August 24, 2008Cubs Pitcher Jon Lieber to Rehab With Chiefs Thursday
Lieber will start Thursday at O'Brien Field and Saturday in Kane Co.
PEORIA, IL- The Peoria Chiefs in conjunction with the Chicago Cubs have announced that Cubs right-hander Jon Lieber will make his second rehab appearance with the Chiefs this month. He will start and throw two innings in the home regular season finale on Thursday at 6:30 PM and travel with the team to Kane County to start on Saturday also at 6:30 PM.
Lieber, who signed with the Cubs as a free agent on January 16, is 2-3 with a 3.43 ERA in 25 games this season. In 44 2/3 innings this season, he has 26 strikeouts and just five walks issued. Lieber made his lone start this season on May 7 at Cincinnati and took the loss after allowing five runs on seven hits in just two innings. The 38-year-old Iowa native has a career mark of 131-124 in exactly 400 appearances. He is the Cubs last 20-game winner and is 29-19 in his career at Wrigley Field. Lieber's 1,552 career strikeouts are third-most for any player born in Iowa in MLB history behind Dazzy Vance (2,045) and Bob Feller (2,581). Since 1994, the only pitcher with a better BB/9IP ratio in the majors than Lieber's 1.74 is former Chiefs hurler and future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux.
Lieber was originally drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 2nd round of the 1992 draft and was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates as a minor leaguer in 1993. He made his MLB debut with the Pirates in 1994 and was acquired by the Cubs in December 1998 in exchange for Brant Brown. After back-to-back double-digit win seasons, Lieber became the Cubs first 20-game winner in nine years when he went 20-6 in 2001. He was named to the All-Star team that season and finished fourth in the N.L. Cy Young Award voting. After an injury plagued 2002 season, Lieber signed with the Yankees and missed all of 2003 with right elbow surgery. He returned to the majors in 2004 going 14-8 with New York. Lieber signed with the Philadelphia Phillies for the 2005 campaign and posted a 17-13 mark in 35 starts. He won a combined 23 games with the Phils the last two seasons before rejoining the Cubs this offseason. This marks the ninth time Lieber has been on the DL in his career, and he has had nine rehab starts since the 2003 season. This year he rehabbed for the Mesa Cubs on July 22 in the Arizona Rookie League and threw three shutout innings while allowing four hits.
Lieber started for the Chiefs at O'Brien Field on August 5 against Burlington. The righty tossed three innings and allowed three runs on five hits while striking out three. Lieber is the second Cubs pitcher to rehab this season with Peoria, Scott Eyre threw for the Chiefs at Kane County on July 11 and at West Michigan two days later. Last July, both Kerry Wood and Henry Blanco were in Peoria while Wade Miller and Juan Mateo also made stops in Peoria during their rehab process. Lieber is the ninth different Cubs player to rehab with the Chiefs since Nomar Garciaparra started at shortstop against Dayton on July 27, 2005.
With Thursday being the final regular season home game at O'Brien Field, the Chiefs will recognize the fans for all of their support throughout our record-breaking season. As fans arrive at the game, they will be given a scratch off ticket that will give them a chance to get a give-away from the 2008 season. All fans in attendance will also have a chance to win a free taco from participating Central Illinois Taco Bell restaurants if the Chiefs score five or more runs during Thursday night's game. One lucky fan will be selected to have a chance to win free gasoline for up to five years if a Chiefs pitcher strikes out all three batters in the seventh inning. Thursday will also be Bradley Night at the ballpark with classes resuming this week. Bradley's President Joanne Glasser will speak to the incoming class of 2012 during the pre-game festivities. Following the game, Chiefs manager Ryne Sandberg's game-worn Bradley soccer-style jersey from earlier this season will be auctioned off live on the field along with Chiefs shortstop Nate Samson. Fans are encouraged to arrive early as there will be an on field ceremony thanking the Chiefs players and Sandberg for a memorable 2008 season. Gates will open at 5:30 PM with the first pitch coming at 6:30 and tickets are available by visiting the O'Brien Field Box Office or by going to the Chiefs website at www.peoriachiefs.com.
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