Finally, someone at Clark and Addison said "Stop the insanity!"  My best friend Jim Hendry stood up to Prior and his agent and said no. 

No no no

Mark Prior and his agent had the gall to ask for $3.87 million last year when he went 1-6 with a 7.71 ERA.  That would have been a raise from the 3.65 million he made last year.  Yes, he asked for a raise after going 1-6 with a 7.71 ERA.  The Cubs countered with an offer for $3.4 million, a 2% pay cut.   Yet today Prior and the Cubs agreed to a 3.575 million dollar contract loaded with incentives.  Prior’s new deal includes incentives based on games pitched that could add $300,000 to his base pay. He can earn$150,000 each, based on his making 27 starts and then 30 starts.  Prior could also earn $125,000 should he win the Comeback Player of the Year.  If he was to have a good season, that’s the award he would get.

The Cubs are saying that Prior is not going to be handed money just for being Prior. If he wants that 6% raise after a god awful year, then he is going to have to earn it.  He will have to earn it by playing baseball.  What a novel concept.  Prior and his agent tried to play chicken with Hendry and Prior and his people blinked.  Of course Prior and his agent could have settled this through arbitration, but honestly, how could a judge have sided with Prior.  How could you justify a six percent raise when you didn’t even get two victories?  The Cubs gave Prior a raise in 2006 after a poor performance in 2005.  Not any more.

Now of course if Prior has a phenomenal year, the Cubs have no chance of resigning him.  Honestly, it’s better for Prior and the Cubs to part ways.  It seems a long way since his 10 strike out debut against the Pittsburg Pirates.  I was there and the buzz was electric.  I was also there when he pitched one inning to many in game six versus the Florida Marlins.  It seems like a million years ago.  Prior is not going to be handed the fifth starter spot.  He has to beat Wade Miller or Sean Marshall for that spot.  If Miller looks better, there is a possibility that Prior may start the season in triple-A. 

The Cubs season no longer depends on the health of Wood and Prior.  If Prior or Wood contribute anything it will be an added bonus.  Now that Prior’s contract is done, it is up to Hendry to get to work on the real buisness at hand;

Signing Carlos Zambrano to a long term contract.

It was a week ago today that I spent Saturday at the Chicago Hilton for the second day of the 22nd Cubs Convention.  (By the way, I finally got the pictures up.) When I was thinking back about how great that day was, I thought about the recent Cliff Floyd signing.  I admit I am not thrilled about it, but some good things have come of it.  First off, to make room for Floyd, the Cubs released Glendon Rusch.  One more horrible piece of the Dusty Era is gone.  I guess I will trust my best friend Jim Hendry and assume that he knows what he is doing.  After a wild night of partying (see said pictures) we woke up bright and early to make our way to the first session of the day "Meet Cubs Management".  This is the one where fans get to ask questions to the manager and general manager.  As usual, there were some great questions and some horrible ones.  Unfortunately, Lou’s back was acting up and he did come a little late, so I my question was for Jim Hendry.  I asked him, "Jim, this has been the first time that I remember the Cubs signed the top free agent on the market in Alfonso Soriano.  Are we finally going to spend like the major market team that we are like Boston and New York? Why do you feel that you were unhandcuffed and allowed to spend the money that we should have been spending for many years?" (for a complete audio response, click here and go to Meet Cubs Management.  You need real player to hear it.  My question and Jim’s response come at 16:30.)  Jim responded that

"I don’t look at it as being ‘handcuffed.  I’ve never felt that since I was the general manager I wasn’t given a respectable amount of money to compete. We certainly have done business a little differently this offseason.  For the first time in a long, long time, we wanted to get the best player.  We wanted to show people that last year is not going to happen again. It was going to be a different way. Once we did that, a lot of good things happened."

My question was the subject of an article on cubs.com by everyones favorite Cubs reporter, Carrie Muskat (do you hear my sarcasm!)  Anyway the article is here but old Muskat gives Crawly no credit!

The session went well, with Hendry and Pinella each making good points.  Pinella stressed that the team would be fundamentally sound, that he was high on Matt Murton, and that he wants to win now.  Hendry admitted to making some mistakes (three pitchers to sign Juan Pierre for a year), but said that he and McDonough got the players that they wanted and that Lou was the right man for the job.  He also felt that the CUbs have one of the strongest bullpens in baseball. 

After that we caught the Jeopardy session, with the ’07 Cubs (Bob Howry, Rich Hll,Will Ohman, and Neal Cotts) against the ’69 Cubs (Ron Santo, Glen Beckert, Gene Oliver, and Rich Nye).  You forget that not all of these Cubs players know that much about the history of the team.  The ’69 team won, although the ’07 team was getting help from some annoying fans in the front.  Will Ohman kind of creeped me out.  He kept yelling "Larry Bowa after every question. 

The "Pinella 101" session was really interesting.  As I said before, Lou wasn’t my first choice for manager, but I enjoy saying I was wrong about that.  The team of managers really impressed me.    Pinella started out by saying "All good teams have a swagger, so we have to get that Cubs swagger going."  He also said "One thing I have is a pencil, which makes out the lineup card.  My teams have never had that problem [of bad fundamentals]. Believe me, you’ll have a very sound club here in Chicago."   Tons of cheers.  Alan Trammel talked about preperation, dedication, and discipline.  New hitting coach Gerald Perry said

“My philosophy is you don’t go up there looking for a walk. You go up there looking for a good pitch to hit. You attack the ball until it’s not there. You have to be careful when you tell guys to be less aggressive up there. I want guys to go up there, swing the bats and get a pitch to drive until it’s not there.” 

Considering this is a guy who believes highly in on base percentage, this is definately a far cry from Dusty’s concern that high OBP  "clogs the bases."

Rothchild talked a little about the problems with pitchers arms, saying that too many pitchers are brought up too early and that may be contributing to the number of young arm injuries.  Rothchild said that in the old days, young pitchers had to spend a lot of time in the minors, and if they had arm injuries, you never heard about them.  Now, the pitchers are brought up at a young age, become famous, then blow their arms out.  Everyone know about it.

We then waited for what was going to be the highlight of the weekend, the return of #17 Mark Grace. The event was called "The Boys Of Zimmer..the Summer of 89", with Grace, Sandberg, Jerome Walton, Dwight Smith, Mike Bilecki, Doug Descenzo, and Les Lancaster The Grand Ballroom went nuts when Grace entered the room.  It was really fun reliving all the old memories.  Among the highlights

• Grace on Mitch Williams-"I’d yell from first and say, ‘Throw a bleeping strike now,’" Grace said. "He’d say, ‘I’m trying.’
• All the players making fun of Dwight Smith’s taste in clothing
• Dwight Smith telling the story about how when he was rooming with Jerome Walton, Walton said "You know, we could finish # 1 and 2 in rookie of the year voting".  Smith replied "Yeah" Then Walton say, Smitty, I’m gonna be number one and you’re gonna be number 2!"
• Mike Bilecki asking Grace what it was like to see a high chopper go over the pitcher’s head and Shawon Dunston coming in charging at the ball.  "Me, the first base coach, the first base umpire, and everyone in the first row on the first base side all screaming!"

It was a lot of fun.  I asked the Boys of Zimmer what they would have done if Pedro would have thrown Zimmer down if front of them.  Smith, Walton, and Grace gave me a look and said there would have been trouble.  Sandberg explained that Zim got hit in the head during his playing days and he had to have a steel plate put in his head, so Sandberg knew that there would be trouble when Pedro was headhunting the Yankees. 

We finished our day watching Stump the Hughes, a variation of the Stump the Schwab game show on ESPN.  Pat Huges know more about baseball than any man alive.  It was unbelievable how much that guy has up in his head.  After checking out some vendor booths, we headed home.  As we left, the Bears began checking in.  It was cool that we saw Rex and Ogunleye(pictured here )

With a Bears win on Sunday, it was the perfect weekend!

I interrupt my convention recap to bring you the latest in Cubs news.  In a story that’s been dragging out forever, the Cubs finally have agreed to a contract with Cliff Floyd.  Hendry has been attempting to sign Floyd since his contract with New York expired.  After all, it was Hendry who scouted and signed Floyd to play at Creighton College when he coached there and Floyd was playing at Thornwood High School in South Holland, Ill.   The deal is a one year three million dollar deal that is incentive loaded.  Floyd can make an additional $4.5 million this year in bonuses based on plate appearances and time on the active 25-man roster. The deal includes a mutual option for 2008 that could become guaranteed if he has 100 games started or 425 plate appearances this year. He could earn $17.5 million over two years if he has 550 plate appearances each season and $15.5 million if he has 500 each season.  Floyd was limited in his plate appearences last year by a bad Achilles.  Language in the contract protects the Cubs if an Achilles’ tendon injury jeopardizes Floyd’s ability to be on the 2008 opening-day roster.

After all the smart moves Hendry made this offseason, he had to pull a boneheaded move like this one.  Floyd, a left-handed batter, could platoon with right-handed Matt Murton in left field or  left-handed Jacque Jones in right field.  After all the talk at the Cubs Convention this weekend about how great Murton is, I don’t understand this at all.  Also contrary to what was said at the Convention, it is being reported that the Cubs reportedly are shopping Jones in the trade market.  According to Lou and Hendry, everything was hunkey dorey with Jones.  I know Jones wasn’t the most popular player, but I thought he got a bad rap from the fans, but I think he is easily better than the injury prone Floyd.  Floyd also has a lot of money riding on how many at bats and games he starts.  How long will it take before he starts complaining about playing time?  Will he be the type of clubhouse cancer that the team has been trying to avoid?  I doubt that Floyd will get that many at bats for the incentives to kick in, since he has only had 500 at bats twice in the last ten years, buy an extra 15 million might make you try to get some more AB’s. 

When Floyd was asked about platooning, he said

"I think everybody likes to play. I think the main thing is doing what the team needs me to do. I mean that sincerely. If you want to win, you do what the team needs you to do to win. If you talk about platooning and all this stuff, I don’t think it becomes an issue. If I go out and play like I know I can play, you won’t hear that word [platoon] the rest of the season."   

What are the odds that he start complaining before the All Star Break?

Who’s Going to Pay the Bills?

With the Tribune Companies stock plunging, many people are wondering what is going to happen to the Cubs.  Ruport Murdoch’s News Corp was the recent bidder over the Tribune’s properties, which include the Cubs.  Other bids have come from Southern California billionaires Eli Broad and Ronald Burkle, and the Chandler Family.  The funny thing is that all three groups bidding do not want to own the Cubs.  They are interested in the Tribune’s publications and would probably sell the Cubs immediately.  The question remains, who will buy the Cubs?

Dusty on ESPN

Dusty Baker confirmed that he has signed a two year deal with ESPN to be a basseball analyst.  Why anyone wants to hear the nonsense that pours out of this guys mouth is beyond me.  I watched some of his "analysis" during the playoffs and it was horrible.  There is an "opt out" clause in his contract that allows interested teams to contact him for managerial positions.  Of course, no team in the off sesason wanted him, including San Diego, a job that Dusty wanted.  When asked about the Cubs spending spree he said;

"They made a lot of moves. It makes you wonder, but you get over it. I like Lou. There are a lot of guys I’m pulling for over there."

Pull yourself Dusty.

It was eveywhere we looked Friday night.  The blue "W" on the white background.  It was around our neck as we entered the Chicago Hilton, it was hanging from the walls in the Grand Ballroom, it was on the Convention program, tshirts, and everywhere else you looked.  This was the beginning of a new era in Cubs baseball.  Bruce-O, Ray Ray, Matty and I got to the Hilton early and took a great spot up front where the opening ceremonies of the 22nd Cubs Convention would begin.  Since we got there so early, we cracked a few cold ones and played some cards to kill some time.  Before long, the room filled and anticipation  grew, as we waited for the Cubbies to emerge from hibernation.  Finally, Pat Huges, the master of ceremonies came out to kick things off.  After Wayne Messmer gave a stirring rendition of the Star Spangeled Banner, Pat introduced former Cubs like, Rod Beck, Glen Beckert, Jody Davis, and Randy Hundley.  After that he introduced Cubs legends Ryne Sandberg, Fergie Jenkins, Billy Williams, and Mr. Cub Ernie Banks.  Then came the 2007 Cubs Coaches; Gerald Perry, Alan Trammell, Matt Sinatro, Mike Quade, Ivan De Jesus, Lester Strode, and Loooooouuuuu.  The only one who didn’t recieve a warm welcome was Larry Rothchild, who heard his share of boos. I don’t think it hit Pinella until he came out on the balconey that the Cubs Convention was so crazy.  Finally came the 2007 Cubs; Ryan Dempster, Michael Barrett, Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, Jason Marquis, Ted Lilly, Neal Cotts, Scott Eyre, Mark DeRosa, Sean Marshall, Matt Murton, and Ryan Theriot.  The biggest cheers came for Derrek Lee, Carlos Zambrano,and of course, Alfonso Soriano.  After some words from gm Jim Hendry, and Ernie Banks singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame", there was a short video with some highlights from last year, and some low lights, but the film also looked towards the future by showcasing some of their off season moves.  Of course the place went nuts when they showed Barret slugging that ******* AJ Pierzcinski.  (sorry, I just love to show this photo).  We then went to the Continental Ballroom where WGN set up their Sports Central Broadcast, hosted by Dave Kaplan and Tom Waddle.  The first group to come out was Dempster, DeRosa, and Eyre.  This interview was a little boring and nothing really interesting came from it.  The one thing that was noticable was that Eyre and Dempster looked like they were both in really good shape.  Then came Jim Hendry, Lou Pinella, Pat Hughes, and Ron Santo.  After Jim’s productive off season he was warmly recieved by the crowd.  Everything that came out of Lou’s mouth was sweet music to Cubs fans ears.  Accountability, fundamentals, hustle, everything the Cubs have been lacking the last few years.  I think that Pat Hughes said it best;  He said that after the 2004 seaon, when the Cubs were picked to win the World Series, that after the close of that season, he said he would never get overly enthusiastic about a baseball club again, but after Hendry’s moves, he can’t help to be excited.  Ron chimed in that he gets excited every year.  Lou got the crowd excited when Kaplan asked him what he would do about the lack of fundamentals and hustle on the Cubs.  Lou replied that he never had a problem with players not hustling, and he doesn’t expect any problems here.  He also said that as far as fundamentals, he said you insist they do it right, and if they don’t, they’ll be out there the next morning working on it.  Every Cub fan was floating on Cloud Nine.  The next session was Michael Barrett and Alfonso Soriano, with Derek Lee a no-show.  It was during this session that Soriano let it be known that he would be willing to play center field.  This is something that could really work for the Cubs, provided that Soriano gets a lot of work in.  Pinella talked about how he would get some work in with his coaches.The last session of the night was Ted Lilly, Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, and Carlos Zambrano.  Of course the question marks around the health of Kerry and Mark, and a lot of the answers were the same as they always give.  There was also concern about Carlos’ contract.  Hopefully the Cubs get it done before spring training is over.  After all this excitement, it was time to go to the bar. Fun times with Bruce-o, Ray Ray, Mattie, the ladies, and Bill Madlock!  After a few cocktails and some great Cubs talk it was finally time to go to bed.  After all, the next session would be at 9am.  I will continue with Day 2 of the Convention on Thursday.

What a weekend!  The Bears are going to be Super Bowl Champions and the Cubs are going to be World Series Champions.  Seriously folks, this years Cub Convention was a real treat, and there was a real feeling that this is for real.  I can admit when I am wrong, and I was wrong about not making Lou Pinella my first choice to replace Dusty Baker.  This guy said everything Cubs fans have been dying to hear.  There was a lot of magic at the Chicago Hilton and I will be posting new entries thoughout this weekend about what I experienced.  I thought that I would really quickly run down a few of the big story lines of the weekend.

#1-Soriano willing to play center

This came as a surprise to everyone, especially Lou.  During a radion session with Dave Kaplan and Tommy Waddle for WGN’s Sport Central that he would like to give center field a try.  That would be interesting to say the least, but it would be a short term solution for the outfield.  That would allow Murton to play left and Jonesr to play right.  Pinella had never discussed center with Soriano;

"I’ve been intrigued by that idea  When we recruited Soriano, we didn’t mention center field. We mentioned the corners. When I tell a player something, that’s it. I don’t lie to players. I didn’t want to start changing the tune. I wanted to talk to him in spring training and see if it’s agreeable to him.  Now that [Soriano] has mentioned it, it makes a lot of sense, with his athleticism, a real nice throwing arm, really good speed … it makes perfect sense."

Wait and see on this one

#2 Potshots at Dusty?

The only person that wasn’t showered with affection was Cubs pitching coach Larry Rothchild.  He was booed more than once, which seemed to offend Lou.  Lou asked the crowed if they though Jim Leyland was a smart manager, because Leyland wanted him to come to Detroit with him.  He also said that Rothchild wasn’t to blame for the Cubs pitchers being injured.  Than, Lou said,

"You can’t blame a pitching coach for that. You can’t blame a strength coach for that. You can blame a manager if he allows a guy to go out there and throw 100, 145 pitches consistently, and all of a sudden he breaks down, and that won’t happen."

Hendry also chimed in, adding that Rothchild wasn’t responsible  "for who comes in in the seventh—that’s the manager’s call."

The next day Lou seemed to realize what he said and talked about all the respect he had for Dusty as a coach and a person.

Shhhhh Lou.  You had us at blaming Dusty.

#3-The Return of Grace

The Grand Ballroom thundered at the return of a Cubs fan favorite Mark Grace.  Although he did not attend the opening ceremonies, he was there on Saturday and was really entertaining.  It was great to see Grace back with the Cubs, and I’m sure Cubs fans would love to see him back every year. 

#4-Rapid Wight Loss Program

A lot of the Cubs came to the Convention in great shape.  Kerry Wood, Ryan Dempster, and Scott Eyre alll have dropped at least 15 pounds.  I don’t know why they were gaining so much weight last season, but I hope they keep in the best possible shape for the upcoming season.

#5-The Jeff Samardzija

When it was announced that Jim Hendry was going to be having a press conference early Friday, everyone thought it would be the Zambrano contract.  Instead, Hendry announced that Notre Dame wide reciever and pitcher Jeff Samardzija would not play football and  signed a five-year, $10 million Major League contract.  Although he won’t be called up this year, it was good to see the Cubs looking down the road.  As Hendry said

"We’re going to be good, and we’re going to stay good"

Amen to that.

I will have more details and a photo album up for tomorrow night.

Well, like the Chicago Bears, I will be spending my weekend at the Chicago Hilton on Michagan Avenue for the 27th annual Cubs Convention!  Bruce-O and I will be returning to listen to Cubs talk, ask the hard questions, meet some players, and throw back a few beers.  I will have information about the convention all next week.  A few random thoughts before I leave.

Pinella Names Opening Day Starter

Surprise Surprise Carlos Zambrano was named the opening day starter for the Cubs when they open the season against Cincinnati.  This will be Carlos’ third season opener in a row.  The first two were not too good, let’s hope he has a good outing this year.  Had Zambrano pitched better in April, there is no question in my mind he would have won the Cy Young.

Fan Frenzy

Lou Pinella is finding out first hand how knowledgable and devoted Cubs fans are.  He is in for an even bigger surprise when he sees the nuttiness that occurs during the Convention.  Lou has been traveling with the Cubs Caravan, which stopped recently in Peoria.  "The questions weren’t easy," Piniella said on Thursday.  Lou has never managed for a team with a fan base like the Cubs.  Makes you wonder if after this weekend, will Lou be wondering what he got himself into?  Lou was planning a trip to the Dominican Republic to watch Felix Pie this winter, but Cubs general manager Jim Hendry told Piniella to wait and that the team would most likely add a veteran for the short term. Please God don’t let it be Cliff Floyd.

Sigh of Relief

Pinella said that fans who go to spring training will see an emphasis on fundamentals. According to Pinella, everybody has to be able to bunt. He’ll do baserunning drills. Players must be able to field their position. Piniella has already started to set the tone for spring training.

"I don’t like being on the field four hours," Piniella said. "I did tell a few of our players that if they want to play golf this spring, it’ll be twilight golf"

OOoooo, isnt that what Cubs fans have been waiting to hear?!

Screw You Bud

So, according to an anonymous source, Bud Selig addressed the owners on the free agent market, and singled out our Cubs and the San Fran Giants for their free agent spending.  When asked about this, Bud said,

"We discussed some things, but we do that at every meeting,"

Wow, brilliant answer you dope.  One question Bud, why, when the Cubs for the first time in team history, start spending like the major market team that they are, do you give them a hard time?  Isn’t this America?  Did the Cubs break any rules?  Aren’t teams allowed to spend their money as they see fit?  Did Bud bust the Yankees or Boston for gobbling up nearly every free agent the last however many years?  Did Bud address the allegations that Boston tampered with J.D. Drew while he was under contract with the Dodgers?  Probably not.  Selig did nothing to prevent the steroid era, screwed up the all star game, came up with the moronic World Baseball Classic, and milllions of other stupid things to ruin the game.

Leave the Cubs alone a-hole.  If you don’t want teams buying up the free agents, look into a salary cap.  Until then, the Cubs can spend their money any way they want.

See You At the Convention

I hope to meet some of you readers at the convention.  Should be a great time and I am ready to get pumped up about Cubs baseball.  If you see me say hi, I will be the guy with the Crawly jersey on!

On Wednesday, salary arbitration-eligible players  exchanged salary figures with their respective clubs. The club comes back with their number and ususally they end up somewhere in the middle. Two of the big names on the Cubs who were arbitration eligible were Mark Prior and Carlos Zambrano.  Carlos has been one of the most underpaid and underappreciated guy on the team.  Zambrano, who led the team in wins again, made $6.5 million in ’06.  Everyone knows that Carlos will be seeing Zito money soon.  Zambrano filed for a club-record $15.5 million in arbitration. Zambrano’s filing figure was the highest of any arbitration-eligible player this winter.  The Cubs are going to want to lock him up at the start of the year since this is his walk year.  Next year Zambrano is eligable to become an unrestricted free agent.  The Cubs are not solid enough to lose him.  The Cubs countered with an offer of $11.025 million, meaning Zambrano probably will do no worse than a $13 million salary for ’07 if the two sides settle before his hearing.  The Cubs have not gone to a hearing with a player since 1993.  The Cubs need to lock up Carlos now.  This instant. 

On the Flip Side

Prior also submitted his figure, asking for $3.875 million, a slight raise from his $3.65 million salary in ’06, despite going 1-6 with a 7.71 earned-run average in nine starts. The Cubs were allowed to offer up to a 20 percent cut from his ’06 salary, but instead wound up offering him $3.4 million.  This was a huge step for the Cubs.  It is a statement that they have finally cut the Prior cord.  Since his dazzling debut in 2002 and his 18 wins in 2003, Prior has been injured most of the time.  By offering less then what he made last year, the Cubs look like they may be looking beyond Prior. It will also be something that Prior and his agent won’t soon forget.   Although he has been working out this off season, he seems to be an injury waiting to happen.  In 2006 he had injuries to his rotator cuff and subscapularis muscle, along with the strained left oblique muscle from a batting-practice session in July in Milwaukee, that sent him to the disabled list three times.  Orthopedic specialist James Andrews discovered looseness in Prior’s shoulder joints that trainer Mark O’Neal said was genetic. O’Neal said the looseness could cause "arthritic changes" but surgery was not an option for now.  The Cubs are optimistic because he " is throwing off the mound and making good progress". Does that sound like a guy you want to invest your future in?  It seems like this will be Prior’s last year as a Cub, which means that he will probably have an amazing year.  Even if he does, I doubt he would resign with the Cubs, with relations between Prior and the organization being strained.  I just hope that it isn’t a lose lose situation.  I wish Mark a successful year and hope that he stays healty.

Oh-man

Congrats to Will Ohman, who avoided going to arbitration by signing a new a two-year, $2.5 million deal.  Since Ohman is in so much, he may not seem that impressive, but set career-highs in 2006 in games (78), innings (65 1/3) and strikeouts (74). He led the team by stranding 80.5 percent of inherited runners and limiting hitters to a .208 batting average. Ohman held opponents scoreless in 63 of his 78 appearances, and he struck out at least one batter in 51 of his 78 outings. Not bad.

Juiced Part Deux?

So, I have tried to avoid the Sammy talk in this blog because all he want is attention.  I heard him whine about not being a hometown hero, about how the Cubs mistreated him, blah,blah,blah.  It looks like Sammy will be playing ball again with the Texas Rangers.  After a year away from the game, Sosa is going to give it another try.  I really hope he has learned the concept that baseball is a team game.  I don’t know if time will ever heal the wounds between Sammy, the Cubs, and their fans.

Bon Voyage Jacque?

Jacque Jones will miss the Cubs Convention this weekend because he is being honored by San Diego High School during their "Athletes of the Century" banquet on Friday.   Righhhhyt.  Like they didn’t know when the Convention was or couldn’t work around it.  Doubt will be seeing old Jacque too much longer.

First of all, congrats to Da Bears for beating Seattle.  One more win and we are back in the Superbowl.  Since this will be a home playoff game, the Bears will be staying at the Hilton Chicago, which is also home to the biggest party, the 2007 Cubs Convention!  Yes, its time to have some fun with fellow Cubs from around the world.  If you have never been to the Cubs Convention before, it is a great time and it is a lot of fun.

The big news this year is the return of #17 Mark Grace to the Convention.  Grace has not been to the Convention since he left Chicago on bad terms with the team in 2000.  Other Cubs that will be attending are;

-Lou Pinella and his staff  including hitting coach Gerald Perry, pitching coach Larry Rothschild and bench coach Alan Trammell. Coaches Mike Quade, Lester Strode, Ivan DeJesus and Matt Sinatro

-Cubs Hall of Famers Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Fergie Jenkis and Ryne Sandberg

-Current Cubs Michael Barrett, Ryan Dempster, Scott Eyre, Rich Hill, Bob Howry, Derrek Lee, Sean Marshall, Matt Murton, Will Ohman, Mark Prior, Ryan Theriot, Kerry Wood, Michael Wuertz and Carlos Zambrano. Newcomers Neal Cotts, Mark DeRosa, Ted Lilly and Jason Marquis.

-Former Cubs Rod Beck, Glenn Beckert, Jose Cardenal, Bob Dernier, Carmen Fanzone, Randy Hundley, Bill Madlock, Andy Pafko, Scott Sanderson, Lee Smith and Jerome Walton.

-Cubs broadcasters Ron Santo, Pat Hughes, Bob Brenly and Len Kasper.

Among the events on the schedule are seminars on Saturday and Sunday, including "Piniella 101," "So You Want to be a Major Leaguer" and "The Boys of Zimmer, the Summer of ’89." Autograph and photograph schedules will be made available in the program at the Convention.  The seminars are cool, the autographs and photographs lines are ten miles long and totally not worth it.

WGN has also posted the schedule for its broadcasts here

Friday night start out with Sports Central Live with Tom Waddle and Dave Kaplan.  They will have the following interviews

Ok, maybe I am still a little bitter that Andre Dawson and Lee Smith were shut out of the Hall of Fame.  I just wish these baseball writers would get off their high horses and actually do some research on some of these guys.  Well, maybe next year (again).  Again, Ron Santo better make it in February or I may ban myself from going to Cooperstown.  Anyway, two interesting columns about the Hall and Santo/Dawson/Smith can be found at these two links.

This one is written by Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt

This one is written by Phil Rogers

Alright, enough about the Hall, its time for "Other Odd and Ends"

Don’t Give Me A Heart Attack!

The headline on the Chicago Tribune Sports online and the Cubs website both had the headline "Perez Signs Minor Deal"  I almost fell out of my chair thinking that the Cubs resigned Nefi Perez.  In reality, they signed a player similar to Neifi, Tomas Perez.  Tomas, like Nefi, is a utility infielder. And I don’t blame Neifi for anything, it was Dusty Bakers manlove obsession with Neifi that kept him in the lineup everyday.  I know Lou Pinella won’t do the same thing.

Cedeno Fighting For His Job

Right now, Cesar Izturis looks like he will be the everyday starting shortstop after Ronnie Cedeno did not have the type of year the Cubs thought he would.  Cedeno is now playing in the Venezuelan Winter League to try and improve before the start of Spring Training.  Right now, he is third in home runs and tied for first in RBIs in the Venezuelan Winter League playoffs? Cedeno, who had two homers in 39 regular-season games for the Tigres de Aragua,has gone deep twice in the playoffs and has six RBIs and five runs scored in seven games.  The Cubs have Izturis signed for this season as a result of the Greg Maddux trade. After the 2007 season, he will be a free agent. It will be interesting to see if Cedeno makes the team or goes to Triple A.

Winning Attitude

I know you are all going to roll your eyes, but their is a new attitude with this Cubs team. The Dusty Baker era will forever be remembered as the "Excuses Era".  Baker and the Cubs had someone to blame for everything; Bartman, the media, Steve Stone and Chip Carey, the fans, the weather, not having horses or something like that. I get a much different feeling from Lou Pinella and what the Cubs have done in the off season.  It is being reported that shortly after the first of the year, he sent a text message to a few of his Cubs teammates saying, "This is the year."  I think Derek believes this, and that the rest of the organization does.  Lou will not make or accept excuses.  I really have a good feeling.  When I got my passes in the mail for the 2007 Cubs Convention, right on the front was the blue "W" with the white background.  It sent chills up my spine.  This really could be the year.

Speaking of the Convention

The 27th annual Cubs Convention rolls into town next weekend.  I expect the Cubs to release the names of the players, managers, and former Cubs who will be attending sometime this weekend and will have a link to the names immediately.  The Convention is sold out but Crawly’s Cub Kingdom will give you wrap ups following each day.  Keep checking the blog out as I hope to ask you the readers what kind of questions you want to ask the players and managers. 

GO Cubs!

Another slap in the face to Cubs fans. Neither Andre Dawson or Lee Smith received enough votes to enter the Hall.  Dawson finished with 56% of the votes and Smith finished with 39%.  75% of the votes were needed to get into the Hall.  Dawson actually went backwards, he had 61% in 2006.  The Hall has continuously overlooked Cubs players over the years and they continue to do so.  All I can say is that they better include Santo in February to make up for this gross injustice.  The only good news of the day is that piece of garbage Steve Garvey did not make it in either and must now go through the veterans committee.

Shame on the baseball writers for not voting in such deserving candidates as Andre Dawson and Lee Smith.

They will always be Hall of Famers in our hearts.