SB Nation - Rocky Roquet

Good News From Fitch Park

Al — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 23:47:30 -0000

MESA, Arizona -- Stop worrying, everyone.

Rich Harden threw 63 pitches (42 strikes) in throwing four effortless scoreless innings against a team of A's minor leaguers at Fitch Park this afternoon, in front of a crowd of around 100 family members, curious onlookers, beat reporters and other Cubs minor leaguers who stuck around from their earlier workouts and games to see a member of the Cubs' major league rotation.

Harden looked like he was just playing catch in throwing many pitches in the low 90's. All the outs were either strikeouts or fly balls -- typical Harden, who is a fly ball pitcher. He struck out four (two of them being ex-Cub Eric Patterson), including one on a nice breaking pitch for a called third strike, and allowed only three singles. He looks to be on target for resuming major league action; I would expect that he'd be slated to start Monday against the Royals at Surprise, which would also probably put him in the mix for starting one of the games at Yankee Stadium.

The video above gives you a good idea of how easily he was throwing, effortlessly and with absolutely no sign of shoulder trouble. The illness he had earlier this month was likely some sort of food poisoning, which can sap your strength, so the Cubs were smart to keep him out for a while. He appears ready to resume his place in the rotation. Here's a sequence of still photos showing his motion:

Various Cub minor leaguers who were just cut (and others) played in this game, including Jason Dubois, Doug Deeds, Richie Robnett, and Luis Rivas, who was performing this drill with a bat standing on end while in the on-deck circle:

Click on photos to open larger versions in new browser windows. All photos and video by Al

I didn't stay for the rest of the game after Harden was taken out; others who were on that team included Welington Castillo and Rocky Roquet (it was a bit jarring to see him walking by me, wearing the blue "alt" jersey with his name and #34 on the back). Today's catcher was Koyie Hill (who you can see in the photo of Rivas, at bat; Hill batted in every inning to get some extra work in), the Cubs wanting to have one of the guys who might wind up catching Harden during the season, catch him today. Tomorrow night at Scottsdale, Sean Marshall will face the Giants' Barry Zito. According to Bruce Miles, Kosuke Fukudome will take batting practice tomorrow and return to the lineup on Friday, hitting second.

Rematch: Cubs vs. Dodgers at Mesa, Friday 3/6, 2:05 CT

Al — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 18:00:09 -0000

It won't have the same impact, of course, but last September 3 at Wrigley Field, Randy Wolf (then an Astro) took the mound against Ryan Dempster. Dempster threw seven decent innings, allowing eight hits and three runs, but Wolf threw a six-hit shutout, the last shutout thrown against the Cubs.

It's spring training and of course Wolf and Dempster won't go more than four innings, but we'll see if this year's version of the Cubs can hit him. Milton Bradley is expected to play right field today. Also expected to pitch for the Cubs: Justin Berg, Andrew Cashner, Rocky Roquet, Mike Stanton, Luis Vizcaino, and Randy Wells. Others who will take the mound for the Dodgers include Jeff Weaver (yes, Jeff Weaver) and Eric Stults.

The Cubs are second in the major leagues so far this spring with 37 walks (Angels lead with 39). Good to see that the patience the Cubs developed last year is still there.

Lou says the club is still looking for infield help:

"We've been playing these guys that are all in camp here, and I haven't seen anybody who has stood out," Piniella said. "They are all doing a representative job, but I haven't seen anybody, as of yet, that we can say, 'Well, this is the guy.' Our scouts keep looking."

Why the need for extra help in the infield?

"Assuming that we stay the way we are, all of a sudden, we need to pinch-hit and we've got Miles or Fontenot or Theriot sitting on the bench," Piniella said. "Once I use them, I've got no more infielders. We're done. And these kids here are nice options to send up late in the ballgame because they're athletic, they can hit, they can run. But, boy, once you make a move, we don't have any more infielders."

Unless you want to see Alfonso Soriano play 2B, and I don't think anyone here does. That statement also says to me that Lou hasn't been impressed with Luis Rivas so far.

Here is today's MLB.com Mediacenter. The game is on WGN radio with Pat & Ron.

MLB.com Gameday

Discuss amongst yourselves.

Undefeated Juggernaut: Cubs 10, Rangers 4

Al — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 23:11:38 -0000

That ought to get your attention. Yes, I know the results of these games are mostly meaningless, and three wins doesn't make a juggernaut, an astronaut, or any other kind of naut.

Though the result was for naught, the Cubs beat the Rangers 10-4 at Surprise today, running their 2009 exhibition record to 3-0, in front of another smallish spring crowd of 5,413 (less than half the Surprise Stadium capacity.

It was strange trying to follow the game on the spring training Gameday, which is a stripped-down version of what we'll see in the regular season, with no audio available today. (There won't be any tomorrow, either.) But from what I could tell:

Ted Lilly looked fine in his couple of innings of work. Have a nice trip, Ted, and see you in a few weeks. Aaron Heilman gets the start tomorrow against the White Sox (Rich Harden still isn't ready, and that's not a cause for worry, because it's so early).
The Micah Hoffpauir Fan Club had another banner day, as Hoffpauir hit a three-run homer and singled and took over (for whatever this number is worth) the major league spring training lead in RBI with 7. The Sam Fuld Fan Club (I'm looking at YOU, Jessica) should also be happy today; little Sammy hit a homer off Warner Madrigal (love his singers!).
Little Babe Ruth, aka Mike Fontenot, also homered, and in addition, smacked a two-run triple. As long as he's not going to face any lefthanded pitching, he ought to be just fine. (The Rangers threw all RHP while Fontenot was in the game.)
The Cubs' miscellaneous minor leaguers who served as the bullpen today threw well enough, allowing seven hits and three earned in seven innings of work, while striking out seven. (We won't mention the six walks -- oops, sorry.) The one pitcher I really would have liked to see do well, Rocky "Raccoon" Roquet, gave up a two-run double to Adam Melhuse (who was in Cubs camp a couple years ago. How old is that guy, anyway?)

While we await Milton Bradley's next appearance on the field (you have photographic evidence, below, that he actually did so once), check out this cubs.com article about him, with much praise from his manager at Texas last year, Ron Washington.

Right-hander Jeff Marquez, who the White Sox acquired in the Nick Swisher deal from the Yankees, will start for the Sox tomorrow, and the Sox intend to bring starting players Carlos Quentin, Josh Fields, Jermaine Dye, Cub fan anti-favorite A.J. Pierzynski and Jim Thome over to Mesa tomorrow.

Cubs Issue 21 Non-Roster Spring Training Invitations

Al — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 20:10:54 -0000

That seems like a huge number of NRI's, doesn't it? That'd put 60+ players in camp. But, there are extra games this spring (about a week's worth) and a couple of split-squad games, and so a few extra bodies can't hurt.

Here's the complete list:

Eleven pitchers – lefthanders Ed Campusano, J.R. Mathes, Matt Smith, Mike Stanton, Jason Waddell and Bill White and righthanders Esmailin Caridad, Andrew Cashner, Chad Fox, Ken Kadokura and Rocky Roquet – have been invited to major league camp, as well as catchers Welington Castillo, Steve Clevenger and Mark Johnson. Infielders Darwin Barney, Andres Blanco, Luis Rivas and Bobby Scales have also been invited, along with outfielders Doug Deeds, Jason Dubois and So Taguchi.

You may recognize the name Ken Kadokura on the list -- he's the Japanese pitcher the Cubs had some interest in a couple of weeks ago (at the time, I heard the interest was minimal, but apparently they decided it was enough for a NRI). At the time he was said to be 40 years old. He's not. He's 35, born in 1973. In any case, he's unlikely to make the major league roster. CLARIFICATION: the 40-year-old pitcher who the Cubs were rumored to have interest in was named Ken Takahashi. Ken Kadokura, who got the minor league contract with the invite to spring training, is an entirely different pitcher.

The most interesting name on that list is Luis Rivas, who was the Pirates' starting second baseman most of last year. Rivas isn't likely to make the major league team either -- he'll likely be the starting 2B at Iowa, if the Cubs keep him, ready in case of injury.

To me, there is one name I am very surprised to NOT see on the list -- Nate Spears. Did they forget they didn't lose him in the Rule 5 draft?

Finally, the Cubs' last arb-eligible player, Michael Wuertz, signed a one-year deal today. Dollar figures were not immediately available.

Cubs AFL Report: Solar Sox 13, Javelinas 6

Al — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 04:30:05 -0000

MESA, Arizona -- The grass was a little browner than I remembered it from last March, scorched by the summer Arizona sun.

But parking's free, and it costs only $6 to get in -- sit anywhere -- so why not? I headed over to Ho Ho Kam Park Monday afternoon to take in the AFL game between the Mesa Solar Sox (comprised of prospects from the Cubs, Phillies, Braves, Marlins and Tigers) and the Peoria Javelinas (taking their players from the Mariners, Rays, Yankees, Brewers and Reds). A Javelina, apparently, is some sort of wild pig, as shown by their logo:

Personally, I like the Solar Sox logo (at left) better.

The PA guy (not Tim Sheridan, who does the Cubs' spring games, but someone else) laid a little joke on the small assemblage when announcing the attendance: at first he said "13,297", then adjusted it to 297 (and that must have included the 15 or so scouts, both teams and the employees behind the one concession stand that was open, and though the ticket price was cheap, the food was not: full major league prices for the limited selection). Those of us enjoying the above-average 78-degree game-time temperature and completely cloudless skies saw the Solar Sox beat the Javelinas 13-6 in a game that wasn't that close -- it was 13-0 Mesa at the end of the fifth inning, and then Mesa relievers gave up three homers and six runs over the last four innings. More on this later.

I'll talk more about the Cubs involved in this game in a moment, but the story of the game was Atlanta pitching prospect Tommy Hanson, a 22-year-old, 6-6 moose of a guy who throws bullets and has a nasty breaking ball; he threw five shutout innings, allowing one hit and two walks and striking out ten. It's no wonder that the Padres spent a good portion of the last couple of weeks trying to pry him away from the Braves in the Jake Peavy negotiations. Nor is it surprising, given the talent I saw today, that the Braves said no way. Hanson, though he spent 2008 split between the Carolina League and the Southern League, might be ready for a shot at the Atlanta rotation in 2009.

The Solar Sox scored first; Matt Young, another Atlanta prospect, led off the game with a walk (there were 12 walks in all in the game, which made it drag at times); next up was the Cubs' Nate Spears. After faking a bunt, then taking a pitch:

Spears swung at the next pitch, and on this swing (the catcher is faking a throw to second as the runner had taken off):

... he smacked a two-run homer, his first in the AFL, down the right-field line. Spears later singled, struck out, walked and flied to left, going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI. Personally, I like Spears; he's hitting .338/.457/.500 and has split his time between SS and 2B almost equally during the AFL season. I am well aware cough Sam Fuld cough that AFL stats don't necessarily translate into major league success. However, I think Spears at the very least will get a spring training invite and possibly as much as being added to the 40-man roster (after the Rule 5 draft) with a chance of making the major league team as a reserve infielder.

The Solar Sox added two more runs in the third off Peoria starter Alex Periard (from the Brewers; he was less than impressive, walking four and allowing eight hits and six runs in 3.2 innings). Steve Kahn (Mariners) came in and promptly gave up a single and a walk to load the bases, and another Atlanta prospect, third baseman Van Pope, hit a grand slam to the right-field berm (sorry, Ballhawk, the berm was officially closed, although that didn't stop a couple of people from trying to run after the six home run balls hit out there -- even though they had the sprinklers going in right field most of the afternoon).

The Cubs' other position prospect who played in Monday's game was Darwin Barney, a fourth-round pick out of Oregon State in 2007. This faked bunt attempt:

... eventually resulted in Barney grounding into a 5-4-3 double play (on a subsequent pitch). Barney grounded out three times, popped up and walked in his five times up (he hit ninth in this DH-used game).

Cub pitching prospects didn't do very well. Rocky Roquet, rather old for this league and his level (he turned 26 two weeks ago and has never pitched above Double-A), relieved Hanson and allowed three runs (two earned, thanks to a throwing error by Spears) when Yankee prospect Juan Miranda slammed a three-run homer. All three outs recorded by Roquet were on deep fly balls.

And Esmailin Caridad, who had one appearance for the major league Cubs in spring training in 2008, didn't distinguish himself, either; after retiring the first two hitters in the 8th inning on lazy popups, he issued a walk and then Miranda hit his second homer of the game. Caridad throws pretty hard for a guy his size, only 5-10, 195:

Finally, the hitting coach for the Solar Sox is someone you might recognize:

In the AFL many of the coaches and managers serve as base coaches; Peoria's manager Daren Brown (who manages Seattle's Triple-A team at Tacoma) coached third, while former Cub Ozzie Timmons coached first. For Mesa, manager Rocket Wheeler didn't coach, which left first-base coaching duties for various players who weren't in the game, and third-base coaching for Ryno. I was sitting in the first row behind the Peoria dugout and overheard, toward the end of the game, and also toward the end of his conversation, one of the Peoria coaches, who I thought I recognized, telling either one of his players or one of the other coaches -- I couldn't tell which -- that Mesa's hitting coach was "Ryne Fucking Sandberg". (There was, apparently, a reason for this reference, but I didn't catch it.) Then I figured out who uttered that profanity... Peoria pitching coach Ted Power, onetime closer for the Reds who was, briefly, in spring training with the Cubs (and I believe, Sandberg's teammate), trying to hang on in March 1994.

Baseball. Love it. Glad to have seen a ballgame in mid-November. Can't wait for spring training!

All photos by Al Yellon

Friday Discussion Topic: Jermaine Dye

Al — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:04:43 -0000

Both Jim Hendry and Lou Piniella have made no secret that they're going to move Kosuke Fukudome to CF, platooning him with Reed Johnson, and look for a lefthanded bat to play RF.

But what if they think outside the box just a little? Yesterday, the Tribune reported that Kenny Williams is scouting the Arizona Fall League for prospects he might want in dealing Jermaine Dye away.

via www.bestsportsphotos.com

Dye hits righthanded, sure. But he has been a solid hitter for the White Sox for the last four years; has played in ten postseason series, including two World Series (and was named WS MVP in 2005); most importantly, his postseason numbers (.270/.320/.417 in 163 at-bats) aren't that much different from his career regular season line (.276/.338/.491), important in an era when Cub bats have disappeared once the calendar turns to October.

Dye has one year left on his contract at $11.5 million; there's a $12 million mutual option for 2010 with a $1 million buyout. According to Cot's Baseball Contracts, he has a limited no-trade clause -- can block trades to six teams, though it doesn't mention the teams. Dye has averaged 34 HR and 96 RBI in his four years with the White Sox. He turns 35 in January; he's a good outfielder, and also has hit .296/.322/.620 in 108 career AB at Wrigley Field.

I think it's worth investigating -- if Kenny Williams is watching AFL games, perhaps he could be interested in Rocky Roquet, Esmailin Caridad or Steve Clevenger. I imagine he might also be interested in a major league infielder, since Orlando Cabrera is gone and they intend to move Alexei Ramirez back to his natural SS position. Would they want Ronny Cedeno?

What sort of deal could you put together to bring Jermaine Dye to the North Side?

I, personally, think acquiring him would help the 2009 Cubs. He'd have to change that number, though.