Chicago Cubs Rumors & News

Cubs blow lead, lose 5th straight

Northwest Herald — CINCINNATI – One awful pitch ended Scott Feldman’s streak of solid starts and kept the Cubs in their downward spiral.

Feldman helps with bat, hurts with arm

Chicago Cubs Blog | ESPN Chicago — CINCINNATI -- The glow of Scott Feldman's first career home run didn't last very long. What tarnished it left him and manager Dale Sveum somewhat frustrated. The Cubs' right-hander gave Chicago a 3-0 lead with a two-run homer in the second inning. He gave it up by throwing a hanging curveball on a full count with two outs to catcher Ryan Hanigan with pitcher Bronson Arroyo on deck. Hanigan capitalized with a three-run homer to left field that capped Cincinnati's five-run fourth inning and helped send the Cubs to a 7-4 loss before a sellout crowd of 40,716 -- many of them, as usual, Chicago ...

Post-contract pressure for Cubs' Rizzo?

Inside the Cubs | Chicago Sun-Times — CINCINNATI -- Mired in a deepening slump, without a hit since Saturday, $41-million first baseman Anthony Rizzo showed up in the clubhouse Friday with his once-curly locks suddenly straightened. Aerodynamics? "Yeah, I'm trying to steal more bases," he cracked,...

Sveum gives Soriano a rest vs. Arroyo

Chicago Cubs Blog | ESPN Chicago — CINCINNATI -- Chicago Cubs manager Dale Sveum was looking for a chance to give Alfonso Soriano a day off. With Bronson Arroyo scheduled to start for the Cincinnati Reds in the first game of their three-game series against Chicago at Great American Ball Park, Friday seemed like as good a day as any. Not only did Soriano go into that game hitting a mere .225 (25-for-11) with two home runs and 11 runs batted in against right-handed pitchers this season, he is hitting just .

Trade deadline already looms for Cubs

Inside the Cubs | Chicago Sun-Times — CINCINNATI - The feeling of inevitability is sinking in as the Cubs approach June buried in the standings and looking at another July roster purge that could involve everybody from Friday's starting pitcher and closer to the entire starting...

Cubs mailbag: Kevin Gregg

Chicago Cubs Blog | ESPN Chicago — This week Chicago Cubs closer Kevin Gregg answers the mail. Gregg, who was picked up off waivers for his second stint with the Cubs, is 6 for 6 in save opportunities going into Friday's game. He answers your questions: What would you say is the biggest adjustment you've made between your two stints with the Cubs? -- Topher (Bourbonnais, Ill.) What gets lost in the mix last time I was here (in 2009) I had one bad outing early but then threw well in May, June and July.

Ozzie to Cubs: Put me in as coach

Chicago Sun-Times — CINCINNATI — Maybe Ozzie Guillen’s the answer to what ails the Cubs. The former White Sox manager and all-time Chicago lightning rod is certainly willing to rent his expertise to the North Siders. All they have to do is call and find a place for him on manager Dale Sveum’s coaching staff, and Guillen’s all in. “Of course,” Guillen said Friday as a guest on the “Sports Talk Live” show on Comcast SportsNet Chicago. “And I would tell Dale and Theo [ Epstein], I don’t look for anybody’s job. Let him take the heat. When you...

Trade great: Travis Wood is ‘the best’

Chicago Sun-Times — CINCINNATI — This franchise renovation might seem to be getting old fast, with little progress evident at the big-league level as the Cubs try to avoid a fourth consecutive losing season. But take an afternoon break Saturday from watching the paint dry on the rehab work, and you might glimpse one of the early signs of upward mobility. That’s when Travis Wood — “the best pitcher in baseball, pretty much,” according to manager Dale Sveum — faces his former Cincinnati Reds team and tries for the 10th start in a row to pro...

Rapid Reaction: Reds 7, Cubs 4

Chicago Cubs Blog | ESPN Chicago — CINCINNATI – Here's a quick look at the Chicago Cubs' 7-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Friday at Great American Ball Park. How it happened: Scott Feldman strengthened the case against the designated hitter, but it didn't help him overcome a disastrous fourth inning. After needing just 34 pitches to negotiate the first three innings, the right-hander threw 40 in Cincinnati's five-run fourth. Joey Votto hit a one-out solo home run to extend his hitting streak to 13 games and Ryan Hanigan smacked Feldman's 35th pitch of the inning into the left-field seats for a three-run, go-ahead blast.

Cubs Game Day: Reds snatch lead off Feldman

Cubs Blog | Chicago Breaking Sports — CINCINNATI -- The Cubs begin a three-game series in Great American Ball Park riding a four-game losing streak, starting the day 12 games behind division-leading St. Louis.    

Beer and baseball: Which ballpark scores

Cubs Blog | Chicago Breaking Sports — The brews and don'ts at U.S. Cellular and Wrigley FieldI am a lifelong Cubs fan, and I'm one of those lifelong Cubs fans who equate the White Sox with the Green Bay Packers, St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Heat: You are the unseemly other, and I delight in your every failure.    

Sveum: No danger of Jackson losing rotation spot

Cubs Blog | Chicago Breaking Sports — CINCINNATI — Chicago Cubs manager Dale Sveum has no intention of lifting Edwin Jackson from the rotation at any point.    

Frustration mounts with 1-7 Jackson

Chicago Cubs Blog | ESPN Chicago — PITTSBURGH -- Before the Chicago Cubs lost 4-2 to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday afternoon, manager Dale Sveum sounded like a man getting frustrated with some of his lineup issues. After the loss he seemed to direct some of that frustration to the team's $52 million offseason signing, Edwin Jackson. He had little command on the mound, giving up four runs to the Pirates in the first two innings while Pittsburgh completed a series sweep. "(He) seems to be not coming out with a whole lot of conviction early in games," Sveum said.

Rapid Reaction: Pirates 4, Cubs 2

Chicago Cubs Blog | ESPN Chicago — PITTSBURGH -- Here's a quick look at the Chicago Cubs' 4-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday: How it happened: Before the rains came, the Pirates jumped all over starter Edwin Jackson, who once again wasn't sharp. Jackson gave up a pair of runs -- on six hits -- in each of the first two innings, raising his ERA back over 6.00. Most were hard hit balls as Travis Snider, Andrew McCutchen and Michael McKendry had the runs batted in. The Cubs got on the board in the fourth inning when an Anthony Rizzo ground out drove in David DeJesus.

Samardzija: Urlacher was 'perfect' for Bears

Chicago Cubs Blog | ESPN Chicago — PITTSBURGH -- Count Chicago Cubs pitcher -- and former football player Jeff Samardzija -- as another person who will miss Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher. Urlacher announced his retirement on Wednesday, after 13 years in the NFL, the same day Samardzija threw seven innings of one-run ball against the Pittsburgh Pirates. But the news of Urlacher's retirement didn't escape Samardzija. "What a perfect guy to have in that spot on that team," Samardzija said.

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