@CubsDen: Cardinals looking for SS and MLB radio saying sources say they could "kick tires" on Starlin Castro

Dave McKay to the Diamondbacks...

F***!!

i read a ticker that brad ausmus is being interviewed.

Looks like Rick Renteria will be named manager tomorrow. Meh.

given Hoyer's and McLeod's familiarity with Renteria during their time in San Diego, I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt on this one... it's not like I was ever particularly excited about Hinch or Acta or anyone else not named Lovullo anyway.

I'm still more annoyed that this took a week too long to keep McKay

the Cubs are stockpiling Aggies with the trade for Ruggiano... i count 3 with Raley and Loux...

Was just coming here to post that.

They've got a mascot now

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/chc/cubs-introduce-new-mascot-the-unbearably-cute-clark?ymd=20140113&content_id=66536324&vkey=news_chc

Lovable losers

http://deadspin.com/comcast-sportsnet-airs-our-version-of-cubs-mascot-with-1501633812?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_facebook&utm_source=deadspin_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

quote:

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Martellus Bennett ‏@MartysaurusRex 1h
Masahiro Tanaka come to Chicago my friend. Cubs have the best uniforms. Think about that when you make your decision. It's important.

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No Tanaka. Shark likely to be traded. Why am I wasting money on season tickets?

Glad they didn't allocate 22m per yr for the next 7 yrs to someone who hasn't thrown an MLB pitch.

Scherzer, Lester and Bailey may be the crop of SP free agents next offseason, all whom I'd rather invest in. Throw in Materson. Maybe use one of the big 4 as a trade chip if the situation arises and is in the Cubs advantage. I wish shark would sign a reasonable extension but he seems pretty set to prove he deserves more elite dollars.

am I the only one whose Google ads are all for meeting Asian singles thanks to this whole ordeal?

Old habits die hard.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10360591/carlos-zambrano-apologizes-starting-brawl-venezuelan-winter-series-final

Brooks Raley claimed off waivers by the Twins...

Damn. Hate to see Brooks go.

Damn, Rizzo looks huge.

Wow he does! Hoping he can improve from last years season. As well as Starlin.

After a 2 year absence from this thread, I have returned to bring you this. Please meet the car windows that super stud prospect Javier Baez smashed during batting practice last week. Can't wait to see what this kid can do in Wrigley.

GAMEDAY

Besides rizzOMG, Castro and Olt I am probably more excited to watch the guys in the minors develop. I wanna see Baez at Wrigley this year!

Interested to see if Olt can be a good everyday player at the big league level.

Just got back from a surprise trip to Arizona from my better half. Got to see all the prospects in big league camp at least one except Arodys which I was disappointed about.

A few random observations...

The good: in 3 PAs, BJax had a pinch hit 2 RBI single to take the lead and 2 walks (if he can figure ANYTHING out this season, I'll be ecstatic)

The bad: Cubs didn't get a runner on base in 5 innings vs Matt Cain with 7 Ks (but still came back to win 3-2)

The ugly: Wood allowed 5 ER in 2-2/3 and Rondon allowed 6 ER in 1-1/3 to a AAA Rockies lineup without Tulowitzki or Cargo (and lost 13-0)...

The "anything but that" fail: Logan Watkins GIDP to end the game with Kris Bryant on deck.

Haha well done. Jealous you got to check out the guys. How was the facility?

The new facility is obviously really nice. Pretty much every physical seat is in the shade, which makes a huge difference. We went to a Cubs game vs the Giants in Scottsdale with no shade whatsoever and it was brutal even though it was still upper 70's/low 80's. In the shade at Cubs Park, it almost felt cold. They've got a lot of Wrigley elements like the stadium lights, scoreboard clock, and bricks behind home, but no evidence of ivy yet. We didn't eat much at the games there, but I was disappointed that they didn't have the Wrigley bison dogs. There's lots of ads in the park for Portillo's and Giordano's, but I didn't see either one actually available in the park. They did have an intersecting selection of food trucks parked in RF that were different each game.

As far as player accessibility, Ryan Braun actually signed for a lot of Brewer fans before the game (and of course got a ton of boo's/PED talk at each AB). Other than a couple fringe AAA type guys, none of the Cubs players were signing anything pregame. But post game, the Cubs' dugout tunnel opens up right next to the home plate gates and they walk several hundred yards to the clubhouse facility (aka "Under Armour Performance Center"). Guys like Kris Bryant, Albert Almora, and Brett Jackson were stopping to sign and chat with people. If you were out there in the 6th or 7th, you could probably have done the same with the starters as they left.

I was told the practice fields weren't yet open to the public because construction wasn't totally complete, and I didn't bother wandering over to check for myself...

I'll try to post a few exterior shots of the park and maybe a panoramic or 2, but here's a few from my seat and walking around the first day... (I went ahead and posted the large ones just because it's the Cubs thread and I can)

Section 116, Row 13, Seat 10 (almost exact center of the section)


RF line


LF line

Pretty cool thanks for sharing!

oh and Clark the Cub was nowhere to be seen

Mike Olt

Spring training start yet? I haven't heard anything.

Looks beautiful. My sister was out there with my mom & niece for the Cubs-Sox game the other day.

And I haven't been too pumped about baseball season yet but with first picth a little over an hour away I am starting to get excited. It will be weird not having my dad around to talk Cubs with anymore.