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Analysis, News & Rumors
Archives
April 2005 Headlines
Injury Bug Bites Again - 4/27/05 8:34pm
Nomar's Injury Shakes up Batting Order - 4/21/05 8:29pm
Nomar Injury Costly - 4/20/05 10:01pm
Woo-Woo Hit by Car - 4/19/05 9:15pm
Buffett Tickets On Sale Monday - 4/15/05 9:54pm
Problems between the Cubs and Fergie Jenkins? - 4/15/05 9:24pm
Walker Lands on DL - 4/11/05 5:56pm
Whats up with Prior? - 4/8/05 7:36am
2005 Season Starts with a Bang - 4/4/05 7:32pm
Ramirez Gets Deal - 4/4/05 7:27pm
Beer Prices Rise at Wrigley - 4/2/05 10:03pm
Cubs Get Ready to Open Season - 4/2/05 9:58pm
4/27/05 8:34pm - Injury Bug Bites Again
The injury bug continues to plague the Cubs. The latest victim is the newly appointed Cubs closer, Chad Fox. Fox left the game on Monday night after some type of injury to his throwing arm. It is not yet known what the problem is, but by judging his reaction, he will be missing some time.
This adds to the growing list of Cubs injuries. Starting with Joe Borowski, Kerry Wood and Mark Prior in Spring Training, it continues to get worse by the day. Though both Wood and Prior have returned, Wood is still feeling the effects of his injury after his last outing. Borowski has starting to throw again and appears to be on track for his return very soon. Prior, on the other hand, seems to be feeling great after winning his third game in three tries.
The infield has taken a hit as well with the loss of Todd Walker and Nomar. Walker will be returning soon after a collision sidelined him, but Nomar has been expected to miss at least 2-3 months. Nomar has chosen to have minor surgery to repair the damage around the injury, but chose not to have surgery on the actual tendon. There has been no timetable set for his return, but some believe he could return after the All-Star break and others are convinced he will be gone for the season. Either way, the Cubs have no intention of picking up a replacement shortstop, especially with the play of Neifi Perez.
Whether its Zambrano's blisters or Burnitz running into the wall, fans hold their breath each time something happens. Losing any more major players could end the season before it has even started.
- Bryan | Return
4/21/05 8:29pm - Nomar's Injury Shakes up Batting Order
With Garciaparra being out for the next two to three months, the Cubs lineup will look very different.
With Todd Walker still on the DL, Jerry Hairston Jr. and Neifi Perez should be acting as full-time players.
Hairston will probably play most of the time at second base with rookie, Ronny Cedeno filling in when
needed and Neifi Perez will fill Nomar's spot at short.
This injury has a huge effect on the batting order. With Hairston playing full-time, he will likely be
the leadoff batter. He has a better career on-base percentage and Patterson has said that feels more
comfortable batting in the 6th position. Dusty Baker has already said that Derrek Lee will be filling
the 3rd spot in the lineup as he has been on fire this year batting .417. Ramirez is likely to follow
in the 4th spot. This leaves the order open for Burnitz, Hollandsworth, and Barrett. The lineup will
likely look like this:
Hairston
Perez
Lee
Ramirez
Burnitz
Patterson
Hollandsworth
Barrett
Pitcher
Perez and Patterson could easily switch spots in the lineup, but a major impact will be felt with the
absence of Nomar. You could argue the fact that Nomar was in a slump and Perez has been hitting well,
but you just can't replace a player like Nomar. Now the question is, 'Will he even remain with the
Cubs next year'?
- Bryan | Return
4/20/05 10:01pm - Nomar Injury Costly
Wednesday brought some bad news to the Cubs and their fans. After connecting with a ball in the
third inning, Nomar Garciaparra started to sprint to first but immediately fell to the ground with
an apparent groin injury.
It is not yet known how severe the injury is, but judging by Nomar's facial reactions and the
fact that he was carried off the field, it does not look good. You can only assume that he will
be missing an ample amount of time.
Though Nomar was in a slump, he was still considered to be a major offensive threat with the Cubs.
Now that he may be missing some time, the Cubs will have to depend on Derrek Lee to keep up his hot
hitting and hope that Neifi Perez and Jerry Hairston Jr. play solid as replacements for Nomar and
Todd Walker.
Without knowing much about Nomar's injury, if he misses enough time this year, will the Cubs be willing
to re-sign him next year? The same question can be asked about Todd Walker. Both players may miss
the minimum amount of at-bats to receive their bonuses and incentives. Garciaparra signed a one year
contract this year laced with incentives based on his performance. If he misses a good part of the season
or possibly even the rest of the season, it would be unlikely that he would return. Though it is too
early to tell how severe the injury is, fans can only hope that he returns soon.
- Jim | Return
4/19/05 9:15pm - Woo-Woo Hit by Car
The ultimate Cubs fan, Ronnie "Woo-Woo" Wickers received a good bump on the head after a car backed into him outside
Wrigley Field on Monday.
If Woo-Woo is not at visitor parks during road games, he is usually found around Wrigley Field. That is just
where he was on Monday when he was the victim of the accident.
Wickers was taken to the hospital, but was released after having a neck examination. He left with a small headache,
but it may have been justice served since Woo-Woo has been giving many fans headaches at Cubs games for
years. Woo-Woo can be found at just about any Cubs event chanting his famous "Cubs.. Woo!!!"
He is considered the unofficial mascot of the Chicago Cubs and is currently starring in a documentary about his
life.
- Bryan | Return
4/15/05 9:54pm - Buffett Tickets On Sale Monday
The concert has been approved and the dates are September 4th and 5th. Thats when Jimmy Buffett will be coming to Wrigley Field.
Buffett will attempt to break the Cubs Curse this year after taking credit for breaking the curse on the Boston Red Sox last year. Last year, he played at the Red Sox's Fenway Park.
Tickets go on sale Monday at 10am Central Time with prices ranging from 90$ to 130$. Only regular stadium seats and grass seats will be filled, with the bleachers remaining empty. The Cubs and Buffett plan to sell approximately 39,000 tickets. For more information and a concert layout, visit tickets.com.
- Bryan | Return
4/15/05 9:24pm - Problems between the Cubs and Fergie Jenkins?
Fergie Jenkins was a bit confused by being left out of the Opening Day celebration at Wrigley last week.
Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, Billy Williams and the newest Hall of Famer, Ryne Sandberg, were on hand to celebrate the home opener for 2005. Sandberg threw out the first pitch, while the 4 Hall of Famers all singing the 7th inning stretch together. Noticeably missing was Fergie Jenkins. When asked about it, Jenkins admitted he wasn't sure what their (the Cubs) problem was. He said he would have been available, but was not asked to participate.
- Bryan | Return
4/11/05 5:56pm - Walker Lands on DL
Cubs fans keep getting more offsetting news. On Monday, the Cubs learned that Todd Walker will be on the DL
for an extended amount of time. Walker will be out 4-6 weeks with a mild to severe MCL sprain in his left knee.
As fans heard that news, they also heard that Mark Prior will be making his return tomorrow against the Padres. The
team feels he is ready and his endurance is up. His last pitching outing was last Thursday. He looked
shaky at first giving up seven runs, but settled down later striking out seven.
Cubs fans can only hope that Prior and Wood stay healthy this season. Wood looked solid in the home opener, pitching
5 2/3 innings, giving up 2 runs and striking out 7. Prior is expected to start Tuesday and Wood is expected
to finish the home series against the Padres on Wednesday.
If you expected to see Jerry Hairston Jr. in the lineup on Monday replacing Todd Walker, you would be wrong.
Neifi Perez will be playing second. Apparently, Dusty Baker believes Perez has done a little better against
the Padres, Adam Eaton. Baker expects to split time between Hairston and Perez.
Fans may be confused by this move because Hairston would be the more logical choice. Hairston can move around
in the lineup and also has the ability to lead-off. Hairston, himself, was a little confused by the start of
Perez. That being said, expect Hairston to get most of the starts at second base.
Though the Walker injury is bad, if any player was to get hurt, it should probably be Todd Walker. Walker, though
valuable, can be replaced by Hairston. If any other infield position player was lost like Garciaparra, Lee, or
Ramirez, the Cubs would be in trouble.
- Bryan | Return
4/8/05 7:36am - Whats up with Prior
For those of you who may be a little nervous about Mark Prior, you have good reasons.
Prior made a rehab start with Triple-A Iowa yesterday and looked pretty shaky in the
first inning.
After the first inning, he had given up 6 runs on 7 hits. The good news is that he
looked much better, pitching 5 innings with 7 strikeouts.
Will Prior ever regain the dominance he had of 2003? It seems every time we turn
around, he makes a reference to his mechanics being off and how he needs to make
adjustments.
On Thursday, he said he was off his game plan and he didn't throw enough fastballs. Does
he really need to be told what pitches to throw? You don't see dominant pitchers like
Randy Johnson or Curt Schilling ever talk much about how their mechanics are off.
Last year, Prior was on and off. He ended up finishing the season well, but like Kerry
Wood, he could be dominant one game and then not be able to find the strike zone the
next game.
The news sounded good for his injury, however. He did throw 88 pitches and does not
look to have any elbow problems.
How can Mark Prior get back to throwing the ball like he did in 2003?
- Bryan | Return
4/4/05 7:32pm - 2005 Season Starts with a Bang
If the season opener was any indication, the Cubs plan to play small-ball this year. In the first two innings,
the Cubs punched 10 hits and scored 7 times.
By the end of the game, the Cubs had 23 hits and 16 runs, stomping the Diamondbacks. Derrek Lee finished the game going 4-6 with a homer and
5 RBI's, while Aramis Ramirez celebrated his new contract going 3-4 with a homer and 4 RBI's.
Carlos Zambrano had 8 strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings, but in a surprising move, he was pulled after walking
in a run in the 5th inning. As he walked to the dugout, he had some words for the home plate umpire and was
ejected from the game.
It was also impressive to see Corey Patterson lay off of the first pitches. He ended up going 3-5 with 2 runs
and 2 RBI's. Dusty also showed some aggressive resive play as he had Patterson attempt to steal on the first pitch
after his base hit. Patterson ended up advancing on a wild pitch.
At the end of the game, the Cubs looked like a different team from 2005. They played small-ball and were very
smart running the bases. Todd Wellemeyer pitched the ninth and received the save.
- Bryan | Return
4/4/05 7:27pm - Ramirez Gets Deal
Aramis Ramirez finally got the deal he was looking for. For $42 million, Ramirez will remain a Cub
through 2008 with a mutual option for 2009.
Aramis was a little worried on Monday morning when a deal was not yet reached. More than anything
he wanted to remain with the Cubs. He is hopeful that he will remain with Chicago for the rest of his
career.
Ramirez will get $8 million this year with a $1 million bonus. In 2006, he will get $10.5 million. He
will then get $11 million in 2007 and $11.5 million in 2008. Ramirez also has the option to terminate
his contact in 2006 and become a free agent, but it is unlikely he will do so.
- Bryan | Return
4/2/05 10:03pm - Beer Prices Rise at Wrigley
Bleacher fans are not going to be happy this year when they see that beer prices went up at Wrigley Field.
Since Wrigley Field only sells Old Style or Budweiser beer, Miller Beer fans will have to suffer. Prices, which
use to be $5.00 for a 16 ounce beer are now rising to $5.50 a beer.
The Cubs also decided to remove Aramark from the concessions and replace them with Levy Restaurants. With this
change, the stadium will have more choices of sandwiches and hotdogs at each concession stand.
- Bryan | Return
4/2/05 9:58pm - Cubs Get Ready to Open Season
The news isn't great, but its not as bad as it could be since Mark Prior will likely open the season on the DL.
Being placed on the 15 day DL list doesn't mean he will be out long. He could be ready for the April 12th game. With
the changes to the rotation, Zambrano will start in the season opener on Monday. Zambrano will be followed by
Maddux on Tuesday and Ryan Dempster will start on Wednesday. The rotation was altered to allow Kerry Wood time
to heal from his injuries. Wood will be the starter for the Cubs home opener on Friday, April 8th. With the extra day
off on April 7th, the Cubs can go with a 4 man rotation during the first week.
It also appears the Latroy Hawkins will serve as the closer for now. Chad Fox will be placed in the setup position for
Hawkins. The Cubs may experiment with a few others in the setup role, but Fox has experience there.
As for the other positions that were still up in the air, Jon Leicester, Todd Wellemeyer and Michael Wuertz will all be
on the roster to begin the season. The Cubs also decided to send David Kelton down to Triple-A, which means he will
have to clear waivers for the Cubs to keep him. Jason Dubois will be on the roster and will likely split some time
with Todd Hollandsworth in left field.
Sergio Mitre was also sent down to Triple-A Iowa, which means the Cubs are almost certain to go with Ryan Dempster
as the 5th starter. Dusty Baker would rather have Glendon Rusch's arm in the bullpen, but he could see some
time as a starter if injuries creep up again.
The Cubs start their season Monday against the Diamondbacks.
- Bryan | Return
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