Cubs send message by designating Borbon
Friday’s baserunning blunder wasn’t the only reason the Cubs designated backup outfielder Julio Borbon for assignment.
But it was the final straw.
Borbon hadn’t been much help since the Cubs picked him up off the waiver wire in April. He had a hitting line of .202/.284/.279 with 22 strikeouts in 104 at-bats. He also didn’t play a very good outfield despite his speed.
The Cubs sent him away Friday night, hours after he was thrown out trying to go from second to third on a ball in the dirt with the Cubs down 6-2 in the ninth inning with nobody out.
Manager Dale Sveum was as upset about that play as he was about any this season, and his bosses seemed to agree.
“We always talk that we have to play more airtight baseball,” said general manager Jed Hoyer. “Every team has their bad games or bad moments, but that was a situation where they (the Dodgers) didn’t have their closer in the game. We gave up an opportunity because of a bad baserunning play. Obviously, every time a guy makes a mistake, you’re not going to make that decision. We felt like it was the right message to send.”
Sveum said there’s a difference between physical errors and mental errors.
“Those are things that are controllable,” he said of thinking on the field. “You don’t have control over swinging at a slider in the dirt. Nobody’s wanting to do that. Those are physical things.
“Things you have complete control over is knowing the game and thinking ahead, understanding the ramifications. In that situation, you mean absolutely nothing at that point. You can literally stand on second base and not do anything, and everything will be perfectly fine.”
Murphy up from Iowa:To fill Julio Borbon#146;s roster spot, the Cubs selected the contract of veteran infielder Donnie Murphy from Class AAA Iowa. The 30-year-old Murphy has major-league experience over seven seasons with the Royals, Athletics and Marlins. He has a lifetime line of .205/.270/.373 with 18 homers. At Iowa, he was at .265/.338/.457 with 18 doubles, 3 triples, 12 homers and 41 RBI. #147;Just kind of a gamer type of baseball player, hard-nosed guy, can play a little bit of everything, got some power,#148; said Dale Sveum. #147;He#146;s had, in his career, some strikeout problems. Just a baseball player that#146;s going to battle and do all the little things.#148;BBN37252609Los Angeles DodgersÂ’ Tim Federowicz high-fives Skip Schumaker (55) after they scored on an RBI single hit by teammate Carl Crawford during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2013, in Chicago. Associated PressBBN