Chicago Sun-Times

Cubs shut down by Mets ace Matt Harvey

Sat, 18 May 2013 02:11:37 -0500

Edwin Jackson is a long-term investment for the Cubs, who signed the veteran right-hander to a four-year, $54 million contract in the offseason. The return on that investment is coming slowly, despite another loss Friday to the New York Mets and their shining ace, Matt Harvey. ‘‘He threw a great ballgame,’’ manager Dale Sveum said of Jackson, who fell to 1-6 with the 3-2 loss at Wrigley Field. ‘‘He threw strikes and did a good job. That’s pretty much two well-pitched games in a row.’’ Jackson won the last one, an 8-2 decision against the Washington Nationals and ace Stephen …

Matt Garza’s return could be announced Saturday

Sat, 18 May 2013 02:11:51 -0500

Matt Garza is ready to return to the rotation, and a decision regarding when could come Saturday. After another quality outing Thursday with Class AAA Iowa, Garza wants to return to the Cubs, and manager Dale Sveum said Friday the right-hander has done everything the team has asked in his rehab. ‘‘He was really good [Thursday night], very efficient with 75 pitches in six innings, six strikeouts, his slider was better,’’ Sveum said. ‘‘Everything went according to plan, and he stepped up. I like that. ‘‘We could send him out again [on rehab], but he did what he was supposed …

Anthony Rizzo is comfortable as Cubs’ ‘face’

Thu, 16 May 2013 22:18:44 -0500

Raising his batting average nearly 70 points in three weeks and cutting his strikeout rate to essentially nothing? That’s the easy part of this face-of-the-franchise gig Anthony Rizzo got with his big contract this week. The face time, community time, leadership responsibility? “I think it’s awesome,” said the power-hitting first baseman. “That’s what I want to be. “Like I told the coaches, I want to be the guy up in the big situation, where everyone in this clubhouse, everyone in the stadium wants me up. And all the things that come along with playing here — also giving back and …

Cubs seem likely to buy into sell-off mode

Thu, 16 May 2013 02:26:31 -0500

Throw out all those blueprints for ballclub rebuilding that get talked about in places such as Washington or Cincinnati or Texas. The blueprint is changing almost weekly in the industry, as uneven spikes in local TV revenues around the game, hefty industry-wide national TV revenue increases and MLB-imposed spending limits on amateur talent radically alter the options for quick ascents. It’s easy to claim Anthony Rizzo’s seven-year, $41 million contract extension this week is a significant part of the Cubs’ process. But it’s a relatively small piece. Far more significant is what comes next. How will the Cubs acquire potential …

Samardzija does it all in 6-3 Cubs’ win over Rockies

Wed, 15 May 2013 23:37:01 -0500

It took a month, but the Cubs finally shed the last-place label they’ve been wearing most of the season. Their 6-3 victory Wednesday night over the Colorado Rockies behind eight powerful innings from Opening Day starter Jeff Samardzija lifted them into a tie for fourth place in the National League Central with the Milwaukee Brewers – who lost Wednesday to Pittsburgh. “It’s a good feeling,” said new millionaire Anthony Rizzo, whose second hit drove in a run during the Cubs’ three-run seventh. Whether they can keep up this mini surge long enough to keep the team intact through the trading …

Carlos Zambrano, Phillies agree to minor league deal

Wed, 15 May 2013 16:32:59 -0500

PHILADELPHIA — Right-hander Carlos Zambrano has agreed to a minor league contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. Zambrano will report this week to Clearwater, Fla., for extended spring training. The three-time All-Star rhasn’t pitched in the majors since last September with Miami. Zambrano, 31, is 132-91 with a 3.66 ERA in 12 seasons, including 11 with the Chicago Cubs, averaging 14 wins with a 3.43 ERA from 2003-10. He was 16-17 with a 4.66 ERA the last two seasons. …

Carlos Marmol denies saying he ‘can’t wait’ to leave Chicago

Thu, 16 May 2013 10:18:00 -0500

The realities of living in an age when social media often blurs with the news media literally hit home Wednesday for Carlos Marmol, when a casual meeting with his agents at his condo turned into brief media firestorm hours later. Marmol was caught off-guard when asked to respond to comments published on a Cubs-related blog after someone claiming to be Marmol’s neighbor admittedly eavesdropped on the meeting — in a community lounge space — and forwarded pictures and quotes to the blog via Twitter. The “neighbor” claimed the meeting was about efforts by the agents to get Marmol traded to …

Deals like Anthony Rizzo’s come with more risk than teams generally admit

Wed, 15 May 2013 02:25:24 -0500

Troy Tulowitzki doesn’t know Anthony Rizzo. But the Colorado Rockies shortstop knows what it’s like to get a long-term deal at age 23, with barely a year of big-league service time. And that’s enough to tell him Rizzo must be a level-headed, hard-working good guy. ‘‘Otherwise you don’t get those deals early in your career,’’ Tulowitzki said. But Tulowitzki also admits what few players acknowledge when talking about so-called ‘‘club-friendly’’ deals like Rizzo’s seven-year, $41 million deal: There’s a lot more risk for the club than a lot of fans seem to assume when committing that kind of money to player …

Carlos Villanueva probably bullpen-bound once Matt Garza rejoins Cubs

Wed, 15 May 2013 02:25:35 -0500

Cubs manager Dale Sveum didn’t rule out the possibility of using a six-man rotation temporarily when pitcher Matt Garza returns from the disabled list in the next week or two. ‘‘We haven’t really looked at it deeply, but it could happen,’’ he said of what he suggested would be a matchup-dictated decision. More likely, obvious-choice swingman Carlos Villanueva will be moved to the bullpen to accommodate Garza. Already in a rough stretch, Villanueva (1-3) had his worst start of the year Tuesday against the Colorado Rockies, allowing seven runs and 12 hits in five innings in a 9-4 Cubs loss. …

Cubs’ Samardzija bides time as team signs young stars

Tue, 14 May 2013 07:25:26 -0500

Cuban slugging prospect Jorge Soler, 21, was first in the contract lineup, signing a nine-year, $30 million contract last June. Shortstop Starlin Castro, 23, was second, signing a seven-year, $60 million deal in August. On Monday, the team made official a seven-year, $41 million deal for 23-year-old Anthony Rizzo. Rizzo and Castro know whom they would like to see added to the core of young players the Cubs want to develop — Jeff Samardzija. But general manager Jed Hoyer — and even Samardzija — aren’t ready to commit. ‘‘It’s not really important to me, to tell you the truth,’’ Samardzija …

Cubs’ Jed Hoyer says Anthony Rizzo signing ‘pretty unusual’

Tue, 14 May 2013 22:35:02 -0500

Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said Monday it was ‘‘pretty unusual’’ to negotiate a long-term contract with a player with less than a year of major-league service time. But he said the long relationship between the Cubs’ hierarchy and Anthony Rizzo, dating to his teen years, was a special circumstance. Team president Theo Epstein drafted Rizzo with the Boston Red Sox in 2007. Hoyer, who was on Epstein’s staff that year, has traded for Rizzo twice, previously when Hoyer was the San Diego Padres’ GM. ‘‘We were in a good position to make that investment,’’ Hoyer said of the seven-year, …