With the nefarious era of Carlos Marmol as the closer coming to an end to the relief of Cubs fans everywhere, there lies another glaring hole the new regime will have to patch in their efforts to achieve organizational goals. For the forthcoming season, the Cubs have decided to split the role between James Russell and hot prospect, Rafael Dolis.Whether or not one of these two can win the role and cement himself as the closer of the future remains to be seen. But, do the Cubs have another possible solution for the future closer role in the bullpen?When the Cubs traded Marlon Byrd ...
Bryan LaHair is one of the surprise stories of the 2012 season so far. A career minor leaguer with just 195 at-bats in the majors before this year, the 29-year-old first baseman ranks in the top five in both batting average and home runs in the NL. But is LaHair a good fit for the rebuilding Cubs? The Cubs aren't ready to win anytime soon, and it is doubtful that he fits into their long-term plans. Here are 10 reasons why the Cubs should unload him while they can.Begin Slideshow
Jeff Samardzija dominated the Atlanta Braves offense all night, while the Chicago Cubs offense provided some offensive fireworks, knocking out three home runs.The Cubs now have a modest two-game winning streak to push their record to 12-17.Here is what we learned and the questions we have after this Cubs victory. Jeff Samardzija Is on a MissionMany have wondered out loud if Samardzija mistakenly went pro in the wrong sport due to his ineffectiveness in his first couple of years in a Cubs uniform. With management giving Samardzija another shot as a starting pitcher, he is out to prove the doubters wrong. After ...
There's some new faces emerging as we cross over into May and have the fourth installment of Who's Hot, Who's Not Among Cubs top prospects. Brett Jackson has opened the month of May on a tear, and changes at the top in Chicago are telling to what is in store this season for some of the teams top prospects.Without further adieu, your prospects...Begin Slideshow
We knew they'd be bad. How bad was the question.My standard response was "Just don't lose 100." I'm okay with a rebuilding year. Happy to see it, actually. I—like you, I'm sure—am just so tired of seeing retreads added to an aging core that wasn't that good to begin with.We stand at 11-16, six games out of first. This record could easily be three or four games better if Carlos Marmol doesn't blow a few of them and Kerry Wood doesn't blow one game early in the year.I can't fathom a Cubs fan who wouldn't be ecstatic with a 14-12 ...
The Chicago Cubs were able to tie the game up in the ninth inning and they defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 in the 11th inning from a bases-loaded walk of David DeJesus despite leaving12 men left on base.The Cubs took two of three from the Dodgers, bringing their record somewhat closer to .500 as they sit at 11-17. Here is what we learned and the questions we have after this Cubs victory. Does Travis Wood's quality start spell the end for Chris Volstad?Chris Volstad has struggled mightily this season and his problems date back as far to last year, when he ...
The Chicago Cubs lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 Saturday in the second game of their three-game series at Wrigley Field.Dodgers starting pitcher Chris Capuano kept the Cubs' hitters at bay while throwing seven scoreless innings and striking out seven.Here is what we learned from this Cubs loss that dropped them to 10-17. Chris Volstad Cannot Avoid the Big InningIt was the same old story with Cubs starter Chris Volstad as he was unable to avoid that one big inning that ultimately doomed him. The Dodgers scored three runs off of Volstad in the second and they tacked on two ...
The Chicago Cubs were able to bounce back from yesterday's devastating loss by beating the Los Angeles Dodgers behind the strong outing of Paul Maholm, 5-4.Here is what we learned after this Cubs victory.Rafael Dolis will be the closer for now: The closer job was supposed to be up for grabs until Carlos Marmol is able to figure out his pitching issues, but it appears Dale Sveum is comfortable with having Dolis as the closer. His second save of the year was less entertaining, as he casually slammed the door shut on the Dodgers offense. Dolis appeared to gain confidence after each pitch he ...
When the 2011 MLB amateur draft came along, the Chicago Cubs, like all other teams, set their sights on drafting the best players to help build their organization. Whether utilizing these draftees as trade pieces or grooming them to one day be called up to the big leagues, the ultimate goal is to best equip their team for a run at the World Series. The following slideshow will highlight the Cubs' top three prospects that were chosen in the 2011 MLB amateur draft, but not the organization's overall top prospects. The three players to be discussed were the Cubs’ first-round, ...
Highlighting a bad performance from the previous night in baseball might seem like a harsh way to start the morning, but look at it this way: If you had a rough night or bad day, here's someone who may have had it worse.In what's been a rough year for closers, Chicago Cubs reliever Carlos Marmol has still managed to stand out for how he's blown games.In just 8.2 innings, Marmol has walked 12 batters. That gives him an average of 12.5 walks per nine innings. Those would be great strikeout numbers for a closer. However, we're talking about walks, and ...
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