Cubs start dealing in midst of trade season

The Cubs have traded RHP Scott Feldman to the Baltimore Orioles, along with C Steve Clevenger for pitchers Jake Arrieta and Pedro Strop and international bonus money.  The Orioles needed to add a starting pitcher, which Feldman is likely to do well in Baltimore.  Clevenger's agent said he was excited for the trade and it was like a dream come true, since Clev grew up in the area.

RHP Scott Feldman has been traded to the Orioles

Since Feldman was scheduled to start tonight's game against the Oakland Athletics at 9:05pm CT, LHP Chris Rusin will now get the start.

RHP Jake Arrieta comes to the Cubs in the Scott Feldman/Steve Clevenger deal

RHP Pedro Strop also comes to the Cubs in the Feldman/Clevenger deal with the Orioles

After a few days of speculation, the Cubs have also traded Carlos Marmol to the Los Angeles Dodgers for RHP Matt Guerrier and also give up their No. 4 international signing bonus slot.  The Cubs will pay nearly $2M of Marmol's salary and the Dodgers get $209K in the international slot.  Cub fans everywhere are rejoicing that Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer and Jason McLeod were able to get an actual player for Marmol. 

Carlos Marmol was traded to the Dodgers for RHP Matt Guerrier

The Cubs have also acquired the Houston Astros' 2nd/3rd international signing bonus slots for Double-A INF Ronald Torreyes.

In other Cubs news, Ryan Sweeney is going on the 60-day disabled list with a broken rib and Dave Sappelt is being called up from Triple-A Iowa to take his spot on the roster.

There are sure to be many more moves before the trade deadline at the end of the month and we'll be posting about those trades as they happen.

Starlin Castro with 4 RBIs as Cubs win 7-4 over Pirates; Albert Almora at Wrigley Field; 2013 schedule released

The Cubs won 7-4 over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first of a three-game series at Wrigley Field Friday afternoon.

Rookie Chris Rusin was the starting pitcher and earned his first career MLB win.  Rusin was impressive as he allowed two runs on four hits and struck out six batters and didn't walk any over five innings pitched.

Anthony Rizzo and Brett Jackson both returned to the lineup for Friday's game.  Rizzo had a two-run double and Jackson had an amazing sliding catch later in the game.  Jackson had to miss five games due to the bruised knee he got as a result of crashing into the centerfield fence while making an amazing catch in Pittsburgh.  Rizzo missed one game after colliding with the Astros' first baseman on Tuesday night in Houston.

Starlin Castro had an exceptional game as he was 2-for-4, including a homer and 4 RBIs.  Carlos Marmol earned his 20th save of the season.

Steve Clevenger and Carlos Marmol celebrate the Cubs' 7-4 win over the Pirates on Friday (photo from cubs.com)

Second baseman Darwin Barney's consecutive errorless game streak is now at 129 games.  Barney also increased his hitting streak to a career-high nine games.

In other Cubs news, 1st round pick Albert Almora took batting practice today as Cubs President Theo Epstein watched.  Top prospect Jorge Soler is expected to take batting practice before Saturday's game.

Albert Almora talks to Cubs President Theo Epstein during batting practice before Friday's game against the Pirates (photo from @Cubs on Twitter)

The Cubs' 2013 schedule was released this week and can be found here.  The Cubs will open their 2013 season on the road in Pittsburgh on Monday, April 1st, where they will play three games against the Pirates and then head to Atlanta to take on the Braves for three games before heading home to Wrigley Field for the home opener on Monday, April 8th against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Tomorrow, the Cubs and Pirates will play game two at 12:05pm CT.  Right-hander Jason Berken will make his first start since joining the Cubs when he was acquired off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles last Friday. 

Berken had a record of 5-6 with a 3.50 ERA at Triple-A Norfolk.  Tomorrow's spot would have been Jeff Samardzija's turn in the rotation, but he has since been shut down for the rest of the season since he reached his maximum innings since becoming a starter this season.

Jeff Samardzija pitches complete game for last start as Cubs win 4-3 over Pirates

The Cubs won the second game of the three-game series 4-3 against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park Saturday night.  Following last night's win, this was the team's first back-to-back victory on the road since July 23-24, which coincidentally was also at PNC Park.

Jeff Samardzija made his last start of the season since the team wants to be cautious and save his arm from wear and tear since this is his first full season as a starter (vs. a reliever).

The Shark ended his season in style as he pitched his first career complete game and allowed three runs on four hits while striking out nine batters and walking just one.  This was Samardzija's ninth win of the season.

“That was a special night for him and the team to win two in a row after what just happened in Washington,” manager Dale Sveum said.  "It was big for him to be that so-called No. 1 guy to step up and give us back-to-back wins for the first time on the road in I don’t know how long.”  

Jeff Samardzija ended his first season as a starting pitcher on a strong note by earning his ninth win and first complete game (photo from cubs.com)

Speaking of Washington, catcher Steve Clevenger was fined and suspended for one game (which took place tonight) for his involvement during the brawl during Thursday's game against the Nationals.

One twist to tonight's lineup was that Samardzija batted eighth, ahead of outfielder Tony Campana.  Sveum said he wanted to try this because he liked the idea of having two leadoff men in Campana and David DeJesus.  Sveum said, “It took 138 games but I finally did something right, huh?  It worked.”

Alfonso Soriano hit his 27th homer of the season tonight while David DeJesus had an RBI single in the eighth to give the Cubs a 4-3 lead. 

Second baseman Darwin Barney extended his errorless games streak to 124 straight games tonight, which tops Ryne Sandberg's overall National League record which was set between June 21, 1989 to May 17, 1990. 


Tomorrow the Cubs and Pirates will play the final game of the three-game series at 12:35pm CT.  Chris Rusin will start for the Cubs and try for his first win.

Two bench-clearing brawls in the Cubs 9-2 loss to Nationals

The Cubs lost 9-2 to the Washington Nationals in a bench-clearing game tonight at Nationals Park.  The incidents started when the Nationals' third base coach Bo Porter walked over to the Cubs' dugout in the fifth inning and started screaming at Cubs bench coach Jamie Quirk.  This resulted in both benches being emptied, although there was no physical contact at this point.  Quirk was ejected but Porter was not.

Then in the sixth inning, an inside pitch thrown by Manny Corpas to Bryce Harper ignited another bench-clearing episode and resulted in Steve Clevenger and Corpas being ejected.

Michael Gonzalez was the only Nationals player ejected tonight, which doesn't seem fair.  The Cubs ended up being swept in the four-game series and are now on pace to lose 102 games this season. (yikes!)

The Cubs-Nationals game turned into a bench-clearing brawl on Thursday night (photo from Chicago Tribune)

Justin Germano started for the Cubs and lasted only four innings as he allowed six runs on seven hits while walking two batters and striking out two. 

Even though the Cubs have had such a high turnaround rate for players and are in a "building season," it sill doesn't make it any easier for fans or players to stomach. 

Tomorrow the Cubs will start a three-game series against the third place NL Central Pirates in Pittsburgh at 6:05pm CT.  Travis Wood will start for the Cubs and try to earn his fifth win of the season.  Let's hope there are no ejections or fights in Pittsburgh (and some Cubs wins!)

Paul Maholm's best performance of season leads Cubs to 4-0 shutout of Astros; Kerry Wood's Bowling Fundraiser

Paul Maholm had his best outing of the season as he pitched 8-2/3 innings and allowed just four hits, leading the Cubs to a 4-0 shutout of the Houston Astros Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field.  Maholm struck out six batters and walked one.  Today's win was Maholm's first in his last eight starts, as well as his 200th career start.

Paul Maholm pitched 8-2/3 innings in Friday's Cubs win over the Astros (photo from cubs.com)

Luis Valbuena, Steve Clevenger, and Alfonso Soriano all homered in today's game.  Clevenger's was his first career homer, which was hit onto the Budweiser Patio and into the hands of one of several guys dressed in red pajamas/long underwear.  It looked like the Cubs had to make a deal with the red PJ guy to have him give up the ball to Clevenger for a keepsake.

In other Cubs news, right-handed pitcher Randy Wells, who was designated for assignment on Wednesday, cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Iowa today. 

Randy Wells has cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Iowa on Friday (photo from Chicago Tribune)

Ryan Dempster is expected to miss another start on Tuesday in Atlanta.  Cubs manager Dale Sveum has yet to decide who will pitch in Dempster's spot, but it sounds like it will be either Chris Volstad or Casey Coleman.  Should be interesting, either way.

Dempster won't return to the rotation until just after the All-Star break.  “I feel great, completely pain free,” Dempster said Friday morning.  It won't take long after I get going."

Kerry Wood, along with his wife Sarah, and his Wood Family Foundation hosted its 7th annual Stike Zone Celebrity Bowling Tournament at 10pin Bowling Lounge on Wednesday night, which raised over $300,000 to benefit children in need.

Most of Wood's former Cubs teammates were in attendance, along with WWE Champion CM Punk, former WWE Diva Lita, the Plain White T’s band members Tom Higgenson and Dave Tirio, and ‘85 Bears player Steve McMichael.

Ryan Dempster was all decked out for the Wood Family Foundation bowling fundraiser on June 27, 2012 (photo by Kenny Kim)

Kerry Wood and his family at his fundraiser on June 27, 2012 (photo from Chicago Tribune)

Tomorrow the Cubs and Astros will play game two of the three game series at 3:05pm CT.  Matt Garza will start for the Cubs and will hopefully get some run support and a win for the Cubs.  Then maybe his teammates can get back at him with multiple shaving cream pies!

Cubs lose 7-4 to Red Sox; Geovany Soto expected to return soon

The Cubs lost 7-4 to the Boston Red Sox in the final game of the three-game series tonight at Wrigley Field.

Paul Maholm made the start for the Cubs and allowed three runs on six hits while walking one and striking out five batters over six innings pitched.  Maholm ended up with a no decision and reliever Shawn Camp was charged with the loss.

Paul Maholm started for the Cubs tonight (photo from Chicago Tribune)

Starlin Castro was a homer shy of the cycle in tonight's game, going 3-for-4 with a double, triple, and two RBIs.

Starlin Castro runs to third base in tonight's game against the Red Sox (photo from Chicago Tribune)

In other Cubs news, the Cubs are going to try to go with three catchers on the roster, which may be bad news for Adrian Cardenas.  Geovany Soto, who is expected to be reactivated from the disabled list on Monday, would be joined by Steve Clevenger and Wellington Castillo.

Catcher Koyie Hill did not accept his outright to Triple-A Iowa and is now a free agent.

Tomorrow the Cubs will head to the South Side to play the first of a three-game series against the White Sox at 7:10pm CT.  Matt Garza will start for the Cubs and try for his third win of the season.

Cubs select OF Alberto Almora in 6th round of MLB First-Year Player Draft; Cubs swept by Giants and head to Milwaukee

The Cubs lost 3-2 to the San Francisco Giants for the fourth game in a row this afternoon.  Jeff Samardzija started for the Cubs and allowed two runs on seven hits, while striking out six and walking five batters over five innings pitched.

This was the Cubs' 11th straight loss on the road, which is their longest streak since June 18-29 in 1954.

Steve Clevenger and Samardzija both hit RBI singles, but that was about it for the Cubs' offense.  "We've got to get something going offensively," Cubs manager Dale Sveum said.  "You can't win ballgames by scoring no more than two runs a game.  It just dosn't matter.  No matter how good your pitching and defense could possibly be, you've got to put some numbers up on the board."

Jeff Samardzija hit an RBI single in today's game against the Giants (photo from cubs.com)

In the fifth inning, shortstop Starlin Castro forgot how many outs there were after taking a throw at second from Darwin Barney and began running off the field and neglecting to throw to first to try to get a double play on Brandon Crawford, as the tying run scored from third base.

This was Castro's second "brain fart" in the four-game series against the Giants.  "It's the last straw," Sveum said.  "He better start getting his head in the game, period.  It's not acceptable.  These things have got to stop happening, or we're just going to stop playing him.  These kind of things are things my son does in high school, maybe."

Today was also the first day of the 2012 MLB First-Year Player Draft.  The Cubs have selected OF Alberto Almora, 18, of Mater Academy Charter with the 6th overall pick.  In 25 games last season, Almora hit .603 with 13 doubles, 5 triples, 6 home runs, 34 RBI and 24 stolen bases, along with a 1.164 SLG and .667 OBP.  He has played for six USA National Baseball teams and was named USA Baseball’s Athlete of the Year and MVP of the Pan-Am Games in 2011.

The Cubs selected Alberto Almora in the 6th round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft (photo from Chicago Cubs

The Cubs also selected right handed pitcher Pierce Johnson of Missouri State University with the 43rd overall pick.  Johnson was drafted with the pick received after Aramis Ramirez signed with Milwaukee.

Right handed pitcher Paul Blackburn from Heritage High School in Oakley, California was selected with the 56th overall pick by the Cubs.  The selection of Blackburn came in the slot gained after Carlos Pena returned to Tampa Bay.

Tomorrow the Cubs will be in Milwaukee to play the first game of a three-game series against the Brewers at 7:10pm CT.  Ryan Dempster, who stayed home for the San Francisco games due to personal reasons, will start for the Cubs and try to get his first win of the season. 

Jeff Samardzija is worthy of his bobblehead as Cubs win second straight against Padres

The Cubs won their second straight game against the San Diego Padres today, 5-3.  Jeff Samardzija earned his fifth win of the season and said, "You don't want to pitch bad and then walk out the park and see your bobbleheads smashed everywhere."  No need to worry, Jeff!  You pitched an excellent game and also drove in the go-ahead run!

Fans at today's game received a Jeff Samardzija bobblehead doll (photo from Paul Sullivan)

Samardzija allowed three runs on eight hits and struck out eight and issued one walk over seven innings pitched.  He left the game in the eighth inning with a 4-3 lead.  Shawn Camp came in to pitch in relief in the eighth and retired all 3 batters he faced.  Camp retired the first batter in the ninth before Sveum called on James Russell to close out the game.  Russell gave up a double and then struck out Nick Hundley to earn the first save of his major league career.

Closer James Russell earned his first career save during today's game (AP photo)

Jeff Samardzija stands on first base after his RBI single that scored Darwin Barney with the go ahead run in the sixth inning (photo from Chicago Tribune)

Alfonso Soriano was excellent both defensively and offensively today as he made an impressive diving catch that saved a run in the sixth inning and turned into a double play to end the inning.  In the bottom of the sixth inning, he hit a home run to increase the Cubs lead to 3-1.

Starlin Castro high fives Darwin Barney after he scores on Jeff Samardzija's single in the sixth (photo from Chicago Tribune)

In other Cubs news, catcher Steve Clevenger was activated from the disabled list and Blake Lalli was optioned to Triple-A Iowa.  Cubs manager Dale Sveum said that Casey Coleman is also in the mix for being the team's closer, along with Shawn Camp and James Russell. 

Tomorrow the Cubs and Padres will play the final game of the series at 1:20pm CT at Wrigley Field.  Ryan Dempster will try for his first win of the season, even though he has been impressive in every start and has a 2.14 ERA.  Let's hope his teammates can give him the run support he deserves.

Cubs lose in Philly tonight; Wellington Castillo called up to replace Steve Clevenger, who was put on the DL

The Cubs lost game 2 of the 4 game series against the Philadelphia Phillies tonight by a score of 5-2.  Randy Wells made his second start this season in place of Ryan Dempster, who is on the disabled list.  Wells got off to a good start and didn't allow a hit during the first three innings, but then allowed four runs on three hits and walked four and struck out three batters during 3.2 innings pitched.

Randy Wells made his second start of the season tonight against the Phillies (photo from cubs.com)

Wells' future is uncertain, since Ryan Dempster seems to be on track to return to the rotation on May 3rd.  Cubs manager Dale Sveum said, "We'll make those decisions on Thursday, if (Kerry Wood) bounces back from the simulated game on Monday, then obviously we'll have two decisions to make.  But we'll wait, depending on how the bullpen works out.  You never know what's going to go on in the five games up until that day."  Wells could either remain with the Cubs as a reliever or go back to Triple-A Iowa to stay stretched out as a starter.

Cubs backup catcher Steve Clevenger was put on the 15-day disabled list today for a right oblique strain and is out for an indefinite amount of time.  Wellington Castillo has been called up from Triple-A Iowa to take Clevenger's spot on the roster.

Clevenger flew back to Chicago Saturday to be treated and said the injury happened on his last swing of batting practice Friday in Philly.  Clevenger said, "I kind of waited a little bit to tell anybody," he said. “I went in between innings to go swing and I just couldn’t swing, so I had to let them know I couldn’t play.”

The Cubs will play their third game against the Phillies tomorrow at 12:35pm CT.  Matt Garza will be the Cubs' starting pitcher.

Cubs win 6-1 over Reds; Ryan Dempster on DL; Marlon Byrd could be traded

The Cubs ended their 6-game losing streak today by beating the Reds, 6-1 at Wrigley Field.  Paul Maholm earned his first win with the Cubs, which was also his first win since July of 2011, when he won over the Cubs when he was with the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Maholm only allowed four hits and one run during the six innings he pitched. 

Paul Maholm earned his first win as a Cub today against the Reds (photo from cubs.com)

David DeJesus, Darwin Barney, and Starlin Castro combined for seven hits, four runs, and three RBIs today.  Steve Clevenger had three singles and raised his batting average to .588.  While he was being interviewed on the field after the game, Clevenger was showered with ice from a fellow teammate, which was fun to see.

Today, the Cubs officially put Ryan Dempster on the 15-day disabled list for a right quad strain.  Randy Wells is scheduled to start in tomorrow's game against the Reds and will take Dempster's spot in the starting rotation. 

Tony Campana was called up from Triple-A Iowa to take Dempster's spot on the roster, so one more roster spot needs to be cleared in order to add Wells.  There has been talk of a Marlon Byrd trade with the Boston Red Sox.  Byrd is hitting .070 this season and wasn't in today's lineup, but he was in the Cubs' clubhouse.  Byrd is scheduled to make $6.5 million this season, so the Cubs would most likely have to eat most of that salary.

Tomorrow the Cubs will play the rubber game against the Reds at 1:20pm and Randy Wells will get a chance to impress Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer, and Dale Sveum.  Let's go Cubbies and and let's start a winning streak!

Cubs shut out the Brewers, 8-0; Matt Garza one out away from pitching a complete game; Soriano steals second!

The Cubs shut out the Milwaukee Brewers, 8-0 today at Wrigley Field which prevenedt a series sweep by the Brew Crew.  Matt Garza was excellent and was one out away from pitching a complete game.  Garza allowed three hits and zero runs and walked two batters and struck out nine in 8.2 innings pitched.

Matt Garza was impressive again and shut out the Brewers at Wrigley Field today (photo from cubs.com)

Manager Dale Sveum sent in reliever Shawn Camp in the ninth inning with two outs and Camp was able to get the last out for the Cubs' second win of the season.  The Cubs scored six runs in a very exciting third inning.

One interesting fact is that Cubs' catcher Geovany Soto is 3-for-17 so far this season and backup catcher Steve Clevenger is 5-for-7. 

An unexpected highlight of today's game was when Alfonso Soriano stole second base in the third inning!  It had Cub fans saying to themselves, "Who was that guy and what did they do with Sori?" 

In today's game, every Cubs starting position player had at least one hit.  How often do you see that?  Let's hope the Cubs can keep it up when they play the St. Louis Cardinals for their home opener tomorrow at 2:15pm CST.  Jeff Samardzija will make his second start for the Cubs.  

One week to go for the Cubs' first spring training game; 2nd round of bunting tournament results

Only one more week until the Cubs' first spring training game!  The team bunting tournament continued yesterday, with Szczur, Cardenas, Mota, Lalli, B. Jackson, W. Castillo, Clevenger, and LaHair advancing and Lake, Vitters, Brenly, Adduci, Ha, Sappelt, Campana, and Rizzo being eliminated.  There's even an entire article from the Chicago Tribune about projected winner Campana's early elimination by Steve Clevenger.  Manager Dale Sveum said it was, "A huge upset, no doubt about it."

Tony Campana prepares to lay down a bunt in the 2nd round of the Cubs bunting tournament (photo from Chicago Cubs)

Even teammate Matt Szczur tweeted yesterday, "Great day at work. Sorry to see @Tcampana_24 take a LOSS!" Meanwhile, outfielder David DeJesus tweeted, "First day was awesome!!! Can't wait to get to wrigley for opening day."

In other Cubs news, catcher Geovany Soto missed Saturday's practice due to a sore groin.  "He went through the calisthenics and stretching, and it was OK," Dale Sveum said. "You can't really catch without using your groin quite a bit, so we gave him the day off."  Hopefully we'll see him back soon.

The Cubs are scheduled for practice at 9:30 today, according to a tweet from @Cubs.  However, if you're in Chicago (like myself), today's the last day the Rink at Wrigley is open for ice skating from 10am-8pm.