Blog The Cubs.com

Bullpen: Don’t Touch It … yet

Joe — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 05:11:13 +0000

Some people in Chicago never wanted Wood as closer and they feel that the results from Monday’s game are proof. But the thing is that although Marmol is the best pitcher, we need him to bail pitchers out in tight situations, like when there are runners in scoring position. Yeah, so Wood gave up three runs in the ninth inning, but that could have happened if Lou put him in for Zambrano and in the eighth inning.

I think that the Cubs would be better off if they used their guy with the best stuff to get out of jams would be the best scenario for the team, especially when we have a guy like Wood who has the potential to be a dominant closer. If Wood continues to struggle, than Marmol should be given the job. But if this was just a fluke and Wood dominates like we all know that he can and then we will have a dominant closer, a dominant set-up guy in Howry, and a dominant go-to guy in one of the league’s best relievers in Carlos Marmol.

Game Two: Bring Out The Lineup Changes

Joe — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 04:23:27 +0000

Is the season already over for the Cubs? The bad new is that the Cubs are already two games out of first place behind the Brewers and the Pirates. The good news is that there are 160 games left in the season. Teams will go through good stretches and teams will go through awful stretches throughout the course of the season. They will go through stretches of playing poorly and they will go through stretches where they will seem like they cannot be beaten. Right now, they are playing poorly, but next week they could be 5-2 or 0-7. That is the beautiful thing about baseball is that every play matters and that any team can win. In a month, everyone will be settled into their roles, and Kerry Wood will have more than one opportunity to show that he can be a dominant closer. Geovanny Soto will show that he can throw runners out and Fukudome will show whether he can continuously hit starting pitching. One thing is for sure he knows how to take a walk.

After the game, Lou announced that Soriano is going to be batting lead-off again. We will see how this pans out as Soriano is not your typical lead-off man, but he poses much more of a threat than Ryan Theriot, who is a solid player, but is not quite as intimidating as Soriano. Theriot also has many more fundamentals than Soriano, so if Soriano gets on base than Theriot will have a better chance of moving Soriano over, compared to Soriano, who is more of an aggresive player that swings for the fences everytime.

Another tweak that I would make to this lineup is moving Soto to the sixth spot behind Fukudome. Soto will give Fukudome additional protection and would be a huge RBI machine if he were to bat sixth, rather than DeRosa who is a quality hitter, but because of Soto’s power he has much more potential to drive in a numerous amount of runs.

The last change I would make in the lineup is switching Theriot and Pie. I think Pie’s OBP will be equal to or greater than Theriot’s this season. That being said, it would make much more sense to bat Pie 2nd than 8th, that way he could utilize his speed and be in scoring position with the heart of the order up. Theriot is much less likely to steal than Pie, so Theriot should bat 8th. Another thing is that if Pie is on first and the pitcher is thinking about throwing a pitch-out he would be much more likely to do it against a pitcher, because generally pitchers are poor hitters. But if DLee or ARam were up the pitcher would not want to be giving up balls and digging themselves into further holes than they are already in, because they are such dangerous hitters.

Welcome Fukudome!

Joe — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 04:32:55 +0000

Last night, Kosuke Fukodome signed with the Cubs for 48 milllion dollars over the course of 4 years. The White Sox offered just as much and the Rangers offered more, but he wanted to be with the Cubs, because he feels that something special is happening over here. Fukudome gives us basically everything our team needs on the offensive side. A left-handed bat with speed, a little pop and plays a mean right field. He will look good in Cubbie blue, as the Cubs have found their first long-term right fielder since Sammy Sosa.

Bye Mark.

Joe — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 04:12:44 +0000

Mark Prior has pitched his last days as a Chicago Cub. Unfortunately, that was almost too long ago to remember as he missed all of last year and was only mediocre when he pitched in 2006. It is sad to see him go, but in a way it is for the best. It just seems like yesterday when all of the talk was about Prior and Wood being the future for the Cubs… Little did we know it would be a future disappointment, considering Prior and Wood have been injured too much. We still have Wood though and his classy attitude as he feels he owes something to the Cubs, with all of the money he has been paid to sit on the DL. He is trying to make up for his injuries and any Cubs fan can see that… Prior is a different story… It was evident for awhile that he did not want to be a member of the Cubs organization.

Prior has had some tough luck as a Cub and just some unfortunate injuries and also pitching through pain in 2003. We have a new rotation, new pitchers and guys in the minor leagues that are itching at the chance to pitch for the Cubs in 2008. Just think of 2008 as Mark Prior being out for the season once more, but this time it is one less head ache and gives us three million more dollars to spend this winter.

Cubs Going After Santana?!

Joe — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 19:33:03 +0000

According to the New York Post, the Cubs are one of the few teams who are in discussion with Johan Santana. They definitely have some of the young talent to pry him away, but they would really have to wow the Twins into trading him. The Cubs have Felix Pie, Carlos Marmol, Rich Hill, Ryan Theriot, Kevin Hart, and Sean Marshall and I think a combination of those would help get the job done.

Felix Pie would probably be a must for the Twins, considering that they just lost Hunter. Rich Hill would also probably be in there so the Twins would get a young, cheap starter that they could be able to keep for a few years and then Theriot or Cedeno added in because they just lost Bartlett . Carlos Marmol, would then be the icing on the cake, as he is one of the best young relievers in the game, and in order to get the best pitcher in the game, you will need to be able to offer some of the best young talent in the game as well.

BlogTheCubs.com Merging Soon!

Joe — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 03:08:27 +0000

In a few days BlogTheCubs.com will be merging to join an all new website ChicagoSportingZone.com! This website will post articles on not only the Cubs, but also the Bears, Bulls, Blackhawks, and unfortunately the White Sox as well ;)… But not too worry, I will still be in charge of all of the Cubs articles and will fill your need for Cubs rumors and news… but you will also be able to read about other Chicago sports teams on the same website!

When the owner of ChicagoSportingZone.com came to me he gave me a very impressive pitch that made me want to be a part of this exciting experience that will be huge and it will be a great experience for all Chicago Sports fans.

The forums are already up so join and let us know what is on your mind when it comes to the sporting world!

ChicagoSportingZone.com

Mark Prior To Be Traded?

Joe — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 19:54:12 +0000

According to reports around Chicago, the Cubs will not be hesitant to trade Mark Prior if they can get something in return. Prior has shown flashes of excellence with the Cubs, but injuries have plagued him for the last few seasons and he did not even pitch at all last year. It will be very hard to make a contract decision with him, considering that he is a huge risk so we can let other teams gamble with that and enjoy getting players in return for him. Teams may give up something decent for Prior this year considering his potential, but hopefully it doesn’t turn into a Sammy Sosa for Jerry Hairston-type deal.

Kerry Wood Re-Signed!

Joe — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 22:14:06 +0000

Today, the Chicago Cubs re-signed Kerry Wood for 1 year 4.2 million guaranteed with another 3 million in incentives. Wood is showing his loyalty to the Cubs again by signing for only one year, while he turned down multi-year options with teams such as the Red Sox, Brewers and Padres had offered. This move really solidifies the Cubs bullpen for next year as they have one of the best 7-8-9 inning punch in the game with Howry, Marmol and Wood. The signing of Wood also means that Dempster will be a starter for the Cubs now. He will be a good 4th or 5th starter, so it makes me wonder if Marshall or Marquis will go into the bullpen as well or will one of those two be trade bait for some other need that the Cubs may have.

Cordero to the Reds … Thank goodness!

Joe — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 02:10:11 +0000

Francisco Cordero has signed with the Reds and that helps the Cubs tremendously. The Brewers already have a bad bullpen and so far they have lost some of their top arms in their pen in Linebrink and Cordero. Some may be worried that Cordero is still in the NL Central, but keep this in mind. Cordero had a 6.55 ERA away from Miller Park and with the move to a hitter’s park in Cincinnatti, he WILL get lit up.

Breaking News: John McDonough Steps Down

Joe — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 16:16:46 +0000

Cubs team president John McDonough stepped down as team president today and will become the president for the Chicago Blackhawks. This is a great pickup for the Blackhawks organization, because he knows how to fill up seats and he could help bring back hockey to the city of Chicago. This deal also made sense for him because he had no job security with the sale of the team on the way.

What does this mean for the Cubs? Right now, I have no idea as we may have to wait awhile to see who our next president will be.