karenmac

no, I was at the game in Tucson today - so no luck seeing Prior. There were more than 11700 at TEP - the best crowd of the season (surprise, surprise) Rocky Cherry looked outstanding today, and against some darn good hitters too. Jake Fox again looked stellar offensively and not bad defensively either. He did appear to be getting signals from the bench - not sure how common that is, but I suppose at this level, Jake still has learning to do defensively. We will be at Fitch tomorrow, though, and will let you know how the first "game" goes - I'll do my best to write some notes between the low and high A games. I do know that, between the NWL and the MWL, there's no love lost between the 2 franchises. Hopefully most everyone will be at HoHoKam and the crowds won't be too crazy at Fitch. Will let you know more tomorrow night, provided there's a business center where I can get online.

I think I can live with that somehow...we've seen him more than Chicagoans the last couple of years - I think he's pitched 3 games for the Chiefs :P

hi all - pics are up and can be found here: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaOHLdo2ZNWLmA these are from Sunday 3/11 and Monday 3/12 - we'll post more after being at Fitch this weekend :D

for those who may not have seen these: http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/chi-070308ryno-photogallery,1,155603.photogallery?coll=cs-home-utility these are likely some Chiefs, but really should be labeled "the guys he was coaching on Sunday" or whatever day it was... thanks to my buddy Carl from work who told me about these :)

Happy to oblige - and I know how to spell Ryno, even if my husband doesn't :) We're now in Tucson through Friday and had a chance to catch the game at Tucson Electric Park today. Am trying to remember...I think the fresh air must be getting to my brain. I'm struggling to stay awake, and it's not even 8pm here. - Most of the guys that came to Tucson today were the B team - no Soriano, DLee, or Aramis. Despite that, it was a good game to watch - the Cubs kept coming back. - Jake Fox seemed to do a good job behind the plate today. He caught Rocky Cherry's tough inning, but didn't let things get by him and made a couple of good blocks in the dirt. He did OK at the plate, but nothing as dramatic as the HR we got to see on Sunday! - Rocky didn't look nearly as strong as he did on Sunday. He had a tough time - not sure if he just wasn't hitting his spots, or what, but he wasn't fooling anyone - Dempster looked decent again - Jesus Valdez (played for the Chiefs last year) got in for the 7th-9th. He played left, spelling Murton. He hit into a double-play at the plate, which was tough, but I was really glad he got the opportunity to play today. No baseball for a couple of days - just rest and relaxation, but we'll be at the White Sox vs. Cubs game on Friday.

Yea, yea.. I noticed that after I posted. At least I was consistant and used the improper spelling everytime ;)

Yep, that's what I'm recalling as well, although the pitchers, in particular, don't necessarily seem to be working with the teams they'll end up with (this will likely change now that some guys are coming down from big league camp). We'll be back there on Saturday, so will keep my eye peeled then

Well, day 2 at Fitch was a ton of fun. Just a couple of comments (and promise to get pictures up soon! - After spending yesterday at 3rd, Robinson Chirinos promptly spent all day today at 2nd. - Donnie looked *much* better today. Thank goodness. - They spent about an hour yesterday doing situational hitting. We watched the Jodys vs the Rynes, although they had the low-A and high-A talent mixed up. Essentially, it was getting some live-ish fielding and baserunning, along with working on putting the ball in specific places when at bat. Norwood and Carter were making excellent contact and putting the ball where told. Carter also looked better in the OF, which bodes well. - During the scrimmage, Alberto Garcia was playing at 1st - not sure what that means, but it was interesting. I almost didn't recognize him, as he had shaved his long, flowing locks from last year and now has more of a napolian haircut. Reynolds and Lansford were playing 3rd, and the catching duties got split. They're starting to play intersquad on Thursday, with live pitching instead of BP...followed by games against other minor league teams on Saturday.

Maybe he just forgot about the early start to daylight savings time this year and lost an hour of sleep. :D Excellent theory, if they observed Daylight Savings here in AZ :sunny:

Hi All! We flew to sunny AZ late on Saturday and enjoyed an absolutely lovely day here on Sunday. Thought I'd jot down a few thoughts for you based on what I saw at Fitch before heading over to HoHoKam for the big league game. We're headed back to Fitch this AM, so will be sure to post again tonight. I'll have pictures too, but won't be able to upload those until this evening. - Jeff S is impressing at big league camp. Right now, he's expected to land at AA - Robinson Chirinos was getting substantial reps at 3rd base yesterday. Not sure what this means, but didn't see him at 2nd at all. I was pretty sure that he played some SS in a pinch at Peoria last year, but don't remember him playing 3rd. With that said, he looked pretty good there. - For someone who had such a hot 2nd half last year, Donnie Veal couldn't hit a broad side of a barn in fielding drills yesterday. Perhaps he was still waking up, but in fielding bunts or squib hits in the mound's general vicinity, it took him about 6 tries to get it to 3rd and a couple to get to 1st. Didn't get to see him pitch, but I found this curious. Hope it was just that he got up on the wrong side of the bed - Saw Mitch Atkins and Jesse Estrada pitch to Jake Muyco. They both looked strong. Mitch seemed to be hitting his spots with consistency. Jesse, a little less so. Jake seems to be a true leader behind the plate...I love watching him provide feedback to the pitchers as he goes. I'd love to see him start at AA, but am guessing he'll be in Daytona. - For those that didn't see the other thread, Davy Gregg has elected to retire. He was in the media guide, so obviously made the decision recently. I know he'll be great at whatever he decides to do - Mark Reed still looks skinny. I know they had him on a program to try and gain weight in the off-season, but it doesn't look like he has at all. I know he lost weight in Peoria during a full season, so perhaps he put a bit back on, but I'm not sure where he's hiding it. It still looks like he's got the littlest pants on, and he's got room in those. Hopefully the trainers have him drinking whole milk and eating all the time. Guess that's it for now. Will post more later tonight! :)

I was at the game yesterday and I agree with IMB - he still looked thin, but not rail thin. And he looked *good* in the game yesterday. I think Sam Fuld will be starting in AA, but I expect Colvin will miss us in Peoria (darn it) and start in Daytona. On a CF note, I heard from our trainer Nick that Davy Gregg has chosen to retire. He's a great guy and know that he'll be great at whatever he decides to do back in SC.

in AZ now, and got to see Cherry pitch an inning vs the Brewers yesterday. He looked great. As many of you know, I couldn't tell you much of anything mechanics-wise, but he was fooling guys. He looked better than Gallagher at this point (and I *love* Sean), and I was impressed.

I think they need a new picture - he doesn't look anything like that any more! The speculation on going above AA this year was interesting - with the pack jammed rotations at AAA and the majors, not quite sure how that would work without someone getting hurt or traded...and he may find AA a bit more challenging than he thinks too!

Evans used to be a Chief too...

I'm really glad I'm not an Angels fan and don't have to listen to this feed all season.

Gallagher is in! Let's go Gally!

the rosin bag comparison to grocery store commercial is beginning to wear on me...

Cotts is in, EPatt at 2nd for DeRosa

yah baby! Murton with 2 RBI single with 2 strikes on him. Good stuff

yes - like someone is tapping right on the mic

the announcers are definitely still in man-love with Matthews Jr.

this announcer just pronounced things doBEARack yeah, that's close.

woo murton!!! HR on the first pitch!

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/scoreboard/20070301.html The site is layed out poorly. Go to the scoreboard url (above) and click the "Audio" link at gametime.[/url] another option is this one: http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/mediacenter/index.jsp?c_id=chc if you click, it should automatically prompt you for login. What I hate about that site is that it doesn't have any way to remember who I am...it's simple to do, yet, not there. If you need to login, it's in the upper-right corner to the left of the search box. Also, if you'd like to see all the games available, here's the link: http://mlb.mlb.com/mediacenter/index.jsp#20070301 It really is a good service, even if their website has some usability issues!

what I remember of him in Peoria was that he was injured just about the entire time he was here. He stayed in Mesa waiting for something to heal, then joined the Chiefs, then promptly reinjured things (think it was a foot?) What I remember most, though, is he seemed more intent on chasing skirts than getting himself healed and ready to play again. Truly thought he was god's gift. Anyway, don't think we lost anything and I can't blame the Cubs for cutting him loose.