2010 Chicago Cubs

[dana]

I heard Soto was 40 lbs lighter and that shocked me. Either he was way fatter than I realized or he was on steroids.  Lets hope he was just a fatass.

Soto was smokin dope and eatin food all last off season.  Sounds like he got his shit together.

[stpitner]

I could see Geo going from 220 to 180 or something and that being a healthy drop (I don't know what the actual numbers are).  Hopefully his endurance is up.  I have a rookie card of his that I should have sold after he won the ROY but I stupidly held onto it.  He better have a comeback year

Does Holliday have Boras as his agent?  If he does, that's why he's paid more than Pujols, and there's no reason in this world why he should be paid more than Pujols.  *check* yes, Holliday's agent is Boras.  Screw you Boras.

I do see that Pujols is a free agent in 2 years though, you better believe that if he's staying in St. Louis that they are going to have to pony up at LEAST $20mil/year, and I wouldn't be surprised if they have to go up to $25 mil on a backloaded contract.  *sigh* if I could just have one of those millions... but I digress.

Hudson still isn't signed, so maybe the Cubs have hope (doubtful though) - he's not too old either, just turned 32 last month.  He looks on track to sign with the Nationals (WHY???) and it's unfortunate that the Cubs couldn't get Matt Capps either - he also chose to sign with the Nationals so that he could close out some of their 50 wins that they'll get in 2010.  He could have been a good setup guy in a bunch more than the number of games he'll get into for the Nats...

[patti9103]

Hi Everyone,

     Just checking to see if anyone has heard any rumors about when the Cubs regular season tickets might go on sale.  I thought we usually heard by now.  Want to make sure i didn't miss it.

Patti

[Chainmeister]

Hi Everyone,

     Just checking to see if anyone has heard any rumors about when the Cubs regular season tickets might go on sale.  I thought we usually heard by now.  Want to make sure i didn't miss it.

Patti

Patti
Last year they went on sale 2-20.  The announcement was made 2-3.  Check their website next week for an announcement. If you want better food and better ball consider Sox tickets.  Hope all is well in Texas.

[patti9103]

Thanks for the info Dave.  I'm trying to set up a couple of trips to Chicago area this summer and need my Cubs fix.    And if it works out I'll be able to go to IOS #3 in Oswego while I'm there.  Looking forward to playing up there again.   See YA'LL in June.

Patti

[Dan Michler]

If you want better food without having to suffer through a trip to US Cellular, go see the Cubs play in Milwaukee.

[Tom McManus]

If you want better food without having to suffer through a trip to US Cellular, go see the Cubs play in Milwaukee.

Dan- Have you been to US Cellular?

[Dan Michler]

If you want better food without having to suffer through a trip to US Cellular, go see the Cubs play in Milwaukee.

Dan- Have you been to US Cellular?

Yes, I have.

Got my copy of Vine Line today which states that individual tickets go on sale Feburary 19th.

[patti9103]

Wow,  Thanks for the info for the ticket sales!!!!    Looks like the cubs are out of town when I'm there.  So probably will have to go to MKE to see them in June. 

[stpitner]

why go to US Cellular just to see a team hope they can hit a bunch of home runs as they slowly attempt to "run" around the bases.  I did enjoy going to see the Indians vs White Sox and witnessing a Cleveland grand slam that landed near our area.  K Wood also came in for the save.  It was a perfect game for me.

To be fair- the food and seating area was great, but I'll take the north side team please

[Dan Michler]

If you want better food without having to suffer through a trip to US Cellular, go see the Cubs play in Milwaukee.

Dan- Have you been to US Cellular?

Major League stadiums I've visited:

Wrigley
US Cellular
Camden Yards
Coors Field
old Indians
old Tiger Stadium
Skydome
Astrodome
Busch
Royals
old Milwaukee
new Milwaukee
Three Rivers
Veteran's Stadium
Oakland
Metrodome
Fenway
Candlestick Park

In my opinion the White Sox missed the boat when they built US Cellular in '91.  The new wave of ballparks started with Camden Yards in '92.  If you throw the Cell in with all the other parks built since '91, I believe it comes in dead last in terms of aesthetics.  Look at Camden, Coors, PNC Park, San Fran, etc... These stadiums really take your breath away when you first walk in.  I don't get that feeling from US Cellular.  The facilities are fine and all very practical, but I don't think this is a destination stadium for fans across the nation.  This is obviously just my opinion, but its an opinion based on firsthand data.  I rank Coors Field #1.  Its not like US Cellular is a total hole or anything.  There is nothing wrong with it.  Its just not what I would call breathtaking.  Its fairly bland, similar to the old Comiskey.  Clearly, they could have done more if they had the fore-sight of those who built Camden.

[CEValkyrie]

I saw a concert last year at the new STL stadium. It's pretty awesome and very similar to Coors.

[Dan Michler]

Ozzie publicizing that he now has a Twitter account so he can speak to his fans.

Lou says he doesn't know how to Twitter, won't be learning how to Twitter, and isn't a Twitter kind of guy.  He's a baked potato and steak kind of guy.  Ha!  Gotta love Lou.

Lets just say I'm glad Lou is on our side.

[pdga#7648]

Ozzie may be an idiot, but I am pretty sure he brought a Championship Ring to Chicago 

[Dan Michler]

The Cubs #1 prospect and Top 25 prospect in all of baseball, Starlin Castro, seems to have done everything he can possibly have done at this point to prove he's ready for a shot at the Cubs starting SS position.  He's hitting .545 through his 1st week of spring training after playing almost every day this week.  He hit in A ball, AA ball, and was the MVP of the highly regarded Arizona Fall league last year.  I realize he just turns 20 this year and has made a lot of throwing errors, but I'm hoping the Cubs give him a chance sooner rather than later.  The Rangers had SS Elvis Andrus up at 20 years old last year with great success.  Why not take a chance?  We can move Theriot to 2B which is his more natural position.  What is there to lose?  If we don't try Castro, we are stuck with Jeff Baker or Mike Fontenot or Blanco (injured) at 2B.  Not a lot of upside there.  We can always send Castro back down if things don't work out.  I refuse to believe that would mess up a player's development if he is truly destined to be a great player.  My guess is the Cubs hold off on putting him on the Opening Day roster, but perhaps we'll see him on June 1st if he keeps hitting and we still have no options at 2B.  God knows the Cubs are way past overdue on finding a long-term position player from their own system.

On a sidenote, I'm excited to be leaving for Arizona tomorrow.  Going to see some Cubs spring training and play a lot of disc golf this weekend.  Good times.

[Mike Clark]

Unfortunately I think we will not see Castro till June. The Cubs will want to save a year on his arbitration eligibility. It a shame but it is the business of baseball.

The day I set aside to watch a game got rained out. I hope you have better luck. AZ has already had their yearly allotment of rain so they do not need anymore. According to my local sources that is.

Have fun!

[Dan Michler]

Castro just keeps on hitting.  2 more hits and a jack yesterday.  Tyler Colvin was 2 for 4 to lower his batting average to .533 this spring.  He's another one that I expect to get the call this summer to add some depth to our weak outfield.  Lou has spoken very fondly of Colvin in press conferences.

[Dan Michler]

Is Soriano's contract the most depressing contract in baseball right now?
We've got him locked up through 2014. He makes 18MM this year.

Other contenders:

Vernon Wells through 2014 making 18MM per year.

Carlos Lee makes 17MM through 2012.

Barry Zito makes 18MM through 2013.

There is really no other realistic contender for this title as most of the other really bad contracts from before the recession expire this year or the next (Fukudome's 12MM is finally over in 2011!).

With as bad as Soriano has looked, I give him this award.  His top end right now is to become an average hitter with terrible defensive skills.  And we will be paying close to 20MM for that for this season, next season, the season after that, the season after that, and finally 1 more season.  Really looking forward to these next 5 seasons in left field.  What does Hendry have to do to get fired around here?  Its like that episode of Seinfeld where George drags the World Series trophy around the parking lot but can't seem to get fired.  Hendry has put together a solid resume with the Soriano, Bradley, and Fukudome contracts.  Not to mention he gave Jeff Samardzija 10 MM so he wouldn't consider playing football.  Somebody explain that one!  And saying goodbye to Mark DeRosa was also an excellent idea.  If these new owners value their money, they might want to find somebody else to spend it.

[Mike Clark]

What does Hendry have to do to get fired around here? 

If these new owners value their money, they might want to find somebody else to spend it.

Burn the pictures.

I do not think he will be around next year. He will be leaving with Lou.

Some rumors I have heard call it the John McDonough syndrome. Just follow the money trail. Not saying that all the Blackhawks signings are going to be as bad but they have spent lot of money on long term contracts since he has been President of the Hawks. Contracts that are unheard of in the NHL. Just like the ridiculous contracts the Cubs are stuck with. Can not say for sure because it is all inside the front office. But from the outside looking in it is fairy obvious.

This team is doomed in the near future. So sad.

[pdga#7648]

finally, fans are starting to open their eyes.
and, not as sad as the last 101 years have been. I mean 102