching coach Larry Rothschild has picked up his option for the 2011 season. Bruce Levine reports that Larry informed team officials of his decision Monday, which was his last day to do so. This does not mean that Rothschild will definitely return to the club next season, because he could be fired if a new manager comes in and bring in "his guy". Paul Sullivan tweets that if Mike Quade becomes the skipper, Rothschild will return.

Jaramillo Expected to Stay
Rudy Jaramillo is the only Cubs coach in addition to Rothschild who is under contract for the 2011 season. Despite the Cubs offensive struggles in 2010 he is still well respected around baseball. This means that Rudy will most likely be back regardless of who the new manager is.

The Final Four
The Chicago Tribune reports that it appears that Mike Quade, Ryne Sandberg, Eric Wedge, and Bob Melvin are the final four for the Cubs managerial position. Carrie Muskat also lists these four as finalists. Tom Ricketts reportedly would like a guy with a Cubs background, which would indicate that Q and Ryno could have an edge, but Tom has met with Wedge. Levine expects the new skipper to be announced soon.

Bench Coach
Bruce Levine mentioned during his chat earlier in the week that the Cubs do not see Alan Trammell as a big league manager. He added that Alan will most likely be "moving on". If Ryne Sandberg is named the manager, Tram could be replaced by ex-Cub Larry Bowa.

Rest of the Staff
The Tribune points out that the rest of the Cubs coaching staff could easily stay intact if Mike Quade is named the manager. This would create less of a transition period. Bringing in a skipper that has already been around for three years and keeping the rest of the coaches could help the Cubs gel faster in 2011.

Random Quick Hits

• Cubs pitcher Angel Guzman started playing catch this week in Mesa according to a report from Carrie Muskat. Guzman missed the entire 2010 season.
• The Mesa Solar Sox posted an 8-3 win yesterday but no Cubs prospects saw action. They will have the home opener tonight with Jake Muyco, David Cales, Chris Carpenter, and Kyle Smit all scheduled to pitch. Josh Vitters, rehabbing his broken hand, may see the field tonight.
• Chris Archer fanned ten over six shutout inning yesterday in Team USA's 4-1 win over Cubs in the Pan American Games Qualifying Tournament.

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

Cubs Down On the Farm Report

Lot's of minor league news, notes, and stats to get to, so let's get started...

40 Man Roster Adds
Today the Cubs protected John Gaub, Blake Parker, Rafael Dolis, Welington Castillo, and James Adduci. Today was the deadline to add players to the 40-man and protect them. Matt Camp, Steve Clevenger, Alex Maestri, Thomas Diamond, J.R. Mathes, and Greg Rheinhard were not put on the roster, and they all are up for grabs in the Rule V Draft next month.

Top Prospect List
Baseball America came out with their new list of the Top 10 Cub Prospects for this year.
1. Starlin Castro
2. Brett Jackson
3. Josh Vitters
4. Andrew Cashner
5. Jay Jackson
6. Hak-Ju Lee
7. Logan Watkins
8. Chris Carpenter
9. Ryan Flaherty
10. DJ LeMeieu

Cubs Minor League FA
The Cubs minor league free agent list is now official:
P- Casey Fossum, Vince Perkins, and Jose Pina
C- Mark Johnson
IF- Matt Craig, Luis Rivas, Bobby Scales, and Nate Speares
OF- Doug Deeds, John-Ford Griffin, and Brad Snyder

AFL Ends
The Arizona Fall League is over for the Mesa Solar Sox. They finished 13-18, 5.5 GB of first place Phoenix in the AFL East. Phoenix will meet Peo Javelinas in the AFL championship game tomorrow on the MLB Network.
Let's take a look at the final stats of the Cubs playing in the AFL:

Michael Brenly: 8 games, .240 AVG, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Welington Castillo: 8 Games, .357 AVG, 2 HR, 4 RBI
Starlin Castro: 26 Games, .376 AVG, HR, 10 RBIs
Josh Vitters: 16 Games, .353 AVG, HR, 8 RBI
John Gaub: 1-1, 9.31 ERA, 10 Games
Scott Maine(Scottsdale): 16.20 ERA in 2 Games
Blake Parker: 2-1, 4.50 ERA in 11 Games
James Russell: 0-1, 1.26 ERA in 11 Games
Andrew Cashner: 2-3, 4.58 ERA, 6 Games (all starts)

Posted a little late this week, but in 2 weeks we'll be back with more winter ball reports!

Cubs in Winter Ball Stats

It's Thursday, so here's the latest stats from Cubs playing in Winter Leagues:

• Andres Blanco, VWL: .289 AVG, 1 HR, 16 RBI, 24 Games
• Michael Brenly, AFL: .385 AVG, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 5 Games
• Matt Camp, MPL: .328 AVG, 1 HR, 18 RBI, 28 Games
• Welington Castillo, AFL: .357, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 8 Games
• Starlin Castro, AFL: .387 AVG, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 20 Games
• Robinson Chirinos, VWL: .356 AVG, 5 HR, 15 RBI, 21 Games
• Mario Mercedes, DWL: .500 AVG, RBI, 5 Games
• Nelson Perez, DWL: .381 AVG, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 15 Games
• Brad Snyder, MPL: .330 AVG, 4 HR, 22 RBI, 27 Games
• Kevin Soto, VWL: .125 AVG, 6 Games
• Josh Vitters, AFL: .364 AVG, 4 RBI, 13 Games
• Andrew Cashner, AFL: 2-2, 4.32 ERA, 5 Games
• Thomas Diamond, MPL: 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 Games
• John Gaub, AFL: 1-1, 11.74 ERA, 8 Games
• Blake Parker, AFL: 2-1, 5.40 ERA, 9 Games
• James Russell, AFL: 0-1, 1.59 ERA in 9 Games
• Brian Schlitter, MPL: 1-0, 4.30 ERA, 14 Games

A few more things:

• The Mesa Solar Sox are in second place in the AFL East, 1.5 Games back of Phoenix. Mesa's record is 12-12.
• Last Saturday the West out-slugged the East 8-7 in the Arizona Fall League All Star Game. Click here for my full recap.
• Follow my Cubs Farm Updates Twitter.
• I'll continue to have a weekly winter ball report on Thursdays!

Future MLB Stars Battle in AZ

Yesterday the Arizona Fall League "Rising Stars" game was played at Surprise Stadium, the Spring Training home of the Texas Rangers and KC Royals. The AFL East team, which included players from the Cubs organization, lost to the West 8-7. The East scored 7 runs in the top of the first inning, but they did not score again the rest of the way as the West roared back to "surprise" the East squad. McBride hit the go-ahead homer for the West in the bottom of the 8th inning.

Josh Vitters, Starlin Castro, Blake Parker, and Andrew Cashner were all named to the Rising Stars contest, but only Castro and Parker were able to play in the game.

Starlin Castro
Castro was the starting SS and number 2 hole hitter for the West club. The star Cubs prospect had a first inning broken bat single that fell in center. He came around to score on a 3-run Brandon Allen homer that started the scoring in the game. The team batted around in the inning, so Castro ended up flying out to end the 7-run frame. He blooped another Texas Leaguer for his second hit in the 4th inning. Starlin made a nice read on a ball in the dirt to advance from first to third. Castro was taken out for a defensive sub in the bottom of the 5th, to end his 2-3 day. He was one of three 19 year olds in the game.

Blake Parker
The 2009 Tennessee Smokies closer came on to pitch in the bottom of the 7th inning. He allowed a lead off single to Jordan Danks, who's from the White Sox organization. Carlos Rivero flied to left for the first out. Jordan, brother of John Danks, advanced to second on a Parker wild pitch. Parker walked Chris Heisey to put 2 men on, but then he struck out Yonder Alonzo for out number 2. Ike Davis was retired by Blake on a ground ball to get Parker out of trouble in a key spot. The scoreless inning of work kept the East in front for the time being by a score of 7-6.

It was great to see all of top prospects from all 30 teams playing on one field. Game like this are what I really like about the MLB Network, and why I think a Cubs Network is needed.

The AFL Championship game will be televised on the Network on November 21.

The Cubs In Winter Ball

Brenly Joins AFL
Michael Brenly, son of Cubs broadcaster Bob Brenly, has joined the Mesa Solar Sox to do some catching in the Arizona Fall League. Brenly launched a 2-run homer yesterday to lead Mesa to an 8-5 win, and he has 2 hits so far in today's game against Peoria. Brenly is replacing catcher Welington Castillo on the team. He spent most of 2009 with the Peoria Chiefs.

Samardzija Done in Mexico
Cubs pitcher Jeff Samardzija has finished his assignment with the Mexicali team in the Mexican Pacific League. Jeff started 5 games, going 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA. "The Shark" is hoping to start for the Cubs next year, and the injury to Ted Lilly could give him a chance to start the year in the rotation.

Diamond to hit the Winter League Diamond
In early September the Cubs claimed right handed pitcher Thomas Diamond off of waivers from the Texas Rangers. Thomas was the Rangers' first pick in the 2004 First Year Player Draft. Tomorrow, Diamond will head to Mexico, where he will take Samardzija's spot on Mexicali's roster. He is just getting healthy from a Tommy John surgery he had in March of 2007. Diamond pitched in the Arizona Instructional League at Fitch Park earlier this fall. He is hoping to earn an invitation to Cubs Spring Training.

AFL Rising Stars
Saturday is the Arizona Fall League "Rising Stars" game. Starlin Castro and Josh Vitters are the two Cub farm hand position players who are on the AFL East roster. Andrew Cashner was named to the team, but will not be able to play in the game, so he will be replaced by fellow Cub minor leaguer Blake Parker. Parker, a left handed pitcher, played for Tennessee and Iowa in 2009. The game will be televised on the MLB Network Saturday night.

Castro Scares Cubs
Top prospect Starlin Castro jammed his finger diving into a base early in the week, but he was not badly injured and returned to the Solar Sox lineup today. STAR-lin is leading the league in hitting at .425.

Cubs Organization Looks at Future
The entire Cubs organization, in Mesa for their annual meetings, was in attendance today to watch some young Cubs play as the Mesa Solar Sox hosted Peoria at HoHoKam Park. The Solar Sox stomped on Peo Javelinas in the game by a score of 8-1. All 4 Cubs pitchers that are playing in the AFL got into the game. Andrew Cashner got the start, and ended up with the win. He worked 4 scoreless frames. James Russell pitched a 1, 2, 3 fifth inning. He was followed by John Gaub, he allowed 0 runs on a hit, and Blake Parker, who yielded 1 run on 2 hits. On the hitters side of things, Brenly and Castro each went 2-4, while Josh Vitters did not play.

Blanco Continues to Play Well
Cubs infielder Andres Blanco has had a great winter season so far for Magallanes, of the Venezualan Winter League. Andres has a .303 batting average in 18 games. The Cubs people are happy to see him hitting well, because they know he can play good defense. Blanco will go to Spring Training competing for infield jobs with Ryan Theriot, Jeff Baker, Mike Fontenot, Aaron Miles, and anyone else the Cubs add this winter. Robinson Chirinos, Cubs minor league catcher, is hitting .410 in 16 games for Magallanes.

Other Winter Ball Tidbits

• Nelson Perez is hitting .405 in the Domican Winter League for Toros. He has played in 12 games.
• Matt Camp is hitting .351 and Brad Snyder is batting .333 with 4 homers and 19 RBIs. Both are playing for Mexicalli.
• J.R. Mathes is 1-2 with a 5.40 ERA in the VWL.
• Welington Castillo is done in the AFL, he finished with a .357 batting average and 2 RBIs in his 4 games.

I will have a recap of the AFL Rising Stars game up on Sunday, and I will have my next full winter ball report next Thursday!

Day 1 of the Organizational Meetings Roundup

Notes from the Chicago Tribune:

• One player the Cubs are interested in is Akinori Iwamura. Iwamura is a left handed hitting second baseman.
• New Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts will introduce himself to the baseball operations department personnel at the meetings.
• He also will meet with Mesa city officials and Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer to talk about keeping Cubs Spring Training in Arizona. According to the Tribune, nothing will be decided this week.
• The meetings run today through Friday.
• Other things on the Cubs list: 1. Re-signing John Grabow in the 2 week window after the World Series, 2. Trying to find a lead-off hitter speed, and 3. trying to find a corner outfielder with power.

Bruce Levine's notes from Mesa:

• According to Bruce Levine, "plans are already in motion on the business front."
• Ricketts and family met the baseball side of the organization for the first time today.
• Tonight Tom will meet 90 people in baseball operations Tuesday night at the team's hotel in Mesa at a meet-and-great dinner.
• Tomorrow the Ricketts family will spend most of the day looking at possible sites for a new Cubs spring training home.
• On Thursday, the meetings will move to Ho-Ho-Kam Park, where the baseball operations people will have a lunch and watch top Cub prospects play in the Arizona Fall League.

Arizona Fall League All Star Rosters have been announced! The "Rising Stars Showcase" will be on the MLB Network on Saturday night. Josh Vitters, Starlin Castro, and Andrew Cashner are the 3 Cubs farm hands that were named to the team, but Cashner will not be able to participate. Looking forward to seeing Vitters and Castro playing on TV on Saturday!

Ricketts wants to keep the Cubs in the top 3 payrolls in baseball.

More from Mesa tomorrow...