CaliforniaRaisin

MESA SOLAR SOX Bench Coach: Ryne Sandberg (Peoria) RHP Jesse Estrada (Iowa) RHP Esmailin Caridad (Tennessee) RHP Rocky Roquet (Tennessee) LHP Donnie Veal (Tennessee) C Steve Clevenger (Daytona) SS Darwin Barney (Daytona) 2B Nate Spears (Tennessee) OF Tyler Colvin (Tennessee) Link to all teams' rosters (warning: PDF)

They started off with AAA. Only one I-Cub made the PCL list:

On Sunday, the Boise Hawks' web site had this to say: Which on its own is odd. And Inside the Ivy has more: I imagine this is the swan song for the Mark Pawelek era.

NL's Best Tools Here are the Cubs who made it: BEST HIT-AND-RUN ARTIST 1. Ryan Theriot, Cubs 2. Bengie Molina, Giants 3. Jack Wilson, Pirates BEST PITCHER 1. Brandon Webb, Diamondbacks 2. Tim Lincecum, Giants 3. Carlos Zambrano, Cubs BEST RELIEVER 1. Brad Lidge, Phillies 2. Brian Wilson, Giants 3. Kerry Wood, Cubs BEST DEFENSIVE THIRD BASEMAN 1. David Wright, Mets 2. Aramis Ramirez, Cubs 3. Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals BEST MANAGER 1. Bobby Cox, Braves 2. Tony La Russa, Cardinals 3. Lou Piniella, Cubs BEST DEFENSIVE FIRST BASEMAN 1. Derrek Lee, Cubs 2. Albert Pujols, Cardinals 3. Todd Helton, Rockies And a couple of categories with no Cubs: BEST HITTER 1. Albert Pujols, Cardinals 2. Chipper Jones, Braves 3. Lance Berkman, Astros BEST POWER 1. Ryan Howard, Phillies 2. Albert Pujols, Cardinals 3. Adam Dunn, Reds AL's Best Tools BEST HITTER 1. Alex Rodriguez, Yankees 2. Manny Ramirez, Red Sox 3. Joe Mauer, Twins BEST POWER 1. Josh Hamilton, Rangers 2. Alex Rodriguez, Yankees 3. Manny Ramirez, Red Sox BEST PITCHER 1. Roy Halladay, Blue Jays 2. Cliff Lee, Indians 3. Josh Beckett, Red Sox And an here is an in-depth story on Derrek Lee and his defense by John Manuel with help from Bruce Miles and Phil Rogers. http://www.baseballamerica.com/images/dlee8428309dw.jpg

This has made a big stir in LA and everyone is pissed at Jeff Kent for saying anything remotely negative about Vin. Vin is to LA fans what Steve Stone wishes he could be. It'll be fun to hear Jeff Kent booed as badly as Andruw Jones has this season.

http://blogs.jsonline.com/brewers/archive/2008/08/05/is-it-a-big-deal.aspx Good times.

Jay Jackson and Josh Whitlock's promotions have been mentioned elsewhere in the forum. 19-year old Australian RHP Ryan Searle was promoted to Boise. :D ETA: Marco Carrillo was promoted to Tennessee.

RHP Francory Pineda (stats) of the DSL Cubs 1 was suspended 50 games for testing positive for metabolites of Stanozolol, a PED: link. Since then, Starling Peralta, Jesse Lebron and Alexander Mejia have been suspended for PEDs. And on 8/29, Arturo Florentino, Carlos Galvez and Jose Tineo were also suspended for PEDs.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080730&content_id=439532&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp I'd have to think he'd be the hitting coach, but that's just a guess.

It's his third, you can find it on the front page.

As is 1B Sean Hoorelbeke who is 2nd in the AZL in OPS at 1.192 (amongst 4 Mesa Cubs in the top 4 in OPS in the AZL). Cashner is expected to debut with the Hawks on Tuesday.

http://www.northsidebaseball.com/Articles/ArticleText.php?ArticleID=128

Guess the growth plates never kicked in. :(

He's out of the Olympics and the rest of the season. Sounded like it could have been worse. http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/jul/23/redbirds-colby-rasmus/

CC Sabathia at Braden Looper San Diego at Cincinnati 11:35 AM CDT Oakland at Tampa Bay 11:40 AM Minnesota at NY Yankees 12:05 PM Texas at Chicago Sox 1:05 PM Pittsburgh at Houston 1:05 PM Detroit at Kansas City 1:10 PM LA Dodgers at Colorado 2:05 PM Cleveland at LA Angels 2:35 PM Boston at Seattle 3:40 PM Toronto at Baltimore 6:05 PM Philadelphia at NY Mets 6:10 PM Atlanta at Florida 6:10 PM Chicago Cubs at Arizona 8:40 PM Washington at San Francisco 9:15 PM

Jeff Suppan at Kyle Lohse

http://trades.mlblogs.com/archives/2008/07/randy_wolf_headed_to_houston.html

Shockingly no Cubs. All minor leaguers sans RHP Stephen Strasburg of San Diego State, who right now is the leading candidate to be the #1 pick next June (he's the first collegian to make the US Olympic team since pros became eligible in 2000). http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/?p=1365 Also, we know C Chris Robinson will be leaving the Smokies to go play for the Canadian Olympic team in Beijing. Hung-Wen Chen will NOT be playing for Taiwan.

The surgery is scheduled for tomorrow in Chicago. :( Will post a link when I get one.

Box Scores: Iowa lost 8-6, Box Score: CF F. Pie 1/4, R, BB 1B M. Hoffpauir 1/4, R, HR (11), 3 RBI, BB, 2 K LF J. Dubois 1/5 RF J. Kroeger 1/4 3B M. Craig 3/4, 2 R, 2 2B (2), SB (1) SP J. Berg 4 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 9 GO-2 FO RP JR Mathes 1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 2 GO-1 FO Tennessee is off for the SL all-star break. They will resume on Wednesday. Daytona lost 2-0, Box Score: CF J. Adduci 0/3, 2 K - ejected in the 6th inning C S. Clevenger 1/4 3B M. Smith 1/4, K DH R. Canzler 1/2, BB 2B T. Thomas 1/2, BB, K SP B. Muldowney 5 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HR, 8 GO-4 FO RP A. Harben 3 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 4 GO-3 FO Peoria won 4-3 in 10 innings, Box Score: SS N. Samson 1/5, 2 R, K LF B. Guyer 2/4, R, 2 2B (17), BB, HBP DH L. Bautista 1/4, HBP RF C. Andersen 0/2, 2 BB, K SP S. Eyre 1.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 GO-1 FO - rehab RP R. Hernandez 5.2 IP 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K, 5 GO-8 FO RP J. Lathan 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 2 GO-2 FO Boise won 3-2, Box Score: CF J. Harrison 2/5, R, 2B (8), HR (1), RBI 3B J. Vitters 1/4, K C C. Perez 2/3, R, 2B (4), RBI, BB, SB (2) SS R. Flaherty 0/2, 2 BB, 2 K RF K. Burke 0/3, BB, 2 K, OF assist at home SP C. Coleman 5 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 2 HR, 8 GO-2 FO RP D. McDaniel 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 2 GO-2 FO AZL Cubs lost 4-3, Box Score: SS S. Castro 1/4, BB, K DH M. Cerda 0/4, K 3B J. Contreras 1/4, 2 R, HR (4), RBI, BB, K RF N. Perez 2/4, R, 3B (5), HR (5), 2 RBI, 2 K CF T. Willis 3/4, SB (3), CS (3) SP L. Johnson 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 3 GO-0 FO RP Y. Gonzalez 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 4 GO-2 FO RP T. Mitchell 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 GO-0 FO - pro debut RP O. Martinez 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 GO-2 FO Both DSL squads have the day off. Overall: 3-2 World Futures won 3-0, Box Score: C W. Castillo 0/2, 2 K

http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/prospects/rankings/top-100-prospects/2008/266496.html Their new top 25: 1. Clayton Kershaw, lhp, 20, Dodgers (AA) 2. David Price, lhp, 22, Rays (AA) 3. Matt Wieters, c, 22, Orioles (AA) 4. Colby Rasmus, of, 21, Cardinals (AAA) 5. Jason Heyward, of, 19, Braves (LoA) 6. Cameron Maybin, of, 21, Marlins (AA) 7. Matt LaPorta, of, 23, Indians (AA) 8. Rick Porcello, rhp, 19, Tigers (HiA) 9. Andrew McCutchen, of, 21, Pirates (AAA) 10. Travis Snider, of, 20, Blue Jays (AA) 11. Chris Tillman, rhp, 20, Orioles (AA) 12. Neftali Feliz, rhp, 20, Rangers (AA) 13. Trevor Cahill, rhp, 20, Athletics (AA) 14. Austin Jackson, of, 21, Yankees (AA) 15. Dexter Fowler, of, 22, Rockies (AA) 16. Brett Anderson, lhp, 20, Athletics (AA) 17. Michael Bowden, rhp, 21, Red Sox (AA) 18. Jarrod Parker, rhp, 19, D'backs (LoA) 19. Tim Alderson, rhp, 19, Giants (HiA) 20. Mat Gamel, 3b, 22, Brewers (AA) 21. Wade Davis, rhp, 22, Rays (AA) 22. Jeremy Hellickson, rhp, 21, Rays (AA) 23. Mike Moustakas, 3b, 19, Royals (LoA) 24. Fernando Martinez, of, 19, Mets (AA) 25. Madison Bumgarner, lhp, 18, Giants (LoA) Just missing the cut: Lars Anderson, 1b, Red Sox; Adrian Cardenas, 2b, Phillies; Alcides Escobar, ss, Brewers; Michael Saunders, of, Mariners; Max Scherzer, rhp, Diamondbacks. They stuck Josh Vitters in the "Growing Pains" section: "Josh Vitters, the third overall pick in 2007, is still looking to stick in full-season ball." There were no other comments on Cubs prospects who made the top 100 list last offseason though they acknowledged the graduations of Kosuke Fukudome, Geovany Soto and Sean Gallagher.

Per the Knoxville News-Sentinel.

LHP JR Mathes RHP Mike Burns http://iowa.cubs.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080703&content_id=427471&vkey=pr_t451&fext=.jsp&sid=t451 ...

BA's top rookies in baseball has 3 Cubs involved: 1. Geovany Soto, c, 25, Cubs AVG: .284 OBP: .371 SLG: .517 AB: 271 HR: 13 2B/3B: 22/1 SB: 0/0 Black Ink: SO (70). Gray Ink: AVG, OBP, SLG, AB, H (77), 2B, HR, RBIs (47), BB (39), TB (140). Though he scuffled a bit in June (.250/.327/.420), Soto remains a leading contender for the NL Rookie of the Year award—which would go well with his Pacific Coast League MVP from last season. His case is bolstered by his handling of the pitching staff for the league’s top team and by the fact that he stands to be the starting catcher in the All-Star Game. In addition to his hitting exploits, Soto also has thrown out 13 of 46 (28 percent) of opposing basestealers, the sixth-best rate in the NL. 4. Kosuke Fukudome, rf, 31, Cubs AVG: .296 OBP: .404 SLG: .430 AB: 284 HR: 6 2B/3B: 16/2 SB: 7/10 Black Ink: AVG, OBP, R (55), BB (52). Gray Ink: AB, H (84), SB. The Cubs leading the NL in on-base percentage? It’s true, and Fukudome is the biggest reason why. And that’s not the only reason that Kosuke was born to be a Cub. Check out his numbers away from Wrigley Field: .218/.331/.296 in 142 at-bats. 17. Sean Gallagher, rhp, 22, Cubs W-L: 3-3 ERA: 4.36 IP: 53 2/3 H: 54 SO: 47 BB: 20 HR: 6 G/F: 1.00 Gallagher stepped into Rich Hill’s vacated rotation spot and has helped ensure that the Cubs haven’t lost ground in the NL Central. Along with Soto and Fukudome, the Cubs have gotten more contributions from rookies than any other team—as successful teams often do—mirroring the Red Sox’ fortunes with Dustin Pedroia, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima last season. All-Rookie Team C—Geovany Soto, Cubs 1B—Joey Votto, Reds 2B—Alexei Ramirez, White Sox 3B—Evan Longoria, Rays SS—Mike Aviles, Royals LF—David Murphy, Rangers CF—Jacoby Ellsbury, Red Sox RF—Kosuke Fukudome, Cubs DH—Ben Francisco, Indians SP—Jair Jurrjens, Braves SP—Joba Chamberlain, Yankees SP—Greg Smith, Athletics SP—Armando Galarraga, Tigers RP—Kyle McClellan, Cardinals And here's SI on Soto: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/albert_chen/07/02/chen.sotocubs/