Matt Garza to get MRI; Tony Campana is now a Dback; Cubs Bunting Tournament Underway

Cubs starting pitcher Matt Garza suffered a mild lat strain during his first live batting practice session on Sunday at Fitch Park.  He will have an MRI to see how everything looks, but there's a good chance he will miss the start of the season.

Cubs starter Matt Garza will have an MRI to determine the extent of his lat strain (photo from Chicago Tribune)

The right hander was on the disabled list the last two months of the 2012 season with elbow soreness.  General Manager Jed Hoyer said, "The good news is his arm felt really strong.  It's unfortunate for sure and it's going to set him back a little bit.  But we're still really confident.  Our concern obviously was with the elbow injury that shut him down last year."

Since newly acquired pitcher Scott Baker is expected to start the season on the DL, that means that Travis Wood and Carlos Villanueva both have a good chance of starting the season in the rotation, even though manager Dale Sveum says he won't have to have his starting rotation pinned down until around March 20th. 

As expected, the Cubs traded outfielder Tony Campana to the Arizona Diamondbacks for minor league right handed pitchers Erick Leal and Jesus Castillo.  Both Leal and Castillo are 17-years old.  Hoyer said Leal is likely to pitch in the minors this year, while Castillo probably will pitch in the Dominican.  “Both of them we like a lot,” Hoyer said. “Both of them are projectable (as future major leaguers).  We did a lot of work with our scouts down in the D.R. and we feel very good about getting two projectable arms for Tony.”

Campana tweeted earlier today, "Thanks to the #Cubs and fans for a great time and support... Really excited to get started with the #Dbacks! #readytogo"  It's too bad the Cubs didn't have a spot for the speedy Campy, who quickly became a fan favorite, but we wish him the best in Arizona.

On a lighter note, the Cubs second bunting tournament started today and bullpen catcher Andy Lane upset outfielder Dave Sappelt in the first round.  The competition has pitchers in one bracket and position players in another and has 64 players.  David DeJesus was the winner of last year's inaugural bunting tournament.

The bunting tournament field

Here are some photos from Spring Training:

First baseman Anthony Rizzo on photo day (photo from Chicago Tribune)

Alfonso Soriano and Jeff Samardzija on photo day (photo from Chicago Tribune)

43 more days until Opening Day!

Pitchers and catchers in Mesa; Scott Hairston deal is official as Tony Campana is designated for assignment

Today is finally the day when Cubs pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training in Mesa.  Hooray!  But along with the good comes some change.  The Cubs announced today they have made the two-year contract (which was first announced towards the end of January) with outfielder Scott Hairston official.  In a corresponding move, they have designated fan favorite Tony Campana for assignment.

Cubs fans will miss Tony Campana's speed and diving abilities

Many of Tony's fans are very upset at this news, which I can completely understand.  However, I think the Cubs are still hoping that Campana doesn't get picked up (especially by a contender) so that he can return to camp as a non-roster invitee.  I say this because why else would the Cubs wait this long before officially announcing the Hairston deal and Campana DFA news?  At this point, it's likely that most teams' 40-man rosters are set, so even if they wanted to, it would be tough for them to pick up Campana.  Of course, there are always exceptions to this, which we will know soon if Campana is claimed off waivers.

In the meantime, here's a list of Cubs uniform numbers for the new players on the 40-man roster and also for the non-roster invitees (as posted by Cubs beat reporter Carrie Muskat):

40-man roster
Pitchers
32 – Scott Baker
46 – Scott Feldman
71 – Trey McNutt
56 – Hector Rondon
57 – Carlos Villanueva
41 – Arodys Vizcaino
67 – Robert Whitenack
Catchers
4 – Dioner Navarro
Infielders
61 – Christian Villanueva
74 – Logan Watkins
Outfielders
19 – Nate Schierholtz
68 – Jorge Soler

Non-Roster Invitees
Pitchers
76 – Drew Carpenter
77 – Dayan Diaz
60 – Jensen Lewis
85 – Barret Loux
50 – Blake Parker
63 – Zach Putnam
81 – Nick Struck
47 – Hisanori Takahashi
59 – Cory Wade
Catchers
79 – J.C. Boscan
78 – Michael Brenly
82 – Rafael Lopez
Infielders
70 – Javier Baez
6 – Alberto Gonzalez
20 – Brent Lillibridge
65 – Edwin Maysonet
75 – Brad Nelson
Outfielders
66 – Brian Bogusevic
80 – Johermyn Chavez
16 – Darnell McDonald

It sounds like most of the pitchers are already in Mesa and have reported to camp.  The first official workout for pitchers and catchers will take place on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, here's a pic of Darwin Barney and Anthony Rizzo at Fitch Park  taken by Tim Sheridan on February 8th.

Darwin Barney and Anthony Rizzo at Fitch Park on February 8th (photo by Tim Sheridan)

For more pics and spring training info, you can check out Tim's "Boys of Spring" blog at: boysofspring.com.

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.

David DeJesus continues to impress but Cubs lose 5-2 to Giants

The Cubs lost 5-2 to the San Francisco Giants in the second game of the three-game series Saturday afternoon at Wrigley Field.

Justin Germano started for the Cubs and got off to a rough start as the Giants scored four runs in the first inning.  Germano allowed five runs on six hits while walking two batters and striking out two over five innings pitched.

David DeJesus hit a two-run homer in the third inning to put the Cubs on the board.  But his impressive game didn't stop there, as he also made an amazing sliding catch in the fifth inning when he grabbed Buster Posey's possible extra-base hit.

"I didn't even know I caught it, to be honest with you," DeJesus said.  "I slid and threw my glove out, and I was lifting my glove up and I didn't expect the ball to be in there.  I said, 'Wow, it's in there, this is pretty cool.'"

David DeJesus is congratulated by Darwin Barney after hitting his 2-run homer against the Giants on Saturday (Getty photo)

Cubs manager Dale Sveum is defnintely impressed with DeJesus' efforts and said, "He's the ultimate professional who leads by example, and hopefully people do watch and ask him a lot of questions, because he does a lot of things well."

The Cubs made their September callups, such as outfielders Tony Campana and Dave Sappelt, and infielder Adrian Cardenas, who all joined the team in Chicago today.

12 of the 29 players currently on the active roster either started the 2012 season at Triple-A Iowa or on another team's roster.  It definitely has been an interesting season, to say the least.

I was at today's game and took a lot of photos, below are some of the better ones:

The tarp coming off the field and the batting practice cage being set up before Saturday's game against the Giants (photo by Karen Burchell)

Adrian Cardenas and Jon Lovitz after the ceremonial first pitch (photo by Karen Burchell)

David DeJesus and Brett Jackson warm up before Saturday's game (photo by Karen Burchell)

Dave Sappelt gets a hug before Saturday's game (photo by Karen Burchell)

Justin Germano was tagged with the loss on Saturday against the Giants (photo by Karen Burchell)

It's that September time of the season, again (photo by Karen Burchell)

Darwin Barney and Anthony Rizzo chat as Jeff Beliveau warms up on Saturday (photo by Karen Burchell)

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

Reed Johnson's bunt single leads Cubs to a 3-2 win against the Cardinals

I was lucky enough to be at Wrigley Field Saturday afternoon to watch the Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2 in the second game of the three-game series.  Thanks to the generosity of Stanley's Kitchen and Tap, I got to watch the game from the best seats I've ever sat in at the Friendly Confines.

Jeff Samardzija started for the Cubs and allowed two runs on three hits and walked six batters and struck out seven over six innings pitched.  The Shark didn't get off to a good start when he threw seven straight balls and walked the bases loaded in the first inning.  Luckily, he was able to get out of the inning with just one run scored by the Cardinals.

Jeff Samardzija at bat in Saturday's game against the Cardinals (photo by Karen Burchell)

"There were spurts when I couldn't miss and I was making all my pitches, and there were times when I was battling myself," Samardzija said.  "It almost took having runners on to really get my head on straight and make big pitches."  Perhaps the best part about not knowing where your pitches might go is that neither does the opponent, which worked out nicely for the Cubs.

"You really can measure yourself against these teams," Samardzija said about facing the Cardinals and Pirates, who will face the Cubs at Wrigley Field next.  "We don't know our record, we don't know where we're at [in the standings].  Just every day, we know the guy we're facing and who's pitching for us.  I really like how we're playing baseball now.  It's fun to come to the park.  Everybody's excited and happy and wants to play all nine innings.  It's a lot of fun."

Bryan LaHair on-deck in Saturday's game against the Cardinals (photo by Karen Burchell)

The game was tied at 2 in the seventh inning when Bryan LaHair walked and Tony Campana came into the game to pinch run for LaHair.  Campana stole second base and reached third when Geovany Soto singled.  Then Jeff Baker lined out and Luis Valbuena struck out.

Reed Johnson then bunted towards third with what ended up being the game-winning RBI which scored Tony "wheels" Campana.

Reed Johnson before his game-winning RBI in the seventh inning (photo by Karen Burchell)

Tony Campana scores on Reed Johnson's 2-out bunt single to give the Cubs the lead against the Cardinals (photo by Karen Burchell)

“That was all on his own,” Cubs manager Dale Sveum said of Johnson's decision to bunt.  “Reed is one of those baseball players that has those kinds of things in his tool box.  He is one of those guys who gets picked up now or even after the deadline because he is a valuable guy to a team that is vying for a championship.”

Also in the seventh inning, when Sveum came on the field to challenge the call of Castro being called out at first on Daniel Descalso's throw, he was ejected for the third time this season.  Which is just ridiculous since the replay showed that Castro clearly beat the throw to first.

Oh well, another argument for instant replay in MLB games.  Relief pitcher James Russell earned the win and Carlos Marmol earned the save today.

Here are some of my photos from the game:

Starlin Castro at bat against the Cardinals (photo by Karen Burchell)

Anthony Rizzo at bat against the Cardinals (photo by Karen Burchell)

Relief pitcher James Russell earned the win against the Cardinals (photo by Karen Burchell)

Cubs players celebrate their win against the Cardinals on Saturday (photo by Karen Burchell)

Cubs players celebrate their win against the Cardinals as Wrigley Field is singing "Go Cubs Go" (photo by Karen Burchell)

Tomorrow the Cubs and Cards will play the rubber game of the series at 1:20pm CT.  Paul Maholm will start for the Cubs and try to earn his 10th win of the season which would also be his sixth straight win.

Cubs shutout 7-0 by Cardinals, but leave St. Louis as Super Heroes; Ron Santo is in the Hall of Fame

The Cubs lost 7-0 to the Cardinals at Busch Stadium this afternoon.  Travis Wood started for the Cubs and allowed seven runs (of which six were earned) on nine hits and walked two batters and struck out four over six innings pitched.

This was Wood's second straight loss after winning four games in a row.  He had given up just four runs in those four games he won, but has given up 15 runs over 10 2/3 innings in his last two games. 

Travis Wood started for the Cubs against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium on Sunday (photo from Chicago Tribune)

The Cubs wore ceremonial shoulder patches on their uniforms today in honor of Ron Santo's induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.  Cubs position players also clicked their heels when they crossed the foul lines to take their positions on the field in the first inning.

Jeff Beliveau, who was just called up from Triple-A Iowa made his MLB debut and allowed no runs and three hits while walking one batter and striking out one over 1.2 innings pitched.  In a corresponding roster move, the Cubs optioned right-handed relief pitcher Rafael Dolis to Triple-A Iowa.

The Cubs were outscored 23-1 in the three-game series and were 3-for-29 (.077) with runners on base.  Ouch, that hurts, especially since it was against the Cardinals.

The best news of today was that Ron Santo was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.  His long overdue induction into the HOF is bittersweet for many Cub fans, since Santo passed away in December of 2010 due to complications with bladder cancer.

Santo's widow, Vicki, gave an acceptance speech on behalf of Ron and said, "This is not a sad day.  This is a happy day, an incredible day for an incredible man.''

Santo had a career batting average of .277 and hit 342 home runs and drove in 1,331 runs.  Following is a link to the complete story from the Chicago Tribune.

Jeff Idelson, Vicki Santo, Jane Forbes Clark and Bud Selig with Ron Santo's plaque in Cooperstown (photo from Ben Platt/MLB.com)

Ron Santo's Hall of Fame plaque (photo from Ben Platt/MLB.com)

Even though the Cubs didn't have a good game on the field, they went ahead with their preplanned Super Hero Day and dressed in costumes for their flight from St. Louis to Pittsburgh.  Matt Garza came up with the idea of a hero theme to try to break up the season.  He might have gotten the idea from his former team, the Rays, who did a "whiteout" trip and wear all white on a trip to Miami.

"Guys can let it loose, have a little fun, take a little pressure off," Garza said.  "A little bit of embarrassment can go a long way.  It gets you out of your own skin a little bit.  I'm going to wear this thing all night -- I'm going to wear it to dinner.  You don't buy it for an hour, you wear it the whole time."

Following are photos of the players in their costumes that they picked out themselves:

Darwin Barney as Toad from Super Mario Bros.

Reed Johnson as Jed Hoyer and Jeff Baker as Theo Epstein

Tony Campana as Flash Gordon

David DeJesus as He-Man

Ryan Dempster as Captain America

Scott Maine, Steve Clevenger and Bryan LaHair as Super Mario Bros.

Carlos Marmol as Zorro

Geovany Soto as a Ghostbuster

More Cubs superheroes

Dale Sveum as Hellboy

Also, Anthony Rizzo dressed up as "Buzz Lightyear," James Russell was "Spiderman" and Alfonso Soriano and Starlin Castro teamed up to be "Batman and Robin", and Soriano was so proud of his costume that he had one of the clubhouse attendants iron the cape.  "We're always together, so that's why I picked Batman and Robin," Soriano said.  Awww, how sweet.

Tomorrow the Cubs will start a three-game series against the Pirates at 6:05pm CT in Pittsburgh.  Jeff Samardzija will start for the Cubs and try for his seventh win if he can keep his pitch count down.

Cubs beat Marlins 5-1 after game called due to rain delay; Rizzo and Campana visit kids with cancer; Randy Wells placed on DL by Iowa; Jorge Soler to make debut Thursday

The Cubs beat the Miami Marlins 5-1 Wednesday night at Wrigley Field to even up the series.  The game was halted in the eighth inning after thunderstorms moved into Chicago.  After a one hour and 17 minute rain delay, the game was called and Cubs fans were able to sing "Go Cubs Go!"

Jeff Samardzija started for the Cubs and allowed one run on six hits and struck out nine batters and walked three.  He lasted just five innings and was pulled after 97 pitches.

Jeff Samardzija started for the Cubs on Wednesday at Wrigley Field (photo from cubs.com)

Starlin Castro tied the game 1-1 in the fourth inning by hitting a solo home run.  The Cubs then scored four more runs in the seventh inning.  Geovany Soto's RBI single drove home Alfonso Soriano to give the Cubs a 2-1 lead.  The Cubs then scored three more runs when Jeff Baker hit a two-run pinch double and David DeJesus hit a sacrifice fly.

The Cubs were leading the Marlins 5-1 in the eighth inning when heavy thunderstorms forced a rain delay that lasted one hour and 17 minutes before the game was called.

In other Cubs news, Anthony Rizzo and Tony Campana, who are both cancer (Hodgkin's lymphoma) survivors, visited young patients at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago for a couple of hours on Wednesday.

Tony Campana and Anthony Rizzo visited patients at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago on Wednesday (photo from cubs.com)

"Sometimes, we'd go into a room and just say hi, cheer them up," Rizzo said.  "Other times, we'd talk to them a little more and tell them Tony and I are both survivors and what we went through, and we know it's not fun.  Kids were sitting there getting chemotherapy as we're talking to them.  We just tell them to have fun."

"The situation I'm in now, I have a chance to go out and show kids that, hey, there's a light at the end of the tunnel and keep fighting no matter what and always have fun," Rizzo said.

Right-handed pitcher Randy Wells has been placed on the disabled list by the Iowa Cubs retroactive to July 15th with a right elbow strain.  Wells has a record of 1-2 in 12 games and an ERA of 5.34, including four starts with the Cubs.  He was designated for assignment in June and outrighted to Triple-A Iowa.  

Jorge Soler, who signed a nine-year, $30 million deal with the Cubs earlier this month, will make his pro debut in an Arizona Rookie League game on Thursday. 

Tomorrow the Marlins and Cubs will play the final game in the three-game series at 1:20pm CT at Wrigley Field.  Paul Maholm will start for the Cubs and try to earn his eighth win of the season.

Ryan Dempster amazing as he leads Cubs to 3-0 win over Red Sox

Ryan Dempster pitched an amazing game as he led the Cubs to a 3-0 win over the Boston Red Sox at Wrigley Field this afternoon.  Dempster allowed just four hits over seven scoreless innings and struck out three and walked two batters.  He has now pitched 22 consecutive shutout innings.

Ryan Dempster pitched seven shutout innings against the Red Sox Friday

In addition to pitching another outstanding game today, Dempster also contributed offensively by hitting a triple and a single.  His performance today certainly was favorable in generating higher trade revenue for the right hander.

"I'm not naive, I'm not oblivious to what's going on," Dempster said regarding the possibility of being traded.  "But it's really out of my control — not out of my control because actually it is under my control - but it's one of those things if I focused on that and worried about that, I wouldn't be doing a very good job as a teammate.  And I wouldn't be doing a very good job for myself if I wasn't focusing on what I need to do.  And whatever ends up happening, happens.   Right now I'm here and love being here and everybody knows that."

It has been confirmed that Dempster will waive his no-trade rights if it means going to a contender. 
"You don't want to lose your No. 1 starter," Cubs third baseman David DeJesus said.  "We understand it's part of the game, and we'd love to have him here.  If it happens [and he's traded], we'll move on. It's the nature of the beast."

I was lucky to be at the Friendly Confines to watch the Cubs win today and I must say the weather was absolutely perfect!  Following are some photos I took at the game:

Cubs players during the National Anthem

More Cubs during the National Anthem

Jamie Quirk before the game

Tony Campana on third

Ryan Dempster gets ready to pitch

Second baseman Darwin Barney

Ryan Dempster on-deck

Ryan Dempster on third base after his triple!

Alfonso Soriano on-deck

Carlos Marmol was back as the Cubs' closer

Manager Dale Sveum after his on-field chat with Marmol

Cubs celebrating their win

More Cubby high-fives!

Even more Cubs celebrating their "W"

Cubs after their win!

"Go Cubs Go!"

Final score: Cubs 3, Red Sox 0

Tomorrow the Cubs and Red Sox will play the second game of the three-game series at 6:15pm CT.  Jeff Samardzija will make the start for the Cubs and try for his sixth win of the season.