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In a response to my comment in the previous post, AzPhil noted some interesting moves today, particularly on the pitching side. Alberto Cabrera to AA - Wonder if this is a bullpen move to get him work at a lower level? Nick Struck to AA - I'm okay with this, assuming he is still in the rotation. He battled in AAA, but he was definitely pushed hard and fast. This gives him a better chance. Tony Zych to Daytona (and possibly Peoria) - Not surprising. Probably best thing for a guy that needs work. McKirahan to Peoria - um ... ok Harman to AA to replace McKirahan in the pen. Simpson in XST - oy.

So, curious, now that we have a general idea of where most of the guys will start the season, have there been any, for lack of a better term, changed expectations? For example, many of us thought that some of the Baez/Vogelbach and Co. would start in Peoria. If they go to XST and stay in Boise to start the year, is that a disappointment, and to what extent? As a side note, nothing that we didn't anticipate, while passing through Baltimore, was listening to 105.7 and Roch Kubatko came on to talk about the Orioles. He noted that the Cubs front office was disappointed (I think he might've used pissed) when he was picked (not surprising, but did the Cubs expect different?). Also notes that the Cubs would take him back in a heartbeat (but with his strong spring, Ryan should make the squad ... although I thought he would get a decent amount of starts (say 2-3 times a week), but unless they put him at 2nd, he might be just utilized off the bench).

The pitching isn't bad. There's some raw upside, particularly when you add in the rehab group. And considering it's Boise, there's a good chance that some of the picks in this summer's draft may end up there.

Massive updates from AzPhil in the comments section of http://www.thecubreporter.com/2012/03/30/gordon-triple-ignites-dodgers-hohokam. I'm a bit disappointed that Ridling was shifted down, but it is somewhat understandable if the intent is to get him regular AB's, as Rizzo has first at Iowa. Alcantara got promoted to Daytona, which seems to suggest that Marco Hernandez has the shortstop job (they bumped Zapenas up to Peoria, but I don't see Zapenas blocking Marco).

Massive roster update from AzPhil in the comments section of http://www.thecubreporter.com/2012/03/30/gordon-triple-ignites-dodgers-hohokam. Nothing too stunning - some of the more notable moves are Beeler to AA (which I think most of us expected). Some minor personal disappointments (but nothing that surprising) are Burke/Francescon to Daytona (although this may bode well for their chances at being developed as starters for now), and Charles Thomas to XST.

Just to be clear, I wasn't mocking the "Cubs Way". If anything, I was mocking (and I wasn't really mocking anything, more unsure what people are defining as the Cubs Way) the idea by some that the "Cubs Way" is unique and different from what other organizations do (that sentiment does seem prevalent, particularly on another site).

I agree it's a red flag, but I'm not too troubled that they want to keep him back at XST to start. First off, there's been all sorts of speculation by folks that they want the "new class" ingrained in the "Cubs Way". That isn't that important to me in general, but okay, keeping these kids there a month or so and getting them to focus on ... uh ... something that you want them to ... not the worst idea with kids. But with Maples, it was always known that the had some mechanical kinks to work out. I'd rather tackle it early with such a young arm, than send a kid up, at which point, it becomes slightly harder to work on adjustments due to a need to perform in game situations on a regular basis. I mean, a guy like Nick Struck (who has some of the same mechanical issues that Maples has, to my naked eye) is just sort of stuck now - he has to perform, but he has little time/opportunity to fix mechanical concerns. For every Roy Halladay out there (guy that was sent back down and came back up), there's a ton more misses (stating the obvious). Now, if Maples is there all the way until Boise, I may be be a tad disappointed. I'd like to see him in Peoria at some point early, and then have him finish at Peoria (since he'd be piggybacking, I tend to think they could find a way to manage the workload well enough there).

Just picking a random comment to respond to. As noted, I did say 60 was the low end. But for all this talk about depth, there's also the possibility that (not that I am expecting this, but why I have 60 as the low end) - The lineup ... sucks for much of the year. The youngsters go through ... youngster struggles when they get called up. Soto hits more like he did last year. While I tend to be somewhat optimistic that Ian Stewart can be passable/decent at 3rd (offensively and defensively), it's possible the loop in his swing is something that he can't adjust/fix. It's not hard to imagine LaHair plateauing as a decent bench option. It's also not that hard to imagine DeJesus' struggling (although I think he'll be alright). Our great bench doesn't mean that any of those guys are decent starters. I do tend to think Castro will take a step forward, though. - The bullpen ... sucks for much of the year. Whatever is ailing Marmol this spring isn't resolved. That leaves a pen with very few guys with swing and miss secondary pitches. I mean, it isn't that hard to imagine a crappy bullpen. - The rotation isn't as good as we hoped for (now, I tend to think the rotation will be fairly solid, just speaking on a negative end possibility). Garza regresses a bit (not hard to imagine). Father Time catches up with Dempster (not hard to imagine). Volstad (who I like) and Maholm show more as end of the rotation starters than borderline 3's (also not hard to imagine). Samardzija struggles with his consistency and his slider is never consistently solid enough, and shows more as an end of the rotation arm. Wood struggles if he gets the opportunity (not that hard to imagine coming off his 2011 and his spring), and Wells (who, personally, I think could bounce back to two year's ago form) shows more as an end of the rotation innings eater when called up. I mean, much as I have championed Dempster as a decent 2 still, it's not hard imagine this rotation as a decent 2 (Garza if he regresses) and a bunch of 4's and 5's. I'm not saying any of this will happen, and if you said to me, 60-72 is too wide a range, what's a specific number I'd go for, I'd say 68. But for all the talk about the depth of this squad, it's still more hope that the depth will develop than anything positive that we can feel comfortable about. So ... I really don't think it's that hard to imagine this team bottoming out as a 60 win team. I think they'll be a tad better, but I don't think it's as unrealistic as some are making it out to be. But that's me.

60 would be low end, and I hope you are right on mid-70s, but I tend to think they may sell a bit at the deadline so I could see some struggles in the second half.

I don't know what others are predicting but I tend to think 60-72 wins is the realistic range. I think the pitching should be good enough to help us to around 60 wins, even accounting for a possible late season sale.

Wells trade value may be higher in our minds than reality (including myself). After all, he passed through optional waivers with no one having interest. I tend to think if someone really wanted a starter like Wells, they would've claimed him, forced us to pull him, and then try to discuss a deal. Sending him to AAA is probably the best way to build up trade value, as he'll get regular innings, rather than the inconsistent innings he probably would've gotten out of the pen.

Doesn't sound like much anything special, but I prefer something like that over a 26-28 year old organizational junk baller. He can join Rebel Ridling, Justin Bour, and Richard Jones in our line of 1st baseman I hope to never see so we can go from Rizzo to Vogelbach. Weird seeing Jones in a grouping with Rebel and Justin. The former two (particularly Rebel) look to have a decent shot at making the bigs for a cup of tea, at least. I have no real hope for Richard Jones. ____ As for Bogaerts, whatever. With the depth of potential corner guys in the lower levels, I doubt he has a legitimate shot up the ladder, but at least the kid has some power potential. I didn't really have any high expectations on the final chip, and the best part is that this idiotic saga is over with. Maybe we'll keep Jair around long enough that he can entice his brother to sign with us as a FA ... nah, probably not ... that's WAY down the line.

(h/t TCR) the latest BA minor league transactions: Mild disappointment that Richardson and Ebinger never developed. Granted, the cuts aren't surprising, just disappointment that things didn't turn out better.

If Campana is being sent down, it does seem to suggest a 12 man staff. Maybe that means Shawn Camp makes it. The biggest issue I have with the makeup of the pen is that there are so few legitimate guys with consistent swing and miss secondary pitches. There's some heat, assuming a guy like Castillo, de la Cruz make it along with Dolis. That said, it's a rebuilding year and we'll get to see if Dolis can develop at the MLB level. I know the argument for Dolis' low K rates last year has always been that he had the stuff, but the Cubs wanted him to focus on control. For lack of a better way to phrase it, seeing is believing, though, and I'll be curious if he can show a consistently good breaking ball. I'm partly assuming that the final pen decisions haven't been made because the Cubs are probably inquiring with the Phillies about what it would take to keep Castillo in the minors. Maybe that's a wrong assumption.

nvm ...

I'm still surprised that the Cubs could get Wells through waivers, but more power to us if they did get him through. Sure feels like they are hoping for a trade to happen, hence keeping Wells on regular starting duty so he can get his innings/work in.

One advantage Clevenger has in making the roster is that he has more options than Castillo. Thus, if they feel it's close, they could start with Clevenger because the additional options offer that flexibility.

AzPhil made a post about some injury news, nothing surprising. Berg, Gaub, Cales, Whitenack, Negrin, Rosscup, Fitzgerald, Greathouse, Mitchell, Peralta, Elias, Maltos-Garcia, Urban, Maples all won't be ready for the start of the year.

AzPhil had two interesting posts in the comments section. First, I asked how Penalver looked. He responded: I can't help but be a bit disappointed in the response. ___ He also notes a bunch of injury stuff, such as that Ha, LePage, Cuneo, Balaguert may not start the season, which could save a spot for someone, however temporarily.

Interesting. AzPhil was still under the impression that Greathouse would be coming late. Wasn't there some talk that he was excused because he just had a kid? I mean, it's not a huge loss. Just curious.

It's not as exciting, but there's still, as of now, intriguing pieces, and I think we all are thinking that some of the XST folks will see Peoria this year. But leaving those guys aside, Marco Hernandez is still there, along with Reggie Golden and Pin-Chieh Chen. There's still some intrigue with Dustin Geiger, and then there are likely to be several arms that hold interest.

Looking at AzPhil's latest minor league rosters (I'm too lazy to really double-check it against his last update right now), I see Spencer was shifted down to Daytona. I didn't notice anything else notable off the top, outside of the recent major league cuts sent to Iowa. Looks like there's going to be high potential of a lot of slashing in the upper levels of older guys. Won't be surprised if some guys that hold some mild intrigue get cut in the final days.

AzPhil notes a ton of movement, and then posts updated minor league rosters in the comments. http://www.thecubreporter.com/2012/03/25/ryan-dempster-day-fitch-park Of note - - Baez, Vogelbach, Rosario, Candelario, Amaya, and others down to Boise/Mesa. (I'm guessing Shoulders was sent down as well, but AzPhil listed him in both places). - Golden and Chen to Peoria. - DeVoss, Andreoli, Lopez to Peoria. - Ha to Tennessee, Szczur to Daytona. Honestly, I'm at the stage of just waiting to see how things play out. It feels like they do want young guys down in XST for a bit, perhaps, as craig noted last time (I think), to establish the new "Cubs Way". I do like the CF movement - it's not as if Chen was a guy that screamed a level jump, and it's not as if Szczur/Ha did enough last year to warrant another bump up. This keeps everyone in CF for the near future, so we'll see how Ha plays in CF.

Saw Rob G post this at TCR (figured I'd give appropriate acknowledgement), but BA's latest minors transactions - http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/2012/03/minor-league-transactions-march-13-19/ There was that poster that seemed really high on Klafczynski, but all in all, no one cut that surprises. Shame on Latham - was fascinated with him pre-issues. One of the final DnF guys, had a good fastball and a nice power slider. Never thought back then that Parker would be the better of the two pen arms. Was really high on Latham back then.

Okay, I assumed you were just talking about the rotation. But even positionally, it's probably still a tiny stretch to argue that the Iowa lineup would give similar or better production than the MLB unit as a whole, relative to the start of the season. It's easy to talk about youngsters, but it's the exception that doesn't miss a beat in the majors. I'm far higher on Brett than some, as I think his ceiling is under-rated a tiny bit (but granted, not many reach their ceilings), but it's hard to imagine Brett not having hiccups in the bigs in his first year (I know I posted some ridiculous thing somewhere asking for positive season ending outcomes and said that a strong 2nd half would lead Brett to the ROY ... more wishful thinking than anything, albeit not impossible). Rizzo had his hiccups last year, so we have to see if he can bounce back. Soto should be more productive offensively than Clevenger or Castillo, and Castro is on a whole separate level. And yes, it's fair to question Ian Stewart, but he has some record in the bigs showing his power. The depth of the big league squad also helps a fair amount. It's not impossible that whatever unit that starts in Iowa might be similarly productive in capability to whatever unit is in the bigs, but I wouldn't be on it. Now, the Iowa unit will probably be more proficient at getting on base and creating problems on base, with Brett, Campana, and Sappelt at the top of their lineups.