Chicago Cubs Rumors & News

CHICAGO – It can be a long road from first-round gem to a potential fringe major league prospect.

CHICAGO – When Andre Dawson was inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame on July 25, he went in as a Montreal Expo.

The Chicago Cubs will unveil a statue of Hall of Famer Billy Williams Tuesday, Sept. 7 in a ceremony to take place at the corner of Sheffield Avenue and Addison Street outside of Wrigley Field, beginning at 5:30 p.

The Chicago Cubs recalled catcher Welington Castillo from Triple-A Iowa. Castillo joins the Cubs for his second stint in the big leagues this season and is available for this afternoon's game against the New York Mets at Wrigley Field.

The Cubs lost three of four from the Mets at Citi Field in April. The Mets are buried in fourth place in the NL East. They rank near the bottom of several key offensive categories, including runs (14th), on-base percentage (14th) and home runs (15th).

Cubs owner Tom Ricketts said Wednesday the process leading up to the hiring of a new field manager is strictly in the hands of general manager Jim Hendry.

The Cubs and Mets, who open a three-game series today at Wrigley Field, are two of the most disappointing teams in baseball over the last two years for their high-salaried star power -- and they represent cautionary tales against combining short-sighted goals with long-sighted spending. Perhaps nobody in baseball has gotten less bang for bigger bucks in recent years.

Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts says it's up to general manager Jim Hendry to identify the right guy to replace Lou Piniella as manager. But no matter how good Hendry's new manager is, if the Cubs plan to contend next season, that's probably going to be up to the Ricketts ownership.

Don't be surprised if former Florida Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez winds up a leading candidate to replace Lou Piniella within the next few weeks. Sources say that Gonzalez is at the top of general manager Jim Hendry's wish list in the early stages of the process and that he prefers a manager with major-league experience.

Baker, Riggleman also faced soaring expectations before the bottom fell outTwo years later, Lou Piniella is home watching the Cubs on TV, while GM Jim Hendry is searching for his successor. Lasting success eluded Lou in Chicago, just as it had eluded Dusty Baker and Jim Riggleman.

But Ricketts adds Hendry's choice will be about best candidate rather than best one for marketingCubs chairman Tom Ricketts will be involved in the managerial search, but is leaving the process in GM Jim Hendry's hands.

Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts will be involved in the managerial search, but is leaving the process in GM Jim Hendry's hands.

Cubs starter Dempster chased early in uninspiring 14-7 lossIn the waning days of the disastrous 1985 season, which began with great expectations after the Cubs ended a 39-year playoff drought in '84, general manager Dallas Green promised a more competitive atmosphere in training camp.

Hot Cubs rookie has required at-bats to go with average within 15 points of leaderRookie Starlin Castro officially became eligible for a batting title Monday and found himself ranked fifth in the National League Tuesday with a .313 average.

By Dave van DyckDisabled Carlos Silva is tentatively scheduled to start Monday as the Cubs begin a series against the Astros. With the absence of Tom Gorzelanny due to a left-hand injury, Casey Coleman is the tentative Tuesday starter, although that could be changed if he is used in rellief this weekend.For Friday's game against the Mets, with Randy Wells starting, the lineup had Kosuke Fukudome and Starlin Castro in the top two spots and with Geovany Soto back as catcher.The lineup:Fukudome, rfCastro, ssByrd, cfRamirez, 3bNady, 1bSoto, cSoriano, lfDeWitt, 2bWells, p

The Cubs recalled catcher Welington Castillo from Triple-A Iowa and he will be available for Friday's afternoon's game against the New York Mets at Wrigley Field.Castillo, 23, played in two games when he was first called up by the Cubs in early August. He hit .167 (1-for-6) with a double. With Iowa this season, Castillo is hitting .255 (61-for-239) with 17 doubles, 13 home runs and 59 RBI in 69 games.

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CHICAGO -- Chicago Cubs pitcher Tom Gorzelanny left the game Wednesday in the third inning after being hit in the left hand by a line drive off the bat of the Pittsburgh Pirates' Jose Tabata. Thomas Diamond relieved Gorzelanny, who gave up two hits and no runs in two innings.

Lou Piniella won't soon be forgotten on the North Side for a nearly four-year run of great highs, heartbreaking defeats, a few memorable outbursts and a personality every bit as big and brash as the franchise's famous fan base....

A few notes and musings left in the rubble of the Cubs' post-Derrek Lee loss to the Padres today - most of it falling under the category of ``here we go again.'' Anyone notice the new guy hitting for...

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=5519006|http://assets.espn.go.com/media/motion/2010/0831/dm_100901_buster_blog_thumbnail_big.jpg|Buster Olney blogs about the Cubs reported interest in Fredi Gonzalez

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=5518059|http://assets.espn.go.com/media/motion/2010/0831/dm_100831_mlb_pit_chi_thumbnail_big.jpg|Pirates beat Cubs in Chicago

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=5514402|http://assets.espn.go.com/media/motion/2010/0830/dm_100830_mlb_pirates_cubs_thumbnail_big.jpg|Cubs top Pirates, 14-2

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=5507810|http://assets.espn.go.com/media/motion/2010/0828/dm_100828mlb_cubs_reds_thumbnail_big.jpg|Cubs snap five-game losing streak to the Reds