Tag / Darwin Barney

by admin

The Future Is Now?

darwin-barneyThe Cubs finally reached down to their highly-touted farm system back on July 9th when they called up Arismendy Alcantara, a 22 year old who had signed with the Cubs following the 2008 season, to take Darwin Barney’s spot on the roster while he went off to have a baby.  Thanks to the subsequent trade with Oakland and the All-Star break, the Cubs managed to keep Alcantara with the big league club.  Today, with Emilio Bonifacio due to be activated off the disabled list, they could have sent him back down and continued to work towards possibly contending at some point down the line.  Instead, the Cubs decided to stick with Alcantara, for the time being at least, and designated new papa Darwin Barney for assignment.  For the first time in the Theo Epstein/Jed Hoyer era, the Cubs went with a legitimate prospect at the big league level over the established, if less talented, veteran.

What does this mean for Barney?  Well, the Cubs have 10 days to either trade him, release him, or convince him to accept a minor league assignment.  Since he became a regular in 2011, Barney has steadied the right side of the Cubs infield, even winning the Gold Glove in 2012.  Each year, though, his offense has declined, to the point where he was not going to get regular playing time even if he stuck with the Cubs.  There are contenders out there, namely the Blue Jays or the Giants, who are looking for help at second base, but might need more offense than Barney can provide.  Chances are he will end up being released, free to sign a minor league deal with the team of his choosing.

Barney’s time with the Cubs coincided with my not going to very many Cub games, so I’ve only seen him play in person 4 times in his 5 seasons with the club.  Ironically, he did hit in those games, going 5 for 15.  His time with the Cubs was numbered, as eventually the “Core Four” and other prospects, like Alcantara, will be given the chance to take over.  Unfortunately for him, the Cubs decided that, at least for Alcantara, the future would start now.

by jim

The Dale Sveum Era Begins

The Cubs look to kick off a new era, featuring new manager Dale Sveum, new GM Jed Hoyer, and new team president Theo Epstein, with today’s season opening game against the Nationals.

Starting Pitchers

Ryan Dempster, Matt Garza, Jeff Samardzija, Chris Volstad, Paul Maholm

Ryan Dempster, who gets the Opening Day nod again this year, and Matt Garza are the only holdovers from last year’s staff.  Samardzija had a strong spring and looks to maybe have finally put everything together.  Volstad and Maholm beat out Randy Wells and Travis Wood, among others, for the final two spots in the rotation.

Relief Pitchers

Carlos Marmol, Kerry Wood, James Russell, Rafael Dolis, Lendy Castillo, Shawn Camp

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by admin

Cubs Opening Day Roster – Career Stats

Since I will be attending my first Cubs game of the year today, let’s take a look at their roster and how they’ve performed in games I’ve attended up to now.

Starting Pitchers

Name Games Wins Losses ERA Saves Ks Walks
Andrew Cashner 3 0 2 3.86 0 2 2
Ryan Dempster 69 13 9 4.00 14 136 80
Matt Garza 1 0 1 7.50 0 4 4
Randy Wells 10 2 4 3.10 0 49 17
Carlos Zambrano 60 20 15 4.09 0 283 146

Zambrano and Dempster are the deans of the staff.  Garza comes over from the AL, where I’ve only seen him once (08 ALDS, I believe).  Wells hopes to bounce back from a disappointing sophmore season.  Cashner moves to the rotation after mostly coming out of the bullpen last year.

Relief Pitchers

Name Games Wins Losses ERA Saves Ks Walks
John Grabow 13 1 0 4.66 0 11 3
Carlos Marmol 69 5 3 2.75 3 101 45
Sean Marshall 39 7 11 4.40 0 71 33
Marcos Mateo 0 0 0 —— 0 0 0
James Russell 3 0 0 2.45 0 3 0
Jeff Samardzija 7 0 0 3.37 0 6 3
Kerry Wood 55 10 12 3.80 11 217 109

John Grabow is basically a LOOGY.  Marmol set a record for highest K/9 last year, but still walks way too many people.  Marshall could probably be a 3-5 starter somewhere, but just never got the chance here.  Marcos Mateo, welcome to the show.  Nothing to say about Russell.  Samardzija might have made a poor career choice.  Kerry Wood turned down bigger offers to come back to the Northside.

Catchers

Name Games Average RBI Walks Ks 2B 3B HR SB
Koyie Hill 26 0.222 8 5 10 3 0 1 0
Geovany Soto 80 0.305 40 38 63 18 2 7 0

Soto had a bit of a bounce back year last year, and has been strong when I’ve been there.  Hill is a backup who really provides little offense.

Infielders

Name Games Average RBI Walks Ks 2B 3B HR SB
Jeff Baker 19 0.302 7 3 16 1 2 3 0
Darwin Barney 0 —– 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Starlin Castro 10 0.313 1 4 4 5 0 0 0
Blake DeWitt 8 0.185 3 3 4 1 0 0 0
Carlos Pena 9 0.379 8 4 11 2 0 1 2
Aramis Ramirez 226 0.274 155 76 132 51 4 40 1

Ramirez has become the elder statesman of the infield.  Pena is hoping to bounce back from a disappointing season with Tampa Bay.  DeWitt played himself out of a starting job in spring training and has shown nothing when I’ve been in attendance.  Castro had a strong rookie season at the plate.  Jeff Baker injured himself attempting to light his farts on fire last year.  Barney came up long after I stopped going to games last year.

Outfielders

Name Games Average RBI Walks Ks 2B 3B HR SB
Marlon Byrd 22 0.259 4 4 17 4 0 0 3
Tyler Colvin 16 0.172 4 3 14 1 1 1 0
Kosuke Fukudome 74 0.258 20 34 49 15 3 1 7
Reed Johnson 39 0.280 23 3 26 5 1 2 1
Alfonso Soriano 116 0.279 48 30 107 27 1 17 11

Byrd started off strong, but faded down the stretch and has faced scutiny for his BALCO connections.  Colvin was in the midst of a decent rookie season when he got stabbed in the heart by a bat shard.  Fukudome has been a bust and finishes out his contract.  Johnson is fine for what he is.  Soriano has not come close to what the Cubs thought they were getting and still has 5? years left on his deal.