» Fox

Players line up before the Brewers game

Any time we beat a NL Central opponent i get a good feeling, yes i know its spring training before you all start mentioning that it is pointless. We saw our first glance of Milton Bradley, even if it was a fleeting one, Milton worked a walk in his first and only AB and then was lifted as a precautionary measure after feeling some tightness in his quad.

Jake Fox who is trying to find a position with the Cubs helped his cause by belting a 3 run shot in the third inning, Joey Gathright had 3 singles, a RBI, a run scored and a stolen base.

Sean Marshall who is battling for the 5th starters role gave up 1 run on 4 hits over 2 innings of work. Chad Gaudin hit a double while pitching one inning. Carlos Marmol gave up one run in one inning of work, and Angel Guzman picked up the save.

The Cubs move to 2-0 this spring. We now head to face the Texas Rangers with Ted Lilly getting the start.

Carlos Marmol is considering not pitching in the WBC, Lou Piniella made a joke comment to Marmol that while he was away pitching in the WBC, Kevin Gregg would be in Mesa pitching 98mph fast balls. Marmol and Gregg will compete for the closers role and Marmol doesn’t want to miss a beat, however he commented that it is always hard to turn down your country. He is expected to make a decision today on whether he will pitch in the WBC or stay in Mesa with the Cubs, I’m hoping that it is the latter.

Jeff Samardzija will pitch the opening cactus league game Wednesday agains’t the LA Dodgers at HoHoKam Park. Samardzija will be vying for the 5th starters role with Sean Marshall and Aaron Heilman. The young hurler from Notre Dame will be given the ball first and asked to show what he can do. Samardzija spent the majority of last season in the Cubs bullpen so will need stretching out if he is going to be considered for the 5th starters role. Set rotation pitchers like Carls Zambrano and Ryan Dempster will now pitch until the second week of games.

Rich Harden is yet to face live hitters, Lou is holding him back to make sure that his shoulder is fully healthy. Harden will pitch two more side sessions before facing the likes of Soriano and Bradley in live batting practice. Harden has commented that he feels great, and his daily routine to get himself ready to go is working fine.

Koyie Hill and Paul Bako will compete this spring to be Geovany Soto’s backup. Bako has collected quite the number of Jerseys from being moved around so much, he doesn’t offer much on the offensive side of the ball, but he can continue to mentor Soto, who is going into his 2nd full season with the Cubs. A little bit of healthy competition never hurt anyone.

The Cubs might be looking for extra infield help, although carrying 12 pitchers and 13 position players does not give much room for Wiggle. As of right now there is not a back-up for A-Ram at 3rd base, DeRosa who took on that role last season is now in Cleveland. Jake Fox has been taking ground balls at 3rd, however with a back up catcher, Hoffpauier, Johnson, Gathwright, and either Miles or Fontenot, there is not much room left to add cover at 3rd.