Lots of changes on Cubs roster; Crosstown Classic game 2 recap

There continued to be lots of changes to the Cubs roster today.  Kerry Wood formally retired and held his retirement announcement on the field at Wrigley today at 2pm.  His wife Sarah and three kids were in attendance on the field, as well as the entire Cubs team.  Laura Ricketts spoke on behalf of the Ricketts family and presented Wood with a framed photo of Wood hugging his son after his last strikeout in yesterday's game.  Ricketts also gave Wood the flag that was hanging at Wrigley Field that represented his 20-strikeout game during his rookie season in 1998.

Kerry Wood makes his official retirement announcement at Wrigley Field today (photo from cubs.com)

Kerry and Sarah Wood at a celebratory retirement dinner (photo from Kerry Wood's twitter account)

Kerry Wood posted the photo above to his twitter account in a tweet that said, "Thanks for the warm wishes & amazing send off. A day my family & I will never forget. Cheers! #Newbeginning #Gocubs"

Catcher Geovany Soto was placed on the 15-day disabled following a left knee arthroscopy.  Backup catcher Wellington Castillo has a has a mild MCL sprain in right knee and may miss 4-7 days.  In a somewhat surprising move, the Cubs acquired former Cubs catcher Koyie Hill acquired from the Reds for cash considerations.  During tonight's game, Darwin Barney was the emergency catcher again.

The Cubs also recalled right-handed pitcher Randy Wells from Triple-A Iowa.  Wells takes Kerry Wood's spot on the 25-man roster and will pitch in long relief.  Wells is 27-31 with a 4.05 ERA (229 ER/509.0 IP) in 88 major league appearances, all but four as a starter.  He spent most of the last three seasons in the Cubs rotation, posting a 7-6 record with a 4.99 ERA (75 ER/135.1 IP) in 23 starts last year after missing nearly two months in April and May due to a right forearm strain.  Wells went 6-3 with a 4.04 ERA (40 ER/89.0 IP) in 14 starts after the All-Star Break.

Ryan Dempster started for the Cubs tonight and had his worst outing of the season as he gave up four runs on seven hits over six innings, which increased his ERA from 1.74 to 2.28.

Ryan Dempster started for the Cubs on Saturday (photo from cubs.com)

The Cubs ended up losing 7-4 to the White Sox.  For a complete game recap, here's a link to cubs.com.

Pitcher Blake Parker, who was just called up on Thursday, was pulled from his second career outing in tonight's game with tightness in his right hamstring.

Tomorrow the final game of the Crosstown Classic will be played at Wrigley Field at 1:20pm CT.  Paul Maholm is the scheduled starter for the Cubs and will go for his fifth win of the season.