Results tagged “kerrywood”

Our pals at Not Qualified To Comment have an interesting take on the recent comments by former Cub Kerry Wood alleging racists comments from Cubs fans. After seeing the reaction - including, admittedly, our own - to Milton Bradley's accusations this year, it's certainly something to give some thought to.

With the free agent signing period for Major League baseball set to begin at 12:00 a.m. Friday morning, clubs are making trades to get the most of what they can before they lose players to the market. First up are the Sox, who dealt Nick Swisher and minor leaguer Kanekoa Texeira to the New York Yankees in exchange for infielder Wilson Betemit and a pair of right-handed pitchers, Jeff Marquez and Jhonny Nunez. While Betemit saw some big league action this year, both pitchers spent '08 in the minors.

Cards Shellac Zambrano

With the Cubs winning their first game of the season on Thursday, newly anointed closer Kerry Wood came into the 6-3 game, allowed one hit, struck out two, and with no runs scored notched first save.

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Some things never change. Chicago will elect only Democrats. Chicago will always get dumped with 6 inches of snow when the calendar says its spring. And Kerry Wood will be injured.

We figured that, with Mark Prior gone and Kerry Wood relegated to the bullpen, we'd be without the bizarre and frustrating injuries with which to taunt the Cubs fans in our lives. We should have known better.

Two Cubs pitchers, linked by their unfulfilled promise due to injuries, may finally become uncoupled. While Kerry Wood will have an opportunity to resurrect his career with the Cubs, Mark Prior's time in Cubby blue may be finished. Wood inked a one-year deal worth $4.2 million, while becoming the front runner to become the Cubs closer -- Ryan Dempster, after three years in that role, will return to the starting rotation in 2008. Wood pitched...

When we saw Mike Brown leave the game with an injury, Chicagoist feared the worst. Once again, one of the Bears' best defensive players and leaders on the field has a great game going and then has to leave the game prematurely. And the tears in the locker room after the game certainly didn't make us any less worried. Monday evening, our fears were confirmed when the Bears announced that Mike Brown had blown out...

When the Cubs hit rock bottom on June 2, they had just lost their sixth game in a row -- Lou Piniella had just thrown his on-field tantrum, and only a day earlier Carlos Zambrano and Michael Barrett went at it in both the dugout and the clubhouse. The Cubs sat at 22-31, nine games below .500 and 7 1/2 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central standings. Their dramatic 5-4 win over...

While our White Sox managed to tie the KC Royals in the AL Central basement earlier this week, the Cubs are quickly closing in on the other end of the standings. Ted Lilly had another strong outing for the Cubs, who beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-1 Wednesday night. With the win -- combined with the Milwaukee Brewers' loss -- moved the Cubs to within just two games of first in the NL Central. The...

2006's baseball season brought disappointment to both sides of Chicago. Coming off their 2005 World Series title, the White Sox won 90 games but missed the playoffs — in spite of a number of roster upgrades during the offseason. Did Kenny Williams tinker too much with the chemistry that won them a title in '05? Last year's team never seemed to find its rhythm. On the North Side, the Cubs climbed ever closer to that...

Chicagoist remembers writing nearly the same post about a year ago — sadly it looks like once again the Cubs will open the season without Kerry Wood. The oft-injured pitcher landed on the disabled list on Monday, meaning that once again he will not break camp with the Cubs. Wood begins the season where he ended last year, with a torn rotator cuff. Opting against surgery, Wood hoped off-season rehab, losing 30 pounds and making...

The Cubs and White Sox have been getting in baseball shape down in Arizona for the past couple weeks, and for the most part it's been a pretty quiet Spring Training for both clubs. Other than Kerry Wood's hot tub incident, and Ozzie's recent war of words with former pitcher Brandon McCarthy, the spring has been pretty quiet. Really quiet, actually. Sunday, however, things got a little more raucous as the White Sox and Cubs...

With all due respect to Punxsutawney Phil, there seems to be an even more reliable sign that spring is near -- the first Kerry Wood injury of the year. The Cubs' pitchers and catchers reported to Spring Training in Mesa, AZ last Wednesday and, much of the news coming out of camp surrounded Wood's trimmed down physique and move to the bullpen for the 2007 season. Was this the beginning of a new phase in...

Cubs General Manager Jim Hendry annouced on Sunday that the team had agreed to new contracts with free agents Aramis Ramirez and Kerry Wood, answering two questions about the Cubs' 2007 roster. To be honest, Chicagoist was surprised that either one is coming back, let alone both of 'em.

While they say you can get "IT" on eBay, unfortunately for the Cubs, that doesn't include starting pitching. However, that doesn't mean they aren't bidding for some arms this off-season. The Cubs are believed to be one of the teams who have submitted a bid on Japanese right-handed pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka, a 26-year-old star for the Seibu Lions. Many believe that his talent can translate into a front-line starter in the Majors. In his eight...

Leave it to the Cubs to mess up the easiest decision of the off-season, hiring Lou Piniella as their new manager over Joe Girardi. The Cubs and Piniella agreed to a 3-year, $10 million deal that will be announced during a Tuesday press conference.

While things are turning around on the South Side, things seem to be coming full circle for the Cubs. It looks like the Cubs are going to finish their 2006 campaign just like they started it, with both Kerry Wood and Mark Prior on the disabled list. It was only two weeks ago that Kerry Wood, already on the DL, decided against surgery -- choosing rehab and a likely move to the bullpen for next...

After last week's successful rehab start for the Iowa Cubs, we predicted Cubs pitcher Mark Prior would be returning to the Cubs rotation very soon. In fact, the Cubs did activate him over the weekend, and Prior made his season debut Sunday. After that outting, he may have wished he'd stayed in the minors a bit longer. In his first start of the season, Prior lasted just 3 2/3 innings, giving up 8 runs. He...

It's been a rough year for the Cubs and their fans, for the most part. However, Monday night's game in Houston was a bright spot.

Chicagoist knows a thing or two about coming back, with a lot of pressure to better the situation. We stepped off a 15-hour flight and headed into the office just yesterday, after 10 days away. Will the Cubs' Kerry Wood encounter similar looks of relief from his teammates and fans tonight, returning to the mound for the first time since his August '05 surgery. Having gone from 4 games above .500 to 5 games under...

Throughout Spring Training, the discussions concerning our two baseball teams' pitching staffs took decidedly differing tones. While Sox fans relished a rotation that was likely the best in baseball with 5 pitchers capable of winning 15 games, Cubs fans worried themselves with the health of Mark Prior and Kerry Wood, and a rotation anchored by a rapidly fading legend. Things haven't gone exactly as most expected. Sure, the White Sox rotation has been extremely...

Maybe the Cubs should have sold the naming rights to the bleachers to Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and instead of a "batters' eye" lounge, the should have installed a medical clinic. Because the Cubs just cannot seem to stay healthy. No sooner does the media report that Kerry Wood may be close to beginning his minor league rehab, the Cubs see two players injured on the same play! They didn't even run into each other, so this kind of fate takes special talent.

What a difference a year makes! Last year, as we embarked on a new baseball season, we discussed the eternal optimism of Chicago baseball fans in light of decades of futility. But in 2005 something most unexpected and most wonderful happened. Chicago won a World Series! And it wasn't even the Chicago team that many thought had a shot at the title. While the Cubs entered the season picked by many to reach the postseason,...

Man, we hate it when, on rare occasions, we actually agree with Jay Mariotti. But he's right about the Cubs -- they're in big trouble this year. With the season starting in just a few days and their two supposed studs on the DL (what's this, the third straight year?) the Cubs don't look like legitimate playoff contenders. All spring, Cubs management continued to claim that there was nothing wrong with Kerry Wood and Mark...

It's just not offically Spring Training until Kerry Wood gets hurt. So it should come as a shock to nobody when the Cubs announced today that Kerry Wood will have knee surgery on Tuesday. He'll undergo arthroscopic surgery to repair damage to the medial meniscus in his right knee. This is yet another setback for Wood, who's already rehabbing from arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder that was performed last August. Wood informed the Cubs...

The 2005 regular season ended yesterday, so there's a lot of baseball to discuss. As expected by many, one of our two teams heads into the post-season. Of course, the specific team many thought would be playing in October will be starting their off-season today. The other team is the one who's still gunning for the first Chicago World Series title in more than 85 years.

Today is a day of significant changes for the Cubs, and it'll be interesting to see which direction the team goes in coming weeks as a result.

Baseball's trading deadline is less than a week away, and neither Chicago team has made a big move yet. However, daily rumors surround the Sox and a number of high profile pitchers that are on the block. The two biggest names mentioned, in terms of starting pitchers, are A.J. Burnett and Jason Schmidt. While a deal sending Burnett to Baltimore looked like a done deal a few days ago, that deal has fallen apart and...