As I sat stewing in my juices last night, I read a comment by Rich Hill on Cubs.com.

"It’d be nice to win a World Series for him."

He’s right.  Screw the Veteran’s Committe, Screw the BBWAA, and most of all screw Joe Morgan. It reminds me of that scene in the movie Major League, when the team finds out that they were picked to lose games and would be released at the end of the season.  Tom Berringer’s character says

"I guess there’s only one thing left to do"

Corbin Berson’s character say "What’s that"

"Win the whole f@*ckin ‘ thing."

That’s where I’m at. I’m angry, I’m pi$$ed, and I want to win.  I want the Cubs to win for the Cubs fans, for Ronnie, and for themselves.  Let’s do this.  Right here, right now.

It starts tomorrow with the first spring training game of the year.  New addition Jason Marquis will face off against the Giant’s prize catch of the off season, Barry Zito.  The lineup for the Cubs looks like this

1st-Alfonso Soriano in center

2nd-Matt Murton in left

3rd- Derrek Lee at first

4th-Aramis Ramirez at third

5th-Michael Barrett catching

6th-Jacque Jones in right

7th-Mark DeRosa at second

8th- Cesar Izturis at short

9th-Jason Marquis pitching.

What do you guys think?  This is pretty much the lineup that fans wanted to see, and Pinella will get his first look at it tomorrow.  Hopefully Matt "Big Red" Murton puts on an impressive show.  It would be nice to see a good contact hitter in the number two spot, get some guys on base for Lee and Ramirez.  I am also interested in seeing how Lee and Izturis bounce back from their injuries.  It will also be fun to see new Cubs Alfonso Soriano and Mark DeRosa hit.  Wouldn’t it be something if Soriano started out with a lead off homer off Zito?  I also want to see if Marquis is ready to bounce back this year after a rough 2006.

Any way, it should be fun to see some baseball.

Finally, the end of winter!

Go Cubs!

Screw you Cooperstown

Screw you members of the BBWAA

And a big screw you to Joe Morgan.

For the third time in a row, the Veteran’s Committee failed to elect anyone to the Hall of Fame, including Cubs Legend Ron Santo.  Santo finished first on the ballot with 57 votes, or 69.5 percent, five votes shy of the necessary 75 percent for induction. Santo was followed in the voting on the players ballot by former pitcher Jim Kaat, who recieved 52 votes (63.4 percent), former Dodgers first baseman Gil Hodges with 50 votes (61 percent) and former Twins outfielder Tony Oliva with 47 votes (57.3 percent).  He added five more votes to his 2005 total, but a lot of good that does him as he now must wait another two years to get a chance to be elected.  He was not talking to the media afterwards, but his friend and former teammate Billy Williams gave his opinion on the situation.

"I felt sorry for him because he was so looking forward to getting the call," Williams said. "I felt really good about it this year. I talked to Ernie [Banks] yesterday and I think everybody involved [wanted it to happen]. Maybe we were a little partial to him because we were teammates, but I really thought with the credentials he had, I think he was deserving of the Hall of Fame."

When asked what was keeping Santo out of the Hall of Fame, Williams said

"I’m not sure.  I know Santo has rubbed a few people the wrong way, but I hope that’s not the case. I would hope everybody has grown and gotten through that."

Apparently they haven’t.  An neither have the baseball writers that didn’t vote him when he was eligible.  It is interesting that "more than one quarter" of the voters are media members who had been elected to the Hall of Fame.

Why are they allowed to vote?  Why don’t just the living Hall members vote?  Even if media didn’t have a vote, there would always be jerks like Joe Morgan standing in the way of Ron Santo.  Joe Morgan said it was unfair to criticize the Veterans’ Committee for not voting anyone in because "the writers voted on these guys 15 years without any of them being elected." Morgan disputed the notion that the Hall of Famers aren’t looking closely at the candidate’s credentials before voting.
"The players did their due diligence," Morgan said.

Really Joe.  If so, maybe you can email these links that reader jlawlor posted in the comment section of my last post.

http://mvn.com/mlb-cubs/2007/01/16/why-ron-santo-belongs-in-the-hall-of-fame-part-1/

http://mvn.com/mlb-cubs/2007/01/17/why-ron-santo-belongs-in-the-hall-of-fame-part-2/

http://mvn.com/mlb-cubs/2007/01/18/why-ron-santo-belongs-in-the-hall-of-fame-part-3/

I am not going to go through every arguement, you’ve heard it all before but you can look at these link if you like, especially if you are dealing with someone who disputes that Santo belongs in the Hall. Simply put, of the 10 third basemen in the Hall, Santo has better numbers than 5 of them.  It also looks at his great fielding numbers.  These links go into great depth as to why Ron Santo deserves to go into the Hall.

But we know it isn’t because of the numbers.  It’s because *** holes like Joe Morgan think they are above Santo and other Cubs. 

  Just remember this Joe.  When you come to Wrigley with ESPN, I am going to wipe that smug look of yours off your face.  The second they let me in, I will heckle you mercilessly.  I won’t stop until the game is over or they kick me out.

You **** Joe Morgan. You and the rest of the ****** that prevented a true Hall of Famer the honor that he deserves.

It was during the Cubs Convention that I sat in a fun session of Cubs Jeopordy, pitting the 2007 Cubs versus the 1969 Cubs.  After it was over, I asked Santo for an autograph, which he was kind enough to give me.  As he was signing, I told him, "Ronnie, I just want to let you know that the thoughts of my family and all Cubs fans will be with you on February 27th."  He immediately looked up, and I’ll never forget the look in his eyes, he thanked me.  I didn’t have to tell him what February 27th was, but he knew.  It is the day that the Veterans Committee announces the results of their vote.  Santo said recently;

"Let’s face it, I’m keeping a low profile. But there’s no doubt in my mind — I’ll be honest, I want this badly. Mainly because it’s every two years. Two years, because of what I have with the diabetes and being older, is like an eternity. If I do get in, I’d like to enjoy it."

Ronnie learned his lesson about keeping low-key after former Cubs spokesman Sharon Panazzo convinced Ron that he was going to get the call in 2003 and to allow television crews to tape this wonderful moment.  What happened next was probably one of the most difficult moments to watch ever.  Ron picks up the phone, and finds out that no one got in.  The look on his face was just devastating.

Santo’s fate lies in the hands of the 61 living Hall of Famers, who along with 22 print and broadcasting honorees and longtime executive John McHale make up the Hall’s new Veterans Committee.  It was in 2003 that the Veterans Committee was put in the hands of living Hall of Fame members and taken out of the hands of a select group of baseball writers.  The Veterans Committee meets every two years to see if there is a deserving candidate that was passed over by the Baseball Writers deserves to be in the Hall. 

Santo fits that bill.  It has been 33 years since Santo retired, and despite credible career numbers, he received only 3.9 percent of the vote on his first year of eligibility in 1980, and was dropped from the ballot for failing to receive 5 percent.  His name eventually went back on the ballot in ’85, but Santo never came close in voting by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America. His best showing in voting by the BBWAA was 43.1 percent in 1998, far short of the 75% needed. 

Kerry Wood, a close friend of Santo, who said

"His numbers are just as good or better than some guys who are in. Seems like some people don’t want him in there for some reason."

Why didn’t he get any love from the Baseball Writers after a career where he hit .277 over 15 seasons with 342 home runs and 1,331 RBIs, hit 20 or more homers in 11 of those seasons and had 114 RBIs or more three times?  Well, it didn’t help that he despised New York and the New York media.  Santo used to have to travel with armed bodyguards when he traveled to New York and recieved constant death threats from New Yorkers.  No doubt that the New York writers would never vote for Santo.  It also didn’t help that he clicked his heels after a Cubs victory, a move that some saw as showboating.  Some people argue that the Cubs have three players from the late 60′s era in the Hall, Fergie Jenkins, Billy Williams, and Ernie Banks, and it would be hard to justify having four player on the same team in the Hall of Fame if the team never even made it to the playoffs.  Finally, Santo played at the same time as Brooks Robinson, the best third baseman at the time, and when he was retired Mike Schmidt was beginning to demolish all of Robinson’s records.  All of these factors have hurt Santo’s chances of getting in the Hall.

Although Santo’s hitting numbers aren’t spectacular, the writers and Veterans Committee should also consider what a great fielder he was. 

"The way I feel, to be honest, there are a lot of guys who deserve to be in because of the type of player they were," Santo said. "You’ve got to have the numbers, don’t get me wrong, but you have to look at consistency, you have to look at both sides — defense, offense. Was he an impact player? That’s what I look at."

New manager Lou Pinella also argues that;

"Ronny had just a marvelous career.  Yeah, he should be in the Hall of Fame. He’s very popular, very loyal and very productive. I’m sure he would be a great addition to the Hall of Fame. People who have had really, really solid, good careers and have been dominant players at their positions should get in," Piniella said.

It is hard to argue that Santo was not one of the most dominant players at his position, especially during an era when the pitching was probably the greatest in the history of baseball.  So does that mean that Santo finally gets the call on Tuesday?

This is the third time since the Veterans Committee was given to the living Hall of Famers that they will release its vote. Yet so far, they have yet to elect anyone into Cooperstown.  In 2003, the first year of the newly formed Veterans Committee, Santo received 46 votes (15 short of election) and finished behind both Gil Hodges and Tony Oliva in the voting.  Then came the release of "This Old Cub", the phenomenal documentary made by his son Jeff Santo, highlighting Ronnie’s career and struggles with diabetes.  The next time the Veterans Committee met in 2005, Ronnie picked up six more votes, tying Santo with Hodges with 52 votes, eight votes short of the total necessary to reach the 75 percent approval rating required for election.  Since the 2005 vote, seven former players, writers and broadcasters were added to the electorate since the 2005 ballot: Ryne Sandberg, Wade Boggs, Bruce Sutter, Peter Gammons, Tracy Ringolsby, Gene Elston and Jerry Coleman.  Sandberg has promised to lobby hard for Santo, and I’m hoping the others will vote for Ronnie too.  If a few more living Hall of Famers change thier votes, the Hall of Fame could finally allow Santo in.

This takes me back to the original quote that I have on the top of this posting.

"Let’s face it, I’m keeping a low profile. But there’s no doubt in my mind — I’ll be honest, I want this badly. Mainly because it’s every two years. Two years, because of what I have with the diabetes and being older, is like an eternity. If I do get in, I’d like to enjoy it."

Santo has had pnuemonia twice in the last six months.  He knows his time is limited.  As the diabetes slowly eats away at what’s left of him, he knows this may be his last shot.  As Ronnie said, "If I do get in, I’d like to enjoy it."  There is no point in waiting until he is dead to give him this honor.  Let him enjoy what he deserves.

I ask all you readers who haven’t signed the petition to get Ron Santo into the Hall of Fame to do so now.  The petition is on the right hand side.  Say a little prayer to the baseball gods and wear any Cubs gear that you have on Tuesday.  Hopefully we will all have a reason to celebrate.

Ok, first off, don’t forget that Cubs tickets go on sale tomorrow. It should be an unbelievable amount of people trying to get tickets, especially with all the off season moves, and especially with Lou Pinella in town.  We may even get rid of this stupid Billy Goat Curse.   Of course,  Lou does not believe in curses.  According to Lou

"Curses are for people with no confidence. … Curses? No, I never had heard about the Billy Goat Curse and some of these things."

When asked about Steve Bartman, Lou was even more puzzled.

"What was his name?" Pinella asked. "I didn’t even know his name." 

It must be hard for Cubs fans to believe that there is anyone on this planet who doesn’t know  Bartman’s name.  But maybe this is what the Cubs need.  Someone to stomp this kind of mentality out.  Dusty Baker claimed to not believe in any of this stuff, but there he was, spraying holy water from John Paul II on Wrigley Field.  The Cubs need to believe in themselves, their ability, and nothing else.  Just to prove he doesn’t believe in curses, Lou spits in the the face of the Sports Illustrated cover curse and appears with Alfonso Soriano on the latest cover of SI.

I have heard only good things about Lou and the way he is running spring training.  Guys have arrived early, (except for Aramis Ramirez), in shape, and are eager to please their new manager.  Their coaching staff is top notch and the whole attitude surrounding the team seems to be different.  When asked about the Cub’s history and expectations, Pinella said

"You don’t ignore it, but basically you say, ‘Look, what’s happened in the past is in the past," he said. "What we’re worried about is right now, in the present and the future. The only thing you can do with the past is learn from it.’ Look, there’s a lot of talent here, there really is. It’s up to me and my coaches to get this thing to work. Our ownership group and our front office have done their job. Now it’s up to me to do my job on the field."

Lou really doesn’t believe he is going to lose.  He really believes the Cubs are going to win, and so does the rest of the team.  Lou has a lot of depth on this team. He has a good mix of veteran players and youngsters.  Everything seems to be falling into place.  He has championship rings from his years as a player and as a coach.  He has the respect of his players.  Though he looks mellow now, wait until someone doesn’t hustle or execute. Do I expect his to start punching players like he did in his days managing the Cincinnati Reds?  No.  But they say a leopard can’t change it’s spots.  Lou is a competitor, and he expects results from his team.  You can guarantee that the era of no accountability is over.  It’s not in Lou’s nature.  According to Cub’s legend Ron Santo

"He’s fun to be out with but when he puts that uniform on, you better play baseball.  It’s difficult for managers today because of the guaranteed contracts and the agents but, believe me, it’s not difficult for Lou. He’ll be lenient to a point, but last year was the worst fundamental baseball I’ve ever seen, and he will not put up with that. They’ll be out there the next day working on that, or they won’t play."

I have a great feeling about this year, and you won’t want to miss being a part of it.  Like Lou says about these 07 Cubbie;

"There’s some talent here. One of the things I did tell this team is I’ve been fortunate in my career as a manager to manage some very talented teams, and I told them there’s as much talent in this clubhouse as any team I’ve ever managed, and I meant it. Now it’s up to our guys to work hard and myself and my staff to get these kids prepared to play. There’s a ton of talent here, believe me."

  I want to wish everyone out there trying to get tickets good luck.  This season is going to be a blast and I for one, am going to enjoy every minute of it.

Carlos Zambrano and the Cubs were able to avoid an arbitration hearing by striking a one-year, $12.4 million deal just minutes before they were set to go to an arbitration hearing.  He would also earn bonuses for finishing among the top five in Cy Young Award voting, being named MVP of the World Series and League Championship Series, making the All-Star game, and winning the Gold Glove and the Silver Slugger award.The deal was$ 1 million shy of the midpoint of the numbers they exchanged at arbitration, Zambrano’s $15.5 million and the Cubs’ $11.025 million.  How close was Zambrano to being the first Cubs to go before arbitration since 1993?  Close enought that Cubs general manager Jim Hendry and Zambrano’s agent, Barry Praver, were walking toward the hearing room in the Phoenix Hyatt, and decided they were close enough to skip the session, which was scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. MST.

"We hadn’t walked actually in [the room] yet, but we were getting close to it," Praver said.

"Barry and I agreed, they couldn’t start without us," Hendry said.

So what was this all about.  Are you telling me it took until the last minute to come up with a deal like this that made sense?

"We got to the point today where it was getting close," Hendry said. "There wasn’t any intentional bluffing by anybody. I don’t think there was a gap like that in the history of arbitration that I know of. It was one of those where it took awhile to get to the right level where everybody was comfortable."

OK, maybe there was a little bluffing.  Now the trick for the Cubs and Zambrano is to work out a long term deal.  The Cubs are looking for a five-year, $73 million deal Roy Oswalt received from Houston last summer, while Zambrano brings up Zito and his $18 million per year contract.

Hendry claims that

"There wasn’t going to be any tearing down of Carlos Zambrano because, first of all, he’s our best pitcher," he said. "I’ve got nothing bad to say to him. All I want him to do is win more games than he won last year. … The person who was going to present our case had been told by me that was the way it was going to be."

Really Jim, you wanted Carlos to win more games.  That was your strategy for winning the arbitration case?  Then why did you put such a terrible team around him last year?  With virtually no offense, no defense, and a pathetic manager, this guy won 16 games on a team that lost 96 games.  This despite the fact that he won the most games, pitched the most innings, had the most strike outs, and had the lowest era out of all your starters.  Not to mention the fact that he was tied for the fifth most home runs on your team.  The Cubs were outhomered by the opposition at home, had the worst on base percentage, and drew the fewest walks.  Put Zambrano on any team with talent last year, and he wins over 20 games. 

Zambrano’s agent, Barry Praver wants the extention done before opening day.  "Like ‘Z’ said, the goal is [that] this needs to get done before Opening Daybecause he doesn’t want it to become a distraction" .

And Mr. Z?

"Something can happen after the season — why not? I want to stay with the Cubs, and I want to be part of the Cubs when they win the championship. I want to be here, that’s the bottom line."

Sounds good to me.

Jim, get out the checkbook.

Today is the day that Cubs position players are required to report to camp.  It is also the last day for Hendry to sign Zambrano before tomorrow’s arbitration hearing.  The Cubs are fired up and ready to play, as nearly the entire team showed up early to camp, including stars like Derrek Lee and Alfonso Soriano.  The last five players who had not shown up were Aramis Ramirez, Ronny Cedeno, Daryle Ward, Brian Dopirak and non-roster invitee Mike Kinkade.   As of late Sunday, the only projected starter who hadn’t reported by late Sunday was Ramirez.  Lou Pinella was pleased by the early turn out.

”It’s unbelievable isn’t it?” manager Lou Pinella said. ”In all the years that I’ve been managing or even playing, I haven’t seen so many players here so quick. It’s sort of different. But it’s really good to see — and they’re coming in in pretty good shape, too."

”I think it has to do with the fact that they saw that this organization went out and really did some nice things over the winter, and they’re enthused.”

24

Like the tv show 24, there are 24 hours left to sign Zambrano to at least a one year deal before his arbitration hearing after talks between Hendry and Z’s agents were unsuccessful.  The sides are expected to resume talks today as the Cubs try to avoid their first arbitration hearing since 1993 (Mark Grace).  Zambrano, 16-7 with a 3.41 ERA last year, seeks $15.5 million. The team is offering $11.025 million. The right-hander made $6.5 million in 2006. All three of Zambrano’s agents Barry Praver, Scott Shapiro, and Tommy Miranda are scheduled to be in Arizona for Tuesday’s hearing. The way the arbitration work is that the Cubs and Z’s agents will both argue their case.  The Cubs will have to explain to a panel of arbitrators why Zambrano is not worth the money he is seeking.  How they plan to do this is an absolute mystery to me.  They really can’t believe they have a case.  And if they do, do they want to upset the fragile temperment of Zambrano by pointing out all his flaws. This is why teams, especially the Cubs, try their best to avoid these hearings at all costs.  Complicating the issue is the team’s desire to resume negotiations on a possible five-year deal once the arbitration process is resolved.

This is what happens when you leave things to the last minute Jim

Good luck and get it done.

The clock is ticking.

Well, it was a wild wacky first week of Cubs spring training.  Under Armour, hot tubs, and bizzare explanations.  There have been a buncho of positive things too.  High expectations, Soriano arriving early, guys coming to camp in shape, and "Cubbie Swagger"  Let’s take a look at the week that was.

Big Z-Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Thought the old Clash song would be appropriate here.  The start to camp was not the greatest, with Zambrano telling WGN;

"Whatever happens, I don’t want to know [anything] about a contract during the season. I want to sign with the Cubs before the season starts. If they don’t sign me, sorry, but I must go. That’s what Carlos Zambrano thinks."

Wow, we all thought, he sound serious.  Jim Hendry played it off as no big deal, and soon after Carlos was "clarifying"  what he meant;

"I didn’t say that if they don’t sign me before the end of Spring Training that I will not sign with the Cubs," Zambrano said. "They have until the beginning of the season, because I don’t want to talk about the contract during the season."

OK, if you say so.  I just want you to stay Carlos. I like your fire, your intensity, your passion for the game.  So hopefully this will be resolved soon.  Past history has shown that the Cubs don’t let players go to arbitration and a lot of contracts are signed before spring training starts. 

Don’t worry Carlos, you had us at hola.

Beware of Hot Tubs

Kerry Wood skipped the first throwing session after hurting his ribs Monday slipping out of a hot tub, making him the first Cub to be sidelined with an injury.
"It’s about that time of year, isn’t it?" Wood said. "Just typical. I was getting out of the hot tub at the house and took a little spill. Didn’t think anything of it, and it hurt a little more than I thought. Nothing’s wrong."

Cub fans rolled their eyes, but apparently things are ok for Kid K.  Wood returned to the mound earlier than expected Saturday, getting in a brief bullpen session with Larry Rothchild.  Wood wasn’t expected to throw until Monday, but felt good enough after some long toss to start throwing off the mound.  Rothchild limited him to ten pitches, but liked what he saw.

”He really looked good,” Rothschild said. ”You can tell he’s done a lot of work with balance, and he really used his legs well.”

Barring any bizzare home injuries (falling off the roof while cleaning out gutters, falling down the stairs, etc.), Wood will move into a regular spring workout schedule, Rothschild said.

Ready To Return As The Closer

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.  A tale of two cities definitly describes Ryan Dempsters’ season last year.  Dempster set a record with 26 saves in 26 chances. His streak began with a 19-save stretch in 2005 and carried over into the ’06 season, where he earned seven more saves in April and early May.  Then the bottom dropped out.  On May 13,  he blew a save in his eighth chance of the season, which started a new streak, three blown saves in four chances.  It never got better for Dempster.  The right-hander went 1-9 with a 4.80 ERA in a career-high 74 outings, and finished fifth in most blown saves in MLB with 9.  The worst of those for Cubs fans occured on July 1st, when the Cubs, leading by one vs the White Sox, watched as Dempster gave up a three run homerun to villan A.J. Pierzynski, causing fans to throw garbage on the field.  Dempster blamed himself this week for his problems, even admitting that he let himself go last year;

”Toward the end of the year, I would be naive to think I wasn’t heavier than I normally was,” Dempster said. ”When you’re struggling as a team, especially toward the tail end of the season, it’s terrible as a professional athlete and a big-league ballplayer, but I found myself letting a lot of things go.

By the end of the year, Dusty Baker was handing the ball to Bobby Howry in the ninth, not Dempster

”I think sometimes when you don’t get a chance to go back out there when a save situation comes up, I think those are the times when you wonder … not necessarily doubt yourself … yeah, you doubt yourself,” Dempster said. ”You’re like, ‘Man, why am I not back out there in that situation?’ It’s just a confidence thing. This game is all about confidence.”

Pinella knows that the closer role is key, and he has two other options if Dempster can’t get it done;  Howry and Wood.  We’ll see how this one plays out.

”His stuff was good, but his command got him in trouble,” Piniella said  ”You look at his season, and command — walks — had a lot to do with his problem. Well, that’s a position, the closer’s role, where you have got to be able to throw strikes. And that’s what we will work with Ryan more than anything else this spring.”

Shoulder Still Holding Together After First Week

Mark Prior used this first week to try to dispell notions that his problems were more mental than physical.  It was last year that a visit to orthopedic specialist James Andrews proved there actually were some physical issues with his oft-injured right shoulder.  Prior has "looseness" in his shoulder, which is genetic, and which helps his delivery but also means he has to do a lot of shoulder strengthening exercises. His problems began when he collided with Atlanta’s Marcus Giles in 2003, and manifested itself through the broken elbow caused by Brad Hawpe’s line drive in 2005.  Prior discussed people’s opinion that he is soft.

"Everybody is always talking about my mind-set," Prior said. "It’s funny. Everyone wants to talk about my mind.  I knew I had some significant problems going on with my shoulder and [Andrews] just laid them out in more black-and-white [terms] than gray. We all know doctors aren’t always definitive, but it was good to get a second opinion—this is what it is and this is what you have to do.  It wasn’t easy to take, but that’s life."

After doing major off season strength training on his shoulder, Prior is ready to compete for the fifth spot in the rotation, with Wade Miller and the youngsters, Sean Marshall, Carlos Marmol, Angel Guzman, and Juan Mateo.  If he can play the way he did in 2003, this really could be the year.  According to Pinella, he’ll wait and see with Prior.

"We’ll formulate those as we go along," Piniella said. "Look, Prior is a talented kid and his main problem has been that he has not been healthy. So far he feels good and he’s healthy. Let’s just keep it that way, and then we’ll see."

Jones Sets the Record Straight

Jacque Jones wanted to clear up a few things before the season got started.  First off, he wants to be a Cub, and he never asked to be traded.  Jones had a difficult year last year, but he is ready to turn the page.

”I was uncomfortable with some of the things that happened, of course,” he said. ”Was I uncomfortable at having a ball thrown at me? Was I uncomfortable being called a ******? Yes. But wanting to be traded? I never asked to be traded.”

Honestly, I was disappointed with the treatment that Jones got from Cubs fans.  I was unhappy with the contract Hendry gave Jones, but was that his fault that the Cubs overpaid and gave him too many years?  No one should ever use racists slurs, period, but especially don’t use them against our own players.  As far as the ball being thrown at Jones, I want someone to explain to me why the girl who did that wasn’t arrested.  Talk about sexual descrimination, do you think if it was a drunk male fan, they wouldn’t have been arrested?  Now Jones did have his fair share of trouble, base running mistakes, bad throws from the outfield, but he looks to turn that around.  The bad throws were caused by chronic shoulder pain.  Jones, like Prior, has been in a a winterlong strengthening program forhis shoulder and appears to have put his throwing arm back at full capacity.  With Soriano, Matt Murton, Felix Pie, Ryan Therior, Angel Pagan, and others trying to earn an outfield spot, Jones may be gone before the season is over.  He did hit .285 with 27 home runs and he does hit left handed in a Cubs line up that is almost entirely right handed. 

Summary

The good thing with these 2007 Cubs is that there appears to be a lot of depth, a quality that was lacking in the 2006 Cubs.  We’ll see how this all plays out.

What Cubs spring training would be complete without controversy, excitement, and a Kerry Wood injury report?  I will try to address all of these topics

Kid K Slips and Slides

You can’t help to feel bad for this guy.  After working his butt off to rehab from arm troubles, knee troubles, and every other trouble a body can sustain, Kerry Wood was injured again.  And how did he get injured?  He slipped and fell out of a hot tub and his home and hurt his chest and stomach.  Of course, Kerry feels great;

"It was just a little spill," Wood said Thursday. "I didn’t think anything of it. Nothing’s wrong. It’s just going to be a few extra days. My arm feels great. My body feels good."

Of course this meant that Wood was unable to throw off the mound.  Were you expecting something different?

The Good News

While Kerry Wood was unable to throw, two guys who could play important roles were able to.  Mark Prior and Wade Miller threw 30 pitches in the same group as Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, Scott Eyre and Will Ohman.  If either one of these guys return to form, the Cubs will clinch the NL Central. If both are healthy, dare we say World Series Champs?  A healthy Prior and Miller would be top of the rotation guys on any team.  If the Cubs can go with Zambrano, Prior, and Miller as their top three, the Cubs could be dominating.  I’m not expecting that to happen, but the important thing is that the Cubs have depth and options in the pitching staff, something they lacked last season.  Lou Pinella said this about Prior and Miller;

"They both threw the ball well, they really did.  It’d be like signing a couple more free agent pitchers [if they're ready]. These kids are good. Let’s keep them throwing and keep them healthy and keep them working."

I agree Lou

Zambrano Cool Down

After threatening to leave the Cubs if he did not get a contract by opening day, it seems like Zambrano is chilling out. 

"My agent was talking to me, and he said the Cubs offered such an amount, and that’s the first step of negotiations," Zambrano said Thursday. "Before, I think it was Tuesday or Monday and they hadn’t offered anything. They were quiet."

Seems like his agent told Carlos to relax and let him take care of the situation.  I agree with Carlos that the Cubs should sign him before opening day.  You know if the contract is not resolved, there will be questions and speculation about his conrtact all season.  Carlos needs to focus on one thing; Winning baseball games. 

"This is the team that gave me the opportunity to play baseball since I was 16 years old," he said. "I want to stay here, like I said. But this is a business. If they don’t want to sign me, if they don’t want to spend money or whatever, or if they don’t have enough money, it’s OK with me. I want to sign with the Cubs. I don’t want to talk about a contract during the season."

Please Jim, stopping giving us ulcers and make this deal quick.

A Good Sign

Cubs fans had to be pleasently surprised to see Alfonso Soriano arriving to camp early to work on his defense. Although he didn’t have to report until Monday, Soriano arrived early and practiced his defense with outfielders Felix Pie and Chris Walker.  It’s nice to see a guy come out and work for his enormous pay check.  It’s also nice to see a superstar who bursts through the door upon his grand arrival and welcome you to "His House".  I know he strikes out a lot, and his defense is suspect, but I have heard nothing but good things about Soriano’s work ethic.

Uncle Lou Report

Lou Pinella seems to be having some fun. 

"I told them to work hard and that we’ll have some fun here — be nice and relaxed and loose," Piniella said. "I like that atmosphere anyways. I like to kid around. I hope they don’t take me too seriously sometimes."

Lou introduced Triple-A Iowa pitching coach Mike Harkey, and told the players, "Don’t get too familiar with him."  He teased prospect Jeff Samardzija about his hair. "I like everything I saw, but the hair"   He even brought a new term to Cubdom, "Cubbie Swagger". 

What’s Cubbie Swagger?

”That’s something that we’ll be talking about as spring training goes on with our players. By that, I want a nice quiet confidence about them that we’re going to go out and compete every day and play good games and win a good majority of them.  You do that by being prepared, you do that by working hard. You do that by having a little passion for what you do, having a little pride in what you do and by going out and believing in your teammates.”

Do you feel the Cubbie Swagger?

I Do

Go Cubs!

You know, this is supposed to be a happy day.  A day which marks the first official day of spring. Pitchers and catchers report to camp.  But there is no joy in me right now, only seething anger.  Why you ask?  Well, first off, I am still teed off about the whole Zambrano thing.  I know the Cubs are going to sign him, I just think this whole thing is stupid.  On a day that was supposed to mark the new era of the Cubs, the Zambrano talks overshadowed everything.  I hate the attitude that Hendry has taken about this.  Even if it is acting, it is just stupid. 

" My preference would be in this case not to go [to a hearing]," Hendry said. "When you get into the kind of money that’s being talked about and the numbers filed, I don’t think anyone in the five-plus category received the number we filed. We’ll do what we always do; we try to treat our players fairly and honestly.  I’m certain that in a perfect world, Carlos would rather work a deal out with us.  Hopefully, it’ll be before Opening Day and if not, we’ll table it for a later time."

That cocky attitude it just annoying.  That whole "if not, we’ll table it for a later timer"?  Go ahead and try.  See what happens when Zambrano, a young, fierce, competitive talent goes on the free agent market in a year when he will be the biggest pitcher on the market by far.  You think both New York teams, the Yankees and the Mets, with their infinite pools of money wouldn’t just drool at the opportinity to pitch some numbers to Carlos?  And if the Cubs and Hendry keep up this cocky demenor, Carlos is just stubborn enough to walk.  So please Jim, stop acting like you are holding the winning hand.  Carlos has you and the Cubs over a barrel and he knows it, and you know it.  Who are you going to get to replace him?  Who is going to lead your staff?  Where are you going to find a pitcher better suited to pitch at Wrigley?

Speaking of the Tribune’s Stack of Money

During the Convention, myself and many Cubs fans were shocked that the Tribune would actually open its own vaults and start spending money. Of course we were fooled again.  The Cubs aren’t digging deeper into their pockets.  They are going to do what they always did, squeeze every last dime out of beautiful historic Wrigley Field.  The Cubs have sold the rights to the doors in the outfield to Under Armour.  Here is a picture of what the doors are going to look like.  Jay Blunk, director of marketing and sales for the team tells us;

"For us, marketing-wise, to have our logo and Wrigley associated with it is tremendous," Blunk said. "The brand represents performance and athletic achievement at the highest level."

Sure it does.  He added;

"The Cubs have an impeccable track record of tastefully adding signage," Blunk said. "No question, there’s been a change in the culture here. It’s an aggressive culture. That aggressive culture means always maintaining the integrity of Wrigley Field, but how do we still win? This helps us in that regard."

Then why won’t they give Carlos his contract?

Of course they are doing this for our own good

"We’re not putting up giant billboards," Blunk said. "We’re taking things that are already there and changing them and gradually adjusting so we can compete. Our fans deserve a winner. They’ve waited long enough."

Oh thank you Mr. Blunk.

Don’t forget to threaten us with taking away Wrigley;

"I love Wrigley Field, but this really does help maintain and extend the life of Wrigley Field," Blunk said. "It updates Wrigley, it allows us to compete, it allows us to tap into revenue streams that allow us to win. We don’t want Wrigley to become financially obsolete. Our job is to tastefully and gradually add these revenue streams so it doesn’t detract from the backdrop, but allows us to do things like get Alfonso Soriano and re-sign Aramis [Ramirez]."

The next Cubs executive to say that not putting adverisements in every corner of the ballpark will make Wrigley financially obsolete will personally get a kick in the nuts from me.

Here is what you suits don’t understand.  Your team hasn’t won to the World Series since1908.  It hasn’t been to the World Series since World War II.  It was a major accomplishment when you had back to back winning seasons in 2003 and 2004.  You have treated your fan base like ****.  Yet the one thing we have is the beauty and integrity of our ballpark.  And as you slowly strip that away from us, realize this;  If you didn’t have that ballpark, the Cubs as a team would be financially obsolete.  Putting a bad product year after year doesn’t build a fan base.  If you played in any other stadium, you would probably be bankrupt by now.

So please don’t pretend to be doing us any favors.

Leave the Park alone.

During this years Cubs Convention, the looming contract negotiations with Carlos Zambrano were in the back of everyone’s mind.  When Hendry announced that he would have a press conference beforing the opening of the convention, everyone thought it would be to announce that Zambrano got his extension.  Instead we got Jeff Samardzija.  During the convention Carlos talked about business being business, and that if the Cubs didn’t get something worked out before opening day, he wouldn’t negotiate during the year.  All of us Cubs fans were worried, but figured Carlos and Hendry would work everythin out.  Then last night, in an interview with WGN-TV, Big Z let this bomb drop.

"I’m ready to sign, and I would do my job anyway with the Cubs this
year.  Whatever happens, I don’t want to know
[anything] about a contract during the season. I want to sign with the
Cubs before the season starts. If they don’t sign me, sorry, but I must
go. That’s what Carlos Zambrano thinks." (gotta love it when a superstar refers to himself in the third person)

He wants Big Money.  Big Z money, as in Zito, seven years at 126 million dollars.  Now you may think that I would want to bash Zamrano, but I don’t.  I understand where Zambrano is coming from.  The market is hot, he is in his walk year, and the team that he has helped for the last four years for low pay (in baseball dollars), has spent 307 million on 10 players and a manager.  Zambrano is one of the best pitchers in the game.  I think any GM would want to take Zambrano over Zito.  Zambrano’s numbers are better and he played with much worse teams than Zito.  If Zambrano doesn’t get a contract before the year starts, there is always a risk that he may have an off season or get injured.  He has said that the Cubs are the team he wants to stay with, but where is the love?  The Cubs signed Aramis Ramirez when he decided to opt out, signed Alfonso Soriano to a huge contract with unbelieveable perks, and threw money to everyone and their brother, but when it came to Zambrano, nothing but the sound of crickets.  When they submitted bids for arbitration, Zambrano asked for 15 million, and the Cubs offered 11.  Why wouldn’t you pay the extra 4?  Of course Hendry has played down Zambrano’s requests.  Hendry doesn’t believe that Zambrano is going anywhere, especially after talking to his agent, Barry Praver, on Tuesday.

"He’s always expressed to me that they’d like to get something done by
Opening Day," Hendry said. "If we don’t, then their preference is to
table the discussions until postseason.

"Carlos has always made it real clear to myself and his
representative that staying with the Cubs is his first priority. It’s
been a policy of ours not to negotiate with our free-agent players
during the season, the exception being Derrek Lee’s [contract], which
took about five or six days past Opening Day. Ryan Dempster also
renewed before the season ended in ’05, before he became a free agent.

"I’m not really concerned about the stories going around today,
because my dialogue with Carlos and his representatives is that his
intent has been to stay here first."

Glad Jim is feeling confidedent.  It’s his job on the line.  The one thing I wouldn’t want to do is upset my star pitcher, especially after all the off season moves.  Especially since the moves don’t mean anything without Zambrano.  Hendry should have learned that you don’t want to play these games with an ace pitcher.  Ask Larry Himes how that worked out for him.  Then ask the Braves and Greg Maddux how it worked out for them.  The Cubs staff could be great, or could be a weakness, but without Zambrano, they are in big trouble. He has been the one proven winner out of the whole group.  When the world was fawning over Prior and Wood, Zambrano was consistently getting wins.   Quit the posturing, and sign this man already.   I don’t believe the big money would change him or make him less hungry.  He is a competitor.  He wants to win.  He wants the Cy Young and the World Series ring. 

He has done everything he has been asked and more.  Just think what 2004-2006 would have been like without the fun and excitement he brought to some horrible teams.

The Cubs have been very gererous with their money, now give it to the one guy on the team who has earned it.