One of the worst things about the Chicago Cubs’ new marketing campaign, “Committed, is that no one ever told us exactly what we are supposed to be committed to. Up until last night, Dale Sveum was overly-committed to Carlos Marmol. This morning, not so much.

ATLANTA — Japanese reliever Kyuji Fujikawa was expected to replace Carlos Marmol as the Chicago Cubs closer in 2014 after Marmol’s three-year contract ended. Instead, Fujikawa moved into the closer’s role six games into the 2013 season.

Manager Dale Sveum made the announcement Sunday morning at Turner Field, hours after Marmol blew a save by serving up ninth-inning home runs to B.J. Upton and Justin Upton.

“We talked to them both, so we’re all done with that,” Sveum said.

Marmol lost the closer’s job early in 2012, but won it back after Rafael Dolis failed in his opportunity. Can Marmol return this year?

“Yeah, there’s a chance,” Sveum said. “Hopefully, Fujikawa takes it and runs with it and does a great job so we don’t have to even deal with that. Obviously, Marmol is going to pitch in less stressful situations and get his confidence back.”

So you’re telling me there’s a chance . . .

» Continue reading “Chicago Cubs Game Thread: Not Very Committed, Dale”

If you missed it, the Cubs lead the Pirates 3-0 in the bottom of the 9th inning.

Enter Carlos Marmol.

Three baserunners and two runs later, Marmol finally managed to secure the save, miraculously getting a double-play and striking out the last batter.

So here’s my question to you:

Is Matt Garza becoming the new Mark Prior? After sitting out the last two months of the 2012 season, he’ll be taking a week off at spring training after an MRI revealed a lat strain. But there’s absolutely no reason to worry! None at all.

‘‘It’s safe to say it pushes back his first Cactus League start,’’ Hoyer said. ‘‘What it means for the regular season, it’s clearly much too early to say, but we felt like it was really good news. It’s a mild strain. We do think it’ll be about a week, and he’ll be pain-free based on the MRI.

‘‘We’re optimistic. It was certainly a positive read from our standpoint.’’

Manager Dale Sveum is preparing for Garza to miss at least one exhibition start.

‘‘But everything else from there, hopefully, is fine for the start of the season,’’ Sveum said.

Jeff Samardzija is not yet counting out Garza in the opening day starter competition.

‘‘I know how Garza is,’’ Samardzija said. ‘‘I know he’s a competitor. I know how big of a year he wants to have. To count Garza out wouldn’t be the smartest thing to do.’’

(snip)

‘‘I want the competition,’’ Samardzija said. ‘‘I want me and Garza and everyone to compete every [spring] start for that spot. It’s only going to make us all better.

‘‘Obviously, it was a given before anything else happened that I was going to go and give everything I had to try to earn that spot. And nothing’s changed.’’

» Continue reading “Chicago Cubs Wednesday Headlines: Garza, Marmol And More!”

If you were one of the Chicago Cubs fans wringing your hands on Twitter yesterday, thanks to a litany of national baseball writers who insisted the Cubs were still “in” on Michael Bourn, you can relax. Michael Bourn will not be a Chicago Cub in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, or 2017, barring trades, of course. Yesterday, he signed a four-year, $48 million deal with the Indians.

Mercifully, that ordeal is now over, and we can turn back to the matters at hand, like bunting tournaments and whining about Tony Campana being DFAed. Unless, of course, your Carlos Marmol. He is busy attempting to dispense justice far and wide. Or at least in the Domincan Republic:

“I didn’t do anything,” Marmol said. “The stuff that she says is not true and I proved it. … It is about the money. The first thing, when they went to the police, they asked about money right away.”

Marmol said he knew the woman, Miledys Mejia Cepeda, because she grew up in his hometown. But he said he had never spoken to her before that Oct. 28 night, when he gave her a ride home from a party. Marmol said he was surprised when he learned of the charges from a radio report.

“They tried to make me scared,” he said. “They were going to (ruin) my reputation in baseball. The easy way is to (make a claim) and then I’d give them money. But I’m not going to give them money because I didn’t do anything.”

» Continue reading “Cubs Tuesday Headlines: Bourn Vacancy”

The Cubs welcomed their newest free agent signing at a press conference at Wrigley Field Friday. Japanese right-handed reliever Kyuji Fujikawa met with the press and told them how easily he was sold on pitching for the Cubs.

He visited Chicago and Wrigley Field a few weeks ago, and was sold on the city and the ballpark then.

“From that day on, in my head, it was ‘Cubs, Cubs, Cubs,’ and that’s how everything came through,” Fujikawa said.

Isn’t he worried that the Cubs already have a closer (for now)?

“[He wanted] a chance to have a meaningful role and do his job,” Theo Epstein said of Fujikawa. “That’s all he said. He said, ‘My job is not closer or set-up guy, my job is to help the team win and do what the manager asks of me’ and that’s the only time it came up in the discussion.”

Did they give him extra money to say that? Also, Fujikawa will wear number 11, and will have to live up to the standards set but such Cub greats as Rey Sanchez, Jeff Kunkel, Luis Salazar, Ivan DeJesus and Blake DeWitt. Why did he choose no. 11?

“I was No. 22 with the Hanshin Tigers,” Fujikawa said, “but to have a better career than No. 22, I went younger with No. 11. I asked for 11 and it was luckily open.”

Okay.

» Continue reading “Cubs Monday Headlines: Fujikawa Introduced At Wrigley”

We’re still awaiting official word from Theo and Jed, but everyone is reporting that the Cubs have signed Japanese reliever Kyuji Fujikawa to a two-year contract.

The Japanese closer is on the verge of signing with the Cubs, as multiple reports on Saturday said he’s agreed to a two-year deal worth $9.5 million. Fox Sports reported the deal contains a vesting option for 2015 based on games finished – $5.5 million or $6 million – as well as a $5.5 million club option if it doesn’t vest.

The Cubs declined to comment, but they also didn’t deny that there was a lot of momentum heading in this direction. General manager Jed Hoyer confirmed on Friday that the Cubs had recently met with Fujikawa and came away impressed.

We all know the Japanese League isn’t MLB, but Fujikawa has amassed some impressive numbers in his career.

Fujikawa, 32, played 12 seasons with the Hanshin Tigers, totaling 220 saves, and a 1.77 ERA. Last season, he appeared in 47 2/3 innings and compiled a 1.32 ERA. He was sidelined with an adductor strain and has not thrown 70 innings in a single season since 2007.

» Continue reading “Cubs Monday Headlines: Wherein I Learn To Spell Kyuji Fujikawa”

There have been various rumors bandied about so far this off-season about free agents, trade possibilities and the like. One such vague trade rumor floating around has been the possibility of Justin Upton coming to the Cubs from the D’Backs. Theo Epstein says don’t get your hopes up about any wild trades.

“[We’ll] try to identify possible trade fits,” team president Theo Epstein said Wednesday. “But I don’t think it’s the type of offseason where we have potential fits with 25 of the 29 other clubs. We’ll pursue everything, but realistically I think our fits might be narrower this year. [We’ll] try to use that as a strength, turn it into an advantage and focus on the free-agent market.

“We’re going to have a pretty well-defined trade market really quickly, because we don’t have unlimited assets to deal. We don’t necessarily have redundancies at positions in the big leagues or at the upper levels.”

Maybe he’s just tempering our hopes so that we’ll be super excited when he pulls off the trade that will bring the Cubs the 2013 World Series crown.

» Continue reading “Cubs Monday Headlines: Cool Your Jets On A Blockbuster Trade”

After the fast and furious trade rumor on Friday night which resulted in nothing, a whole lot more nothing happened over the weekend. We did find out what happened with the Marmol trade. First Marmol didn’t want to be traded, then he said okay. By then, the Cubs decided they didn’t want Haren after all, and the rest is history.

“He wasn’t crazy about leaving,” said Marmol’s agent, Paul Kinzer. “He loves it in Chicago, but felt whatever is best for the team.”

The Cubs thought asking Marmol to go from a 101-loss team to the star-studded Angels was a “no-brainer” for the closer.

They were wrong.

Marmol initially said “no,” just as Dempster said “no” to the Braves.

But Marmol eventually changed him mind just in time for the deal to fall apart. Kinzer said Marmol’s reluctance was based on geography, but the idea of playing for the Angels grew on him.

“If it wasn’t one of the better teams, he wouldn’t have agreed,” he said.

Marmol then apparently told everyone in the Dominican Republic that he was going to play for the Angels, and that’s how word leaked.

» Continue reading “Cubs Monday Headlines: Snoozer Of A Weekend”

Twitter was atwitter last night with news of an impending trade that would send Carlos Marmol to the Angels for Dan Haren. We would be freed from the insanity of the Marmol roller coaster experience any time he came in to close a game, and receive a real, bona fide starting pitcher. But then the Cubs said no. Let MLBTR guide you through the ups and downs of the rumor mill last night.

9:39pm: The Red Sox were said to also have interest in Haren but it doesn’t appear that they will trade for him either, tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.  Meanwhile, a source tells Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com (via Twitter) that the deal is not necessarily dead but is unlikely at this point.

9:27pm: Marmol would have approved a trade to the Angels, but the Cubs pulled the deal off of the table, a source tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter).  The Angels are still talking with other clubs about Haren as they close in on the 11pm CST deadline to exercise his $15.5MM option.

9:20pm: The trade will not take place, a Cubs source tells Carrie Muskat of MLB.com (via Twitter).

8:42pm: The deal will take place if Marmol agrees to join the Angels, a source told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter).

8:29pm: The two sides haven’t agreed to a trade, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter).  The Cubs did ask Marmol if he would waive his no-trade clause to go to the Halos, but the Angels are still speaking with other clubs (Twitter link).

8:09pm: The Angels and Cubs may be waiting on MLB approval because of the money being exchanged, tweets Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.

7:56pm: Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com (via Twitter) hears that the deal has not been completed and the Angels are still active in discussions with more than one team.

6:49pm: The Cubs have acquired Dan Haren from the Angels in exchange for Carlos Marmol, confirms Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com (via Twitter).  The deal was first reported by Yancen Pujols of El Caribe (via Twitter, Spanish link).

It was jubilation followed by anger followed by sadness followed by numbness. But it looks like there’s a decent chance Carlos Marmol will be traded this winter.

» Continue reading “Cubs Weekend Headlines: Cubs Trade Marmol Then Don’t”

Not only does Darwin Barney win Gold Glove awards, he speaks for Starlin Castro. Of course, the words he attributes to Starlin are only laudatory.

“As happy as he is about the work he has done, we have spoken about who he wants to be in the future,” Barney said “One of the best things he did say to me that made me feel really good is he said, ‘Hey man, you’re the best defensive player I have ever seen and I want to be like you.’ Coming from a guy who has every tool in the bag means a lot. We are good friends and I hope our relationship keeps getting better and better.”

He’s totally my best friend and like, he said that I’m the best defensive player in the WORLD. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn from Darwin that Starlin said he has the best fashion sense and singing voice of any player he’s ever seen. But they’re working together to become the greatest double play tandem the world has ever known.

“We decided early on in spring training that we were going to work hard together to be the best that we can up the middle,” Barney said. “Our goal is to be the best around, and that is what we are working towards. In the future, we will have to get better together and hopefully that is what we can do.

I hope so, too. And I hope Starlin can show you a thing or two about hitting.

» Continue reading “Cubs Thursday Headlines: Barney Speaks For Castro”