You may have heard a little something about Matt Garza’s return to the mound tonight. It will be his first start since July 21 of last year. What you haven’t heard is that was my birthday, so you folks have two months left to buy my birthday present. But back to Matt Garza for now. He’d like you to know that he’s excited about tonight‘s hopefully triumphant return.

“This actually means something, and I can’t wait,” he said. “It’s been 10 months in the making, so I’m excited to get back out there.”

How did he make it through 10 months without playing baseball?

“It was tough, but I had my family and my wife and kids the whole time to help me through it,” Garza said. “It was a grind, mentally. Physically, I could do anything, but the mental part was the tough part. It was one setback after another, and it was, ‘Keep going, keep going, keep going.’ I’m just happy I’m here at the end of it and can’t wait ’til Tuesday.”

If nothing else, it will be great to see him on the top step pulling for the rest of the team. Garza will be on an 85-90 pitch limit, so I’m thinking we’ll get five or six innings out of him. What are the chances we’ll get to see him make a wild throw to first in that time?

Evil Cubs nemesis Wandy Rodriguez will take the mound for the Pirates tonight. He’s 4-2 on the year with a 3.25 ERA. Lineup after the jump.

» Continue reading “Chicago Cubs Game Thread: Return Of The Matt”

Did you enjoy last night’s competition between the Chicago Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates? No? Understandable. Watching a ball come very close to Anthony Rizzo’s head while simultaneously leaving a small nation of men on the bases is not my idea of a good time. I’m guessing Dale Sveum didn’t have that great of a night, either. Apparently, it was cold.

The Cubs managed only two hits on the night, wasting a bases-loaded situation in the seventh that could have changed the complexion of the game. No one could blame the Cubs for not hitting in frigid conditions. But they’re 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position, and have only five hits since knocking out three in the first inning of Monday’s opener.

“It’s not about the cold sometimes,” Sveum said. “It’s about how much your eyes water, especially if there’s any kind of breeze. When you’re in the batters’ box, you kind of really don’t know it’s that cold.”

Okay then.

It’s funny . . . my impression last night during the game was that Edwin Jackson wasn’t all that great, but when I looked at the box score this morning, his numbers were actually pretty good:

» Continue reading “Chicago Cubs Game Thread: Cubs at Pirates 11:30 am CT”

Tonight the division-leading Chicago Cubs will head into Pittsburgh in an attempt to remain undefeated on the season. But before we get to the game news, we have to take a moment to figure out why the Cubs keep signing Irish people.

First, there was this:

PITTSBURGH — The Cubs signed outfielder Ryan Sweeney, who was released by the Red Sox, to a Minor League deal on Tuesday, and he was to report to Triple-A Iowa. It’s good news for Sweeney, who lives in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Followed by this:

» Continue reading “Division-Leading Chicago Cubs Game Thread: Cubs vs. Pirates at 6:05 pm CT”

The excitement of newness tends to wear off quickly, especially when related to this Cubs team. Not that we aren’t eager for the future, we just know the future is too far off to be palpable. Maybe that’s why Anthony Rizzo hasn’t been mentioned quite as much lately as when he first was called up. But Sunday, Rizzo nearly single-handedly brought the Cubs back from 6-1 and 9-5 deficits with two home runs and six RBI, including a grand slam.

“I didn’t know what they were saying and then I realized that’s what you do,” Rizzo said of the fans beckoning him for a curtain call after his decisive grand slam. “It was pretty cool.”

In 72 games with the Cubs, Rizzo has put up a .300/.352/.491 line with 14 home runs. That includes a stretch of 28 games from July 31 to Aug. 29 in which he struggled with a .231/.289/.279 mark and only three extra-base hits.

But with one big game on Sunday, Rizzo matched his home run total from a tough month of August.

“You work every day hard,” Rizzo said of bouncing back from his August struggles. “(There are) days you’re gonna feel good and days you’re not going to feel good, you just go with it. You go with the flow and understand that’s the nature of the game.”

Nice to see the big guy bounce back.

» Continue reading “Cubs Monday Headlines: RizzOMG Returns”

Chris Volstad only gave up one run in five innings in his last start, earning a win. It was, however, against the cellar dwelling Astros. Today’s game will be against the once-mighty Pirates, who are still somehow only two games out of the last Wild Card spot in the National League.

Cubs.com tells me that Chris Volstad has a 4.08 ERA in his last eight starts, which has his season ERA down to 5.99, along with a 3-10 record. Taking the mound for the Pirates is rookie lefty Jeff Locke (0-1, 4.11). His last start was against the Cubs on September 9, when he went six innings, allowing two earned runs on seven hits and no walks. That was the game in Pittsburgh that Alfonso Soriano won with a two-run homer in the eighth, so Locke didn’t get a decision.

There are no lineups posted as of yet, so you’ll have to figure those out for yourself. Game time is 1:20 Central and you can watch on WGN if you’re not watching football.

Yes once again Chris Volstad (Voltron) is back on the mound again tonight. If Chris can play like Voltron instead of like Volstad we might be able to pick up yet another win in this dismal season.

Volstad (2-10, 6.23 ERA) will try to help the Cubs snap that skid while bouncing back from his first loss in three games. The right-hander gave up five runs and nine hits over five innings in a 9-1 defeat in Washington on Wednesday after recording back-to-back wins for the first time since June 25-30, 2011.

The Cubs (54-86), meanwhile, swept a three-game series in Pittsburgh with Alfonso Soriano hitting the go-ahead homer during a 4-2 victory Sunday. The two-run shot was his fifth in 10 games.

So once again our boys will try once again to win 4 games in a row against the worst team in baseball.

The lineup for today:

Chicago

1.    J. Mather, CF

2.    D. Barney, 2B

3.    A. Rizzo, 1B

4.    A. Soriano, LF

5.    S. Castro, SS

6.    W. Castillo, C

7.    J. Vitters, 3B

8.    D. Sappelt, RF

9.    C. Volstad, P

GO CUBS GO!!!

After looking like a little league team in four games in Washington, the Cubs limped in to Pittsburgh. Luckily for them, the fading Pirates were just what the doctor ordered. Three games later, they’re riding a three-game winning streak and heading to Houston to face the worst team in MLB. All this has Jeff Samardzija looking forward to next year (that and the fact that he won’t be pitching any more this year).

“The way I look at it is, you look at any professional sport and there are quick turnarounds, period,” Samardzija said. “Everybody here is a good player and the talent level here is closer than you think. You look at teams that have a ton of talent and they don’t have great years. You have to look at it in a positive way that if we get off to a hot start and our young guys are playing good and get some confidence, anything can happen, especially in these long seasons.”

I don’t think the talent level is closer than we think, Jeff. And without the Astros to hold last-place next season, the Cubs are looking ticketed for that spot. The rest of 2012 will feature a rotation of whoever still has an arm, but does Dale Sveum think the front office will add to the rotation in the offseason?

“Yeah on a realistic basis you’re looking at seeing who’s out there and then it could be more than that,” Sveum said. “Whatever resources we have to spend sometimes and you go from there, but there is obviously some pieces that we have to put together and the more competition and the more you have the better off you’re going to be.”

Sounds like “I hope so, but I’m not holding my breath.”

» Continue reading “Cubs Monday Headlines: Cubs Enjoy Hospitality Of Pittsburgh”

If, after the drubbing the Cubs took in DC, you said they’d be one win away from a sweep in the Pittsburgh series, most of us would have laughed. But here the Cubs are going in to Sunday’s game with only Chris Rusin standing between them and a series sweep. Unfortunately for us, Chris Rusin is 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA. He’ll be facing Jeff Locke, who is similarly inexperienced with a 0-1 record and a 4.82 ERA.

We won’t get to see Dale Sveum’s wacky “Tony Campana hitting ninth” lineup today as Locke is a lefty, but we do get to see Joe Mather hitting leadoff!

Mather cf

Barney 2b

Rizzo 1b

Soranoi lf

Castro ss

Vitters 3B

Sappelt rf

Recker c

Rusin p

» Continue reading “Cubs Live Game Thread: Cubs Go For Sweep?”

We can all exhale now

After the trade deadline passed yesterday, we all needed a good exhale. Unfortunately for us, Ryan Dempster cursed the Cubs upon leaving town and they were nearly no-hit last night. Unfortunately for Ryan, his power in the black arts isn’t quite what he hoped it would be. What was this curse?

After the news of his move to the AL came out, Dempster briefly meet with Chicago media members. When asked how he would have pitched if he had not been traded, he deadpanned: “I think I would have thrown a no-hitter tonight.”

Thankfully, the return of Adrian Cardenas allowed him to break up the no-hitter with only 4 outs remaining. After the game Cardenas remembered an earlier game he had against Burnett.

“I faced him before; I won’t forget that game,” Cardenas said. “It’s the game I made two errors at third base. A.J. Burnett pitched that game. But I remembered him and I remembered how he was pitching throughout the game.”

And he remembered the kindness of one Ryan Dempster to him that day.

“I wish I was able to say goodbye to Dempster,” Cardenas said. “He was one of the best teammates I ever played with. He actually pitched the game I made two errors in and I remember him encouraging me after I made a good play after the error where anybody could have shown me up, especially somebody like him with his years and he never ever did that. I just respected me from Day 1. He was just a great person.”

While I’m sure all of that is true, we’re just glad he’s gone now and the saga is over.

» Continue reading “Cubs Wednesday Headlines: Trades, Call-Ups and Near No-Hitters”

So Dempster vetoed his trade to the Atlanta Braves last week, will Alfonso do the same?

Apparently the Los Angeles Dodgers have been rumored to be showing interest in the the 10 year veteran however Fonzie has 10-5 Rights just like Dempster and could also nix the deal if he doesn’t like the team he’s being traded to.

With the trade deadline looming (3pm CT Tuesday) Talks have intensified over the past 24 hours between the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers in a potential trade for pitcher Ryan Dempster that now includes outfielder Alfonso Soriano, according to a major league source.

“It will have to be a good city with a good team,” Soriano said Sunday. “I would give the team the opportunity to trade me, but as I said the team and city would have to be good. Nobody has come to me about a trade yet.”

The San Francisco Giants have also made inquiries about Soriano, according to another major league source.

I personally wouldn’t mind seeing him in a Giants uniform because I live in San Francisco and he’s fun to watch.

» Continue reading “Cubs Live Game Thread: Alfonso and His 10-5 Rights”