Matt Garza returns tonight
Garza is back and ready to go tonight, bumping Villanueva to the bullpen. The Cubs say Villanueva will be used in long relief, but given how their late inning options have sucked lately I'd rather see him in the late inning mix with Fujikawa and Transformed Kevin Gregg. Suddenly the Cubs pen doesn't looks quite as bad as it did. The Cubs are reportedly DFAing Michael Bowden to make room on the roster. Too bad it's not Shawn Camp instead. He'll be on a 85-90 pitch limit, per Sveum (via Sahadev Sharma).
Dale Sveum: "We're not a young team"
Not really sure what prompted this quote, other than maybe people writing off bad play to the inexperience of youth. Sveum went on to say that Rizzo has played a year in the majors, plus a bunch of minor league seasons, so he's not a Young Player either. The only player I can think of that would be considered young under his criteria is Bryce Harper (laughing). Or Castro three years ago.
Department of There Is No News to Report
One of the big stories over the last few days involved a fan throwing a beer on her spouse in the bleachers following a HR. Not going to link anything because this news is dumb. I've seen lots of people joking that spilling perfectly good beer is grounds for divorce. Luckily Old Style fits neither the adjectives "good" or "perfect" so that relationship is safe.
Kevin Gregg must have blue-colored goggles
‘I love the vibe that’s here,’’ Gregg said of his desire to return to the Cubs. ‘‘I love the attitude, the approach. I wish everybody else had the same opinion. I think people on the outside look at us as a rebuilding team because of last year, so a lot of fans and media are looking at what is two or three or four years down the road. Well, as players, we’re about now. We want to do it now. We see potential in this clubhouse now.’’
It's hard to believe that Gregg might even be trade bait at the deadline.
In case you missed it
There was spirited debate over the weekend about who the Cubs should pick in the draft. Count me in the Mark Appel camp, if he's available. Generally speaking I'd go with bats > arms, but since Appel is already so close it seems like a no brainer to me. I wouldn't be surprised if there's relatively less praise on him this year because all of the draft evaluators already discussed him at length last year.
Albert Almora is headed to Kane County
Given how relatively disappointing the team has been this year, it will be nice to have another guy with a good shot to succeed.
Ian Stewart speaks on his plummet down the depth chart
Sounds like he's happy to just kick back on the bench and earn his $2m. This piece over at the Des Moines Register also says he's taken Vitters under his wing, and discusses briefly his thoughts on his CBA-bargained 72 hour mini vacation (in short – no big deal).
Comments
Well, the Cubs aren’t a young team, so Sveum’s quote doesn’t seem unreasonable on the whole.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Is there a Baseball reference page that shows the average age of teams? How do the Cubs rank?
Suburban kidQuote Reply
Cubs are just under average for batters age and a few places above the midpoint for pitchers age.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
Yankees are old.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
Not that the Cubs are likely to draft him, but Manaea was pulled from his game today due to shoulder soreness before throwing a pitch.
BerseliusQuote Reply
Lineup tonight vs some LH starter
CF Borbon
SS Castro
1B Rizzo
LF Adolfo
RF Hairston
C Castillo
3B Ransom
2B Barney
P Garza
BerseliusQuote Reply
I’ve now heard 2 different “old school” Cubs fans arguing that Castro should be moved to second (Barney can’t hit) and the Cubs should call up Baez to play short. Ugh.
Apparently, a guy who can barely hit at single A and strikes out way too much is better than Castro. What’s the shortstop equivalent of NOT AN ACE?
26.2cubfanQuote Reply
@ 26.2cubfan:
NO GRIT?
joshQuote Reply
@ Suburban kid:
They’re 1.2 years older than the next-oldest AL team for batters and pitchers.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
“Castro is the leadoff man against lefties”
*bats Castro second against leftie*
MylesQuote Reply
The Yankees bought a soccer team? Does that make any sense to anyone?
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130521&content_id=48183066&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb
joshQuote Reply
(dying laughing)
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=20639
WenningtonsGorillaCockQuote Reply
@ WenningtonsGorillaCock:
DUDE WHY MY EYESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Rice CubeQuote Reply
No manscaping for Steve Stone
SVBQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
No amount of alcohol will ever erase the images of ‘Disco’ Dan Ford and Steve Yeager that are in that linked article.
WenningtonsGorillaCockQuote Reply
New shit
http://obstructedview.net/previews/matt-garza-debut-game-thread-and-mini-series-preview.html
BerseliusQuote Reply