NSBB at the 2005 Convention

[Jon]

They do now. I just forgot the "2005."

[nilodnayr]

I was going to post the audio but Jon beat me to it. They are 32 minutes long and about 5.5mb apiece.

 

The pictures of the drawings, players I saw, and my two autographs that I got can be found here (33 pictures in total):

pictures

 

Some of the pictures may be blurry. As I said earlier in the thread, it is next to impossible to take clear pictures in that place. The lighting was absolutely horrible, especially during the management report slide show where the lights were dimmed and they were flying through the pictures.

 

note: the pictures may take a couple hours to be posted on the page.

second edit: if you click on the picture you get an enlarged view. You can then click on view full size to see them in the 2048x1536 original size.

 

How did the expansion pictures look in person? What did they say was going to be in the new building?

[burnt out cubbie fan]

I was going to post the audio but Jon beat me to it. They are 32 minutes long and about 5.5mb apiece.

 

The pictures of the drawings, players I saw, and my two autographs that I got can be found here (33 pictures in total):

pictures

 

Some of the pictures may be blurry. As I said earlier in the thread, it is next to impossible to take clear pictures in that place. The lighting was absolutely horrible, especially during the management report slide show where the lights were dimmed and they were flying through the pictures.

 

note: the pictures may take a couple hours to be posted on the page.

second edit: if you click on the picture you get an enlarged view. You can then click on view full size to see them in the 2048x1536 original size.

 

How did the expansion pictures look in person? What did they say was going to be in the new building?

I thought that the bleacher expansion and first base dugout seating looked pretty good as I said earlier. The exterior of the building on the outfield wall will look ALOT better. There will be a new wall that is about 3-6 feet further out but it is brick and apparently they are going to bring in some specialist to grow the ivy on the outside because it is a pretty hard thing to do in a short amount of time. The bleachers looked pretty good to me as well. They blend in with the current bleachers and really don't look all that much bigger than they are now. Now keep in mind that these were just drawings so it is still hard to tell this translates to when they actually build it.

 

Now, the triangular building, I am not so hot about that... I'm not really a fan of the design and all of the glass that it uses. They really should do more of an old school look that blends in with the stadium. I think that if they did it correctly, the building would be a great addition. The extra amenities would be very helpful for the fans. I think that if they build it the way that they have it designed now, it would look similar to Soldier Field if you get my drift. :(

[J.R.]

Nice work burnt.

 

Looks like they've eliminated the exposed poles on the street ... nice.

 

The new building on the third base side was originally designed (back in 2001) to mimick the neighborhood buildings ... not sure why the change was made, but I felt it had too much detail and detracted from the look of the park. The new design has alot of glass, but it also mimicks Wrigley's basic steel structure.

 

All in all, I'm pleased. The building will allow for all the stuff that keeps the dorks happy while keeping it out of view of the field. :wink:

[J.R.]

This site features some of the pics from today's presentation (the renderings of the new building were released earlier), as well as earlier versions of the renovation plans.

[barrettismyidol]

As I said earlier, my friend won a Kerry Wood autograph Friday, and I got it for her on Saturday since I went that day with my dad. I gave it to her earlier and she framed it for me and gave it back. :) I had no idea she was going to do it, and I was so excited. Here it is.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v506/jessicaw22/100_0338.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v506/jessicaw22/100_0337.jpg

[mlpeel]

What do you see as the ceilings for Marshall and Pinto?

 

From what I can see, Marshall has the potential to become a solid #3 even on a strong pitching staff, the kind of guy who'd be a #2 on most teams. Pinto's at least a #4/#3, maybe he has a straight #3 in him. That's why I think it's so interesting that MacPhail rates Pinto higher: he sees something there I don't. I would love to know what it is.

[nilodnayr]

As I said earlier, my friend won a Kerry Wood autograph Friday, and I got it for her on Saturday since I went that day with my dad. I gave it to her earlier and she framed it for me and gave it back. :) I had no idea she was going to do it, and I was so excited. Here it is.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v506/jessicaw22/100_0338.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v506/jessicaw22/100_0337.jpg

 

Congrats, it looks great!

[barrettismyidol]

Congrats, it looks great!

 

Thanks :)

[burnt out cubbie fan]

As I said earlier, my friend won a Kerry Wood autograph Friday, and I got it for her on Saturday since I went that day with my dad. I gave it to her earlier and she framed it for me and gave it back. :) I had no idea she was going to do it, and I was so excited. Here it is.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v506/jessicaw22/100_0338.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v506/jessicaw22/100_0337.jpg

I need to get myself one of those snazzy frames for my Zambrano autograph. :)

[mlpeel]

Thanks for the solid writeup, Jon. Not much left for me to say (but you *know* that won't stop me); I can only supplement your account in a few spots.

 

McGuire showed the crowd never before seen (publicly) pictures and artists renditions of the bleacher expansion proposal and the 3 additional rows of seats between the first base dugout and the visitor's bullpen.

 

But you will see them: my friend Rich confirmed with Carl Rice, the Cubs' Director of IS, that these pictures will be posted on the Cubs web site. But not until after the city has seen and approved them: the people at this session really did see these first, even before the City of Chicago...

 

They're planning on having stuff going on up on the roof and there will be walkways from the roof to the upper deck of Wrigley.

 

Which is why the bleachers will now be connected with the rest of the ballpark: bleacherites will have access to the triangle building also. The additions will push out 8 feet toward the street. There will be wheelchair access and seating in the bleachers.

 

Maloney: 3,000-4,000 no-shows a game on most days.

 

This was in response to a lady who asked why she couldn't pay to upgrade her tickets for open seats. Maloney added, "They don't call us up saying they can't come." And McGuire cracked, "Believe me, we've racked our brains how to sell these no-shows."

 

McDonough: There are still going to be games on WCIU and CLTV. They have been assured that Dish Network will have CSCN by April 1st.

 

Mark Kanges posed the question that prompted this answer.

 

Maloney: The luxury dugout seats and the new three rows of seats (which will be slighly less expensive than the ones behind home plate) will go on sale in March. They'll most likely use the same lottery system as last year and will sell them on a game-by-game basis. They will not be sold as season tickets.

 

The seats will cost about $250 a pop for Prime games.

 

McDonough: They will go forward with the 7th inning stretch guest conductors. 21 former Cubs did it in 2004 and it's a great way to keep them close to the organization. He also said that Harry loved celebrities and because it's an imperfect game and an imperfect team, having imperfect conductors is fitting.

 

Ernie59 posed this question, the last of the session: "Are you going to do something about the *embarrassing* 7th inning guests? A substantial proportion of the crowd cracked up.

 

Despite getting very little sleep, I had a great time this weekend. So thank you Mark and I hope you all enjoyed these reports.

 

Thank *you*, Jon; it's only your due after all your great work at NSBB. Glad you had fun!

[burnt out cubbie fan]

This site features some of the pics from today's presentation (the renderings of the new building were released earlier), as well as earlier versions of the renovation plans.

I am pretty sure that none of those pictures were presented today. Two of those pictures were shown today but they were also presented at a previous time. One thing that confirms this for me is the fact that they use chicagosports.com as a source. That website doesn't have any recent articles about Wrigley and there are no pictures in their convention photo thing.

[J.R.]

This site features some of the pics from today's presentation (the renderings of the new building were released earlier), as well as earlier versions of the renovation plans.

I am pretty sure that none of those pictures were presented today. Two of those pictures were shown today but they were also presented at a previous time. One thing that confirms this for me is the fact that they use chicagosports.com as a source. That website doesn't have any recent articles about Wrigley and there are no pictures in their convention photo thing.

 

It's a pretty crappy site, but it does have a nice collection of photos (obviously culled from the Trib) from the past few years of Wrigley renovation talk. The previously released pics I referenced were these:

 

http://www.wrigleyexpansion.com/images/1.jpg

 

http://www.wrigleyexpansion.com/images/2.jpg

 

http://www.wrigleyexpansion.com/images/3.jpg

[burnt out cubbie fan]

This site features some of the pics from today's presentation (the renderings of the new building were released earlier), as well as earlier versions of the renovation plans.

I am pretty sure that none of those pictures were presented today. Two of those pictures were shown today but they were also presented at a previous time. One thing that confirms this for me is the fact that they use chicagosports.com as a source. That website doesn't have any recent articles about Wrigley and there are no pictures in their convention photo thing.

 

It's a pretty crappy site, but it does have a nice collection of photos (obviously culled from the Trib) from the past few years of Wrigley renovation talk. The previously released pics I referenced were these:

 

http://www.wrigleyexpansion.com/images/1.jpg

 

http://www.wrigleyexpansion.com/images/2.jpg

 

http://www.wrigleyexpansion.com/images/3.jpg

I know, all of those were shown earlier this summer.

[Laura]

Did you mention the BandWGN to him, Jon? I was expecting a little plug.

Unfortunately, no. I did tell him that I'd like to see him start many games in left this season, though.

 

Slacker. :lol:

 

I was able to get Dubois to sign an extra NSBB tshirt, and I told him that it was a great Cubs fan website that has a Jason Dubois Bandwagon up and running. He smiled and said, "That's great!" :)

 

That's the extent of the conversation -- it was a mob scene in front of the table, so I couldn't really stand off to the side and chat. But you can rest easy, Vance -- the Bandwagon did get a plug.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Did you mention the BandWGN to him, Jon? I was expecting a little plug.

Unfortunately, no. I did tell him that I'd like to see him start many games in left this season, though.

 

Slacker. :lol:

 

I was able to get Dubois to sign an extra NSBB tshirt, and I told him that it was a great Cubs fan website that has a Jason Dubois Bandwagon up and running. He smiled and said, "That's great!" :)

 

That's the extent of the conversation -- it was a mob scene in front of the table, so I couldn't really stand off to the side and chat. But you can rest easy, Vance -- the Bandwagon did get a plug.

 

:cheers:

 

Serena picks up the slack!

 

Maybe the creature will visit the site.

[Laura]

The pictures of the drawings, players I saw, and my two autographs that I got can be found here (33 pictures in total):

pictures

 

Some of the pictures may be blurry. As I said earlier in the thread, it is next to impossible to take clear pictures in that place. The lighting was absolutely horrible, especially during the management report slide show where the lights were dimmed and they were flying through the pictures.

 

Thanks a lot for getting those pictures, burnt!

 

I was trying to scrawl out my renditions of the artist's renditions ... your pictures are much more useful! :)

[NCCubFan]

Hello Fellow Cub fans. In case some of you don't know me, I'm a long time member of Cubs.com. I still recognize many of your names from the old board and its nice to see that Tim has started a site that everyone can discuss the Cubbies in a troll free environment.

Welcome, stranger. Nice to see you finally found the REAL Cubs board. :D

 

Now, maybe you can recruit our other fantasy league members who haven't found their way here yet (especially Dokta and Cindy).

[Jon]

At about 10:50 or so, I snuck out of the discussion to go and get Zambrano's autograph, since it was a surprise appearance. On my way out of the discussion, I actually passed Jim Hendry and got his autograph. He was very nice, shook hands with me, and just seemed like an overall good guy. Once in line, it took about 45 minutes to get Carlos' autograph. When I got up there, he seemed like he was getting a little tired of signing, so I wished him good luck and told him to say hi to Jim Edmonds again for me. He kind of laughed at that one.

Welcome aboard, Cubman!

 

That was definitely my impression of Hendry. He seemed to be in a good mood all weekend and despite sometimes being with family, he took his time to talk to people and sign autographs. I got similar impressions of MacPhail and McDonough, as well. It was a nice surprise to actually see managment in a cheerful and personable mood!

 

Glad you got to the Z line and I'm even more glad you brought up Edmonds. While I'm hoping Bonds is actually in the lineup when Zambrano pitches against the Giants this season, I'm really looking forward to some Z/Cardinals matchups.

[barrettismyidol]

At about 10:50 or so, I snuck out of the discussion to go and get Zambrano's autograph, since it was a surprise appearance. On my way out of the discussion, I actually passed Jim Hendry and got his autograph. He was very nice, shook hands with me, and just seemed like an overall good guy. Once in line, it took about 45 minutes to get Carlos' autograph. When I got up there, he seemed like he was getting a little tired of signing, so I wished him good luck and told him to say hi to Jim Edmonds again for me. He kind of laughed at that one.

Welcome aboard, Cubman!

 

That was definitely my impression of Hendry. He seemed to be in a good mood all weekend and despite sometimes being with family, he took his time to talk to people and sign autographs. I got similar impressions of MacPhail and McDonough, as well. It was a nice surprise to actually see managment in a cheerful and personable mood!

 

Glad you got to the Z line and I'm even more glad you brought up Edmonds. While I'm hoping Bonds is actually in the lineup when Zambrano pitches against the Giants this season, I'm really looking forward to some Z/Cardinals matchups.

 

I saw him by the batting cages and his kids were throwing the ball in the area where you can measure pitch speed. He was watching his kids throw and talking to them while signing autographs. He seemed to be in a very good mood.

[burnt out cubbie fan]

At about 10:50 or so, I snuck out of the discussion to go and get Zambrano's autograph, since it was a surprise appearance. On my way out of the discussion, I actually passed Jim Hendry and got his autograph. He was very nice, shook hands with me, and just seemed like an overall good guy. Once in line, it took about 45 minutes to get Carlos' autograph. When I got up there, he seemed like he was getting a little tired of signing, so I wished him good luck and told him to say hi to Jim Edmonds again for me. He kind of laughed at that one.

Welcome aboard, Cubman!

 

That was definitely my impression of Hendry. He seemed to be in a good mood all weekend and despite sometimes being with family, he took his time to talk to people and sign autographs. I got similar impressions of MacPhail and McDonough, as well. It was a nice surprise to actually see managment in a cheerful and personable mood!

 

Glad you got to the Z line and I'm even more glad you brought up Edmonds. While I'm hoping Bonds is actually in the lineup when Zambrano pitches against the Giants this season, I'm really looking forward to some Z/Cardinals matchups.

I haven't posted this for a while because I didn't really think I should but why not...

 

Some of you may know this or not, but Jim Hendry and Oneri Fleita both live in Park Ridge. Well, a family friend of mine is good friends with both of them. Her kids go to the same school was the Hendrys and Fleitas kids. They play together all the time and actually made her kids cubs fans quite quickly :) . She talks to Oneri and Jim frequently and has told me several times what good people they are.

[Jon]

I saw him by the batting cages and his kids were throwing the ball in the area where you can measure pitch speed. He was watching his kids throw and talking to them while signing autographs. He seemed to be in a very good mood.

I hope he was correcting their mechanics. You can't start grooming good form too early, ya know.

 

Burnt- I can certainly believe that. If he's anything, it's a people person. I wish I had been able to see Fleita today, but meeting Z was a bit more important to me.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

What do you see as the ceilings for Marshall and Pinto?

 

From what I can see, Marshall has the potential to become a solid #3 even on a strong pitching staff, the kind of guy who'd be a #2 on most teams. Pinto's at least a #4/#3, maybe he has a straight #3 in him. That's why I think it's so interesting that MacPhail rates Pinto higher: he sees something there I don't. I would love to know what it is.

 

Thanks Mark, that's very interesting!

 

And again, hearty thanks to everyone who went to the convention and posted all those notes, pictures and audio! =D>

[mlpeel]

Down on the Farm is the session that brought me to the Cubs Convention in the first place; this year's best session (in fact, the best session I've ever seen at a Convention) was Baseball Renaissance, but Down On the Farm is my perennial favorite. There was a somewhat better quality of questions this year than most years -- a pleasant surprise. There was a ringer in the crowd: one of Fleita's sons got up to the mike and asked a question (prompting his father to say, "You can ask a better question than that!")

 

Dave Otto was back again this year to help the young players (this year, Jon Leicester and Jason Dubois) handle the questions; evidently the Cubs view this as an opportunity for the players to learn to handle speaking to crowds in public. Dave kept saying Fleita and Stockstill have been with the Cubs for 5 years; I guess that's kind of accurate, since both will have their 5th anniversaries in their current positions next August. But Fleita joined the Cubs as the manager at Williamsport (same level as Boise now) back in 1995, just in time to be Woodie's second manager. Stockstill joined the Cubs as a scout back in 1987 -- and he was a player in the system for 4 years back when Andy MacPhail was the assistant director of scouting and the farm system (evidently Gordon Goldsberry cut Stockstill as a player when Dallas Green took over, but later hired him back as a scout).

 

Apparently Cubman15 was the guy who beat me to the mike (that's okay with me; I don't really like to go first). He's already described his question and the answer he received elsewhere in this thread.

 

I came with a question for each person on the panel. I asked Jon Leicester about the positions he played as an amateur. He said he had always pitched a little, but he'd mostly played third base -- "But I couldn't hit."

 

Jason Dubois's mother used to subscribe to my newsletter; at that time, she'd said her other son Kyle (who has twice been drafted by the Cubs) was throwing in the low 90s after recovering from Tommy John surgery. I asked Jason for an update on Kyle's condition: he said Kyle's ready to roll, projected to be Old Dominion's #1 starter this year.

 

Mr. Fleita said former Red Sox manager Grady Little would be back with the Cubs this season, replacing Scott Servais (now a scout for Colorado) as the catching coordinator. He'll instruct the catchers, but also give the Cubs the benefit of his long experience (over 1000 wins as a minor league manager) for talent evaluation and the functioning of the system.

 

Mr. Stockstill gave an overview of the process of scouting a player. These days, players usually come to the Cubs attention through showcases and summer leagues for college players -- though, as is true for international scouting, contacts may recommend players too. The Cubs keep tabs By the time the school seasons start, the Cubs will generally have around 110 players they consider candidates for the first 3 rounds. The area scouts start following these players in particular; the 3 crosscheckers and Stockstill himself then travel around to follow up on the reports of the area scouts, trying to compare the players the area scouts say are top round picks to set the Cubs draft board.

 

Other answers of interest:

 

The Cubs brass seem unanimous that Ryan Harvey is the organization's third best prospect (no argument from me). But Stockstill remarked that Harvey was 3 to 5 years away -- *not* the kind of fast track development schedule typical of impact players.

 

When asked about the decision to expose Sisco and Hagerty to the Rule 5 draft, Fleita stated that Hagerty's Tommy John surgery in spring of 2003 did *not* go smoothly. This explains why the Cubs could be so impressed at the way Hagerty was recovering (I heard a lot of sunshine about Luke's progress following the operation), yet he was only able to pitch a limited amount of time at a very low level: Hagerty started his rehab with his arm in poorer condition than most TJ recoverees.

 

Nic Jackson is healthy again, hoping to play his way back into the organization's plans -- but Fleita didn't sound all that optimistic about that possibility.

 

The Cubs haven't given up on Luis Montanez, pointing out his good winter in Puerto Rico and his age: if he'd gone to college, he'd be no further along in the system than he is now.

 

When the Cubs got struck with a rash of injuries to their high level prospects a year or two back, they conducted a study of minor league injuries. The result: the Cubs had suffered a fairly ordinary number of injuries; it was their concentration among the good prospects that was unusual. Even so, the Cubs have added a rehab coordinator at Mesa, and will hire interns to assist the trainers for every minor league team.

 

Richard Lewis would probably have been a September callup but for his ankle fracture. The screw was removed from his ankle in December, and his rehab is proceeding smoothly, but he won't be ready to play until after spring training.

 

Asked about possible replacements at third if Aramis Ramirez gets hurt, Fleita first mentioned some minor league free agents who will be in camp, then brought up Ronnie Cedeno (who has the strongest infield arm in the system) and Cody Ransom. The most interesting name was the one he *didn't* say: Matt Craig. Sounds like there may be a move to first base in Craig's future...

 

Someone asked Jon Leicester if the team moves a player's stuff when he gets called up. Leicester replied that players are on their own, the team will just reimburse them for some expenses -- but when you're called up to the big leagues, you don't care. When you get sent back down, *then* you care...

 

My friend Rich asked the players if they have set any specific goals for the off-season, like learning a new pitch. Leicester replied his only goal is to get better.

 

Rich also asked Fleita what his proudest accomplishment is in terms of player development. Because of the way Rich posed his 2 questions, he received no answer at that time -- but a SABR member is never easily deflected from his baseball questions: Fleita told Rich afterward that setting up the Latin American operation is his best accomplishment.

 

Asked about developing pitchers to be relievers in the minors, Fleita mentioned how its hard for a youngster to get in enough work as a reliever; also, it's easier to switch a pitcher from starting to relief than vice versa. He said Leicester's program, when he was moved to the bullpen, was to throw 35 pitches every 3rd day: it didn't matter how many innings (or batters) it took to throw 35 pitches, that was Jon's workload.

 

Fleita still likes Guzman the best of the pitchers in the system, but admits that he's got to get healthy.

 

Sean Marshall's twin brother was selected before him in the draft; hence Marshall is "motivated".

 

Billy Petrick has a lower body comparable to Roger Clemens. I can attest his upper body isn't weak either...

 

Someone asked about Elvin Puello, a third baseman from the Dominican Republic who played in a U. S. short season league last year. Fleita described him as having enough athleticism to play shortstop, but "he'll swing at the rosin bag". Puello should start the season at Peoria.

 

Cuban defector Raul Valdez, a lefthander, should have been in Double-A last year (if you saw his stats in the DSL, you already know he sure as heck didn't belong there!), but the Cubs were late acquiring visas and didn't have all of their requests filled -- hence the large number of NDFAs the Cubs signed after the last draft: the Latin youngsters who were supposed to fill those spots couldn't come to the U. S. Including Valdez: he was forced to stay in the Dominican Republic, where he toyed with hapless teenage hitters (for those of you who don't know, Valdez is 27).

 

Eric Patterson is a 60 runner with no much power; his brother was (and is) an 80 runner with lots of power. For reference's sake, Stockstill mentioned that if the 20-80 scouting scale ran higher, Dwaine Bacon would be "120" (similarly, Shawon Dunston's arm strength would have graded at 150). Corey's little bro should start at Peoria.

 

Fleita expects Koronka and Pinto to make Iowa's rotation, but said J. K. Ryu is on the AAA/AA bubble -- and that he may shift to the bullpen.

 

Glenallen Hill, one of the coaches in the Arizona Fall League, raved about Brian Dopirak's makeup.

 

Micah Owings, an unsigned Cubs pick in the last draft, had a higher ceiling as an outfielder (figuring as no more than a middle reliever on the mound), but also more risk of failure.

 

Felix Pie's caught-stealing woes are partly inability to read pitcher moves, partly a need for better technique. Vince Coleman (whose motto is "You can't be right if you're afraid to be wrong") will continue working with him.

 

The Cubs farm system is for developing players, but Fleita stresses winning: "As long as you're going to play, play to win." Still, development needs often overrule managerial moves to win the game.

 

Former Cubs prospect Joey Nation is trying to latch on in pro ball as a pitching coach or a scout.

 

Catchers are the hardest position to develop; as a result, the position gets overdrafted.

 

John Koronka (great change, knows how to pitch) has a chance to be a starter in the big leagues; he's not just a potential LOOGY.

[J.R.]

Here's a hearty thanks to all who helped bring the Convention to NSBB. I've gleaned much more from these posts than the stuff written by the guys who were paid to be there.