Cubs launch “Restore Wrigley Field” website
The Cubs have launched a new website titled “Restore Wrigley Field” if you are a Cubs fan you should really check it out. The website does a fantastic job detailing the plans that the Ricketts family and the Cubs have for Wrigley Field. There are video’s on the site that detail what could be in store for the aging ballpark and surrounding neighborhood. The website goes into detail about how this project can not only help the Cubs, but help the community and create jobs. Here is a link to the website, I really suggest you check it out.
Here is the mission statement from the website..
“Restoring Wrigley Field and enhancing the surrounding area around the ballpark benefits our city, our neighborhood, our fans and our team. It will boost the economy, create approximately 2,100 new jobs, and generate significant revenue for the City, County and State. More importantly, it will allow your Chicago Cubs to play in the Friendly Confines for generations to come. If you want to help the team turn this vision into reality, your support is needed – lend your voice by signing the petition to save Wrigley Field!”
The message is fairly straight forward, if you want the Cubs to stay at Wrigley, and compete while playing at Wrigley then you should be on board with this project. As you can see in the final sentence of the statement, there is a petition for you to sign on the website, the Cubs want to hear from you and want your support to build their case as to why this needs to be done. If you feel so inclined, head on over to the website and take a look around, and sign the petition, like I said, there is a wealth of information there…the more you know.
Minor Matters – May 13, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Reports)
At The Plate – Nice comeback win for the Cubs as they trailed for most of the game and really couldn’t generate any offense. They only needed one inning to get the job done as they scored six times in the sixth en route to a 6-4 win. One small note, that was big in this game was the Cubs turned five double plays, FIVE, that’s hard to do. Josh Vitters was 1-for-4 with an RBI, and a run scored in the victory. Brad Nelson was 1-for-4 with two RBI’s, and a run scored, he’s now hitting .278 on the season. Donnie Murphy had a big game going 2-for-4 with his first home run of the season, three RBI’s, a double, and a run scored.
On The Mound – The Cubs gave up twelve hits in this one but held the Aces (get it?) to only four runs thanks in large part to those five double plays I mentioned. Nick Struck got the start and battled to earn his first win of the season while not having his best stuff. Struck went six innings giving up four runs on eleven hits while walking one and striking out four. Esmailin Caridad worked two scoreless innings out of the pen giving up one hit while walking one. Zach Putnam was solid as well, he worked a scoreless ninth inning to earn his second save of the season.
At The Plate – What a thrilling win for the Smokies as they trailed 4-2 heading to the ninth where they scored four times to take a 6-4 lead, and get the victory. Matt Szczur came into this year with a lot to prove, and so far he’s proving an awful lot. He was 2-for-5 with a double, his thirteenth stolen base of the year, and an RBI, he’s now hitting .291 on the season. Rafael Lopez has been on fire of late, he was 2-for-4 with his third home run of the season, a double, an RBI, and two runs scored. Rubi Silva was 2-for-4 with his seventh home run of the season, a double, two RBI’s, and a run scored. Tim Torres was 1-for-4 with a double and two runs scored in the victory. Anthony Giansanti who was recently promoted from Daytona was 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored.
On The Mound – Dallas Beeler got the start and had another solid outing, Beeler went six innings giving up three runs, two earned, on six hits while walking two and striking out three. Tony Zych walked a fine line in his inning of work giving up one run, unearned, on two hits while walking two and striking out one. Trey McNutt struggled a bit with command, but was also overpowering in his inning of work, he walked two and struck out three to earn his second win of the season. Kevin Rhoderick had one of his best outings of the year to nail down his first save; he worked a scoreless ninth while striking out two.
At The Plate – Daytona had nothing going in this one, and really I can’t blame them as they haven’t seen game action for five days. The D-Cubs could only manage five hits in the shutout loss, the Stone Crabs tried to help them as much as possible with three errors but Daytona couldn’t take advantage as they were 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Only three guys were able to record hits in this one, Zeke DeVoss went 2-for-4, Ben Carhart went 2-for-4, and Chadd Krist went 1-for-3, all singles.
On The Mound – The Daytona pitching was good enough to win in this one, but had to work around some trouble, they got a lot of help from their defense as the D-Cubs turned four double plays, and ahad two outfield assists. Zach Cates got the start and took his fourth loss of the season, he worked six innings giving up three runs on eleven hits while walking one and striking out three. Frank Del Valle was his usual solid self, tossing a scoreless inning while striking out two. Luis Liria worked a scoreless inning as well, giving up one hit while walking one and striking out two. David Cales worked a scoreless ninth inning to keep Daytona close.
At The Plate – The Cougars couldn’t get anything going all day long, and when they did threaten they couldn’t come through as they were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position. Gioskar Amaya was 2-for-4 with his fourth stolen base of the season. Dan Vogelbach continues to hit as he was 2-for-4, he is now hitting .295 on the season. Jeimer Candelario was 1-for-4 with his tenth double of the season in the loss.
On The Mound – Pierce Johnson was solid once again in this one; unfortunately he was hung with the loss which drops his record to 1-3 on the season. Johnson went six innings giving up four runs, three earned, on seven hits while walking one and striking out six. Jeffry Antigua was just about perfect out of the pen as he worked two scoreless innings while striking out five.
The Cubs Venezuelan Summer League opened yesterday, things didn’t go so well. The VSL Cubs lost 22-11 to the VSL Rays, you can view the box score here.
Cubs throttle Rockies for third straight win
As I mentioned in the series preview the Cubs look to be finding a groove and riding the momentum of some nice wins lately. Tonight was pure domination from beginning to end as the Cubs had a 5-0 lead after two innings en route to a 9-1 victory, their third straight win. These wins are coming against good teams as well, and they held their own in their most recent losses against the Reds, and Cardinals. I’m not saying the Cubs are going to be contenders 
next week, but they are playing some of the best baseball they have played in the last three years. Okay, I know, that really doesn’t take much, but watching this team every night I can see the change. Lost in the offensive awesomeness, say that five times fast, was the performance of Travis Wood. He was brilliant again, and is pitching like a true number one, this is the Travis Wood the Cubs’ brass was hoping they got when they traded Sean Marshall to the Reds. Actually this is probably more than what they expected this soon, just outstanding.
At The Plate – The best offensive night for the Cubs this year, they pounded out fourteen hits and scored nine runs. They were an impressive 6-for-18 with runners in scoring position and had eight extra base hits, six doubles, a triple, and a home run. David DeJesus was 2-for-4 with a walk, a double, two RBI’s, and two runs scored. Starlin Castro was on base all night going 2-for-3 with a walk, a double, two RBI’s, and a run scored. Alfonso Soriano padded his slugging numbers in this one going 2-for-4 with his fourth home run of the season, a double, two RBI’s and a run scored. Nate Schierholtz was 2-for-4 with a triple, and two RBI’s, he is now hitting .299 on the season. Welington Castillo and Travis Wood also had two hits in the victory, both of Castillo’s hits were doubles, what else is new, the Cubs lead the Majors in doubles.
On The Mound - Travis Wood was brilliant, what else can be said, he has been all year. Wood worked seven scoreless innings giving up two hits while walking three and striking out two. This was his eighth straight quality start to begin the season, he improved his record to 4-2, and lowered his ERA to 2.03 as well. Kyuji Fujikawa had another solid performance out of the pen tossing a scoreless inning while striking out two. Carlos Marmol worked the ninth inning giving up one run on one hit while striking out three.
Up Next - The Cubs go for their fourth straight win as Carlos Villanueva looks to get things back on track. The Rockies counter with Jeff Francis, first pitch scheduled for 7:05 PM CST, and the weather is supposed to be very summer like.
Game Highlights:
Wood’s scoreless outing
DeJesus two-run single
Schierholtz two-run triple
Cubs turn two to end the fifth
Castro turns two
Castro’s two run double
Travis Wood helps himself with a double
Alfonso Soriano launches one out onto Waveland
Anthony Rizzo press conference LIVE at 3 PM
The Cubs will hold a press conference to announce the Rizzo extension, you can watch the press conference here, enjoy!
Series Preview – Rockies @ Cubs; May 13 – May 15, 2013
The Cubs are ready to go on a run, I really believe that considering it’s been about two years since they put together an honest to God winning streak. I think they have the opportunity to build on their last two wins in Washington, the next test won’t be easy, but the chance is there for the Cubs to reel off some wins here. The Rockies come to town for a three game series starting tonight, and it all starts with their offensive attack. The Rockies have scored 177 runs, that’s good for seventh best in the Majors, yeah 
I know, the Rockies always score runs as they play in a launching pad. While that’s true the Rockies have been equally as good on the road this year as they have scored 86 runs on the road compared to 91 at home, that’s not a normal Rockies attack. The Cubs starters will be tasked with shutting down that Rockies attack, and that plays a huge role in whether or not the Cubs will be successful in this series. The Cubs starters have an ERA of 3.50 which is sixth best in the Majors, that is where the Cubs hold the advantage in this series as the Rockies have a team starters ERA of 4.20 which is nineteenth best in baseball. Based on the numbers the Cubs have a really good chance to get late into the game with a lead, that is where the Cubs pen has to step up because if the Rockies have a lead late they usually don’t let it go. The Cubs bullpen ERA is 4.13 which is twenty-fourth best in baseball, the Rockies on the other hand have a bullpen ERA of 2.73, which is third in all of baseball. The Cubs need to get out to a quick lead, and hope their starters get deep enough to eliminate as much of their own bullpen as possible, if they do that it could be a very successful series.
Last Series:
The Cubs took two out of three games from the Nationals in Washington over the weekend.
The Rockies lost two out of three to the Cardinals in St. Louis, and have lost four out their last five.
Game Times and Broadcast Information:
- Monday, May 13, 2013 – 7:05 PM CST on WCIU
- Tuesday, May 14, 2013 – 7:05 PM CST on CSN Chicago
- Wednesday, May 15, 2013 – 7:05 PM CST on CSN Chicago
Starting Pitchers Scheduled:
Cubs:
Game One – Travis Wood (3-2, 2.33)
- Career vs. Rockies (3 appearances, 2 GS) (0-1, 2.77)
Game Two – Carlos Villanueva (1-2, 3.02)
- Career vs. Rockies (11 appearances, 0 GS) (0-1, 10.05)
Game Three – Jeff Samardzija (1-5, 3.70)
- Career vs. Rockies (5 appearances, 1 GS) (0-0, 2.25)
Rockies:
Game One – Juan Nicasio (3-0, 4.72)
- Career vs. Cubs (first appearance)
Game Two – Jeff Francis (1-3, 6.90)
- Career vs. Cubs (6 GS) (1-0, 7.67)
Game Three – Jon Garland (3-3, 4.83)
- Career vs. Cubs (12 appearances, 8 GS) (4-4, 3.61)
Bold Prediction:
The Cubs should carry the momentum they generated in Washington over the weekend into this series, at least I hope so. I really think they will, and I like the match ups on the mound to favor the Cubs. As long as the Cubs can play solid defense they have an outside shot to sweep this series, and I think that’s what they will do, sweep the Rockies. As in Washington, the only game the Cubs dropped was the one where they shot themselves in the foot defensively, that’s the only way I see the Cubs losing a game in this series.
Minor Matters – May 12, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Recaps)
At The Plate – Tough one to swallow for the Cubs in this one as they blew a 6-1 lead that they had in the third, and an 8-6 lead in the ninth by giving up three runs in the bottom half to lose 9-8. Brett Jackson seems to be finding a groove ever since coming off the DL, he was 3-for-4 with a walk, a double, and two runs scored. Josh Vitters was 1-for-3 with two walks, and a run scored. Dave Sappelt was 1-for-5 with a triple, three RBI’s, and a run scored in the loss. Brad Nelson was 2-for-4 with his sixth home run of the season, two RBI’s, and two runs scored. Ian Stewart made a rare appearance in this one and it was a productive one, he was 1-for-1 with a triple, and two RBI’s in a pinch-hitting role.
On The Mound – Chris Rusin didn’t have his best stuff in this one, going five innings giving up five runs on nine hits while striking out one. Casey Coleman was outstanding out of the pen going two scoreless innings while striking out one. Hisanori Takahashi worked just one-third of an inning giving up one run on one hit while walking one and striking out one. Rafael Dolis worked one inning and it wasn’t good, he gave up two runs on one hit while walking one and striking out one. Blake Parker also struggled in a third of an inning, giving up one run on one hit, he was hung with his first loss of the season.
At The Plate – The Smokies had plenty of opportunities in this one, but were only 4-17 with runners in scoring position. Even so, the Smokies scored five times, and that was plenty in this one, winning 5-0. Matt Szczur has been on a roll of late, and today as well, he was 3-for-5 with a double, and two RBI’s, he’s now hitting .287 on the season. Arismendy Alcantara was 2-for-4 with a double, he also made his eleventh error on the season in the victory. Christian Villanueva was 1-for-2 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored. Tim Torres was 1-for-4 with a double, and two runs scored.
On The Mound - Kyle Hendricks was outstanding once again in this one, going 6.2 scoreless innings giving up four hits while walking one and striking out four to earn his second win of the season. A.J. Morris pitched out of trouble in his inning of work, he worked a scoreless inning giving up two hits while walking one and striking out two. Zach Rosscup worked 1.1 scoreless innings while walking one and striking out three to close this one out.
At The Plate – Kane County seems to find ways to lose games in the worst ways, tonight was one of them as the Cougars led 6-3 in the sixth inning only to fall 7-6. Bijan Rademacher was 0-for-2 with three walks, a run scored, and a caught stealing. Jeimer Candelario was 2-for-4 with his first home run of the season, a walk, an RBI, and two runs scored. Rock Shoulders was 1-for-5 with a grand slam, his eighth home run of the season, four RBI’s, and a run scored. Carlos Escobar, and Oliver Zapata each had two hits in the loss.
On The Mound – Dillon Maples was promoted from extended spring training to Kane County today as got the start. First things first that is very important as Maples is one of the better pitching prospects in the system, and it’s good to see him back healthy. Maples went five innings giving up three runs on six hits while striking out two. Lendy Castillo took over and ended up taking the loss going 4.1 innings giving up four runs on two hits while walking four and striking out four.
Huge News: Cubs lock up Rizzo through 2019 (UPDATE)
This is awesome news. Per Ken Rosenthal, the Cubs have agreed to a long term extension with Anthony Rizzo to the tune of 7 years $41 million. STEAL! The Cubs now control Rizzo, Starlin Castro, and Jorge Soler for the better part of the next decade. Much more shortly..
(UPDATE) A few sources confirm that this deal has two club options that could result in this deal going for nine years, and $68 million. This is such huge news for the Cubs, they are paying Castro and Rizzo to be here for the next 7 years together for $101 million, that’s remarkable. That should give the Cubs financial flexibility when they need to get get a free agent when they are contending, good news all around tonight.
Cubs comeback to steal a win, and the series from Nationals
The Cubs are usually on the other end of these games, I like winning these games WAY more than losing them. The Cubs had nothing going all day as they were being no hit through five innings, then they started to chip away at Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez. The Cubs loaded the bases in the sixth only to come up empty, but it signaled that the Cubs might be ready to make things difficult for the Nats. Gonzalez rebounded nicely in the seventh inning, 
but Nats manager Davey Johnson decided to pull Gio after only 86 pitches on the day, the Cubs thank you Davey. The Cubs went to work in the eighth as they played some small ball. Navarro singled to lead off the eighth, he was then moved to second on a sac bunt by Barney. Travis Wood pinch ran for Navarro and made a great base running play to tag up on a foul ball behind first base to make it to third with two outs. Starlin Castro delivered as he took a Drew Storen pitch back up the middle for game tying base hit. The Cubs used some aggressiveness in the ninth to take the lead an ultimately win the game. They put the first two guys on in the ninth then Ryan Sweeney struck out, I know I’m not the only Cubs fan to think here we go again. But on the very next pitch Soriano and Borbon executed a double steal and the Cubs finally got a break. Kurt Suzuki‘s throw to third hit Welington Castillo‘s bat and went down the third base line allowing Soriano to score the game winning run. Kevin Gregg was perfect in the ninth to secure the Cubs win, and the series win over the Nats.
At The Plate - As I mentioned the Cubs had nothing going all day long, but woke up just in time. Starlin Castro was 1-for-3 with a walk, and a game tying RBI from the lead-off spot. Cody Ransom had a solid day from the two spot going 2-for-4 with two singles. Dioner Navarro was one of the few guys who were locked in at the plate, he was 2-for-3 in the win.
On The Mound - Another really solid start for Scott Feldman, he had to settle for a no decision but that was better than an undeserved loss. Feldman went six innings giving up one run on five hits while walking three and striking out six. Kyuji Fujikawa was solid, and healthy for the second time this series. Fujikawa worked a scoreless inning while striking out one, very encouraging to see his velocity up near 93-94 MPH. James Russell worked a scoreless eighth inning while walking one to earn his first win of the season. Kevin Gregg was lights out yet again, what else would you expect? Gregg worked a scoreless ninth while striking out two earning his sixth save of the season.
Up Next - The Cubs head home to start a three game series with the Colorado Rockies tomorrow night.
Game Highlights:
Soriano scores on a wild throw in the ninth
Gregg gets the save
Great catch by DeJesus
Castro’s game tying single
Navarro gets the first Cubs hit
May 12, 2013 – Cubs @ Nationals; Lineups!
Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mom’s out there! Today the Cubs look to win the series from the Nationals as they continue to play right with the National League contenders despite their record. Scott Feldman has been outstanding as of late and he will try to build on that today as he opposes Gio Gonzalez who has struggled in the early going this year. Starlin Castro is back in the lead-off spot for the Cubs and Bryce Harper makes his return to the Nats lineup, here is how both teams will line up today.
Minor Matters – May 11, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Reports)
At The Plate – The Cubs left some runs out on the bases in this one but they found just enough offense to come away with a win. Brett Jackson was 2-for-5 with a double, two RBI’s, and his fourth stolen base of the season. Dave Sappelt had a good day going 2-for-4 with his first home run of the season, two RBI’s, and a run scored. J.C. Boscan was 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored in the win. I mentioned that Iowa left some runs out there, they were 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position, and left nine guys on base.
On The Mound – Guillermo Moscoso was brilliant in this one for the Cubs as he improved his record to 2-0 on the season. Moscoso went seven innings giving up one run, unearned, on six hits while walking one and striking out seven. Zach Putnam worked a scoreless inning out of the pen giving up one hit while walking one. Blake Parker was solid again for his fifth save of the season, he worked a scoreless ninth while striking out one.
At The Plate – The Smokies finally found a way to beat the Barons, and almost blew the lead late before hanging on to a 5-4 victory. Matt Szczur was good again at the top of the order going 2-for-4 with two RBI’s, two runs scored, and two stolen bases, he now has twelve stolen bases on the season. Ty Wright was 2-for-3 with a walk, and a double in the win. Christian Villanueva had another solid day going 3-for-4 with two doubles, and an RBI, he’s hitting .294 over his last ten games.
On The Mound – Matt Garza had a solid outing for the Smokies, and more importantly came out of it healthy again. Garza went 3.1 scoreless innings giving up three hits while walking two and striking out two. Matt Loosen struggled with his command out of the pen but managed to get the win. Loosen went four innings giving up three runs on two hits while walking four and striking out six. Marcus Hatley struggled a little bit but earned his first save of the season going 1.2 innings giving up one run on two hits while walking two and striking out one.
At The Plate – After falling behind 3-1 early the Cougars went to work at the plate scoring six times over the final six innings en route to a 7-4 victory. Pin-Chieh Chen was solid at the top of the order going 2-for-5 with a double. Dan Vogelbach was 1-for-4 with a walk, a double, and a run scored, he’s now hitting .292 on the season. Willson Contreras had a huge day going 3-for-5 with a double, his fourth home run of the season, two RBI’s, and two runs scored. Gioskar Amaya only had one hit in this one (1-for-5) but he had two huge RBI’s.
On The Mound – Michael Heesch flirted with disaster all day long but pitched out of trouble for the most part. Heesch worked six innings giving up four runs on twelve hits while walking one to earn his second win of the season. Brian Smith was outstanding out of the pen, he worked three scoreless inning giving up two hits while striking out three to earn his first save of the season.
NOTES: Daytona had a double-header scheduled, and both games were postponed.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mom’s out there, including mine, the best one there is!
