Last year I discussed on multiple occasions the 2009 Cubs calendar I received from my mother (a Sox fan, who no doubt put a curse on it) for Christmas of 2008. It started out that many of the players featured on the calendar were traded by the time the beginning of the season had rolled around and ended up predicting the Cubs long string of injuries, amazingly with such accuracy as the featured player of the month would inevitably be on the DL at least for part of that month (longest sentence, EVER). This year, I skipped the Cubs calendar, instead my girlfriend bought me a Bears desk calendar instead.
But the Cubs are still prone to injury and Cubs players are already falling right and left. Ted Lilly will inevitably start the season on the DL, Soriano came into camp "not 100%", Angel Guzman is having shoulder problems after offseason knee surgery and Theriot was hit in the wrist by a 95 mile hour fastball by one of our youngster during batting practice. So I decided to do some research on this year's Cubs Calendar, put out by the good folks at Turner Licensing (who are also probably Sox fans, although by the name they may be Braves fans). As you can see above, here is the back of the calendar. Unfortunately, the quality is hardly the best and the Idiots still have not received our CSI enhancing software, but we can take guesses as good as the next guy.
The calendar starts out with Ted Lilly in January. That one was obvious, as it was probably already known by the designers that he would start the year off injured. The other Cubs are a little bit harder to distinguish, but it looks as if the order may be this:
February - Zambrano
March - Soto
April - Ramirez
May - Rich Harden (no longer on the team)
June - Unknown player
July - Theriot
August - Lee
September - Soriano
October - Dempster
November - Sweet Lou
December - Fukudome
So expect these guys to be injured or traded during the year.
Go Cubs!
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From the Muskat:
Enjoy the video. Go Cubs!Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts met with the players and staff prior to Tuesday's first full squad workout at Fitch Park. It was his first address as the Cubs owner.
"There were two messages," Ricketts said. "One is, it's a family ownership now and we want everyone to feel like they're part of the family. The second message is we're very excited to get the season started. We feel we had a terrific offseason and we have great players and great coaches and we should have a great year."
Ricketts said he could sense the serious commitment by players, many of whom showed up early in camp. Some of the players have said it's nice to have an actual person to communicate with as far as the team owner goes.
"Well, I pride myself on being an 'actual person,'" Ricketts said, smiling. "One of the messages is we're around and if there's anything we can be doing better, let us know. The fans will see us, too. We are fans and we'll be part of the fabric at Wrigley this year. We'll be around and accessible to both the players, fans and the coaches."
Earlier today via FB, I had a discussion with a friend (and Sox fan) about who would end the 2010 season with more wins - Carlos Zambrano or Jake Peavy.
Unfortunately for the Cubs, at the beginning of last year and even up until the trade deadline, this would have been a win-win situation. If you remember, rumors were flying that the Cubs would be Peavy's new home after needing to be traded out of San Diego. But then it turned out that he was dealt to the South Siders, only to then learn that Peavy evoked his no-trade clause and refused the trade. After a little bit of negotiations, the Sox were finally able to land Peavy just before the trade deadline. Arm intact, but still ginger, Peavy pitched for only three games with the Sox.
Today, Big League Stew took to breaking down what kind of difference Peavy will make for the Sox this year. One of the concerns is obviously his health. Peavy has made only 43 starts over the past two seasons. He also benefited from pitching in the friendlier Petco Park, which may skew his stats. A stat-fag figured out that if Peavy would have pitched at the Cell last year, rather than in San Diego, he would have had a 4.22 ERA and 5-5 record, which makes him more of an average pitcher than a great one.
So what can be said about Big Z? Coming off the worst year of his career since becoming the Cubs ace, Carlos has also had his share of injury problems as of late. There was also speculation that the Cubs were looking to deal the hot-headed pitcher elsewhere during the trade deadline and even Carlos himself joked about retirement. Fortunately, Zambrano is still a Cub, and he has come into camp trimmer and with a fresh attitude. He claims to have changed his ways mentally and physically, although this isn't a new story for El Toro Loco.
As the Cubbie Doctor's Examiner points out, Carlos has a knack of making bold predictions for the year (claiming the Cy Young a couple times), but then falling short during the season. While health was a major concern for the pitcher last season, one thing that can't be overlooked is the lack of run support Zambrano got last year. That, coupled with the stress of being the Cubs go-to pinch hitter, led to more than a couple blow ups on and off the field, so much as the Cubs forcing an early retirement for it's new Gatorade machine.
So the question is, can both pitchers stay healthy, and if they can, who will be more effective? To most occasional fans, wins and losses determine a pitcher's worth. To a more experienced fan, we look at stats like ERA, innings pitched, WHIP and OppBB. So who is to say who will have the better record? There are plenty of variables outside the control of each pitcher that will determine who has a higher number in the "W" column at the end of the season. Regardless, I think both pitchers are more worried about putting a "W" in their team's record, rather than their own.
Go Cubs!
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"Who the hell is that goofy looking chick?" you may be asking yourself, and "What does this have to do with the Cubs?"
Well, folks, that is Rain Phoenix, sister to her more well known brothers, Joaquin and River Phoenix. See, it's been raining in the Valley of Sun since Saturday, which I assume the Cubs players packed with them on their way out here to Arizona. So when I entered, "rain, Phoenix" into google in order to get a picture of rain in Phoenix, I instead found out that Rain Phoenix is actually a person. So there you go.
Along with the rain, the colder temperatures have also returned. I was forced to wear jeans today, after vowing last Wednesday that I was giving them up for Lent. And no, I still wear pants in the form of shorts, and yes, I am allowed to wear shorts to work, this IS Arizona mind you. Today (presumably) the last of the Cubs arrived to Arizona and full team practices are scheduled to begin tomorrow with real games (as real as Spring Training games are anyway) beginning next Thursday. Let's hope we get all this wet and cold weather out of our system by then.
A couple notes–
Ryan Theriot is in fact not worth the 267,557 extra McRib sandwiches he thought he was worth. The arbitration hearing between the Cubs and The Riot was held in Florida on Saturday and the judges agreed that the Cubs offer was closer to Ryan's actual worth. Theriot will make $2.6 million this year, a substantial jump from the half million he has made the previous 2 years with the Cubs.
Fortunately for the Cubs, following the hearing The Riot didn't go all Milton Bradley and complain, complain, complain. Both Theriot and Hendry had only good things to say about each other with Ryan saying the meeting was very informative, but "long and boring", while Hendry saying it was more of a philosophical-type case than an actual disagreement.
Is that Kevin Costner getting ready for Field of Dreams II? Nope, just Cubs Idiot, Kevin Millar. Photo by Tim at Boys of Spring.
So the Cubs are getting their new park in Mesa? Hardly. As predicted here first, (I told all you happy-go-luckies to calm down, didn't I?) the Cubs new spring training facility is getting opposition from, well, just about everyone.
Despite the legislation clearing the Arizona House Commerce Committee by a vote of 6-2, it looks as though there is going to be a long and hard fight to get the funding needed for the projected $84 million site dubbed, "Wrigleyville West".
First into the ring, the car rental companies. This one is obvious. A proposed increase would raise the taxes of car rentals by $1 in a state that already has some of the highest rental taxes in the nation. This seems to makes sense why they would be pissed, until you think about the alternatives that tourists would face. Will they take cabs or the bus instead? Or maybe even rent a bicycle? Or...walk? Come, on! Seriously, this tax is hurting only the tourists, who will still flock to Mesa to see the Cubs play regardless. Sorry, it's a small price to pay to keep the Cubs and it's not effecting the local taxpayers. And what if the Cubs do leave? You think those car rental companies are going to have as good of business in March as before? Let's get realistic, people.
Next up are the other Cactus League teams, who oppose the 8% surcharge per ticket to pay for the complex. Cubs fans are used to being ripped off, especially when it comes to ticket prices. One needs only look as far the Cubs 20% increase in "pre-sale" ticket prices for regular season games. But other teams are used to their fans getting their tickets at regular price, if not for a discount.
Here's where the hypocrisy lies though, the teams that are complaining, mainly the White Sox and D-Bags, got money from the government and from increased taxes as well. It's not like they paid out-of-pocket for their new stadiums. Let's let an article from the East Valley Tribune's former editor, Jim Ripley describe the shenanigans these teams are throwing out there, as I am just blind with rage:
“Unfair” was the most used word of the day by opponents who argued it was unfair to raise the cost of all Cactus League tickets for the benefit of the Cubs.
But fairness is in the eye of the beholder and one could ask if it is fair that so much of the Arizona Tourism and Sports Authority public money is going to the West Valley for the Cardinals’ stadium and other projects and so little is coming to the East Valley.
Arizona Diamondbacks representative Tom Dorn chided Mesa and the Cubs for its ballgame ticket surcharge and car rental tax solution. He proudly pointed out the Diamondbacks’ had avoided being a burden on others by getting the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community to build a Cactus League stadium for them and the Colorado Rockies.
Now that’s chutzpah or worse—from a team whose downtown Phoenix stadium was 71 percent publicly financed, including a quarter cent sales tax levied on taxpayers throughout the county, not just in Phoenix.
We got ours. The heck with Mesa and the Cubs.
Lawmakers were unimpressed as they noted that by playing on Indian community land, fan purchases would not be subject to sales taxes.
Scottsdale Attorney Patrick Ray, who spoke on Selig’s and MLB’s behalf, said he was only called on Tuesday to represent the commissioner and the league.
He acknowledged that he was late to the party when committee members asked if MLB had engaged in discussions prior to the writing of House Bill 2736. He said he had set up a meeting for later in the day with a deputy Mesa city manager.
Photo courtesy of Hohokam PA Announcer, Tim Sheridan's blog, Boys of Spring"It feels pretty strong. I expect to be ahead of schedule, whatever schedule comes out. I think the real test is first, when you get on the mound and start throwing downhill off the slope and after that when you get into a game situation and you try to really dial it up with runners in scoring position or whatever it is -- that's when you find out how healthy you really are."
Ah yes, Scottsdale, Arizona. A fertile land full of cougars, money grubbing bitches, and over-tanned douchebags. Perfect place for an MLB Spring Training site right? Actually, you would be shocked at how fun a game at Scottsdale stadium can be.
Last season's Idiotic Adventure to Scottsdale involved watching the Boilers get pounded by UCONN in the Sweet 16 at a bar in Tempe before heading up to Scottsdale. Long story short, last year's only night game for the Cubs was called in the 8th due to gale force winds. You heard me right, they stopped playing because it was too windy. They actually had to close the Dos Gringos stand out in the left field grassy knoll for fear the sign would fall on the patrons. Cold and windy but Angry Mike felt no pain thanks to the excellent beer selection at the stadium. I think Ginger was the only guy that actually noticed the elements (since he DD'ed). Reminds me of a Cubs game against the Cards I almost missed a few years back if not for God intervening and bringing 50mph winds to Chicago.
I digress....
Where to be pre-game...
It's pretty main stream but I recommend The Yard House for a pre-game beer or 5. You will be hard pressed to find an establishment with more taps in the Valley. That doesn't mean they have the best beer compilation (that goes to Papago and Taste of Tops) but you will find something from just about any region in the country to suit your taste. The Yard House is located just northwest of the stadium at the intersection of Scottsdale and Camelback (1-2 miles away). It's inside the big ass mall.
Stadium experience...
Scottsdale Stadium has the second best atmosphere, only trailing Hohokam Stadium. The Giants seem to draw well (maybe this is because I only go when they play the Cubs) and their fans are generally pleasant and informed. Scottsdale has BY FAR the best beer selection in the Cactus League featuring draft Sierra Nevada and Anchor as well as bottles. They sport a Dos Gringos stand reminiscent of the stand at Hohokam which both Lazy Steve and Ginger Russ heart more than they should. All-in-all a fun place to watch a game. If you are going to venture to a stadium other than Hohokam make Scottsdale your choice.
Where to be post-game...
I think I would be letting the other Idiots down if I didn't mention everyone favorite Indian casino. Casino Arizona at McKellips is located southwest of the stadium off the Loop 101 at McKellips (approx 5 miles away). This place has been a favorite of the Idiots over the years and has been surprisingly loose with the payouts...at least at the blackjack tables.
If games of chance aren't your thing I recommend heading down to Papago Brewing which I mentioned in the Phoenix Muni guide (approx 3 miles away). You really can't go wrong with that place.
If you happen to be into wine, check out Kazimierz World Wine Bar or their sister restaurant Cowboy Ciao (both about 1 mile away). Should be able to find something you like amongst their 3200 options.
Well that's it for Scottsdale. I will try to get the Hohokam guide up by the end of next weekend. Trying to hurry so I can begin planning for the first tailgate in Mesa on 3/4.
GO CUBS!
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WOW...just...WOW! Don't see it? Look what D-Lee's head is covering up.
It's no secret that I, along with millions of others in the Cublogoverse, hate Al Yellon's fucking guts, so this is pretty funny, being that Al is the Editor this fine trash. Personally, I don't how you actually get this past the editors. Too busy with their heads up their asses?
I am a graphic designer by trade and have done a couple of book and magazine covers. The whole "cover up the title with the picture" thing is not new and sometimes has hilarious consequences, but this is one of the best in my personal experiences. Let me tell you though, I'm pretty sure the designer of this cover did this on purpose, just to see if he (or she, there are some lady designers) could get it all the way to the printing, which it apparently did. Probably a Sox fan.
Also hilarious are some of the comments on the BCB site in reference to the slip, and one thing I in particular noticed about the quote that Al puts under each of his own comments: "You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra.
You can observe a lot, Al. Like a dork like yourself being so wrapped up in your little Cubs world, you fail to notice the obvious.
Some other comments poke fun at the cover:
• Maybe I'll probe through it.
• That is some crack reporting.
• This issue probes deeply and can sometimes be a bit rough, but it comes through in the end.
• Will it be delivered to my back door? (by a woman, no less)
• Is this issue #2?
I'm sure this cover will make it's way to Deadspin and Fail blog eventually. Thanks, Al, for once again making us Cubs fans look like Idiots.
Go Cubs!
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Not many people realize it, but each Spring Training the Cubs play just a little bit north of the valley in the greatest city in the world, Las Vegas. Since this tour around the Cactus League stadiums is Angry's baby, I decided to feature the park that isn't technically a CL venue, but for a couple of days each year is infested by Cubs fans from around the world, hungry for baseball, gambling, drinking and maybe a show of the "scandalous" variety.
This year, the Cubs play a couple of split squad games against the White Sox on March 12th and 13th. The stadium is Cashman Field, home of the Las Vegas 51s, the Pacific Coast League, Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. The park is located just North of Downtown: the smaller, older and seedier section of Vegas.
Where to be pre-game...
A cab ride from the strip will cost about $30, but drinks and food are not cheap at the park so I suggest you tailgate back near your hotel, which we are assuming is the dirty but cheap Hooters Hotel and Casino, because honestly, who goes to Vegas to sit around in a hotel room? If you're attending the game on Thursday, which starts at 8pm, your tailgating will involve pretty much whatever casino is playing hot. Just try not to lose all your money before the game, because unlike the tables, the drinks aren't free at the stadium.
For the second day, a nice breakfast to help cure your hangover would be good (or if you haven't been to sleep yet, you probably haven't eaten in a while either). I suggest the Raffles Cafe at the Mandalay Bay or if you're in the mood for something lighter, JJ's Boulangerie at the Paris offers a wide variety of freshly made pastries and a tasty cup of joe. You also can never go wrong at America in New York, New York.
Stadium experience...
The park holds around 15,000, which is considerably more than most of the other Spring Training facilities. Since this is cross-town rivalry matchup, the atmosphere is electric, although you will see mostly Cubs fans (White Sox fans can't afford to travel). The stadium is nice from my recollection (I was pretty drunk both times). I remember it was difficult to get a beer, as there were no vendors, but if you wanted to pay $10+ for a mixed drink, it was pretty quick. The night atmosphere is obviously a little more raucous than the day game. The food outside was better than the food inside.
Where to post game...
The night game gets out pretty late, at least by Spring Training standards (by Vegas standards it's still pretty early). A cab ride back to the North end of the strip will be cheaper, although leave around the 7th inning or so as finding one at the end of the game will be impossible (like at the casinos, you have to wait in line for a cab, which along with 10,000 other fans can take a while). Shoot some craps at Caesar's (let me ask you something, is this the REAL Caesar's palace?) or head over to TI to play some 21. After that, well, this IS Vegas. Pretty much anything is possible.
The next day you might not feel as up for so much excitement after the game. Downtown is about a 30 - 45 minute walk (depending how many piss breaks you have to take on the way). It will take just as long to wait for a cab, so head down there for a more relaxed atmosphere. The little bit of exercise will help combat all the empty calories you've been consuming. If you're broke (which by this time, you will most likely be) you can play the penny machines and still drink for free until it's time to catch your cab to the airport.
Ginger's Favorite Spots...
Restaurants:
B&B Ristorante at the Venetian
America at New York, New York
Mesa Grill at Caesars
Blackjack:
Flamingo (only because they were handing out black chips)
MGM Grand
New York, New York
Sports Books:
Caesars
The Mirage
The Bellagio
Bars:
Nine Fine Irishmen at New York, New York
Red Square at the Mandalay Bay
Dick's Last Resort at the Excaliber
And more:
The Beatles LOVE, Cirque du Soleil at the Mirage
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Mr. Wilson hates it when Dennis comes over to play.
“We want the Cubs to stay here badly, but not at the expense of our fans,” Hall said. “I’ve heard the argument that the other teams should be willing to because of the visiting crowds that the Cubs bring to their games. They do draw well, as do we, yet we were creative in our search for a new site to identify a partner willing to finance the entire project without public dollars.”
"Is this the same Jerry Reinsdorf that skipped out on Pima County taxpayers who had spent tens of millions of dollars to provide him with a taxpayer-funded stadium, to come to Glendale, where Maricopa County taxpayers provided him a Taj Mahal spring training facility?" Smith said.He said Reinsdorf's White Sox enjoy a publicly funded stadium in Chicago and that Reinsdorf last year looked into buying the Phoenix Coyotes, who play in Glendale's publicly funded hockey arena.
"The irony is delicious," Smith said.
Now look what you've done. You made Mike Fontenot cry.
Incredibly racist or hilarious? We'll go with a little bit of both.
h/t: Not Qualified to Comment via Zoner Sports
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Looks like Marmol will be the Cubs closer for the 2010 season, barring a Spring Training meltodown. The Cubs and the Presidential look-a-like agreed to a one-year, $2.125 million dollar deal and avoid an arbitration hearing.
This leaves just the Riot left unsigned, who has broken off talks with the Cubs front office as an arbitration hearing looks inevitable for the first time since Mark Grace went head-to-head with the Cubs in 1993. That time the Cubs won, which is probably the way the arbitration board will rule if the Pocket Rocket (don't you love how Ryan has so many nicknames?) and the Cubs can't reach an agreement.
The one-half of the Cajun Connection is asking $3.4 million. The Cubs countered at $2.6 million, but reports have the Cubs offering as high as $3 million. In case you aren't familiar with the arbitration process (as I wasn't until recently), here is the jist of it:
The Riot with lawyers and Jim Hendry (and lawyers) will sit down and have a back and forth in front of a panel of three people, each trying to prove why their number is what Theriot is worth. After that, the panel must choose a side. There is no meeting half-way.
The Cubs have three options before the two sides meet in sunny Phoenix (YEAH! PHOENIX!). They can either give Theriot what he wants, go to the hearing, or non-tender the shortstop/second baseman, which would basically be letting him walk away. I wouldn't expect the last (and worst case) scenario, but don't expect a big deal to happen, as Ryan is fairly old (30 years) and the Cubs have Castro and COI favorite Andy White ready to replace him as soon as this year.
I have read a majority of the blogs on the subject and many offer statistics that prove each side's arguments with such crazy stats such as WAR, TOOTBLAN, and RTAOBP. What the Riot does have going for him is that he played in more games than any other player on the Cubs last year, stole the most amount of bases, and hit a career high amount of home runs. On the negative side, his BA lowered, his strikeouts increased while his walks went down and his "effectiveness" in the field is lacking.
So basically it boils down to that, or more specifically, $800,000. So I asked myself, what could one buy with $800,000?
• 267,557 McRib Sandwiches
• 1,600 iPads
• 35 Deloreans
• 10,000 Adult Midget Rocker Costumes
• 2,667 Hours of Driving around with Ferrari Guy for Hire, the awesomest person alive (and Jen favorite)
• A personal concert performed by the Bacon Brothers
• 36,363 Bottles of Firestone Walker "13" (a COI favorite)
...And I've gotten bored with looking up what $800,000 can buy you. Pretty suffice to say for Theriot, who only made $500,000 last year, it's a pretty big number. For Rickett's family, who just paid almost a billion dollars for a baseball team, it's a drop in the bucket. Either way, it will leave a bad taste in the mouths of the Cubs front office. I don't expect Theriot to be a Cub for much longer after this year, which although we will miss the scrappy little guy, it will allow for a younger, better defensive player to emerge and hopefully bring the Cubs a World Series title.
Go Cubs!
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Hey-O! Cubs fans. It's been a while since our last post, but you know how it goes, when there is no news, we post, when shit blows up, nothing. If this is your only source for Cubs news (and God help you if it is), let's look at some changes.
Kevin Millar (has almost) signed a minor league deal with the Cubs and will be invited to Spring Training. Known for his yahtzee war cry, "Cowboy Up", Millar was a scab in the '94 MLB strike, but still became a clubhouse favorite when he helped Boston win there first World Series in forever. Although he called himself and his players in Boston, "Idiots", COI does not officially endorse this signing.
Chad TRA-CY! also signed a minor league deal with the Cubs. Tracy was an AZ favorite on the radio show Holmberg's Morning Sickness on KUPD, where he often was made of fun because of the proximity of his eyes to each other. Although he was a Cubs killer while in AZ, he most likely flop and be the next Aaron Miles for the Cubs.
Best outfielder ever, RE-ED Johnson, has signed with the LA Dodgers.
Former Cubs killer (because he sucked with the Cubs), Aaron Miles is back in the NL Central, as he signed with Dusty's Reds, where he will not be clogging the bases.
And finally, the Cubs will "officially" stay in AZ! Of course, like we said before, no plan of funding the project has been finalized, so this could be another long and drawn out process. Keep in touch with COI (yeah, cause we are so on the ball) for more news about Spring Training and such. Pitchers and catchers report in less than 2 weeks, so to get yourself psyched, check out this article I wrote last year about the 5 great things about Cubs Spring Training.
Go Cubs!
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