Results tagged ‘ Mike Quade ’
9/17 Q on lineup: “I’m mixing and matching”
Marlon Byrd got Saturday off and Mike Quade said he’s “99 percent sure” he’ll give Aramis Ramirez Sunday off. But Quade is keeping the veterans in the lineup as the season winds down.
“I’m mixing and matching,” Quade said Saturday. “They deserve an opportunity — they don’t deserve to be shelved. I don’t think we’ll be successful in a lot of areas if I shelve all thoseguys.”
DJ LeMahieu will likely start at third if Ramirez sits. Carlos Pena is getting at-bats as he aims for 30 homers. He’s reached that figure in three of the last four years, missing last season with the Rays when he hit 28.
“You got a guy driving toward 30 home runs who has been a huge part of this ballclub both on the field and off the field — we need him in the lineup to win ballgames and he’s been a big part of that this year,” Quade said of Pena.
The first baseman is hitting .278 with 14 doubles, two triples and eight homers i his last 39 games since Aug. 3.
Said Pena: “It’s kind of cool that he’s looking out for me. I respect that — that’s awesome.”
– Carrie Muskat
9/12 The Rabbit sits
Bryan LaHair was batting .571 in six games since he was called up to the big league team but was on the Cubs bench Monday.
LaHair went 0-for-3 against the Reds’ starter Dontrelle Willis one week ago at Wrigley Field. Willis seems to be the only pitcher who can get the red-hot LaHair out so far.
“He’s getting base hits and doing some things with his at-bats — his takes, his pitch counts that he’s running up, he’s doing a lot of good stuff even if it results in a line drive to right,” Mike Quade said of LaHair. “We’ll see if it continues.”
LaHair did face lefties at Triple-A Iowa, batting .284 (40-for-141), including nine of his 38 homers.
On Monday, LaHair received the 2011 Joe Bauman Home Run Award, presented to the Minor League player who hits the most home runs. LaHair, 28 will receive $7,600 — $200 for each homer he hit — at Baseball’s Winter Meetings in December.
Whether LaHair has done enough to win a spot on the Cubs’ roster next year has yet to be determined. Quade has been impressed but it’s a small sample. LaHair has 14 at-bats.
“I’m not inclined to go nuts after watching a guy for four, five games,” Quade said.
P.S. Yes, LaHair’s nickname is The Rabbit.
– Carrie Muskat
9/5 Marmol back on track — for now
Carlos Marmol needed nine pitches Monday to dispense of the Reds in the ninth inning and pick up his 32nd save, preserving the Cubs’ 4-3 win. Marmol, who blew his ninth save opportunity in his last outing on Saturday against the Pirates, said he’s forgotten about that game.
“Tomorrow’s a new day,” Marmol said. “You don’t want to think about what happened yesterday.”
The right-hander doesn’t think about mechanics when he’s warming up in the bullpen. That’s just time to get his arm loose. But he can usually tell in the ‘pen if his mechanics are right. Can he do a seven-pitch outing every time?
“I wish,” he said.
“I’m a bit of a realist,” manager Mike Quade said. “When a guy struggles in an outing two days ago, you’re always a little bit concerned. Marmol’s pattern is that he’ll come back off those days and pitch like he did today. He hasn’t had a year like this, he hasn’t had the struggles like he’s had. Figuring out how to get back to where he was, figuring out how to deal with the frustration of not saving games, to me it’s all still a learning process. I wish he hadn’t had this adversity for sure but I do believe he’ll be better for it. The response today was exactly what you’re looking for.”
– Carrie Muskat
9/5 Cashner rejoins Cubs
Andrew Cashner was back in the Cubs’ clubhouse on Monday, activated from the disabled list and will be available in the bullpen Tuesday at the earliest. The right-hander has been on the DL since April 6 because of a strained right rotator cuff. He wrapped up his rehab with one inning on Sunday for Triple-A Iowa.
“The velocity was there and I’m really pleased with the way everything has gone,” Cashner said. “No pain and I feel like I’m 100 percent and ready to roll.”
In three appearances for Double-A Tennessee, he gave up two runs on three hits and did not walk a batter while striking out six over 2 2/3 innings. All of the runs came in his first outing. In two outings at Iowa, he did not allow a baserunner in two innings, and finished with two strikeouts.
“His pilgrimmage is over,” Mike Quade said.
“I threw the ball well,” Cashner said. “The main thing I wanted to work on was my fastball command down there. It’s there right now, so I’m feeling good and have a lot of confidence now and throwing good breaking balls and changeups. Everything’s been good.”
He will be used strictly out of the bullpen for the Cubs’ final 21 games. In October, he’ll pitch for the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League and was expected to start.
– Carrie Muskat
8/23 Cubs lineup
Starlin Castro is back in the Cubs lineup Tuesday night and leading off against the Braves and lefty Mike Minor. Castro was benched on Monday for his defensive lapse on Sunday night. Mike Quade has inserted Reed Johnson and Jeff Baker vs. Minor. They’re hitting .370 and .351 against lefties, respectively. The Cubs as a team are batting .271 against left-handers, second highest in the NL. Here’s the lineup:
SS Castro
RF Johnson
3B Ramirez
2B Baker
1B Pena
CF Byrd
LF Soriano
C Soto
P Coleman
– Carrie Muskat
8/23 Happy anniversary
Tuesday marks the one-year anniversary of when Mike Quade took over as manager of the Cubs. The team finished the 2010 season 24-13 under Quade, but stumbled this season, and are 56-72 and 20 games back in the NL Central following Monday’s 3-0 loss to the Braves. It was a game that summed up the season — decent pitching (Ryan Dempster picked up his team-leading 16th quality start), three 1-2-3 innings by relievers James Russell, Jeff Samardzija and Kerry Wood, and inconsistent offense (15 base runners stranded).
There have been a lot of distractions this season, from injuries to Carlos Zambrano’s criticism and retirement, to Jim Hendry’s dismissal. Quade’s status for next year is uncertain. He is signed through 2012 but whether he stays will be a decision left to the new GM.
“When the team is not doing good, they always blame somebody,” Alfonso Soriano said. “Sometimes they blame the manager and sometimes they blame the GM but they never blame the players. That’s the game. If we’re doing good, everyone feels that [Quade] is doing a very good job.”
– Carrie Muskat
8/21 Must see TV
If Carlos Zambrano was watching Sunday night’s ESPN baseball broadcast, he would have learned that it’s unlikely he’ll be back in a Cubs uniform. In an interview, chairman Tom Ricketts said he had a “hard time imagining” Zambrano pitching for the team again. Zambrano is currently on the disqualified list after his early exit from Turner Field on Aug. 12. Zambrano gave up five home runs that night, was ejected in the fifth inning after hitting Chipper Jones with a pitch, then packed his gear and left the ballpark. He told teammates he was retiring, and later recanted that story in an interview.
There have been plenty of distractions for the Cubs lately.
“The day to day activity here is probably a good thing,” said Cubs manager Mike Quade, who is taking it one day at a time. “It doesn’t allow you the time to sit back. You’re just consumed with what goes on here every day. I wind up saying, ‘It’s baseball,’ and then go about my business.”
– Carrie Muskat
8/21 Business as usual
“Tom has spoken about how happy he is and impressed he is with our scouting departments and player development,” Bush said Sunday. “He’s happy with [player development director Oneri Fleita's] leadership and [scouting director] Tim Wilken, and I expressed to them that [Ricketts] has those feelings about the job they’re doing and that we could see a path where a lot of things in place would stay in place.”
What would Bush tell the next Cubs GM?
“I’d tell him I believe we’ve done a great job recently of acquiring talent,” Bush said, “and that Mr. Ricketts has made a commitment both domestically and internationally to pursue the top talent available, and that our player development people are doing a great job of moving those players along at the right pace to get them here so they’ll be here for a long time.”
* If there are any waiver wire trades to be made, Bush will handle that. One thing he made clear to Ricketts was that things happen quickly in baseball. Some teams in the race may need help because of injuries or performance.
“I don’t anticipate anything,” Bush said. “I think it’s the nature of the business that opportunities come up at different times and we have to be prepared.”
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