Len & Bob's baseball blog

The Cubs new center fielder met the media at Wrigley Field today. Here are a few highlights from the conversation:

I'd just like to thank the Cubs organization for believing in me. They gave up a lot of good players for me and believed in me to come in here and fill the void that they had out there. I'm just going to come in here and be me. Obviously, they thought what I've done in the past is good enough and I'm not going to try and go out here and do any more than just be me. I'm really excited about it to play for a team with a history. I have to admit that I have an Andre Dawson throwback jersey and when I got traded I put it on just to see how I looked in the Cubs uniform and it looked pretty good.

Is it too early to say whether this is a place you'd like to be long term? Obviously, you're a free agent after this year.
It's definitely a place that I'd like to be for awhile. Just watching it on TV and from the other dugout, you got a great bunch of guys here. You would have been right in the thick of things if they wouldn't have had injuries. That's the main thing in baseball is staying healthy. If our guys stay healthy, I think we'll have a good shot at making a run for it this year. I think this is one of the top three city to play in. As a baseball player, this is what you dream of. I'm excited about it and I hope to be here for a long time.

Can you talk about playing hurt and your calf injury last year?
I didn't have a good year. I don't think the injury was the reason I did, I just had an off-year. You won't hear me mention an injury being the reason why I played. I think I just had a bad year. After all that, my numbers weren't Juan Pierre-like, but they weren't too bad also. I'm definitely looking to get back into form. The injury wasn't the reason for the way I played last year.

Can you talk about the mentality of a leadoff hitter?
It's the ability to change the whole game. It's taking pride of seeing the first pitch of the game and knowing that you can shake things up right from the first inning. I was talking to Lou Brock a lot - we shared a complex with the Cardinals during spring training in Florida - and he was talking about that. The mentality to have the ability to change the game right off the bat....it's been said I don't walk a lot, but the main thing is to just get on base. Once I get on base, I try to create as much havoc as possible.

Posted by WGN Sports at 6:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Cubs introduced right-handed setup man Bobby Howry at a news conference yesterday. Here's what the free agent had to say about signing with the Cubs:

It's good to be back in Chicago again. I appreciate the chance to come over here and try and bring a championship over to this side of town now. It'll be a little different - it will be nice to see how the other side lives after being on the South Side for awhile. I was always a little jealous of the attention the Cubs got with more on this side of town so I'll enjoy that for a little bit. I'm happy to be in Chicago and look forward to a good season with the Cubs.

Why the Cubs?

I looked around and probably had a handful of teams where I was interested in playing. I looked at the guys that were on this team, the chances of winning, and the make-up of the guys, and part of it is the city of Chicago itself. I spent four years here and my family enjoyed it here, so not it's not only coming back to a city I'm comfortable with, but a team that looks like it has a great chance to win.

Do you feel a certain amount of pressure coming to a bullpen which struggled last year and is revamped now?

Not really. The pressure of it is only what you put on yourself. For me, I am just going to a new city to do the same job I was doing. My role stays the same, my job stays the same, it's just a different location. As far as the pressure being put on it, no, not really.

Jim Hendry recruited Scott Eyre, he's done the same with Rafael Furcal, do you feel like he was recruiting you like a college coach?

I don't know if I felt I was recruited as much it was the things we knew from talking with them that they were interested. He pretty much told me to look around and see what's out there and when you're ready to discuss it, let me know and that's what I did. I looked around and I saw what I was likely to receive from the other teams and when it came down to it, this was the best spot for me and my family.

Bob, did Cleveland make a legitimate attempt at all to keep you, considering they are a team that's supposed to be on the rise?

Let's just say we had no formal offers.

How surprised were you with that?

A little. More so at the end of the season, I think I expected it more. I understand the market that they're in and their cost restraints. It was a great place to be and I enjoyed my time there. I knew they wouldn't be able to afford what the bigger markets could.

The last couple of years you've been back to where you were with the White Sox, throwing 93 with good movement. What transpired between the time you left the White Sox and the last two years when you've been back to yourself?

Getting healthy. Right after I left Chicago and got to Boston, I was hurt by September of the year I left in 2002. I tried to come back in 2003 and it didn't work. I had surgery in 2003 and ever since then, it seems to have taken care of the problem and things have gotten back to normal.

You can be used in so many roles in the bullpen, but you've become very successful at setting up. Can you talk about getting comfortable in that role?

You know it's not something where I had to get comfortable with it; it's the role they gave me. When I switched over to do that in Chicago in 2000, they said you're not closing, you're setting up. OK, so go do it. It wasn't a matter of having to get comfortable. If anything, there's less pressure that the fans and the media put on the setup guy than the others, so I think it's easier to get comfortable with that as opposed to switching from one to the other. I don't really think there's a whole lot to get comfortable with. It's just pitching in a different inning.

Can you talk about playing in front of 40,000 fans now and how it used to feel coming in here with the White Sox?

That's one of the things I took into consideration. It's so much fun to play in front of a packed house. To see the way this team is supported, not only in Chicago, but everywhere you go, you can see Cubs fans and Cubs hat, something. The Cubs are one of the most well-liked teams across the country. To play for a team that has that support, it will definitely be the team I play for that's got the most support.

Posted by WGN Sports at 10:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

New Cubs reliever Scott Eyre met the media today. Here's a few of the comments from the jovial left-hander:

"As many teams as called, it really surprised me a little bit. I had a lot of headaches the last few weeks talking on the phone so much, but my agent Tommy did an unbelievable job getting me prepared. I guess with all that said let's go Cubs! I haven't researched the team a whole lot. I know a few guys on the team. I can promise you one thing - I'll give you everything I've got every time I pitch, which hopefully like Jim (Hendry) said is about 80 times a year, because I do enjoy pitching. I don't like sitting on the bench."

Can you talk about your last few years?
"I was in Toronto in 2002, pitched in a game and had a tough day, went on the field the next day and they designated me for assignment. It surprised myself and most of my teammates quite a bit. I went to Michigan where my wife's dad lives and got claimed on waivers by the Giants three and a half years ago. Between Bake and Felipe, I think I pitched 260-some times in three and a half years, so they gave me an opportunity to make myself better."

Can you talk more about that opportunity?
"It was just an opportunity to pitch on a regular basis. Felipe in San Francisco showed a lot of faith in me. I'd have a bad game or come in and give up an inherited run or something, and it didn't matter what I did on Monday, I was pitching Tuesday regardless and I was the go-to guy. That installed confidence in myself. I hope I can do the same thing here in Chicago."

You led the league in appearances - how do you keep your arm in shape to throw that often?
"There's a saying Noah Lowery has for me 'no gut no gas.'....I don't run a lot. I ride the bike, do the Precor, and I guess my arm just seems to bounce back after pitching every day. I'll let Larry (Rothschild) know the day I'm tired, but if he asks me to pitch, I'll still pitch. People call that heart or whatever you want to call it, I just call it wanting to play the game I love."

When were you diagnosed with ADD?"
I started taking the medication in May 2002 after simple talks with my trainer, then with a doctor. It made my life a lot easier, trust me. You can tell I didn't take one today, because it takes me a minute to reprocess the questions, especially if I look around the room. That's how it goes. I take Concerta for ADHD. It's just simple, I take one a day. Everywhere I go, it gets to be a joke. I talk a lot and I ramble a lot so you'll have to excuse. Most of my teammates just told me to shut up all the time (laughs). It's not uncommon for me to be told to shut up, so feel free (laughs again).

What attracted you to the Cubs?
I played on the other side of town as a young pitcher. I live in Florida and plain and simple, I love my wife and kids very much and this is closer to home. The fact that they have a good team and Mr. Hendry made it almost impossible to say no. The negotiations lasted about 45 minutes I think and it was done."

Posted by WGN Sports at 3:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Jim Hendry spent some time with us before the game today and took the time to answer some questions about this very frustrating season.

How do you and Dusty approach this last month of the season, balancing the desire to win games and at least get back to .500 with getting a good look at a lot of different players?
I think we will have a good balance of the two. I think our young guys are certainly capable of helping us get to .500. It's not like they're kids that come up and can't contribute, as saw yesterday. We also have decisions to make on people that may or may not be back with us, so we need to continue to look at them too. I think Dusty will achieve a fair balance of the guys that have been with us all year and the kids we saw do so well yesterday.

Are you getting a running start on what you might do in the offseason?
Yes, we're looking at next year hard. We've had to take a different approach than in the past few years to our scouting. Usually, we would be out advancing teams with our scouts trying to get ready for the postseason. This year, we've got those same scouts out seeing potential free agents for next year or possible guys that we might want to be able to trade for. It's a different September, so we're trying to get a month's head start. We're trying to turn a negative situation of not being in the hunt into a positive of trying to get an extra month's head start toward the offseason.

Ronny Cedeno has played well and also looks like he might be able to play second base?
Chris Speier has been spending some time with him at second; they were out there today during batting practice. He has played some second base in winter ball before, so we're very confident in Ronny's ability and feel that he can definitely be a factor for us next year at either second or short.

Is it too early to anticipate how busy you will be in the offseason free agent market or with trades?I think what we'd like to do is probably get into a fair amount of activity in both if possible. You certainly can't predict what kind of trade you are going to be able to make. You can get involved in the right kind of free agent deals and we've been active there the last couple of winters. It's a matter of taking the last month here and trying to decide which in-house guys and young kids and whether they are ready to stay and play, which veteran free agents we want to re-sign, and then try to hit the ground running once the season is over.

Posted by WGN Sports at 12:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

We caught up with new Cubs outfielder Jody Gerut before last night's game. Although he grew up a Sox fan in the western suburbs, Jody is thrilled to be a Cub.

What was your reaction to the trade?
Shock. I was totally shocked by it, but I started to think about it and I just got real excited. To be back home playing in Chicago in front of my friends and family, the chance to go to Al's Beef and Mario's Lemonade - it's going to be great.

You grew up a Sox fan in Lombard, but your Dad was a Cubs fan so he has to be very excited.
His dream for me was for me to play for the Cubs in a World Series so now half of that dream has been fulfilled. I'm going to do my best to get the other half going.

The chance to go to Wrigley Field every day and do my job is so ideal that I can't even talk about it. It's unbelievable. I've got a lot of friends that are very jealous that this is what I'm doing for a living. I get paid to do this and it's going to be awesome.

Posted by WGN Sports at 10:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Actor Vince Vaughn was the guest conductor for yesterday's 7th inning stretch at Wrigley Field and spent some time with us in the booth. It was Vince's third time leading the crowd in "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" and he proudly noted before grabbing the mike that the Cubs are 3-0 in those games. He promised to bring that luck back for the playoffs this fall if the Cubs can find a way to get in. Here are some bits of Vince's visit:

Len: Your new hit movie hit the theatres, Cubs are winning 8-1, you got to throw out the first pitch and then sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame", not a bad place to be.
Vince: Except for the singing. I apologize to the people for making them suffer. But, it's fun to be out there.
Bob: I don't think they suffered too much. They joined right in.
Vince: Aw, don't stop it, you know I'm fishing for compliments.

Len: You grew up in Lake Forest and you were class president.
Vince: Yeah, I was the only person who ever almost had to run for two terms. I almost didn't graduate. Part of the reason I ran for class president was to help me graduate. The class president speaks at the end of the year - they can't hold him back so why not give it a shot? Right after I graduated I went out to California and didn't go to college. I just started auditioning for stuff until me and Favreau made "Swingers".

Len: Tell us about "The Breakup" (currently filming in
Chicago with Jennifer Anniston). Where are you in the filming?
Vince: We're about halfway through - it's halftime. We're gonna plan on coming back in February about Valentine's Day. It's going really well. We have a bunch of great actors here and there's nowhere to be like Chicago, especially in the summertime. It's the best place in the world. You've got such friendly people here. I've put on about ten pounds here this summer because the food is so good and everyone has had a great time being here.

Vince: It's a lot hotter on that field than it is not on the field.
Len: It's the sun.
Vince: The sun? No, in the stands it's not as hot as it is on the field and I understand the sun plays a factor. That part I grasp. (laughter all around).
Len: That's a good question.
Vince: That's a great question. In fact, I'm going to ask it again. Why is so hot?
Bob: That's the energy down there. It just comes off the game itself.
Vince: Now I like the way you're talking brother. I like that language my man.

Posted by WGN Sports at 7:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Cubs historian Ed Hartig was kind enough to follow up on several queries:

I have Several Pictures of my grandfather and a bunch
of his semipro buddies from Spartanburg in the early
1920s. My grandfather was smart enough to write their
names on the pictures. I was wondering how to find out
if any of them went pro. I also have a picture of my
grandfather with an unidentified Cub player or coach
who I would like to identify. I think it was taken on
the same day of Cardwells no hitter in 1960 because I
have a score card from that game...If I could only get
a beer for $.35 at wrigley now!!!! Any help would be
appreciated. Thanks

Posted by chuck at July 8, 2005 12:36 PM

MY ANSWER -

If Chuck can provide the names from the back of the
photo, I'll be glad to look the players up.
Identifying the player in the 1960 will be a little
tougher as I assume the WGN TV blog doesn’t accept
photos.

-----------------------------------------------------

COMMENT 2 -

Who was the Cubs radio booth in the 1940 and 50

Posted by Bob at July 10, 2005 02:34 PM

MY ANSWER -

1940
WBBM - Pat Flanagan and John Harrington
WCFL - Hal Totten and Jimmy Dudley
WGN - Bob Elson and Jack Brickhouse
WJJD - Lew Fonseca and Charlie Grimm

1950:
WIND: Burt Wilson and Bud Campbell

Posted by WGN Sports at 4:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One of the great friends and assets for the WGN-TV broadcasts, as well as the Cubs Media Relations Department is Ed Hartig, who serves as the Cubs de facto historian. Ed is a font of incredibly interesting and useful information and a tireless digger when it comes to some very minute details. He is a monthly contributor to Vineline and was kind enough to spend a few minutes with us and give us a look into his work.

How did you get into the role of Cubs historian?

The role is unofficial. The Cubs, like most major
league clubs, don’t have an official historian.

About 11-12 years ago, I volunteered to give tours of
Wrigley Field for Cubs Care. A member of the Cubs
publications department went on one of my tours.
Apparently, he liked what I said and asked me if I’d
like to write a history column for Vine Line. I’m
more of a researcher than a writer, but I told him I’d
give it a try. A short time later I was introduced to
Chuck Wasserstrom, who then worked in media relations.
Chuck was responsible for producing the annual Media
Guide. I had done some work with the Baseball
Encyclopedia so Chuck asked if I’d help proof the
history section of the Guide. When it came time to
list me in the credits - Chuck listed me as “Research
Historian”. I guess the unofficial title has stuck.
Chuck also put me in contact with some of the local
beat writers who occasionally would ask me to do
research for them. So I guess Chuck gets the credit
or the blame (depending on your perspective).

A decade later, I’m still writing for Vine Line (with
a lot of help from some very kind editors) and helping
with the Guide.

Are there such things as normal inquiries that you
investigate on a normal basis?

Most normal inquiries are handled in the off-season in
preparation of the Media Guide. Questions like “When
was the last time... “, “What was the most...”, “Who
was the first...” can often be anticipated and
researched in the off-season.

Of course, some things aren’t anticipated. Who would
have guessed that Derrek Lee would be hitting near
.380 in early July? In situations like that, you
simply watch what happens on the field and try to
anticipate what Cubs Media Relations, the announcers
or the writers might find interesting and useful.

I also look ahead on the schedule for possible notes
of interest. When was the last time the Cubs played a
team from Washington, DC? Or is there a possible
match-up of 300 game winners in the next couple days?

This stuff is meant to be fun. Sometimes you come up
with a good note - sometimes you don’t. Luckly for me
the bad ones never reach the air.

What is the oddest request you've gotten?

Several years ago Cubs pitcher Micah Bowie asked me to
help trace his family lineage. There were family
stories that he might be related to James Bowie,
defender of the Alamo and for whom the “Bowie Knife”
was named.

What are the primary assets you use in your research?

First and foremost the computer. Access to mlb.com,
ESPN, the USA Today and out-of-town newspapers is
essential. In addition, over the years I’ve developed
several Cubs databases of statistics, games, players
and ballparks that can be searched in a matter of
moments.

Secondly, I belong to a baseball research group called
the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR)
which consists of about 7000 baseball fans across the
country. I have a network of SABR friend who have
expertise in almost any subject on baseball -
statistics, uniform numbers, ballparks, collegiate
baseball. I help them with their research; they help
me with mine. Besides being baseball fans, members of
SABR are doctors, lawyers and librarians which opens
up countless other avenues of research.

By the way, one SABR member I knew worked at the Alamo
Museum. He put me in touch with a couple experts on
James Bowie and after a little digging we determined
that Micah Bowie was not a direct descendent of James
Bowie.

Lastly, I have a fairly decent baseball library. I
have several bookshelves filled with Cubs Media
Guides, Sporting News publications, National League
Green Books, baseball cards and magazines. A worn
copy of the ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia and several
team media guides sit opened most of the time.

Posted by WGN Sports at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Mr. Baseball, Hall of Fame Brewers announcer Bob Uecker sang the stretch yesterday and spent a few minutes with us in the booth. For anyone who missed it, here's a few bits, including his singing:

I love doing that. Cub fans are great and I love coming here. They fill this place every day. It's always nice to be with you guys.

Len: Congratulations on your 50th year in baseball.

Bob U: It went by kind of fast. I keep beating that guy off with the shovel, and he hasn't gotten me yet.

Len: You entered the Hall of Fame in 2003 as a broadcaster and you just missed it as a player, right?

Bob U: I wasn't even sure what they would do when I went up there. I thought the plaque might be on the outside wall behind that place. I had a good time. It was a lot of fun. Again, I love coming to this ballpark. The atmosphere is unbelievable. You come to Miller Park and see the Cub fans that follow this franchise - what they do here and in St. Louis is unbelievable.

Bob B: One of my favorite stories of yours is how you got into baseball.

Bob U: The scout talked to my dad. Back at that time, bonuses weren't all that big. Three thousand bucks, which my old man couldn't really afford, but the Braves took it. I mean that was change and everything. We emptied out the cupboards and everything else. I never thought I'd sign because we got up to two thousand eight hundred and some bucks and I thought the Braves might walk out. But we looked around and found some more change and stuff. It happened, yeah, and it was magic - a Cinderella story.

Posted by WGN Sports at 9:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Nomar Garciaparra is in Chicago for the Red Sox series and took a few moments to meet with the media this morning.

Will you get your World Series ring this weekend?

Yes, I'll be receiving it this weekend. I haven't gotten it yet...I'm was excited when I found out I was receiving one and I'm still excited about seeing it and getting it.

Is is particularly painful to not be able to play this weekend?

It's painful. My groin hurts. I would love to be out there playing right now. It's not just the Red Sox being in town, but dealing with this injury.

How special was it for you to play in for the Red Sox and their fans?

It was extremely special. I've said this all along, I have unbelievable memories, and I still have amazing friends and close ties over there that I will always have....I realized something about myself that I have a big heart and that place will always have a big place in my heart. Somebody up there is looking after me - I've been pretty blessed to play in two wonderful, wonderful cities. Now I'm here which is a wonderful place with great fans..

Posted by WGN Sports at 9:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As Len noted in yesterday's entry, one of the great treats of being at Dodger Stadium is getting the chance to say hello to true baseball royalty in Vin Scully. Vin was kind enough to help us out yesterday with an interview for an upcoming Sox promotion about the 1959 World Series. Afterward, he took time to reflect on six decades as the voice of the Dodgers.
"Why do I enjoy still doing baseball in my 56th year? Because for me, it has been a great marriage. Very simply put, I love the game."

Posted by WGN Sports at 10:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One of the few bright spots yesterday was comedian Will Ferrell's appearance at the ballpark.

Both on and off the air, he professed to being a dedicated sports fan and talked about how often he catches Cubs games on WGN while in California. His Harry Caray impersonation was a big hit, as was his visit to the booth, part of which is below:

WILL: It's quite a thrill to be here, I have to say.

LEN: Not a bad view up here.

WILL: No, and I love the temperature. Perfect baseball weather - 22 degrees. I'm sure you guys hear it all the time, but I'm such a sports fan and this is such a mecca for baseball, so it's a thrill to be here.

LEN: When did you start doing Harry?

WILL: I started doing Harry at the Groundlings Theatre in Los Angeles. The Groundlings is to LA what Second City is to Chicago, kind of an improv theatre sketch club and I worked close enough at my job to come home for lunch. I would turn on the Cubs game and being from Southern California, I had no knowledge of Harry Caray. I was immediately fascinated by this announcer and that's where it kind of started.

LEN: You've had so many great roles. Is there a particular role that you're most proud of or where you had the most fun?

WILL: Well, they're all pretty fun. The one that seems to have, especially I'm hearing from this crowd is "Old School". I'm getting a lot of Frank the Tank. I'm being asked to take my pants off a lot today, which I'm not gonna do because I'll be arrested and then I'll miss the game.

BOB: I think streaking is legal here at Wrigley, kind of an oasis.

WILL: Oh is it? Good to know. When you guys see me in the outfield after this, I'll blame it on Brenly here.

LEN: Bob can tell you - "Old School" has been played in many clubhouses.

WILL: Yeah, I was lucky enough to be in the clubhouse before the game today and the guys said the same thing. It's a thrill, especially that lot of athletes love the movie.

LEN: It's interesting when big-time actors and comedians come to the ballpark, the players always want to talk about you and you want to talk about sports.

WILL: That's exactly the case. I had an odd situation, because I went through the training area first and there was Nomar, Kerry Wood, and Jerry Hairston all getting worked on and I felt slightly odd. So I started massaging Kerry Wood's calf. I didn't know what else to do.

Posted by WGN Sports at 9:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Like many Cub fans, the idea of revisiting the 2004 season wasn't at the top of our list of things to do this spring. However, Gene Wojciechowski's new book "Cubs Nation: 162 Games. 162 Stories. 1 Addiction." takes a different turn on a very painful year and is filled with interesting stories about the world around Wrigley Field. The won/lost record doesn't change, but the book is a great testament to the unique passions that surround Cubs baseball.

You set out to chronicle what had the potential to be a historic season for the Cubs. How did you have to adapt the project when things took a very different turn in September?

The only real concession I made to September's events was spending much more time curled in the fetal position in the Wrigley Field press box. Otherwise, the format and the essence of ``Cubs Nation'' stayed the same: part ``Season On The Brink,'' part tale of the people who live and die with this franchise on a daily basis. Having moved 4 1/2 blocks away from Wrigley for the better part of 8 months gave me quick and easy access to both the team (the Cubs were kind enough to provide me a season press pass--plus, I traveled frequently with the team) and to the people who are part of a season's life.

But as September unfolded, I did try to find stories that reflected the emotions, tautness and drama of a playoff stretch run. Those stories weren't always pleasant (for example, I watched a late September game with Jim Hendry in his Wrigley suite--he showed me the wall phone he once heaved after a loss), but they didn't lack for interest.

There are many great stories in the book - do you have any favorites?

My favorite interviewees included Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, ESPN's and Washington Post columnist Michael Wilbon, former Cubs Eric Karros, Ryne Sandberg, Mark Grace, Rick Sutcliffe, Ernie Banks to name a few, Pulitzer prize winners George Will and Studs Terkel, and writer/director Ron Shelton (``Bull Durham''), Billy Goat Tavern owner Sam Sianis, umpires room attendant Jimmy Farrell, Wrigley organist Gary Pressy, a Wrigley beer vendor, LaTroy Hawkins (blunt--but in a good way), Greg Maddux (perhaps the guy I ended up having the most respect for at season's end), Jim Hendry, Ron Santo and Pat Hughes, and marketing staff member Jim Oboikowitch (who chaperones the stars during the first pitch and seventh-inning stretch). But really, asking me to pick a favorite is like asking me which cold Bud or Old Style I like best.

As for favorite chapters, that's equally subjective. I spent three hours with Shelton at a fancy LA restaurant as he detailed how he'd write a movie about Steve Bartman; Jimmy Farrell told me how he occasionally writes the letter, W, on the ball that he places on the pitching rubber. W is for Win--he did for Kerry Wood during the 2003 NLCS; I spent a day at the Majestic Athletic plant in a dinky town a couple of hours outside Philadelphia. This is where the Cubs uniforms are made. They showed me exactly why the Cubs unis are so different from almost every other major league teams' unis. And at day's end they presented me with an authentic jersey of my personal Cub favorite--Ron Santo; Scott Nelson, the Cubs director of baseball operations, gave me access to a little-known storage room that houses just about every Cubs player scouting report in the past 50-60 years; I spent a day on Waveland and Kenmore with the Ballhawks; a day hanging out with Ron and Pat in the WGN booth; and, of course, I was in the clubhouse for keys parts of the season (the day Nomar got traded to the Cubs, the day Sammy Sosa ditched the team, etc.)

What happened to the 2004 Cubs?

Three things happened: injuries to the absolute wrong people (Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, Sammy Sosa, Joe Borowski, Mike Remlinger, Aramis Ramirez); a sometimes dysfunctional clubhouse, and the Houston Astros and St. Louis Cardinals. In my mind, the injuries were the real reason for the collapse, but there were other factors, including the pressure of raised expectations and an unnecessary Us vs. Them mentality that seemed to fester as the season wore to an end.

Are you surprised that there appears to be a bit of a "hangover" from 2004 with regard to the fans and this year's team?

Get used to it. Cubs fans aren't spoiled (a look at the number of NL pennants proves that), but no longer are they satisfied with mediocrity--and I think that's a good thing.

Dusty Baker said he wanted to rid the franchise of that Loveable Losers tag. I think he's done that, but the by-product of that change is a less patient fan base. One of the things I noticed most while reporting and writing ``Cubs Nation'' was the importance Cubs fans put on each game. In seasons past, there wasn't such an emphasis on individual outcomes. It was more, ``How many beers can I hold with one hand.'' Eric Karros told me the Cubs' biggest challenge in 2004 would be their ability to handle those expectations. Now that they've been through the nightmare of '04, I think they'll be much better prepared for whatever 2005 brings. If--the most important word in sports--this pitching staff stays healthy, I think they'll win anywhere between 86-90 games, reach the playoffs, and, well, who knows after that.

All I know for sure is that the Cubs are blessed with, quite simply, the most devout, passionate and intriguing followers in baseball.

Posted by WGN Sports at 3:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We recently had the chance to catch up with Cubs broadcaster Ron Santo and his son Jeff on the status of "This Old Cub". The documentary is available for purchase on DVD with a portion of the proceeds being donated to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

All the pertinent information can be found at www.thisoldcub.com, including updates on Wild Bill's walk from Arizona to Wrigley Field.

Can you believe the public reaction to the film?
Ron - I tell everybody I was never popular till this came out.
Jeff - It's been excellent. We're in the Top 10 all-time for documentaries sold. It's crazy. There are lines everywhere to see my Dad for an autograph or just people who want to tell us how the film touched their lives, be it at the ballpark, hotel, anywhere we are. I've been across the country everywhere we've shown the film and met so many wonderful people. Some people are just so touched by it, they can't even begin to explain it.

Did you have any idea when you started that you would touch a nerve like this?Jeff - I didn't think about even doing the story until my Mom suggested it when they were going to take Dad's second leg. I sat down and talked with him. He was all for it and since then, it's been nonstop. I knew once we had the idea, we could make a great film. Everything just came together and we've been helped by so many people.

How has the partnership with JDRF worked?
Jeff - It's been awesome we've raised over $120,000 for the cause with this project.
Ron - Obviously, I'm very proud and gratified with the response and the money we've been able to donate so far.
Jeff - The best thing about it is that we're helping a great cause. Cub fans who watch "This Old Cub" will certainly be inspired, but people in general have also been inspired by his courage, attitude, and spirit.

Posted by WGN Sports at 9:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Actor and Evanston native Jeremy Piven was our 7th inning stretch guest singer yesterday. He was in town hosting a fundraiser for the Evanston-based Piven Theatre workshop and we had the chance to talk to him on and off the air for a few moments. Here's some of his on-air highlights with Len and Bob:

On his first pitch:

Who were you warming up with? "I think it was Daryl Strawberry. Is that wrong? I've been out of the game a little bit. You know I have to say I felt the pressure on the mound. I came up a little bit short. I didn't throw the heat, because the players all said if I bounced it, they were going to punish me."

How would Ari (his agent character on “Entourage”) be as a sports agent? Would he be the same or a bit different? “I think he would be the same - it's hard to say. He's a wrecking ball and I don't know the world of sports agents, but this guy definitely gets it done. He alienates lots of people, but he's charismatic enough to smooth it out. You're dealing with guys that can snap your neck at any point so I think Ari would be a bit humble, but if you're dealing with somebody like Andy Dick you can really go off.”

Would Ari be telling Barry Bonds 'let's hug it out'? “I think he would hug it out with Barry. To be honest with you, Barry needs to hug it out right now. He needs to breath through it. It's a brilliant career, he's gone a little awry, but yeah, Barry needs a big hug. I think Sammy Sosa needs a big hug.”

Posted by WGN Sports at 9:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)