What do former Cubs pitcher Matt Clement and Kenny Powers have in common?

Former pitcher Matt Clement had a major league career he could be proud of. A nine year major league career, consisting of 87 career victories and an All-Star game appearance in 2005. However, injuries cut the 34-year-old's career short, forcing him to retire in April 2009, although he hadn't appeared in a Major League game since 2006.

So what is the former 14 game winner with the Cubs doing now?

Fans of the HBO show Eastbound & Down will appreciate this. He's taking the Kenny Powers approach to career building.

This past June, Clement was hired to coach high school basketball at his alma mater, Butler High School in Pennsylvania. It's not quite teaching P.E. in North Carolina, but it's certainly a step down. I mean, a former major league pitcher coaching basketball?

Clement seems much more enthusiastic about the opportunity than Powers was.

"I'm very excited and honored to get this opportunity, and I don't take this responsibility lightly," Clement told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Still no word on whether Clement is going to sell his old memorabilia out of the back of his car and attempt to regain the affection of his high school sweetheart, who is now engaged to the Principal.

Cubs Notes: less than a week 'til Opening Day!

We are only a couple of short days away from the start of the 2009 baseball season. Heres some final Cubs notes before opening day.


-For those that don't know, Kevin Gregg was named the closer over Carlos Marmol


-The roster currently stands at 28 players, meaning three players will not make the team. I'm happy to report that Paul Bako was given his release, meaning that Koyie Hill made the team as the backup catcher. Great job Koyie!


-What is really interesting is who those three players are going to be. I've got it narrowed down to the following pitchers...



Jeff Samardzija: Jeff has had a rough spring (8.16 ERA in 14.1 innings), he would probably benefit by being sent to AAA-Iowa.



Chad Fox: Fox has had a good spring, but is coming off an arm injury, so he will also probably start in AAA or stay in extended spring training to continue to strengthen his arm.



David Patton: The real surprise of the spring. The Cubs rule 5 pick has been flat-out phenomenal (0.73 ERA in 12.1 innings). Accoring to baseballreference.com, Patton has never pitched about A-ball, but he looks like a seasoned veteran out on the mound this spring. The way he has performed this spring, he deserves a spot on this team



Angel Guzman: It seems to me that Angel Guzman has been the Cubs top pitching prospect for about 15 years. Guzman has a 8.71 ERA this spring in 10.1 innings.



My Picks: Samardzija and Patton make the team, Guzman and Fox get re-assigned to minor league camp. However, that still leaves one person who won't make the team. I'm not really sure who the odd man out is going to be there. Patton is the guy that I have no doubt will be in a Cubs uniform when they break camp in a couple days.

Baseball during March Madness?! Cubs News: Marshall, Koskie, Koyie Hill watch

Yes, despite March Madness dominating the news in the sports world, Spring Training continues...

Just a couple of tidbits regarding the Cubs...

-Sean Marshall was officially named the #5 Starter. "Marshall came in here as the front-runner for the fifth spot," Piniella told Cubs.com, "and he's done nothing to lead me to believe he's going to lose that spot." Marshall is 2-0 with a 0.63 ERA in 14.1 innings this spring.

-Koyie Hill continues to excel this spring, hitting .394 with 1 home run and 6 RBI's. Cubs.com's Carrie Muskat recently wrote an article about Hill's freak accident and return to baseball. For more information about that, check out my past post about Hill and the following website.

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jspymd=20090319&content_id=4029538&vkey=news_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc

-Third baseman Corey Koskie left the game today against Seattle after feeling ill. Koskie has not played in the Majors since July 2007 after suffering a concussion while running down a fly ball with the Brewers. The Cubs offered him a minor league contract this spring, thinking that he could be the backup third baseman. Lou Piniella said they would be very careful about the health of Koskie. Cubs.com reported that Piniella said Koskie had some problems when he dove for one of the ground balls in the first inning, but wasn't specific.

-The Cubs spring roster is down to 43 players: 20 pitchers, 4 catchers, 10 infielders, and 9 outfielders.

Nearly a Losing Hand: Cubs Catcher Perseveres

Koyie Hill looks like any other Major League Baseball player. The veteran Catcher has spent parts of 5 seasons in the Big Leagues, the last two seasons with the Cubs. With the backup Catcher spot on the line this Spring, Hill is looking to earn a full-time spot on the Cubs roster. But Koyie Hill is just thankful that he can still grip a baseball after accidentally cutting off three of his fingers in 2007.

The accident occurred on October 16, 2007 at Hill's home in Kansas. He was making a window frame with a table saw and severed three fingers and his thumb on his throwing hand. Hill was rushed to the hospital, where Doctors re-attached all four digits. "They had me hold a ball in my left hand to see where my ring finger was placed, so when they sewed my finger back on, it was fixed in that position," Hill said in an interview last September, "I guess you could say [my hand] was built for baseball now." Despite being told that he probably would never play again by the Cubs team doctors, Hill was determined to get back on the field. "In the back of my mind, I always knew that if I got the opportunity to play...I just knew I was going to be able to do it," Hill said.

After going through extensive rehab, Hill was back on the field for the AAA Iowa Cubs in time for the 2008 season. "I've been lucky to be able to even play," said Hill, "I never had a doubt I'd play again, but I didn't know what limitations I'd have with my hand and what I'd be allowed to do."

Hill struggled through the cold months of April, saying that he felt like he had "frozen carrotts for fingers." But Hill found his stride as the season progressed, hitting .275 with 17 home runs and 64 RBI for AAA Iowa last season and earning a call up to the Big Leagues in September.

Hill, who turned 30 today, was invited to Cubs spring camp to compete for the backup catcher job with veteran Paul Bako. So far this Spring, Koyie is hitting .357 with two doubles and two RBI's.

Due to the constant pain in his right hand, Hill will more than likely have at least two of his fingers removed when his playing days are over. But he isn't ready to call it a career just yet.

"It's going to hurt sitting on the bench, it's going to hurt hitting," he said, "so I might as well play."

For More Info: http://www.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080901&content_id=3401843&vkey=news_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc

Ramblings: WBC, Big Dance, Bill Carmody, Cubs

-Well my prediction of the Dominican Republic winning it all could be in jeopardy, seeing as they lost to Sidney Ponson and the Netherlands yesterday. The Netherlands...really?

-3 teams punched their tickets to the Big Dance yesterday: Radford, East Tennessee State, and Morehead State. The Missouri Valley Conference will crown their champion today, either Northern Iowa or Illinois State. Both will more than likely make the tourney

-Projecting how many Big Ten teams will make the tournament is a tough question. I see 7 teams making it out of the Big Ten, but some experts are projecting as many as 8.

Michigan State, Purdue, and Illinois are definitely in. Michigan is probably in after beating the Goph's yesterday. Wisconsin is also probably because of their RPI and Strength of Schedule. Desite losing to the Hawkeyes yesterday, Penn St should have their ticket punched to the big dance as well.

The 7th team depends on a couple of things

-If Ohio State beats Northwestern today, Ohio State is IN
-If Ohio State loses to Northwestern, then it could be Northwestern or Minnesota that takes that 7th slot


*Making a Case for the Northwestern Wildcats*
Record: 17-11 (8-9 in Big Ten)

(RPI and SOS according to baselinestats.com)
RPI: 70
SOS: 53
Key Wins: Florida State, Minnesota, @ Michigan State, Wisconsin, Ohio State, @ Purdue
Key Losses: @ Stanford, @ Iowa
Quality Losses: 4 point loss @ Butler

I've been really impressed with Northwestern this year. They may be a very boring offense to watch with the old "Princeton Style" offense. But Bill Carmody gets my vote for Big Ten Coach of the Year. Bill Carmody's squad has won 4 of their last 5 and have 6 wins against the RPI Top 50. If the Wildcats win at Ohio State today, they have certainly put themselves in the discussion for the tournament. This would be a huge step for Northwestern since they have never made the tournament.

Why Not the Wildcats?


In baseball news...


-The Cubs have dropped 5 straight games and Alfonso Soriano has only 3 hits in 18 AB's. No need to worry yet, its still very early in the Spring.

1st Post, 1st Blog...Cubs ramblings

I figured it was time to join the 21st century, so I created this blog to ramble about all things sports. Primarily Hawkeye sports and Chicago sports, but I'll talk about anything interesting in the world of sports.

I've had a chance to watch the Cubs on TV the past two days, and while they have been on the losing end of both games (a fact that anti-Cubs fans won't let me forget...I remind them there is no trophy for Catcus League Champion), I'm liking what I see and am expecting big things. I'm really excited with the hot start from The Riot and Fontenot.

Ryan Theriot has started off his spring hitting .563, with 9 hits in his first 16 AB's, counterpart Mike Fontenot is hitting .391, 9 hits in his first 23 AB's

One of the big competitions in camp this Spring is for the #5 Starter, in my opinion, Aaron Heilman is the #5 starter if the season started today, but heres the stats so far for the pitchers vying for the #5 spot...

Heilman: 2 games, 5 innings, 2 hits, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K's
Samardzija: 2 games, 5 innings, 8 hits, 5 ER's, 2 BB, 2 HBP, 3 K's
Marshall: 2 games, 5 innings, 4 hits, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K's