Juan Mateo

It's hard to decipher what the Cubs are thinking in terms of next year's rotation. A half-dozen rookies have been getting serious shots at filling two or three spots, assuming Mark Prior is penciled in for one. The only certainty for 2007 is Carlos...

Cubs manager Dusty Baker put rookie pitchers Rich Hill, Carlos Marmol, Juan Mateo and Angel Guzman on notice for the three-game series against the Houston Astros. "I want all of my young pitchers watching every pitch for the next three days," Baker said....

Will Aramis Ramirez hold the Cubs hostage next month, or will negotiations over a new contract go smoothly? That may be the biggest dilemma general manager Jim Hendry faces this off-season, perhaps even more important than who will be the next manager if...

Carlos Zambrano was asked before Tuesday's game why he didn't want to shut down for the rest of the year. "First of all, I don't want this team to get 100 losses," Zambrano replied. "It's embarrassing." The Cubs proceeded to commit six errors for the...

From 1876 to 2005, no team had swept a season series from the Cubs. But San Diego became the first with a 7-0 record this season. Now it appears lightning might strike twice. Atlanta edged the Cubs 2-1 on Sunday at Turner Field for its sixth straight...

Questions about Mark Prior's health surfaced again Thursday after another shaky outing in an 8-6 loss to Milwaukee, but the answers were as elusive as Prior himself. Whether Prior will make his next start is up in the air, and the possibility of Prior...

Wrigley Field looked like a time warp Tuesday night as the Cubs fell into the basement of the National League Central with a 6-5 loss to Pittsburgh. The announced crowd of 31,494 was the smallest of the season at Wrigley, and with school in session,...

With Neifi Perez traded to Detroit on Sunday before the Cubs' 5-3 loss to St. Louis, all three players who competed for the Cubs' second-base job in spring training are gone. Jerry Hairston was traded to Texas in May for Phil Nevin, and Todd Walker was...

The Cubs have too many veterans on their roster to start an old-fashioned youth movement, yet the future of the franchise was on full display Thursday during a doubleheader split with Arizona. After rookie Carlos Marmol imploded in the first inning of...

Coors Field has been de-juiced since the Rockies began putting game balls in a humidor a few years ago, leading to more low-scoring games than in the past. "Something's up," manager Dusty Baker said before Friday night's game. But Rich Hill discovered...

There may be 13 games separating the Cubs from NL Central division-leading St. Louis, but the Cubs believe the gap is much closer than meets the eye. Before an 11-3 loss Friday to the Cardinals, general manager Jim Hendry said he was happy with the way...

The Larry Rothschild exercise regimen isn't recommended for everyone, but it certainly has kept the Cubs' pitching coach in good shape. Rothschild has made so many trips from the dugout to the pitching mound to calm his struggling pitchers that he may be...