Chicago Cubs

9:32 p.m. CDT, April 22, 2013

CINCINNATI — Reds manager Dusty Baker said he's happy to hear the Cubs are trying to renovate Wrigley Field, and wished they had done it while he was in Chicago.

"It's like an older home that has a one-car garage and a half-bath," Baker said. "You need more room. They need a weight room. They talked about it when I was there. But it was something about some property that was owned by the railroad.

"I know everybody was excited about that, because if a guy gets hurt, they have to go to Northwestern... read more

Associated Press

PHOENIX -- For one afternoon, Chicago Cubs manager Dale Sveum could laugh about his team's travails on the basepaths. 

"We're like a vitamin -- one a day," Sveum said after actually watching two runners get thrown out Sunday in a 7-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. 

"You don't teach it. You don't see it. Strange stuff. It's unbelievable." 

Such stuff is one of the reasons Chicago is in the midst of its own final-week push, this one to avoid becoming the first Cubs team since 1966 to lose 100 games. 

With 99 losses already after ending a seven-game losing streak, the Cubs will have to sweep their last three games against the only major league team with a worse record -- the 106-lossHouston Astros... read more

CHICAGO -- Chris Volstad had to wait through a couple of rain delays while he worked on his first victory in more than a year, and it seemed like an eternity to the tall right-hander as he moved closer to the end of a 24-start winless streak.

"It's only fitting that the day took pretty long," a relieved Volstad said Sunday after pitching theChicago Cubs to a 5-0 victory against the Colorado Rockies.

The start of the game was delayed 2 hours, 23 minutes by rain, and there was another weather interruption of 30 minutes after the eighth inning before the game was called... read more

CBSSports.com wire reports

MINNEAPOLIS -- In the last year of his contract with the languishing Chicago Cubs, Ryan Dempster is a prime candidate to be traded this summer.

Dempster was the one who was dealing on Sunday afternoon.

The right-hander further raised his market value with eight shutout innings, and the Cubs beat theMinnesota Twins 8-2 for their fifth win in the last 25 games.

"Whether it's making a start, getting in the lineup or coming out of the pen, you just have to try and make the most of those opportunities," Dempster said.

After an 18-start winless streak dating to last August 11, Dempster (2-3) won his second game this week, another gem for this Cubs team that brought the worst record in the majors into the series finale at Target Field... read more

By CHRIS JENKINS 

The Associated Press

MILWAUKEE — Norichika Aoki homered twice, including off Casey Coleman to lead off the 10th inning to give the Milwaukee Brewers a 4-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Thursday.

MILWAUKEE — One night after proving they can win despite striking out a lot, the Chicago Cubs showed why it’s not their best formula for success.

Facing a dominant performance from Zack Greinke and not faring any better against the Milwaukee Brewers’ bullpen, the Cubs struck out 15 times in an 8-0 loss Wednesday.

“If you’re going to strike out that many times on back-to-back nights, you’re not going to put many runs up, that’s for sure,” Cubs manager Dale Sveum said. “Greinke was about as good as he’s going to get... read more

Associated Press

MILWAUKEE –  At this point, the Milwaukee Brewers can't beat a team on an 11-game road losing streak with a starting pitcher who hasn't won since last August.

Of course, it makes a difference when that pitcher is Chicago's Ryan Dempster, who has owned the Brewers for most of his career... read more

By Alex Pavlovic 

With their closer out for the season and their interim closer out for the series, the Giants turned to a committee while sweeping the Chicago Cubs.

Jeremy Affeldt pitched two perfect innings to pick up the save in a 3-2 win Monday, becoming the fourth Giants reliever in six games to earn a save.

The win marked the seventh consecutive game in which the starting pitcher threw at least seven innings and gave up two or fewer runs. That kind of dominance makes life easy on a banged-up bullpen that was called on for just 102/3 innings on the seven-game homestand... read more

By JANIE McCAULEY

SAN FRANCISCO -- Manager Dale Sveum is quickly tiring of the mental mistakes that are costing the Chicago Cubs in close games.

This time, in the team's 11th straight road loss, the culprit was shortstop Starlin Castro.

The Cubs missed chances against Ryan Vogelsong and lost 3-2 Monday to get swept by the San Francisco Giants, dropping the four games by a combined five total runs.

Leading by one with the bases loaded and one out in the fifth, Cubs starter Jeff Samardzija induced a groundball by Brandon Crawford. Second baseman Darwin Barney flipped the ball to shortstop Castro at second, but he didn't attempt a throw to first and instead began trotting toward the dugout believing the inning was over... read more

By JOSH DUBOWAP Sports Writer

SAN FRANCISCO -- Manager Dale Sveum is running out of explanations for his team's recent rut after the Chicago Cubs were shut down byBarry Zito to waste a stellar start from Travis Wood.

Zito pitched 8 1-3 scoreless innings for his 150th career win and Joaquin Arias snapped an 18 at-bat hitless stretch with an RBI single that led the Giants to a 2-0 victory over the Cubs on Sunday.

"It's a broken record," Sveum said. "I don't know what to say to come up with something different to make it ... read more

Randy HoltNHL Network Manager 

Even going back to the winter, it had to be tough to be Bryan LaHair... read more

The Chicago White Sox debated long this offseason and ultimately decided they didn't want to become the Chicago Cubs.

Dayan Viciedo, center, high-fives A.J. Pierzynski after his two-run homer helped the White Sox sweep the Cubs from May 17-19.

The Cubs stink this year, and, to be honest, Epstein, despite public proclamations to the contrary, knew they'd stink. Maybe they didn't quite envision a 12-game losing streak that ended Tuesday, one of the five longest in franchise history... read more

CHICAGO (AP) -- Jeff Samardzija had plenty of extra motivation on Tuesday. It was his own bobblehead day.

Alfonso Soriano homered, Samardzija struck out eight in seven innings and the Chicago Cubs beat the San Diego Padres 5-3 Tuesday.

The Cubs starter was relieved.

"You don't want to pitch bad and go outside and see your bobblehead smashed all over the place," Samardzija said. "I wanted to just keep the game close and hopefully people will go put them in their room instead of the trash."

Samardzija departed after Will Venable 's RBI triple with no outs in the eighth... read more

CHICAGO (AP) – The Chicago Cubs stopped their 12-game losing streak as Alfonso Soriano hit a go-ahead home run Monday in an 11-7 win against the San Diego Padres

Alfonso Soriano, right, went 3-for-4 with three RBI against the Padres. He is second on the Cubs with 27 RBI for the season.

The Cubs' skid was their worst since they opened the 1997 season with 14 straight losses.

Chicago trailed 7-6 in the sixth inning when Soriano launched a drive off Alex Hinshaw (0-1) over the right-field bleachers onto Waveland Avenue... read more

by Steven Muma

The last couple of weeks have been dreadful for the Chicago Cubs, who have lost 12 games in a row. The losing streak has pushed the team's overall record from 15-20 to 15-32, and they find themselves 12 games behind first place Cincinnati in the National League Central division.

Related: Cubs Vs. Pirates Final Score: Losing Streak Continues With 10-4 Loss

Here are the full NL Central standings as of Monday morning:

1. Cincinnati (27-20)2. St. Louis (26-22)3. Pittsburgh (23-24)4. Houston (22-25)5. Milwaukee (19-28)6. Chicago (15-32)

Offensive production has been a major problem for the Cubs, who've scored two runs or fewer seven times during the current losing streak... read more

By Tab Bamford

In the wake of Kerry Wood announcing his retirement from the Chicago Cubs, fans have engaged in a number of discussions surrounding Chicago sports. Wood certainly left a lot of fans wondering what could have been had he stayed healthy, but Wood isn't the greatest "What if" player in Chicago. In fact, there are a number of players and scenarios that have made fans ask that multi-million dollar question over the years.

Over the last week, we've looked back at the biggest "What if" players and scenarios in each Chicago team's history.

Monday, we looked back at the five biggest "What if" players/scenarios in Blackhawks history... read more

by Ricky O'Donnell

The Chicago Cubs have proposed a $300 million public-private plan to renovate Wrigley Field, but the team still needs the help of Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel to get it done. One problem: Emanuel, the former chief of staff for President Barack Obama, didn't like hearing about a Republican Super PAC headed by Joe Ricketts, billionaire father to Cubs owner Tom Ricketts, that planned to launch a nasty smear campaign this fall against Obama and his re-election campaign.

Tom Ricketts and the rest of the Cubs have tried to distance themselves from the Super PAC since the initial New York Times report, but Ricketts seems aware he's facing an uphill battle to renovate Wrigley... read more

The Chicago Cubs haven't been much to watch this season, but first baseman Bryan LaHair has been at least one positive for the team this season.

As of May 22, LaHair is batting .315 with 10 home runs and 21 RBI through 150 plate appearances this season. Those numbers are incredibly good for a guy who had only appeared in 65 games during his career prior to this season.

Those numbers are not just reflective of his performance this past year.

He had a strong year last year in the minors, batting ... read more

By KRISTIE RIEKENAP Sports Writer

HOUSTON (AP) - Jason Castro and Chris Johnson each hit three-run homers and Bud Norris threw seven scoreless innings to give the Houston Astros an 8-4 victory over the slumping Chicago Cubs on Monday night.

Castro's home run came in the second inning and Johnson added his in the third, to hand the Cubs their season-high seventh loss in a row.

Jed Lowrie homered for the second straight game, hitting a solo shot in the seventh inning to give the Astros three homers in a game for the second time in three games.

Norris (5-1) allowed five hits with eight strikeouts in seven innings... read more

Reuters

10:11 p.m. CDT, May 20, 2012

Near the end of his pregame confab with reporters Sunday, manager Dale Sveum was asked if the organization is thinking of bringing up first-base phenom Anthony Rizzofrom Class AAA (Des Moines) Iowa.

"That's definitely got to be talked about," Sveum said before the Cubs fell 6-0 to the White Sox for their sixth straight loss. "He's done everything he can down there. Still, when you bring somebody up like that, he's got to play every day... read more

ST. LOUIS (MCT) — The Chicago Cubs have two prime All-Star candidates on this year’s fan ballot in Starlin Castro and Bryan LaHair, though it will be difficult for either to make it as a starter without help from the team’s marketing department.

Castro, who made the National League team as a reserve shortstop last year, is hoping to start July 10 at Kansas City.

“I have a chance,” he said. “I’ll just keep playing hard and let’s see what happens.”

LaHair probably doesn’t have enough name recognition to get voted in, but he leads all NL first baseman with 10 home runs, and is ranked second with a ... read more

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Yes, the Cardinals took part in their second consecutive sweep over the weekend.  Unfortunately, they were on the receiving end of this one, being whisked right off of their own home field by the red-hot Atlanta Braves.  This stung a bit.  Not only, other than Friday, were they never really “in” the series, but now we have to hear the “can’t win out of their weak division” chatter incessantly again from those in town who’ve basked in Cardinal misery for 20-years, while equally basking in free bar tabs at every chain restaurant in St... read more

By Carrie Muskat / MLB.com |

CHICAGO -- The Cubs were in the right place at the right time for Paul Maholm.

Bryan LaHair hit a well-placed RBI single in the seventh to give Maholm all he needed and lead the Cubs to a 1-0 victory Wednesday over the Braves to claim the series and win for the fifth time in the last eight games... read more

By Carrie Muskat / MLB.com

CHICAGO -- The Cubs weren't sure where the power would come from with Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Pena gone from the lineup, but Bryan LaHair and Ian Stewart seem to be filling in just fine.

LaHair and Stewart hit consecutive homers, Geovany Soto launched a two-run shot in the eighth and Carlos Marmol survived a shaky inning to back Jeff Samardzija, lifting the Cubs to a 5-1 victory over the Braves on a foggy Monday night... read more

By Carrie Muskat / MLB.com |

CHICAGO -- David DeJesus was thrown out at home plate in the ninth inning Sunday and missed a chance at scoring the game-winning run. He made up for it in the 11th.

DeJesus drew a walkoff walk with the bases loaded in the 11th to lift the Cubs to a 4-3 victory over the Dodgers and take the series... read more

By Cash Kruth / MLB.com

CHICAGO -- There was the same drama on the mound in the ninth inning Friday at Wrigley Field as there had been all season for the Cubs. A few of the same erratic pitches, the same scenario with runners on and the go-ahead run at the plate... read more

By Carrie Muskat / MLB.com

CINCINNATI -- Bryan LaHair provided the power, Jeff Samardzija threw strikes, Ian Stewart finally came through, Geovany Soto delivered when needed and the Cubs made the plays on defense Wednesday night in a well-played 3-1 win over the Reds... read more

By Mike Radano / Special to MLB.com

PHILADELPHIA -- Chicago Cubs center fielder Tony Campana just wanted to reach base.

Sent to Triple-A Iowa after a tough spring, the young outfielder has made the most of his opportunities since rejoining the Cubs this April... read more

Ante up, folks; you’re now in The Card Room w/KMFP.

Well thank Vin Diesel the offense showed a little spark in the afternoon finale of this forgettable Chicago trip.  Though they’ll stumble back home with their first series loss of the season, at least the Cardinals weren’t swept by a bunch of Scott Maine, Jeff Baker, Reed Johnson and Ian Stewart’s.  Seriously, these are real players on the roster.  These may be the whitest men on the planet and they sound more like the extras on an episode of Star Trek or Battlestar Galactica that you just KNEW weren’t coming back from the mission... read more

Ante up, folks; you’re now in The Card Room w/KMFP.

Our boys of summer completed another series win against the Pittsburg Pirates over the weekend, opening the season by winning their first 6-series and 16-straight dating back to last fall.  While beating the Pirates is a notch above beating the Cubs, these are still professional teams (barely) and this run of series wins is very impressive.

Now that I’ve taken yet another shot at those Cubs, I’ll eat my crow sandwich after last night’s “blah” game and come-from-ahead loss.  Dan McLaughlin summed it up perfectly when he stated something to the tune of “it feels like the Cardinals have dominated this entire game but are now a base hit away from losing it... read more

By Bradford Doolittle / Special to MLB.com

CHICAGO -- Saturday's game didn't look like a promising matchup for Paul Maholm, but he pitched his best game of the season to end a pair of streaks.

Maholm held the Reds to four hits and one run over six innings as the Cubs snapped their six-game losing streak with a 6-1 victory at Wrigley Field despite trade rumors swirling around one of their regulars... read more

Posted: April 10, 2012 - 11:13pmBy JON MARK BEILUE 

As with all ideas that include five guys walking 1,900 miles with a 4-month-old goat, this one was probably fueled by adult beverages.

“We were all sitting around last summer, and the idea came up, and it slowly started to evolve,” said Kyle Townsend. “There might have been a few beers involved. Finally, we decided, ‘Why not?’”

So there were Townsend, Philip Aldrich, Matt Gregory, Blake Ferrell and P.J. Fisher sitting about 25 feet off U.S. Highway 60 five miles southwest of Hereford last Friday... read more

Ante up, folks; you’re now in The Card Room w/KMFP.

After dropping the disappointing home opener of the Cubs series, the Cardinals beat them down the next 2-days like Roman Polak on a San Jose Shark, taking yet another series against a division foe.  And since I mentioned hockey, is there even a goalie on the ice in the Penguins – Flyers series?

Back to the weekend that was, a secret deal was made where we’d spot the Cubs our 2012 home opener in exchange for them spotting the rest of the flippin’ league a World Series title before their next one.  With 8-teams still remaining on that list, it was a nice feel-good moment for our poor “rivals” (a true rivalry requires actual competition) in the state next door... read more

By Carrie Muskat / MLB.com

ST. LOUIS -- On Saturday, the Cubs will be on the field for the Cardinals' ring ceremony to pay their respects to the defending World Series champions. But on Friday, they crashed the party.

Bryan LaHair belted his first career grand slam and Ian Stewart hit his first homer in more than a year to power the Cubs to a 9-5 victory over the Cardinals in their home opener... read more

Ante up, folks; you’re now in The Card Room w/KMFP.

Like the heart wrenching lyrics from the underrated voice of the incomparable Meatloaf, “two out of three ain’t bad”.  Another series win on the road and our St. Louis Cardinals sit at 5-2 as they finally get ready for their own home opener.  We got out of Cincinnati with the series win and without Johnny Cueto sending anybody into retirement with his best Pele impersonation again.

The Chicago Cubs now come to town with their 1-5 season record and their 0-103 life record of suck.  No better way to open up at home and thank your boys for a World Series title than to do it against the worst team in the history of sticks and balls... read more

Ante up, folks; you’re now in The Card Room w/KMFP.

The first series is now under our belt and what have we learned?  We’ve learned that the first ever undefeated MLB season is out of the conversation, that this offense will be just fine without Albert Pujols and that, conversely, great pitching still stifles great offense.

There really isn’t much more we could’ve asked for after 4-games.  Pending Jake Westbrook’s start tonight, our rotation looks every bit as solid as we hoped for coming out of the gates.  Wain-O wasn’t bad by any means, just got out pitched by an excellent opponent... read more

By Carrie Muskat / MLB.com

CHICAGO -- Jeff Samardzija has made it clear since he was drafted by the Cubs how much he wanted to be known as a big league starting pitcher, and not a one-time All-America wide receiver. On Sunday, he looked a lot like the former... read more

PATRICK MOONEY

MESA, Ariz. – On the day the Cubs put his name in lights on the Wrigley Field marquee, Theo Epstein joked that he should immediately hold another press conference to resign, because his popularity was at an all-time high.As the jam-packed stadium club began to thin out, it came across as another moment of self-awareness for Epstein, who had grown restless last October after almost 10 years in a dream job, general manager of the Boston Red Sox.So as the Cubs shut down spring training at HoHoKam Stadium on Tuesday and headed for their United Airlines charter flight back to Chicago, their president of baseball operations understood that you have to be braced for the backlash... read more

By Carrie Muskat / MLB.com

MESA, Ariz. -- Jeff Samardzija set school records in touchdowns, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns at Notre Dame, has played in bowl games and in front of 100,000 fans. But on Thursday, he scored a personal goal, securing a spot in the Cubs starting rotation... read more

MESA, Ariz. -- The Chicago Cubs had a new face in the clubhouse Monday morning, and it was up to Ryan Dempster to point out relieverShawn Camp to the media.

Camp was released by Seattle a few days ago, and signed to a minor league deal by the Cubs on Sunday. He held his first news conference in front of a locker without a nameplate, and since no deal had been announced, one of the first questions he was asked was, "Who are you?"

It all happened quickly, Camp said.

"I was a little surprised," Camp said. "I was having a good spring and came in on a major league deal... read more

Ante up, folks; you’re now in The Card Room w/KMFP.

If we’ve learned anything from last season, you’d think it would be to keep an even keel.  Don’t get too high or too low, especially too early, and hang on for the ride.  Before you run out screaming “the season is over” or “they extended Kevin Slaten’s show another 2-hours”, take a step back and breathe.

First, you won’t have to worry about Slaten’s show ever being that long, as there are only so many pre-taped interviews, fabricated arguments, rants and one-sided, over the top hyperbole you can spew before actually having to form a truly logical opinion and, oh-I don’t know, respect that of another at some point... read more

By Carrie Muskat / MLB.com

CHICAGO -- Kerry Wood is staying put.

In an announcement perfectly timed to kick off the Cubs Convention on Friday, Wood and the team reached agreement on a one-year, $3 million deal with a $3 million club option for 2013... read more