Took the T-Tot (my Son) to the bowling alley last night. Bumpers, a move to a heavier ball and some bad performance by me meant that T-Tot had a good lead on me through 7 frames. Thankfully, my mechanics came back and I pulled out the victory.
Did I mention I am terrible at bowling?
- The Cubs topped the Dodgers today in front of a NEW! IMPROVED! Record attendance of 15,191. Luis Valbuena launched a 2-run blast, Rizzo went 1 for 2 with a walk and Brett Jackson got a plate appearance without striking out! Kyle Hendricks went 3 scoreless with a walk and a hit and Carlos Villanueva, Jose Veras and Alberto Cabrera each allowed Dodgers baserunners to score.
- In case you hadn't noticed, Jason Hammel hasn't seen a lot of big league time yet this Spring. That's because, according to Carrie Muskat, he's been spending most of his time pitching in the "B" games. Rizzo gave him some good natured ribbing about not being ready to face big-leaguers (look at that leadership and charisma from Rizzo. Intangibles!) My favorite line from this:
"For three innings, they were swinging at everything," Hammel said. "I made the adjustment, so it gave me the opportunity to start throwing breaking balls early in counts and I was able to throw a lot of stuff."
- Sports Illustrated writer Scooby Axson reports that Renteria has confirmed that Jeff Samardzija will be the Opening Day starter again this year. Not sure that is was ever in doubt (unless you are of the bent that Travis Wood is a superior pitcher) but it's out there now. Last year, Samardzija pitched a fantastic 8 innings of shut out ball before getting yanked at 110 pitches. Great way to start the year and hopefully Jeff can get his 2014 off to the same great start.
- In equally expected news (we are Cubs fans after-all), Starlin Castro's rehab is taking longer than originally expected, according to Gordon Wittenmeyer. Apparently the fluid buildup on his hamstring isn't clearing up as expected and Castro is only at about 40 percent right now and just one-more week later (hold back the obligatory "There's always next week" joke) until he's back to 100 percent. It's still early enough in Spring Training that Castro has plenty of time to recover but it's something to be aware of as the season progresses.
- Maybe I am being obtuse but the most concerning part of the article was that Castro is concerned about stealing more bases. He isn't a player that will ever post 30-40 steal seasons so right now I'd much rather he focus on making consistent contact and driving the ball to get his power numbers up.
- A couple months ago Jeff Passan wrote a scathing article about how poorly the Cubs situation and rebuild is and I hated it. Not because I disagree with a lot of it but because it was very poorly written and featured a lot of poorly supported arguments. It was a hatchet piece that used a well worn hatchet. In an attempt to apparently play both sides of the coin, he has crafted a seemingly over-the-top piece about Baez and Bryant. Don't get me wrong, I love it and I think the jist of it is accurate but it's a bit heavy-handed for me.
- The Cubs have trimmed the big league Spring Training roster by another 2 on Friday by sending Dallas Beeler and Marcus Hatley to the minor league side. Neither was much of a contender for a job on the Cubs roster so it isn't too disappointing. The roster stands at 54 in camp with 2 full weeks of games left before Opening Day. I wonder if Castro's injury might force the Cubs hand with Baez on Opening Day. I highly doubt it (if I were them, I'd rather run with Logan Watkins (who is in the Minor League Camp now) than burn up some Service Time on Baez.) but it will be a storyline to follow the next two weeks.
- Matt Garza wants to kick the Cubs teeth in. I'm guessing he isn't a fan of Clark the Mascot.
- Your random pic/gif/whateverthehellIfeellikepostinghere: What happens when a Javier Baez home run ball lands (courtesy of XKCD)
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