Injury updates, including Freel
MILWAUKEE _ Yes, including Ryan Freel. The newest Cub arrived today and was put into the starting lineup batting eighth at third base, in place of the injured Aramis Ramriez, who likely is out for about two months.
Freel ended up being a late lineup scratch because of a tight left hamstring. He was replaced by Bobby Scales.
According to Lou and the medical people, Ramirez will be in a sling for about a week as he rests his dislocated left shoulder. Then, he'll spend the next 3-4 weeks doing range of motion and strength work. So we're talking a good month without any baseball activity. At the end of that period, the Cubs will see where Ramirez is before allowing him to do any baseball-related activities. So the best-case scenario looks to be six weeks, with eight weeks or even more probably more realistic.
The Cubs say the MRI done today showed nothing out of the ordinary and that the soft tissue around the shoulder looked good.
Speaking of MRIs, D-Lee will have one Monday in Chicago on his neck to see if doctors can ascertain anything more about the bulging disc and resultant neck spasms.
Freel, by the way, seemed happier than heck to be here. He even got rid of his Baltimore Orioles equipment bag and said he wanted "no birds" even around his locker. The Cubs obtained him Friday for outfielder Joey Gathright. Freel went from the Reds to the O's in the off-season, but he said he knew in spring training it wasn't a good fit and that he's more of a National League player.
More in the paper tomorrow and tonight if needed.
wood has 5 saves, peavy is 2-5 with a high era, and if the season ended today we'd be out of the playoffs........freel just got here, just came off the DL and got hurt first day here, today he gets picked off 2nd.....henry/hendry wins the last 2 years, ok, but you can't live in the past and you can't play the if game, he'd tell you that himself.....he has said that the goal is to win a world series, until then he hasn't done his job, he'd tell you that and has said so..... nothing is guaranteeded, you win on the field not on paper, you go on facts not if's........
but i'd still take peavy, lol...have a great day
I don't know who it is, but we need someone. I would be fine with adding Peavy and moving Marshall to the pen. Marshall has done fine as a starter, but he would solidify the bullpen, and give us the extra lefty which we need.
Hopefully Wells will stay in the bullpen after Z gets back. He pitched a gem against a powerful lineup and the bullpen gave it up yet again. Heilman and Cotts should not even be on this roster. The pen is back to being '06 bad. Huge failure by Jim Hendry not getting the right guys again, and not just relief pitching.
Who would you rather have? Aaron Miles or DeRosa? Kevin Gregg or Kerry? Joey Gathright (Ryan Freel, now) or Ronny Cedeno? Hendry picked the wrong guy each time.
Both actually over Gathright. Cedeno should be starting somewhere, he has ability. Seattle has too many young, talented infielders. Cedeno was given away for crap because he was out of options. Lou didn't play Cedeno enough because he was behind better players. If Cedeno gets a fair shot one day he has enough ability to perhaps be as good as Theriot or whomever we put at 2base. Theriot may prove to be a better hitter but I say in time Cedeno will show he can hit. Didn't he win or have like a .350 BA one year in Iowa. He has progressed as a hitter. Fieding wise Cedeno has more range but may have a more erractic arm than Theirot. Can't knock Theriot, but I think many scouts wouldn't pass on having Cedeno on their team.
Jim Hendry, and he is the man that put together back to back NL Central champions and whose team would probably be in first right now if Ramirez, Bradley, Lee, and Soto were performing as they should be.
Yes, the Cubs could desperately use Mark DeRosa. Gregg has actually pitched MUCH better than Kerry Wood this year and Ryan Freel/Ronnie Cedeno is a wash.
We are over .500 and still in a good position. We just need to play better. Hopefully that is on the horizon.
Hendry is going to have to get at least one more bullpen arm, probably need a Righty and a Lefty. Otherwise, I like the way this team lines up.
Pretty easy to say the Cubs would probably be in first place if Ramirez, Bradley, Lee and Soto were performing as they should be, isn't it? Couldn't a great number of teams easily make the same arguments for their squads? Games aren't played on paper, and injuries do happen. Well built teams tend to have contingency plans, including capable backups and strong minor league systems to call upon. How Hendry and Piniella could head into the season with this bullpen thinking that it wouldn't hurt the team is beyond me. Looking at past statistics, it wasn't hard to figure out that this pen was going to surrender way more than their share of BB's, and how could they head into the season with wild and inconsistent Cotts as the lone lefty? There were some quality southpaws available on the FA market, and Dennys Reyes signed pretty cheaply with the Cards. BTW, just how do you figure Gregg has pitched MUCH better than Wood thus far? Their WHIPS are nearly identical (1.63 and 1.64), and Wood has 13.09 K/9IP to 10.57 for Gregg. Wood has a SO/BB ratio of 3.20 compared to 1.80 for Gregg, and both have one blown save to go with 5 saves for Wood and 6 for Gregg. I'd say Wood has clearly done better, and in Wood's 12 appearances, five times he's given up no runs, hits, or BB's. In 16 appearances, Gregg has only accomplished that three times. In other words, just under half of Wood's outings have been 1-2-3 see you later, while Gregg has done that less than 20% of the time.
thank you
If so, can you pitch?
Lou's postgame -- if he even does one -- is going to be interesting.
He was pretty low-key. They'll likely make a move for Fox, who likely blew the elbow again. Stevens has been pitching well at Iowa.
They called up Ascanio, maybe because Stevens has given up 4.5 BB/9IP (7BB in 14 IP) and Lou has enough grey hair already? Besides Ascanio (26/7 SO/BB ratio), Greg Reinhard is another righthander (26/5 SO/BB ratio) who is faring pretty well in AAA. Reinhard has compiled those 26 SO's in 18.1 IP while Ascanio has 26 SO's in 26.2 IP, so Reinhard is actually missing more bats. Bruce, do you happen to know why Ascanio got the call as opposed to Reinhard? I know that Reinhard is about 21 months older, so is it because Ascanio is seen as having the higher ceiling due to age or other criteria the Cubs have used to evaluate them?
The Cubs obtained him from Tampa Bay in '07 for Jae-Kuk Ryu. He's never been considered a top prospect, but the Cubs won't rule him out for sometime down the road. Ascanio was called up because he was "throwing the hell out of the ball," according to one person. His ERA and WHIP numbers were good, and the Cubs liked the way he used all his pitches.
Makes sense to me, especially since Reinhard isn't on the 40-man. Hopefully Ascanio sees more action than Vizcaino and proves capable. I understand that Lou gets down on players pretty quickly but seeing as how Vizcaino hadn't given up a BB or a run, I would have expected him to get more work to at least give him a chance to prove himself unworthy before being DFA'd. That one still has me scratching my head. And for what, to bring up Samardzija and juggle him back from a SP to a RP again, only to drop him back to AAA quickly after he proved he still wasn't ready? Vizcaino has only been effective in the past against RH hitters, but that still should have qualified him for a good amount of innings. If it's true that the Cubs were never interested in Vizcaino and only accepted him in the Marquis deal because that was all the Rockies were offering and the Cubs wanted to shed some payroll, then why they didn't turn around and eat half his salary to move him shortly thereafter also leaves me a bit puzzled.
is also not on the 40 man roster.
Bruce, I'm guessing they aren't filling the 40 man for flexibility in the future?
That would be true.
:-)
Turn the damn lights off!
(With a tip of the hat to Bill Murray)
At least they scored some.
His posing makes Soriano look humble
The guy is crazy, but no way Braun pulls that crap running the bases with Z on the mound.
Dempster should have screamed at him that it wasn't intentional and to act like a professional. IF not him, then somebody in the dugout, or Soto. Yet, nothing is said. A complete gutless move by an emotionally weak team.
The guy is crazy, but no way Braun pulls that crap running the bases with Z on the mound.
Dempster should have screamed at him that it wasn't intentional and to act like a professional. IF not him, then somebody in the dugout, or Soto. Yet, nothing is said. A complete gutless move by an emotionally weak team.
Terrible.
Ten left on through 7 and Cubs are 1-for-9 with RISP.
When it rains, it pours. You have to take advantages of the opportunities afforded you. Case in point was the top of the 7th tonight and last night, especially with no D. Lee, no A-Ram, and everyone else sporadically scuffling.
The good news in all this is that despite these two games feeling very bleak and not that it's anywhere time to scoreboard/standings watch, they're only 2.5 out.
Braun may walk the talk, but he's still a punk.
Them paying Dempster did have a domino effect on the line-up. THEY had to trade DeRosa to make room for Bradley. If you don't think THEY are on a budget YOUR crazy. The injuries you are talking about wouldn't look so bad if THEY didn't have to trade DeRosa to free up money. IT DID KEEP THEM FROM ADDING PEOPLE! Including possibly Peavy.
So they paid 13 million for a one year wonder...great. It's never to early to discuss a move.
Oh and WE do pay for their contracts...every time WE buy a hat, watch a game, or go to the ballpark...
THe biggest joke of a stat is the quality start. What is 27/6? It's over 4, and yet we are supposed to get excited for that? That's what 13 million a year gets us? Wow....
Agree on Dempster. All I heard last year was about this guy running non stop, working out religiously, and his season backed it up. Fitting it was a contract year. NOw we have a guy who is morphing back to where he was prior to becoming a closer. A good, but not GREAT starter. He needs to find it quick.
How is it too early to complain about moves, etc? Do you think there is a money tree that Hendry shakes and out pops people? Seriously? Get real. I will complain and you should as well, because when all these back loaded contracts KEEP THE CUBS FROM WINNING in the next few years, don't cry to me. Good luck trading a washed up veteran who;s making a ridiculous amount of money. The only way it goes down is to take crap back, like the MARQUIS TRADE. Overpaid for a #5 starter and cost the Cubs money and having to take back a kerosine can. So I'll complain ALL DAY LONG about horrible contracts, back loaded contracts, and NO TRADE CLAUSES all day.
Lastly, is it me or is Soto about 10-15 pounds over weight? He looks horrible. Looks like he's swinging very lightly as he waved at the first 2 breaking balls in the 7th. If his hand is that bad, why wasn't surgery involved? It's only early May, and he looks like he's caught 140 games already. Just wait until he gets more beat up.
Braun should get drilled right in the back the next time up. Stand up for yourself but when the ball hits your bat, and NOT your head, and then you stare down a guy non stop while doing fist pumps around the bases, I expect retaliation. Take out your frustration on that dweeb. Have an expendable part drill him, and then lets enjoy Milton Bradley going WWE on some poor Brewer.
I said it last night, this team is in trouble. Hope they're .500 when all these guys get back.
Actually, in the vast majority of cases, it's a pretty valid stat and tells a positive story. Coming into tonight's game, the Cubs had 17 quality starts, and the starters' ERA over those games is 2.60. It was under 2 for most of last season. People focus on only the minimum requirement and say it's a poor stat. The Cubs have had 3 quality starts this year of 6 innings and 3 earned runs. The rest have been better than that, and that's the way it is with most teams.
2 ER over 6 IP would give a guy a 3 Era.
I know this stat is a huge thing for fantasy so guys on crap teams get rewarded because they may not get wins. Like a Peavy or Cain.
I'm not a believer in the 3 ER over 6 IP. 4+ ERA is hardly "quality" pitching.
Cubs staff is going to have carry this team. I hear you on the quality starts for the Cubs pitchers, but besides Lilly, anyone else in the rotation have an era under 4? Marshall? Maybe Z?
That's my point.
6IP 2 ER = Great start
Quality start is just that, quality. It gives your team a chance to win the ballgame bottom line.
He's at 3.11. Harden is 4.83. Z is 4.50. I'd like to see it as 6 innings and 2 runs myself for a quality start.
For the quote from Uncle Lou on the lineup from that Giants game. I was one who thought it was ridiculous...especially at home.
ditto, his life time average is about 280...
Was he really ever worth 13 million dollars? 4.59 career ERA with a 1.49 WHIP. By the numbers Jason Marquis'career numbers are better. Why in the world in a down market would we pay him 13 million!!!
Hey Riggs,
"We" didn't pay him anything. Unless you are a board member of the Tribune Company or part of the Ricketts family that is. I am tired of people complaining about how much people are getting paid. It isn't your , and there is no salary cap so who caresAnd THEY paid him based off of his numbers last year. Dempster getting paid didn't keep the Cubs from improving the team. It is a little too early in the year to be complaining about this anyway. The greater concern should be the injuries that are piling up...
Weather there is a salary cap or not, there is a budget; so overpaying for a player DOES matter.
Didn't you notice the Cubs had to get rid of DeRosa so they could sign Bradley? If salary didn't matter, DeRosa would still be in Chicago and the injury at 3B wouldn't hurt nearly as much.
edit**guess this was already brought up above!**