Cubs win again!

Cubs win again. One more and that's a winning streak. I know it's just spring training, but we might as well enjoy it because winning streaks may be few and far between once the season starts. Here is what went down in Surprise:

 - Jeff Samardzija threw a three inning gem today! He gave up a bloop single, had three strikeouts, and didn't walk anybody. I know it's wrong, but I'm excited.

- Bryan LaHair got his first 2 hits of the spring today going 2-3 with two singles and an RBI. He did leave a couple runners on base, but it's a start.

- Darwin Barney continued his hot spring with another RBI double.

- Joe Mather had another hit and his team leading 3rd steal of the spring. I'm hearing that he doesn't have much of a shot to make the team, but if he keeps stealing bases (pinch runner) and plays solid defense what makes Campana or Sappelt any better? The ability to play CF is one edge they have on him, but Reed Johnson can play CF if needed. Mather gives the Cubs a power bat off the bench which is one thing Campana / Sappelt can't do.

- Sappelt got a chance to lead off today and went 0-3. Despite my mini-Mather rant, I hope Sappelt wins the 5th OF job because I think he has the most upside of the three.

- Raphel Solis pitched two innings without giving up an earned run. He wasn't as dominant as in the opener, but didn't hurt his chances of earning a bullpen spot either.

- 2 K's for Steve Clevenger. At least he's a good bunter.

- Speaking of bunting... Campana bunted home a run with a runner on 3rd and 1 out in the 6th. Old school baseball. Holy cow!

- Josh Vitters walked for the second game in a row. Who says he can't take a pitch? (besides everybody). In his next at-bat, Vitters came up with runners on the corners and no one out and worked an 8 pitch AB before striking out swinging. Disappointing, but at least it was a tough out.

- Brett Jackson RBI single in first AB. Trade Byrd! (kidding)

- Trey McNutt gave up a run in one inning of work and struggled to throw strikes (11 strikes, 13 balls). He did get a strikeout, but the control issue is concerning.

- Jeff Beliveau got rocked again. He came on in the 9th with a 4 run lead and gave three singles & two runs before retiring a batter. He got out of the jam without allowing any more runs, but it was lucky. Two of the three outs were on a rocket liner and deep fly out. Whew. Not impressed so far.

Cubs Win!

The Cubs got their first win of the spring with a 11-4 victory over the Rockies.

Recap:

No one was booing Alfonso Soriano today as he hit 2 homers and ripped a double to the wall in 3 at-bats. Trade value increased 1% (from 0).

Matt Garza had a rough start (2 IN, 3 H, 2 ER) but I don't put much stock into veteran pitcher's spring stats. Usually they are working on a specific pitch, mechanics, etc. Garza will be fine.

The LRP bullpen spots are wide open after the Sean Marshall trade, but no one is doing anything to claim one so far. James Russell (the favorite) gave up 3 hits and a run in his one inning today. I considered the bullpen one of the Cubs only strengths coming into the season, but it's been ugly.

David DeJesus got caught stealing. I like the aggressiveness, but at little success would be nice. 

Ex-Cub Tyler Colvin had a nice day for the Rockies going 2-3 with a run & rbi.

Prospects:

Brett Jackson continued his strong spring by hitting a three run homer and taking a walk. He also struck out, but I'm focusing on the positives today.

Anthony Rizzo went 2-3 with a run & rbi. He's not going to break camp with the team, but I think a strong start is an important step in erasing any bad mojo from his brutal stint in the majors last year

Junior Lake went 1-3 with a double (1 K).

Wellington Castillo continues to hit well, going 2-3 with double, a run scored, and an RBI.  Based on his spring last year and strong numbers in AAA (.286/.351/.524), I think he's ready.

Josh Vitters took a walk (discipline!) and stole a base.

Fringe:

Joe Mather had a triple in his only at bat. Strong start for Mather.

Andy Sonnanstine closed out the game for the Cubs with a scoreless innings, but did give up a hit and a walk. 

Cubs ST Game 2 Recap

The Cubs blew another late lead and lost to the A's 8-7. I have yet to see any correlation between spring training record and regular season performance, so I could care less about winning games in the spring. My primary concern is how our prospects look and who is going to be a factor in 2013, so that will be the focus on my recaps.

Offense:

Josh Vitters went 1-2 with an RBI double and didn't make an errors at third. Most scouts question Vitters ability to hit and field at a major league level, so the pressure is on Josh to prove to the new regime he can do both. Good start!

Blake DeWitt hit a 3-run homer in his first AB of the spring. Looks like the 2nd base competition is going to be more heated then I thought. I have very little faith in DeWitt after last season, but I am willing to give him another shot (begrudgingly).

Joe Mather - I mentioned Mather as an underrated signing in my off-season breakdown and he did nothing to prove me wrong today. Mather went 2-3 with 2 steals and a run scored. He's a long shot to make the team out of camp, but if Soriano or Bryd get moved during the season he could get some time in the bigs.

Steve Clevenger went 1-2 with a run, rbi, and a sweet sacrifice bunt. That contest is paying dividends already!

Bryan LaHair went 0-3 with a K and is hit-less this spring after 2 games.

Pitching:

Casey Weathers pitched a perfect 5th for the Cubs. Nobody is talking about Weathers as part of the deal that brought Ian Stewart from the Rockies, but he is a former top 10 pick with a plus fastball. Weathers could be a part of the Cubs bullpen this year with a solid spring.

Kevin Rhoderick pitched a scoreless 8th with 1 K. Not much is written about Rhoderick since he falls into the 25-30 range on the Cubs prospect lists, but he struck out over a batter per inning between high A-AA in his first year with the Cubs. He'll start the year in AA, but is a sleeper candidate for the 2013 bullpen

Tony Zych is another guy to watch for next year, but he didn't fare as well in the 9th. Zych got the loss after giving up a game winning homer to Yordy Cabrera (Who?).

Manny Corpas & Marco Carillo got rocked in the 6th & 7th innings giving up a combined 6 runs on 6 hits and 2 BB. Not much is expected from Carillo, but Corpas has a legit shot to make the team out of camp. Today's performance didn't help his cause.

Misc:

No errors today and no runners picked off first. Fundamentals are back!

Cubs Spring Training Opener

Today reminded me why I left Chicago and moved to Arizona few years ago. 81 degrees on March 4th? Not a bad day to watch the Cubs spring training opener. It sucks that they lost 12-10 to A's, but sitting on the grass watching Cubs baseball and pounding Old Styles is tough to beat.

Here are my notes from the game:

- The collective attitude of the fans seems different this year. The usual anger and frustration over "Cub plays" has been replaced with a sense of amusement, an acceptance that the Cubs are going to suck this year so we might as well have fun with it. I'm pretty sure rooting for the Cubs has permanently raised my blood pressure and taken a few years off my life, so I'm on board with the laid-back vibe (at least for spring training).

- Rodrigo Lopez & Marmol combined for 3 perfect innings to start the game. It was good to Marmol not walk anybody for a change. Hopefully Bosio can get him back to his 2010 form. Lopez was solid. Who cares.

- Rafael Dolis was the most impressive arm out of the pen today (not much competition). He has an intimating presence on the mound and his stuff looked filthy

- Jeff Beliveau's stuff was the opposite of filthy (clean?). He walked the only 3 batters he faced, but it was due more to not being able to miss any bats then being wild. All three batters fouled off multiple strikes before eventually drawing walks. Dae Eun Rhee came on in relief and promptly gave up a grand slam to Brandon Allen and then gave up another bomb to the next batter. Rhee feel behind almost every batter he faced and then got shelled when forced to throw strikes. I was excited about seeing both these guys live and was disappointed. I know it's only 1 game, but they didn't pass the eye-test today.

- It looks like the battle for the 2nd base job could be exciting. Darwin Barney had an impressive all around game. He drove in the first two runs of the game with a 2 out double in the gap, stole 3rd a few pitches later, and made a great defensive play before being pulled for Adrien Cardenas. Cardenas first AB as a Cubs came with the bases loaded in the 6th and he delivered a bases clearing triple. He made an out in his next at-bat but hit the ball hard. Defense is supposedly his weakness, but he made a nice catch on a foul ball in shallow right and didn't embarrass himself out there. Blake DeWitt still blows.

- The talent level on the field is questionable, but in the lawn section it's outstanding. 

- Cub fans got a glimpse of the future in the 6th inning. Rizzo led off with a single, Brett Jackson walked, Jimmy Aducci singled to load the bases, Dave Sappelt singled in a run, and then Cardenas cleared the bases with a triple. Jae Hoon-Ha added another RBI single to cap off a 5 run inning. Good times. 

- I hope Jae Hoon-Ha eventually gets some time in the big leagues. Fun name. Ha. 

- Rule 5 pick-up Lendy Castillo gave up a run and was wild, but his stuff looks legit.

- Brett Jackson made an impressive sliding catch in CF.

- The Cubs had two runners (Dejesus & Barney) picked off first base in the same inning by the A's catcher, Kurt Suzuki. Frustrating, but it's not like the Cubs are going to be a fundamentally sound team overnight. 

- No boos for Soriano today! No applause either, but I guess all the "good guy / hard worker" press he's getting lately has softened up the fans. Or maybe everybody was just in too good of a mood to boo.  

Carpenter to the Red Sox

The Cubs & Red Sox (not Bud Selig) decided that RP Chris Carpenter is fair compensation for Theo Epstein leaving Boston 1 year before his contract expired. My initial reaction is that the price seems pretty steep. Carpenter has been listed as high as 6th and as low as 15th depending on whose prospect list your reading. He pitched in the majors last year and was expected to be a part of the Cubs bullpen in 2012. I was expecting the compensation player to be a low-level minor leaguer with potential, not a major-league ready arm capable of hitting triple digits on the radar gun.

On the bright side, the strength of the Cubs minor league system is power bullpen arms, so it's not as damaging to the system as losing an SP prospect like McNutt would of been. Carpenter has a great arm, but right now is a two-pitch reliever with control issues. Looking at the big picture, losing a 7th or maybe 8th inning guy for the amount of excitement the new regime has brought to Cubs fans this off-season seems about fair.

State of the Cubs Minor League System

What a difference a year makes. The combination of an influx of talent from the new regime, the maturation of the old regime's draft picks, and smart international spending has taken the Cubs minor league system from near the bottom of the league to a top 15 farm system. They have anywhere from 3-5 top 100 prospects overall depending on whose lists you trust.

While the Cubs are lacking any sure thing "A" prospects, they have one of the deepest pool of mid-range prospects in the league. Most of these prospects are 1-2 years away from playing at Wrigley, but the future is bright for the Cubs. Here is a breakdown of the strengths and weakness of the Cubs system:

Strengths:

• Bullpen arms: The Cubs have a surplus of MLB ready (or close) power bullpen arms. Carpenter, Dolis, Beliveau, Weathers, and Lendy Castillo could all see action in the majors this season and there are more arms on the way like Zych, Serrano, & Hatley in the next few years. 
• Infielders: None are quite MLB ready, but by 2014 the Cubs should have some serious talent coming up the pipe. Rizzo & Vogelbach were recently listed as top 10 first base prospects in the league by Baseball America. At 3B the Cubs have Vitters, Baez, Candeleria, and probably Lake if he keeps growing. In the middle, names like DeVoss, Watkins, Torreyes, and Hernandez are making all the prospect lists.

Weaknesses:

• Starting Pitching: The Cubs are still lacking a starting pitching prospect who profiles as a legit ace. Maybe they get one in a Garza deal, but that is speculation at this point. McNutt is listed as the Cubs top SP prospect, but if 2011 was any indication he's not the answer. Maples is projected as a #2, but he has yet to pitch in the system. The Cubs do have some solid mid-rotation types (Rhee, Beeler, Wells, Cates) in the lower levels, but a lot of question marks. 
• Corner Outfielders: The Cubs lack traditional power hitting corner outfielder prospects. Reggie Golden and maybe Michael Burgess are intriguing names, but they still need considerable development before they are ready to play in the big leagues.  If Brett Jackson's power develops and the Cubs sign Cespedes and / or Soler, this point becomes mute.

The Cubs have had strong farm systems in the past that have failed to develop all-star or even starting caliber players, but I haven't been this excited about the Cubs minor league prospects in a long time and I think the Cubs are moving in the right direction. Let the "Build" begin!

Cubs sign Concepcion

One down, two to go! The Cubs signed Cuban pitcher Gerardo Concepcion. The 18 year old lefty reported signed a deal for $7M with the number of years undisclosed as of now. Concepcion projects as a back of the rotation starter. For more info, click below:

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/02/cubs-sign-gerardo-concepcion.html