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.

Cubs win 8-2 over the Mets as Scott Feldman pitches his way to fourth consecutive win

The Cubs beat the Mets 8-2 on a beautiful Saturday afternoon at Wrigley Field.  Scott Feldman delivered another quality outing for the Cubs as he pitched 6-2/3 scoreless innings.  Feldman allowed seven hits and struck out six batters and walked one.  He has a 1.27 ERA in his last five starts and is 4-0.  I was at the game and am happy to share some of my personal photos in this blog post.

Scott Feldman earned the win against the Mets on Saturday

Both Anthony Rizzo and Nate Schierholtz homered in the game, with Rizzo's coming in the fifth inning and Schierholtz's in the eighth.  "I am just seeing pitches to hit and not trying to do too much.  Keeping it as simple as possible.  Not over-thinking, no matter who's pitching." Rizzo said.  Well, keep it up, #44!

Cubs players and coaches celebrate their "W" on Saturday

Darwin Barney and Anthony Rizzo visit while James Russell warms up

In other Cubs news, Matt Garza has rejoined the team and is scheduled to make his first start since last season on Tuesday against the Pirates in Pittsburgh.  Carlos Villanueva is the likely candidate for moving to the bullpen once Garza is added to the roster.

Matt Garza and teammates during the national anthem before Saturday's game

Tomorrow, the Cubs and Mets will play the rubber game of the series at 1:20pm CT.  Travis Wood will make the start for the Cubs and try to earn his fifth win of the season. 

Cubs win 8-1 over Dodgers; Dale Sveum announces starting rotation

The Cubs get a "W" in their exhibition game against the Los Angeles Dodgers this afternoon.  Chris Rusin had a great outing as he allowed just one hit and no runs while striking out one and walking one batter over five innings pitched.  The final score was 8-1.

Left handed pitcher Chris Rusin allowed just one hit over five innings against the Dodgers on Thursday (photo from cubs.com)

The Cubs bats returned today as Brent Lillibridge and Darnell McDonald had hits in their first two at-bats.  Welington Castillo also had a two-run triple and Brian Bogusevic had a two-run double.  Josh Vitters also made his first appearance in a spring training game since he was out for a quad injury.

Cubs manager Dale Sveum announced that the starting rotation at the start of the season will be (in the following order):

Jeff Samardzija, Edwin Jackson, Travis Wood, Scott Feldman and Carlos Villanueva.  Once Matt Garza and Scott Baker are healthy, they are both expected to join the starting rotation.  This means that the "Shark" will pitch when the Cubs open their season on the road in Pittsburgh on April 1st.  Edwin Jackson will get the call for the Home Opener at Wrigley Field on April 8th.  

Edwin Jackson will be the starting pitcher for the Cubs Home Opener on April 8th (AP photo)

Just 19 more days until Opening Day and 26 until the Home Opener!  Can't wait to sing "Go Cubs Go!"

Cubs and Wrigley Field are officially decked out for the holiday season; Cubs roster changes; Spring Training schedule released

The Cubs were busy kicking off the holiday season today at Wrigley Field.  The day started early as Cubs outfielder David DeJesus and his wife Kim were at the Friendly Confines for a live broadcast on WGN-TV's morning show to support the Toy Drive.  The toys collected at Wrigley Field will be donated to Jennifer Hudson’s Julian D. King Gift Foundation.

The Tree Lighting ceremony took place at 5pm under the Wrigley Field marquee and had a good turnout, as I was there to join in the festivities.  David and Kim DeJesus helped light the tree, which was designed by Christy Webber Landscapes.  The funny thing is that Webber mentioned that she's actually a Sox fan (which Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts later joked that she "could have left out that piece of information").  Webber said the good part about her rooting for the Southsiders is that she won't be asking Ricketts for any Cubs tickets.  Haha.

Also present at the Tree Lighting was Cubs Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins, Todd Ricketts (Cubs Board of Directors), Crane Kenney (President of Business Operations) and lots of Cubs personnel.  There was also complimentary hot chocolate and cookies for attendees, which was a nice touch!

After the tree lighting, the Cubs offered free skating at the Rink at Wrigley, as well as free popcorn and hot chocolate and coffee.  The rink is located in the Cubs’ parking lot at the corner of Clark and Waveland.  For skating fees and hours, visit www.rinkatwrigley.com.

Below are some photos I took at the Tree Lighting ceremony:

Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts addresses the crowd at the Tree Lighting ceremony (photo by Karen Burchell)

The DeJesus family at the Tree Lighting ceremony at Wrigley Field (photo by Karen Burchell)

The Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at Wrigley Field kicked off the holiday season (photo by Karen Burchell)

Before and after the Christmas tree lighting at Wrigley Field on Friday night (photo by Karen Burchell)

In other Cubs news, the team decided to non-tender third baseman Ian Stewart, who is now a free agent.  Stewart's 2012 season was cut short after only playing 55 games due to a wrist injury, which he ended up having surgery for.  There's still a chance the Cubs will still negotiate a new contract with Stewart, especially since there isn't an abundance of available third basemen both in and out of the Cubs organization.

The Cubs decided to non-tender third baseman Ian Stewart before Friday's deadline (Chicago Tribune photo)

Right-handed pitcher Casey Coleman cleared waivers after being designated for assignment earlier this week in order to make room on the 40-man roster for recently acquired right-handed pitcher Scott Feldman, who came to the Cubs from the Texas Rangers and signed a one-year, $6 million deal and is expected to be a part of the 2013 starting rotation.  Coleman was assigned outright to Triple-A Iowa today.

The Cubs signed a one-year contract with right handed pitcher Scott Feldman (AP photo)

The Cubs also signed right-handed pitcher Scott Baker to a one-year, $5.5 million contract on November 13th.  Feldman and Baker will join Jeff Samardzija, Matt Garza and Travis Wood in the Cubs' rotation, even though GM Jed Hoyer says the team may not be finished shopping for starting pitchers yet.

The Cubs signed a one-year contract with right-handed pitcher Scott Baker

The Cubs hired 25-year old Scott Harris as their new Director of Baseball Operations on Thursday.  Harris spent the last two years with Major League Baseball as the league’s Coordinator of Major League Operations.  Harris also interned for the Cincinnati Reds in 2010 and the Washington Nationals in 2008. 

The Cubs released their spring training schedule earlier today, which includes 17 home dates at HoHoKam Park, 16 Cactus League road games and two games in Las Vegas against the Texas Rangers.  The Cubs will open their schedule on February 23 against the Los Angeles Angels in Tempe, AZ and end it on March 28 against the Seattle Mariners.

Individual tickets for home games at HoHoKam Park can be purchased starting January 4th at cubs.com or by calling 1-800-905-3315.  Below is the 2013 spring training schedule, with all games beginning at 1:05 p.m. Arizona time unless otherwise noted:

Date	Opponent	Location
Feb. 23	Los Angeles (AL)	Tempe
Feb. 24	San Francisco	Mesa
Feb. 25	Los Angeles (NL)	Glendale
Feb. 26	Colorado	Mesa
Feb. 27	Los Angeles (NL)	Mesa
Feb. 28	Oakland	Mesa
March 1	Arizona	Mesa
March 2	San Francisco	Scottsdale
March 3	Milwaukee (ss)	Mesa
March 3	Los Angeles (AL/ss)	Tempe
March 4	Cleveland	Mesa
March 5	Colorado	Scottsdale (1:10 p.m.)
March 6	Texas	Surprise
March 7	White Sox	Mesa
March 8	Cincinnati	Goodyear (7:05 p.m.)
March 9	Cleveland	Mesa
March 10	San Diego	Mesa
March 11	Arizona	Scottsdale
March 12	OFF DAY
March 13	Colorado	Mesa
March 14	Los Angeles (NL)	Glendale
March 15	White Sox	Glendale (12:05 p.m.)
March 16	Kansas City (ss)	Mesa
March 16	Texas (ss)	Las Vegas (game time TBD)
March 17	Oakland (ss)	Phoenix
March 17	Texas (ss)	Las Vegas (game time TBD)
March 18	San Diego	Peoria
March 19	Texas	Mesa
March 20	OFF DAY
March 21	Seattle	Peoria
March 22	Milwaukee	Maryvale
March 23	Los Angeles (AL)	Mesa
March 24	Cleveland	Goodyear
March 25	San Francisco	Mesa
March 26	Cincinnati	Mesa (7:05 p.m.)
March 27	Kansas City	Surprise (6:05 p.m.)
March 28	Seattle	Mesa (12:05 p.m.)

Hope everyone enjoys the unseasonable 'warmer' weather in Chicago this weekend, as there's sure to be more Cubs news next week!  And for those of you not in Chicago, hope you have a great weekend as well!