Weekend Update: Ryan Doumit, Scott Kazmir, Cubs' Bats

For those of us who've been waiting to vulture Ryan Doumit from the waiver-wire... you may want to wait a little longer.  A few minutes ago, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette gave an update on Doumit's rehab:

"He's been cleared to resume baseball activities, which means throwing and swinging a bat. Yesterday was the first time he threw soft toss from 45 feet and also took some dry swings. He did it again this morning. 'It's a progression and I'm going to ease into it,' Doumit said, who's beginning a two-week throwing/batting program. 'I'll do that for a couple of weeks and we'll see where it goes from there.'"

Essentially, he's still a while away from coming back.  Throwing from 45 feet is typically the first of three legs a catcher has to run through to prove his health... not even including working your swing back into... swing.  That all said, Doumit's return shouldn't be for at least another 3 weeks.  The good news is that you'll start getting more regular updates about his condition and training now that he's starting a regular program.

The St. Petersburg Times also provided a brief update on Rays' starter, Scott Kazmir, who told reporters he would be starting up a rehab campaign this coming week:

"[Joe] Maddon confirmed LHP Scott Kazmir will start for Class-A Charlotte Wednesday."

Short and to-the-point.  Nothing that I could find about Kazmir's shoulder or side-sessions, but I'm sure most of that will be available after his first go-round on Wednesday afternoon.  Check back at the above link for more on Wednesday night or Thursday morning (as usual, I'm sure Rotoworld or MLB Trade Rumors will also have something on this).

Finally, the Chicago Tribune reports the Chicago Cubs fired team hitting coach, Gerald Perry.  Normally, this is a purely cosmetic move, but Perry coached one of the most feared offenses in baseball not even two-years ago.  So, needless to say, he'll resurface somewhere within the next season or two.  Jim Hendry on the firing:

"Von [Joshua] has had a lot of success with our guys on the way up. We're really, really struggling offensively for reasons way beyond Aramis (Ramirez) being gone. Every day we have guys in the lineup who have played in the All-Star game. For whatever reason, they're just not performing anywhere close to the level they've performed through their careers."

That last part is huge.  Owners of Alfonso Soriano, Derrick Lee, and Milton Bradley may start to see some signs of life soon.  Though, Soriano has been struggling, now might be the time to try and make  a trade for the perennial fantasy superstar.  He and the rest of the Cubbies' bats have the potential for a huge second half.