karenmac

I'll be there for the 2 games on Saturday. The Peoria Chiefs Booster Club does a bus trip to Cub/Cards every year, and the 15th at 7pm is that game. I went crazy and bought a ticket to the makeup game too, so I'm *really* glad the weather is supposed to be so great. Will likely be at the park on Saturday by 11am, then have a break in between for a few hours, so would be happy to meet if someone sets it up. Incidentally, how crazy is it that I looked at the Hilton and Westin and they were both sold out, but then checked the Hyatt (the *team* hotel) for Saturday night and there was availability? Granted, this was a month ago, but isn't that strange? Anyway, looking forward to a great day of baseball and hope we can get together!

Roquet is definitely a diamond in the rough. After seeing him earlier this year, it still blows me away that he went undrafted. It's pickups like these that I'm sure Wilken had a hand in and what makes him so valued as a scouting director. I am so glad to see Rocky progressing so well throughout the season. For those of you who are looking for a California spot to vacation, Rocky's folks own a motel in Cayucos, CA - the Seaside We met Rick when he came to Peoria - a great guy for sure.

good stuff Raisin - thanks much for the heads-up. Muyco is an amazing defensive catcher - he makes things look so effortless. He calls a good game, and has such an accurate arm. I know his bat needs some work, but I hope that comes around. Glad to see him do so well. As much as I really like Mark Reed, Jake looked heads-and-above better when we were there in Daytona. Last year, Mark was good defensively and with the bat - this year, not so much. What the heck happened to Thigpen in the TOR organization? I remember him being in the MWL in 2005 - and was spectacular. Has he had injury problems or has his arm just not kept up with the advancement of his career? That was a surprise to me, for sure.

it's not just college football, sadly. Both last year and this year, there has been a noticeable decline on Friday nights once HS football begins. For example: August 10 - Chiefs attendance = 6700 August 24 - Chiefs attendance = 3700 I can't even imagine what it would be like if there was a decent college team nearby. That said, if Huntsville can sell 2100 tickets for a Friday night, you'd think that Tennessee could have sold more than 1200 on Saturday. Then again, I probably would have done everything possible to not interfere with the football game when scheduling the playoff game. Not sure when it started, but 5:00 probably wasn't' the best time to start the baseball game. Perhaps with the travel, it was not possible to start any earlier.

nah, let's keep it at 10 central - I'm willing to be bleary eyed at work on Monday :)

woot! keep it up Smokies :)

if it'd be possible to do things at 9ct, that would be better for me. I've got to be leaving for work early that next morning, and it would be better if I got to bed around 10. Yes, I am old.

Sam is one of my absolute favorite guys in all of the Cub system. He's a very smart cookie- bachelors in econ and working on a masters at Stanford is an amazing feat unto itself. A hard worker - I can still remember the last game of the 2005 season, he got at least 1 hit that last day, and when he did, he knew he hit .300 and was fist pumping as he stood at first base. He will definitely be the guy who *will* be at the ballpark an hour early. I've definitely been on the Fuld BandWGN for a couple of years, and know he'll make the most of the call-up! <--------- this is Sam, btw

no, but Dernier was just here, and they frequently worked on going first to 3rd etc. With Low-A ball, it is more common that the outfield throw will not be anywhere near the catcher, allowing the individual to score, so maybe that was part of it. Or, we just want our guys to practice trying to mow down catchers at the plate? I don't know! Perhaps this is just the hockey fan in me wishing it were so :) We were ahead at the time, so it was a chance to try something I guess.

for those of you that might not normally see this sort of thing: http://www.pjstar.com/stories/090207/CHI_BE88DQEV.077.php Looks like Adduci, Canzler and Yusuf Carter are going to assist at the Dominican academy over the winter months. With that said, here's what I know about who's going where this fall: USA Baseball (2007 IBAF World Cup) - Tyler Colvin AZ Fall League - (mesa solar sox) Avery, Berg, G. Johnson, Roquet, Lansford, Simokaitis, Fuld. (phoenix desert dogs) Jerry Blevins (I know he's an A but still like to keep tabs on him) AZ Instructional League - I thought there had been some talk about who was going, but can't remember any more! Hawaii Winter Baseball - Samson, Harvey Venezuela - Mota, ... Someone help - who have I missed?

Outshined, this is very well said. There have been several moments in the season where I thought that Ryno did something that didn't make sense *to me* but I also am not aware of what the organization is asking him to do on a daily basis. For instance, he sent Russ Canzler home in the game last night, and he was dead to rights at home plate. Could it be that he was overly agressive and tried to send him home or was this something the org wants our guys to be working? He tried to do the same with Marquez Smith earlier this week, and somehow Marquez missed the windmill motions of his manager (he would have been a dead duck at the plate too, btw) Overall, a very difficult question to answer. He definitely has the backing of the team - but would guess he's very much a "players" manager. That said, I would say that Jody seemed a bit more naturally comfortable in the role last year. He was willing to take a lot of chances just to try things (especially early in the season), where as I would say that Ryne is a bit more conservative. Then again, that could be said in general of their personalities, so guess that's likely not a big shock. By the way, Margaret (Ryne's current wife) is a very nice lady. She sits in our section and has been to nearly every home game this season. Various sets of kids have also visited Peoria this year, and all seemed great too. In fact, she was just mentioning to Mr Mac last night that they are RVing home to AZ after the season is over, so watch out world! Just my 2 cents. Nate could probably shed some additonal light here as well, as he's spent more time with this team than anyone else. Happy Labor Day weekend everyone! (oh, and LET'S GO CHIEFS!!!)

as the winner of our vast league last year, I'm in too :) I'm "Hello Numminen" Mr Mac will likely join us too.

Hope you made it over last night - it was a great night for baseball and the Chiefs looked as good last night as I've seen them in a while!

I'm envious. I've wanted to get up to Des Moines for a game or 2 all season long - it looks like you had a great time!

I'd personally like to nominate the fact that every show has talked about football every day since the end of the season. I like the game. Very much. I just don't want to hear about it in April.

perfect - thanks much Roast! I'll be able to do the draft and watch the Cubbies on ESPN :)

Here's the official flier that was emailed. The MDA got the year wrong, but thought some of you might like to see. Hope many of you can make it to O'Brien on Saturday! http://karen.mackenzie.org/chiefs/mdajerseys.jpg

why, your seats are behind first base and you fear for your life if dylan johnston is playing short? seats are behind the plate (and therefore the netting) and I still fear for my life when Dylan's playing short. I hope the organization figures out what they want to do with him. The 18 errors in Peoria with another 24 in Boise, despite the attention coaches have been paying him makes me think that they need to convert him to another position or get rid of him.

Just wait til next year. :) I think the 3B competition next season at Peoria will be very interesting. If Marquez Smith can get to Daytona next season (and play with Josh Lansford), that'd make things much easier. It sounds like the Cubs plan on playing Vitters at Boise to end this season so Peoria would be the natural next step. Jovan Rosa is more advanced than Vitters and is a significant prospect (he was signed for the equivalent of top 5 round money) and would be ready for Peoria too. Bite your toungue Raisin! It's exciting thing thinking about who might be coming our way next year. On the other hand, I thought for sure we'd get to see Tyler Colvin for a bit in Peoria this year, and no such luck. I generally try and squelch my excitement for next year until Spring Training and see who's working with who. I can't remember when rosters freeze for the minor's playoff runs...it looks like the Chiefs might make it, and I can never remember when the cutoff is. I think it's coming up, though.

I'm just glad it wasn't Dylan Johnston.

I'm the Rockford Peaches - looking forward to it NC, thanks much for organizing!

sorry, those were just Sam's minor league stats. Just thought I'd show that the 14 HRs over 3 seasons (along with the rest)

It has been known to happen, but certainly doesn't define his game. From First Inning:

Yay Sam! So glad to see him get this shot While not necessarily a power bat, he has been an absolutely consistent hitter his entire minor league career. I think he'll do great against the pitching of AAA.

Pretty sure that Bob knew he had Fonzie, but there's a quick link to the proof. I'm going to use my last 2 transactions as well - in group B, please drop both Berkman and Thome and replace with Dunn and Konerko Thanks!