Cubs Hit and Run: Batman, Wrigley, Barney, and More..

·         Jorge Soler got a 5 game suspension and a fine for his bat incident.  It seems the initial reports blew it up bigger than it actually was but it is still bad enough to get Soler a 5 game suspension.

·         Darwin Barney is playing in IowaSaturday through Monday and if everything goes well he will be activated off the DL Tuesday.

·         Garza continues to make strides by throwing off the mound this week but is still not expect to be in the rotation until mid May.

·         The more I see and hear about Logan Watkins the more I think he should be playing for the big league club.  The only problem is he has 0 games at 3^rd base in his minor league career and no indication that he is going to start taking grounders there in Iowa.

·         Brett at Bleacher Nation has another update on the Obsessive Wrigley Renovation found here.  It sounds like they are finally getting things done and making a genuine effort to include the things that concern the rooftops.  Moving back the exterior walls is genius but my one question is why don’t they just place the jumbotron across the street near the rooftops? It is very close to the location shown in the rooftops proposal found here? It should be also noted that I am coming around to the idea of having digital signage on the rooftops as well.  It looks pretty nice in the video but I also feel the Cubs should be the main one capitalizing on the advertising since the fans are there to see the product on the field and everything that entails by the Cubs not the rooftops.

·         A goats head was delivered to Tom Ricketts at Wrigley which is pretty crazy.  Following @NotTomRicketts on twitter during that time was freaking hilarious though.  Seriously, he is worth a follow.

Some Cubs chat with ESPN Chicago ()-

·         Steve Clevenger maybe the player that gets called down Tuesday when Barney is activated of the DL but Gonzalez is still possible.  Jesse does not think Lillibridge will go anywhere.

·         Jesse Rogers does not believe Ryan Sweeney will get called up.

·         No teams are interested in Marmol.

·         The Cubs will keep the best 5 pitchers in the rotation when Garza comes back.

·         Appel will be drafted by the Cubs with the number 2 pick if he is not taken first overall.

Until Next Time…

Cubs Hit and Run: Next up, Baez, and Schierholtz

Here is something not cool that may force my hand to change from blogger to another web based company for Hot Stove Cubbies content.  The new blogger app for my mobile phone does not let you link up to other websites that you are sourcing.  This makes it extremely hard to update all those who look to HSC with the latest info and rumors with links to great sites such as Bleacher Nation, CubsDen, and many others.  I will continue to search for a resolution but until then I will be posting the full URL to the site in which you will have to copy and paste into your browser.  Instead of the friendly “click on a link” that HSC has provided in the past.

I do apologize for the inconvenience and hope to get a resolution soon one way or another.

Now onto everything Cubs-

·         Seriously a fantastic read on the idea of trading Javier Baez found atCubsDen.  John makes some fantastic points about Baez but the only way I trade someone of his caliber is if the Cubs get a impact player in return like Stanton or Price or Trout.  Plain and simple.

·          I think the next 3 players to get the call up to the majors are Brett Jackson, Logan Watkins, and Ryan Sweeney.  I imagine we will see Watkins getting some time at 3^rd in Iowa very soon to prove his versatility.  Sweeney may end up in Chicago if Sappelt struggles continue and Brett Jackson will likely be up around the trade deadline when the Cubs trade Soriano or DeJesus or both.

·         Lots of talk that Alberto Gonzalez maybe staying with the club and Lillibridge getting the boot when Barney comes back next week.  Not sure how I feel about that.

·         Nate Schierholtz defense in RF and good Abs are proving to be a big surprise to many including myself.  But we should not be surprised because in 7 years he owns a .270 OBP .320 OBP while playing great defense. He sports a .989 fielding percentage with 26 assist and only 8 errors in 506 games.  If he is just average at the plate (which he currently is way above) while playing the great defense it is hard not to like this signing.

Until Next Time…