Results tagged ‘ Carlos Pena ’
7/7 Extra bases
* The Cubs are 24-33 in 57 games decided by three or fewer runs this season, including a 10-17 mark in one-run decisions. The Cubs are a season-low 18 games under .500 for the first time since completing play Sept. 13 last season at 63-81.
* Carlos Pena is one of four Cubs left-handed hitters to reach 18 homers before the All-Star break. He joins Billy Williams, Rick Monday and Henry Rodriguez. Williams hit 19 before the break in 1964, 26 in 1970, and 22 in ’72. Monday hit 21 before the break in ’73 and Rodriguez hit 19 in ’98. All of Pena’s homers have come since May 3.
* In 14 games since June 24, Aramis Ramirez has hit .385 with three doubles, nine homers, 15 RBIs and 16 runs scored. He has a 1.372 OPS in that stretch, second in the Majors behind the Rockies’ Carlos Gonzalez. His 14 homers are the most before the break since he hit 17 in the first half of 2008 season.
– Carrie Muskat
6/18 Crash course
How about Carlos Pena’s collision at home in the sixth inning Saturday with Yankees catcher Russell Martin? Trailing 3-2 with one out, Pena was hit by a pitch and Reed Johnson was safe on a fielding error by Eduardo Nunez. A.J. Burnett exited, and Cory Wade entered. Alfonso Soriano hit a grounder to Alex Rodriguez, who threw to Robinson Cano at second. But he muffed it for an error and the bases were loaded. Geovany Soto then flew out to left and Pena tried to score but Brett Gardner fired a perfect strike to Martin, who survived a collision at the plate.
“We had to try it,” Pena said. “I thought it was the right thing to do. He was blocking the plate, and there was only one way to get to home plate and that was through him. He took a hit like a champ and held onto the ball and it was a great play by him so hats off.”
Said Martin: “Gardy’s the one who threw it. All I have to do is hold on to the baseball. That’s what you’re hoping for when you see that play develop — a long hop. The tough ones are the short hops.”
Pena and Martin exchanged a few words at first when Martin singled in the eighth.
“I know he’s a hard-nosed player,” Pena said. “He said, ‘That was a great drive, you hit me good.’ I said, ‘I don’t know how you held on.’ Among colleagues at the end of the day, we’re all friends and competing. I was impressed he held onto that ball. I took my best hit and he did a great job holding onto it.”
Martin apparently was talking to Nick Swisher on Friday, saying he was getting a little “bored” behind the plate.
“I got what I asked for,” Martin said.
“With two outs, you take a shot,” Mike Quade said. “He [Gardner] was in a position to make the best throw he could make given his momentum, and he did.”
Added Pena: “Anything in the air, I was going to go back and tag. I knew it would be a tough play for Gardner. He made a perfect throw. That’s a chance I want to take every single day. Right there, I’m going to go. They made the play. I’d rather err on the side of aggressiveness and that’s what we did today.”
– Carrie Muskat
6/13 Lineup, Pena, schedule & more
Monday’s Cubs lineup was very right-handed against Brewers lefty Randy Wolf, and rookie DJ LeMahieu made his first start at first.
“Carlos [Pena] needs a day off worse than me,” Mike Quade said of the first baseman who has taken more than his share of foul balls off his leg. “It was a long trip for him. Left-handers have been hard on him. He’s black and blue from his knee to his ankle on one leg.”
* After dealing with the Cardinals, Reds and Phillies, the Cubs now face the Central Division leading Brewers and Yankees.
“This club is playing great baseball and you’d love to cool them off,” Quade said of the Brewers, who have won eight of their last 10.
It’s a tough schedule.
“I get paid to manage this club and do the best I can for this organization every day, whoever is healthy and whoever is not,” Quade said. “If I stay with that, then I come to the park ready to go every day. You leave the park after tough losses and it’s no fun. And it’s the same for those guys. They’ve come in and stayed loose in the clubhouse and human nature makes things tough but you have to find a way to fight through it. In some way, with some of the kids who are here, it’s been easier.”
* Alfonso Soriano went 0-for-3 on Sunday and the plan is for him to get 10 to 12 at-bats in the Minors. More important, Quade wants Soriano to be 100 percent healthy. He’s been on the DL with a strained left quad.
* Reed Johnson has a black eye after being hit in the head by a pitch. His batting helmet also is cracked. He could be activated Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on results from tests taken Monday.
* Marlon Byrd took batting practice on the field for the first time since he was hit in the face with a pitch May 21. It’s been three weeks, and he has about three more weeks to go in his rehab.
– Carrie Muskat
6/4 Post-game Cubs notes
Carlos Marmol threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings to set the Cubs franchise record with 25 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings on the road. The previous mark was 24 innings, shared by Warren Brusstar and Lee Smith.
* Carlos Pena has hit five of his eight home runs on the first pitch.
* Tyler Colvin is in a funk. He’s hitless in his last 12 games (0-for-23).
* The Cubs now have lost a season-high five straight games after Saturday’s extra-inning loss, and dropped to 10-games under .500 at 23-33.
* Who would’ve thought this would be the Cubs’ lineup in early June? At the end of Saturday’s game, Darwin Barney was at short, DJ LeMahieu at second, Blake DeWitt at third, Tyler Colvin at first, Tony Campana in center, and Lou Montanez in left.
– Carrie Muskat
5/15 Looking at positives
5/10 Dominican players honored
The Cubs, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and Gisselle Castillo-Veremis, the consul general of the Dominican Republic, will honor players from the Caribbean island in a pre-game ceremony tonight. They will present Starlin Castro, Carlos Marmol, Marcos Mateo, Carlos Peña, Aramis Ramirez and Alfonso Soriano as well as the Cardinals’ Albert Pujols and Miguel Batista with a special recognition award on behalf of the president of the Dominican Republic.
The first Dominican-born Cubs player was Roberto Pena, who was the team’s Opening Day shortstop in 1965. Pena played in 57 games for the Cubs (1965-66), 55 of thoee games at shortstop. The Cubs first Dominican-born pitcher was Jose Nunez in 1990.
Carlos Pena is the 46th Dominican player to appear in a Major League game with the Cubs. Of those 46, Sammy Sosa played the longest at 13 years. Aramis Ramirez (nine seasons), Carlos Marmol (six seasons) and Alfonso Soriano (five seasons) are next on the seniority list.
At least one Dominican-born player has played for the Cubs every season since 1989. Last year, there were seven with Soriano, Castro, Ramirez, Marmol, Mateo, Esmailin Caridad and Welington Castillo. Seven Dominican-born players also played for the Cubs in 1997.
The Cubs have expanded their commitment to the Dominican. They are in the process of finalizing details for a new academy there. Chicago Cubs Charities donated more than $40,000 to the Dominican in the last year. The money was designated to fund a rural health care program and doctor visits to communities to identify patients at risk for diabetes, to expand a surgical center recovery room, and to construct a new facility at a local school.
– Carrie Muskat
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