2006 Cubs Convention - Schedule & Discussion

[oldcubsfan]

If anybody has come accross any information from the "Down on the Farm" session from Sunday, I'd love to hear whatever info. And I'd love to have that linked or posted in the minor leagues topic. Thanks in advance.

 

I would love to hear that also. Too bad Mark Peel doesn't post here anymore. He's was terrific providing minor league info.

[Balsa]

Some info in this thread.

[Roast]

jeesh, did ANYONE from NSBB go to the convention. Last years thread had updates nightly...we havent gotte one yet. Its sad.

[Burtonbell]

I went to the convention, but didnt get to attend any conferences or meetings. The fiance wanted to get everyones autograph. :(

 

- My fiance got to meet Dlee twice, I met him once. We both got our picture taken with him. Will post that later. Great guy, wonderful personality. Huge, very big guy.

- Doug Glanville is one cool dude.

- Ditto to Jerry Hairston.

- Z all smiles every time I saw him.

- Sandberg all smiles, huge crowd around him all day.

- Got me a Dubois game used cracked bat for $20. Sweet!

- Fiance bought me a seat from Wrigley Field. For Valentines Day. Sweet!

- Juan Pierre is short. He was "embarrassed" by his OBP last season. Says he wants to be best lead off hitter Cubs have ever seen. Nice guy.

- Michael Wuertz is a drunk.

- No Hendry sightings roaming the floors. He used to do it all the time. I saw him everywhere the last 2 years. The crowds must have tarred and feathered him.

 

Sorry my report is lame. That’s all I got. I will post photos later if my fiance will let me have her camera for a second.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

- Doug Glanville is one cool dude.

 

Seconded. I met Doug and Manny Alexander (yes, Manny) after an I-Cubs/Oklahoma RedHawks game in '03 (Doug was there on a rehab assignment). Doug had a lot of fans wanting an autograph, and he was as pleasant as could be. Manny walked through the crowd and got to the door of the bus without a 2nd look until I spotted him. I shouted "MANNY", and we ended up talking for about 15 minutes.

 

Side note: I ended up drinking 2 of Rod Beck's Coors Lights at his RV behind the center field scoreboard that night. That was a blast!

[CaliforniaRaisin]

I heard the clip.

 

The fan said (I'll try my best here)

 

I was sick to my stomach when the White Sox won the Series. I could just see Williams and Reinsdorf with their feet up on the desk laughing at the Cubs. But I knew this was supposed to be a big offseason. The Sammy money was gone, there was the money from the new seats. So you signed two new relievers, you still have a questionable left fielder, a questionable shortstop and a questionable second baseman. You signed Jacque Jones for right, who I hate to say this Jim, but he's bad, he's not a good ballplayer. I just can't understand where all this money has gone. I'm not real happy with you right now, Jim. You could still be a hero with a few more moves. I'm just a very unhappy Cubs fan right now.

 

There were many cheers throughout his statement. One guy yelled at him to "sit down" and after he commented on Jacque someone else yelled " how do you know he'll be bad?".

 

That was the best I could remember. Hendry said "he appreciated the comments" and the team was "much improved over last year" and how the offer to Furcal wasn't too little, it was just the Dodgers offered so much more.

 

 

I'm sure someone can give a little more accurate depiction.

 

Awesome.

[Chris]

I heard the clip.

 

The fan said (I'll try my best here)

 

I was sick to my stomach when the White Sox won the Series. I could just see Williams and Reinsdorf with their feet up on the desk laughing at the Cubs. But I knew this was supposed to be a big offseason. The Sammy money was gone, there was the money from the new seats. So you signed two new relievers, you still have a questionable left fielder, a questionable shortstop and a questionable second baseman. You signed Jacque Jones for right, who I hate to say this Jim, but he's bad, he's not a good ballplayer. I just can't understand where all this money has gone. I'm not real happy with you right now, Jim. You could still be a hero with a few more moves. I'm just a very unhappy Cubs fan right now.

 

There were many cheers throughout his statement. One guy yelled at him to "sit down" and after he commented on Jacque someone else yelled " how do you know he'll be bad?".

 

That was the best I could remember. Hendry said "he appreciated the comments" and the team was "much improved over last year" and how the offer to Furcal wasn't too little, it was just the Dodgers offered so much more.

 

 

I'm sure someone can give a little more accurate depiction.

 

Awesome.

 

Maybe that's why Jim didn't want to do a Q & A, ha ha.

[Mark Priors Calves]

- Michael Wuertz is a drunk.

Story, please.

[Garwilly]

- Michael Wuertz is a drunk..

 

 

You saw that mess at the bar? Talking crap about being stuck behind Dempster for three years.

[USSoccer]

- Michael Wuertz is a drunk..

 

 

You saw that mess at the bar? Talking crap about being stuck behind Dempster for three years.

 

You've got to be kidding me....

[uppercase_D]

Well I had promised Serena that I would post a report on the Cubs Convention being that it was my first and give both my experiences and thoughts on the experience. I cant promise that its going to be very informative, but I'd like to share anyway.

 

Friday: Arrived at the Hilton at 3pm and I was like a kid in a candy store, nothing but Cubs wall to wall. Far more people than I expected on a Friday afternoon. Following the suggestions of some here, I went to find the registration area. One quick suggestion to the Cubs for next year, please put signs by the areas where youre supposed to go. After standing in the auction line for 10 minutes, I asked another Cubs fan, and they told me where to go to get registered.

 

At the registration area they punched a hole in your convention pass, gave you a convention booklet, and a lottery ticket. The lottery ticket was for the premium autograph players....DLee ect. Scratched my ticket...no luck. Girlfriend scratched hers, no luck either.

 

After registration we wandered around the convention floor, when we arrived at the vendors area, everything you can imagine to buy Cubs wise, you can find there. Everything from stadium seats, jerseys, pre-autographed pictures and jerseys, and food. Even Gary Pressy was there playing the organ to give it that ballpark feel. I bought a black baseball bat and a baseball, in case I could end up getting it signed.

 

At about 4:30pm my girlfriend and I decided that we had better get upstairs to the Grand Ballroom to try to get a seat to the Opening Festivities. When we arrived at the stairway to the Grand Ballroom, we were met with a wall of people. We were told by a few other Cub fans,"good luck, they arent letting any more people in there." We did make it up the stairs and was lucky enough to find a spot where we could see the Cubs file into the ballroom. I looked over, and saw, Mark Prior. Then looking over at my girlfriend, I saw that she had tears in her eyes. This was the closest she's ever been to her favorite player. That moment in itself would have been enough to make my entire weekend. At that point though, it had became too crowded up stairs, and we decided to go get a drink.

 

We looked through our programs, and decided to go to the Cubs bingo thing in a different ballroom. A lesson that we quickly learned at the Convention this year is....show up early for anything that you want to go to....really really early. We ended up having to sit on the floor, all the way in the corner, for bingo Still alot of fun though. They were giving away player autographed balls and photos, gift certificates to restaurants, and flags that had flown on top of Wrigley with every Bingo. I wanted one, but alas was shut out. So ended my Friday at the convention, but as I was looking at the Convention book I saw that Saturday at 9am, my favorite Cub of all time was signing, and I was gonna have him sign my bat. No other than the Hawk....Andre Dawson. So with that we left the hotel and headed home.

 

Saturday: Waking up and heading back to the Convention, I was so excited, I was just mere moments away from being face to face with my favorite Cub. As we walked back into the hotel and made our way down to the the autograph area, I took a look, and was speechless. WOW..I gotta wait in that??? The lines were long and all over the place. We were gonna wait anyway...so I jumped in line and was there waiting five minutes before we had noticed that everyone else had these slips of paper. I asked someone, and they said that Andre's line was lottery winners only. My heart sank, and I looked in the Convention guide and nowhere in there did it say that it was lottery winners only. I can only describe the dissapointment as not getting the present you wanted as a child after looking forward to it for weeks.

 

At that point we decided to just attend some of the meetings that were scheduled. Our first was the WGN meeting with Dusty and Jim. Most of what was said has been covered here so I'll save you guys that. Was late arriving though and it was standing room only.

 

We had learned our lessons by that point and decided from there on in...if we were going to something, then we were going early. We arrived at the end of a session that had Glendon Rusch in it, in order to get to the next meeting early and Glendon was signing, so I had him sign the baseball that I had bought. Seemed like a very nice guy.

 

The meeting that we arrived EARLY too was the VineLine discussion, I attended soley because Andre Dawson was there, as well as DLEE. Since we were early we were in the second row. I got some so-so pictures, and the meeting was more of a discussion of VineLines 20th anniversary. At the end of the session was a Q and A. Afterwards, there was a brief stint where they both had signed, and you guessed it.....I got Andre to sign my bat!!!!!! I also had DLee sign the ball....but the bat, nobody else gets to sign. Definatly the highlight of my day. FYI.. both DLee and Andre seemed really nice.

 

From the Vineline meeting we went to have lunch, as we headed back, we arrived late to the Covering the Ivy meeting and looking in it looked full so we sat outside down the hall and sat to decide what to do next. As we sat I looked up and HOLY COW...its Juan Pierre! Juan stopped, signed the ball, and took photos with both me and my girlfriend. He then walked to the meeting. Looking down at the ball, and then looking up....Matt Murton! Matt signed and took photos, then Jerry Hairston came by and signed, then OMG!!! Billy Williams! We lucked into being in the right spot at the right time. After that we followed the players into the meeting and sat and listened to the players discussing the defensive aspect of playing the outfield at Wrigley Field. Billy Williams did most of the talking and the meeting was led by Bobby Denier. Another quick note, I couldnt believe how cool Juan Pierre was. He said that it was cool that we hadnt swarmed him like the rest of the convention had. Very cool.

 

Next on the agenda was the WGN television meeting. Got to take a picture with Bob and Len before the meeting started. The meeting was very informative, and Bob and Len discussed their daly rituals to get ready. Also learned alot about the technical operations of getting the product to you. Coming to WGN and Comcast this year, a sort of KZone and a scrolling stat line. At the end another Q and A session. Yours truly actually got brave and asked a question of why we were sometimes treated to coming back from commercial to having the ball already in play. I was told that it was a combination of greed, the umpires not keeping the time, and the pitchers. Afterwards I had both Bob and Len sign my convention pass. Len seems as cool as he seems in his dealings in the Q and A's done for this site as well as others.

 

Afterwards stopped at the bar at the hotel for a quick drink. Saw Bobby D as I was there and said hi, didnt want to ask for an autograph as he was there with his wife/ girlfriend/ special lady friend. Didnt seems cool to me.

 

Later in the evening I learned that alot of the Chicago Bears were also staying at the hotel that night. Didnt see any, but saw alot of people waiting for autographs.

 

Stuck around for the dance, it was alright I guess, probably more fun if I was drunk. Looked around for awhile and then left for the evening. All in all...I was one happy Cubs fan.

 

Sunday: Woke up late...missed the business meeting, tried to get into the Down on the Farm meeting and was shut out due to it being too full. Ended up wandering around looking more thoroughly at the vendor areas. Signed up for the VineLine, and a few raffles. Headed home after that.

 

That pretty much sums up my whole weekend. Hope I didnt bore some of you. I am definatly gonna go again next year, but hope to get a hotel room instead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 17, 2006 by uppercase_D

[burnt out cubbie fan]

jeesh, did ANYONE from NSBB go to the convention. Last years thread had updates nightly...we havent gotte one yet. Its sad.

I was one of those people. I didn't feel like spending money on this pathetic club this year. :(

[Chris]

Nice recap, it sounds like you had a great time. Much appreciation!

[Burtonbell]

- Michael Wuertz is a drunk..

 

 

You saw that mess at the bar? Talking crap about being stuck behind Dempster for three years.

 

 

I didnt see that mess. The mess I saw started last year when it seemes him and Dubois got into a drinking contest. Dubois left after a few beers but Wuertz stayed behind and got sloppy drunk and escorted 2 ladies out of the bar. He was slurring every word. The next morning my sis and I are going to the M&G with Dubois and Wuertz and Dubois was bright eyed and full of life, while Wuertz was yawning and could barely keep his eyes open. This was at 9:30am. I hate to see what this guys does after a day game on a Friday. My sis made a comment to him about having a long night, and told him she saw him at the bar the night before. He brushed her off.

 

So anyways, this year I am at the bar again having a coke (no beer, on a diet) and I see Wurtz strolling around already slurring his speech. My fiance wants to get his autograph, but I tell her to leave him alone. He looks like he is already hammered. He tries to order something at the bar, but the bartender can barely understand him. He was saved by some lady who ordered a water for him, but then he buys a beer. The time was close to midnight I think.

[Laura]

Thanks for the recap, upperd! I'm glad the Hawk auto especially worked out for you. Either last year or the year before, they said they had 16,000+ attend some portion of the convention. One of the reasons I didn't go this year was because there's so many people there that even attending sessions becomes a huge hassle. I haven't tried any of the autograph lines (except for an unannounced session by Big Z last year) because the waiting time is ridiculous.

 

Maybe my enthusiasm will return next year.

 

I saw Wuertz out last year as well.

[Mark_R]

Last year was so fun :(

[uppercase_D]

I had heard in excess of 15000 as well this year. Yeah it was a huge crowd but I chalked up alot of this year as a learning experience. I will be a seasoned pro next year, and I plan on trying to stay at the hotel next year to cut down on the running around. The most important thing was that I had fun.

 

Thanks to everyone who helped me with pointers, and advice.

[CuseCubFan69]

Thanks to all of you that reported on the convention!

[Jon]

I had heard in excess of 15000 as well this year. Yeah it was a huge crowd but I chalked up alot of this year as a learning experience. I will be a seasoned pro next year, and I plan on trying to stay at the hotel next year to cut down on the running around. The most important thing was that I had fun.

 

Thanks to everyone who helped me with pointers, and advice.

Actually, you were probably fortunate that you weren't able to get into the ballroom for opening ceremonies. My brother and his friend didn't get there in time last year but were able to be about 5 feet from the players as they walked by upstairs (like you). Opening ceremonies just dragged on and on with all those videos. I'm guessing you enjoyed that part more than the people inside, especially since you were able to leave once the players went in.

[treebird]

I WANT TO HEAR MORE DRUNKEN WUERTZ STORIES

 

did he really talk about being stuck behind dempster?

 

GO STORY NOW

[Garwilly]

I WANT TO HEAR MORE DRUNKEN WUERTZ STORIES

 

did he really talk about being stuck behind dempster?

 

GO STORY NOW

 

Julie went ballplayer hunting, as I am out in LV. She tells me that while at the bar he was totally smashed, and that he repeatedly mentioned how with Dempsters new deal he was stuck behind him fo the closer's role.

[E.J.]

I WANT TO HEAR MORE DRUNKEN WUERTZ STORIES

 

did he really talk about being stuck behind dempster?

 

GO STORY NOW

 

Julie went ballplayer hunting, as I am out in LV. She tells me that while at the bar he was totally smashed, and that he repeatedly mentioned how with Dempsters new deal he was stuck behind him fo the closer's role.

 

...and the rest of the bullpen. Maybe if he could throw more than just a slider he might be able to be a closer.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Wuertz needs to get a beer belly or something so he doesn't look like he can handle having 50 outings by the All-Star break.

[Laura]

So that's his strategy. :-k

[CuseCubFan69]

So that's his strategy. :-k

 

It worked for Beck. Heck, they even named a beer after him.