vance_the_cubs_fan

That's how they roll. (On the flip side, my Prospect Handbook's envelope got here yesterday - just the envelope that it was mailed in. It was ripped and someone stole it between Durham, NC and Pasadena, CA. Not cool.) That sucks.

I'm also counting the days until the season starts.

The Rangers don't have a lot of RH DH/OF options, so Sammy has a decent chance of making the team. With invites to camp the Rangers have Sosa, Brad Wilkerson(L), Kenny Lofton(L), Frank Catalanotto(L), Nelson Cruz,® Marlon Byrd®, Jason Botts(SW) and Freddy Guzman ® competing for likely six roster spots. Wilkerson, Lofton, and Cat are locks to make the team. That means three spots for five guys: Cruz, Sosa, Byrd, Botts and Guzman. Sosa has a decent shot of winning a roster spot, though the Rangers would likely be best served giving his AB's to Botts, I'm glad to see Sosa with a chance to play. A lot of his sucess for me depends on whether Jaramillo can fix him. If Rudy can help him regain some of his patience, Sosa likely can still generate some power. Furthermore, Ameriquest Field should help him some. It's a great park for hitters. I don't really know what to expect from Sosa, but I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility to see Sammy hit 265/325/480 with 20-25 homeruns. That's not a great line, but it's better than what some of the Rangers other options would give them, even if I think Botts could match it.

I was probably one of the biggest proponents of wanting Bonds for a year, but that was when I thought he might be had for 10-12 million. At 15, I would have paused as well.

I didn't get any for those games, but if there's enough interest I might could call the rep back. I don't need as many tix for those games, so I did the group for the ones that I could most easily fill. Right now, it looks like I'm close to being full. I'll post an update later.

They shouldn't be e-tickets. My rep will mail them to me. I'm not sure when I'll get them. My guess is March or early April. I may can get some more if needed. I'll put you down for four. I'll PM you my paypal address. And no need to carpool. My sister-in-law lives in North Richland Hills, so we're making it a full trip. I'm planning on all three games, but wanted to make sure I had good seats for one. Looks like most are going to be used up. I may have to call her and see if we can get some more a few sections over.

Ok. Just let me know. Right now, I have enough. I'm sure as it gets closer, I may start running out. My family alone is accounting for nine of the twenty.

With this much time, you could either send me a check or paypal it to me.

Yep...most of that area around Collins has been demolished.

Ok, I got some tickets today. My rep says the good seats are going fast for the Tuesday night game and the Wednesday night game. The Thursday matinee game is not so fast. I have 20 tickets to the Tuesday game. Unfortunately, I was unable to get firstbase side, so we'll have to contend with the sun for the first two innings or so. The tickets are in section 218 in the last two rows...except for two tickets in the last row of 221. If someone wants those two, let me know. Since they are farther away from everyone else, they'll probably be the last ones I use. This section of seats is pretty nice. The rows are a little larger and you have waiter service to your seat, so no waiting for a vendor or having to get up to go get a burger or a dog. For those unfamiliar with Ameriquest Field, you can bring food and drinks in as well. It just has to be in soft coolers and plastic containers. The face on these tickets is $45, but since I got them through group sales the cost was $40 a piece. You can either post here or PM if you are interested and how many you want. I'll keep a list of those who respond here. I'm holding back 9 tickets right now for me and my family, so right now I have eleven available. I may end up with four more if my brother and his family can't go. Finally, if anyone wants to purchase Ranger Bucks or something like that, let me know and I can do it through my rep. Ranger bucks can be used for concessions or souvenirs. If I buy them through my rep, I can get $5 worth for $4.50. Yeah, I know no big savings.....but if you want some, let me know and I'll take care of that for you too. Since our seats are on the last row, we may can may an NSBB sign and hold it up without obstructing anyone's view. So, right now I have me down for 9 tickets and Fred down for 2. Let me know if anyone else is interested. I'll let those who are know the deadline I'll need payment later. I likely won't get the tickets from the Rangers until early April.

Another Cub question asked...

Link.

Link.

You better make sure Raffy isn't coming over. :lol:

Can you get MLB EI with basic cable (or whatever they call it at DirecTV)? I have the most basic DirectTV package. I don't purchase the sports tier or the movie tier or anything else, but I still subscribe to EI.

Yes, you can have both as I do. In my market, DirectTV doesn't offer the local channels at this time. Therefore, I wasn't able to get ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX. I tried going with an antennae, but my reception was horrible. So, my cable provider has a very basic cable package for $10 a month that includes maybe 13 channels. It has our local channels plus a few others. I have this so that we get clear reception for those and then use DirectTV for everything else.

Very easy to setup, personally the older models leave much to be desired. However, their new PRO version is pretty sweet from what I understand. I have yet to purchase it, but will provide a review once I get it installed. Please do. I've considered getting one so I could watch my EI package from work or while I'm out of town on someone else's computer. (Like the in-laws.) I think one of those could be my next big purchase, but I'm not really adept at installing electronics.

Who do you think will legitimately fall to the Cubs at three?

The out-clause on Drew's contract is only for the final two years, I think. It also only deals with his shoulder. If he injures anything else, the Red Sox would not be able to terminate the contract.

I'm a DirectTV and EI subscriber. I do have a question. Has anyone ever uses slingbox. How easy are they to install and use?

From Gammons' ESPNInsider Blog (Link.), he has a one sentence statement saying Tampa will take Price with the first pick.

If you're in the right section in LF, you can be next to the visitor's bullpen and might get some interaction that way. The sun outweighs all those benefits in my opinion.

The LF wall is really high there. It's too high for much interaction. Furthermore, if you sit LF, the sun will be setting in your face. I like the LF seats, but never sit in them for that reason. You can get closer to the action in RF in the HR porch. Chances are the first few rows are all season ticket holders, so it's going to be hard to pull those seats unless you luck up and find them on Ebay or through a broker like Texas Tickets.

I think March 1. But I've learned with the Rangers that they hold lots of tickets back in the prime areas (lower infield between dugouts and lexus club) to try to sell as mini-plans or pro-rated season tix throughout the year. As the games get closer, they release some of those. They're allowing group sales and suite purchases now.

Sorry to hear that. Maybe you can meet me in Houston in August.