Let's check in with where some former Cubs are landing this winter! I will not include the players that were Cubs in 2009, because most of you know where Heilman, Fox, Miles, Bradley, and Harden will be playing next year:

• Former Cubs outfielder Jim Edmonds has continued his trip around the NL Central. After sitting out the 2009 season, the left handed hitting centerfielder has agreed to a minor league deal with the Brewers. He is also invited to big leauge Spring Training. The Brewers will play the Cubs are March 9 & 12 in Cactus League action.
• Rich Hill, who spent a solid year in the Cubs' rotation in 2007 before falling off the map in '08, has signed a minor league deal with the Cardinals. The contract includes an invite to Spring Training in Florida.
• Lefty Neal Cotts has signed a minor league deal with the Pirates.
• Michael Wuertz, who was traded to Oakland last March for two nobodies that have already left the organization, pitched great last year and has avoided arbitration with the A's.
• Cubs' Fan favorite of 2008 Henry Blanco, who played with the Padres last year, has signed a one year deal with the Mets.
• On December 29, another name you might remember found a new home on a two year deal. DeRosa.
• Joey Gathright inked a minor league deal with Toronto in December. The speedster played with the Cubs, Orioles, and Red Sox last year.
• Mark Grudzielanek, who manned second base for the Cubs in 2003, signed a minor league deal with Cleveland earlier this month. He finished last year with the Twins.
• Jerry Hairston Jr. is the newest member of the large group of former Cubs to go on to play for the Padres. (He signed a one year deal on January 18.)
• LaTroy Hawkins will return to Wrigley Field this year as a member of the Brewers. Another guy who's bounced around a lot. Hawkins, by the way, was not a fan favorite.
• Bob Howry will join Aaron Heilman as former Cubs in the Arizona bullpen. Howry was given a one year deal with a club option.
• Jason Kendall, who played briefly with the Cubs in 2007, is now a Royal. He was lucky enough to get a two year deal even in this economy.
• Jason Marquis has signed a two year deal with the Washington Nationals. Many people expected him to go the New York Mets, but instead he signed with the younger Nats club.
• Gary Matthews Jr., who played a forgettable two seasons on the North Side, was shipped to New York for Brian Stokes last week.
• As most of you know, Juan Pierre will return to Chicago, this time sporting a White Sox uni. Maybe this time he'll get cheered at Wrigley.
• Paul Bako, Michael Barrett, Nomar Garciaparra, Daryle Ward, Cliff Floyd, Reed Johnson, Shawn Estes, Mark Prior, Todd Wellemyer, Kevin Gregg, Tom Gordon, Luis Vizcaino, David Weathers, Will Ohman, and Glendon Rusch are all still listed as free agents. Out of this list, who would you most and least like to see return to the Cubs??
• Last but not least, (okay maybe least), Randall Simon has signed with the Rockford Riverhawks of the Northern League.

Dominican Winter League
Jake Fox, whom the Cubs traded to Oakland on Thursday, has been played for Licey in the DWL. So far he's hitting .296 in 7 games with 1 HR and 7 RBIs. Fox just joined Licey for the second half of their season.

Starlin Castro, the Cubs top prospect in the organization, has been struggling since joining the DWL. He started his winter playing for Mesa of the Arizona Fall league, but now he's joined Escogido in the Dominican. So far in 8 games he's hitting .182 with 2 RBIs. In the AFL, he tore it up hitting .376 in 26 games.

Nelson Perez, a Class A Cub prospect has been playing with Toros all winter. Perez played with Peoria of the Midwest League during the regular season and hit .251 in 120 games. The outfielder has played in 26 DWL games so far, and has a batting average of .293 with 2 homers and 6 runs batted in. Perez is a left handed batter.

Here are the current Domician League standings:
1. Escogido: 23-15
2. Licey: 22-16, 1 GB
3. Toros: 21-17, 2 GB
4. Aguilas: 18-20, 5 GB
4. Gigantes: 18-20, 5 GB
6. Estrellas: 13-25, 10 GB

Mexican Pacific League
Many Cubs have played for Mexicali all season long. Jeff Samardzija started 5 games to get some work in before returning to Indiana. He had a 2.25 ERA and a record of 2-0.

Jeff Stevens recently joined the Mexicali bullpen. During the 2009 regular season, Stevens pitched in 11 games for the Chicago Cubs along with 42 at AAA, all in relief. He had a record of 1-3 with a 2.03 ERA at AAA Iowa and was 1-0 with a 7.11 ERA with the big league club. So far this winter, his ERA is high once again currently at 5.40 in his 7 games with Mexicali. He is 0-2 and has recorded 2 saves. Stevens came to the Cubs organization last offseason in the trade that sent Mark DeRosa to Cleveland.

Brian Schlitter has pitched in 18 games out of the Mexicali pen. He has a ERA of 3.79 in 18 games. During the regular season, he pitched with Tennessee posting a 4.38 ERA in 59 games. Schlitter came to the Cubs organization in 2008 in the deal that sent Scott Eyre to the Phillies.

Outfielder Matt Camp has been hitting well for Mexicali. He has a batting average of .337 in 47 games with 1 homer and 24 RBIs. During the regular season he hit .283 in 99 games at AAA Iowa and .298 in 14 games at AA. The Cubs are at-risk of losing Camp in the Rule 5 Draft because they chose not to protect him.

Brad Snyder also played for Mexicali. He may not return the Cubs next season because he is a minor league free agent.

Thomas Diamond, a pitcher that the Cubs recently picked up from Texas, is 2-0 with a microscopic ERA of 0.64 in 3 starts for Mexicali since joining their rotation when Samardzija departed.

James Adduci, an outfield prospect, is the lone Cub who has played in the Mexican Pacific League for for a team other than Mexicali. James has appeared in 13 games for Hermosillo. He's hitting .244 with 2 home runs and 6 RBIs. Adduci had a great regular season, hitting .300 in 131 games for Tennessee. Adduci came to the Cubs in a trade with the Marlins for Zach McCormick in September of 2006. He was a Southern League All Star this season.

MPL Current Standings:
1. Hermosillo: 9-4
2. Culiacan: 8-5, 1 GB
2. Navajoa: 8-5, 1 GB
4. Mochis: 7-6, 2 GB
5. Obregon: 6-7, 3 GB
6. Guasave: 5-8, 4 GB
6. Mexicali: 5-8, 4 GB
8. *Mazatlan: 4-9
*first half winner

Venezuelan Winter League
Cub short stop Andres Blanco has been playing infield for Magallanes of the Venezuelan Winter League for most of the winter. He has an average of .294 with 2 homers and 25 RBIs. In addition, Blanco has 14 steals. In 2009, he played 53 games with the Chicago Cubs and hit .252 with 12 RBI. Blanco will be in the infield mix in Spring Training, vying for a spot on the Opening Day roster.

Robinson Chirinos has been a teammate of Blanco's for Magallanes this winter. He is hitting .333 in 37 games. Chirinos, a catcher, spent most of 2009 in the Florida State League, He hit .300 for Daytona in 69 games.

J.R. Mathes pitched with Caracas earlier this off season. The AAA prospect went 1-2 with an ERA of 5.08 in 6 starts.

First baseman Blake Lalli has joined Caribes for the second half of their season. He is hitting .292 in 7 games so far with a home run and 4 RBIs. Lalli spent all of this past season with the Smokies of AA hitting .314 with 52 RBIs in 118 games. He is a left handed batter who was signed by the cubs as a non-drafted free agent in 2006.

Current VWL standings:
1. Magallanes: 31-16
2. Caracas: 30-16, 0.5 GB
3. Zulia: 26-22, 5.5 GB
4. Margarita: 25-23, 6.5 GB
5. LaGuaira: 23-25, 8.5 GB
6. Lara: 20-28, 11.5 GB
7. Aragua: 19-28, 12 GB
8. Caribes: 16-32, 15.5 GB

 

This week's Cubs in Winter Ball Report

• The Mesa Solar Sox are 5-10 in AFL play, 4.5 games back of Phoenix in the AFL East. The Solar Sox are in 3rd (last) in the division, and have the worst record in the league.
• The MLB Network will air two live AFL games. Daron Sutton and Tony Clark will call the Rising Starts Game at Surprise Stadium on 7:00 CT on Saturday, November 7. Victor Rojas will join Clark to call the AFL Championship game from Scottsdale Stadium on November 21, a Saturday, at 1:30 CT.
• Starlin Castro is still tearing it up in the AFL. He leads the league in batting average at .419, way ahead of second place Grant Desme at .404.
• Castro also has 5 RBIs and 2 SB in his 13 AFL games.
• Welington Castillo has not looked too shabby either. He's showed off above average defense with his catching, and is hitting .357 in 4 games.
• Josh Vitters is hitting .351 in 9 games.
• On October 16th, Andrew Cashner allowed 3 ER on 3 hits in 2 innings in his AFL debut. From there, he's improved each outing allowing a run on 3 hits on October 22 and pitching 4 scoreless innings in his last appearance, October 28.
• John Gaub has gotten in to 5 games, and his ERA is 14.40 allowing 8 ER in just 5 innings.
• James Russell and Blake Parker, both upcoming relief pitchers, have pitched well. Parker has a 3.86 ERA in 6 games, Russell has a 2.57 in 5 games.
• Jeff Samardzija was strong yesterday. He picked up his second Mexican Pacific Leauge win as he allowed no runs on 4 hits in 6 innings, and struck out 7. Mexicali won the game 8-1.
• Jeff's Mexicali team is in 3rd place of 8 teams in their league. They hold a record of 10-8, just two games behind first place Mazatlan.
• Mexicali is managed by I-Cubs skipper Bobby Dickerson. There are 3 Cubs on the team plus Jeff.
• Brian Schlitter is 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA in 11 relief appearances.
• Brad Snyder, OF, is hitting .338 in 17 games with 3 homers and 17 RBIs.
• Matt Camp has a .342 batting average with 1 HR and 12 RBIs.
• Nelson Perez is playing for Toros of the Domican Winter League. He's hitting a stunning .448 in 9 games. Toros has a 7-4 record, tied for first in the league.
• Marcos Mateo, Cubs' minor league pitcher, allowed 3 runs in 2.1 innings in his only DWL appearance.
• Andres Blanco is hitting .311 in 14 Venezulan Winter Leauge Games. He has played mostly second base. He has 6 doubles, 2 triples, a homer, and 14 RBIs as well.
• Robinson Chirinos, who spent most of 2009 with Daytona, has a .467 average playing for the same team as Blanco. Robinson has 3 HRs and 11 RBIs.
• Larry Suarez is also pitching for Magallanes. He only has gotten into 1 game and did not allow a run. Their team has a record of 13-5, 0.5 games back of Caracas for first place in the VWL.
• Iowa Cubs lefty J.R. Mathes is pitching for first place Caracas. He has a 1-2 record and a 5.40 earned run average.
• Jonathan Mota (.350 AVG, 2 RBI), and Luis Rivas (.500 AVG, 2 Games) have also seen some VWL action.

Thoughts?

Castro Tearing it Up
Cubs short stop prospect Starling Castro has really opened some eyes in the Arizona Fall League. Posts all over the internet in the past week read headlines like Starlin a Future Star? or Castro looks Sharp in Arizona. The fact of the matter is that Castro has been doing this for some time now. He's hitting .522 with 4 RBIs for the Mesa Solar Sox in 7 games. This season, making the jump from Daytona to Class AA Tennessee proved to be no problem, as he hit .288 in 31 games for the Smokies after hitting .302 in 96 games with the D-Cubs. Next year, on March 24, this kid will turn 20 years old. He's earning himself an invite to Spring Training, and if he produces there we could see him at AAA and even become a part of the Cubs bench in 2010 or 2011.

Castillo the Next Cubs Catcher?
If Geovany Soto has another down season, I don't think the Cubs are going to be as patient with the young backstop this time around. If Geo is not hitting by June or July, Koyie Hill will get most of the catching duties the rest of the season. And if the Cubs decide to in a different direction in 2011, then Welington Castillo could be the answer. Castillo is hitting .455 in just 3 games with Mesa, and already has a home run in just 11 ABs. Welington spent the entire year at AA, and if this guy can get his bat going (hit just .232 in 95 games), we know he can catch at the big league level in the near future.

The Shark in Mexico
Jeff Samardzija was hit hard a little bit in his last outing as he allowed 4 runs on 4 hits. However, none of the runs were earned, so his ERA stays at 1.38 in 3 Games. He is not the lone Cub on Mexicalli, as he is joined by farmhands Brian Schlitter, Matt Camp, and Brad Snyder. Camp has done a lot of lead-off hitting and plays center field. He is hitting .378 with a homer, 7 RBIs, and 6 SB so far in 10 MPL games. Brad Snyder, another outfielder, has been hitting clean up and is batting .297, 2 HR, 7 RBI. He missed a lot of the 2009 season with a wrist injury, but after coming back he hit .278 with 14 HR and 44 RBIs in 69 games at AAA-Iowa.

Mesa Solar Sox
The Mesa Solar Sox team includes farm hands from the Cubs as well as the Angels, Marlins, Twins, and Red Sox this year. They have gotten off to a little bit of a slow start, as they are 3-5, in last place in the AFL East. Phoenix is 6-2 and second place Scottsdale is just ahead of Mesa at 4-4. Besides Castillo and Castro, there are a few other Cubs playing in the AFL:

• Josh Vitters: .400 AVG, 5 games, 2 RBIs.
• Andrew Cashner: 0-1, 13.50 ERA, 1 Games
• John Gaub: 1-0, 9.00 ERA, 2 Games
• Blake Parker: 3.60 ERA in 3 Games
• James Russell: 0-1, 3.60 ERA in 3 Games
• Brian Schlitter: 5.14 ERA, 3 Saves in 7 Games

Blanco Getting Some Work in

Cubs shortstop Andres Blanco has hopes of becoming a everyday player for the Cubs in the near future. He was a key piece to the bench for much of 2009, and could be right back in that role in 2010. If Fontenot, Baker, or Theriot have an injury or struggle, he will find himself getting a lot of playing time. Blanco is in Venezuela playing for Magallanes. In 8 games he's hitting .265 with 7 RBIs. He's been playing mostly second base, which makes me wonder if that is because that is the open spot on his team or if it is because the Cubs want to see if he can play second everyday. Will Blanco have a chance to win a starting job in Spring Training?

Other VWL Updates

• J.R. Mathes is 0-1 with a 5.27 ERA in 3 starts for Caracas.
• Jonathan Mota is hitting .350 in 7 games for Aragua.

Perez in DWL

The Dominican Winter League has gotten underway, and so far the only Cub to get into game action was Nelson Perez, who's hitting .500 in 3 ABs for Toros so far. This season, the left handed hitting outfielder hit .251 in 120 games for Peoria with 11 home runs and 65 RBIs. According to different DWL rosters, guys like Carlos Zambrano, Aramis Ramriez, Esmalin Caridad, Alfonso Soriano, and more are listed to play. However, we have not seen any of these guys in game action yet or heard about them playing from any other Cubs sources.

The list of Cubs playing in Winter Leagues

Arizona Fall League- Mesa Solar Sox
Andrew Cashner- P
John Gaub- P
Blake Parker- P
James Russell- P
Welington Castillo- C
Starlin Castro- SS
Josh Vitters- 3B

Mexican Winter League- Mexicali
Bobby Dickerson- Cubs minor league manager, manager of Mexicali
Jeff Samardzija- P
Brian Schlitter- P
Matt Camp- CF
Brad Snyder- RF

Venezuelan Winter League
J.R. Mathes- Caracas, Pitcher
Marwin Gonzalez- Caracas, Short Stop
Robert Hernandez- Magallanes, Pitcher
Robinson Chirinos- Magallanes, Catcher
Luis Rivas- Magallanes, Short Stop
Andres Blanco, Magallanes, Infield
Leopoldo Sanchez- Lara, 3B
Jhon Rodrigez- Margarita, Pitcher
Jonathan Mota- Aragua, SS
Eduardo Figueroa- Caribes, Pitcher
Carlos E. Rojas- Caribes, Pitcher
Jose Guevara- Caribes, Catcher
George Matheus- Caribes, 3B

For complete daily updates on the Cubs in Winter Ball, Cubs Farm Updates Twitter
§Cubbiefan07

The Southern League has announced their All Star Teams!

This year's game will be played in Birmingham, home of the White Sox AAA club the Barons.

The Cubs organization will be well represented in this game, 6 Tennessee Smokies have made the club. Here they are:
1B Blake Lailli
SS Darwin Barney
OF James Adduci
P Casey Coleman
P Jay Jackson
P Brian Schlitter

The game is on Monday, July 13, the same night as the MLB HR Derby.

I was some what surprised by Schlitter, he was the guy the Cubs got in return for Scott Eyre last year I believe. 

Anyways, any thoughts on this?

Mark DeRosa (CLE): .266 AVG, 8 HR, 33 RBI
Kerry Wood (CLE): 2-2, 6.00 ERA, 8 SV
Felix Pie (BAL): .195 AVG, 2 HR, 4 RBI
Rich Hill (BAL): 1-0, 6.14 ERA, 14.2 IP
Ronny Cedeno (SEA): .173 AVG, 2 HR, 5 RBI
Jason Marquis (COL): 7-3, 3.93 ERA, 68.2 IP
Henry Blanco (SD): .172 AVG, 3 HR, 6 RBI
Bobby Howry (SF): 0-2, 3.79 ERA
Michael Wuertz (OAK): 2-1, 2.59 ERA
Chad Gaudin (SD): 2-3, 4.76 ERA
Luis Vizcaino (CLE): 1-2, 2.84 ERA

Marquis, Wuertz, Vizcaino, and even Howry could all be helpful for our bullpen at this point!


Your Thoughts?

 

Former Cubs 2009 Stats So far...

• Mark DeRosa: .115 AVG, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 6 Games.
• Kerry Wood: 2 Games, 1 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 IP.
• Felix Pie: 6 Games, .278 AVG, 1 HR, 2 RBI.
• Rich Hill: 15 Day DL (strained left elbow)
• Ronny Cedeno: 4 games, .143 AVG.
• Jason Marquis: 1 Game, 7 IP, 5 Hits, 2 ER.
• Henry Blanco: 3 games, 3-9, 2 HR.
• Paul Bako, Daryle Ward, Jon Lieber, and Jim Edmonds are all still listed as free agents.

If we could have one of them back, who would you want? 

Some thoughts after a frustrating game:

If the Cubs make a big trade, it should be for a lights out closer not a starter.

Even if they can't get a lights out closer, we need to bring in some solid relief help.

Derrek Lee should not be hitting 3rd.

Milton Bradley is hitting under .100 and needs to get his bat going. Even though I gave him the player of the game for his home run today, he still didn't have a great game.

Rich Harden didn't do that poorly, just made one mistake and had some bad defense behind him.

The Cubs batting order should be as follows: Soriano, Theriot, Ramirez, Bradley, Soto (when back), Fontenot, Lee, Kosuke. I still really like Lee, but I think he would make the lineup better at the bottom.

Lou didn't manage very well today.

 

Tell me what you think, especially about the first two bullets. 

Cubs.com reports that Mitch Atkins will be in the mix for the starting 5.  They're should be a lot of competition this Spring.  Aaron Heilman, Jeff Samardzija, and Sean Marshall all want to start.  Chad Gaudin is also in the mix.  I want to see "Shark" in the rotation.  I don't know why Atkins would even be given a chance, I think Jeff Stevens, Angel Guzman, and other prospects would be more successful in the rotation then him.  What do you guys think? 

David Kaplan said on Sports Central that he wants to see the Cubs add Juan Cruz to the bullpen mix.  Cruz played with the Cubs in 2001, 2002, and 2003.  He was 4-0 with a 2.61 ERA in 57 games coming out of the pen for Arizona in 2008.  The only drawback is that the Cubs would lose a draft pick because he is a Type A free agent.  I would like this move, what do you guys think?