Wow, talk about some terrible drafting by the Chicago Cubs. You can say that all three of these players were complete busts after being drafted so high by the Cubs. In the past week, the team has cut ties with Ryan Harvey, Grant Johnson and Mark Pawelek. Three players right there that when they were drafted, we had all thought would be helping out the big league team about right now. I guess the team felt they needed to go in another direction even though the players are only in their 20′s.

I know a lot of people thougth Pawelek was a stupid signing when it happened. Sure he was a fireball thrower, but he played in the state of Utah and didn’t exactly face the best competition out of high school. Also, it was very weird seeing him sign the same day even though he was a Scott Boras client. Talk about taking seven figures from the Cubs and giving nothing back as far as production! Oh yeah, we can’t forget about the falling in the middle of the night over your Playstation and breaking your arm! Or having passport problems and getting shut down the rest of the year even though you were healthy. Sounds like there was more to Pawalek then most of us know.

Pawelek appeared in only 54 games over four seasons with the Cubs, mostly at short-season Low Class-A Boise. He was 6-12 with a 3.80 ERA and 147 strikeouts and 79 walks in 149 1/3 innings in those four seasons.

Pawelek was told “We have exhausted all efforts with you, and things did not go as we planned.’ Basically … ‘you’re not playing well and we don’t want you around anymore in Pawelek’s words.’”

Harvey is actually one player I was excited to see progress through the Cubs minor league system. However that never really happened as he only made it to Double-A Tennessee. Harvey compiled a career batting average of .247 in 471 games with a career .298 OBP. He was the Cubs first round pick in the 2003 draft and the sixth overall pick. Ryan had a very hard time hitting the ball in the minor leagues, and the Cubs had thoughts of coverting him to a pitcher as he also pitched in highschool but he didn’t want any part of that I have heard.

As for Johnson, he was the teams first pick in the 2004 draft even though he was drafted in the second round out of Notre Dame. Johnson struggled at Class-A Daytona Double-A Tennessee last season as he compiled a 5.32 ERA to go along with a 3-8 record.

The Cubs also released Paul Bako and Mike Stanton as they have trimmed their Major League roster down to 28 players. Expect to see a trade or release involving Chad Gaudin or Angel Guzman who both have struggled this spring and both are out of options. We could also possible see Jeff Samardzija be sent down Triple-A Iowa.

Manager Lou Piniella announced on Sunday that Kevin Gregg would open the season as the teams closer. Gregg beat out last years setup man Carlos Marmol for the closers role. Many fans had thought that Marmol would be the closer once Kerry Wood was not resigned but Gregg has had a great Spring Training and has not allowed a run compared to Marmol who has a 4.50 ERA and hit five batters.

Marmol didn’t sound to happy about it when he was asked about the decision. Here is what he had to say when he was asked if playing in the World Baseball Classic made a difference in the decision:

“I don’t think it would’ve made a difference,” Marmol said. “They knew what they were going to do before I got here. That’s why I say there’s not competition.”

Asked to clarify, Marmol switched his tone.

“I don’t know,” Marmol said. “I guess we’re going to get ready for the season, no matter what. You’ll see the same smile. I’ll be the same guy. I’ll throw my 80 innings, do my job. I can’t make their decision. I can’t control it.”

Sure Gregg has been named the starter, but things can sure turn around quickly. If Gregg does not perform in the first 10-14 games, I would expect the team to make a change and give Marmol a chance. Marmol will also get some opportunitis when Gregg needs a rest and hopefully that is very often because that would mean that the team is winning multiple games in a row.

In other moves, the team has announced that catcher Mark Johnson, infielders Andres Blanco and Esteban German and outfielders Brad Snyder and So Taguchi had been re-assigned to Minor League camp. Relief pitchers Kevin Hart and Randy Wells were both optioned down to Triple-A Iowa as well. Is Hart’s time done with big league team? He has had many chancs and still can’t keep a spot on the big league roster.

Good evening everyone. It’s been a while since I have blogged anything partly due to it being Spring Training and partly because I’ve been out of town lately. Just got back from a great trip in Las Vegas for the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament but now it is time to get into the baseball mood. Opening day is getting closer and closer as the Cubs are only 11 days away from kicking off the 2009 season down in Houston.

I just can’t get into Spring Training this year for some odd reason. I don’t know if it’s the heartbreak postseason of last year or what, but that is another reason for the lack of updates. But rest assured, we will be here throughout the entire season once opening day comes around and we get closer to throwing that first pitch!

As far as Spring Training goes, the Cubs currently have a 16-12 record in Cactus League play. Sean Marshall has nailed down the #5 spot in the rotation while the bullpen still has spots up for grabs. Chad Gaudin has pitched terrible while rule 5 draft pick David Patton has thrown the ball very well. Carlos Marmol, Kevin Gregg, Neil Cotts and Aaron Heilman have all notched spots in the bullpen Lou Piniella has said. Will it be Gaudin, Jeff Samardzija, or Patton that gets another spot?

The latest round of roster cuts seen Jake Fox, Sam Fuld, Jose Ascanio, Jason Waddell and Bobby Scales be sent down. Fox, Fuld and Ascanio were all sent to the Triple-A camp file Waddell and Scales were assigned to the Minor League camp. The Cubs currently have a 37 man roster as they head towards the last ten days of Spring Training.

So how do you see things shaping up for the Cubs as opening day nears? Will it be “The Shark” be in the pen or back at Triple-A in the rotation? Will it be Gaudin or Patton? Leave us a comment and let us know!

Manager Lou Piniella has named Carlos Zambrano as the opening day starter when the Chicago Cubs take on the Houston Astros April 6th down in Houston. Piniella said that he and pitching coach Larry Rothschild talked things over and everything pointed at Big Z making the start on opening day.

Zambrano will be followed by Dempster, Ted Lilly and Rich Harden in the rotation with the fifth starter to be determined. Because the Cubs will skip the No. 5 starter in the first turn, Lilly is in line to start the home opener April 13 against Colorado.

I really liked this quote from Zambrano:

“There’s no ace on this team,” Zambrano said. “Dempster won [17] games last year, and there’s Rich Harden, who was the ace in the Oakland organization, and you’ve got Ted Lilly also. You have four quality starters, four aces. We have to take care of business and do what we can during the season to win as many games as possible.”

No matter what, I like the Cubs pitching rotation right now. I like the fact that they will be able to skip the #5 spot the first time around as that gives them some more time to decide who will earn the start when the rotation comes back around.

So did Piniella and Rothschile make the right decision with Zambrano starting opening day in Houston? Leave us a comment and let us know if you have a few minutes.