Well, That Was Fast
Before you could blink, Ed Campusano (who had zero chance of making the major league roster this year and if it's possible, has less than that now) and Tim Lahey (who did have a chance, but most likely will wind up in Triple-A, after the Cubs "return" him to the Twins and then get him back as the PTBNL in the Craig Monroe deal) squandered a 4-1 Cub lead in the last of the 8th and the Cubs went down to their fifth loss of the spring, 5-4 to the Diamondbacks.
I must confess I didn't pay close attention to today's game, since as you know it's hard to follow on Spring Training Gameday and there was no audio/video feed at all. Plus, games in Tucson -- and no offense meant at all to several BCB readers who I know live there -- seem, if you are living or staying in the Phoenix area, as if they're being played on Mars. If you want to drive from metro Phoenix to get to a Tucson game at a reasonable time, you have to leave at 9 am. When you come back, if you're driving on a weekday, you wind up hitting the Phoenix area just in time for rush hour traffic, which is looking more and more like traffic in L.A.
All this is the short way of saying, I'm probably NOT going to the two games the Cubs are playing in Tucson (3/15 vs. the White Sox, 3/21 vs. the Rockies) while I'm in Arizona.
The Cub longball bats were trotted out today; Carlos Zambrano joined the fun by hitting one -- pretty rare for a pitcher to hit a ST home run. Micah Hoffpauir, who can hit but has no place on this team because he can only play first base, also homered, as did Luis Figueroa. I actually hope Jim Hendry can trade Hoffpauir somewhere, possibly an AL team where he could DH part-time, because I think he could have a decent major league career if he got a chance. He won't get it with the Cubs.
Z threw well. Rich Hill was wild, walking three in his two innings of work. Michael Wuertz appeared in a game for the first time and pitched an efficient inning, striking out two.
Tomorrow, there will be an audio feed of the game vs. the A's via MLB.com.
Since we have been discussing various postal follies here at BCB, let me tell you a delivery nightmare story that I recently had at the hands of FedEx. I collect caps, and in particular I have ordered a cap for each Olympics for the last few years. I found one I liked on a site from a small company based in New York and ordered it. This was in mid-February. And I waited. And waited. And waited. Finally I was going to complain -- and then yesterday, I saw what looked like a brick in the gangway at the side of my house. It was the box with the cap -- apparently, the driver had decided that my gangway, which has a locked gate, was the "side entrance" (that's what the FedEx tracking number said, anyway). There's no way anyone could mistake that as the "side entrance". In any case, the box must have been left, on February 16, on top of a pile of snow and not visible -- and then, of course, it snowed again, several times, and so it only became visible a couple of days ago when the snow melted.
The cap was wrapped pretty well in the box and in wearable condition, but I have called FedEx to ask for a refund of the shipping charge. Good luck, right?
I am hopeful, along with the rest of you, that the shirts you have all ordered will be on their way to you by the end of the day. We await developments.
0 recs |
37
comments
Comments
Sure it's possible
by JohnM on Mar 5, 2008 4:54 PM CST 0 recs
Hoffpauir
by soonerbered on Mar 5, 2008 4:56 PM CST 0 recs
I don't think so
Hoffpauir, and I say this in all seriousness, needs to go to Japan. He could probably be a star over there.
by Josh77 on
Mar 5, 2008 6:39 PM CST
up
0 recs
A star you say?
by santoswoodenlegs on
Mar 5, 2008 6:41 PM CST
up
0 recs
Didn't Tom Waits
by gary varsho on
Mar 5, 2008 6:59 PM CST
up
0 recs
You forgot the third option...
by cwyers on
Mar 5, 2008 6:44 PM CST
up
0 recs
That falls under
by Josh77 on
Mar 5, 2008 7:39 PM CST
up
0 recs
Hill
by cubsfan25 on Mar 5, 2008 4:56 PM CST 0 recs
FedEx
Long time reader (at work) first time poster...I'm a Sales Rep for FedEx - I tried to email you using the link on the right side and it did not work. If you could, email me (my email should be in my profile) the particulars and I will help you out. Sorry, but I bet the shipment came via FedEx Ground and not Express.
by NavyChief on Mar 5, 2008 4:57 PM CST 0 recs
Check your email.
by Al on
Mar 5, 2008 4:59 PM CST
up
0 recs
FedEx Express vs. Ground
FedEx has a nice comfy customer service center located in the center of my town. I can pick up Express deliveries that I have missed from there. For some reason, FedEx Express and Ground are not integrated enough to use the same customer service center. When I miss a Ground shipment, I have drive to a crummy area and knock on a warehouse door.
by Andy on
Mar 6, 2008 8:18 AM CST
up
0 recs
Tucson
TEP is a nice place to see a game. Unfortunately I had to pass.
DmL
by dmlichte on Mar 5, 2008 5:47 PM CST 0 recs
Heads up for anyone going to tomorrow's game
by lemon20pie on Mar 5, 2008 6:30 PM CST 0 recs
The game on 3/15
by Mordecai on Mar 5, 2008 6:37 PM CST 0 recs
In 2005...
Traffic and parking going in was horrendous, and going back I got stuck in a huge jamup on the south side of Mesa.
by Al on
Mar 5, 2008 6:46 PM CST
up
0 recs
Tucson is hit and miss
by lemon20pie on
Mar 5, 2008 6:50 PM CST
up
0 recs
Projections
by Imtrejo on Mar 6, 2008 7:29 AM CST 0 recs
More on why Spring Training
"'They [the games] don't count in the standings, but they're important because you can formulate ideas on some of these pitchers,'' he said, referring to later decisions on recalling players from the minors. ''But, boy, they leave a bad impression here. I mean, it hurts them.''
by TheEman on Mar 6, 2008 7:46 AM CST 0 recs
I wrote yesterday
by Hammer on
Mar 6, 2008 9:18 AM CST
up
0 recs
It seems that the majority
But clearly for LOU, there are certainly troubling things he's seeing that cannot be swept under the rug and brushed off b/c "Spring Training is misleading."
My point from yesterday, at least as far as the manager's point of view is concerned, is vindicated.
by TheEman on
Mar 6, 2008 10:45 AM CST
up
0 recs
I understand your point
by McRipper on
Mar 6, 2008 10:52 AM CST
up
0 recs
I agree about the regulars
But, mostly I was referring to the pitchers who are just not getting the job done (in LOU's opinion).
Spring Training, or not.
While I am a bit disappointed in Pie (but NOT on the ledge about it), its the lack of conversion by the young pitchers who are given chances to succeed that is irking me (and again, the manager of the team, as well).
I would expect that some of these culprits will be released, and/or demoted in any case.
by TheEman on
Mar 6, 2008 11:31 AM CST
up
0 recs
Absolutely
by McRipper on
Mar 6, 2008 11:37 AM CST
up
0 recs
Most of those guys were ticketed for...
by cwyers on
Mar 6, 2008 11:55 AM CST
up
0 recs
Disagree...
Al and others may think that Oh-Man and Infante were "useless", but you can bet that they'll make the Braves team breaking camp and will contribute, on Bobby Cox' team.
I have been on record as throwing up over Oh-Man!, but was hoping that a decent young pitcher would take his spot. Perhaps it will be "Piggy".
by TheEman on
Mar 6, 2008 12:08 PM CST
up
0 recs
If Omar Infante...
And I can't wait to read box scores where hitters have teed off on Ohman.
I agree with you re: Pignatiello. He keeps putting up zeroes in the spring, Lou will find a way to put him on the team.
by Al on
Mar 6, 2008 12:16 PM CST
up
0 recs
Hotel Info for Cubs on the Road
by dmac on Mar 6, 2008 7:59 AM CST 0 recs
got your stalker face on?
by drewishdrewid on
Mar 6, 2008 9:59 AM CST
up
0 recs
Micah Hoffpauir
The past couple years he's been about the most approachable guy on the Iowa club; very candid and not full of himself.
I liken him to Mark Grace both defensively and in hitting style.
Quick story. My wife and I are sitting in row one seats 1 & 2 next to the visitor's dugout in Nashville. Along about the 4th inning or so a popup heads our way. My wife ducks down, out of her seat and covers her head in the aisle. Micah sprints over, dives over the rail and catches it. My wife is never shy and our seats were only maybe 25-30 feet from the bag at first. She's joking around with him for an inning or 2 thanking him for "saving her life." About an inning or so later--the exact same thing happens again--same spot--same play. I rang up the out before the ump got over--and he then mirrored the punch out.
A year later--Cubs are in town and warming up before the game. My wife hollers out to Micah--"remember when you saved my life?" He looked over and said, "twice!" It was cool. I wish him the best and at the very least, a fair chance with another team.
by cubfever7 on Mar 6, 2008 9:20 AM CST 0 recs
Thanks a good story.
by Hammer on
Mar 6, 2008 9:33 AM CST
up
0 recs
Great story...
by bp on
Mar 6, 2008 10:03 AM CST
up
0 recs
Great story.
Thanks for sharing.
by Tangled Up In Blue on
Mar 6, 2008 11:02 AM CST
up
0 recs
Nice story
by MDBNIU on
Mar 6, 2008 11:57 AM CST
up
0 recs
Latte for Micah?
Another thought that occurred to me; had Micah been born 20 years sooner, his chances would have been much better. MLB has become (and to it's credit) so much of a haven for Latin, Asian and international players in general, that the competing pool is much larger. Heck--we have scads of Canadian and Aussies now too!
I'm old enough to remember what a huge deal it was when the Giants brought in Masanori Murakami in 1964. In the 60's having guys like Adolpho Phillips and Jose Cardenal around was somewhat rare as well.
by cubfever7 on
Mar 6, 2008 12:26 PM CST
up
0 recs
Pool Larger
And the medical angle is not insignificant. How many players on the Cub Roster have had injuries that would otherwise have ended careers but for the marvels of modern medicine?
Kerry Wood, Ryan Dempster and Jon Lieber all leap to mind. That's nearly 10% of your 40 man roster and more than 10% of your playing roster.
The quality of baseball's not diluted. QUite to the contrary, its improved.
And that's part of the problem. The Marquis, Lieber, Theriot, Fonenot, Ward, Murton, Cedeno and Blanco's of the world all would have easily been "major league" caliber ball players in the 1960's. All of them would have easily made the team. But in the highly competitive world of today, each has deficency, whether real or perceived, which makes them non-competitive.
by frustratedfan on
Mar 6, 2008 2:06 PM CST
up
0 recs
















