Today the Cubs and the defending World Champion Giants will meet in a double header because they must make up a Sunday game that was postponed back on May 15. A wild homestand for the Cubs continues after a makeup game victory over the Rockies on a scheduled off day yesterday.
The Cubs bullpen could be in trouble today, because in addition to the fact that a twin bill always taxes a pen, they may not get much length out of their starters. Doug Davis will hopefully go deep into the first game, but you never know with the crafty lefty. Rodrigo Lopez, normally a member of the relief core, will be forced to start the second game because none of the five starters are available on regular rest.
This is a split twin bill, with game one starting at 1:20 and the first pitch of the second game taking place at 7:05. Here is the Cubs starting lineup for the first game:
1. Kosuke, RF
2. Campana, CF
3. Castro, SS
4. Ramirez, 3B
5. Pena, 1B
6. Soriano, LF
7. DeWitt, 2B
8. Hill, C
9. Davis, P
The Cubbies already played one day-night double dip this year, splitting a April 20 affair with the Padres. They won the first game 2-1 on a dramatic Reed Johnson home run before falling in the nightcap. At that point they were .500 for the season.
There are always two possibilities that could make a double header even more wild- a rain delay or extra innings. The first is unlikely today as the weather in Chicago is beautiful.
The Cubs did not play a double dip last year and split one in 2009 against the Cardinals. The last time the Boys in Blue swept both games was in Atlanta on August 13, 2008.
"I don't care who wins as long as it's the Cubs!"
Showing posts with label San Francisco Giants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label San Francisco Giants. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Breaking News Roundup: News from the Organizational Meetings
Lots of Cubs news coming out of Mesa the past few days. Let's get caught up!
Sandberg Leaves Organization
Ryne Sandberg will not return as the manager of the Triple-A Iowa Cubs. He was offered his position back but decided to move on after losing out on the managerial position. Bob Nightengale tweets that Ryno was offered the bench coach position but turned that down as well. Hendry said that the decision was entirely up to Sandberg but he did not want to return to the minor league level.
Mesa Vote Approved
The city of Mesa has approved funding for a new Chicago Cubs spring training complex. The city will pay up to $99 million for the complex, which will be located two miles southwest of HoHoKam Park.
Aramis Ramirez Exercises Option
As expected, Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez has exercised his 2011 player option. The Cubs knew during the season that Ramirez intended to take the option and the news was officially announced earlier this week. He will make $14.6 million next season.
Dave Keller Rounds Out Coaching Staff
Mike Quade's full coaching staff was officially announced on Tuesday. Dave Keller will be the special assistant to the staff, a role previously held by Matt Sinatro. He has been in the organization as the minor league hitting coordinator since 2004 so he has a knowledge of the players coming throughout the system. One of his jobs will be to assist Rudy Jaramillo. Larry Rothschild, Rudy Jaramillo, Lester Strode, and Ivan DeJesus all return to the staff while Bobby Dernier enters his first full year on the big league staff and Pat Listach joins the club as the bench coach. Interesting to note that the Cubs do not have any former catchers on their staff to work with Geovany Soto and Koyie Hill.
Guzman Outrighted, Signs Minor League Contract
The Cubs outrighted Angel Guzman, removed him from the 40-man roster, and then signed him all in one day. According to Bruce Levine, has inked a minor league deal with the club that includes an invite to Spring Training. Guzman missed all of 2010 with an injury that took place during Spring Training. The 40-man roster is now at 37.
Minor League Coaching Staffs
Full minor league coaching staffs most likely will not be announced for another month, but some of the Cubs' farm clubs' staffs are starting to take shape. Bill Dancy, who led the Tennessee Smokies to the Southern League title game this season, will most likely be promoted to Triple-A to take over for Ryne Sandberg. Tom Beyers is set to replace Keller as the hitting coordinator. Beyers was the Tennessee hitting coach this past season.
Giants Win the World Series
A late congratulations to the San Francisco Giants for becoming the champions of the baseball world on Monday night. The Giants included former Cubs Mark DeRosa, Mike Fontenot, and Andres Torres. Shawn Dunston is a special assistant for the Giants, so he will get a ring as well. Fontenot appeared in eight postseason games, one in the World Series.
That's it for now, but I'll keep you posted!
Sandberg Leaves Organization
Ryne Sandberg will not return as the manager of the Triple-A Iowa Cubs. He was offered his position back but decided to move on after losing out on the managerial position. Bob Nightengale tweets that Ryno was offered the bench coach position but turned that down as well. Hendry said that the decision was entirely up to Sandberg but he did not want to return to the minor league level.
Mesa Vote Approved
The city of Mesa has approved funding for a new Chicago Cubs spring training complex. The city will pay up to $99 million for the complex, which will be located two miles southwest of HoHoKam Park.
Aramis Ramirez Exercises Option
As expected, Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez has exercised his 2011 player option. The Cubs knew during the season that Ramirez intended to take the option and the news was officially announced earlier this week. He will make $14.6 million next season.
Dave Keller Rounds Out Coaching Staff
Mike Quade's full coaching staff was officially announced on Tuesday. Dave Keller will be the special assistant to the staff, a role previously held by Matt Sinatro. He has been in the organization as the minor league hitting coordinator since 2004 so he has a knowledge of the players coming throughout the system. One of his jobs will be to assist Rudy Jaramillo. Larry Rothschild, Rudy Jaramillo, Lester Strode, and Ivan DeJesus all return to the staff while Bobby Dernier enters his first full year on the big league staff and Pat Listach joins the club as the bench coach. Interesting to note that the Cubs do not have any former catchers on their staff to work with Geovany Soto and Koyie Hill.
Guzman Outrighted, Signs Minor League Contract
The Cubs outrighted Angel Guzman, removed him from the 40-man roster, and then signed him all in one day. According to Bruce Levine, has inked a minor league deal with the club that includes an invite to Spring Training. Guzman missed all of 2010 with an injury that took place during Spring Training. The 40-man roster is now at 37.
Minor League Coaching Staffs
Full minor league coaching staffs most likely will not be announced for another month, but some of the Cubs' farm clubs' staffs are starting to take shape. Bill Dancy, who led the Tennessee Smokies to the Southern League title game this season, will most likely be promoted to Triple-A to take over for Ryne Sandberg. Tom Beyers is set to replace Keller as the hitting coordinator. Beyers was the Tennessee hitting coach this past season.
Giants Win the World Series
A late congratulations to the San Francisco Giants for becoming the champions of the baseball world on Monday night. The Giants included former Cubs Mark DeRosa, Mike Fontenot, and Andres Torres. Shawn Dunston is a special assistant for the Giants, so he will get a ring as well. Fontenot appeared in eight postseason games, one in the World Series.
That's it for now, but I'll keep you posted!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Fontenot Traded, Barney Called Up
As many of you read or heard yesterday, Cubs infielder Mike Fontenot has been traded to the San Francisco Giants. The deal is odd in the sense that Mike just had to walk across the field into the Giants dugout to wear his new uniform for the third game of the series between the two clubs.
Fontenot did not make his Giants debut last night, and he is not in the starting nine for today's game either. However, he could come off the bench this afternoon as a pinch hitter.
In return, the Cubs got a minor leaguer by the name of Evan Crawford. Here is some information about him:
Fontenot did not make his Giants debut last night, and he is not in the starting nine for today's game either. However, he could come off the bench this afternoon as a pinch hitter.
In return, the Cubs got a minor leaguer by the name of Evan Crawford. Here is some information about him:
- B/T: Right
- Position: Outfield
- Age: 21
- Level: Class-A Advanced
- 2010 Stats: .255 AVG, 4 HR, 29 RBIs, 109 games
- Drafted: By the Giants in the 9th round of the 2009 draft
- Height/Weight: 6'2''/167
The Cubs have called infielder Darwin Barney up from Triple-A Iowa to take Fontenot's place on the roster. Barney has joined the team today and could come off the bench even though he is not in the starting lineup. Darwin is set to make his big league debut either today or in St. Louis.
More on Fontenot's time with the Cubs later.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Series Preview: Cubs VS Giants
The Cubs are headed back to the West Coast, where they will meet the Giants late tonight. The Cubbies offense has done nothing lately, and they will face very good pitching in the next seven games.
Four in San Fran starts tonight for a team that is coming off a 1-5 homestand and a sweep at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds. The Cubs come in at a new low water mark for the season, 17 games under .500 at 47-64. They are in fifth place, 16.5 back of first and 0.5 back of fourth. The Boys in Blue have dropped nine of their last ten.
The Giants come in after losing three of four in Atlanta in a big series this weekend. Tonight they will start a stretch of seven straight at AT&T Park, where they host the Cubs and the Padres this week. It will be an important week for San Francisco, because they are two games back of San Diego for the top spot in the NL West.
A 63-49 overall record puts the Giants atop the Wildcard standings in the National League. They will look to catch the Pads down the stretch, but at the same time they're trying to fend off the Phillies and Cardinals in the Wild Card race.
This series will be the first one between the two teams this season! This is the Cubs only trip to the Bay Area all year but the Giants will come to Wrigley September 21-23. The two teams haven't seen each other since a few Cactus League battles back in March.
Cubs manager Lou Piniella, who's having a tough summer personally and professionally, will not be with the team for this series. Sweet Lou's mother is in the hospital and he will head to Tampa, Florida to take care of her. He hopes to rejoin the team in St. Louis. For the time being, Alan Trammell will serve as the acting manager once again. Tram will get another chance to get his first W of the year after going 0-3 when Lou left the team for his uncle's funeral.
The Giants have couple of former Cubs farmhands on their roster in pitcher Todd Wellemyer and outfielder Andres Torres. Manager Bruce Bochy hopes his team can take advantage of the slumping Cubs and win this series before battling the first place Padres this weekend.
WGN Radio broadcaster Ron Santo has been skipping many of the Cubs road trips lately in order to stay healthy. Santo is a 70 year old type 1 diabetic. Dave Otto will join Pat Hughes on the broadcasts in San Fran.
Carlos Zambrano will make his return to the rotation tonight. Big Z hasn't made a start since the late June game against the White Sox where he exploded in the dugout on his teammates and ended up suspended for three games and then placed on the restricted list. Since then, Zambrano has undergone treatment from doctors, minor league rehab outings, three big league relief appearances, and is finally set to return to the rotation.
Both teams are expected to have their regular catchers back in the lineup on Monday. Buster Posey of the Giants received Sunday's game off but did pinch hit in the 9th. Geovany Soto missed the games on Saturday and Sunday due to a mild ligament sprain in his right shoulder.
Game 1: Monday at 9:15 CT
Cubs Starting Pitcher: Carlos Zambrano, RHP (3-6, 5.61 ERA)
Giants Starting Pitcher: Madison Bumgarner, LHP (4-4, 3.20 ERA)
TV/Radio: CSN+/WGN Radio
Game 2: Tuesday at 9:15 CT
Cubs Starting Pitcher: Ryan Dempster, RHP (9-8, 3.76 ERA)
Giants Starting Pitcher: Tim Lincecum, RHP (11-5, 3.15 ERA)
TV/Radio: WGN-TV/WGN Radio
Game 3: Wednesday at 9:15 CT
Cubs Starting Pitcher: Tom Gorzelanny, LHP (6-6, 3.51 ERA)
Giants Starting Pitcher: Barry Zito, LHP (8-6, 3.35 ERA)
TV/Radio: CSN/WGN Radio
Game 4: Thursday at 2:45 CT
Cubs Starting Pitcher: Randy Wells, RHP (10-5, 4.37 ERA)
Giants Starting Pitcher: Matt Cain, RHP (9-9, 3.06 ERA)
TV/Radio: WGN-TV/WGN Radio
Have the Cubs hit rock bottom yet?
Let's play the role of spoilers!
Four in San Fran starts tonight for a team that is coming off a 1-5 homestand and a sweep at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds. The Cubs come in at a new low water mark for the season, 17 games under .500 at 47-64. They are in fifth place, 16.5 back of first and 0.5 back of fourth. The Boys in Blue have dropped nine of their last ten.
The Giants come in after losing three of four in Atlanta in a big series this weekend. Tonight they will start a stretch of seven straight at AT&T Park, where they host the Cubs and the Padres this week. It will be an important week for San Francisco, because they are two games back of San Diego for the top spot in the NL West.
A 63-49 overall record puts the Giants atop the Wildcard standings in the National League. They will look to catch the Pads down the stretch, but at the same time they're trying to fend off the Phillies and Cardinals in the Wild Card race.
This series will be the first one between the two teams this season! This is the Cubs only trip to the Bay Area all year but the Giants will come to Wrigley September 21-23. The two teams haven't seen each other since a few Cactus League battles back in March.
Cubs manager Lou Piniella, who's having a tough summer personally and professionally, will not be with the team for this series. Sweet Lou's mother is in the hospital and he will head to Tampa, Florida to take care of her. He hopes to rejoin the team in St. Louis. For the time being, Alan Trammell will serve as the acting manager once again. Tram will get another chance to get his first W of the year after going 0-3 when Lou left the team for his uncle's funeral.
The Giants have couple of former Cubs farmhands on their roster in pitcher Todd Wellemyer and outfielder Andres Torres. Manager Bruce Bochy hopes his team can take advantage of the slumping Cubs and win this series before battling the first place Padres this weekend.
WGN Radio broadcaster Ron Santo has been skipping many of the Cubs road trips lately in order to stay healthy. Santo is a 70 year old type 1 diabetic. Dave Otto will join Pat Hughes on the broadcasts in San Fran.
Carlos Zambrano will make his return to the rotation tonight. Big Z hasn't made a start since the late June game against the White Sox where he exploded in the dugout on his teammates and ended up suspended for three games and then placed on the restricted list. Since then, Zambrano has undergone treatment from doctors, minor league rehab outings, three big league relief appearances, and is finally set to return to the rotation.
Both teams are expected to have their regular catchers back in the lineup on Monday. Buster Posey of the Giants received Sunday's game off but did pinch hit in the 9th. Geovany Soto missed the games on Saturday and Sunday due to a mild ligament sprain in his right shoulder.
Game 1: Monday at 9:15 CT
Cubs Starting Pitcher: Carlos Zambrano, RHP (3-6, 5.61 ERA)
Giants Starting Pitcher: Madison Bumgarner, LHP (4-4, 3.20 ERA)
TV/Radio: CSN+/WGN Radio
Game 2: Tuesday at 9:15 CT
Cubs Starting Pitcher: Ryan Dempster, RHP (9-8, 3.76 ERA)
Giants Starting Pitcher: Tim Lincecum, RHP (11-5, 3.15 ERA)
TV/Radio: WGN-TV/WGN Radio
Game 3: Wednesday at 9:15 CT
Cubs Starting Pitcher: Tom Gorzelanny, LHP (6-6, 3.51 ERA)
Giants Starting Pitcher: Barry Zito, LHP (8-6, 3.35 ERA)
TV/Radio: CSN/WGN Radio
Game 4: Thursday at 2:45 CT
Cubs Starting Pitcher: Randy Wells, RHP (10-5, 4.37 ERA)
Giants Starting Pitcher: Matt Cain, RHP (9-9, 3.06 ERA)
TV/Radio: WGN-TV/WGN Radio
Have the Cubs hit rock bottom yet?
Let's play the role of spoilers!
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