ChiefsVoice

Nick (our trainer) and I called Matt Johnson during our 40 degree practice tonight. Tennessee won 3-1 I believe. Dont know any details. Our rotation changed today. Muldowney, Albuquerque, Pina, Dolis, Ceda....

Sorry - Pawelek is NOT in our rotation. Thursday: Billy Muldowney Friday: Al Albuquerque Saturday: Rafael Dolis Sunday: off day Monday: Jose Ceda Tuesday: Jose Pina Puts Dolis in line for the home opener start....

lopez is on our roster. I just don't know anything about him yet so he wasnt one of the guys i highlighted... My guess is Herdia in Center, Carter in right and the other 3 share the Dh/LF slot with Lewis also serving as our backip first baseman.

I'll put a more comprehensive article on the website Monday morning. I think Ceda will be our Day 1 starter. Muldowney, Dolis, Pina in the mix as well. Pawelek may piggyback with someone (Castillo? Albuquerque? Carrillo?) or may just be a long reliever for now. Papelbon in the pen with Ruhlman and Roquet. Canzler, Camp, Johnston and Lansford in the IF with Mota as Utility. Carter is back giving us a real solid OF 4some with Heredia, Lewis and Joseph. Canepa should start behind the plate. Lalli and Wellington Castillo also there. I'll get you the rest later.

We'll just have to beat it out of you then. :lol: That or scour Nate's posts for info and any inadvertantly dropped hints. :D we have a few surprises....and a few guys who were not on our team when i left on Tuesday. We have 6 guys who saw at least 1 inning in peoria in 2006 and 1 who saw action in 2005....And we have more foreign born pitchers than we have American born pitchers....thats all you are getting out of me! Karen- Brandon is there. he is lifting and rehabbing non-stop.

1. Hernandez had good velocity and a LOT of movement. 2. I didn't see either of them pitch, but I know Castillo throws very hard. 3. All at 3rd. I think he has a chance to be the best defensive 3rd baseman in the MWL 4. Phelps is hurt. He was limping around when I talked to him. He was getting treatment and very anxious to get back at it. 5. Jody said that Avery has a chance to be their closer. It's either him or a guy they got in a trade that I didn't know but he was still on the AA roster. 6. I know our full roster but am sworn to secrece until late Sunday/early Monday. sorry!

I was watching our game more so I didnt see a lot plus the first two days he was either not playing or at HoHoKam. I saw Colvin catch two outs that were relatively right to him. He was 1-for-3 witha walk the game i watched. was batting 3rd ahead of Norwood who was in his first game down from AA. From what I heard though, they are loving Colvin in CF

Here are my notes from watching games last week. I saw the minor leaguers on Thursday, Saturday & monday in game actions. Also watched them practice in the AM on those three days and Friday before going to the Cubs game. Just saw the Cubs on Sunday from the press box. I really like the makeup of the team I saw playing for the Chiefs. Good balance on offense. hard throwers on the mound. Didnt make defensive mistakes. Remember these players were playing while I was there. no official roster yet. Valerio Heredia has moved to CF and can flat out fly. Looks like a Curtis Granderson/Juan Pierre type. Lopez, Lewis and Joseph played OF as well. Two days, Canzler was ill so Lewis played 1st as our only viable backup 1st baseman until the last day when Puello moved back down. Johnston, Camp and Lansford were also in the infield. I saw Clevenger, Canepa and Castillo behind the plate. Clevenger is just learning the position but has a very strong arm. Other guys who played for us while I was there included Tirado, Matulia, Mercedes and Rundle. But none of them were with us the whole time I was there. Jose Ceda was impressive on the mound. topped out at 97. Wont surprise me if he is the Opening Day guy at Wisconsin. I didnt see Pawelek in game action. Or Papelbon. Our pitching staff was very Latino heavy until the last day I was there when Muldowney and Renshaw came back. A young kid named Hernandez threw very well the last game I saw but I think he will stay in Arizona. Cuevas may be the biggest pitcher I have seen in 5 years at this level but he is very raw and probably will stay there too. Samardzija threw 4 clean innings on Thursday until the rain came and was 95-96 and had sharper off-speed pitches. Ryan Lilly, Roberto Sotolongo and Alfredo Francisco were all released while I was there. Matt Weber retired and is gonna go to Northern Illinois to play quarterback. Rayborn and Gregg also retired. Ryne Malone is hurt again, tweaked his knee and hopes to join a roster in early May. Yusuf Carter looks great. Swing is shortened. He went deep, singled and stole two bases on Monday against Oakland. Ryan Norwood was also swinging a hot bat. Colvin was in CF for Daytona. I spent some time chatting with quite a few guys, especially Gallagher, Patterson, Fuld, Estrada and our last two coaching staffs. Everyone loves the team they are sending to Peoria. Ryno was great with us. We got to know the entire staff over dinner. David Rosario and Kevin Green are working hard with the team now and the three seem to get along great and Nick Frangella our trainer said they are having a lot of fun out there. Let me know what questions you guys have. I saw one AAA game to watch Patterson and mostly watched the two A teams that were always on fields next to each other. I think both Peoria and Daytona will contend. Daytona will mostly be our 2006 playoff team plus Samardzija, Colvin and either Spears/Chirinos and minus Veal. They will get here Monday and then the fun begins!

I would like to express our thanks and appreciation to all Chiefs and Cubs fans who have sent condolences to the Vonachen family and the Chiefs organization this week as well as those who have had the Vonachen's in their thoughts and prayers. The Cubs organization was well represented in Peoria both Wednesday and today and we appreciate it all. Thanks for the emails and flowers as well. I know Rocky and Pete and the rest of the family were overwhelmed with all the support throughout this tough week and our entire organization is as well. So thanks again...

yeah sorry. we have had a rough time of it lately here in Peoria. Rocky left early from AZ to get home in time to see his mother one last time. She meant a lot to all of us in the organization. We had the wake today (Wed) and the funeral tomorrow. I have a bunch of notes and will post when we re-open the office Thursday afternoon.....

still hurt. I've been here 6 days and haven't seen him anywhere except the weight room and training room. No swings or throws. All indications are that it is the hammy again. I'll post more about everything when I get back home late Tuesday.

I'll be out at Fitch and HohoKam working for the next week. If anybody is interested in my notes, let me know and I'll post them here. We are doing to games every day and doing some interviews/photos for the media guide and website as well. By the time we get back on the 28th we should pretty much know who at least 3/4 of the roster players are.

You're right. I'm a moron and know nothing about baseball so I'll just stop posting...

Just curious if you have seen ethier Gallagher or Patterson play in person more than 2 or 3 times?

When someone responds to a line of posts that begins with "BA sucks", it does not mean they think BA is the be all end all of minor league information. What other scouting services are better than BA? I prefer Baseball Prospectus. Also John Sickels is good. I really just read any articles I can find and dont worry about who publishes them. I learn much much more about the players I watch from other broadcasters, college articles (for those who play college ball), die-hard fans and local newspaper articles than from any of these "scouting services"

i really can't comprehend how you think it would be better for BA to get their information from talking to beat writers than to get it from talking to scouts. both sources are secondhand and both sources have seen the players play...but beat writers are going to invariably be very, very, very biased in their opinions. plus, and no offense, i would trust the opinion of a scout over a media guy every day of the week. announcers/writers are students of broadcasting/media, scouts have likely spent their entire lives in baseball. also, go ahead and look at their top 100 list from last year. they have managers' quotes all over the place. they absolutely do talk to managers/coaches, and you're simply wrong in saying that they don't. and they're also flat out right year after year on some guys. and you're flat out wrong on some guys. it's not an exact science, and, despite what you say, i don't believe BA promotes itself as the "gospel," nor do i think anyone else believes it to be. You seem to think its the gospel or we wouldnt even be having this discussion. And I'm not saying that I'm never wrong on guys. I am. We all are. I'm saying that there are scouting services out there who are much much better than BA. The only people who put BA #1 are the people who arent "in the know." And scouts are no better, just more arrogant....

Everything I heard from Cubs brass is that this reported deal never happened....at least not the $7 million part....for what its worth... Do you have any info on what he did sign for? For what it's worth, my informatin was based from ESPN and Baseball America. BA sucks....from what I was told is that he got slot money (250k) for being drafted as the Cubs 2nd pick....and then is just paid like any other minor leaguer unless he completely ditches football....then they will renegotiate his deal...but does anyone really see that happening when the NFL signing bonus for a 1st rounder is a 7 figure deal? do you have any support for your constant claims that BA sucks? i'd love to hear a few examples of guys that you correctly predicted to succeed that BA thought would suck or vice versa. How about Eric Patterson and Sean Gallagher for starters....you guys have to understand that BA writers rarely, if ever see a player more than once or twice....they rely waaaaay too much on others for their "expert opinions"....very few MILB people use BA as a source.... first of all, neither patterson nor gallagher has done anything beyond AA, so let's not chalk those guys up as successes just yet. patterson was in BA's top 10 last year, and i'm sure both of them will be in the top 5 or so this year, so it's not like BA has some kind of vendetta against them. and you constantly rail against BA for relying on others' opinions...how else do you expect them to do it? have one guy fly from sacramento to tulsa to norfolk to boise to vero beach just so he can see a guy with his own eyes? you want us (people who haven't seen the guys play) to rely on you (someone who has seen the guys play)...yet you don't want BA to rely on the opinions of people who have seen the guys play? Patterson hit well over .300 for a month in AAA. Which is above AA. and yes, if they are legit, they would travel like that. Or at least call managers or beat writers who do see the kids every day. That would be a start! I think if you asked most broadcasters you would get the same response. For example, I know which players are ranked, but I dont go on the air saying "Cameron Maybin BA's top prospect" or "BA says he can't field worth a lick". Its a tough business that they are in. Im glad they exist, dont get me wrong. They make baseball and the industry better. They started the whole prospect angle which is awesome. I just wish they covered the players better and I don't take every word they write as gospel as some of you do because I have seen on many many instances where they are flat wrong year after year on guys. Eric and Sean are just two of those examples but from our days as a Cardinals affiliate there are quite a bit more such as the repeated high rankings of Shaun Boyd & Jimmy Journell. They fall in love with the big names way too much or the latin guys. Alfred Francisco at #15 in 2003 cause he signed as a 17 year olf for a lot of money? Come on. He never got past Low-A as a hitter and only hit here for a week....just one example.

Everything I heard from Cubs brass is that this reported deal never happened....at least not the $7 million part....for what its worth... Do you have any info on what he did sign for? For what it's worth, my informatin was based from ESPN and Baseball America. BA sucks....from what I was told is that he got slot money (250k) for being drafted as the Cubs 2nd pick....and then is just paid like any other minor leaguer unless he completely ditches football....then they will renegotiate his deal...but does anyone really see that happening when the NFL signing bonus for a 1st rounder is a 7 figure deal? do you have any support for your constant claims that BA sucks? i'd love to hear a few examples of guys that you correctly predicted to succeed that BA thought would suck or vice versa. How about Eric Patterson and Sean Gallagher for starters....you guys have to understand that BA writers rarely, if ever see a player more than once or twice....they rely waaaaay too much on others for their "expert opinions"....very few MILB people use BA as a source....

you mean besides Ryan Harvey? Of the guys I have seen in person I'll take Cameron Maybin.

Everything I heard from Cubs brass is that this reported deal never happened....at least not the $7 million part....for what its worth... Do you have any info on what he did sign for? For what it's worth, my informatin was based from ESPN and Baseball America. BA sucks....from what I was told is that he got slot money (250k) for being drafted as the Cubs 2nd pick....and then is just paid like any other minor leaguer unless he completely ditches football....then they will renegotiate his deal...but does anyone really see that happening when the NFL signing bonus for a 1st rounder is a 7 figure deal?

Everything I heard from Cubs brass is that this reported deal never happened....at least not the $7 million part....for what its worth...

Thanks it was fun chatting on the record with my brother and his co-hosts (who I also went to High school with).

PEORIA, IL— The Chicago Cubs and Peoria Chiefs have announced that Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg will manage the Chiefs in 2007. The announcement comes on the second day of the Annual Winter Meetings in Orlando, FL as the Cubs gather with each of their minor league affiliates. Sandberg, who entered the Baseball Hall of Fame in July 2005, will make his managerial debut on Thursday April 5th when the Chiefs visit the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. His first home game at O’Brien Field will be on Friday April 13th at 7:00 PM when the Chiefs host the Burlington Bees. “This is a great day in Peoria Chiefs history and a great day for baseball fans in Central Illinois,” said Chiefs longtime President Rocky Vonachen. “We are thrilled to welcome a Hall of Famer and a Cubs legend into the Chiefs family and we look forward to April and the reception Ryne will get from the great Chiefs and Cubs fans in the Peoria area.” A 47-year old Washington native, Sandberg played for the Cubs from 1982-1994 and again from 1996-1997 after beginning his career with 13 games played for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1981. After playing third base for the Phillies, Sandberg was acquired by the Cubs on January 27, 1982 in exchange for Ivan Dejesus. In 1984, Sandberg won the NL MVP Award with a .314 average, 19 HR, 36 doubles, 19 triples and 84 RBI while leading the Cubs to within one game of their first World Series in 39 years. For his career, Sandberg played in 2164 games batting .285 with 282 HR, 1061 RBI and 403 doubles. He also won nine straight Gold Gloves from 1983-1991 and made the All-Star team each season from 1984-1993. During his career, Sandberg not only set MLB records for most consecutive chances and games at second base without an error, but also retired with more homers than any other second baseman in league history. He originally retired during the 1994 season but later came out of retirement and appeared in 150 games in 1996 and 135 more in 1997. His #23 jersey was retired by the Cubs at Wrigley Field in 2005. Sandberg has never managed in professional baseball but was interviewed by Cubs General Manager Jim Hendry for the vacant Cubs position this offseason before the hiring of Lou Piniella. Sandberg has made three appearances in Peoria over the last two years since the Chiefs rejoined the Cubs organization. In January 2005, Sandberg helped sell out the Cubs Caravan at Expo Gardens and he returned for the sold out Caravan at the Riverplex in January 2006. Six weeks before his enshrinement at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, Sandberg was the featured guest on IPMR night at O’Brien Field for the Chiefs game June 18, 2005. As part of that event, Sandberg signed autographs for over an hour and his presence helped bring in a sellout crowd if 7503. This marks the second straight season the Chiefs had had a former Cubs star as the Manager. Last season, first-year Manager Jody Davis led the Chiefs to a 75-64 record and a First Half Western Division Championship. Davis and Sandberg were teammates in Chicago from 1982-1988.

Thats all i can say at this point in time, but TRUST me when I say that it will be well worth your attention.

A bunch of Chiefs jerseys are up for bid online. HOme, BP and Road from 2006 including Samardzija, Veal, Atkins, Prior, Wood, Campusano, Norwood, etc....Bids end Nov 22nd.