Chicago Cubs Convention

The 2012 Cubs Convention wrapped Sunday with the annual panel focused on the Cubs' Minor League system. This year's panel featured six of the Cubs' top prospects ... Brett Jackson, Anthony Rizzo, Junior Lake, Jeff Beliveau, Josh Vitters and Matt Szczur.

Oneri Fleita dropped a little news during the Down on the Farm session. Dae-Eun Rhee will start the season in the Smokies' rotation (Double-A) ... and Robert Whitenack is progressing well after last season's Tommy John surgery. Whitenack will begin camp on time and will be in the Daytona Cubs' starting rotation (High Class-A) when the season begins.

The Cubs will also introduce a new video system to their minor league teams that will help them be more prepared to compete and improve.

In the Father-Son Connection, it was easy to see how Shawon Dunston, Jr., Michael Brenly and Daniel Lockhart became so grounded at a young age. Not only did their fathers play the game, but along with their mothers they installed the right values in their sons ... and in the Shawon Dunston's case, he has not let up.

First up on the final day of the convention was Down on the Farm ...

The other sessions that were attended on Saturday include Ron Santo: Beyond the Game, The Scouting Formula and Meet Cubs Business Management.

The Ron Santo tribute was one again heartfelt but rightly focused more on his playing career. Ron Santo deserved to be elected to Hall of Fame long before last December ... the numbers he put up on the field back up that statement.

The Cubs' new regime is going to rely on scouting and player development to build an organization with sustained success. The Jason McLeod session was one of the more interesting hours of the first two days of the convention.

As for the business side, there are changes happening at Wrigley Field that include the addition of a 70-foot LED board beyond the basket in the right field bleachers.

The Cubs' new general manager was front and center in the second session of the day. Jed Hoyer picked up where Theo Epstein left off earlier. Hoyer spoke about the importance of building an organization in order to have a big league team that consistently plays in October. Randy Bush, the Cubs' assistant GM, and Dale Sveum participated in Meet Cubs Baseball Management.

The Coaches' Den focused on accountability at the big league level and playing the game the right way. From the sound of Dale Sveum and his staff, the lollygagging that has been accepted in recent years will no longer be tolerated.

Day two of the 2012 Cubs Convention focused on the new regime and their plan for now and in the future. Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer and Jason McLeod delivered a consistent message throughout the day ... while Dale Sveum and his coaching staff preached accountability and playing the game hard and the right way on a daily basis.

The Cubs also paid tribute to Ron Santo and his recent election into the Hall of Fame ... plus the Cubs unveiled a significant change to Wrigley Field that will result in a 70-foot LED board above the wall in the right field bleachers.

Due to the amount of information, the recap of day two of the convention will be broken into three reports.

Theo Epstein began the second day of the convention ...

The Chicago Cubs annual convention got underway on Friday afternoon at the Hilton Chicago. The old hotel received a facelift since last year's convention but by early afternoon those changes had been covered by a sea of blue.

The 27th Annual Cubs Convention was very different from recent years and a majority of that had to do with all of the changes at the top of the organization. Gone is the previous regime and along with it, the question dodging that has been common place at the convention.

It was refreshing to hear Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer and Dale Sveum's concise, seemingly unrehearsed answers to questions about their plans and the organization.

The Cubs also saved a little announcement for primetime. After Theo Epstein downplayed announcing a signing during the convention just for a PR move earlier in the day, Pat Hughes announced the Cubs had re-signed Kerry Wood to a one-year contract during Opening Ceremonies.

Day one of the 2012 Cubs Convention is in the books ...

Harry Caray referred to it as the "unofficial opening day", some refer to it as the "kick-off to spring training", call it what you want but the bottom line is baseball is just around the corner. The 27th Annual Cubs Convention officially begins this afternoon at the Hilton Chicago. Pat Hughes will once again have the honor of introducing the Cubs past, present and future during the Opening Ceremonies but this convention will be a little bit different than previous years.

Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer and the Cubs new regime will get their first real taste of the fan base over the next three days ... as will the new players the Cubs have acquired and several of the organizations top prospects. The Cubs Convention is the original 'fan fest'. Every other organization has just borrowed ideas from John McDonough's original concept. And for those that have never attended a Cubs Convention, words cannot truly describe the event.

The schedule for the 27th Annual Cubs Convention was released Sunday night and Monday morning. The three-day event begins Friday afternoon at the Hilton Chicago.

The Cubs' new front office will be in attendance and the Saturday morning session with Theo Epstein figures to have the biggest crowd of the weekend. Cubs past and present, the entire front office including Jed Hoyer and Jason McLeod will be in attendance. The Ricketts family will hold their question and answer session on Saturday afternoon ... this is the third convention for the Ricketts family since they took over ownership of the team.

The Cubs will also honor Ron Santo's election into the Hall of Fame. Members of the Santo family will be on hand as they celebrate Santo's long, overdue enshrinement into Cooperstown.

The "Unofficial Opening Day" is just around the corner ...

The 27th Annual Cubs Convention kicks off next Friday at the Chicago Hilton and some of the details were released on Thursday. This year's convention will feature a lot of new faces ... both in terms of the front office, the coaching staff and the players.

Theo Epstein will host his own session in the Grand Ballroom on Saturday morning and will be followed by 'Meet Cubs Baseball Management' featuring Jed Hoyer, Randy Bush and Dale Sveum.

The Cubs new coaching staff will be on hand as well as several of the organization's top prospects.

Here is a partial list of attendees as well as a portion of the schedule. The full schedule should be released over the weekend ... but here is what is known at this point. The CCO will update when more information becomes available.

The final day of the 26th Annual Cubs Convention focused on the young players in the system ... both at the Major League level and down on the farm.

Tyler Colvin, Darwin Barney and Scott Maine talked about being 25 and in the majors. The final session of the weekend, "Down on the Farm presented by the VineLine" featured Oneri Fleita, the Cubs VP of Player Personnel and Tim Wilken the Cubs Scouting Director plus D.J. LeMahieu, Chris Carpenter and Jay Jackson.

Day two of the 26th Annual Cubs Convention was filled with information and fond memories of Ron Santo. The Ricketts Family Forum led off the day and Jim Hendry, Mike Quade and Randy Bush answered question after question on the current team as well as the plans for the future.

Tom Ricketts announced the team will wear #10 patches to honor Ron Santo throughout the 2011 season. The Cubs tribute will also include a statue of Ron Santo set to be unveiled on August 10.

Here is the recap from Day Two ...