Cubby-Blue

How To Personalize Your Profile For Cubby Blue

So, I've been getting some emails lately asking how to do this.

I'm kind of a dolt, but I think this is correct so here goes:

Okay, you're on Cubby Blue and you've clicked on "comments" at the bottom to read what others are saying, now you...

Step 1: Click on the "sign in or sign up" at the bottom of comments.

Step 2: Click the "Join for Free" button.

Step 3: Fill in your information. The name you put here will be your screen name. Then, click the yellow "Create Account" button at the bottom.

Step 4: go to TypePad and sign in.

Step 5: Click on "edit your profile".

Step 6: Edit your profile. Upload an image (I'd keep the file pretty small), tell a little about yourself if you want.

 

You only have to do this once.

But if you bookmark your profile page you can change the photo or your screen name if you want.

And...that's it.

If somebody has an easier way, let us know.

As always, thanks for commenting.

The Cubs Get A Lemon

You may remember this from '04.

Paul Bako was a back-up on the Cubs then, and he gave all the bench guys this "Lemons" nickname.

If you read the names on the illustration, you'll understand why.

I saw alot of Cubs/Reds games last year, and one thought that stands out very clearly in my head is this: Paul Bako is just not very talented.

Maybe he's one of those good clubhouse guys or something.

But if I have one serious concern with the 2009 Cubs, it'll be Paul Bako.

Should Geovany Soto go down for whatever reason (catchers go through more physical stuff than anybody on the team by like a million percent), the Cubs will be in a rough patch.

I understand the thinking, however.

Geo will be a sophomore.

He's super young for a starting catcher, and with his youth he should be able to hang tough all year.

But I fear the play at the plate, because he doesn't shy away from anything.

I don't need to see that freaking crazy Prince Fielder with a belly full of steam make the wide turn around third heading towards Soto...

Obviously money was a concern when the Cubs didn't re-sign Henry Blanco.

So even if it means they have a weak back-up catcher, if the money saved can somehow help bring Jake Peavy, then I'm fine with it.

I'm Starving For Baseball

This illustration's in the new Vine Line. 

And it happens to be really true - I AM starving for baseball.

Yesterday at lunch I sought out a Polish with grilled onions, mustard and hot peppers.

Harder than I thought, finding one, but I didn't actually go outside either.

Because it sucks out.

Finally found one, but no hot peppers.

Man, I miss the vendor guys at the dog and beer stand behind our seats at Wrigley, I miss the smell of those onions, I miss looking for peanuts with 3 in a shell for good luck, I miss the stupid things people yell at games, I even miss the line out the men's room door.

But mostly I miss the game, and I can't wait to see this new team.

Pretty sure you're in the same boat.

So in the mean time, I suggest you go find yourself a hot dog - it'll lift your spirits.

Promise.

What else is going on?

-MLBTR says Rich Hill may be headed for Baltimore for a player to be named.

- I'm getting up for the Bowl.

Totally pulling for AZ, but Pittsburgh looks like they're just from another, meaner league of hard guys, and I wouldn't want to be Kurt Warner.

- Blago finally got the hook, and he should be jailed immediately for being such a public ass.

- And I see the guys who run Wall Street divvied up eighteen billion dollars in bonuses.

Bonuses are those things they give people for doing a good job, right?

18.

Billion.

 Lastly, I refuse to believe the Peavy thing is over.

Watch what happens the second the Trib finalizes the sale of the Cubs.

New Cubs: Gregg, Gathright and Miles

With all the attention given to Milton Bradley, we haven't really talked about these other guys (and I'm not talking about all the other new guys because I believe most if not all of the others won't really be here long and instead we'll have a new Cub soon who rhymes with but certainly won't be "Lake, Stevey").

Kevin Gregg is in competition with Carlos Marmol for closer ("give him a chance", says Lou), Joey Gathright is kinda the new Felix if Felix had actually played, and Aaron Miles is...well we're not sure what he is yet.

So Gregg has a wonky knee.

Injuries are nothing new to us, correct?

Lets just look at last year and for the hell of it compare with departed Kerry Wood (they both were injured last year).

He pitched in 68.2 innings in 72 games, gave up 51 hits, 30 runs, walked 37, and had 58 strike outs with an era of 3.41.

He was 8th in the NL last year with 29 saves with a record of 7 wins and 8 losses.

Wood pitched 66.1 innings in 65 games, gave up 54 hits, 24 runs, walked 18, and had 84 strikeouts with an era of 3.26.

He was 4th with 34 saves, and a record of 5 wins and 4 losses.

Those numbers are actually closer than I thought they'd be, but certainly not close enough and if Carlos Marmol isn't the Cubs closer on opening day I'll kiss your ass on public square (I used to live in a town that actually had a public square, and people used to say that there).

Joey Gathright is greased lightning.

Lasy year: 105 games, 279 at bats, 41 runs, 71 hits, no homers, 20 walks, 40 strikeouts, 21 stolen bases, and he hit .254 with a .311 on base percentage, and slugged .272.

If Felix can approach those numbers in Baltimore (he's gotta play against alot better pitching there), I'll be happy for him.

But for Joey, I guess pinch running and some late inning D.

Aaron Miles.

I'm trying to give the guy a fresh start here, he was good last year and maybe he starts at 2nd.

Don't know.

But if Mike Fontenot can keep on hitting I'd be soooo happy to see him be the regular 2nd baseman and have Aaron get his playing time at all the positions we'd expect to see Mark DeRosa playing, which was everywhere.

Remember - Lou kept saying how he was gonna keep everybody more rested this year, and Miles might be the guy to allow that to happen. 

Okay, last year Miles played 134 games with 379 at bats, 49 runs, 120 hits, 15 doubles, 4 homers, 31 RBIs, walked 23 times, struck out 37 times, stole 3 and hit .317 with a .355 on base percentage, and slugged .355.

Pretty damn good, plus a switch hitter, plus displaced buddy Cub fan Flack in St. Louis says he'll surprise us.

What do you think?

Most Obvious Cubs T-Shirt Ever: We've Got Ricketts

Most obvious t-shirt ever, besides the immortal "We've Got Wood", of course:

Whether it's a Shepard Fairey knock-off or just type, I would fully expect to see something like this for sale soon.

Just, not here.

I'm still pretty pumped about this Ricketts family and hope the negotiations go quickly and well.

Gotta say, never seen so much giddy excitement over an owner.

Sutter just came down and told me his wife was talking to another mom from Wilmette, and Other Mom said something like, "One of the coaches on my son's little league team - real nice guy. His name is Tom Ricketts. Who knew?"

Come ON - he even coached little league?

Last thing, if you're not aware of Shepard Fairey, go here and here.

He's the "street artist" who designed the Barack Obama graphic you've seen everywhere (and that I aped here, though not very well).

Why I Don't Really Want To Ask Any Cubs For An Autograph

Well, this started with us talking about getting autographs at the Cubs Convention.

Reminded me of this little brush with fame story.

Nothing to do with the Cubs story-wise, but lesson-wise?

Yep.

This one time me, writer Oif, and producer Joel Goldsmith were staying at the 4 Seasons in Los Angeles while making a commercial.

When I was checking in this one particular morning, I was thinking about how "cool" the guests are with regards to celebrities who stay at this hotel, because celebs are pretty much left alone.

And just as I was thinking this, I heard a woman shriek, "GERARD DEPARDIEU!"

I turned around and seriously, every woman in the lobby mobbed the guy (you remember him, right? French actor guy?).

That kinda changed my mind.

I thought well, if you were REALLY a super fan of somebody, you might ohhh, I don't know...say hi? Get a handshake? Tell them how much you admire their work?

So, that turned out to be the seed planted in my brain that morning.

We go to a long day of shooting, come back to the hotel, and we were gonna go catch a late dinner.

Going in and out of the 4 Seasons is sort of an event all it's own - you call for your car, you walk past the smiling door guy, the 15 car guys are all wearing Armani or something, and there are way more important people than you (Hollywood people, heads of states, presidents of companies or small countries, and for instance that puffy blonde guy who used to be a rock star but is now in a reality show making out with puffy blonde girls) all waiting to get their car.

Some people enjoy that, but when you're waiting for your Hertz compact wearing the same shorts and t-shirt you wore at the shoot you'd rather just be able to walk to your car. 

Back before 9/11, there used to be this other elevator that went straight to the garage (for security, I think only staff can use it now), and we liked it because it was so fast and easy.

Turned out, so did Morgan Freeman, because he was standing right there.

Morgan Freeman.

He'd just done "Shawshank Redemption", one of my fav movies ever.

"MORGAN FREEMAN!"

Shit.

I just yelled "Morgan Freeman!"

He's lookin' right at me, expecting me to, you know, complete the thought, which I hadn't really thought about.

I'm looking at him, Oif and Joel are looking at me, and so is Morgan Freeman.

Then, this comes out of my mouth.

"You're a GOD!"

It would have been so merciful if security had been there so they could have taken me to stalker jail, but they weren't.

The only thing there was time, space, and the echo of "You're a GOD!"

Morgan Freeman, however, is a nice man, and he sort of rescues me.

Smiling, he says, "Well son, I wouldn't exactly say that."

DING!

Everybody is so relieved, the elevator is here.

We all get in, Joel and Oif in back, and now I'm standing to Morgan Freeman's right.

This was actually the worst part of the whole deal, because while the elevator doors weren't mirrors, they were highly polished brass.

So I'm looking at a reflection of dork standing next to Morgan Freeman mere seconds after dork called him a God.

It's an enclosed space, there's nowhere to hide, and it's possible that this elevator used to be a freight elevator because it moves...reeaaaaalll....ssloooowwwww.

Morgan Freeman is looking straight ahead, with all the dignity of Hollywood Royalty.

I couldn't stop my stupid darting eyeballs, and after a bit he caught me staring at him.

One of the reasons Morgan Freeman is such an incredible actor is his remarkable, expressive face.

He can say more with an expression than most actors can with a paragraph.

You've seen him do that, right?

So he looked at me and said, "I'm so sorry you're such a colossal ass" without even moving his mouth!

The elevator opened up and he walked out.

Probably got about 10 steps away before Oif and Joel could stand it no more.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! YOU IDIOT! What in the world were you thinking?"

Which was funny because I was kinda thinking what am I thinking the whole time, too.

But it was an honest thing - I really do think he's sort of a God among actors.

And while I think Ryne Sandberg is a God among baseball players, my Morgan Freeman experience has given me wisdom.

Unless I have something specific and smart to say to Ryno, he'll never hear squat from me.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Presenting The Rickettes!

The Tribune Company finally decides on a buyer for the Chicago Cubs, Tom Ricketts.

Now I guess the real negotiations begin.

But this is good news - you all know this guy Tom is a Cub fan.

Plus, kind of a rich family.

Hey Tom, there's this guy in San Diego named Jake Peavy...

Cubs Convention: Reed Johnson's Beard, etc.

This joke came up in comments the other day, couldn't help but draw it up.

But it's totally plausible that once everybody sees Reed's distinctive new beard, they'll call it a "Johnson".

If he keeps it during the season, I would predict we see a rash of "Johnsons" in Chicago.

If you wanted to grow one, you could say something like, "I'm growing a Johnson".

Or if you'd already grown one you could say, "How do you like my Johnson?"

Hopefully you'd have alot of whiskers or you'd hear, "Wow, pretty small Johnson there."

And when the novelty wears off, you'll hear Johnson-sporters say, "Think I'm gonna cut off my Johnson."

Ahhh, stuff like that makes me laugh, sorry.

 

Okay, this next one is true.

I was really early.

I was sitting in the aisle seat waiting for Lou and his "Lou-Tenants" to come on stage.

And about fifteen minutes before it was going to start, well, the place started to fill up quickly, and there were two seats right next to me.

A woman and her son stopped by.

"Uh, anybody sitting in those seats?"

"No."

"Great, excuse us."

And they sat down next to me, and the seats were crammed pretty tight, and I could hear everything they were saying, and I took out my little notebook and began writing down their conversation.

The mom had been in line to get an autograph, and somebody in front of her had a baseball to get signed and asked whatever Cub was signing it to "sign it on the sweet spot."

Now, I'm not the kind of guy to wait in one of those never ending lines to get an autograph, so I'm not part of that sub-culture.

Maybe there really is a sweet spot.

Maybe if you take away the stitching and oh, a Cubs logo or whatever else is printed on a baseball, the leftover space could actually be a sweet spot.

But the fact that somebody named it the "sweet spot" floored me, and the absolute seriousness of this mom and son having this conversation...

And I wonder about other things that the people in the Autograph Society know that I don't.

Are there autograph rules?

Like, if you get a photo/handshake then is it uncool to ask for an autograph too?

Is it bad etiquette to have a player sign a ball that's already been signed by a more important player?

Is there an elite group of Autograph-Getters who have become famous in the world of autograph getting?

If there were, they could have their own Autograph-Getter Convention, and everybody could get autographs of other famous autograph-getters.

I would so pay to see that.

Lastly, kudos to Leon Durham and Bill Buckner for having the nads to come to the convention.

They're like twins in a way, but I don't need to go there.

Cub Fans, Please Rise For The Singing Of Our National Anthem

It's a big day, everyone.

Pardon my hat head.

Pie Piece In Place on Peavy Puzzle, Please Proceed Promptly

At the "Meet the Management" gathering at the Cubs Convention (listen to it here), somebody brought up the Peavy puzzle and Jim Hendry explained that unfortunately Peavy isn't a free agent and it's a violation of MLB rules to talk about him.

Luckily, it must be okay to talk about him behind closed doors because yesterday the Cubs made another move that would appear to be part of this Peavy Puzzle.

They shipped off Felix Pie to Baltimore for pitcher Garrett Olson, who the Padres apparently wanted way back in the time of the Winter Meetings Rumors.

In real life meetings that I've been in, the Powers That Be want to show the clients the people who will be working on their business.

Maybe it's the same with the Cubs?

Like a new business pitch - in this case you and I are the clients, the Powers That Be are Cubs Brass, and the workers would be the players...

At this year's convention there were a couple of minor leaguers who we hadn't seen before (can't remember their names), and I thought it didn't bode well for the "name" guys in the Cubs minor league system (I don't know...Josh Vitters? Sam Fuld? Etc?) who may be part of this Peavy Puzzle as well.

On the other side of that coin there's Sean Marshall.

He was at the convention, which led me to think that maybe he isn't part of the Puzzle.

Silly logic, of course, but I was an art major.

Every time Lou talks about Marshall, he uses the word "swing man", meaning he can start (Hey Rich Harden, need another week before your next start, dude?), or come out of the bullpen.

I think there aren't a whole lot of guys with the temperament and skills to be a "swing man", and Marshall's already done it and done it well.

To me, he's way more valuable as one of the best "swing men" in the league vs one of a bunch of 5th starters, and if Jim Hendry can get Peavy AND keep Marshall well, now you're talking.

On the other hand, there may be another Cub You Like suddenly becoming a Padre in order to make this Peavy deal happen.

You never know, but...steel yourself.

Lastly, do not forget to take a minute today and think about Martin Luther King.