I'm not counting on Woody until he takes the field. Even then, I won't expect him to last until he proves that he is ready.

ESPNews just reported that Woody threw 75 pitches off the mound today. They only showed one pitch (along with Dusty walking in with his suitcase) so you couldn't really tell much, but I honestly was suprised he is up to that many pitches while pitching off a mound. Not to get my hopes up, but to me that is a great sign.

Well, ESPN wasn't quite right. Woody has NOT thrown off a mound yet.
http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-060215cubs,1,1432753.story?coll=cs-home-headlines

quote:

---

No answers on Wood's status
By Paul Sullivan
Tribune staff reporter

February 15, 2006, 11:18 PM CST

MESA, Ariz. -- Kerry Wood sneaked into Cubs camp through a side door on the first day of spring training Wednesday, avoiding the question that has been on everyone's mind all winter:

When will he be ready to pitch?

Wood won't address reporters until after Thursday's opening workout, leaving his manager and pitching coach to give the same basic response.

Asked if Wood will be able to make 30-plus starts in 2006, manager Dusty Baker said: "You don't know. We're just hoping we'll get him back when we get him back. Whenever we get him back, it will be like making a trade and getting a [new] player.

"Our main thing is to try not to rush Kerry, and hopefully he's ready when we need him. I'm counting on him big-time. I just don't know when. … I've heard things are going great."

Wood, who underwent shoulder surgery Aug. 30, is in the early stages of his rehabilitation, playing long toss and throwing a bit off flat ground. There is no timetable for his return, or when he will begin throwing off a mound.

"That will be determined as we go," pitching coach Larry Rothschild said. "We'll see. He's where he should be in rehab. There have been no setbacks. As long as we can keep progressing, that's what we're after."

Rothschild defended the Cubs' decision to use Wood in the bullpen last August instead of shutting him down to ensure he would be ready to start again by Opening Day of 2006.

"I think it's obvious [why]," Rothschild said. "We were in a pennant race, and we weren't mathematically eliminated when he did have the surgery. You don't just shut down a season, and you have to remember the way he was throwing the ball out of the bullpen—the effectiveness, the velocity and the fact he wasn't going to hurt it any more by continuing to pitch.

"Right now it's easy to sit here and say he could have had it done a month earlier … except we were in the middle of a pennant race, with a chance. Obviously it didn't work out."

Rothschild ruled out the possibility of Wood beginning the season in the bullpen, saying, "He needs to be built up as a starter."

With Wood's status uncertain for the first few weeks of April, Glendon Rusch and Jerome Williams likely will be the No. 4 and No. 5 starters when the Cubs leave camp. When Wood returns, one of them may go to the bullpen.

"It depends on the health of everybody, obviously," Rusch said. "When we get Wade Miller and Kerry healthy, we're going to probably have seven starters, so we'll see what happens."

Rusch signed a two-year deal with incentives based on number of starts. Does he envision another year of bouncing back and forth from the rotation to the pen?

"I think it's always a possibility, as we've seen the last two years, that I could be doing both," he said.

The rotation is just one of the questions for Baker this spring; he said it figures to be "a lively one." He said he would "basically" run camp the same as he has in the past, with a few new wrinkles.

"Baseball is baseball," he said. "We certainly don't like all the injuries we had. We're going to implement a few more things, try to change some of our exercises to see if that would work, or our [workout] times. Before we were doing it early. We might do it late. Some of the things we have to sit down and try to figure out, like how to stay healthy, No. 1."

Baker is entering the final year of a four-year deal, but doesn't consider himself a lame duck. He took San Francisco to the World Series in 2002 in the last year of his contract.

"This is my sixth time in this position," Baker said. "I don't feel like no lame duck. I don't even know what lame duck is.

"You have a job to do. Our job is to win, and that's my job."

---

WGN is carrying 72 games this year, FOX 8 and 2 scheduled for ESPN.

Only 72? That sucks. I remember the good old days when WGN showed about 150 games a year.

Yeah, but in those days the sox sucked.

[This message has been edited by Macpappy99 (edited 2/17/2006 2:18p).]

They still do.

72?

WTH. I am speechless

You gotta be kidding me.
http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-060218cubsbits,1,4740736.story?coll=cs-home-headlines

quote:

---

Illness impedes Prior
By Paul Sullivan
Tribune staff reporter

February 18, 2006, 11:42 PM CST

MESA, Ariz. -- A bout with pharyngitis in late December led Mark Prior to an emergency room and subsequently delayed his throwing program this spring.

Prior addressed concerns about his health Saturday, saying he had no problems with his elbow or shoulder.

"I feel good throwing," Prior said. "I'm just behind right now. That's why I haven't been able to throw [off a mound]."

Prior made only one Cactus League start last year, throwing mostly simulated games, but went 3-0 in April with a 0.95 earned-run average. He doesn't expect to take the same route this spring, but the Cubs are taking it slow with him and that led to speculation Prior is nursing an injury.

"I'm not expecting something to creep up," he said. "I feel good about where I am at right now. Would I have liked to been on the mound right now? Yeah, but you deal with what you have in front of you and go from there."

Prior was sidelined for two weeks with the throat infection but doesn't expect the delay to cause him to miss his first regular-season start in April.

---

This should be a good thing:

quote:

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--RHP Carlos Zambrano dropped between 15 to 20 pounds because the added weight hurt his back, he said. Zambrano started getting in playing shape a month early because he will represent Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic in March.

---

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/4809886

I believe!

Aramis is reconsidering his participation in the WBC. I will be very happy if he skips it.

Update on the battle for second...

The Sun-Times is postulating that Hairston is now the frontrunner for the job at second. The reason being that we were third to last in double plays turned last year in the NL. Apparently Dusty has been emphasizing a need for more double plays or at least better defense.

I don't really agree with their assumption that Dusty's talking about double plays automatically means he's leaning towards Jerry. All I've heard says that Walker's the frontrunner. I've also read Walker say that he'll be surprised to finish Spring Training in a Cubs uniform.

Ugh. I hope that someone is looking to dump a 2nd baseman shortly after the All-Star break. I can't see Hairston being an everyday player on a contender (which I hope the Cubs are).

Do you guys think Walker is really *that* bad at defense where you would scrap him for a hitter 30 points lower? Walker is the definition of professional hitter and his defensive range isn't terrible.

As anyone on here will tell you, I really dislike Hairston. I do not think he is that much better defensively than Walker to make up for the difference at the plate. Walker does strike out too much, though. But I think the Cubs need another bat in the line-up right now.

It takes more than just a 2B to turn a DP. Hell, if Biggio can still turn a DP, I don't see why Walker can't.

I've also never seen the real appeal of Hairston, and his giant contract over the offseason confuses me further.

I would hand Walker the starting spot and just cut Hairston and take the payroll hit simply so Dusty can't sneak him into the lineup.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Check out "Texas A&M & Baseball In No Particular Order"
at tamu-and-baseball.com

I hope I live long enough to see my cubs win a world series!

I agree Ryan. Hairston's complaining about playing time from day 1 has gotten old. To top that all off, he's always either (a) injured, or (b) sucking. To this day, I don't understand what the knock on Walk is. 6 errors in 110 games is pretty decent.

Good call, Hairston is never out of his constant state of sucking. I bet he's sucking at something right now.

Apparently old Cubs 3rd baseman KEVIN ORIE is reporting to camp early. I can't see why, but then again I could have sworn he'd given up the sport by now.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bb/astros/3679231.html

I though Orie had career ending problems with his back (or his bat). Guess I was wrong. He has only had 32 big league at bats this decade.

I hadn't seen that stat on Walker's 6 errors in 110 games that's not bad at all. I know that many felt that Hairston should've won the gold glove two years ago in Baltimore. I'm willing to give the guy a chance but I would rather see Walker starting. With Hairston our batting order will be much weaker.

Here is the comparison on the numbers. Walker's are a prettier but I don't know how much Hairston's playing in OF affected that.


Player TEAM POS G GS INN TC PO A E DP PB SB CS RF FPCT
1. T Walker CHC 2B 97 93 797.2 413 164 243 6 44 --- --- --- 4.59 .985
2. J Hairston CHC OF 62 55 485.2 119 114 3 2 0 --- --- --- 2.17 .983


[This message has been edited by bluestainedivy (edited 2/24/2006 12:15p).]

When Walker was with Cincy, didn't he have something like the 2nd best fielding percentage in the league? Walker's a career .981 at 2nd. Hairston is a .980 at 2nd base. Perez .988.

Trade Hairston!!!

NEWS:

quote:

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According to the Chicago Tribune, the Cubs worked out veteran outfielder Juan Gonzalez in Puerto Rico last week but decided not to offer him an invitation to spring training.

---

It's a good thing we stayed away from him. He's done nothing since '03 and even then he was injured half the season.

http://cbs.sportsline.com/mlb/players/playerpage/7647

man I loved Kevin Orie. I met him at the team hotel in '97....great guy. He recognized me at the Dome the next day during BP and tossed me a Cubs BP ball. Since then I've used that ball signed by my favorite Cubs....not all superstars just the guys I like.

Turns out he grew up in Massachusetts with a guy I worked with over the summer....they were good friends.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Check out "Texas A&M & Baseball In No Particular Order"
at tamu-and-baseball.com

Can we fast forward to Opening Day, please?

I'm going to Mesa for Spring Training the third weekend of March. If Sammy were still with the Cubs, it would be his first spring at bat. As it is, it will likely be Prior's first start.

Looks like I won't be able to make a game until March 5th (earliest).

Dates the Cubs will be in Houston:

• [June 5-7]
• [July 3-5]
• [August 14-16]

Only three series.



[This message has been edited by bluestainedivy (edited 2/24/2006 7:12p).]

quote:

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I'm going to Mesa for Spring Training the third weekend of March.

---

Say hi to my parents. They sit two rows behind the Cubs dugout on the aisle. They're leaving on Sunday. I wish I was going.

What do you think is going to happen to Wellemeyer? He's out of options, so he either needs to stick or be traded. I wish he'd get his walk totals down, he's a good complement to Dempster/Howry/Wuertz/Novoa on the right side. We look pretty stacked on the left side with Eyre/Ohman/Hill/Koronka. There's too many picthers. Who's gonna make it?

That's a good question that will have to be answered in the next month. I will be anxious to hear my dad's report. I have a feeling that Wellemeyer will make the team. They might try to package him with Walker. I like Rich Hill and think he has a great future ahead of him, but I'm not sure he's going to make the big league roster out of Spring Training.