Cashner to have MRI; Hill starts at catcher
Word out of Cincinnati is that Andrew Cashner will go for an MRI after experiencing more tightness in his right shoulder. That tightness forced Cashner to scrap his extended-spring session today. Cashner has been on the DL since April 8 with a strained right rotator cuff. Randy Wells, who went on the DL the same day with a strained right forearm, makes a rehab start Tuesday at Peoria. The folks with the Chiefs will keep us posted, I'm sure.
It's another start for Koyie Hill behind the plate tonight against the Reds. That already has this blog and other sights atwitter, so to speak. Maybe Welington Castillo can join the artist's club. Whenever I'd ask Dusty if a Cubs call-up was going to play, he'd answer: "He's here to play, not to paint." A lot of those call-ups should have been named Rembrandt for all the playing they did.
Lineup
Fukduome, RF
Barney, 2B
Castro, SS
Ramirez, 3B
Soriano, LF
Byrd, CF
Pena, 1B
Hill, C
Zambrano.
From the game notes, this is the second of 10 straight night games for the Cubs, made possible by Sunday's rainout. That's the longest stretch in team history, according to Elias. The Cubs played nine in a row in 1960 and 1992. I'm pretty sure the 1960 streak consisted of all road games.
Big Z has won 5 consecutive starts at Great American Ball Park, dating to July 29, 2007. He is 5-0 with a 0.75 ERA during the run. Z’s 9 wins at Great American Ball Park are the most by any opposing pitcher. Zambrano is 7-1 with a 1.84 ERA in his last 9 games (8 starts) against Cincinnati, dating to September 28, 2007.
Starlin Castro (54 hits) and Marlon Byrd (48 hits) have combined for 102 hits this season, second most of any duo in baseball behind the Dodgers Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp's 104 combined hits.
Castro's 54 hits are tied for first in the majors with the Dodgers Andre Ethier, the Mets Jose Reyes and the Rangers Michael Young.
MINOR-LEAGUE ROUNDUP
The hits just keep on coming in the Pacific Coast League. Class AAA Iowa won 14-11 at Reno yesterday, and they'll send Austin Bibens-Dirkx there tonight. J.R. Mathes was the pitching victim yesterday, giving up 10 hits and 8 runs (5 earned) in 5 innings. Brad Snyder hit his sixth homer. The offensive star again was Lou Montanez, who had a 6-RBI game going 3-for-5 with a walk. He has 39 RBI for the season to go with a line of .378/.433/.607 for an OPS of 1.041 and 5 homers. Tony Campana (.342/.383/.442) had his fifth straight multihit game, going 2-for-5 with a walk, 3 runs and a stolen base. Catcher Chris Robinson was 3-for-5. Thomas Diamond got the win with Scott Maine working 2 innings for his seventh save.
Class AA Tennessee beat Chattanooga 10-1. Lefty Brooks Raley got the win to improve to 1-3 with a 6.54 ERA. Raley worked 5 innings, giving up 6 hits and 1 run. Josh Vitters hit his fifth homer. He also struck out for the first time since April 25. The line is a mixed one for Vitters: .236/.282/.415 with 5 homers, 20 RBI, 6 walks and 7 strikeouts. DJ LeMahieu extended a hitting streak to 16 games, going 2-for-4.
Class A Daytona beat Fort Myers 8-3. Lefty Zachary Rosscup, obtained from Tampa Bay, worked 5 innings, giving up 5 hits and 2 runs. Rosscup improved to 3-0 with a 2.83 ERA. Justin Bour hit his 10th homer of the season. Bour, who turns 23 later this month, hit 12 homers all of last year for Class A Peoria. He's a 25th-rounder out of George Mason University in 2009. Bour is at .300/.369/.607. Cubs people tell me they like the way Bour is using all fields. Jae-Hoon Ha was promoted to Tennessee after the game. Ha, a center fielder out of South Korea is at .311/.344/.523 with 6 homers and 27 RBI. Coming up to Daytona is outfielder Rubi Silva from Peoria.
Peoria beat the Kane County Cougars 11-8 in Geneva. Hayden Simpson, last year's No. 1 pick, lasted 3.1 innings, giving up 4 hits and 5 runs, 3 earned. He walked three and struck out two. Third baseman Greg Rohan was 4-for-5 with 2 doubles and a homer. Rohan, a graduate of Kent State, was a 21st rounder in 2009. Rohan is at .337/.388/.538 with 3 homers and 26 rBI. Anthony Giansanti was 4-for-5 with a homer. Northwestern's Eric Jokish, an 11th-rounder last year, worked 5.2 innings of relief. He's 5-0 with a 2.84 ERA and a WHIP of 1.21.
Poster says he'd make a Garza trade every time. And Bruce replies, no question, while equating Garza-young with prospects-young.
PECOTA projected Garza as Cub for 4.15 ERA, about where he's at now. Good, not special. The trade was made to help the team win either now or very soon. How likely? And he'll become very expensive in a couple of years.
The Cubs traded 4 of their top 12 prospects (and then there was that nice even exchange on the back of Fuld for F Perez). Our farm system ranking quickly sank from 10 to the 20-23 range.
It's certainly true that not all prospects pan out. Archer, Chirinos struggling. H-J Lee doing great and moving ahead of T Beckham as Rays' future SS as well as potential good leadoff man. B Guyer doing great.
Whichever prospects pan out for any team have become more valuable than ever. As the cost of veterans keeps rising and teams try to hold down costs and manage payrolls, there's a greater premium on young, cheap, controllable talent. And it seems the kids who make it are ready to make a quicker impact, having come from very good, big-college competition.
Ricketts said from the outset he wanted to build a winner with a strong farm system. That sounded progressive and smart. The Garza trade went against that. It was about "winning now." Quite often, that extreme win-now emphasis is the way to not win today and really hurt your chances of winning tomorrow.
Also: Is it ever the right thing to do to assess a trade before seeing how the prospects turn out?
And, finally, the best GM in the history of MLB was Branch Rickey, whose governing philosophy was to build the farm system and constantly infuse the parent team with good, ready talent. Seems even smarter with today's economics, does it not? Seems even smarter still if you're a team like the Cubs needing to make an effective transition to tomorrow, does it not?
Well-thought-out post. Another reason to build a farm system is to use young players in trades. The Cubs have done this to obtain Harden, Lee, Ramirez, Garza and others. They messed up big time doing that in the Pierre trade, but that happens to all teams.
If the Cubs were any good (I picked them fourth), Garza could have helped them win now. But he's also young enough to help them down the road.
All fair points.
--Bruce
2012 option becomes guaranteed if Ramirez:
wins one MVP in 2007-11, or
places 2nd or 3rd in MVP vote twice in 2007-11, or
wins LCS MVP once in 2007-11, or
is an All Star 3 times in 2007-11, or
is traded & Ramirez exercises 2011 option
So, it will COST the Cubs money to trade him as his 2012 option at $16 million become guaranteed. He will not be moved.
Another player who is almost untradeable. Nice work Mr. hendry.
Now we can enjoy A-ram performing like Mario Duncan at 3rd with his lack of power, and Soriano trolling around LF like a pile.
This team is in worse shap then I thought....
Looks like 75 wins may be a high water mark.
Possible that if he starts hitting like he used to that someone would be willing to pick up that 1 year option. I don't see that as any problem for a team like the White Sox, Tigers, A's, Rockies, Angels, heck, maybe even the Yankees if they end up needing a DH.
All of those teams have needs to one degree or another for a good hitter/3rd baseman.
Not for $16 million.
It's TOO EARLY!!!
Teams don't know if they're buying or selling. It won't be happening for at least a few more weeks, more likely not until July.
We know everyone wants to trade all the veterans, it's NOT going to happen for quite some time.
They will not be benched for extended periods of time, because how does that help them get on track and boost their numbers to show teams they still have something in the tank?
Get used to it...there's another month of it to come.
It's an automatic for the mgr to send pitching coach to the mound. Maybe after the third batter reaches. Probably after the fourth. Certainly no later than the fifth. You encourage the pitcher, throw in one fundamental tip, give him a short break, and, if nothing else, change the vibe and rhythm. Quade never did!
Now, it's six straight batters reaching and time (or past) to yank Z. Ballgame in the balance. What's called a high-leverage situation. Quade goes to Mateo, one of his second-line relievers. You need one of your three best relievers there.
Flash forward. Bottom of eighth, losing 7-4, game pretty much decided. Now we go with Marmol, one of those three best relievers. He's in there for an inning just to get some work!
Anything wrong with those pictures? Plenty!! This is about inflexibly set roles for relievers in today's game. It's really stupid. But what it does is take all the pressure and scrutiny away from the manager. The roles go according to the inning, not the situation.
We're in a transition year in which the emphasis should be on the future as much as the present. We have mediocre, flawed veterans in LF, CF and RF. Colvin has 30-HR potential, hit 20 as less than a full-timer as a rookie and can play all 3 OF positions. You want to find out if he's good enough to be a regular and maybe shore up his big weakness of too big a swing zone. Instead, you choose him as the one to short on AB's. And then you demote him after giving him only 62. You could've rotated him from LF to CF to RF on regular basis, not harmed your chances of winning one bit in the present, and not even reduced 1B Pena's playing time at all. And, then also in a transition year, we're going to compound this by promoting a 4A type like L Montanez? Folks, there are reasons this org doesn't go forward effectively. It's called stupidity.
The Cashner news is just awful. You never want to hear the word shoulder. You never want to hear it a second time. Shut him down indefinitely. This was one of our few premium prospects.
Finally, I don't give a rip when Quade is happily selling woof tickets with his "huge" and "incredible" adjectives or when he's angry and cussing. It doesn't matter at all. I am convinced already, however, that he is bad at knowing which pitchers to use and when. And that's too big a negative. Our problems run deeper above Quade, however.
Why do people keep bringing up attendance like its a Cub only problem? How many were at the game last night IN Cinci....FIRST PLACE Cinci??
http://bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=52...
Because the decline is more profound and more of an abberation for the Cubs than most other teams.
The other thing is that the Cubs have always been one of the better road draws and even Cub Nation outside of Chicago seems to be disinterested.
flocking to Wrigley to be shorn by an uncaring ownership.
Look at the link. Average attendance barely made 50%, and thats ticket sales, not those that showed up. It's the entire league except a few teams.
I did look at the link.... and again....
Not only is attendance down at Wrigley (granted, weather has been a factor), but likley more telling is that the Cubs have always been a top road draw since WGN went superstation.... and even Cub road games are down from historical norms.
C'mon sing it with me:
"Hey Chicago whadda say? The Cubs are gonna lose today. Blow Cubs blow, blow Cubs blow....."
You are an Angry, Angry man....First you ripped the Hawks, and now the Cubs.
Go back to updating Boers and Bernstein on the weather in Milwaukee when Milwaukee Mike calls in OR kicking cats around your mom's basement OR knocking over little kids at a grocery store so you can get your lunchables.
I wish I had time to troll around boards for teams I couldn't stand and make a fool of myself.
You make being an alum of NIU, an embarassment for me.
Steve....and your one of the many pathetic Cub fans. B&B enjoy my weather updates and they support a 41-year-old man who likes to go on cruises with another man (ten years his younger) to try and pick-up chicks. I am a die-Sox, white fan and don't forget it. If you have a problem with me, you can e-mail me directly at hpitman@prodigy.net.
I don't care if you're "a die-Sox, white fan".
Kudos to you....your team sucks just as bad. I bet you have a green Sox jersey. Maybe you dye your hair with blonde highlights like AJ? Not sure.
My point is, all you do is troll around on this board and the hawks board, belittleling fans like a 3rd grader.
Glad B and B enjoy your weather updates. Maybe you can post your prediction for tomorrow night, as I have a softball game that I hope doesn't get rained out.
Pathetic troll. Nuff said.
Being an alum of NIU isn't embarrassment enough? :)
NIU... You just need a pulse to get accepted there.
It's a pretty damn good school for business. Accounting is always up there, and they've gotten a ton of contributions lately to build up the business facilities.
Very good school for business. Don't let these sheep talk bad about our university.
Wellington Castillo struck out 18 times in 49 AB in AAA. He struck out 2 of 4 AB's with Cubs. When a player is ready to perform at MLB level, such as Starlin Castro, they are brought up to play every day. Castillo is here as an emergency callup to fill a spot on the bench. He was struggling in AAA (.245 avg with nearly a 40% strikeout rate) before he was called up. The Cubs should be giving Hill most of the playing time at catcher as he will still be with the team when Soto comes back. I am not saying Hill is producing or is a good backup catcher. I am merely saying Castillo has done nothing to warrant MLB playing time.
from top to bottom. As Bruce said, realistically, there is little reason to think the Cubs are going to improve at this point.
Here is what I would do.
Replace Hendry. I might consider moving him up to President to replace Kenney. He is generally a good baseball man, but take personnel decisions out of his hand. Hire a young up and comer for GM who is a believer in sabermetrics.
Fire Quade. Can't manage a pitching staff. Obviously can't inspire his vets to play hard and the team is lacking in fundamentals. Has to be the managers responsibility.
Let Jaramillo take a walk. Minor league hitting coordinator too. The hitting philosophy of the entire organization has to enter the 21st century. Emphasize walks/pitch recognition and draft accordingly.
Re-assign Riggins back to the minors. Get a real pitching coach.
Trade Ramirez, Soriano, Dempster, Fukudome, Byrd, Grabow at some point this year. If you can't trade Soriano, release him or relegate him to the bench. Get rid of Koyie Hill. He brings nothing to the table positive.
Bring up young hungry players.
Sign good players who are good defensively and sound fundamentally. Sign 1 or 2 impact players, and fill in with young players and current crop of whatever is left after the purge.
Welcome to my world....Had a seat at the table for you, glad to see you are coming around.
This is just a BAD team. I don't know what smoke Quade is trying to blow up whomever's butt, but this is just classic Cubs. Patch together a team full of craptacular regulars, and then build up the rookies, and HOPE/PRAY it all comes together. When it doesn't? You get this mess.
Who had the over/under on a team meeting by May 16th? What I am SHOCKED about is that Zambrano didn't detonate last night. I'll give him credit, because I would have. Soriano can't even muster the coordination to move over to catch a fly ball in arguably the easiest position on the field.
Now they are 5 games under, and the bottom hasn't even hit yet.
Never should have signed Pena. Should have played Colvin everyday to see what you have. If he sucks, then you replace externally/internally at years end. Pena gives you NOTHING right now.
Soriano? How many games has this goof cost the Cubs since he arrived with his stellar defense? My god. First he had to hop to catch a ball. Now he gets turned around worse then Candy Maldanado did during his stay here. Oh he's hit 11 homers, so he's "back". Nope. I dont' see how any team takes that contract on at this point, but would Ricketts eat MORE money just to dump this guy? Not sure.
At some point the league will make an adjustment on Barney and he'll have to adjust back. Hopefully he can. Castro is legit. Byrd will hit .280-.300. However, Fukudome will fall back down to his custom .260ish average, and more importantly what happened to Ramirez's power?
The sooner fat Jim admits his team is just about done, and starts getting rid of roadblocks to allow the younger talent to be evaluated the better.....
this is the team I would like to see take the field TONIGHT.
CF - Jackson
2b - Barney
SS - Castro
1b - Pena
LF - Byrd (Soto would be here, but obviously DLed)
RF - Fukudome
C - Castillo
3b - Flaherty
President?
I don't think that would fly with most fans.
Its time for this to be resolved. The Cubs can't go forward with Soriano as the left fielder.
Now, the play last night should never have happened. If Quade could manage a pitching staff, that ball would never have been hit to Soriano. But it did, and you have to be able to make that play.
Eat what you have to eat and let him be someones DH. Bring up Jackson. Move Byrd to LF.
I would probably hang onto him until he gets on another hot streak just to get a tiny bit of extra value out of him.
Oh and someone might tell Quade that the cleanup guy is supposed to hit HRs. Ramirez has 1 HR in 7 weeks of baseball. Put Soriano up there and let him swing for the fences.
We'll know the Cubs are serious about winning when Crane Kenney gets replaced by a baseball man and Hill gets cut. Also, Fuld now has more homers than Ramieriz and as many rbi. This organization is a bunch of losers from top to bottom and the new owner keeps everyone and goes on the cheap (manager, 3rd base coach, salary dump of Gorzalany with no starting depth) with no leadership - just plain old losers, not even luvable, and they seem to care less. More empty seats please.
Let me be the first (or one of the first) to officially call him out.
The one who is not ready for the Reds is.....(wait for it) Mike Quade.
Anybody who has ever watched a game could see that Zambrano was completely done. That game was well in hand at 4 - 0.
6th inning
M Cairo hit for H Bailey. 4 0
M Cairo struck out looking. 4 0
D Stubbs reached on infield single to shortstop. 4 0
E Renteria walked, D Stubbs to second. 4 0
RIGHT HERE IS WHERE ZAMBRANO SHOULD HAVE BEEN PULLED. IT WAS OBVIOUS.
J Votto singled to left center, D Stubbs scored, E Renteria to second. 4 1
B Phillips singled to left, E Renteria scored, J Votto to second. 4 2
ABSOLUTELY 100% NO EXCUSE FOR NOT PULLING HIM RIGHT HERE. SHOULD HAVE HAD A LEFT IN TO FACE BRUCE, AND A RIGHTY UP TO FACE ROLEN.
J Bruce singled to right, J Votto scored, B Phillips to third. 4 3
S Rolen doubled to left, B Phillips scored, J Bruce to third. 4 4
M Mateo relieved C Zambrano. 4 4
J Bruce scored, S Rolen to third on wild pitch by M Mateo. 4 5
J Gomes homered to right center (405 feet), S Rolen scored. 4 7
R Hanigan walked. 4 7
M Cairo walked, R Hanigan to second. 4 7
D Stubbs grounded out to third, R Hanigan to third, M Cairo to second. 4 7
E Renteria struck out swinging.
Zambrano actually pitched well enough to win this game, and lower his ERA. The reason the Cubs lost is that Quade waited WAY too long to get a reliever in. What is the point of carrying 7 relief pitchers if you don't use them?
Quade is the reason that the entire pitching staffs ERA is as high as it is. He CONSISTENTLY leaves the starter in too long. He underuses his best bullpen pitchers and overuses Mateo and Russell.
Quade has shown he has no idea how to manage a pitching staff and that is the #1 job of a major league manager. If he can't do it, then he should be replaced.
Hendry has to talk to him about it. If he won't change, he should be fired. I know Hendry won't do it, so I guess they are both going to have to go.
For all of his painfully obvious flaws, Quade posts his lineups early. That's all we heard the entire winter.
So...there's that...
Mike Quade: "Tony Campana, welcome to the big leagues. Take a seat over by Wellington and I'll get you in a game or two the next month. We have stars like Hill and DeWitt who you should watch and learn from. Enjoy the meal money."
If panic has taken hold of the Cub brass above Quade.
The day before Q was Little Mr. Sunshine and very positive about his team. After last night's game, he suddenly seems to have pulled a 180 even though his team played no differently last night than they have all season.
I don't know, but maybe the Cub bean counters presented Ricketts & Kenney with some much less than anticipated numbers after the 1st month of the season and revised their projections significantly downward going forward. Money forces executives to act in all industries. Losses can be anticipated, but if the losses are greater than planned.... heads roll and change is inevitable.
If so, certainly weather and team play were singled out. Can't do anything about the weather, but the other part??
Doo-Doo falls down. Maybe Ricketts came down on Kenney, who came down on Hendry, who came down on Quade, who finally read the riot act to his team. Don't know, but something seems to have happened.
A clue is the way Hendry came down on Colvin.... usually we'd hear that Tyler is a quality individual that just needs some AB's and figures prominantly in the Cub plans going forward. But this time, Hendry was overly harsh with his words in regards to Colvin.... and Colvin's predicament wasn't even his own fault for rotting away on the bench.
Unless the Cubs stop playing like clowns quickly, something tells me changes will be happening sooner rather than later.
was on the DL earlier in the year. According to reports, the injury to his hand will last all year. That's probably why his offensive numbers are way down this year. And while I'd still prefer a sub par Castillo to a healthy Hill, this team has much more serious problems.
Since MQ insists he is a numbers guy, perhaps he can explain why he insists on overusing the following players in situations that they have performed poorly.
Fukudome on the road .124/.243/.156 OPS .399
Hill .167/.242/.367 OPS .609
Soriano RISP .179/.214/.282 OPS .496
Ramirez RISP .231/.326/.256 RISP .582
And all for the princely sum of $49.35M
It's clear that Soriano is a major liability in all areas but HRs. I suggest he has only value in the AL as a DH. If the organization is committed to winning, rebuilding without Soriano as an anchor for 4 years seems a logical choice.
"He had a really good year for us and since the first days of spring training he never played up to that level. We're in the production business." - Jim Hendry
Uh-Huh....yep.... love the production out of Hill, Russell, Grabow, Happy Pena, Ramirez's 1 HR & 15 RBIs, etc.
After tonight's game, the Cubs optioned Tyler Colvin to Class AAA Iowa. No corresponding move was made. I've suggested Lou Montanez, a guy who has played part time in the past three years with Baltimore. Other speculation has centered on prospect Tony Campana, but where and when would he play. Here is what GM Jim Hendry told reporters in Cincy:
"It's something he definitely needs to go play. He had a really good year for us and since the first days of spring training he never played up to that level. We're in the production business.
"It wasn't that he wasn't given enough at-bats. He didn't earn enough at-bats. The other guys here outplayed him, too. He needs to go down and play for a few weeks and once he does we can go back to the plan we had for him. he completely understood and was looking forward to getting some at-bats."
Bruce,
How do you think Colvin will handle the demotion? Is he the type to take this move as an opportunity and challenge to improve himself?
I directly asked him about the minor leagues Sunday. He answered it well, saying he couldn't worry about it. I'm sure he knew something like this was coming, given his numbers and the fact that the speculation has been out there.
Why does it seem to me Hendry is dumping on him? He says "It wasn't that he wasn't given enough at-bats. He didn't earn enough at-bats." how do you earn AB's with 1-2 plate appearances per week? (since April 20th more than 2 PA's in a game three times). He should go down for regular P.T. and the other guys are out playing him, but that seemed a both harsh and a little disingenuous to me.
I do agree with Bruce, bring up Montenez over Campana for the same reason they are sending Colvin down. Montenez is a veteran who has been in the 4th/5th OF role before and can handle it unlike a rookie who won't play.
We're agreed on all counts here, hardball. I don't know how Jim was in person, but the quotes seem to indicate a little touchiness. Maybe somebody asked the playing-time question.
And to me, there's not sense of bringing up Campana if he's not going to play. Montanez has been the logical choice all along.
You've been covering MLB for over 20 years, first hand. All of us have been watching it, coaching youth baseball, and/or playing it for years. You know when Hendry (or any other MLB GM/Mgr) is playing the BS card, but what can you do? Call them a liar? Not really, and be able to continue an effective working relationship on an on-going basis.
The logical choice is and was to play Castillo the bulk of the innings when Soto went on the DL. The logical choice was to play Colvin 5-6 days/week since Opening Day to see if he can make the adjustments necessary to remain in the lineup at this level. The logical call-up to replace him was anything but a singles hitter with 0 HR's in 1100 minor league AB's. The logical move was to DFA Koyie Hill on March 30th.
This team, this organization does not, has not, and by all indications never will do what WINNING organizations do. See the Phillies, Red Sox, Giants, Braves, Tampa Bay for the template.
I'm moving on to the NBA playoffs and waiting for the NHL season to begin while watching good teams play MLB.
>> I'm moving on to the NBA playoffs and waiting for the NHL season to begin while watching good teams play MLB. <<
You and countless other disgusted Cub fans.
At this point the interest isn't on the team itself unless one is a masochist, but what those above the dugout do to right the ship and how long it will take them to act on it.
This is where the rubber meets the road and where we find out the true talent of those managing the organization.
Today was a bad day for the Cubs. Granted, I can't stand posts where a certain person relishes bad days as vindication for their distorted view of Hendry, Ricketts or whomever, but today was very disconcerting. Quade is a good guy and professional, but he is showing a lot of weaknesses as a manager. Not playing Castillo is extremely irritating. The best thing you can do for a callup is to immediately plug them in for a game or two and get them comfortable. This is now going to be a tough transition for Castillo. Quade has cost the Cubs two or three games by not pulling a veteran starter in time, when most of us non-professionals can clearly see they're done. Having Demp throw 120 pitches in his 2nd start of the season while he's losing it was inexcusable. You can have him manage this year I guess, but going forward he has to be canned, if this team plans on contending in 2012.
Dejesus is a mediocre 3rd base coach at best.
On top of this Cashner, who was to me the key factor in any possibility of the Cubs being a pleasant surprise this season, is a big blow. He may done for his career. Elbows get fixed, shoulders send you packing.
I try not to get bummed out when things arent going great but today was bad. The Cashner thing is worrisome because I thought he'd be a bright spot , in what I figured to be a dismal year. Shoulders are always bad because the minute they cut you, youre never the same. Let's hope it's just a real bad case of tendinitis. The Hill thing is annoying but how about Hendry saying TC didn't "earn" at-bats, as he's sending him down. I know TC hasn't hit well and I'm not his biggest fan but please. Why does accountability only apply to kids making 500k in this org and not the people making serious $?
My likeness for Mike Quade has severely faded, but come on with the criticism for him not playing Castilllo. Some of you make it sound as though Castillo is the second coming of Joe Mauer or Buster Posey. Fact is the guy has problems behind the plate and is charitably considered a marginal at best major league prospect. I hate Koyie Hill as much as the next guy, but give me a break on busting Quade's chops over this one.
Tyler Colvin? Prior to spring 2010 he was a marginal prospect who surprisingly put together a nice spring, made the roster and contributed nicely for the first few months. Then major league pitchers adjusted to his tendencies and he has done very little since August 1st 2010. I'm not up in arms about his playing time because hard cold truth of the matter is he was never anything to write home about in the first place. It's been up to Colvin to prove otherwise and so far he has been incapable of doing so.
This team sucks. Quade is in over his head too. But non-playing time being granted to Castillo and Colvin is WAY down the list of issues facing this club. What people should be weeping and gnashing teeth over is the fact that the reported best young pitcher in the system is probable about to go under the knife. THAT is something to express concern about.
You may have missed the point of my post below. I think it's a sign of organizational dysfunction when you continually hear from management that young guys are kept in the minor leagues so they can play. But they then bring them up an stick them on the end of the bench. So which is it? It is simply sign to me that Hendry, et al have no idea which direction they are trying to go with their talent.
If they don't have pitching depth or any catchers or corner infielders, just say so. Don't sell me on minor league depth, then refuse to use said depth when you need it. The only thing it will do is make me not take them seriously.
John Manuel and JJ Cooper now have a 1 hour radio show on Sunday nights at 7 pm EST. Last night talked some about the Cubs. Caller asked about Cubs prospects other than McNutt and Jackson.
They talked about Vitters quite a bit. Compared him to Moustakas in that the great hand eye coordination is working against him. Said he will have to learn NOT to swing at pitchers pitches (pitches on or just off the corners) to be a regular major leaguer. Said that the Cubs have to be concerned, but he is still young and sometimes the light will switch on rather quickly. So far, he has now shown the aptitude.
After that, they talked alot about Ryan Flaherty. They (John Manuel and JJ Cooper) said they think Flaherty is the Cubs 3rd baseman of the future. Talked about his excellent left handed power, and his versatility.
One thought LaMahieu might be a very good utility player, one talked about what an excellent hit tool he has and that he seems to be getting better at 2nd base defensively. Not enough power for 3rd base, but could be a very good major league 2ndbaseman.
They were both in agreement that Micah Gibbs could be a good backup catcher in the major leagues, on the level of a Ryan Hannigan (of the Reds). Talked about that there is good value in that, but that is disappointing for a 2nd round pick. You never know though. I think they once thought the same of Soto.
They were both EXTREMELY high on Matt Szczur. Said he is a little behind due to the 2 sport thing, but they love his athleticism and there has been very quick improvement and development in his game. They said average to slightly above average major league power (translates into 15 - 20 HRs, with maybe a few seasons in the 20s), but a very good hit tool and one of the fastest players in the game.
They ran into a break before talking about anyone else. Didn't mention Whitenack, Lake, Cerda, Clevinger, or anyone else. Guess that is because they talked so much about Vitters, Flaherty, and Szczur.
There is lots to like about this kid. Lots. Lets see what his progress looks like over the next year or two, but maybe the Cubs landed on something very solid with this kid.
I wonder if the fact that Vitters has been getting time at 1B indicates they think Flaherty might be the future at the hot corner. I know Flaherty is a bit old for AA but he has been tearing it up with the bat-36 RBIs already if I'm not mistaken.