Cubs | The Baseball Zealot

THAT’S TWISTED

Cubs outfielder Felix Pie is missing today’s game with the Milwaukee Brewers with a twisted testicle. OUCH! We’ve all heard the term, “Play Ball”, but this gives it all a new meaning.

Pie is having a procedure today to straighten things out down there and should be back with the ballclub later in the week. Felix has been having a pretty good spring so far and looks to have the inside track on the starting centerfield job with Chicago. The fans in the bleachers at Wrigley Field yell out different types of pie when Pie (pronounced pee-AY) is in center.

Cub Shorts

After 2B Mark DeRosa experienced an issue with an irregular heartbeat, he declared it to be “not a big deal”. Now, it seems that he is being sent back to Chicago for further tests with the possibility of outpatient surgery.

Fortunately, it does seem treatable. According to the Trib, “the Cubs second baseman could live with for his entire career with no ill effects.”

Cubs rival Milwaukee Brewers will be packing the stands this year. They set a one-day record for ticket sales. Their total of 98,000 tickets sold broke the record of 94,000 set in 2006.

Apparently, I was wrong the other day when I insinuated that Cub fans wanted to push Alfonso Soriano lower in the lineup. Cubs blogger Joe Aiello from A View From the Bleachers makes his argument for keeping Soriano in the leadoff spot.

Finally, there has been a legal battle brewing between the Chicago Cubs ballclub and Wrigley Rooftops, one of the businesses that charge admission to watch the ball games from the surrounding rooftops. The conflict has to do with honoring a profit sharing agreement. At least that’s the team’s side of the story.

The Cubs are threatening to block the view of the field if the conflict isn’t resolved. You can read the lawsuit here.

Soriano? Leadoff? Still?

According to Cubs beat writer Carrie Muskat, Sweet Lou Piniella is mulling over a 3-4-5 combination of Fuk, Lee, and Aram. Well, unless he plans to bat Soriano 6th, that probably means he means to continue the waste of power by batting Alfonso leadoff.

Sure enough, later in article, Muskat seems to read my mind and confirms a lot of Cub fans’ fears. She writes, “Alfonso Soriano would still lead off, followed by Ryan Theriot.”

I used to justify Soriano batting leadoff saying that it was the only place he could produce offensively. Which was true. You could look it up. But now, it’s getting frustrating and I’m wondering if it’s a self-imposed limitation. On the last podcast, Todd V expressed the same sentiment saying that it’s a case of a player making a decision for the team.

Don’t get me wrong. I love Soriano. I actually reeeeaaallly like him. I love his attitude. I like the fact that he shows up early to spring training. I like that last year, when Felix Pie was new to the team and new to the town, he befriended him and and made him welcome to the point of inviting him to his house for dinner. I like the fact that he’s made great strides in improving his defense so now we can even say, “Hey, he’s actually not bad out there!”.

But dang it, someone who hits 30+ homeruns should have more than 70 rbis. It’s no surprise, that’s the lowest figure in the majors for players with 30 homers. It’s not even close… Griffey is second with 93.

And if he isn’t driving in runs, he should be scoring them. Soriano didn’t break the century mark in 2007 with 97. A good number to be sure but not warranting a power hitter hitting in the leadoff spot.

Soriano historically has had issues with getting on base. To his credit, he HAS improved but not that much. Three years ago with Texas, he had a horrendous .309 OBP. He’s improved to .351 and .337 respectively.

But again, not enough and waste of power.

Lou Piniella has won more World Championships than I have and I’m sure he knows what he’s doing. But his reluctance to move Soriano out of the leadoff spot still frustrates me.

Prior "on track" for a comeback?

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.

In the first week of spring training, word has it this will be Mark Prior’s year. He is “free of pain” in his workout according to the NY Times. He is “pain-free” according to SI.

The Canadian Press goes as far as to say that Prior is “on track for a comeback”.

Well, the expectations have been set. But as a Cub fan, I’ve been through this before.

If the Padres were smart, they would steer the press away from Mark Prior. When one workout without pain makes the headlines, it only adds to the pressure. And while baseball players should be able to focus and get that out their head, I get the idea that this kind of thing really affects Prior.

But hey, he’s not our problem anymore.

Snowy Day Links

–Steve Conley has a Q&A with Peoria Chiefs manager Ryne Sandberg for MILB.com on his Questioning Authority segment.

–Jacoby Ellsbury would just as soon be staying in Boston

-Now that the deal is done, it seems that Santana and Mets will have some haggling to do. Jayson Stark of ESPN claims that discussions may last till Friday.

-Speaking of the Santana deal, former Twins pitcher Frank Viola has an opinion or two he’d like to share.

-Finally, I wondered about the possibility of Luis Gonzalez retiring in my interview with MLBTradeRumors’ Tim Dierkes last night. Coincidentally, I find out that Luis signed with the Marlins tonight… on MLBTradeRumors.com.

HOF Game: Good News, Bad News

This summer, the Cubs will be playing in the annual Hall of Fame Game against the San Diego Padres. They will be playing at, of course, Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, New York on June 16, 2008.

The bad news… it will be the last time the Hall of Fame Game will be played. The tradition that has been going on since 1940 will be discontinued after this year.

HOF prez Dan Petroskey claims that the game has befallen because of “scheduling” issues.

“We’re grateful to Major League Baseball for making an annual Hall of Fame Game possible for so many years, but we also understand their enormous scheduling challenge today, which makes continuing this exhibition game impossible.”

Scheduling seems like a small price to pay, in my opinion.

If you are interested in attending, tickets will be sold over the phone or in person on March 8. Tickets will NOT be sold online.

Dempster talk

I dunno… I find this comment by Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster somewhat unsettling:

“Now I can go out there and not be afraid to give up a run because it’s not going to mean the game. You can be a starter and give up three runs in the first, and go six more innings and everybody talks about the great job you did. If you’re closing, you give up one run and sometimes they want to run you out.”

Dempster, of course, is talking about his impending move to the rotation which seems to have at least some Cub fans puzzled. His 4.99 ERA and 51-58 record as a starter leaves something to be desired.

With a plethora of starting pitchers coming back from 2007 and the current acquisition of Jon “Let’s get that Magic back” Lieber, Cubs management still seem determined to try Demp in the rotation.

Lou Piniella said at the Q&A at the Cubs Convention that “there is no such thing too much starting pitching”. Unless we dump one or two in a trade, we may test that theory.

Another Top Cub List from Bleed Cubbie Blue

Last winter, Al Yellon of Bleed Cubbie Blue counted down the Top 100 Cubs of All Time. It was a great reason to check out his site (not that you need one). Each day was another Cub waiting for me.

In the winter of 2008, Al has another cool list to help us count the days down to spring training. It’s the Top 20 Cub HR of All Time.

Today’s is #16, Larry Biitner’s game winning home run on opening day in 1978.

Similar to the Top 100 Cub list from last year, Al’s posts are exhaustively researched and bring back a little bit of history. Today’s especially for me brings back memories as that was when I was growing up with the Cubs.

Once again, thanks Al!

2008 Cubs Convention: Wrap-up

I’m back in warm Champaign-Urbana. And by “warm”, I mean it was in the twenties and not in single digits. Practically a heat wave.

Many thanks to my buddy Tyler who I didn’t see all weekend but who lent me his place for the weekend while I attended the Cubs Convention. His place was well within walking distance and had all the amenities I needed (an Internet connection being the primary one).

Sweet Lou getting his photo taken with a fan.

This was my second Cubs Convention and while it doesn’t make me an expert, I did know the ropes a little more and was a little less intimidated by the crowds, lines, and excitement.

Ron Santo during “Storytelling with Cubs Legends”

Last year I spent a good amount of time acquiring autographs. Not this year. I decided to forego this in favor of enjoying the atmosphere, taking in a few talks and hopefully meeting a few people. I didn’t spend a lot of time or money on memorabilia. Just a Divisional Champion ballcap for my son and 3 pins.

These guys were playing all throughout the convention

By the way, something of interest… Al Yellon of Bleed Cubbie Blue caught Piniella in a Q&A and Lou responded with a tentative opening day lineup:

Soriano, lf
Theriot, ss
Lee, 1b
Ramirez, 3b
Fukudome, rf
DeRosa, 2b
Soto, c
Pie, cf
Zambrano, p

I don’t hold much in lineups formulated well before Spring Training but it’s something for us to munch on.

Oh, one last thing. the answer to the trivia question that the Baseball Hall of Fame exhibit (at the Convention) asked and had everyone stumped. The question again:

Which player has played the most games for the Yankees?

A. Yogi Berra

B. Lou Gehrig

C. Bernie Williams

D. Mickey Mantle

Many people in the audience either guessed Berra or Gehrig. The answer: Mickey Mantle with 2410 games. Gehrig is second (2164), Williams 3rd (2076) and Berra is fourth (2116).

The convention was fun and now it’s less than a month till pitchers and catchers report.

Go Cubbies!

See all the photos from the convention at The Baseball Zealot Photo Gallery

2008 Cubs Convention- Day 3

This was the last day of the convention and events weren’t scheduled much past morning. Even as I got there, some folks were dragging their luggage out the door of the Hilton.

In an effort, I suppose, to appeal to the kids, Curious George was on hand. It didn’t work on this kid who was a bit timid to hug a strange man in a monkey suit.

Daryle Ward shares the love during a photo session.

Though the fare was a bit light on Sunday, the autograph hounds were still out in full force. Here the line for Daryle Ward.

The Baseball Hall of Fame exhibit was out today with a video and a baseball trivia contest. Let me run this question by you all and see if you get it without looking it up. Only two people in the audience got this right and I was not one of those two.

The question: Which player has played the most games for the Yankees?

A. Yogi Berra

B. Lou Gehrig

C. Bernie Williams

D. Mickey Mantle

I’ll give the answer tomorrow.