Cubs Minor League Wrap: July 30

by Josh Timmers on Jul 31, 2011 12:16 AM CDT in Minor Leagues

I wish I had something intelligent to say about today's fiasco, but Fox decided that I couldn't watch the game. I never thought I'd say this ever in my life, but "Thanks, Fox!"

Baseball in the minors is still a lot more fun. Of course, piercing your eyeballs with long metal spikes is more fun than this too.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs lost to the Memphis Redbirds, 6-3.

Starter Nick Struck pitched five innings tonight. He gave up three runs on six hits. Struck walked three and struck out six.

Chris Carpenter took the loss in relief. He allowed three runs on three hits over 1.1 innings. He walked two and fanned one.

Center fielder Brett Jackson homered for the second game in a row tonight. It was a solo home run in the sixth inning, giving him three home runs for Iowa and thirteen overall. Jackson was 1 for 3 with a walk.

Shortstop Marwin Gonzalez also hit a solo home run in the fifth inning. It was his second home run this year. Gonzalez was 1 for 3.

Catcher Steve Clevenger was 3 for 4 with two doubles and a run batted in.

Tennessee Smokies

The Smokies served up the Montgomery Biscuits with a side of eggs and sausage, 8-2.

Brooks Raley pitched the first four innings and allowed two runs on six hits. He walked one and struck out two.

Oswaldo Martinez got the win with two innings of scoreless relief. Martinez struck out two and did not walk anyone.

First baseman Blake Lalli went 2 for 5 with three RBI. He also scored once. Left fielder Ty Wright had two hits and two walks in a 2 for 3 night. He scored once.

Daytona Cubs

The Daytona Cubs plated two runs in the bottom of the ninth to stun the Jupiter Hammerheads, 3-2.

The good Brett Wallach showed up tonight, allowing but two runs on four hits over 5.2 innings. Wallach walked two and struck out four.

Larry Suarez pitched two perfect innings of relief to get his first win of the season. Suarez did not strike anyone out.

Second baseman David Macias hit a two-out, two run single to win the game in the bottom of the ninth. Macias was 2 for 4 and had all three D-Cub RBI.

Peoria Chiefs

The Peoria Chiefs scored two runs in the top of the ninth to topple the Clinton LumberKings, 3-1.

Matt Loosen allowed only one run on three hits over his five-inning start. Loosen walked two and struck out four.

Patrick Francescon won for the first time as a professional with three innings of shutout relief. He gave up but one hit. He walked no one and had two strike outs.

Daniel Berlind got his first save with a perfect ninth inning. Berlind did not strike anyone out.

Third baseman Arismendy Alcantara went 2 for 3 with a double and a run scored.

The big blow in the ninth inning was a run-scoring triple by Anthony Giansanti, who later scored on a sacrifice fly by Elliot Soto. Giansanti was 1 for 4.

Boise Hawks

The Boise Hawks lost to the Everett AquaSox, 8-7.

Starter Su-Ming Jung got pulled after the first inning. He did not allow a hit, but four walks and two errors led to four runs, three of which were unearned. Jung did not have a strikeout.

Cam Greathouse took the loss in relief. He allowed four runs on three hits over 3.1 innings. One of the four runs was unearned. Greathouse struck out six batters and walked five.

Right fielder Reggie Golden hit his second home run of the season with the bases empty in the eighth inning. Golden was 2 for 4. He scored twice and batted two in.

DH Rafael Lopez also homered with the bases empty in the seventh inning. Lopez was 1 for 4.

First baseman Paul Hoilman was 2 for 5 with an RBI and a run scored. Shortstop Dustin Harrington went 2 for 4 with a double.

AZL Cubs

Did not play.

Tweet Comment 27 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Good games for Jackson and Clevenger

I wish he could just stay at AAA..(Clevenger) and Szczur should be back tomorrow, I’m guessing. Great game from Golden.

by Ryno G on Jul 31, 2011 1:42 AM CDT reply actions

And speaking of trades...

Texas got fleeced today. Bad.

by Ryno G on Jul 31, 2011 1:46 AM CDT reply actions

The Uehara deal?

What’s so bad about that?

by SenorGato on Jul 31, 2011 4:46 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions

He's old

and both Davis and Hunter are better than him. I doubt Texas cares though because they have such a deep system.

by Ryno G on Jul 31, 2011 12:09 PM CDT up reply actions

I actually disagree with you

Uehara is a very good pitcher who can help them in the postseason. Davis is a Quad-A slugger and Hunter is a mediocre swing man.

I think Texas did very well in this trade.

by Josh Timmers on Jul 31, 2011 12:19 PM CDT up reply actions

Uehara has some of the best numbers of any reliever in baseball this year.

They gave up two players who could barely hack it in the majors… except Davis, who only hacks at everything when he gets to the majors.

Uehara is a flyball pitcher, who doesn’t have a poor HR rate, coming to Texas from one of the few parks in baseball that gives up more homers. Uehara will also like pitching with Tateyama, who went to the same high school as he did back in Japan. It’s a sizable upgrade for Texas with Feliz struggling all year, and they gave up none of their long-term prospects, which they would have for Bell or Adams… who haven’t pitched better than Uehara this year. It’s a great trade that sets up Texas to make another WS run AND they have Uehara for one more year. Fantastic trade again by Jon Daniels.

--------------------------------
Just North of Wrigley Field

by jameslcrockett on Jul 31, 2011 12:20 PM CDT up reply actions

Eh

We’ll see. Like I said, I understand the move, especially with the deep farm system.

by Ryno G on Jul 31, 2011 12:35 PM CDT up reply actions

"Eh... we'll see."

…about what part? You said Davis and Hunter are better than him. Exactly what do you base that from when neither are a productive part of the team or have any significant long-term value based on their current performance. They gave Hunter and Davis many chances to prove they were more than AAAA players, and they fell short. Hopefully, they can do better with the Orioles (especially Davis), but Hunter should struggle there with how little he gets ground balls.

Have you looked at how effective Uehara’s been or is his age all you’ve looked at? His only downside is how really, really lucky he’s been this year, but even if you adjust for that, his numbers would still be a huge upgrade for the Rangers, especially coming from one of the only parks in baseball where Uehara can expect to give up more homers. It’s a fantastic pickup for the Rangers… and I hope it works out for the Orioles, too.

--------------------------------
Just North of Wrigley Field

by jameslcrockett on Jul 31, 2011 1:03 PM CDT up reply actions

Yeah I've never gotten the infatuation with Davis that exists on the internet...

He had a stretch where he was a pretty big deal on what seemed like every baseball blog.

Hunter…meh. Not too big of a loss either.

by SenorGato on Jul 31, 2011 3:00 PM CDT up reply actions

Was at the Smokies game in Montgomery

I actually sat next to four Smokies pitchers in the stands behind home plate keeping the pitch charts. They heard my friend and I speak about the Cubs and they chimed in a little. We got to speak to two of them and they were really cool about it. One of them gave me the low down on about ten of the Cubs’ prospects. He and his teammate did mention that they didn’t want to sell out their teammates so I won’t say everything I got from them except: Big Z actually cares too much, Marmol is kind of off to himself, Sandberg is great to play for, Marwin Gonzalez can really play and it’s known by the players that Hendry is in Win Now Mode. One of the pitcher’s agents had already received a call from the Orioles (MacPhail Special).

But, mostly these guys were really easy going and willing to talk to a Cubs fan who knows too much about minor league teams. One of them actually defended my loyalty to the Cubs against a friend who’s a Braves fan. Very Cool.

As for the game, Dolis can bring it. 95-6 mph in the 9th, and the Smokies’ pitchers said the gun is slow. One of them was joking about how the Biscuits’ batter must be thinking,“I got NO chance against this guy”. They were telling me about how tough his Changeup is, which I didn’t know about, and on cue he struck out the last batter with it (85 mph swing and miss).

I saw Vitters hit two solid line drives up the middle, one hit and one out to SS. No real chances in the field to see him pick it or throw.

Brooks Raley came out after 4 but was over 90 all night. Terrible Umps. The Biscuits Manager was tossed. Didn’t see much break on the off-speed stuff. bad angle for Lefty, but it looked like a slider at 82.

The Biscuits’ lefty reliever pretty much gave them the game with a bunch of walks and a Samson single (he took 2nd on a terrible throw from the OF).

O. Martinez was solid. 90-2 mph fastball and that was the pitch for two innings. A couple of sliders but mostly the fastball.

Overall, great night. They won, good conversation with Cubs guys and the beer there was solid.

Imagine Harry Carry saying Fukudome backwards. It will make you forget that the Cubs are the Cubs.

by SimpleMan24 on Jul 31, 2011 2:27 AM CDT reply actions

sounds fun

Thanx

I'm a Cubs fan. The Jaded Bitterness comes as a Standard Feature.

by timh815 on Jul 31, 2011 2:34 AM CDT up reply actions

and

if JH’s job is reliant on the Cubs winning 42 of 45 games, that explains why so few guys are on the block.

I'm a Cubs fan. The Jaded Bitterness comes as a Standard Feature.

by timh815 on Jul 31, 2011 3:43 AM CDT up reply actions

Great report

thanks.

by Josh Timmers on Jul 31, 2011 9:32 AM CDT up reply actions

Looking at the deal for Ubaldo Jimenez

If the Cubs had any interest, hypothetically, who would we have to give up in order to match an offer like Clevleand’s?

"You win because of the quarterback. We have to get that position stabilized. We're fixated on that." -- Jerry Angelo (12.30.2008)

Jerry Angelo trades for Jay Cutler! (4.2.2009)

by SackMan on Jul 31, 2011 7:53 AM CDT reply actions

I don't think the Cubs have anything in their system close to what Cleveland offered.

Join us for complete MLB coverage at SB Nation's Baseball Nation

by Al Yellon on Jul 31, 2011 8:36 AM CDT up reply actions

I don't know that we'd want him

Jimenez is signed at a cheap through 2012 with reasonable club options in 2013 and 2014. He’s lost 3-4 mph on his fastball this season. If the Rockies are not trying to keep him, you’ve got to ask yourself why. The Rockies always need pitching, and they’re getting rid of a pitcher who’s under contract for three more season. Something smells funny.

by Josh Timmers on Jul 31, 2011 9:36 AM CDT up reply actions

Well said

I think the Rockies made fantastic move with this deal. all signs point toward regression for Jimenez

by Bobudabi on Jul 31, 2011 2:36 PM CDT up reply actions

Pomeranz's numbers

in high-A, 77 innings, 56 hits, 32 walks and 95 K’s. He was recently promoted to AA. If the Rockies wanted pitching, the Cubs don’t have a comparable pitcher.

I’m actually surprised Cleveland made this deal considering they aren’t a lock for the playoffs and Jimenez’s numbers are down.

John Grabow: $4.8 million in 2011.

by rlpete on Jul 31, 2011 10:04 AM CDT up reply actions

There's no Pomeranz in this system.

I’m still pretty stunned they gave him up, but yeah Jimenez is one of the more talented young arms in baseball so I guess they had to.

I seriously think Pomeranz is a future monster. Cleveland has a thing for developing lefties, as they’re the ones who pumped out both Sabathia and Lee.

I think JImenez is pretty overrated though so…well I wish Cleveland luck with that.

by SenorGato on Jul 31, 2011 12:29 PM CDT up reply actions

I wonder if Pomeranz being added to the Rockies' system makes....

a Stewart + Matzek acquisition possible….Buy low on some former first round talent that’s struggled.

by SenorGato on Jul 31, 2011 12:30 PM CDT up reply actions

trades

most trade intricacies are not public knowledge initially, and some trades are truly based on team state, needs, and having to give up similar value in exchange

Tribe in a playoff chase, Colorado currently NOT

Tribe pitching pretty solid, offense struggling

Jimenez VELO drop? obviously not a Tribe concern, plus they like cheap contracts but ate the non-MLB contract bonuses of two 1st round picks

White is solid, but how many RHP who work 90-92 are in Pro baseball? Many

Pomeranz was the key to the deal projection-wise.

Baseball is still cycling itself off the steroid era. Ten to fifteen years ago, hitting .265 with 15 HR’s never got you out of MILB, now those stats are All-Star?

by AlexWray on Jul 31, 2011 9:56 AM CDT reply actions

Mitch Williams and Larry Bowa

are both ripping the Cubs for hiring Mike Quade over Ryne Sandberg. Not that I don’t agree with them, but I think they should have pointed out that they both were teammates of Ryno.

by Josh Timmers on Jul 31, 2011 12:02 PM CDT reply actions

Quade gives many reasons

to be considered a horrible decision. That being said, I thought the Cubs made the right choice by taking Quade over Sandberg, and I still do, because honestly, what Cubs fan would want Ryno to be at the helm of this sorry excuse of a team?

I hope Ryne would still consider taking the job in 2012 or 2013 even, I would deal with another year of Quade or some other fall guy to sort more of this trash out of the system, I think it will take at least another year to really start an uphill climb.

Like I said, some people make a pretty good case for choosing Ryno over Quade, but so much if it is hindsight and I am getting sick of it. You can put a crown on a turd, but in the end, King of the Turds will still be known as a piece of crap when it’s all said and done.

by Bobudabi on Jul 31, 2011 2:48 PM CDT up reply actions