karenmac

Heard an "unofficial" update last night at our Meet the Chiefs dinner - still a couple more meetings to finalize things, but all signs point to this being a go. Rocky Vonachen said they're hoping to draw 20,000 fans to break the Midwest League record. Depending on what they charge for a ticket, I think that's pretty do-able. Ping, as the Chiefs are getting charged for the use of Wrigley, don't think you'll see free tix, but certainly don't think they'll cost a bundle for the public. They are going to give first dibs on tickets to season ticket holders, so when the time comes, for those interested, I'll be happy to facilitate.

figures that the Pantagraph would actually have better Chiefs coverage than they do in the Peoria paper. urgh. From what we heard last night, the Chiefs are going to practice under the lights tonight before opening up at Burlington tomorrow night, so hopefully the guys are getting used to each other. Nate's right, BTW - Dylan Johnston does look like a linebacker. I suppose that's what happens - his being here over the last couple of years (starting when he was fresh out of high school) - guess he's just growing up. I'm just hoping that the extra doesn't just translate into better power at the plate, but also being less error prone in the field. A girl can hope anyway!

Team Stats & Scoring 1. Number of Cubs wins, 2008 91 +50 2. Number of Cubs wins, Cardinals season series (15 games) 9 +150 3. Number of runs scored, 2008 838 +200 4. Number of runs allowed, 2008 752 +25 5. Final Placement in the NL Central Division 1st +200 625/1300 Player Stats & Scoring 1. Number of Aramis Ramirez Home Runs 28 +40 2. Number of Soriano Stolen Bases 17 +40 3. Kosuke Fukudome's OBP .401 +0 4. Derrek Lee's RBIs 95 +40 5. Ted Lilly's Wins 12 +5 6. Carlos Zambrano's ERA 3.62 +30 7. Rich Hill's Ks 172 +0 8. Ryan Dempster's Innings Pitched 165 +10 165/400 Bonus Questions I (30 points each) 1. Which will be higher: Rich Hill's K's or Rich Hill's Innings Pitched? Innings Pitched +30 2. Which will be higher: Jon Lieber's starts or Jon Lieber's relief appearances? Relief Appearances +30 3. Which will be higher: Felix Pie's at-bats or Reed Johnson's at-bats? Reed Johnson +30 4. Who will have more HRs: Soto or Fukudome? Soto +30 5. Who will have more wins: Hill or Lilly? Lilly +30 6. Who will have a higher SLG: Soriano or Ramirez? Soriano +30 180/180 Bonus Questions II (30 points each) 1. Most HRs: Soriano +30 2. Highest OBP (min. 400 ABs): Fukudome +0 3. Lowest ERA (min. 150 IPs): Zambrano +0 4. Most saves: Wood +30 60/120 The Annual Tiebreaker: Date of Lou Piniella's First Ejection July 8 vs CIN TOTAL: 1030

I love my XM, but try not to listen too much at work. Did see this announcement yesterday, where XM is going to start streaming via Blackberry http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080401005250&newsLang=en http://www.xmradio.com/bb so that's exciting - it does make me a little frustrated that MLB hasn't developed a mobile Gameday application - doesn't seem like that big a stretch, they just haven't quite gotten there yet. I do have the MLB Premium package too, so I can watch up to 6 games at a time - and I can hook up my computer to my TV (since Extra Innings hasn't been available from my cable company in the past)

Dylan Johnston is going to give me an ulcer. Raisin & Nate, thanks much for providing the updates - looking forward to seeing the guys in action!

Raisin - thanks much for the update (I hate travelling for work as I don't have the chance to get online and check NSBB often enough!!!) A couple of things struck me: [*] I'm saddened that Dylan Johnston is back in Peoria and have a hard time believing that he'll be able to cover ground in the outfield effectively. He is one of those guys that someone with the Cubs has infatuation with and I just don't see it. His defense has been consistently awful and bat *extremely* sporadic. [*] Gotta wonder how long Blake Lalli is going to hang around...he was with Peoria all season last year and for a decent number of games in 2006. He's got a good bat, but has been like Jake Fox - a catcher in search of a defensive position [*] I hope that Vitters starting out in extended doesn't turn into the Colvin situation from last year - we want to see him in Peoria! No skipping us and going straight from Boise to Daytona! [*] It's too bad that Josh Lansford isn't going to get an opportunity to move past Daytona...based on his performance in the AZ Fall League, he's ready for AA. Gotta wonder what we're going to do with so much talent at 3B...

Vance, thanks much for posting. I would imagine these rosters are getting pretty close to finalized, with another few folks likely cascading down from big league camp. A few thoughts: - It can't be a good thing for Mark Reed to be repeating at Daytona at this point. That said, I can see why Matt Canepa got released - we seem to have a log jam at catcher, even not including guys like Jake Fox who aren't really there any more. From AZ Phil's report, I do wonder what's going on with Alan Rick. He's really learned to hit, but when I was at ST a couple of weeks ago, he was still in his catcher's gear. - Great to see Jake Muyco and Jesse Estrada in IA right now. They were 2 of my favorites while in Peoria. I hope this means that Muyco's bat has come around - he's been one of the best defensive catchers we've had in the system for some time, but his bat has lagged. Jesse is a great guy and am glad to see he's continuing to advance. I'll be interested to see who ends up where when camp breaks - it always seems like there's a lot of movement the first couple of weeks of the season. Pretty sure the Chiefs arrive on 3/31 - looking forward to getting to know a new group of guys.

Group A: Howard Group B: Soriano & Braun Group C: Swisher, A Ramirez, A Gonzalez Group D: Zimmerman, Utley, Bay, Willingham, Jacobs WC: Rick Ankiel

I just got my Cub media guide in Mesa earlier this week, and couldn't find this section - it's usually there. Not sure if they had enough of a security concern to stop publishing. Perhaps I'm just missing it and NC will be able to find when he gets his. My husband and I are headed to Toronto as well. We're staying at the Westin Harbour Castle - it's quite nice. When we were there a couple of summers ago, there was some pro team staying there, although can't be sure where the Cubs will go. We like it for the lake view and the easy (across the street) access to public transportation.

I'd agree with this. If AZ Phil is there, you might get lucky for one of the 2 games that are getting played. However, they did post the "schedule" of games at Fitch this year (hadn't seen that in the past, but maybe I just missed it). First game against other MiLB players is 3/14 (I took a picture with my phone so will double check). What that info didn't say is who was playing where. If I remember right, Lo-A and Hi-A play at home when AA and AAA are on the road, and vice-versa.

we're going to see the Coyotes and the Senators tonight in Phoenix. You wouldn't believe the sorts of tix that are still available, despite these 2 teams being pretty darn good. Anyhoo, am looking forward to seeing Bryzgalov since I've got him in my fantasy league!

we're in sunny AZ as of yesterday PM (woo hoo) and are getting ready to work our way over to Fitch later this morning. Glad to hear that Ceda and Colvin will be amongst those that we'll be able to see. Will be going with camera in hand and will post pics later this week. We'll also be at the Cub games Sun, Mon, and next Saturday and think we should get some good looks at things there too.

go get 'em NSBBers. Would love to have a link to this league just to watch...tried to get to it, and it wouldn't let me look because I wasn't a member of the league. Harumph. There's got to be a way to fix that!

yes, that would have definitely made for either excellent blackmail material or fun YouTube (or both!) I am glad they got there safe and sound. Hopefully Eyre doesn't have crazy fans out hunting him down at the RV park!

I also like to keep my eyes here: http://www.gettyimages.com/Editorial/Sports.aspx and here: http://www.gettyimages.com/Search/Search.aspx?contractUrl=1&language=en-US&family=editorial&p=chicago%20cubs&src=standard#1 Getty does a lot more coverage during the regular season (and even ST games) but we'll see the gems from photo day when those are posted too!

I got it too - just not enough time to get logged on and join until now. My Team = Above the Fuld

I agree - they have both come through Peoria, and while Sean was a starter and Ceda came out of the pen, Sean's stuff had more to it. Ceda is big as a horse and has got speed, but think Gally's versatility would help us more in the long run.

I'm in too

hopefully we'll start getting pictures soon...not much so far, for sure. We leave for AZ in 3 weeks (not that I'm counting). As far as places to stay in the area, we've stayed at both Hiltons near by, and they were both great. The Hilton Phoenix East / Mesa had a facelift in the offseason, so we'll see how much better it is. The other Hilton is darn near to ASU and the airport, so it's a bit dependent on what you're there for. I believe there's also a Marriott that's pretty near to Fitch / HoHoKam. On the less expensive side, most of the minor leaguers get put up at the Mezona Inn - it used to be a Best Western, but not sure if it is any more or not. For those that will be in Mesa around a meal time, I'd highly suggest Cindy's Cafe (north? of HoHoKam, on McKellips) - she makes everything fresh and you can get anything from a nice chef salad to open-faced roast beef. Oh, and there's pie. Really good pie. There's also a Basha's grocery store just south of the Fitch complex (off of Brown) - I much prefer to stop in every morning and buy some yogurt and juice for breakfast. Do others have favorite hangouts when at ST?

Hi All! Just got back from our Peoria Chiefs Winter Dinner, and one little potential nugget that I thought might be of interest. The Chiefs are currently working to bring a Chiefs "home" game - Kane County at Chiefs, to Wrigley Field on July 29. It's not a certain thing yet at all, but Rocky Vonachen said it was about a 50/50 shot that it would happen. Tickets will likely be $15 / $12 if the game comes to pass. It's a Tuesday,and the game would start in the afternoon, but would be a good excuse to see Wrigley for less. Kane County currently has the attendance record for the Midwest League too, so they'd love to break that too. Thought I'd pass it along - I'll be blocking that day on my calendar at work so I can take the day off to come up. Won't be long until pitchers and catchers now! :yahoo:

I'd love to join this keeper, if there's room, as well. Will look forward to hearing as to availability.

mlb.tv is based on IP address, so when I have been traveling for work in the past, I've been able to get Cub games no problem (in New Jersey, for example). On the other hand, was at a conference in Chicagoland last May, and the hotel didn't have Comcast SportsNet, so was out of luck in being able to see those games due to local blackout Speaking of Comcast, they have recently taken over the cable situation in the Peoria area - how are they as far as providing EI as an option? Every cable company we've ever had doesn't bother to offer such things. Also, what sort of HD do / will they offer? It's great that all the games will be in HD this year, but if Comcast doesn't give me WGN or SportsNet in HD, it's hardly worth it. Would be interested in hearing experiences for those that have been dealing with comcast for a while.

wow. at least I'm not an orioles fan.

This makes me wonder what they're going to do with Jake Muyco. (He *is* still in our system, right?!?) Not to take anything away from Welli, but Jake's presence behind the plate was much better than Welli's when they were in Peoria. Perhaps they both end up in TN? Jake's got issues with the bat, but I think his defense and game-calling makes up for that. Definitely interesting. Also says something about Mark Reed's future too. I wonder who does end up catching in Daytona. Hmmm...

wow, I got lucky. I turned off the XM when Buffalo was up 2-0 (I had started Brodeur and Osgood on my fantasy league and sat Ryan Miller). In the end, that seems to have worked out, in that Osgood didn't play for DET and Brodeur came back and won. It was definitely interesting seeing Detroit get a challenge from Ottawa.