Results tagged ‘ Travis Wood ’
11/15 Garza gets go-ahead
Matt Garza was given the go-ahead to resume his normal offseason routine in preparation for Spring Training after getting a clean scan on his right elbow, the team announced Thursday. Garza, who turns 29 on Nov. 26, was shut down after his July 21 start because of a stress reaction in his right elbow. He underwent a scan this week which revealed he was healing as expected, and was cleared by team orthopedic specialist Dr. Stephen Gryzlo to resume his workouts. Fans did their best, sending get well wishes, and the right-hander tweeted his thanks. Garza tweeted: “I’m still getting ready for February!! Slow and steady is gonna win this race! #can’twait”
In 18 starts, Garza was 5-7 with a 3.91 ERA. His return is needed as the Cubs head into the 2013 season with Jeff Samardzija and Travis Wood healthy, and are counting on recently acquired right-hander Scott Baker, who is coming off Tommy John surgery. The Cubs are in the market for at least one more starting pitcher.
– Carrie Muskat
10/3 Extra bases
* Losing 100 plus games should motivate the young Cubs.
“We have a lot of young guys who are learning and trying to make the adjustments up here,” pitcher Travis Wood said. “I think it can only help us in the long run. This season will leave a bad taste in everybody’s mouth. I think we’ll all be fired up and ready to go this spring.”
* Sveum proved he’s very patient during what was a trying season. Will fans support the team as it goes through its growing pains? Wednesday’s crowd was 27,606, and the Cubs finished with less than 3 million at home for the first time since 2003, drawing 2,882,756 for the season.
“I’m sure they’ll gradually get a little less patient,” Sveum said. “People still have to understand things don’t happen overnight. It’s a gradual repair job as well. Whatever happens in the winter — free agents, non-tender guys, whoever you bring in — we have to have some guys who can hit home runs, too. I don’t mean literally. Guys have to have good years.”
* The Cubs won their season finale for the first time since beating the Rockies, 8-5, on Oct. 1, 2006, at Wrigley Field.
* Starlin Castro became the first player to play shortstop in all 162 games in a season on Wednesday, and is the first Cubs infielder to appear in all 162 games since Ron Santo in 1968.
* Tony Campana stole a base and finished with 30 steals for the season.
* Shawn Camp made his 80th appearance, and became the ninth pitcher in Cubs history to reach that mark, and first since Sean Marshall in 2010.
* What’s the biggest thing Sveum will take from this season?
“To really know that I have a lot of patience,” he said. “I kind of knew that was one of my fortes anyway but this tried your patience quite a bit. I can always fall back on that if I don’t have anything else.”
Maybe one of the reasons is he stayed patient was because he didn’t read any negative comments in the local media.
“I don’t read the paper, I don’t ‘twit’ and I don’t do Facebook,” said Sveum, who meant that he doesn’t “tweet” as in Twitter.
– Carrie Muskat
9/30 Cubs vs. Astros
The Cubs have one series remaining in the 2012 regular season, and will wrap things up against the Astros, starting Monday night at Wrigley Field. Here are the pitching matchups:
Monday: RHP Jason Berken (0-2, 5.14) vs. RHP Lucas Harrell (10-11, 3.88)
Tuesday: RHP Chris Volstad (3-11, 6.64) vs. RHP Bud Norris (6-13, 4.82)
Wednesday: LHP Travis Wood (6-13, 4.39) vs. RHP Edgar Gonzalez (3-1, 4.15)
9/28 Cubs lineup
The Cubs open their final road trip of the season on Friday against the Diamondbacks, and need four wins in the final six games to avoid a 100-loss season. They are 0-16 on the road against NL West teams, with three to go. Here’s the lineup:
DeJesus CF
Sappelt RF
Rizzo 1B
Soriano LF
Castro SS
Valbuena 3B
Castillo C
Barney 2B
T. Wood P
– Carrie Muskat
9/27 Extra bases
As of Thursday, Starlin Castro has played in all 156 of the Cubs games this season. Manager Dale Sveum doesn’t plan on giving his shortstop a day off.
“That’s what you want,” Sveum said of Castro’s durability. “When you get to a point and you have young players capable of doing it health wise, you want them to play every day.”
Castro has set career highs with 12 triples and 25 stolen bases, and is the only player in the Major Leagues with at least 10 home runs, 10 triples, 25 stolen bases and 75 RBIs. He’s the first player to do so in the National League since Jimmy Rollins in 2007. Since Castro’s debut in May 2010, he leads all NL players in hits.
But Sveum wants Castro to get better, especially on his defense. Among the things he’d like the shortstop to work on is to not rely on his arm so much. Sveum likes to call such infielders “grass huggers” because they don’t want to leave the grass, their arms are so strong.
* In his 30 years in the game, Sveum had not seen a baserunner get thrown out at third trying to advance on a sacrifice fly to left, but the Cubs have made the gaffe twice in two weeks. Joe Mather did so Wednesday.
“If you brought it up in a group session, there would be a lot of eyes rolled, but unfortunately, it’s been a reality the last couple weeks,” Sveum said. “It’s almost a learning tool — it’s like, all right, don’t be rolling your eyes, this actually happened the last two weeks.”
* Travis Wood will open the Cubs series on Friday at Arizona, and said he’s ignoring his record, and focusing on what he’s learned this season.
“Forget the numbers,” said Wood, who is 6-12 with a 4.23 ERA. “The experience is the key part. Everybody tries to finish strong, and you want to take that into the offseason and get ready for the next season.”
– Carrie Muskat
9/27 Pitching matchups
The Cubs close the road portion of their schedule this weekend in Arizona. Here are the pitching matchups:
Friday: Travis Wood (6-12, 4.23) vs. Ian Kennedy (14-11, 4.14)
Saturday: Justin Germano (2-9, 6.18) vs. Trevor Cahill (12-12, 3.86)
Sunday: Chris Rusin (1-3, 7.30) vs. Josh Collmenter (5-3, 3.80)
9/20 Here come the Cardinals
The Cubs play host to the Cardinals in a three-game series, which starts Friday. Dale Sveum expects to hear from a few of his friends on the Brewers about the importance of winning this weekend against the Redbirds. If the season ended today, St. Louis has clinched one of the Wild Card spots. But the Brewers are 2 1/2 games back.
“The Cardinals are coming in and it’s a spoiler factor to come out and play with a lot more enthusiasm than we’ve had the last few days and focus a little more,” Sveum said. “We’ve had a few breakdowns. We have to swing the bats a lot better than we have in some situations.”
Here are the pitching matchups:
Friday: Chris Volstad (3-10, 6.26) vs. Chris Carpenter (0-0, 0.00)
Saturday: Travis Wood (6-12, 4.25) vs. Adam Wainwright (13-13, 3.97)
Sunday: Justin Germano (2-8, 6.17) vs. Kyle Lohse (15-3, 2.71)
* Sunday will be Kerry Wood appreciation day at Wrigley Field. Wood and his family will be present, and they will sing the seventh inning stretch.
– Carrie Muskat
9/17 Cubs lineup
Brett Jackson is back in center field for the Cubs in the series finale against the Pirates. Here’s the lineup:
DeJesus RF
Valbuena 3B
Rizzo 1B
Soriano LF
Castro SS
Castillo C
Jackson CF
Barney 2B
T. Wood P
* Starlin Castro has a career-high 75 RBIs this season, tops among Major League shortstops. He is the first Cubs shortstop in 51 years to reach 75 RBIs in a season. Ernie Banks totaled 80 in 1961 when he played 104 of his 138 games at short.
– Carrie Muskat
9/12 Cubs lineup
Anthony Rizzo, who suffered a bruised shoulder in a freak fall on Tuesday night, is not starting for the Cubs on Wednesday in the series finale against the Astros. Here’s the lineup:
Mather CF
Barney 2B
Castro SS
Soriano LF
Castillo C
Vitters 3B
Sappelt RF
Recker 1B
T. Wood P
– Carrie Muskat
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