"It was unacceptable," said Cubs manager Lou Piniella of pitcher Carlos Zambrano's dugout fireworks after the first inning of Friday's 6-0 loss to the crosstown rival White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field.
"His conduct was not acceptable," said general manager Jim Hendry, echoing Piniella's sentiments while announcing Zambrano's indefinite suspension from the team.
Unacceptable seems to be the team's buzz word for the day, and to be sure, Zambrano's actions were unsavory—he engaged teammate Derrek Lee in a shouting match and screamed at what seemed to be the entire Cubs bench. Is it really fair, though, for Zambrano to be singled out ...
The ball jumped off the bat of Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun, a burning one-hopper a step to Aramis Ramirez's left. Aging outfielder Jim Edmonds began lumbering toward second base, but as Ramirez (whose reaction to the ball, hit nearly right at him, was characteristically slow) took a jab step toward the ball and reached out to collect it, an inning-ending double play seemed nearly certain.
And then it wasn't. The ball bounced higher than Ramirez expected, and as the 31-year-old tried to adjust, his legs went out from under him, and the ball glanced off the leather on its way ...
After a tough first week that saw them go 2-4 on a six-game road trip, the Chicago Cubs came home to the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field to face the Milwaukee Brewers in their 2010 home opener Monday. Behind starter Ryan Dempster, the Cubbies earned a 9-5 victory.
New Cub Xavier Nady, getting a start in right field against Milwaukee's left-handed starter Doug Davis, broke a third-inning tie when he belted a three-run home run, and Chicago never looked back. Fellow newcomer and center fielder Marlon Byrd, batting second, knocked out three hits, scored a run and drove in another.
Davis battled ...
In the first three games of the Chicago Cubs' 2010 season, both Sean Marshall and John Grabow have appeared in each game. Each man is a left-handed pitcher in manager Lou Piniella's bullpen. That is where all similarities end.
Marshall has logged 4 1/3 innings, striking out seven batters and allowing no base-runners.
Grabow, meanwhile, has thrown 1 1/3 innings, giving up two hits and a walk.
One of the hits was a two-run home run by Chipper Jones in the eighth inning of Wednesday's game, a shot that cost Chicago the game. The walk came against the only batter Grabow faced on ...
Starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano endured the worst outing of his career Monday, surviving just 1 1/3 innings and surrendering eight runs, an inauspicious beginning to what became a downright ugly loss for the Chicago Cubs on Opening Day.
The Atlanta Braves got nine RBI combined from shortstop Yunel Escobar and rookie sensation Jason Heyward en route to a 16-5 win.
New center fielder Marlon Byrd hit a three-run home run in the top of the first inning for Chicago, but Atlanta got six in the bottom half. By the time Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez cracked a two-run homer in the third ...
Young outfielder Tyler Colvin will make the Chicago Cubs' Opening Day roster if the team can find him sufficient playing time, according to manager Lou Piniella . Colvin, 24, would need to get somewhere in the neighborhood of two starts per week in order to justify keeping him on board, by Piniella's reckoning.
Colvin was the team's 2006 first-round pick, and the team is intent upon getting him regular playing time. Therefore, he may start the season in Triple-A Iowa, and be promoted if and when the Cubs need his bat either as an injury replacement or as a left-handed bat ...
With just two weeks to go until Opening Day, the Chicago Cubs spent the weekend crystallizing a number of hazily defined roles on their 2010 club.
To the established bullpen core of right-handers Carlos Marmol and Esmailin Caridad and lefty John Grabow, manager Lou Piniella added young right-handed fireballer Justin Berg. Berg, 25, allowed just 10 hits and one walk during his 12-inning audition at the end of last season. This spring, opponents have logged only one hit and two walks in six innings against him.
With Berg now a definite part of the mix, the team has only one open spot ...
On the pre-game radio show before the Chicago Cubs' Tuesday Cactus League match-up with the Texas Rangers, manager Lou Piniella set forth his projected lineup for Opening Day 2010.
It included few surprises, but certainly answered some questions about how Piniella intends to build his offense this season, and about who has managed to impress him most during Spring Training.
Here is the lineup as Piniella recited it, along with a brief take on the player's spot in the order (does it make sense, how does it affect their projected stats, etc.) and the logic of the move for the team.Begin Slideshow
Starlin Castro is not yet a 20-year-old. He stands six-feet tall, but weighs less than 165 pounds. Yet, he is the top prospect in the Chicago Cubs organization, and to this point, he is the Cactus League leader in on-base plus slugging (OPS). It is an exceptionally good time to be Starlin Castro.
Unfortunately, it may turn out to be an equally bad time to be a Chicago Cubs fan. If and when Castro reaches the Major Leagues in 2010, he will be a colossal disappointment and the team will be left holding a painfully familiar Shawon Dunston-shaped bag.
Instead, the Cubs ...
Derrek Lee enters 2010 as the Cubs' starting first baseman, the seventh season in which he has done so since being acquired from the Florida Marlins in November 2003.
During his impressive Cubs tenure, Lee boasts one batting title, a .304/.384/.539 batting line, and a pair of Gold Glove awards.
He also has made two All-Star teams, won one Silver Slugger, and clubbed 163 home runs.
Lee will turn 35 in September, however, and when his current contract expires after the season, the Cubs have a difficult decision to make: Should they hang on to their most consistent leader and contributor of the ...
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