Santo spoke, Ernie espoused, Lou laughed, Jim joked.... Crane cracked, DeRo defied, Jody jostled, Les cried....Derrek dreamed, Hawk hustled, Sandberg saddled, and Sutcliffe was rattled, and in the end Pat talked, Bob shouted, Ron walked, and Len touted....this is a team to fear, a team we all hold dear, a team to love, a team to hate, but in the end a team of fate. And there he was, a man named Messmer, who was so much more than just the unnamed announcer....
Day two of the Chicago Cubs convention began with a Q & A session entitled "Meet Cubs Baseball Management." This panel included Crane Kenney, Chairman; Jim Hendry, General Manager; Randy Bush, Assistant General Manager; and Lou Piniella, Manager. Unlike last year Piniella was on time, but admitted even during year two the Convention is still overwhelming and still one of a kind. Piniella briefly talked about the upcoming season and what changes he would make in comparison to last year.
Hendry said he would be very aggressive over the next few weeks leading up to Spring Training. He added there are still free agents on the board and he is exploring the trade market. Hendry stated, however, as far as making trades, he is dependent on the other organizations and what they are willing to do.
"No one is going to make a trade to help the Chicago Cubs," Hendry joked.
Randy Bush hyped Kosuke Fukudome. He said 'Dome' was their number one target on the board this offseason. Among Piniella, Hendry and Bush, Fukudome was referred to as a good on-base-percentage guy at least five different times Saturday morning. Bush also mentioned that he was excited about being a Chicago Cub. Crane Kenney said that ‘Dome’ had more lucrative offers on the table from three other teams, but he decided to sign with the Cubs for less money. This decision was due to his desire to be the first Japanese ballplayer in franchise history. Although this information has been reported since the signing, Kenney made it official Saturday morning by relaying details from the Owner's Meeting.
While some questioned the Shingo Takatsu signing, the fact that he and Dome are close friends was revealed Saturday morning. A collective, "Ooooohhhhh....riiiight" fell over the audience, making the transaction completely understandable. Hendry assured the crowd that Shingo would not receive any preferential treatment due to his friendship with Dome. It seems pretty clear to us that if Shingo 'ain't' good enough, he will not make the team.
When asked about Dome's batting order position, Lou said he would be a legitimate two or five hole hitter, not a fourth. When asked if he would give Dome a nickname, Lou jokingly said, "We will see what Ron Santo calls him."
While the CCO will cover the Cubs Business Mgmt. on Sunday, on Saturday Kenney said in reference to the naming rights of Wrigley Field, "The Wrigley Co. can step up and pay for what they have been getting for free for all of these years."
The conversation then shifted to Mark Prior and Kerry Wood. In our opinion Hendry seemed exhausted by his dealings with Prior's representatives. He made it clear that Prior's most financially sound option would have been staying in Chicago. However, he left for the West Coast and less money. Hendry's frustrations were evident in his repetitive comments about Prior's injuries, while mentioning his inability to stay healthy over and over again. In perfect contrast, Wood walked into Hendry's office and said, "Pay me what you think is fair." If, for whatever reason, you were confused about who to root for, we are glad it is no longer a mystery.
Centerfield was a popular topic and Lou commented on the abilities of Felix Pie and Sam Fuld. While it appears Pie has the advantage, we all learned last September that you can never count out Fuld. Piniella went on to say that Ronny Cedeno would contribute, but it is clear that, barring a trade, either Sam or Felix will be your starting CF in 2008. Piniella is looking for production out of Pie, and if his offense is anything like his fashion style, he will be the starting CF in the All-Star game next July.
(This is Brian, I am going on a rant here, but I saw Pie come back from a clothing store Saturday evening with two huge bags. He was wearing designer jeans, a striped shirt and white slip-ons....I may be hetero-sexual, as Jim from Tinley will agree to, but damn, the man has some style.)
For all you ladies looking to lose a few pounds and for all you men who should, call Geovany Soto. The kid looks great and his play is even better. The entire Management team talked about how his conditioning lead to his break-out performance last season and how it will continue to benefit him in the future. By the way, Sean Gallagher is thin again. Jenny Craig now has multiple options from the Cubs. If I were Carlos, I'd be worried. Then again, there is always room for Nutri-system. All kidding aside, Piniella served up a great compliment to Soto, "The pitchers like throwing to him."
Lou was loquacious for the entire hour, but it was very clear he is happy with Alfonso Soriano and his role on the team. At one point Lou compared his skills to Bobby Bonds, and emphasized his point by saying, "I don't envision us moving him, but let's not say for sure."
Piniella was clear, the goal is to win at least 92 or 93 games. They want to get off to a good start and let the division know they [Cubs] are here to repeat. By the way, don't be surprised if people steal third a lot this year.
The most important news of the morning came when Lou revealed his preferred Opening Day lineup....it looks a little like this....
- Soriano
- Theriot
- Lee
- Ramirez
- Fukudome
- DeRosa
- Soto
- Pie
- Zambrano
And put his in your vest, though 'Z' said he would be fine letting Ted Lilly start Opening Day, Piniella went out of his way to include Zambrano on the Opening Day lineup.
There were multiple panels throughout the day that were extremely enjoyable. Instead of writing about them, we thought it would be better to give the readers of the CCO the ability to actually listen to them, as if they were there. So go ahead, click on the links, listen to Santo, Sutcliffe, DeRosa, Eyre, Sandberg, Pat Hughes, Brian's grade school pitching coach Tim Stoddard, and the most important member, Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks.
Please, if you have the time, take a listen. Neil and Brian wanted the Cubs Faithful to feel and understand what it is really like to be at the Convention so we posted the audio highlights. Listen, dream, enjoy and ponder what could become of this season.
In closing we would like to say the following....
Ron Santo is a Cub legend. He is a good broadcaster, an even better baseball player and above all else, his reputation precedes him. He embodies what it means to be a Chicago Cub. He is and should always be treasured for that. But this brings us to our last point....
Without Mr. Cub, this franchise would not be where it is today. Ernie Banks is the cornerstone of the Chicago Cubs and that should never be forgotten. He is, without a doubt, the greatest player in the history of the franchise and he deserves to be treated as such. So we ask you, don't ever forget that, and the next time you see him in person, let him know that this how you feel. Without Mr. Cub, this generations' version of the Cubs would be lacking a great deal of history. He paved the way for the teams of yesterday, the teams of today and most importantly, the teams of tomorrow, let's never forget that.
Thanks, and until next time....
Stay Classy Ernie!!
Audio from Cubs Business Management - Part 1
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Audio from Cubs Business Management - Part 2
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This is a large file and takes several minutes to download
The North Side Mystique - Intros
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The North Side Mystique - Part 1
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The North Side Mystique - Part 2
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The North Side Mystique - Part 3
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The North Side Mystique - Part 4
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Jim Hendry took a little time for the CCO
Ryan Dempster
Michael Wuertz
Sean Gallagher
Cubs Royalty - Dutchie Caray
Hall of Famer - Bob Feller
Scott Eyre and Mark DeRosa
Felix Pie
'Sweet Lou'
Larry Rothschild
Randy Bush
The Faithful....and no Shaun, you are not in this photo!
Click Here for a Photo Gallery from Day Two of the 2008 Cubs Convention
Well, it is out there on the Tribune's web site.
"Tribune Co. likely to own Cubs through '08 season."
A high ranking member of chicagocubsonline.com was overheard saying at the convention "That it could be quite possibe that Sam Zell has fallen in love with ownership of the Cubs and may decide to keep them."
Men I am dying here...you must be having a blast over there! Next year I'll be at the convention with you guys, it’s a promise…wait let me ask my wife...if I can go.
[Pause and long silence] She said yes but I am hurt because a giant can of beer broke through the roof and crushed me.
Neil and Brian ….this is great stuff and thanks for the passion. Jim @ Tinley having fun??? Besides Derosa’s wife, can you make a list of the other ones that are worthy of being mentioned??? and post a picture of them so that we can compare….Thanks!
I hope you guys have a great time in the remaining activities and keep us posted!
Rothschild should talk to F. Pie so that he can help him with some sort of style. In that picture he looks like LARRY "THE HAIRY" WIGSCHILD!
Just for men anyone?
Make sure you show those requested Cub spouse comparison pictures to your wife.
How about we stick to relevant baseball chatter?
Scott:
Trust me. My wife vs. DeRosa's wife----- Even my wife knows Mrs. Derosa takes the prize. We arent being cruel or disrespectful. Its the offseason and its cold.
Agustin:
A few things ***
It is frigid Here!!!! Enjoy your Island warmth.
* When I was exiting the hotel lobby last night,
A Woman (It wasn't Heidi DeRosa) did smile at me. Of course she was 70+ years old and with poor vision.
* Neil, Brian, Shaun and I did meet a Hottie at the Old Style booth. She was very attractive and her name was in fact, Hottie. I think Brian should attempt a move on her.
* There was a good looking woman that took a picture with Sweet Lou. I believe Neil may have captured the moment with his camera.
* I did notice a hot looking Fillipino waitress at
Kitty O'Shea's (The Hotel Restaraunt)
It was a great time! Neil, Brian and Shaun are great guys to know and hang out with. I'm not big on getting autographs but I do like chatting with the players and management. We went to a lot of Q & A sessions that we found informative. Also, when you are there in person, you get to see their facial expressions and in the case of Mark Prior. Jim Hendry isn't too crazy about the guy. It wasn't so much what he said, It was how he said it. (This was in regards to the topic of not resigning the primadonna)
Time flys when you are there. 15,000 people who love the Cubs like yourself are around you. What a great way to spend a weekend.
Everyone at the Cubs Convention, I am so jelous of you!
However, I may have had the best Cubs Convention experience ever: For two consecutive years a couple years ago, i got to work the Convention. I was in the batting cages most of the day for Friday and Saturday, but on Saturday night I got to go up to the top floor and eat dinner with the team and attendees. I got to talk to Pat Hughes, Len Kasper, Dusty Baker, Derrek Lee (who i swear wore the same outift both years), and other over buffet style dinner (naturally centered around hot dogs the first year, no joke). It was amazing! Plus, I got to walk around for free a bunch!! Not much beats the Cubs Convention...pretty much just Cubs games themselves! Enjoy! And thanks for all the updates.
Scott; sorry if what I said made you uncomfortable. I was not talking to you however.
Agustin,
I know you're a regular poster to this site, and I respect all who provide a Cubs perspective (either pro or con on the moves being/not being made or performance on the field).
As a regular reader/visitor to the site, I do believe that the recurring tagline is "stay classy Cub fans". As such, I don't believe that a request to provide pictures of and then compare and contrast the spouses of our Cub players fall into that category.
And please note that when you place a post it's for all to read. So while your weren't "talking to me", you essentially "talk" to all who visit this site and read the respective posts.
Again, I'm not looking for a running thread debate on this. I'd just prefer our emphasis on true baseball focus.
Scott,
I'm ok with your notes and message, but it really isn't worth any debate here.
How about moving on from here.
Hopefully we'll see some great additional personnel moves over the following weeks leading to spring training. It should be a great 2008 for all Cub fans! I'm personally looking forward to it.
I just hope we don't undervalue Murton in ANY trade. IT seems like that is what is happening. Marlon Byrd, at 30 years old, and limited production is NOT worth Murton at all. Murton would be worth Byrd AND some higher end prospect. But, hey, let's face it, if Soriano could've handled CF, Murton would be our starting LF, and he'd probably produce a line of .300+ avg, 15-20 hr, and 75-90 rbi That's WAY more than Byrd has ever done, so I hope Hendry doesn't just give him away in a deal like that, but rather in something bigger for say a Bedard or something to that effect.
I'm not a fan of the Shingo Takatsu signing at all, though, who knows, in the NL, he might just thrive. I just don't see where he fits in, and if he is cut, does that affect Fukodome mentally?
The way I see it, we are VERY set in the bullpen with the following:
Hart-virtual lock
Wuertz
Eyre
Howry (closer?)
Marmol (closer?)
Wood (closer?)
and either Cotts, Marshall (as long man/spot start), Petrick, Ascanio, Pignatiello, or Lahey will battle for the final spot.
It'll be interesting to see how all that plays out. I mean, I'm pretty excited with our pitching actually---just not the last two spots in the rotation. Though, you'd have to count Samardzija, Ceda, Lieber, maybe even Petrick (he was a starter), and Gallagher in the mix.
I sincerely hope Cubs management wises up, and trades Marquis and Dempster for whatever prospects/bench help that we can get. Having both on the roster IMO is a waste. They're both essentially the same average to below average pitcher with serious mental toughness problems.
Check this out, I would LOVE a rotation of:
Z, Lilly, Hill, Lieber, Ceda/Gallagher
I would LOVE that!
Is Hart out of options? If not, I wouldn't call him a virtual lock to make the team out of spring training. We'll lose Lahey if we don't keep him up, and if we don't deal Dempster or Marquis, one of them will get a bullpen spot. A lot will depend on spring training performances.