We all lament the tedium that is most of the offseason. There is little-to-no news most days, and the speculation that does exist is oftentimes laughable. I mean, we’ve resorted to making fun of the Cubs.com mailbag a few times. Today’s news isn’t very exciting, but it means that Spring Training is just around the corner. The Cubs announced several non-roster invitees to big league camp this spring. You won’t be impressed.
The Cubs announced some of their non-roster invitees, including Brian Bogusevic, Brent Lillibridge and Darnell McDonald. The players received an invite to the big league Spring Training camp. The list includes Bogusevic, 28, an Oak Lawn native, who attended De La Salle Institute in Chicago. A left-handed hitter, he batted .203 with seven home runs, nine doubles and 28 RBIs in 146 games last season with the Astros.
McDonald, 34, is a former first-round pick, who has played for the Orioles, Twins, Reds, Red Sox and Yankees since 2004. A right-handed hitter, he batted .205 combined for the Red Sox and Yankees last season. Another outfielder invited include Johermyn Chavez, 23, who has not played above the Double-A level. He batted .232 in 75 games with the Mariners’ Jackson team last season.
Lillibridge, 29, has played for the Braves, White Sox, Red Sox and Indians, and posted a .213 average over five seasons.
Who else is getting excited? But wait, there’s more!
The Cubs also invited infielder Alberto Gonzalez, 29, who has played for the Yankees, Nationals, Padres and Rangers. Last season, he batted .241 in 24 games with Texas.
Edwin Maysonet, 31, who batted .250 in 30 games with the Brewers last season, also received an invite, as did first baseman/outfielder Brad Nelson, 30, who has not played in the big leagues since 2009 with the Brewers.
(snip)
Catcher J.C. Boscan, 33, who has spent 16 seasons in the Minor Leagues, also will be in Mesa. Last season, he batted .189 for the Braves’ Triple-A Gwinnett team.
Who wants to know what pitchers will be there? You’ll find out after the jump…
The Cubs also invited eight pitchers, including right-handers Andrew Carpenter, Jaye Chapman, Dayan Diaz, Jensen Lewis, Blake Parker, Zack Putnam and Cory Wade, and lefty Hisanori Takahashi. Carpenter, 27, has appeared in 23 Major League games over five seasons with the Phillies, Padres and Blue Jays.
The most interesting name there is that of Jaye Chapman:
The Cubs acquired Chapman, 25, from the Braves last July in the Paul Maholm deal, and he appeared in 14 games.
He pitched in 14 games for the Cubs last season, posting a 3.75 ERA and 1.50 WHIP. He struck out 12 men in 12 innings, but had 10 walks. He may have a chance to compete for a bullpen spot. And don’t forget about Dontrelle Willis! He’s not in major league camp, but will probably regain his ace form of 8 years ago and lead the Cubs to the World Series.
Dontrelle Willis has a better chance at winning the Nobel Prize for Physics than he does at making this team.
I don’t know who any of those people are.
That was supposed to be its own comment, not a reply.
Good…because I was going to comment that “Nobel Prize” was not a person.
Takahashi is the only name I have watched in that bunch, and he pitched okay for the Angels; he ate up a lot of innings, and did not have much run support from the Angels. At once point,the Dodger sportsfools kept hinting for a trade between the Angels and Dodgers for Takahashi. The other guys would make sense if the Cubs had some kind of a secret program to build good Cubs players out of all the parts of these guys….
Instead of “Making Mr. Right”, it would be “Making decent Cubs.”…
Totally off topic- Jodie Foster was the highlight of the Golden Globe last night. This morning, Sam Rubin of the moronic Channel 5 morning news who syndicates his little show nationwide, kept stating he did not understand at all what Jodie Foster meant, and the morning sports guy,( who is usually fairly stupid)told Rubin he understood her perfectly: in his mind, she was telling the press that she was not going to let them mess with her kids, she was not going to spill her personal life to them, and in the future she was going to make independent projects that would not entail kissing up to the media to suceed. There was a stunned silence on the set, and the the morning anchor goes, “And now for the top story, the unseasonably cold weather in southern California.”…
So… how cold has it been there?
Probably in the mid-70′s.
Its been unseasonably warm here, but that ends tomorrow.
Last week was awesome around here.
This morning was a big slap in the face when I went out for my run…5 degrees with a wind chill of about 10 below.
Wow, no thanks.
Let’s see- @ 6:00 a.m. 37 degrees on Friday,32 degrees during the weekend, and on Monday @ 6:00 it was 41 degrees….
What’s a Golden Globe? Is that like the Ballon d’Or?
I still don’t get the Brent Lillibridge thing.
That’s kind of funny, because I overheard him the other day saying “I still don’t get the Julie DiCaro thing.”
None of us get the “Julie DiCaro thing”.
I’m an enigma, wrapped in a riddle, wrapped in a sweater, because I’m freezing.
Well, they do say layering is best.
Enigma…that’s what it’s called. I thought is was something like “witchiness” or something.
I’m starting too imagine the first day of Cubs spring training this year is going to look a lot like the beginning of the movie “Major League” with some “has-beens” and a bunch of “never will-bes”.
The only difference is that these guys aren’t going to make the playoffs.
Oh…and Tom Ricketts has no plans to relocate the team to Florida.
Too bad he doesn’t.
I don’t really like Florida. I think if he moved the Cubs to Albuquerque, I’d really like that.
The Chicago Isotopes!
Damn…hadn’t thought of that.
I wish this season would start…just so it would end sooner.
In Pasadena , CA it is still 41 degrees @9:15 a.m. PST. Unfortunately in my cubicle it is 76 degrees…
That’s balmy.
Anthony Rizzo is going to play for Italy in the WBC.
Viva l’Italia!
Rizzo continues his streak of playing for really shitty teams.
Hey!
Three very interesting rules changes coming in 2013!
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/8844122/interpreters-able-approach-mound-help-foreign-born-pitchers-sources-say
I’ve always hated the fake-to-third move. It never works, and slows down the game…
Usually about once a year it actually works, but looking at the balk rules in baseball, it’s hard to see any consistency unless they make this a balk as well. Personally, I think balks are silly and should be taken out of the game…but it would certainly slow the game down unless they starter really enforcing minimum time between pitches rule.
Have a few work things to get done before I can get to headlines. Until then, talk amongst yourselves.
I’d rather just sit here in creepy silence.
Surely there is SOMETHING else you can do while you wait. . .
Well. it’s 34 degrees here, and the heat is not too bad in my office today. How is the weather in LOHOland?
Freezing. It was 10 degrees when I got in my car this morning. But I’d much rather be cold than hot.
It was 6 when I ran this morning.
Here in central NC it was 60-65 yesterday, but rained like Seattle. Today I don’t know what it’s like because I haven’t been outside, but I think it’s still raining, and weather.com says it’s 42. I will continue to not be outside.