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!

Spring Training Preview: Non-Roster Catchers

It's time to continue our look at what we will see in Spring Training. I posted on the non roster preview for pitchers last week. Today is President's Day, and we're just a few days away from the time pitchers and catcher report to Spring Training. Therefore, it's time to check out what minor league catcher will be in Cub camp.

Robinson Chirinos

• Catcher
• Bats/Throws: R/R
• Has been in the Cubs organization since 2001
• Converted from an infielder into a catcher
• Rated best defensive catcher in the system by Jim Callis of Baseball America
• Hit .366 in 48 games in the Venezuelan Winter League this offseason
• Hit .294 during the 2009 regular season, splitting time between Class A Daytona and AA Tennessee
• My Prediction: Will start the year at AA

Steve Clevenger

• Catcher
• Bats/Throws: L/R
• Drafted by the Cubs in the 7th round of the 2006 June draft
• Was in big league camp for the first time last year after a great 2008 Arizona Fall League season
• Hit .290 in 94 games at AAA Iowa and AA Tennessee last season
• My prediction: Will start the year at AA

Chris Robinson

• Catcher
• Bats/Throw: R/R
• Drafted by the Tigers in the 3rd round of the 2005 June draft
• Played for team Canada at the 2008 Olympics
• Came to the Cubs in 2006
• Spent all of 2009 at AAA, hitting .326 in 91 games
• My prediction: Will start the year at AAA

In addition to the three non roster invitees, the Cubs have some other backstops from the minors that are on the 40-man roster that will be in camp. I'll tell you about them in a future post. There is a lot of depth at the catching position in this organization, but unless Hill or Soto suffers an injury, all the minor league guys will stay minor league guys. Depth, however, is always a good thing.

This weekend meant the Olympics, NBA All Star Weekend, Valentine's Day, President's Day, and more to most, but to us Cub fans it meant the final weekend without baseball.

Pitchers and catcher report on Wednesdays folks!