Alas it is not a shiny new CF, Maddux returning as manager or an personally autographed photo of Sam Fuld. It is a Cubs hat that says " Season Ticket Holder  20+ Years". Kasey did you get one ? Do they have one for you 10 plus year folks ? I  am sure BLou thinks it is the booby prize but I plan to wear at the Convention ( double booby prize re BLou) preferably when I am grilling Lou about playing Scales in Sept.

Sam Fuld is now back playing for  Aragua Tigres  in Venezuela. He has been there less than a week because he was  a little preoccupied with the birth of his first child a bouncing baby boy ( 8.2 pounds ) was born  on Dec 3. I rather enjoy this bit from one of the local paper's in New Hampshire where he lives.

"The Cubs reportedly are interested in trading outfielder Milton Bradley, which could increase Fuld's chances of making the team out of spring training.

"I know they've talked about moving Milton. A lot will be determined how that plays out," he said. "I'm not going to worry about anything that's out of my hands. I'll be going to spring training with a relaxed state of mind. I'm not going to play scared like everything is riding on my spring training performance."

Really the Cubs are "reportedly" interested in trading Bradley ? Those New Englanders do have a way with understatement.

I was also amused by  this article  regarding how his wife always has the upper hand in any family discussions on athletic abilities but hopefully some day he can pass her.

"Fuld might not even be the best athlete in his family. Sarah played lacrosse at Princeton and won two national championships, something Sam was never able to accomplish at Stanford.

"She'll always have that on me," he said. "She won two national championships. She always reminds me of that. When she brings it up I have nothing to say. It's like the ultimate trump card."

Unless the Cubs win their first World Series in more than a century.

"That would be nice," Fuld said."

I am very disappointed at the handling of ticket prices and the phony way in which the Cubs make it appear many prices are less. The 5%-10% or more increases on season ticket holders is pretty steep but what really upsets me is the phony way they did it. They double the number of platinum games and separate out the tax to make it APPEAR as if many prices have gone down. Now technically if you only went to ONE big weekend game in the summer , the price went down a little for some seats but since so many more games are now more expensive that pretty much only works for one shot folks. However the bigger scam is the tax issue. Does anyone know of any other entity in the United States that charges the tax for an entertainment event separately ? Movies, sporting events, theater et ALL INCLUDE THE TAX in the round number for the ticket. The Cubs want you to believe that since the "price" of many tickets is listed as lower they went down but you add in the tax and many went up. I can't wait to see the signs at the ticket windows. I suspect they will not include the tax but just say at the bottom " city tax of 12% not included". Even better for the few folks left who pay CASH, imagine the fun of making change at the windows. For new ownership that promised to be fan friendly and look out for the little guy this policy sucks. If you need to raise the prices 5%-10% or higher than do it HONESTLY don't hide it in hidden fees to make yourselves look better.