2005 Daytona Cubs Thread

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If I ever feel like it I will post the schedule, roster, and links here.

But as I said, that is only if I ever feel like it.

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DAYTONA CUBS BECOME AN ALL-STAR SHOWCASE
Five Daytona Cubs Were Selected to Join the Cubs Coaching Staff at the 44th Annual Florida State League All-Star Game in Clearwater, FL on June 18
June 11, 2005 - 1:44 AM
by: Bo Fulginiti

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla—Bright House Networks Field in Clearwater, Fla is scheduled to be the site of Florida State League All-Star Game on June 18, but for the Daytona Cubs it’s beginning to look more and more like just another team road trip.

Five Cubs players have been selected to participate in the 44th annual midsummer classic, and ironically they will joining the entire Cubs coaching staff who have also been chosen to coach the East in 2005.

The five standouts include pitchers Carlos Marmol, Sean Marshall and Randy Wells, as well as centerfielder Chris Walker and third baseman Scott Moore. They will join manager Richie Zisk, pitching coach Mike Anderson and hitting coach Mike Micucci who were given the honor following the Cubs Eastern Division title in 2004.

“It’s an honor for those five guys to be chosen because they were selected by other members of the Eastern Division and not from our staff,” said Richie Zisk. “It’s great to see that their talents have been recognized because I feel they are all very deserving of an All-Star selection.”

Zisk also seemed to be looking forward to having the opportunity to manage a collection of Eastern Division stars who have embodied the league slogan “Where the major league stars of tomorrow play today.”

“I’m looking forward to sitting on a bench with such a talented group of young men, and I am going to do my best to keep them healthy and give them all a chance to play.”

The following profiles are just a more intimate glance at the five Daytona Cubs who have shined the brightest so far in 2005, and who give Cubs fans plenty of hope for a strong second half of the season on “The world’s most famous beach.”

Rest of Article Here

Wow didn't know any of these five. Read their profiles if you got the time. Sounds like some interesting players.

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Cubs Continue Double-Header Domination
For The Second Straight Night Daytona Took Both Games From Palm Beach As Pitching Took Center Stage
June 13, 2005 - 12:05 AM
by: Bo Fulginiti

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla—Can someone please pass the strawberry jam because the Daytona Cubs are now officially on a roll.

Fresh off a double-header sweep of the Eastern Division Palm Beach Cardinals on Saturday night at Jackie Robinson Ballpark, the Cubs showed no signs of slowing down Sunday as Daytona used a pair of masterful pitching performances to take both ends of another twin bill, winning by finals of 3-1 in the first game and 4-0 in the second affair.

After launching seven total homeruns the previous night, the Cubs turned to the mound for a little support in the first contest as southpaw JR Mathes (5-2) got the nod and tossed six innings of one-run four-hit ball while striking out five for his fifth win of the season. Closer Thomas Atlee also came in for a shutout inning in the seventh frame and nailed down his eighth save of the season to preserve the win.

In the backend of the double-header righty Billy Petrick made his first start since being placed on the DL May 24th and he looked sharp in two innings of no-hit ball. Anderson Tavarez (2-5) then came in to pitch the final five innings, and the right-hander hurled five innings of shutout relief while surrendering just four hits to record his second win.

Offensively, Daytona was fueled by the 4-for-6 performance from left fielder Kevin Collins who smacked his fourth homerun of the series in the bottom half of the sixth inning of the second game. Collins is now batting .450 for the month of June with five HR’s and 16 RBI’s.

With the victories the Cubs improve to 33-29 and have won four straight heading into the series finale against Palm Beach on Monday night. Daytona will look to pull out the brooms as they send All-Star righty Carlos Marmol (5-2, 2.85 ERA) to the mound to make the start. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. EST.

View Article Here

Haven't herad of any of these players but back to back double headers is crazy. Can't imagine that in the big leagues.

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CUBS COMPLETE FIVE-GAME SWEEP IN 7-3 FINALE
Daytona Relied on a Balanced Offensive Attack And An 11-Strikeout Performance From Starter Carlos Marmol To Shut Down Palm Beach
by: Bo Fulginiti

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla—Open the closet and take out the brooms because the Daytona Cubs have now completed the five-game sweep.

Dealt an awful hand by Mother Nature, the Cubs and Palm Beach Cardinals were forced into playing a rare five-game set including back-to-back double-headers because of previous rainouts, and on Monday night it was the Cubbies who decided to take a few lemons and make the final batch of some tasty lemonade.

Daytona relied on a few of their 2005 All-Stars, as starter Carlos Marmol (6-2) showed flashes of dominance on the mound, and centerfielder Chris Walker came up with the a clutch late-inning hit, as the Cubs held on to win the series finale by a final score of 7-3.

Marmol surrendered just three earned runs in six innings of work and struck out 11 Cardinals batters en route to his sixth win of the season. The right-hander set the tone by fanning four of the first five batters he faced, and Palm Beach seemed to be overmatched the rest of the evening.

Walker turned in a 2-for-5 performance at the plate which included a key fifth inning two-RBI triple, and that gave the Cubs some much needed breathing room down the stretch.

Relievers Jordan Gerk and Adalberto Mendez combined to log three innings of hitless shutout relief in the final three frames, to preserve the win and the series sweep against the Cards.

With the series win the Daytona Cubs are now 34-29 and 3.5 games behind the Vero Beach Dodgers with five games left in the first half of the season. The Cubs will pack up the bus on Tuesday and head south to Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie, Fla for the first of three games against the Eastern Division St. Lucie Mets.

All-Star southpaw Sean Marshall (4-4, 2.39) will make his 12th start of the season for the Cubs. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. EST.

Rest of Article Here

Nice work, 5 game sweet. Sounds like we got some nice pitching prospects down there too.

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DAYTONA DROPS SERIES OPENER 6-5
The Cubs Squandered A Pair of Leads, And St. Lucie Used A Touch Of The Long Ball to Finish Strong Down the Stretch
June 15, 2005 - 6:49 AM
by: Bo Fulginiti

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla—With a current five-game winning streak in place and an All-Star left-hander taking the mound for Daytona on Tuesday night, conditions seemed almost perfect for a Cubs victory.

Unfortunately, “almost” only works well with horseshoes and hand grenades, and the middle of the St. Lucie Mets batting order had other plans.

The Mets lineup overcame a pair of early Daytona leads and launched three solo homeruns as St. Lucie held on to beat the Cubs in Game 1 of a three game series by a final of 6-5.

Daytona starter Sean Marshall (pictured above) was overpowering early as the southpaw toted a 2-0 lead into the bottom half of the fourth inning, until Mets outfielder Caleb Stewart stroked a solo homerun to right-center field to put St. Lucie on the scoreboard.

St. Lucie were then sparked by a pair of solo shots in the fifth and seventh innings from third baseman Shawn Bowman and shortstop Corey Ragsdale, as the Mets overcame deficits of 2-0 and 4-2 to storm ahead to a 6-4 lead in the seventh frame.

Cubs lefty reliever Clay Rapada (0-2) came in and pitched well for the final three innings striking out six Mets batters, but he surrendered the go-ahead runs in the seventh before settling down and was charged with his second loss of the season.

Offensively for Daytona, designated hitter Brian Dopirak and first baseman Matt Creighton each added two hits apiece, and left fielder Kevin Collins smacked his 13th homerun of the season to lead the charge.

With the loss the Cubs snapped a five-game winning streak and dropped to 34-30 on the season. Daytona will try to even the series on Wednesday night as they send newcomer Lee Gwaltney (1-0, 3.86) to the hill to face Mets southpaw Evan MacLane (4-3, 3.33). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. EST.

Rest of Article Here

I've heard of Dopirak and Creighton! Wooo!

Love the hand grenade reference.

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DAYTONA DROPS A WET ONE 7-2
The Cubs Played Through a Steady Drizzle And Watched The Dodgers Storm Ahead To Take The Game 2 Victory
June 28, 2005 - 1:07 AM
by: Bo Fulginiti

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla—The visiting Vero Beach Dodgers offense turned in a Monday night performance at the plate that resembled the drizzling rain clouds surrounding Jackie Robinson Ballpark…light but remarkable steady.

Facing Cubs starter Anderson Tavarez (3-6), the Dodger bats were quiet early as the Daytona righty retired the first seven batters in order to start the ballgame.

Then just like the evening precipitation, Vero Beach began to slowly pick up as they rained on the Cubs chances to start their first winning streak of the second half, and eventually scored in four of the last five frames to win by a final of 7-2.

Tavarez pitched six innings for Daytona and was charged with three earned runs on six hits while striking out seven for his sixth loss of the season.

Dodgers righty Julio Pimentel (6-3) was every bit as sharp as Tavarez early, and the righty refused to let up as he gave up just one earned run in seven innings of work to notch the victory and lower his ERA to 3.75.

Offensively, the Dodgers blew the game wide open in the top half of the sixth inning when first baseman Corey Dunlap stroked a bases loaded three-RBI double to the gap to right-centerfield to give Vero Beach a 4-2 lead. The Dodgers then added two runs in the eighth inning following a two-RBI single from centerfielder Matt Kemp, and a final insurance run in the ninth when shortstop Chin-Lung Hu singled and scored on a wild pitch from Randy Wells.

The Cubs were led at the plate once again by centerfielder Chris Walker who went 2-for-5, scored a run and swiped his FSL-leading 31st stolen base of ’05. Second baseman Jose Enrique Cruz also logged a solid 2-for-3 night with a run scored in the losing effort.

With the loss the Cubs dropped to 2-4, as the Dodgers improved to 4-1 on the second half. The two teams will meet on Tuesday afternoon for the rubber match of the three-game series, as the Cubs will send righty Lee Gwaltey (1-2, 4.67 ERA) to face off against Dodger southpaw Chuck Tiffany (5-4, 3.42 ERA).

First pitch is scheduled for the special starting time of 12:05 p.m. EST.

View Article Here

That Walker kid sounds nice. We don't have a ton of speed.

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CUBS BITTEN IN LATE SHARK ATTACK, LOSE 6-3
Jupiter Scored In Each Of The Last Four Innings To Put The Game Out Of Reach
June 30, 2005 - 8:45 AM
by: Bo Fulginiti

JUPITER, Fla—Wednesday’s series opener at Roger Dean Stadium was once again proof that on any given night anything is possible in the Florida State League.

The Daytona Cubs came in to Jupiter after securing a spirited series victory against the first half champion Vero Beach Dodgers, as they prepared to take on a 1-5 Jupiter Hammerheads squad who had just snapped a ten-game losing streak the night before.

The Cubs were also facing Hammerheads righty Zach Lerch (2-1) who surrendered 13 earned runs in his last start against the Dodgers on June 24.

Maybe numbers sometimes do lie.

Lerch tossed six innings of one-run ball, as he surrendered just two hits for his second win to help the Hammerheads take Game 1 from the Cubs by a final of 6-3.

Cubs starter Yorkin Ferreras (0-2) gave up three earned runs on five hits in 4.1 innings of work, and took his second loss in as many decisions for Daytona since joining the rotation.

The Jupiter offense was relatively dormant through the middle innings as they took just a 2-1 lead heading into the fifth inning, but the Hammerheads later scored a run in each of the last four frames to cruise to the victory. Four Jupiter starters logged mult-hit games including second baseman Kevin Randel who went 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI, and Alejandro De Aza who recorded a 2-for-3 evening at the plate and stroked his second homerun of the season.

Offensively for Daytona, both shortstop Carlos Rojas and outfielder Matt Creighton added two hits apiece at the top of the Cubs lineup, as they accounted for four of the six total Cubs hits in the contest.

With the loss Daytona dropped to 3-5 as the Hammerheads won their second straight to improve to 2-5 for the second half.

Both teams will square off once again at Roger Dean stadium for Game 2 of the series on Thursday night, as Daytona sends righty Juan Mateo (5-2, 3.48 ERA) to the bump to face Hammerheads lefty Adam Bostick (2-4, 3.58 ERA).

First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. EST.

Rest of Article Here

Patheticness. We should be hitting better off of a guy like that.