I stumbled across this at the end of last season; who knew that Hemingway's earliest known poem was about the Cubs?!

It deserves re-posting here.

The Opening Game

1st Inning

With Chance on first, and Evers on third,

Great things from the Cubs will soon be heard.

Then up comes Schulte to bat,

On the plate his bat does rap;

Takes a slug at that old ball,

Makes it clear the right field wall,

Then comes Chance and in comes Evers,

Such hits are seldom seen -- 'most never.

Then to the bat comes Zim in haste,

He sure knows how the ball to paste.

He slams that ball upon the Bean,

Almost seems to make it scream.

The center fielder nabs the ball;

It seems as if 't' would make him fall.

But stop of this rank stuff,

Just one inning is enough.

                                                          Oak Park, 12 April 1912

I didn't see this posted anywhere.  If it has been, I apologize.

Citing continued problems with "social anxiety disorder," Greene informed the Rangers that he wouldn't be reporting to ST, and the club voided his contract. 

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/fantasy/wsfb/news/index.jsp?action=locate&pid=425867

The question: should the Cubs be looking to shore up the middle-IF, is this somebody they should take a look at?  He was signed on the cheap by Texas ($750k), and after seeing his defensive skills on display in '07, I would take a shot on him.  A rather promising career has been undercut by these mental health issues, and if he can overcome them, could be a valuable asset starting, or off the bench.

Of course, we could all be in love with Castro by then.  

Greene's career stats:

It has been asked here in years past if Hemingway was a Cubs fan; a Sun-Times article from '04 suggested that he was at least a baseball fan well into his adult life, often inviting the Brooklyn Dodgers to Finca Vigia. The same article portends that a young Hemingway asked his father for a trip to West Side Park to see the Cubs take on the New York Giants. 

We do, however, know that he wrote about the Cubs -- once.  Rather than wait until next year, I thought I'd post it now, and every Opening Day until the Cubs win it all.

The Opening Game

1st Inning

With Chance on first, and Evers on third,

     Great things from the Cubs will soon be heard.

Then up comes Schulte to bat,

      On the plate his bat does rap;

Takes a slug at that old ball,

    Makes it clear the right field wall,

Then comes Chance and in comes Evers,

     Such hits are seldom seen -- 'most never.

Then to the bat comes Zim in haste,

     He sure knows how the ball to paste.

He slams that ball upon the Bean,

     Almost seems to make it scream.

The center fielder nabs the ball;

     It seems as if 't' would make him fall.

But stop of this rank stuff,

    Just one inning is enough.

                                                          Oak Park, 12 April 1912