Results tagged ‘ Darwin Barney ’

2/27 Defining Barney’s space

Darwin Barney’s locker area is defined by a white tape outline on the carpet in the HoHoKam clubhouse. Apparently, Barney needs his space.

“I came out of the game [Tuesday] and this was there,” Barney said Wednesday. “I can live with it. I was thinking about maybe putting up boundaries for everybody.”

There’s no doubting whose territory it is. Someone wrote, “Private, stay out, Barney’s area,” and added “P.S. I won a Gold Glove.” However, there is a typo on “area.” Does the second baseman know who did it?

“It looks like Otis’ handwriting, so that might be my guess,” Barney said of clubhouse manager Tom Hellmann. “Plus, he’s not a great speller. C’mon, I went to Oregon State.”

Wait a minute — isn’t the team supposed to try and be more of a sharing and caring group?

“I allow people in, like you guys [the media] aren’t allowed but teammates are definitely welcome,” Barney said, smiling.

– Carrie Muskat

2/24 Extra bases

* Darwin Barney and Starlin Castro will be using custom designed Wilson gloves this year, which Barney created. The gloves have the players’ signatures stitched in red and there is Cubs blue trim. Barney said he didn’t add any gold in honor of him winning his first Gold Glove trophy.

“We don’t have gold in our team colors,” he said. “[Castro] and I wanted the same colors.”

The Gold Glove award is sponsored by Rawlings, and Barney will not have a patch or anything else on his glove.

“People know,” he said. “We don’t need to remind them.”

* So far, Jorge Soler and Javier Baez have held their own early in camp.

“Like I keep saying, Soler keeps showing more and more poise at the plate,” Dale Sveum said of the Cubs two top prospects. “He’s not a premeditated swinger for a young guy. He gets a good look at the ball before he swings the bat. They’re impressive. Baez gets the guy over, hits a missile to right field, does a nice job at shortstop. So far, they’re living up to the hype a little bit.”

* If you’re traveling to Glendale on Monday for the Cubs game against the Dodgers, here’s the lineup:

Valbuena 2B
Barney DH
Schierholtz RF
Hairston CF
Nelson 1B
McDonald LF
Castillo C
Lake 3B
Gonzalez SS

* Video staffer Nate Halm beat reliever James Russell on Sunday in the second round of the Cubs bunting tournament. Also advancing was bullpen catcher Andy Lane, Edwin Maysonet and Travis Wood.

* Rafael Dolis apparently is the designated time keeper. When he went onto the field for the pre-game stretch, he was wearing a large clock around his neck on a chain. At least he wasn’t late.

– Carrie Muskat

2/19 Castro goes for gold

Starlin Castro wants a Gold Glove, and if early workouts are any indication, he’s going for it.

“I like the way he’s been going about his business for the first three days in camp defensively,” Dale Sveum said Tuesday. “It’s one thing I challenged him to do. [I said] ‘Your next step now is to win a Gold Glove,’ and obviously that takes a lot of focus and hard work and being focused for 150 pitches a game and 162 games. He’s got the ability to do it. The rest is up to him.”

He’s got some work to do. Castro committed 27 errors last season, the most among NL shortstops. He had the 10th best fielding percentage (.964) among NL shortstops. The Phillies’ Jimmy Rollins made 13 miscues in 152 games and compiled a .978 fielding percentage.

“I know that God gave me [the ability to] hit,” Castro said. “That’s why when I went to the Dominican, I worked hard every day on my defense. I want to be like [Darwin] Barney and win a Gold Glove. It’s going to be fun to win a Gold Glove at shortstop, second base and first base. It’s going to be fun because [Anthony] Rizzo is very good, too. It’s good motivation for me. I know I can be like those guys and play good defense.”

The problem in the past hasn’t been lack of effort but lapses in concentration. Castro is aware of the need to stay focused.

“My game plan is going to be perfect,” he said.

The Cubs feel Castro can do it, and last August, rewarded him with a seven-year, $60 million contract.

“It didn’t change anything,” Castro said of his new deal, “but you feel a little more relaxed because my family is going to be good now. I can just play baseball and forget about everything.”

– Carrie Muskat

2/18 Phillips felt ‘punk’d’

Cincinnati’s Brandon Phillips apparently does not like to lose. The Cubs’ Darwin Barney beat out Phillips for the Gold Glove award as the top NL second baseman, and the Reds infielder is bitter.

“They picked who they picked,” Phillips told Reds reporters when asked about being snubbed from the All-Star game and Gold Glove. “Do I feel I should have gotten both of those things? Of course. I feel like I’m one of the best second basemen in the game. I’m at least in the top three. I can’t make people vote for me on the All-Star team. I can’t make myself win the Gold Glove, even though I should have. When I didn’t win, I was surprised. I wasn’t mad at all, but surprised. I thought I got ‘punk’d.’”

– Carrie Muskat

2/8 Spring Training update

Nearly all of the Cubs pitchers have reported to Fitch Park for early workouts, and they’ve been busy. Kyuji Fujikawa threw off the mound around 8 a.m. on Friday. Matt Garza has had no setbacks and Edwin Jackson was spotted headed to the cage to work on his bunting.

Pitchers and catchers must be in Arizona by Sunday, but the first workout will be Tuesday at Fitch Park, beginning around 9:30 a.m. The workout is delayed one day so players can undergo physicals on Monday. There will be some working out early.

About 30 players were at Fitch on Friday, including early birds David DeJesus, Anthony Rizzo, Darwin Barney, Logan Watkins, Darnell McDonald and Steve Clevenger. The first full squad workout is scheduled for Feb. 17.

The Cubs are expecting about 62 players in camp, including outfielder Scott Hairston, whose contract has yet to be finalized. The front office will hold its organizational meetings Tuesday and Wednesday in the Phoenix area.

– Carrie Muskat

1/11 Cubs Convention schedule

The 28th annual Cubs Convention will be held next weekend, Jan. 18-20, at a new location, the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers. Opening ceremonies will be at 5 p.m. CT on Jan. 18 when players and alum are introduced on a red carpet runway that will provide special VIP access to children 16 and under.

The schedule for Jan. 19 includes “Cubs Jeopardy,” which will pit pitchers Milt Pappas, Scott Sanderson, Lee Smith and Rick Sutcliffe against position players Jose Cardenal, Jody Davis, Randy Hundley and Todd Walker. “Cubs Family Feud” will make its convention debut with former players Bobby Dernier, Jon Lieber, Gary Matthews and Billy Williams taking on current Cubs Michael Bowden, Shawn Camp, Brett Jackson and Ian Stewart.

Fans will have a chance to say hello to the team’s offseason acquisitions at a “Meet the New Cubs” session featuring pitchers Scott Baker, Scott Feldman, Edwin Jackson, catcher Dioner Navarro and outfielder Nate Schierholtz, hosted by television play-by-play broadcaster Len Kasper and his new partner, Jim Deshaies.

Other Jan. 19 sessions include:

* “Ricketts Family Forum:” Tom, Laura, Pete and Todd Ricketts will talk about their experience as the Cubs owners over the last three years and take questions from fans.

* “Meet Cubs Baseball Management:” Theo Epstein, president of baseball operations, will be joined by general manager Jed Hoyer, assistant general managers Randy Bush and Shiraz Rehman, and manager Dale Sveum to talk about the team’s recent moves and what lies ahead.

* “From Draft Day to the Big Leagues:” Minor League prospects Dallas Beeler, Matt Szczur, Robert Whitenack and Tony Zych will discuss what it’s like to get drafted by the Cubs and advance through the system.

* “Dale Sveum and the coaching staff:” Sveum and his staff will talk about the team and answer questions.

* “For Kids Only Press Conference, presented by Advocate Health Care:” Kids will get to play reporter and ask players questions. The panel will feature Darwin Barney, David DeJesus, Brooks Raley, Anthony Rizzo and Chris Rusin.

* “Renew Wrigley Field:” Cubs executives will discuss ideas to preserve and renew Wrigley Field based on input from Cubs fans, season ticket holders and the community.

* “Not for Women Only:” Baker, Feldman, Matt Garza, James Russell and Travis Wood will discuss their personal lives off the field.

The Jan. 20 program will include a “Down on the Farm” session in which player development/scouting director Jason McLeod, pro scouting director Joe Bohringer, and director of player development Brandon Hyde will talk about the Minor League system. They will be joined by prospects Chris Rusin and Josh Vitters.

Limited individual weekend passes are available for $60 per pass plus convenience fees. A percentage of the proceeds from the Cubs Convention benefits Chicago Cubs Charities. To date, Cubs Convention has raised approximately $4 million for Chicago Cubs Charities.

The Cubs have not released a complete list of the players who will attend the convention.

– Carrie Muskat

12/28 Strike a pose

Cubs outfielder David DeJesus and his wife Kim will host “Strike a Pose” fundraiser Jan. 17 at the River East Arts Center at 7 p.m. CT when Cubs players and their wives will walk the runway in a variety of fashions from the 900 North Michigan Ave. shops. Among the participants are Kerry and Sarah Wood, Darwin and Lindsay Barney, Travis and Brittany Wood, Shawn Camp, Tony Campana, Starlin Castro, Steve Clevenger, Scott Feldman, Brett Jackson, Anthony Rizzo, James Russell, and Ian Stewart. Proceeds from the event will benefit the David DeJesus Family Foundation, which is donating money raised to ALS research. Tickets are $250 per person and $2,500 per table (includes four tickets with reserved seating and table service). Besides the fashion show, there will be cocktails and food from Chicago restaurants such as Chicago q, RPM Italian, Bull and Bear, Shaw’s Crabhouse, Glazed & Infused, Pastoral, and Wow Bao. There also will be a live auction and raffle.

– Carrie Muskat

10/30 Barney wins Gold Glove – UPDATED

Darwin Barney became the Cubs’ first Gold Glove winner since 2007 when he took the defensive award on Tuesday night. Barney is the first Cubs second baseman to claim the honor since Ryne Sandberg did so in 1991. Barney made just two errors and posted a .997 fielding percentage. He played in 141 error-free games, tying a Major League single-season record for second basemen set in 2007 by Placido Polanco. Barney was three outs away from setting the mark before he was charged with a throwing error in the eighth inning Sept. 28 against the Diamondbacks.

Barney, who turns 27 on Nov. 8, does own all NL marks for consecutive error-less games at second base, surpassing Sandberg’s former record 123-game error-less streak, allowing for multiple seasons, that ran from June 21, 1989-May 17, 1990. David Eckstein owned the previous NL single-season mark of 113-consecutive games set with San Diego in 2010.

The Cubs infielder picked up the award over the Reds’ Brandon Phillips, who had the Gold Glove three times in the last four years.

“You don’t expect to pass a guy like Brandon Phillips,” Barney said. “He’s exceptional at what he does. He was the best in the game for a long time, and I can’t sit here and say I’m better than him or anything like that. I had a good season and I think either of us could’ve won it. Fortunately for me, I did. He very easily could have won just as easily as I could.”

Barney recalled a conversation he had with Al Geddes, who was the scout who signed the infielder back in 2007. Barney was playing shortstop for the Cubs but admitted that as much as he loved doing that, he thought he could win a Gold Glove at second base someday.

“It’s funny that three years down the road, it happened,” Barney said.

– Carrie Muskat

10/30 Barney looks golden

If you believe Brandon Phillips, Darwin Barney appears to have won the Gold Glove. Phillips, who won the top defensive award three of the last four seasons, tweeted today: “My 2012 Season/Postseason was GOOD … but NOT GOOD enough: No #AllStar + No #GoldGlove + No #SilverSlugger + No #WSRing = #MOTIVATION.”

Barney, Phillips and the Diamondbacks’ Aaron Hill were finalists for the Gold Glove award, to be announced tonight on ESPN2. Barney had the best fielding percentage among the three at .997, commiting two errors. He also set a NL record for consecutive error-less games, and tied a Major League mark.

– Carrie Muskat

10/29 Gold Glove announcement Tuesday

The Cubs’ Darwin Barney is one of the finalists for the 2012 Rawlings Gold Glove. The top defensive awards will be presented on Tuesday, starting at 8 p.m. CT (TV ESPN2). Hall of Famers Andre Dawson and Ozzie Smith will take part in the presentation. Each manager and up to six coaches on his staff vote from a pool of qualified players in their league, and could not vote for players on their own team. Barney is a finalist for top National League second baseman, along with the Diamondbacks’ Aaron Hill and the Reds’ Brandon Phillips. Barney finished with the top fielding percentage among NL second basemen (.997), committing two errors in 155 games. Hill and Phillips both have a .992 fielding percentage. Phillips has won the award three times in the last four years.

– Carrie Muskat

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