Christian Ruzich's Archives

2008 Ex-Cub Factor Update

Here is this year's Ex-Cub Factor update:

 

Philadelphia Phillies: 3 -- Scott Eyre, Jamie Moyer, Matt Stairs
Milwaukee Brewers: 1 -- Jason Kendall

Chicago Cubs: None
Los Angeles Dodgers: 3 -- Nomar Garciaparra, Greg Maddux, Juan Pierre

Chicago White Sox: None
Tampa Bay Rays: 1 -- Cliff Floyd

Boston Red Sox: None
Los Angeles Angels Etc.: 2 -- Gary Matthews Jr., Justin Speier

Living On a What, Now?

After yesterday's heart-ripper-outer of a game, the Cubs have lost seven of eight for the first time since last June. They still have a four-game division lead and an 84.5% chance of winning the division, thanks to the Brewers losing five of their last seven, so things are not actually as bleak as they may seem. (And yes, the chances of them missing the playoffs entirely are very, very small. But we're not discussing that. Yet.).

Chicago Re-Acquires Aging Writer

In a move that will surely change the landscape of Cubs blogging, one-time TCR writer Christian Ruzich announced that he was moving back to Chicago. A new job has necessitated a call-up from the minor leagues (Harrisburg, PA), and Ruzich and his family should be back in the city before the playoff roster deadline.

Micah Owings In Context

The Cubs catch a break this weekend, as the Diamondbacks come through town and the Cubs don't have to face two of their best pitchers. Brandon Webb pitched last night, and with all due respect to today's starter Danny Haren, the Cubs have to be happy to miss Micah Owings as well.

Even though Owings isn't pitching, though, we still might see him in the series. He's gotten quite a bit of press this year, but unlike Webb it's mostly been for his bat. Last week against the Astros, he hit a home run. To the opposite field. As a pinch hitter. In the sixth inning. After the opposing team brought in a reliever specifically to face him. Using a sawed-off piano leg as a bat.

OK, not that last one, but still. It was quite a feat. ESPN ran a great chart after that game. Here it is updated through today:

Highest Career OPS (min 75 PA):

1. Babe Ruth 1.164
2. Ted Williams1.116
3. Lou Gehrig 1.079
4. Micah Owings 1.056
5. Barry Bonds 1.051
6. Albert Pujols 1.041
7. Jimmie Foxx 1.037
8. Hank Greenberg 1.017
9. Geovanny Soto 1.011
9. Rogers Hornsby 1.011

While this isn't necessarily a candidate for inclusion in the next edition of How to Lie With Statistics, setting the bar at 75 PA is just the tiniest bit misleading. I mean, look who's tied with Hornsby! Still, that's pretty heady company, and there's no denying that Owings is an excellent hitting pitcher. With the help of the amazing BaseballReference.com Play Index, I pulled up a couple of other charts that put Owings' accomplishments in a bit more context:

The 2007 Ex-Cub Factor

Hi, everyone. What's new? With the Cubs back in the playoffs for the first time in four years I thought it was a good time to dip my toe back in the Cub Reporter writing pool again. Truth be told with the group of guys writing here now, I've been content to sit back and relax, and just read and enjoy.

Sweet (Lou) Emotion

Whatever Lou Piniella's strengths and weaknesses are, one sure thing is that he is never boring. Stories of his many and varied umpire arguments and on-field freakouts are legendary, and thanks to YouTube we can watch a few of the best of them over and over. May 28, 2002: Lou disagrees with a call by John Shulock and covers both home plate and Shulock's feet with infield dirt: September 18, 2002: Lou disagrees with C.B. Bucknor about a call at first. He ends up tossing the base into the outfield (twice) and injuring his shoulder and hamstring. Good times...

Open Thread: Schadenfreude Edition

While I continue to plug away on the group predictions for the Cubs players (I really didn't think about how much work this would be when I announced it), here's a new discussion thread for the day. Maybe we can use this space to talk about the Cardinals being SHUT OUT last night. Or maybe about Albert Pujols saying that Tom Glavine "wasn't good. He wasn't good at all," after Glavine SHUT OUT the Cardinals last night. It's up to you all.

2006 End of the Year Roundtable (Other Bloggers Edition)

Let's finish up our look back at the 2006 season with roundtable responses from Derek Smart of Cub Town, Al Yellon of Bleed Cubbie Blue, and Chuck Gitles of Ivy Chat. Not surprisingly, there are some significant differences among the three of them when it comes to what the Cubs need to do this off-season. But, there are some pretty solid agreements as well. -------------------- 1. Dusty, Dusty, Dusty, is there any reasonable scenario that you can see him staying? And if he does go, sum up his tenure in 2 sentences or less. Derek: Define reasonable? If we're leaving aliens, rips in the space/time continuum, sordid photos of Andy MacPhail with a jar of mayonaise and their ilk out of the discussion, then I can't envision an extension of Dusty's reign.

Dan LeBatard On Joe Girardi

With the end of the season fast approaching and the Dusty Era (hopefully) coming to a close, Cub fans far and wide have been looking toward next season. One big question on everyone's mind is, "who will the Cubs' manager be in 2007"? Fredi Gonzalez' name has bandied about quite a bit recently (and, actually, since the last time the Cubs were looking for a skipper), and he's Arizona Phil's odds-on choice. But strange things are afoot in south Florida. Last month saw a strange series of events take place between Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria and manager (and Peoria native, Northwestern grad, ex-Cub) Joe Girardi, leading lots of Cubs fans to get excited about the possibility of Girardi coming to Chicago next year. In order to give us some idea what kind of manager he is for the Marlins and might be for the Cubs, we asked one of the best professional baseball writers out there, Miami Herald/ESPN columnist Dan LeBatard, to answer a few questions about Joe:

Wake Me Up When September Ends

It's hard to believe that only two months ago I reacted to a Dempsterian meltdown by taking the time to figure out what to look forward to for the rest of the year. And that was after actually watching the game! I experienced this week's back-to-back 11th-inning disasters only via the coments here and ESPNews at the gym, and it was still enough for me to write a sentence that I really never thought I'd write: I'm done with this team for this season. Seriously, what is to be gained by watching this team over the next month? Jerry Seinfeld has a well-known riff about how rooting for a specific team is just rooting for laundry, and I gotta tell ya, this laundry sucks. I'm gonna torture this metaphor for a little while: the ownership needs to sort through the laundry, throw out a bunch of it, and get some new clothes, preferably a nice pair of flat-front slacks that can hit 30 home runs and plays a passable outfield defense. Maybe a snappy blazer that can play second base, too. Oh, and a new manager. Until that happens, I can't follow this team. All of my favorite players are either hurt or traded, with the exception of Derrek Lee, and Lee isn't enough to keep me paying attention. There's just too much negativity, too much suckitude, too much "clog-the-bases" anger-making bullshit for me to deal with on a daily basis. It isn't healthy. I'm working on tabulating the results of the "Wisdom Of Us" contest (remember that?), and I'll be unveiling the results throughout October. Hopefully that month will also bring us a few decent free agent signings and a new manager. For those of you who aren't as completely burned out on this team as I am, there's a little bit of actual content after the jump:

The Week Ahead: Week Three

I have to admit, I'm feeling the pull of unrealistic hopes and dreams that Trans talked about last night. Maybe that's why I'm on my way toward three posts in one day. Of course, it could also be because The Lovely Wife and (Not So) Tiny Baby are out of town. Whatever the reason, my increased output is your theoretical gain -- before I post the lineups for tonight's game, here's a look at the next seven days. First up, a trip to Chavez Ravine, home of the mellifluous Vin Scully.

Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info


40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full), plus two players are on 60-DAY IL   

32 players
are on the MLB ACTIVE LIST (26-man limit in effect on MLB Opening Day)

17 players signed to minor league contracts are Spring Training NON-ROSTER INVITEES (NRI) 

Last updated 3-18-2023
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 16
Adbert Alzolay
Javier Assad 
Brad Boxberger
Michael Fulmer
Kyle Hendricks
* Brandon Hughes
Julian Merryweather
Michael Rucker
Adrian Sampson
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele 
Marcus Stroman
Jameson Taillon 
Keegan Thompson
Hayden Wesneski
Rowan Wick

NRI PITCHERS: 10 
* Ryan Borucki  
Nick Burdi 
Tyler Duffey 
* Roenis Elias  
* Anthony Kay  
Mark Leiter Jr 
* Brendon Little  
Vinny Nittoli 
Manuel Rodriguez 
Cam Sanders 

CATCHERS: 2 
* Tucker Barnhart 
Yan Gomes

NRI CATCHERS: 2  
* Dom Nunez  
Luis Torrens 

INFIELDERS: 9
Nico Hoerner
* Eric Hosmer
Nick Madrigal
* Miles Mastrobuoni
* Zach McKinstry
Christopher Morel
* Edwin Rios
Dansby Swanson
Patrick Wisdom

NRI INFIELDERS: 3 
# Sergio Alcantara 
David Bote 
* Matt Mervis  

OUTFIELDERS: 5 
* Cody Bellinger 
# Ian Happ
Trey Mancini 
Seiya Suzuki 
Nelson Velazquez

NRI OUTFIELDERS: 2
Ben DeLuzio 
* Mike Tauchman   

OPTIONED: 8
Keven Alcantara, OF 
Miguel Amaya, C 
Ben Brown, P 
Alexander Canario, OF 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Jeremiah Estrada, P 
Ryan Jensen, P 
Caleb Kilian, P 

60-DAY IL: 2 
Codi Heuer, P 
Ethan Roberts, P
  



Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents