First Cuts of Spring

Fourteen who would be Cubs were sent away this afternoon following the Cubs 10 to 5 shelling of the Giants.

Carlos Zambrano had a good day with four sound innings and two extra base hits. The good guys scored six in the first inning and coasted from there, getting good pitching efforts from Wil Ohman, Carmen Pignatiello, Bob Howry (despite a two run homer) and Jeff Samardzija, who was among the cuts.

Zambrano was the hitting star and the Cubs hit as a team today, racking up twelve hits and coaxing five walks. Proves the theory that if you get enough baserunners, your bound to score some runs.

The first round of cuts rarely have any surprises. Four were roster moves, with Samardzija being sent to Daytona’s single A club. First baseman Brian Dopriak was sent to Double-A Tennessee, while infielder Scott Moore and pitcher Clay Rapada were sent to Triple-A Iowa.

A lot was expected of Moore and Rapada, but neither could boast of their spring as Samardzija can. Moore committed two fielding errors in five innings and failed to get a hit. Rapada allowed five runs in three innings of work. Both will need to have big years in Iowa to be invited back to Mesa next year.

Ten of eighteen non-rosters invited to camp were sent to “minor-league” camp. Some will end up in Triple-A Iowa while others will hope to catch on with another club. Still others in the past have retired, not making the big club and not wanting to spend another year in the minors.

Infielders Mike Kinkade, who was putting together a nice spring, was sent down along with Eric Patterson. Outfielders Tyler Colvin and Chris Walker were also sent away. Colvin, like Samardzija, has a lot of promise, but is very young. He will likely start at Daytona this year, while the others will likely wind up in Iowa.

Among the non-roster pitchers were Sean Gallagher and Adam Harben who hold a lot of promise. Jason Anderson is older, but a sentimental favorite, having pitched at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. Hopefully, he will pitch in Iowa and be brought up during the year if injuries take a toll. Still, he has enough experience that another club could scoop him up.

Ben Howard, John Webb and Randy Wells were also sent down today. None of these embarrassed themselves this spring, yet they failed to turn heads.

Forty-four players remain in camp. Nineteen will be sent away, either via trade, disabled list or demotion. Some, like Juan Mateo and Geovanny Soto are foregone conclusions. Others, like Buck Coats and Angel Guzman are fighting for their place. Others, like Roberto Novoa and Angel Pagan, have had a taste of the big leagues and are fighting to show they deserve to remain.

Each of these youngsters still has three weeks to prove their worth. The next round will likely come next Monday or Tuesday. In the meantime, Wade Miller will try to improve his chance at being the fifth man in the rotation tomorrow as the Cubs take on the A’s in Scottsdale. Another dramatic saga continues…