SB Nation User Blog: dmlichte

More Cubs-Sox Games to come?

dmlichte — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:37:22 -0000

Well, it appears likely... in spring training. According to the tribune, Pima County has accepted the White Sox offer of $5M to break their spring training lease. The Sox will move from Tucson Electric Park and share a facility in Glendale with the Dodgers

The Sox will now be in a facility that is about 40 minutes from HoHoKam whereas they used to be about 2 hours away. Along with the Dodgers move to AZ the Indians will move to a new facility in Goodyear, AZ, also about 40 minutes away from HoHoKam.

This move makes spring training in Tucson, AZ more difficult. In years past quite a few of the Diamondbacks games were against the Sox and Rockies, the other Tucson area team. The Rockies are rumored to want out of their facility, which is not nearly as nice as Electric Park and other newer AZ facilities. The two new teams means more teams from the valley to travel to Tucson, but this will mean much more traveling for the Dbacks and Rockies. Unless MLB does something to get a team down to Tucson then spring baseball in Tucson is on the endangered list.

Brenly on Brewers short list

dmlichte — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:41:34 -0000

Perusing the Wisconsin newspapers today... the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is reporting that the Brewers have not settled on Dale Sveum as their manager. While Sveum is still in consideration for the gig, Brewers GM is considering a few others, all of whom have major league managerial experience.

According to the article

That group could include Bob Brenly, former manager in Arizona now a TV broadcaster for the Cubs; Willie Randolph, fired by the Mets during the 2008 season; Davey Johnson, who managed Team USA in the Olympics; and Mike Hargrove, who stepped down in Seattle this year citing "burnout."

While Brenly had just signed an extention to continue in his role as Cubs TV commentator its very likely that such a deal would allow him an out if he is offered a managerial job.

We have no idea if Brenly is simply speculation or if the writer has some inside info as to who is being considered. The phrase "that group could include..." makes it seem as though the writer is listing the usual names.

Playoff Ticket Refund

dmlichte — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:49:27 -0000

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/tickets/ps_refund_2008.jsp#cubs

Of particular note

INDIVIDUAL TICKETS: Individual ticket holders must send the entire ticket along with their name, address, and daytime phone number to:

Chicago Cubs Ticket Office
1060 West Addison
Chicago, IL 60613

I wonder if anyone can provide any clarification on this but it seems as though in the past the Cubs just issued credits. This makes little sense. Most teams seem to be issuing automatic credits while a few reqiure the tickets mailed back. Anyhow, I had no idea and assumed I'd be getting an automatic credit. So if you're waiting for a refund, make sure you send your tickets back.

Moving Along - Game Two pre pre-game Thread

dmlichte — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 19:43:43 -0000

Okay, we've had our time to vent, remain positive, jump out the window, complain about the fans. But baseball has begun for the day and we've got a game starting in less than 6 hours. So lets talk about game two.

I think its safe to say that this is as close to a must win as it gets without it being an elimination game. IMO there are a few keys to this game.

- Key #1: Carlos Zambrano. Those who expect Carlos to go out and pitch the game of his life have reason to be confident. Those who expect Carlos to implode or simply not have great stuff also have reason to believe so. But quite simply put, Carlos Zambrano will go a long way to determining the outcome of this game. If he goes out, remains poised, and has his good stuff going then the Cubs offense could remain anemic and the Cubs could still win. On the other hand, if we see bad Carlos, the offense is going to need to get to work.

- Key #2: I wish I could say that there was one hitter that was the key, but there isn't. The Cubs need to get guys on base and get them home. Yes, this is obvious but its something the Cubs tend to struggle with, especially the "get them home" part. The Cubs cannot be swinging for the fences from the first pitch. They cannot sit back and wait for the 3-run HR. Alfonso Soriano could go a long way to setting the offensive tone positively if he can get on base but I really think that Ramirez and Soto are going to have to deliver.

Other thoughts and keys to game two?

Thoughts on the NY Stadiums

dmlichte — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:49:25 -0000

As a fan of ballparks, I decided in the spring that I would make a trip to NY in the fall, having never been and wanting to get to games at both Yankee Stadium and Shea (ya, even Shea). It worked out particularly well with there being a few plausable weekend this month where both teams were in town and ultimately I decided on this past weekend w/ the Cubs at Shea on Monday. I have several friends who have recently moved to NY so we planned for a group gathering.

I ended up going to the Saturday game at Yankee Stadium versus the Orioles. Public transportation in NY is excellent if you take some time to learn the subway/train system or ask around. We hopped the subway early (after a good NY bagel) and headed up to the Bronx. We were greeted by lots of congestion and construction as the new Yankee Stadium is going up across from the current ballpark. The new stadium looks gorgeous from the outside, more or less what one would expect if you were trying to replicate the old one w/ modern ballpark architecture. We started walking around the ballpark and towards the monuments but were quickly told that the line was closed, nearly 1 1/2 hours before first pitch. We took in the ballpark, saw it from different angles, saw people chipping paint off the RF foul pole, etc. The concourses reminded me a lot of the old Chicago Stadium, cramped quarters in the cinderblock halls. Its certainly a throwback to a different era and there are only so many coats of paint you can put on a building, but if you are a fan of the game you really have to appriciate it.

Reggie Jackson was out in the bleachers for a little while and that drew a big crowd. You could see in the overall behavior of the fans that it was like spending one final afternoon in the old family house. Fans had their cameras and everyone wanted one last picture. The game itself was secondary to the events. Despite lots of hard hit balls and a good number of runners on base, no one could score. Once the game was official (after the 5th w/ a 0-0 tie) they play a video, usually a former player pulling a lever which changes the "remaining games" counter. Bob Sheppard, who has been in failing health of late, was video taped a day prior to the game. Sheppard aside (and it was great to include him), one would expect a grander way for them to do the countdown. The Yanks pushed a run across in the ninth to win 1-0. Fans and players reacted like the team had just won the series as police lined the field, keeping fans in their place. Overall, the crowd was pretty subdued and there were a lot of empty seats for the final weekend but we experienced the brash, outspoken ("Abreu is a lazy bum") tone that one would expect.

The Monday game against the Cubs at Shea was a sharp contrast. We were unable to get to the ballpark early, sitting down just as Soriano ended his at-bat. We took the John Rocker express to Flushing (the #7 train), a group of six of us clad in Cubs gear. Mets fans did their best to come up with funny anti-Cubs comments but clearly whit is not their strongsuit.Fans sitting around us were friendly for the most part. Like Yankee fans they get on their players and when Carlos Beltran crashed into a wall you'd think they just lost a family member. One guy was shrieking at the top of his lungs "get up, get up".

Shea as a whole might be one of the more sterile baseball envionments I've ever been to. The sentiments that the ballpark is a dump is overstated, its not a dump, its just got little if any character. The stadium feels huge with the upperdeck seemingly towering over everything else. But in general this ballpark does nothing to bring fans out and does not add to your baseball experience. It subtracts from your wallet at the concession stands as most food items cost about $9 or so, as does a beer. There were certainly videos between innings commemorating the historical events of the ballpark but I noticed no big event during or after the game counting down to the end of Shea. Citifield, visable beyond CF looks to be a tremendous ballpark. the crowd at Shea was about 1/2 the size of the crowd at Yankee Stadium, but clearly this was a penant race game for them as they got into every big situation. The ballpark got pretty loud considering it was less than 1/2 full. However by the time the 7th inning came, with the Cubs holding a nice (yet not insurmountable lead), many fans had already left. Mets fans are brutally honest about their team and they are eager to share that.

Everyone knows what happened during the game. I was actually getting food when Marquis hit the grandslam. There was a nice Cubs representation, several hundred strong.

What is clear is that no one in this city will miss Shea while the move from Yankee Stadium is a big deal. Bars across the city welcomed fans in on Sunday to see the Yankee home finale while Mets fans are clearly glad to see Shea go. Little attention is being paid to the final week at Shea and no one seems to mind that. It will be interesting to see how Mets fans react next spring if the opening of Citifield does not garner the attention that will be paid to the opening of new Yankee Stadium.

DmL

Contract Extension for Ryan Braun

dmlichte — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:58:01 -0000

According to The Wisconsin State Journal the Brewers have signed Ryan Braun to a $45M contract extension. The deal, which includes this season, lasts through 2015. It continues a trend that we've seen from the Devil Rays as well as the Rockies of taking young, rising stars and signing them though much, if not all of their arbitration eligible years.

It will be interesting to see the reaction of both the player's union as well as Prince Fielder. Fielder likely has the opportunity to sign a similar deal with the Brewers but he does not seem like the kind of person who is willing to sacrifice the long term money. This was an important move for the Brewers, signing a key part of their future to a long term deal.

DmL

Minor League Wrap--April 8

dmlichte — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 03:11:39 -0000

Well in my first swing at the minor league wrap-up the Cubs organization decided to make life pretty easy... only one team actually played.

- Albuquerque @ Iowa

Game 2 of the 4 game series was rained out. There is no truth to the rumors that former Cubs farmhand Alberto Alburquerque had anything to do with the postponement.

- The Tennessee Smokies had a day off following their set with the Birmingham Barons. Thankfully I visited the Smokies website to find the breaking news that Dora the Explorer will be making her first visit to Smokies Park on Thursday. The wording leads me to believe that this may not be a one-time thing... I do know that my nearly 2-year old niece would be very excited about this.

- Palm Beach @ Daytona

Well I'm sure that everyone's thinking that the one game that did happen today in the entire Cubs organization must have been positive. Not so as the Cardinals beat the D-Cubs 9-0.

At the plate... not much good happened. Josh Lansford, who seems to be making a fashion statement in his MILB.com profile picture went 2-3 with double and a walk. Walks were the odd story of this game as the Cubs took 8 free passes (2 apiece by Tony Thomas, Steve Clevenger and James Aducci) yet still scored no runs. Aside from the walk Tony Thomas went 0-3 with an error.

On the mount Esmailin Caridad got the start and lasted four innings allowing 4 runs on 5 hits, walking 1 and striking out 3. Ryan Meyers (2.1 IP, 2 runs, 1 earned, 2 strikes outs 1Hr allowed) and Darin Downs (1.1 IP, 5 hits, 3 runs, 2 earned, 2BB, 2Ks) did not fair much better in relief. Jeremy Papelbon provided the only decent pitching of the night, not giving up a hit while striking out two over 1.1 IP.

- In Peoria, much like the majors, there is a day off after the home opener. The Chiefs resume play tomorrow, trying to bounce back after the Beloit Snappers took game one of their 3 game set 8-0. Despite the day off, the Chiefs did manage to commit five more errors.

DmL

Eyre to the DL

dmlichte — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 04:30:19 -0000

This according to The Trib. The issue in his elbow will land him on the DL for the start of the season. Eyre has had an X-Ray on his left elbow and will be seen by team doctors. This has opened the door for either Sean Marshall or Carmen Pignatiello to make the team.

Eyre will go on the DL and they can date it back to his last spring appearance so he could actually rejoin the team without missing 15 days.

DmL

XM-Sirius Merger Approved

dmlichte — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 19:09:52 -0000

For those interested in satellite radio, the Department of Justice has announced that it has approved the merger of XM and Sirius, the two satellite radio companies. CNN is currently looking over info on the approval and we'll have to see what comes out of all of this. This certainly is good news for Sirius users who want MLB, which currently is only on XM. There had been talk that if this merger went through entities like MLB, NFL and other sports would be available on an ala cart basis. But the bottom line is that this likely opens up the door for Sirius fans to get MLB.

DmL

Brewers - Capuano done for the season

dmlichte — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 23:33:19 -0000

According to this blog in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Brewers lefty Chris Capuano is likely to have Tommy John surgery and miss the season

Capuano will seek a third opinion from Dr. James Andrews, before deciding on Tommy John surgery or an attempt at rehabilitation. But the fact that the ligament is torn pretty much rules out the rehab route and makes surgery about definite.

I'm not sure how much the Brewers were counting on Capuano after really falling apart last season but the Brewers are going into the season with Capuano likely shelved for the year, Gallardo on the DL and Ben Sheets being Ben Sheets. The Brewers will be a tough team regardless but this has not been a good spring for their pitching.

DmL