Cubs

Cards-cubs Division Duel Begins With Martinez-bryant Showdown

... their pitching and what they’ve done developing pitchers,” Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said. “Go back to 2015, and that pitching staff led that whole group (to 100 wins). The nature of the Cardinals is good, young pitching led by a great catcher in Yadier Molina. “I guess it’s our job, right, to make life difficult for these young pitchers.”. The Cubs have been collecting young hitters to do that for years. Bryant wasn’t even the first. Chicago’s opening day lineup could feature five players drafted early in the first round, four of them by the Cubs. Five consecutive years of fifth-place finishes allowed the Cubs to pick annually in the first half of the first round, and they did so at a time when power and position players were at a premium in the draft. Bryant was the second overall pick in 2013, infielder Javy Baez was ninth overall in 2011, outfielder Albert Almora sixth overall in 2012 and Schwarber was fourth overall in 2011. The Cubs traded for Addison Russell, who was the 11 th overall selection in 2012. The Cardinals never had a crack at drafting those talents, never picking higher than 19 th. In three of those four drafts, the Cardinals selected pitchers. ...

The Cardinals Next Three Games Are Scheduled Against The Cubs

... tough to call Arrieta’s season disappointing last year as he had a good season, but it was a drop from what he did back in 2015. It is not tough to call Wainwright’s 2016 season disappointing. We don’t know quite what to expect from him this season, although presumably a bit of a bounce back is in order. He is definitely someone who could benefit from better defense this season. Salty bulldog John Lackey will take the mound for the Cubs on Wednesday afternoon. He is old and this might be the year he falls off a cliff. Whether he’s good or bad, he’ll probably be angry at some point on Wednesday. Lance Lynn looks to get the start in this game. He is no bulldog, as he would have attended Mississippi State instead of Ole Miss if he were. He can be rather tenacious on the mound, but gregarious off it. He might be a bit underrated this season. You can't throw his stats from last year out the door for reasons mentioned in the second paragraph. Hope you like fastballs. Sunday April 2, 7:30 pm CT, ESPN. Tuesday April 4, 7:15 pm CT, FSM, MLBN. Wednesday April 5, 12:45 pm CT, FSM, ...

Cubs Pick 'that's Cub' As 2017 Slogan

... Miller, Cubs marketing vice president. "So a guy hits a ground ball and he runs it out, he's about to beat out the throw and make it to first. Like, that's Cub; that's hustle. Or a player off the field taking the time to sign autographs or going to do something great in the local community, that's Cub. "They also use it to call each other out. A guy doesn't back up one of his teammates on a throw: 'Hey, wait, why didn't you back him up? Like, that's not Cub,' " she said. Minor-league staffers, such as mental skills program officials Josh Lifrak and Darnell Mc Donald , incorporated the saying in their training, and prospects such as Albert Almora Jr. and Carl Edwards Jr. rose to the pro ranks having already adopted the phrase as part of their dialect. During 2014's "On Deck" event, a sort of state-of-the-Cubs address, president Theo ...

Cubs Start Title Defense With Wild 4-3 Loss To Cardinals

... Randal Grichuk came up big twice for the Cardinals, hitting a two-run home run against Pedro Strop in the eighth and the winning single in the ninth against Mike Montgomery. Cardinals ace Carlos Martinez harnessed the Cubs with a 100 mph fastball and darting slider that produced 10 strikeouts and no walks in 7 1/3 innings. After blowing a bases-loaded opportunity in the eighth, Contreras launched the tying home run off reliever Seung Hwan Oh with one out in the top of the ninth. The blast traveled an estimated 414 feet at Busch Stadium. Oh hit Ben Zobrist to open the ninth, and Jason Heyward took advantage of a bobble by Matt Carpenter at first for an infield hit to set up Contreras' home run. After Montgomery loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth, Grichuk drove in the winning run on a long drive to the left-center wall. Maddon made a gesture to his title-winning squad by starting Zobrist in right field, Heyward in center and Javier Baez at second base, with planned regular starting center fielder Albert Almora Jr. not in the starting lineup. "It's a tribute to the World Series," ...

Catching Coach Mike Borzello Relishes Rings From Cubs And Yankees

... where we were (with the Yankees)," Borzello said. "We were always expected to win. "So not that this is any more special. It just seems like way more of an achievement. In New York you would win and it was a relief. Here, it was jubilation. That's the difference for me.". Borzello hasn't downplayed the significance of his ring from 1996, when the Yankees won their first title in 18 years. "It was Derek Jeter's rookie year and Mariano (Rivera's) first full season," Borzello said. "So we were all young then. Just to be part of that team. the fan base was electric every night and into it. That season was so special for that reason. "The long layoff of championships, and my dad (Matt) was a Yankees fan growing up, so when I was able to go there and we won, I wound up giving him that first World Series ring. He wears that every day.". Extra innings: Elias Sports Bureau confirmed that outfielder Albert Almora Jr. passed the threshold for rookie eligibility on July 21, 2016. Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts reacted with humor ...

Grichuk Powers Cardinals To Season-opening Victory Over Cubs

... after Randal Grichuk seemingly had given the Cardinals enough of a cushion with a two-run homer in the eighth, he came through again in the ninth. After the Chicago Cubs’ Willson Contreras had tied the score with a three-run homer in the ninth, Grichuk, batting with the bases loaded and two out, hit a line single to the left-center-field wall to score Jose Martinez with the winning run in a 4-3 Cardinals victory over the defending World Series champions at sold-out Busch Stadium. Martinez, the surprise scourge of spring training, doubled with one out in the ninth off losing pitcher Mike Montgomery. The Cubs became the first team to issue the automatic intentional walk (to Yadier Molina) without having to throw a pitch. Stephen Piscotty struck out but Kolten Wong walked on a full-count pitch to fill the bases for Grichuk. His home run had come on an ...

Cubs Drop Opener To Cardinals

... out 10 and walked none in 7 1/3 innings in his first start on opening day. Jon Lester kept Chicago in the game with five effective innings despite not having his best stuff. Kyle Schwarber reached three times in his first game as the leadoff hitter since Dexter Fowler left the Cubs for an $82.5 million, five-year contract with the Cardinals. Martinez departed with runners on first and second and the Cardinals clinging to a 1-0 lead. He was saluted with a standing ovation. Oh then came in and hit Schwarber with a pitch, loading the bases as it started to rain. But Oh retired NL MVP Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo on two fly balls to right, ending the inning. St. Louis went 86-76 last year and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2010, but the winter additions of Fowler and reliever Brett Cecil ramped up the optimism for this season. The Cardinals got another positive jolt when they announced a new contract for Molina earlier in the day that runs through the 2020 season. The sellout crowd at Busch Stadium roared its ...

Time To Bury 2016 Talk On The Shelf

... more resting on their World Series laurels. Opening night Sunday was the first time in 108 years that the Cubs began a season as defending champions. For those of you who permanently have erased the number 108 from your brains, let’s just say it was the first time the Cubs debuted as champs since 16,945 games ago (but you knew that already). As special an occasion as it was, though, it was just another game — just another step along the path to multiple World Series, which has been the goal of this superstar-packed organization all along. Kris Bryant struck out again and again (and again) Sunday night. Turns out this whole baseball thing is kind of hard. (Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images). Besides, these Cubs don’t do stuck-in-the-past. They’ve been on to the next thing for a while now. ‘The page has been turned,’ first baseman Anthony Rizzo said before the Cubs’ 4-3 loss. ‘We’re going to talk about [last season], just as we talked about 2015 in 2016 and years past, but the page is turned. This is a new journey. I know we’re pretty much all the same guys, but it’s completely new.’. There were discussions in the organization during ...

Theo Epstein Impressed By Cubs Handling Business, Push For Title Defense 'the Right Way

... grab the brass ring again. “Postseason experience, having come through — that puts people in a really good place,” Epstein said. “This group has now started to accomplish a lot together. They feel good about themselves and know the target is on their back a little bit. Every time teams come to play a series, people are going to want to beat them. They have handled it the right way. I think they are looking forward to going out and competing together.”. Epstein was recently tabbed the world’s greatest leader by Forbes, somewhat to his chagrin and much to the entertainment of those around him. “World’s greatest leader?” owner Tom Ricketts said “I told Theo I voted for Kim Jong-un. But I’m glad that he won.”. Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and __link__. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruce Levine. Bruce Levine. Bruce Levine covers both the Cubs and the White Sox for __link__ and 670 The Score. He has been ...