Saturday, May 09, 2009

Wounded Cubs and Other Notes.

- A lot can happen in just a couple of days. Lee has missed another game and will not start tomorrow because of his neck. He will get some test done after that they will decide whether to DL him or not.

- Aramis was placed on the DL today with a dislocated left shoulder. The MRI he had today showed no major damage other than the dislocation. The Cubs should know after a month how when he will be back. They expect him to be out 6-8 weeks at least.

- The Cubs traded Joey Gathright to the O's for Ryan Freel. Freel will start at 3rd for Aramis and should do a decent job but will not produce like Aram of course.

- If injuries continue to mount and the pen continues to fail, Lou may do a complete overhaul of the pen and then try to acquire a guy like Chone Figgins or call up Jake Fox. Either way the Cubs need some consistency.

Thursday, May 07, 2009

Some Good Cubs Updates....

Here is some news from today-

- Derrek Lee is out of the game tonight and maybe for the next couple of days with a stiff neck. The Cubs do not want to place him on the DL but it may be the right choice right now.

- According to the Tribune the Cubs will call up Randy Wells on Friday to start against the Brewers. It is likely that Scales will be sent back down to Iowa but he may stay with the team. I wonder who would be sent down?

- The Cubs called up Chad Fox and sent down Shark. Fox will provide some veteran leadership in the pen. The Cubs are also considering calling up Jeff Stevens among others if the pen can't throw strikes. I think Stevens and Waddell deserve to be with the Cubs!

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Sale of Cubs Update-

Thanks to ChicagoCubsOnline.com for this one-

According to a report from the Chicago Tribune, the sale of the Chicago Cubs to the Ricketts Family "will not be completed by the owners' meeting" on May 20-21. The Tribune cited unnamed sources familiar with the negotiations.

"Despite good intentions on both sides, the transaction will not completed by the owners' meeting, said sources familiar with the negotiations. But a second blown deadline is not an indication that the deal is in trouble, sources said. One person who asked not be identified said the sale is "proceeding slowly but proceeding."

Spokesmen for the Ricketts Family and the Tribune Co. declined comment.

While many are rightfully focused on the inconsistent season of Lou Piniella's Cubs, the sale of the team must be completed soon.

"Sources blamed the slow pace of negotiations on several factors. The double whammy of a recession and a financial-sector meltdown has made it difficult for the Ricketts to secure financing. The family raised $400 million for the deal by selling personal stock holdings and planned to borrow the rest."

According to the Tribune, "both sides are reluctant to put a timetable on completing the deal." Baseball owners are not scheduled to meet again until August.

Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Ryan Theriot, Power Hitter?

The Cubs offense has been sparked not by Milton Bradley, Lee, Soriano, or Aram but Ryan Theriot. We heard last week that Lou told Ryan to start to drive the ball more and boy, did he take it to heart.

Ryan his hitting .323 with 3 homers, 15 RBI, 14 Runs, and 6 steals on the young season. He has recently become the spark plug of the offense and also the power supply. He has hit 3 homers in 4 days which is tied for most in his career and it is still May. In fact Ryan Theriot is hitting better than guys such as David Wright, Milton Bradley, Jose Reyes, David Ortiz, and has more homeruns than the starting infield for the Oakland A's.

It seems to me that Ryan has been bitten by the power bug and it does not look like he will let up anytime soon. All us Cubs fans have seen something similar to this before with Ryne Sandberg hitting just 7 homers in 1982 and 8 in 1983 then coming into his own by hitting 19 in 84 and crushing 40 in 1990. I by no means want to say that Ryan Theriot is the next Ryne Sandberg but I am just comparing there power trends. If Theriot can mirror about a quarter of what Sandberg was we are in for a treat.

One thing is for sure is the Cubs need to really get the bats going especially with our bullpen the way it is. Maybe Ryan can host a hitting clinic for them?

Monday, May 04, 2009

Z to DL and Scales to the Show.

- The Cubs put Carlos Zambrano on the 15 day DL with a mild grade 2 hamstring strain. It is more of a precautionary thing for the Cubs. The Cubs did call up infielder Bobby Scales and do plan on calling up Randy Wells for a spot start on Friday against the Brewers.

- News and Rumors have been slow and should pick up after May wraps up. So hand in there Cub fans!