Matt Garza threw a no-hitter in 2010, and topped 200 innings for the second year in a row while posting a 3.91 ERA. He will take that resume from Tampa Bay to Lakeview in 2011, as the Chicago Cubs acquired him Friday in an eight-player deal. Garza is no darling of statistically inclined fans or analysts, but he is a very good pitcher. He throws an excellent fastball, averaging over 93 miles per hour and with good movement, and an A-plus slider. He will be the Cubs' ace by the season's end, although given the modest talent in the rotation ...
Somewhere, Ron Santo is beaming. Kerry Wood, a longtime Chicago Cub who never looked right in anyone else's uniform, will reportedly come home to the North Side of Chicago.Multiple sources, including Fred Mitchell and David Kaplan of the Chicago Tribune, report that Wood and the Cubs are finalizing a deal. If true, this news has to warm the hearts of Cubs fans everywhere. Wood became a fan favorite nonpareil in the post-Ryne Sandberg era, and the team has done its public relations a world of good by reeling in Wood just weeks after cutting ties with Sandberg. Wood's rumored demands ...
The Chicago Cubs have agreed to terms with free-agent first baseman Carlos Pena on a one-year deal worth $10 million, according to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat. Pena, 32, has 230 career home runs, 144 of which have come since the start of the 2007 season. Pena also plays stellar defense at first base, making this acquisition a smart one for Cubs' general manager Jim Hendry. Despite a rough (.196 batting average, strikeouts in roughly one-third of his at-bats) 2010 season, Pena is a solid left-handed power threat who can bat third for Chicago and only improves the lineup. Because the contract ...
I know that we will all spend the next several days remembering Ron Santo the way we want to. Many will remember the Hall of Fame's repeated snubs; many will talk about his pained cries from the booth every time the Cubs squandered a lead or a chance at the pennant. We all want to remember Santo, the sabermetric dream player who was merely ahead of his time. We all loved Ron Santo for our own reasons.
For just a minute or two, though, as you go through your grieving of a man who gave the full measure of himself to the ...
The Chicago Cubs have named Mike Quade their manager and signed him to a two-year contract, according to the Chicago Tribune. Quade returns to the Cubs dugout full-time after going 24-13 as interim manager of the team following manager Lou Piniella's retirement in August.
Quade served as a coach and minor-league manager in the Cubs organization for seven season prior to getting his shot to manage in the big leagues, but impressed Cubs management with his handling of young players like Starlin Castro and Andrew Cashner. Quade is an inside hire, which the team had long hinted would be a preferred ...
Mark Reynolds and the Arizona Diamondbacks looked like the perfect match last season, when Reynolds finished fourth in the National League with 44 home runs. He also led the league in strikeouts for a second consecutive season, but the Diamondbacks seemed unfazed by that: Reynolds seemed to do everything else well at the plate, getting on base with lots of walks and stealing enough bases (24) to lead the league in power-speed number for the season. Arizona eagerly signed Reynolds to a three-year extension worth $13.5 million with a fourth-year club option. The deal bought out Reynolds' final pre-arbitration season ...
With back-to-back wins against the San Diego Padres this week, the Chicago Cubs are now 21-11 under interim manager Mike Quade.
The impetus for this resurgence has been the team's much-improved starting rotation: Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, and Randy Wells have combined to win 13 times during the span, and Zambrano is 6-0 under Quade.
Despite the success of that trio, however, much about the Cubs' rotation for 2011 remains shrouded in mystery.
Wells' future may still be in doubt after a dreadful middle third of the season, leaving either two or three spots in next year's rotation vacant.
Carlos Silva, who had a ...
Who says you can't go home?
Kerry Wood, the sometime Cub who remains beloved of the team's fanbase, will be a free agent this winter.
After signing a two-year contract in December 2008 with the Cleveland Indians, Wood struggled to stay healthy and effective. He posted a 4.80 ERA in 81 games with Cleveland before a July trade to the New York Yankees.
Since reaching the Bronx, however, Wood's career has come back from the brink. He has a stunning (if inevitably lucky) 0.39 ERA in 21 appearances as a Yankee and has struck out 26 in 23 innings. He will not get ...
The Chicago Cubs will be among four teams most eager to sign free agent-to-be Carl Crawford this offseason, according to ESPN's Buster Olney (via Twitter).
If true, this is a stunning development for a team with a bloated payroll to which owner Tom Ricketts has thus far seemed unwilling to add substantial amounts.
Crawford is certainly the winter's big catch: He has speed beyond anything seen in Chicago since the failed Juan Pierre experiment of 2006 and plays his position (left field) better than anyone since Shoeless Joe Jackson.
Crawford has also put together his best all-around offensive season in 2010, batting .306/.358/.492 with ...
It has been a quick and decisive fall from grace for Pittsburgh Pirates catcher/outfielder Ryan Doumit. In 2008, Doumit looked like a future superstar. He hit .318/.357/.501, and was worth 3.6 WAR despite poor defense behind home plate. That winter, the Pirates signed Doumit to a three-year contract with club options for 2012-13. The future looked bright.
It has not been so. Doumit struggled to stay healthy in 2009, playing in only 75 games. He has also run into injury problems this season, and the Pirates moved decisively in another direction when they traded for Diamondbacks catcher Chris Snyder in July. Snyder has ...
« Previous Page — Next Page »
