Monday News and Notes

After a tough 1-5 road trip, the Cubs are finally back home where they can hopefully feast on the some home cooking. Currently, the Cubs are up 1 against the Marlins in the sixth innings. But lets take a look at some newsworthy tidbits making the rounds as the Cubs look to turn around their struggles.

Mike Fontenot on the Trading Block

• Assuming that rookie shortstop Starlin Castro remains the starter for the rest of the season, the Cubs could be looking to move Mike Fontenot, or so thinks Gordon Wittenmyer of the Sun Times. If you ask me, Fontenot is the type of player that may be of some value to a team when the trade deadline is near, as he is able to play second base, shortstop, and third base in a pinch. And usually, most teams around the trade deadline usually are open to acquiring an utility man.

Carlos Silva Struggles

• Don’t let Carlos Silva’s 3-0 record fool you, his last two starts have not been that good. As he has only lasted 5 innings in each start giving up 9 runs total in the two games. Up to this point in his career, that has been the knock on Silva is that he is a good pitcher in April, but after that his performance goes on a steady decline.  But, the Cubs plan to keep Silva in the rotation, as they feel he is not equipped to be a reliever at this point.

What to do With Aramis Ramirez?

• To simply put it, Aramis Ramirez has been awful this year. And, at what point do you say that enough is enough and he is not going to regain form. While, I think that it is still too early to be that extreme, you still have to be worried that Ramirez may not bounce back this season.  Over the weekend, we heard that he may have rejected the advice from respected hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo, but Paul Sullivan refuted that report by saying that Ramirez, is more prone to do what he has been doing over the course of his career, but still listens to Jaramillo.  One has got to wonder, that maybe the Cubs look to part ways with Ramirez if his struggles continue?

The “Mad Dog” Doing Wonders for Gorzelanny

• According to report in the Tribune, a key reason why Gorzelanny has gotten off to possibly his best start in his career, is because he is learning from the best. As Cubs assistant GM, Greg Maddux, and Gorzelanny have daily conversations about the nuances of pitching. If you remember when Maddux was in his final year with the Cubs a few years back, he mentored Sean Marshall at the time.